A Sigh Of Relief

I think NASA is very lucky Endeavour was not needed for a rescue mission for Atlantis last month (see the poll to the right).

And, something Jon gave me has not completely killed my productivity (yet).

Now, back to the studying.

Something Fishy This Way Comes

There is a foul odor coming from Frederick County.

First, the mayor of Frederick vetoed the Board of Alderman's desire to investigate the buyouts of employees. (The city paid some employees money to retire, in an attempt to save money. However, something was botched and the employees could be hired back at their current pay grade, or something like that.) This has led to accusations that the mayor was "helping" some of his friends. The fact that he doesn't want an investigation, especially considering he is not seeking reelection, is suspicious at best.

Second, several weeks ago, a senior from Mount St. Mary's was hit and killed while she was jogging on a local road. The driver who hit her was let go without any charges (remember, in Maryland, pedestrians are allowed at the far left side, except on expressways and the like). Today, he and his parents were charged with not having the appropriate insurance on the truck. I seem to recall in the fender-bender I was in that the officer ran both our names for warrants, made sure the registrations were legitimate, and made sure our insurance policies were current and within legal limits. Apparently, this didn't happen on scene for a fatal accident. One wonders if the police were forced to do something when the victim's family tried to file a claim and found out the insurance was no good, thus preventing any sweeping under the rug. Sheriff Jenkins should be retraining his officers on what to do for traffic violations (hint: they need to do more than immigration checks).

Yes, it certainly seems that good-ol'-boy network is up and running in Frederick County. We just can't prove it.

Some Birthday Reflections

• My sister's cat sees the gate to keep him out of my old room as a hurdle, not a barrier.
• You may think abortion is evil, but there is no question about shooting and killing someone IN A CHURCH.
• I don't know how I'm going to eat half a birthday cake by myself before it goes bad. Anyone want to visit some evening this week and help?
• Ninety-eight years to the day after the Titanic was launched, its last known survivor dies.

Okay, so my twenty-fourth birthday was relatively uneventful. It's probably for the best. Eventful birthdays have not turned out well for me in the past.

Some of Our Churches are Failing (Part 2.1)

So, it appears that Liberty University disbanded their chapter of the College Democrats. The reason is that the group "stood against the moral principles" of Liberty University. In other words, they seem to be saying that one cannot be Christian and a Democrat.

At the same time, I wonder how one can be a Republican and a Christian, sometimes (okay, it is reasonable on some issues).

Liberty does have every right to do this, although I wonder how much state and federal funding through grants and scholarships for students they stand to lose. I also wonder if the IRS is interested in all of this.

Yes, some of the right-wing "Christian" groups seem to have abandoned Christ's teachings. Remember, Jesus spent a lot of time with people the religious establishment called outcasts. He also saved his harshest criticism for the religious authorities of his day. Maybe those lessons have been lost.

Some of Our Churches are Failing (Part 2)

A few weeks ago, I ranted how a study showed that evangelical "Christians" were more likely to support the use of torture than other religious groups. Well, some of their leaders weighed in, and their comments are not encouraging. Read them here.

So some evangelical pastors say that there are cases in which torture can be justified. One argument is that Christians are supposed to submit to the government, provided it does not force them to do something against God's teachings. The problem with this argument is that the United States is a republic. Thus the people are the government. So Christians have the moral responsibility to contact their representatives to stop the torture. These actions may not be successful, but the attempt must be made.

If you do find yourself in a "church" whose minister gives defense to torture, get the church council to replace the minister, or find another church, as the Word of God is not being taught there.

Freedom (For a While, Anyway)

I am now officially finished my first year of graduate school. The last final was taken this morning, and the grades and paperwork for my students have been submitted to the undergraduate office. So for the next week or so I will not do much work. I will head home at some point this week to see my family and take care of a couple of things. Other than that, I will catch up on some reading and rest (I still haven't recovered from the weekend at St. Mary's yet).

So, if any of you who also do not have anything to do over the next week want to stop by the apartment, feel free to (just let me know so that I will actually be here).

After the rest, it's off to studying for qualifying exams.

Oh, and congratulations to those of you who graduated, and best of luck as you go to graduate school or join the workforce.

Beware the Hypocrites

Well, today is the so-called "National Day of Prayer." I'm sure that it was created with noble intentions, but recently, the actions of those supporting it have not been so noble. In fact, they have countered Christ's own teachings.

When President Obama said that he would not have the ceremony in the White House that the previous president had for the Day of Prayer, some in the religious right had a bit of a problem. This makes me think (yet again) that they missed part of the New Testament.

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:5,6 NSRV)

So this is my problem with the Day of Prayer. Some in the religious community want the president to make a show about it. Even though Jesus says clearly that we are NOT to do so. So when President Obama says that he wants his prayers to be a private affair, which they should be, not something paraded in front of the press, the religious right has a problem. Well, if they want to make a show out of praying, I say let them and notice them. At least that way they will get their reward. However, I suggest not making a statement by praying. This is a conversation with God, too sacred to use for increasing political power.

And on another note, I have yet to get the take-home exam I was supposed to get on Tuesday.