I guess it started in the 80’s when airtime on cable had to be filled and was cheap to acquire, so why not fill it with pictures of starving children you could help for 29 cents a day?

And hear we are in 2009, assaulted on all sides, hands outreached for “just a little help.” In my area, some begging is conducted as a profession, with clipboards and uniforms. There are beggars for Third World children, pregnant teens, homeless moms, Girl Scout camping trips and dying children who want a trip to Disneyland. Beggars in L.A., I learned from an LA. Times piece (back when it was a newspaper) had pimps - I mean, managers - who drove them to nice neighborhoods, handed them a sign and then collected most of their takings for the day. Gone are the days when an amusing “Will write ad copy for food” sign netted a guy some bucks. Now it’s all about turning those big brown eyes on a trapped human with discretionary income. Get ‘em where they can’t drive around you, turn the channel or change direction.

Get ‘em at the grocery store. Folks gotta eat, right? And why should they enjoy their few moments of discretionary spending, knowing that the ice cream they bought denied someone that last $4 they needed for their kidney transplant?

Read more…

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY = HOMOPHOBIA?

Led by advocates of gay marriage, the vote yesterday was 188-186 against amending the bill to insure religious liberty protections in New Hampshire.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed what happened:

Leading the fight for gay marriage in New Hampshire is Rep. Steve Vaillancourt. He proves, beyond any shadow of a doubt, why champions of religious liberty must resist gay marriage: he worked to kill the bill because it insulated religious institutions from its reach.

In other words, it was not good enough for Vaillancourt to secure a win on gay marriage—he had to have it all. And having it all means denying the right of religious institutions not to sanction homosexual marriage. Indeed, he said the religious liberty amendment would “enshrine homophobia into the statutes of the New Hampshire legislature.”

So this is what we’ve come to in America: religious objections to homosexuality, rooted in the Bible, natural law and the teachings of most religions, is nothing more than a pernicious phobia. Not too long ago, such objections simply constituted common sense.

One of the driving principals that the United Sates of America was founded upon was the right to Freedom of Religion. Between the years 1629 and 1640 nearly eighty thousand Puritans fled England for fear of religious persecution. Many of these Puritans were from all over England, and nearly twenty-one thousand immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Eventually, in the 1700’s, there were nearly one hundred thousand Puritan immigrants who had escaped persecution and achieved religious freedom and were living in the colonies and settlements of the New World.

Read more…

Pepsi has released “Pepsi Throwback.” For about eight weeks this spring, Pepsi will be available without dreaded corn syrup. The name is clearly aimed at Generation TMZ’ers. The delicious caramel-colored nectar however, is a gift for us all. No more hunting down kosher or Mexican bottled soda for a non-corn syrup shot of low value carbs. Well, at least for the next few weeks.

Pepsi states that the soda is available for 8 weeks starting on or around April 20. I have yet to find it on the left coast yet. Disappointing indeed.
Read more…

Papal Pilgrimage To Isreal Ends With a Bang

Benedict declared his intentions in the clearest of terms. “First, to those who still dispute Israel’s right to exist as a state, Benedict stated: “Let it be universally recognized that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally agreed borders.” Yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested that the Pope denounce Iran on Israel’s behalf, especially regarding Iran’s repudiation of Israeli statehood. While avoiding mentioning Iran by name, Benedict lost no time in doing just that. Moving on, he stated: “Let it be likewise acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream.”

Benedict made an impassioned appeal: “No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence. Let there be lasting peace based on justice, let there be genuine reconciliation and healing.”

The three great religions of the world, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all share Abraham as their common father. In Catholic circles, Abraham is remembered as the “Father of our Faith”. Like in all “big families”, sometimes members disagree and do not get along. So sad, when we all share a common humanity and will all one-day return to the same Creator that made and loves each us all.

Lack of forgiveness is at the center of the Middle East problem. So many times the world has looked to a multitude of people and things to solve the tensions between the three great religions, all sharing Jerusalem. Instead of looking to were the source of the hatred lies, in the hearts of men. Each person must find forgiveness in his or her heart. I believe the Pope’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land stressed the importance of this needed forgiveness between all people in Israel and the Middle East.

In the Christian faith, Christ tells the faithful:

“Father, forgive us our trespass, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

May God bless all three great religions sharing the Holy Land; Christians, Jews, and Muslims. May we all learn to live in peace and love one another as God loves each of us personally.

Read more…

I don’t feel terribly sorry for the GOP at this point, and consider their recent losses a direct result of their ideas and their implementation of them. To watch the battles of ideology and positioning taking place within the Grand Old Party brings a smirk to many on the left, and a wince of recognition for the rest. While my years in the wilderness left me hoping to see a day where the party of George W Bush might eat its own, I can’t say the actuality has been what I’d hoped. Revenge fantasies rarely play out satisfactorily.

I have watched with some sadness the plight of radio host Michael Savage, who finds himself banned from entering the UK by the head of their Home Office, Jacqui Smith under the pretext that he represents a threat to the peace of her country for his incendiary rhetoric. Without question, Dr. Savage represents the red meat wing of right wing talk radio, and many of his ideas are either beyond the pale for me, or are expressed in ways that would make many who agree with him wince. Most people of good will would likely find themselves bristling from at least something on the Savage Nation if they listened long enough, and if one focused solely on the extremes of his program, it isn’t a total surprise that he’s found himself in trouble on this scale.

Read more…