And So It Begins....

From the Office of the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott

“The Supreme Court has abandoned its role as an impartial judicial arbiter and has become an unelected nine-member legislature. Five Justices on the Supreme Court have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an issue that the Constitution and the Court’s previous decisions reserve to the people of the States.
“Despite the Supreme Court’s rulings, Texans’ fundamental right to religious liberty remains protected. No Texan is required by the Supreme Court’s decision to act contrary to his or her religious beliefs regarding marriage.
“The Texas Constitution guarantees that ‘[n]o human authority ought, in any case whatsoever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion.’ The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion; and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, combined with the newly enacted Pastor Protection Act, provide robust legal protections to Texans whose faith commands them to adhere to the traditional understanding of marriage.
“As I have done in the past, I will continue to defend the religious liberties of all Texans—including those whose conscience dictates that marriage is only the union of one man and one woman. Later today, I will be issuing a directive to state agencies instructing them to prioritize the protection of Texans’ religious liberties.”

This is what happens when government inserts its cold dead hand into an issue it has no business being involved in. 

Let me say it again for the record. The State, be they the Feds or the local yokels, should not be involved in deciding who will marry whom. The State should not license marriage. There should be no tax penalties or deductions for married people or their children.

Marriage is none of the State's business.

Furthermore, what came down today from SCOTUS is appalling. I was expecting a 6 to 3, but Roberts tricked me on this one. Even so, the narrow vote and the commentary by the minority on the court makes it clear that deep division on this issue which should be a non-issue, will continue.

The reliance by the majority on the 14th amendment was pathetic. The history and intent of the 14th amendment does not support the issue of marriage in any context. It's as if the constitution was a manipulable Word document on their tablets. There is also many questions about whether the 14th amendment was ever properly ratified since it was forced on the southern states during reconstruction after the civil war.

Freedom of association people! That's what it should be about. If you do not wish to associate with someone on the basis of ANYTHING you should not have to! It's real easy. But no...

So now here we are. Texas is pulling out the stops. I have no doubt that more states will follow. The ugliness is not over. It's only beginning. And it's all because the State thinks they have to be in everyone's business.

This is not going to end well. Mark my words.

UPDATE: I would also like to add that since SCOTUS has legislated from the bench on issues that it should not be concerned with, I must support the actions of Governor Abbott in Texas. We must not  have rule by minority in this country and we must not override freedoms of association, speech and religion simply to resolve what should be a cultural issue.

And from a Christian perspective, I can tell you that if there is an attempt by any state to force local churches to tolerate same sex marriage, there will be more than just protests. There will be rebellion.
As I said. This is not going to end well.  

Please Be Upstanding for The Stars and Bars

In light of all the kerfuffle over the Confederate Flag, I thought I would take a moment to reproduce it here on the internet forever.

The Confederate flag did not cause the Charleston church shootings ok people? Got that? Guns did not cause the shooting either. Are you following me?

It was a young man abusing his prescription of anti depressants. Every major lone gunman of the last few years has had a prescription. Look it up if you don't believe me. Here's a list.

I know these meds help many people, but it has the exact opposite effect for a handful of folks, mostly young men, that drives them to harm others and themselves. The pharmaceutical companies need to figure out why.

Now  Please Be Upstanding for The Stars and Bars.

A Bad Person

Kind of in line with the previous post comes this one. It is an example of what I was talking about in regard to avoiding people to avoid getting hurt. This has happened within the last two years. I can not remember exactly when it started, but in some respects, it is still going on in my mind.

There is someone at church. He is in his early 20's. He does various things around church. Very active and involved. Seems to be a fine Christian. He tried to strike up a conversation with me one day and I walked away. This happened more than once. Each time I reacted negatively.

I get what I consider to be a bad vibe from him. Something is not right. It worries me. I will not be more specific than that.

I based my entire approach to his offer of friendship on a gut feeling. This is unfair, judgmental, and cruel. I have no way of knowing who he is because I did not try to get to know him. Again, I find myself ashamed of my behavior and embarrassed. It is not right.

Being the gutless wonder that I am, I sent him an email back in December trying to apologize. It was a poor attempt. I pointed out that while I was sorry, I did not think we would become friends.

What is wrong with me? What am I so damned afraid of? People want to be nice to me, to be my friend and I turn away because I have a bad feeling.  Ghog needs to get over his bad self.

Is it too late for me to fix this?

I hate doing my laundry in public, but the washer is broke. What do you think?.  

Trust II - The Reckoning

On May 7th, 2015 I wrote this...

"Trust is the ticket to a happy Christian existence in Christ's church, so why do I feel that I cannot be completely honest with my brethren about who I am in Christ? Why do I fear the self righteous, unremitting hand of condemnation from people that are supposed to love me as God loves us? That hand is probably not even there. It may only be the fear. Fear destroys trust.

This should not be. So what do we do to develop trust?

I think we have to be willing to risk hurt feelings and bruised egos and step out in trust when others will not. We need to be honest with others in the church about where we are at in the faith and push to get the same from them. We have to let the fear die and let Christ live through us in our dealings with others, both inside and outside the Church.  Trust will not develop if we are not willing to step out and take risks to our personal well being and feel the pain of someone else or even endure our own.

Trust will cost you something if you do it right; even possibly betrayal. Jesus could tell you about that. So let's take a leaf from His page. Let our love extend to trust - for Him and for each other."

I must today confess my hypocrisy.

I obviously do not believe this or I would practice it.

I apologize to all my friends that I have treated with a lack of trust. I am ashamed. I really do want to believe what I wrote. I want it to be the way things are. I am going to do my best to practice this from this point forward. I do not know that it will make me any less annoying, but I will try to be more trustful and also more trustworthy.

I had an email conversation with a friend about the whole issue. I said that the basis of trust for me was the ability for the other party to keep confidentiality. He suggested that it was longevity of the relationship over time. He also passed on what his father said. "It takes a lifetime to build trust and second to lose it." I believe all three of these things are very true and correct.

When it comes down to it though, the reason I fail to trust is because I do not want to get hurt. I am sure it has been at the center of all the relationship problems I have ever had and it has also been the thing that prevented me from making friends with others. I have probably missed many valuable relationships because I do not practice what I preach.

The friendships that have lasted in my life have been with people that are tolerant of my eccentricities. I would like to thank all of you for that. You are kind as well as trustworthy.

I am a hard man to love. Y'all deserve some kind of an award.

More to the point, I believe my lack of trust has interfered with the relationship I have with Jesus. I am sorry to say it because if there is a Rock in my life, it has been Him. Lord, I am sorry. 

I am going to try to do better. No promises here, but I am going to try.

Joel is Down With The Bros From Islam

Lakewood Church in Houston, Tx is the largest church in America. The pastor, Joel Osteen, was recently interviewed by Robin Young and Jeremy Hobson of NPR's "Here and Now".

In the Interview they asked Joel about the church's relationship with Muslims. He said,

“I have Muslims that attend our church and my books sell a lot in Muslim countries as well. You know, I don’t know, I don’t get too deep in those kinds of things, but our ministry is about reaching out to everybody, and so I do and I do have those conversations. I had a whole group of probably about 50 Muslims here at the service about two weeks ago, sitting right on the front row. They came, and we have good, good relations. And I think it’s again, part of our ministry is, you know, our main theme is Jesus says love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as you love yourself. And I don’t try to put people in a box – OK, they’re Jewish or they’re Catholic, they’re this or they’re that. I just say, ‘you know what, they’re somebody that God’s put in our path for us to love,’ and that’s our philosophy.”

Joel, I think that's great, but don't you worry just a bit about security? I mean, do you have metal detectors at the doors? I know that most members of Islam that live in the US are moderate, but they would not be likely to darken a church door either. I just have this picture in my head of ISIS types casing your building for a couple of weeks and then puttin it to the congregation during the altar call. You are brave. 

I guess that means that I do put people in a box. I'm sorry. I am all for getting the message out to our Islamic friends across the world, but if some of them walked into my church, I would have a concern. Perhaps I just watch too much news. 

Question. Did any convert? Just wondering. Ye shall know them by their fruit. Just sayin.  

New Variety of Libtard

Body Modification, Glorification, Gorification and Mutilation and The Coming Singularity

Humans have engaged in body modification for centuries. The very acts of choosing to gain or lose weight is an act of body modification. People in the public eye regularly have plastic surgery to maintain their public image. Hair transplants and changes of hair color have been common place for decades. Ear piercing has been common practice. Many tribal peoples also alter their bodies if the photographers of National Geographic are to be taken seriously.

The western, post Christian mind set seems to be taking body modification to new levels of absurdity however. Civilized people are deliberately choosing to tattoo themselves or have body parts surgically altered with piercings or implants.

Then you have the whole transgender phenomenon where physical appearance is altered through hormones, surgery and implants of another variety.

People are not happy with what God or nature provided them and so they seek to modify or manipulate or mutilate their bodies to find something more satisfying. I wonder if it's working?

Whatever is happening, this should make the movement toward trans-humanism easier. If we all become accustomed to people regularly changing their bodies - upgrading them if you will - how big a leap is a brain implant or a bionic heart? Is a 'Darth Vader' like existence really then out of the question?

Here are some pics from the recent tattoo and body modification convention in Venezuela.

If this is OK....and

 And this is acceptable, then what can possibly be wrong or unacceptable about.....

What could possibly be wrong or immoral about enhancing your body in ways that make is more useful, more intelligent or more sentient?

I suspect an agenda in all this. We are always prepared for change gradually by the powers that be. I would suggest they are preparing us to merge with technology in ways that have never been possible before. The day of the Borg is at hand and we are going to be them...

”We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”

Keith Green - Easter Song

I know it's not Easter, but this song is great. Listen to the Words. It has a sort of "classical" sound.

Baby Ghog and Family + Friends

When you watch this, be kind. The little red headed one is me. I want my innocence back. Someone has stolen it and I want it back. I also want back the joy and the love and the not caring what other people think.


My costars are family and friends. If you are new to my life, there are many here you will not recognize. If you are wondering, this is a compilation that was done by my uncle from 8 mm film taken by my Mom and Dad...mostly dad. The years here are probably 1959 to 1961. It's makin me cry a lot!

Would You Like to Kiss my Bass?

I saw this old codger catch a bass before going back to the nursing home today. He had a kindly bearlike companion with him that took pity on him and helped him back to the home. I think it was a large brown bear with glasses dressed in fishing gear. Not tall enough to be a Griz.

The poor old man seems to be getting man boobs. Hard to believe those were once pectorals. I guess bone structure isn't everything. What do you think? B cup? He's no Kaitlyn Jenner, but maybe a shot of hormones could get him to a C cup. Poor guy.

It Must Be Like Riding a Bicycle

After more than four years of not doing so, I went fishing today. It was a practice session. Tomorrow I'm  going with my friend Steve, the preacher creature. I hope it's as good tomorrow as it was today. I got 5 bass that were all between 2 and 3 lb each. That almost never happens to me.

Lord it was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the bass. I hope you have some ready for tomorrow, otherwise Steve and I will probably kill each other. I will leave the filet knife at home. Who eats bass anyway right? It was fun. I feel recycled. Thanks again Lord.

Flotsam and Jetsam

I went outside and and began my 2nd weeding cycle today in the gardens. The temperature was just right, but the sun was way too bright. By heritage, I am a Celt and the sun can be quite tough on the white skin. Right now I'm a nice red color and I'm kind of warm. It kind of bleached out my hair too. It's gone from reddish-gray to white. Hope it doesn't stay that way.

While I was out in the yard, the serial hugger drove by. I think we are going to get things worked out. I hope so. He's in my Sunday school class and we are going to be stuck in heaven together for eternity so I better make something happen.

My post about Mrs. Holton's son seems to have rattled a few trees. Blog traffic was way up today. Funny how people like reading about weird stuff like that.

Dad was upstairs watching the Spanish language channel earlier. Have you ever watched "Everybody Loves Raymond" in Spanish? It's a hoot. Funnier than in English.

I think I need a nap now. Good Night. 

62.210.181.15:3130

That's right. I am talking to you 62.210.181.15:3130. I know that this IP is used with a TOR browser to mask your identity. You seem to hit a number of blogs. I don't know what you are fishing for, but would it be possible to be a bit more transparent? I believe you are in France and that your name may be Delacour, but I cannot figure out what your game is. Care to share? There's an email address in the previous post. Thanks and thanks for stopping by.

My Audience

People from all over the western world have been tuning in to watch Ghog shed his skin. That fine, but I would really like to know who you are...especially you in Belarus. You've been here before. I suppose you could be an American using a server in Belarus, but I'm not sure why you would do that unless your ISP is located there. I don't care really. I would just like any of you to contact me if you want. Here is an email address: groundhog001@gmail,com .

United States	18
Belarus	3
Ukraine	3
Netherlands	1
Russia	1

Mrs Holton's Son

Mrs Holton lived next door to the west. She was old. I don't remember her first name. She was nice, but not conversational. I would visit her when I got bored, but she was not nearly as much fun as Susie. She gave yes and no answers to inquiries. I'm sure it was a great thrill for her to be cross examined by her seven year old neighbor that was really scouting the neighborhood for free cookies.

When she did speak at any length, there was this thing that happened with her dentures. They would kind of clank. It was like the upper plate would drop down on the lower. It was kind of spooky. She would also wear a sweater in July.

There was her daughter that would drop by occasionally with the grandson who would not play with me. He was ten and was far too sophisticated for any seven year old foolishness.

Then there was Mrs. Holton's son, Don. He was not married and was older than his sister. He had been in the service and smoked like a chimney sitting in a lawn chair in his Mom's back yard watching me play in the sand pile from his side of the fence. He was always smiling at me...watching me...making me feel creepy. He finally came to live with Mrs Holton. She may have needed his help. He did mow her lawn.

Don drove a 1958 Pontiac. I do not recall the model, but I think the hood ornament was an Indian head. On the center of the dashboard there was a small statue of a woman. My Mom said that meant they were Catholics. I never really got an adequate explanation of what Catholics were until my Grandpa explained it in some very self righteous terms.

It was not until much later, when I got some perspective on the situation, that I came to realize Don was not right. I came to believe that it was him that had tried to kill me in my sleep. I was never sure though. It took me years to add it all up.

Not long after Don had moved in with his mother, I began to have sleep disturbances. They tell me I was sleep walking and that's how it must have happened. I slept upstairs. Mom and Dad slept downstairs. My room had a large window above a section of roof that sloped down toward the back yard. The bottom edge of that roof was probably 10 feet from the ground and directly over the back door to the house.

The room was small, but it had all my stuff in it including bunk beds which I was always hoping to share with a sibling. Never happened. There was an endless parade of cousins, but no brothers.

Anyway, I would go to sleep up there at night reading Peanuts comic books and I would sleep hard. It would be like I was dead. That was when the weird stuff started to happen. I would wake up in the middle of the night on a cot in the room across the hall at the top of the stairs. This was where the TV was and my rocking chair and all of Mom's sewing stuff. I would be sore. Sometimes I would have bruises. Other nights I would go to sleep in  my room and wake up in the rocking chair in front of the TV. The TV would be on. Back in the mid sixties, there was no TV at 2 AM. What was on the screen was what we called "snow". On another occasion, I woke up on my back at the bottom of the stairs. I had no serious injuries, but again there was the bruises. I had apparently fallen down the stairs.

Finally, there was the night of the blood. It was like a bad horror movie. I had apparently been crying in my sleep. Mom had come upstairs to find me in my bed this time, lying on a blood soaked pillow and sheets. My window had been open too. It was a hot night in July or August and in those days there was no central air.

I had a fairly large gash on the left front of my head at the hairline. I was bleeding pretty good, so Mom and Dad took me to the ER in the middle of the night. It took six stitches to sew me up.

Years later, after some counseling and hypnosis, I kind of pieced it all together. I have no evidence, but I believed it was Mrs Holton's son that did this to me. Had there been blood elsewhere in the house or my room, I might be able to believe that the head injury was the result of a sleep walking mishap. Such was not the case. The only place my blood was found was in my bed. How does a seven year old get blunt force trauma to the head while sound asleep? He doesn't. There had to be someone else in the room. The only thing needed would be a ladder to reach the roof that led to my window.

I also found myself wondering what else he could have done to me - if it was in fact him. I do not remember seeing him next door much after that, but I always knew when he was there, sitting in the back yard smiling and smoking in the almost dark.

We found out later, when I was about 13 years old, that I had some brain damage from the night in question. It manifested itself in temporal lobe epilepsy (at that time called psychomotor epilepsy) that I had to endure all through junior high and high school. I was on some powerful anti-convulsants during that time to minimize the seizures. The seizures finally stopped when I was 17. I don't know why they stopped and the neurologist had no explanation. My EEG was still a mess, but I was seizure free. I still have the occasional deja vu, but my head remains clear. It would be interesting to see what my brain waves look like today.  

We eventually moved from that place. I kind of hated that house. There was other weird stuff that went on there, but I will have to save it for another time. I need to go to sleep. I will try to stay in bed when I do it.   

Memories

The middle years have passed and I have started the rapid plunge toward that final destiny that awaits all of us. Even so, after nearly 58 years, I am amazed at what I can remember of it. To me, it does not seem all that long ago, but you know what? In human terms and for many people, it was a lifetime.

I am told that I should not be able to remember these things since I was two years old at the time, but I swear that I do. My earliest memory is a tonsillectomy at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. I do not remember the actual surgical procedure, but I do remember the check in. Back in those days, the nuns at the hospital still wore the penguin outfits and they were, to my recollection, quite mean. I was only two, but it took three of them to strip me, put me in hospital wear and get me ready for surgery. I vaguely recollect kicking one of them while I still had a shoe on. I think that earned me a smack. I also remember the administration of the ether which is what passed for anesthetic in those ancient times. Beyond that, I remember waking up in the middle of the night unable to talk and not knowing where my mommy and daddy were. I was in a ward with other children and I recall a little girl in the next bed getting up to get me a drink of water. A kindness by a stranger to another stranger. Odd how those things stick in the mind.

I also remember committing a B&E at the age of three with my close friend and or arch nemesis (depending on what time of day it was), Kelly Dean Jones. Kelly was my age and one day it occurred to us to break into the Disciples of Christ church that was up the street. Bondurant is where we lived at the time. It was a very laid back and quiet community outside of Des Moines.

Anyhow, this is not normally something that three year olds would consider on their own. As it happens, David Sprague, last in a long line of juvenile delinquent brothers, was there to encourage us in our efforts. David was eight. Kelly and I were convinced that since he was eight, he must know everything and so we hung on his every word. Earlier, Kelly and I had been zooming up and down the sidewalk on our tricycles gathering walnuts and then throwing them in his yard...sometimes at each other. On one of our nut gathering rides, we pulled up in front of the church. We were throwing walnuts at each other and one of them hit the glass door of the church. David Sprague had been watching us. He walked up and told us there was a room full of toys in there to play with. All we had to do was go in. We tried to open the door but it was locked and so David suggested that we utilize our walnut collection to break the glass door window and climb in. After repeated assaults with the walnuts, the glass was proving impenetrable to our three year old throwing arms and there were no rocks to do the job that we could find. So...ever the good friend, David kicked in the lower pane of glass on the door and we went in. Strangely, David disappeared shortly after.

At some point, Kelly and I were found inside the church. We had taken off our coats and were playing in one of the children's Sunday school rooms. I think we had coloring books and crayons when our mothers showed up accompanied by the church pastor. I do not recall the punishment. I think it is probably blanked out of my mind with the other traumas of my youth. I do know that when my mother would tell the story years later, my grandfather responded that, "it was just a Disciples church." Laughter would ensue.

Not long after, we moved to Des Moines. I only saw Kelly Dean once after that briefly. We were not so impressed with each other. Life had moved on and we were older.      

Today, since I've been on vacation, I drove passed the house we moved to in Des Moines. I barely recognized it because the two maple trees in front had been cut. The garage that Dad built was still in back though and seemed to be in much better shape than the house. The whole neighborhood has fallen into disrepair though. The only consistent, unchanged thing was the street. It is still made out of paving bricks. This is both cool and sad to me. Only the street itself withstood the test of time.

The house where Terry Stump and her sisters lived was still there. The place where Othal and Susie Snyder lived next door was also there with many changes. Mrs Holton's house and the Brewer house are still standing too, but all had changed with lack of care or too much repair.

The Snyders were quite elderly in 1962. They had never had children of their own and so I proved quite a challenge to live next door to. Othal kept a perfect yard, a perfect garden and a perfect car. He drove a 1949 blue De Soto that was always spotless. When they went somewhere, Susie always rode in the back seat. The thing that always fascinated me about that car was the curb feelers. It had these little chrome springy things on the edge of the front and rear fenders that would make a noise when they scraped the curb. I think this was to prevent the curb from scraping the frame. 

Susie became my very good friend. She taught me how to play checkers and took me out to Othal's garden to pick flowers for Mom. She also gave me apple butter from their orchard in Adel.

Othal hated me. He sprayed me with the garden hose on several occasions for violating his lawn perimeters with my bicycle tires. To him, I was a trespasser. Even so, I had the last word. I went to Othal's funeral.

The memories just poured in as I drove through the old neighborhood today. I saw the place where I beat up Roger Ghee for making fun of me. I saw the corner where I slugged Mark Burdock for plotting against me at the cub scout meeting. I drove past the house of Cindy Veach and Tim Terrell and Mark Jackson. Mark's step brother used to expose himself to the girl's at recess. I'm sure that would land him in counseling and maybe a care facility today, but back then, all you got was a spanking. Simpler times, but more effective methods.

I also had some very strange experiences in that house we lived in, but I think I will save that for another time. Just let me say, they were of a paranormal nature. It did not help that I was a sleep walker.   

The Magna Carta - 800 Years Old Today

In the history of western freedom from the tyranny of the State, the Magna Carta of England - The Great Charter - stands alone as the beginning of what loosely could be called self government. The tyrant, King John, was forced by his Barons to bend the knee to the rights of his subjects. Today, exactly 800 years later, the world celebrates this first movement toward freedom and away from tyranny.

The idea that a people can govern themselves should strike fear in the heart of every king, president, dictator, parliament or congress throughout the world. Do not trifle with our rights. They do not emanate from the behest of government officials or royal families. We are persons in our own right; the children of the ONE True God and it is He that gave us choice over our destiny. You are merely His servants  Therefore, tread lightly as you rule or face His judgement.

 

Unhuggable

All right...I have a problem. It's not so much a problem. Actually I feel fine. Maybe it's my definition of "fine" that needs work. Whatever.

I really don't like to be touched. Not sure I need to go into the "why" of it, but I just don't like it. You would think people would respect that, especially non family members, but alas no, this is not to be. There is someone at church that does not seem to get the subliminal messages that I send out. Most can see the flashing neon sign above my head. It says "Warning: Absolutely No Hugging". Most everyone senses it except him...or maybe he sees my invisible barrier and chooses to ignore it.

I do not need to be hugged...OK?   There is a no hugging zone around me. Please don't violate it. We will both be fine without it. Your physical expressions are fine for others. I'm sure they enjoy it. You and I do not need that. We will do well without it. 

I feel better now...and no, I do not need a hug.

Rich Mullins - All The Way My Savior Leads Me

Thync

 This just in from Andrew Griffin at The Independent :

"A newly-released headset hopes to wake people up or calm them down by manipulating the electricity in their brain.

Thync costs $299 and has just been released to the public. It provides “calm or energy on demand”, the company says, by using “neurosignalling” to activate nerves and change people’s state of mind.
The Thync looks like a small, white plastic triangle that is placed on the forehead. Its then fed with “Vibes” — specially-formulated zaps that either wake people up or calm them down.
The whole thing is controlled by phones. The zapping lasts an hour but the effects can go on for long after that, the company claims.
A number of different reviewers have tried the zapping, claiming that it really does wake up or put to sleep its users."

I think I will make everyone at work get one of these and have it set to the app on my cell phone. Then everyone will get along and work smarter, not harder. If this is transhumanism, I think I will like it. I might install one on Dad too and maybe the dog.

Does this make me a control freak?

All I want is a little peace....maybe I should get one for just myself and then all the crap swirling around me will stop...at least in my mind. I wonder if they have one that will fit my enormous head. More study will be required.

They are only 299.00. Better than a I-watch.