Today's Chuck Norris Fact:
Chuck Norris gave Mona Lisa that smile.
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Today's Albert Einstein quote:
A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem.
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So I have had lots of thoughts flooding my head the last several days, but it's been so difficult to find time to blog that I was afraid some of them would get lost. I've managed to get a little time, though, so here we go...try to keep up.
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Did you hear about this "Gospel of Judas", in which Jesus reportedly TOLD Judas to betray him? I will admit, this is a plausible theory, for one primary reason that always bothered me. Judas' betrayal of Jesus always inspired a certain ire not only in the other disciples afterward, but also in Christians even up to now. Dante has him at the lowest level of Hell, half in, half out of the center mouth of Satan's three mouths, being chewed for all eternity. However, Judas' role in Jesus death, and in our subsequent salvation, was a necessary one. Yes, you heard me right. Think of it this way: someone had to betray Jesus; if Judas didn't betray Jesus, who would have? Still, consider that Judas did so, and that his doing so made the whole world's salvation possible. I never believed the traditional views of Judas' role. I mean, seriously, since someone had to betray Jesus, and since God (and hence Jesus himself) knew it would be Judas, and since Judas subsequently killed himself, does that mean that God actually sacrificed TWO beings for the salvation of the world, Jesus and Judas?
That being said, I don't fully believe this new "Gospel's" claim that Judas understood Jesus' teachings better than any of the other disciples. If that were true, Judas would not have killed himself. Judas would have not only understood that his role was a necessary one, but he also would have understood that Jesus' death would have permitted him to ask for forgiveness, which God would have willingly done. He could be in Heaven today, but if he is in Hell, it's because he DIDN'T understand the full meaning of Jesus' teachings and the full significance of Jesus' sacrifice for us.
My prediction is that the "Gospel of Judas" never joins the rest of the Biblical canon. But I guess you never know.
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We've been having beautiful WARM weather here in Colorado for the last week or so, and I LOVE IT! I just can't get enough warm weather, let me tell you.
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I was appalled at the tremendous uproar AGAINST the upcoming film Flight 93. This film dramatizes and celebrates one of America's greatest qualities, our will to fight back and to win. This film showcases that. I will always recall how, when I went to University of Chicago for freshman orientation, we were told that the best course of action when confronted by a mugger or similar criminal was to pull out our wallets, drop it on the ground, and run away. What a sad, pathetic existence. Why not just live the rest of our lives in fear?
It is this concept and its underlying cowardice that makes me ashamed of my fellow Americans who somehow believe to turn and run, or to keep trying diplomatic means to resolve conflicts, or to dodge the issues, is the best way to live our lives. There is no diplomacy with terrorists and other criminals, and they thrive upon society's indulgence and cowardice. Flight 93 honors the bravery and strength of average Americans who were being American and who understood that knuckling under to terror, simply letting the bad guy have his way, is still unacceptable. Strange to me how Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Would you hear a Democrat utter those words today with any sincerity?
Are we becoming wimps again? Have we lost our will to fight? Is the reality of today's world, that even though we consider ourselves at such a point of "enlightenment" in human history, war and fighting is still a necessity...is that too much for us to stomach? The American nation and way of life will not last long if this is the case.
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Immigration is a hot-button topic these days, as though it has somehow just appeared on the radar screen. While I am pleased and impressed that there can still be such a fervor by those who would truly and sincerely seek to become productive American citizens, I am NOT impressed by their act of demonstration to simply throw away the laws of this country. Anyone who lives here or wishes to live in the United States must respect the laws of the United States. I cannot agree that some sort of amnesty program is in order, regardless of how long an individual has lived here or whether or not they've sired children here.
A key point to consider in this argument is how fervently and sincerely these illegals want to become American citizens. Here in the Denver area, we have plenty of illegals from Mexico, and the most disturbing part of that fact is that they have no obvious desire to become real Americans outside of simply getting the title of "citizen". They still wave their Mexican flags, many still maintain their Mexican license plates on their vehicles (Chihuahua and Oaxaca seem very popular), they insist on speaking Spanish as much as possible and insist on the rest of us catering to their desire to continue to speak only Spanish, and they build their communities as though there are simply living in northern Mexico. The United States is NOT North Mexico. If you come here, you should be willing to conform to your new society and community. You don't have to entirely leave your old identity behind, but you should be willing to accept that this is not where you came from.
In the 1890s, 1900s, and 1910s, when so many immigrants where coming here from abroad, most of them were in the same situation that today's illegals are in. They left behind their homes and extended families, but they also left behind dreadful living conditions and abject poverty for a land of new opportunities, where anyone can truly succeed with nothing more than intelligence and hard work. Most of them left their old identities behind, even changing their names to something more American (Schmidt to Smith, for example). They left their old languages behind (for the most part), speaking only English. A great example of this attitude is displayed in Casablanca, when Herr and Frau Schmidt are preparing to leave for America. They proudly declare they are speaking only English so that they can better get along in their new land. They butcher it, of course, but their enthusiasm is undeniable.
Today's immigrants no longer maintain such enthusiasm. Most seem to come here merely to leech off of our vibrant economy, with very little interest in making this their home. If that's the case, I recommend they go back where they came from. Citizenship here is not a right unless you are born here; don't expect us to merely hand it to you unless you can really demonstrate that you're here for good, and gladly, without any reservation and without seeking to turn your new land into your old one.
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So the bathroom where I work is a very strange place. It's a public bathroom, but because it's in Boulder and because the building management has had trouble with vagrants hiding in it in the past, there are locks on the door. Everyone in the building must use a key just to go to the bathroom. Also, they play this cheesy smooth jazz music, and many times it's the very saxophone-heavy kind that makes you feel as though you just walked into a soft-core porn film. There are times when I go into the bathroom and end up half-expecting a hot girl with fake breasts and fake blonde hair to walk in, wearing a French maid outfit and asking if there's anything she can do for me, monsieur?
Boulder is already a strange enough place as it is...
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So Heidi and I were doing some Easter shopping the other night at the local Wal Mart. We're strolling along looking at candy, baskets, and little plastic eggs. There are all sorts of plastic eggs: traditional pastel eggs, eggs that look like the balls from various sports (strangely, though they had soccer, basketball, and baseball, there were no football eggs), sparkly glitter eggs...and camouflage eggs. Camouflage eggs? As I pointed these out to Heidi, the following scene entered my head:
Dad: "Did you find them all, kids?"
Kids: "We have 28 eggs, Dad....is that all of them?"
Dad: "Why, no, there were 32 eggs, altogether...OH RIGHT! Those last four were camouflage eggs."
Maybe when they perfect invisible paint, they'll make invisible eggs.
Thanks for reading along.
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