I’ve seen people put mustard on hot dogs. I’ve seen people put ketchup on hot dogs. It wasn’t until yesterday that I saw someone put mayonnaise on a hot dog, and that person was my wife. How do I go being married to her for almost a decade and not know about this travesty?
There’s a bit of irony with the love affair Boston has for Neil Diamond who was actually born in Brooklyn. I also recently discovered that Michael Jordan was also born in Brooklyn.
I’m not sure what I find more interesting, that Neil Diamond is not a stage name but his real name, or that he attended NYU on a fencing scholarship.
Sometime last year I was at a birthday party and the hosting couple was complaining about how Obama was giving handouts, how they would never accept, and stated that any Obama supporters should just leave. I just kept quiet as to not make a scene, after all, the attention of the party should be on the birthday person and not politics. Last week that couple sent me a letter asking for funds to support them on a mission trip. I’m not sure what’s so different about what they are doing and asking for a handout.
I miss Google Reader, but I think I’m now use to Feedly.
I caught the first hour of “Rectify” and thought the first 15 minute was exceptional television, definately a great way to start a series. I enjoyed the other 45-minutes as well and would have watched the other hour if the kids didn’t turn us into zombies by the end of the day.
I noticed that the “Late Show with David Letterman” has a brand new intro and is using some peculiar but cool angles when they cut to inside the studio.
On WFAA’s front page last night was an article related to the JFK assassination. You’d think with five president’s visiting this week they would hold off on that sort of thing for a week. And can you image the dark cloud this city would be under if something tragic happens during the George W. Bush Library and Museum opening on Thursday?
The difference in your friends asking for donations and taking government handouts is whether the donation is voluntary or government mandated. Should be an obvious discernment. But then again, liberals don't see that voluntary vs. mandated difference in spending tax dollars.
This is the similarity I see . . . my friends were complaining about how they would never ask for a handout and then they themselves were asking for money. To me, their actions conflict their statements by asking people to hand them money so they can go on a mission trip. Your focus is on the one who is handing out, my focus is on the one who is asking.
I do see your point about how people have to pay taxes and have no choice where those dollars are spent and how people take advantage of the system, but that's a different argument. My argument is that my friends basically said they would never ask for money, yet they are now asking for money.
Larry, I don't mind debate and disagreements, and by definition, being liberal means being open to different schools of thought, but I think you can make your point in a more constructive and polite manner. Surely you can see how you ended your comment in a negative tone taking a shot at me, and it was that negativity that got blocked from making comments before. In the past I've felt you've done nothing but troll this website and look for opportunities to take shots at me, but perhaps you never realized that a lot of your previous comments were hurtful, and if that's the case, I'm just going to ask you to examine your comments and consider how they can be interpreted as hurtful. I'd rather not waste my time reading comments that are hurtful to me. Like I said, I don't mind opposing views and disagreements, but if they are going to be posted on my website, then they need to be constructive or respectful and not insulting to me or others. If you disagree, please find another website or don't leave comments.
I've had many of my conservative friends change my view on certain issues and to see things from their perspective, but that was only done with constructive exchange without any insults or negativity. I welcome you to do the same, help me understand your point of view, but please do so without taking punches.
I think by "handouts" they meant "money taken in taxes" not money given to support a person directly. I think that people that need help should NOT get it from the government unless they have no other choice. BTW, my business is still slow, my wife lost her job, and yet she's not taking unemployment and we're not on food stamps even though we could be. I would ask friends to help me go do ministry, and I have asked our church for help when things are tight.
Hey Paul, I was hoping you could help me understand your point of reasoning a bit more on not taking unemployment or to use food stamps. If I'm hurting financially and just can't make any more income, the last thing I would want to do is burden a friend for resources, as I would know that it's taking away from them and their family on their limited income. If I use assistance from teh government, then I'm not really hurting or impacting family and friends and feel I have to pay them back. I guess I don't see what's wrong for going to the government for temporary help if you have already put money in the system by the taxes you've paid. Not to game the system or anything, but get temporary help until you can get back on your feet again.
■Sometime last year I was at a birthday party and the hosting couple was complaining about how Obama was giving handouts, now they would never accept, and stated that any Obama supporters should just leave. I just kept quiet as to not make a scene, after all, the attention of the party should be the the birthday person and not politics. Last week that couple sent me a letter asking for funds to support them on a mission trip. I’m not sure what’s so different about what they are doing and asking for a handout.
Morals and Ethics would get my vote on the diffrence
"■Sometime last year I was at a birthday party and the hosting couple was complaining about how Obama was giving handouts, now they would never accept, and stated that any Obama supporters should just leave."
Wow, what a fun birthday party!
I would suggest, though, that the "hosts" should have clearly, but tactifully, stated in the invitation that Obama supporters were NOT welcome at their birthday celebration.
"Sometime last year I was at a birthday party and the hosting couple was complaining about how Obama was giving handouts…"
Oh yes oh yes oh yes. I have been in this very spot countless times. In fact, every week I volunteer with wonderful (kind, ultra conservative, white, from 2 parent households that are upper middle class in stable communities) people, who assume I think along the very same party line as they. Just like you I hold my tongue (cowardly, probably) and then go out and vote my heart and Christian convictions.
I try to remember as much as possible the verse from 1 Corinthians 4:7: "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"
Keith,
I have to comment on your response. You throw out your opinion on a public forum and then ask that only like minded people respond? And then you say that those that may be a little harsh are banned from your site. I enjoy reading your blog because it has some interesting tech and science articles often. But then you throw out some liberal feeling emotion based opinion and refuse to take any criticism on the statement. How is that open minded to new ideas?
You emphasize that the liberal view is the most caring and compasionate but then refuse to accept any criticsm from an opposing point of view. I wish that instead of blocking my response, you could just block my access to your website altogether. If you have no stomach for heated debate, then I should just go, as you should have at the birthday party.
You can post an opinion without making negative generalizations about liberals. Perhaps you can't see that's what you are doing, but we do. It's Keith's blog, and he makes the rules, just like I do for mine. If you don't like the rules, don't play the game.
Well said! There's no reason not to keep a civil tongue when debating. Resorting to cheap shots and slurs are uncalled for and just plain rude. One of the reasons I became a reader of this blog was the absence of hate and discontent.
I know I'm coming in late to the discussion, but I had a thought I'd like to share. Obviously, I cannot speak to the intent or the context of your friends' comment about refusing handouts (and I sure hope they were joking about asking people to leave the party!). In my mind, asking for money to support a mission trip is usually more about supporting the church/God/ministry than it is about giving money to an individual. To invite someone to help raise money for me to go on a mission trip is to invite him or her to participate in the work I will be doing. Some think everyone should physically do the work of missions, but I believe financial support is a valid expression of faith. Yes, I can and should spend some of my own money; but, there's biblical precedent to seeking the assistance of the church (universal) for the (individual) work of missions. And, the work of missions is not limited to that which is only overseas or across cultures – God's mission is bigger than that. I would argue that all Christians should be involved in missions, whether by volunteering locally, giving financially or literally going to the ends of the earth to serve needs and preach the gospel.
Interestingly, at least in regards to your context I think, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has recently made a policy change regarding missions (if my elder friend is to be believed). The church is now requiring its missionaries to raise their own support, rather than supporting them from a national level. Missionaries used to be supported by the denomination, from offerings that all individual churches contributed to the national organization. This is a major change, and one that was upsetting to my friend. Perhaps the good Rev Hart from NY can correct me if this is erroneous.
The good Rev Hart isn't a Presby but perhaps he does have some insight.
Brent, thanks for adding your input, I always value your perspective and you make some good points that's making me reassess some of my original thinking. I will be honest that I've always struggled with missions. I never had an issue with providing food, shelter, education and the like, but struggle when missionaries approach my family in Vietnam and tell them they are going to a place called Hell and a way of life they and their ancestors have done for centuries is wrong. I guess that's where grace and compassion comes in regarding the message, but I think you might have a better understanding of what where I'm coming from what I'm trying to say. It reminds me of this old Eskimo quote, though I doubt there's much truth to it actually happening.
Eskimo: 'If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?'
Priest: 'No, not if you did not know.'
Eskimo: 'Then why did you tell me?'
The word "liberal" is often used as a stone to throw at people. It's supposed to conjure up images of Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, and Natalie Maines holding you down with your eyelids pinned open while being forced to look at nude pictures of Hillary Clinton. All the while, a minority welfare recipient talks on his cell phone (THAT HE GOT USING WELFARE MONEY) to President Obama about their upcoming basketball game.
The word "conservative" doesn't seem to carry the same weight, although "far right wing" or "neo-con" is used by the other side to conjure up images of Dick Cheney pulling the plug on your grandmother because if she doesn't have the funds for medical care, she needs to give up her bed to a "worthy" person who does. While Cheney pulls the plug, GWB tries in vain to complete a game of tic-tac-toe with himself while Karl Rove, Bill-O, and Hannity snort power bars.
The point being that the use of perjorative words is not a do-unto-others approach of debating.
"mayonnaise on a hot dog"
~~I think that is one of the biblical reasons for a woman having to live outside the city walls for a spell
The difference in your friends asking for donations and taking government handouts is whether the donation is voluntary or government mandated. Should be an obvious discernment. But then again, liberals don't see that voluntary vs. mandated difference in spending tax dollars.
Larry,
This is the similarity I see . . . my friends were complaining about how they would never ask for a handout and then they themselves were asking for money. To me, their actions conflict their statements by asking people to hand them money so they can go on a mission trip. Your focus is on the one who is handing out, my focus is on the one who is asking.
I do see your point about how people have to pay taxes and have no choice where those dollars are spent and how people take advantage of the system, but that's a different argument. My argument is that my friends basically said they would never ask for money, yet they are now asking for money.
Larry, I don't mind debate and disagreements, and by definition, being liberal means being open to different schools of thought, but I think you can make your point in a more constructive and polite manner. Surely you can see how you ended your comment in a negative tone taking a shot at me, and it was that negativity that got blocked from making comments before. In the past I've felt you've done nothing but troll this website and look for opportunities to take shots at me, but perhaps you never realized that a lot of your previous comments were hurtful, and if that's the case, I'm just going to ask you to examine your comments and consider how they can be interpreted as hurtful. I'd rather not waste my time reading comments that are hurtful to me. Like I said, I don't mind opposing views and disagreements, but if they are going to be posted on my website, then they need to be constructive or respectful and not insulting to me or others. If you disagree, please find another website or don't leave comments.
I've had many of my conservative friends change my view on certain issues and to see things from their perspective, but that was only done with constructive exchange without any insults or negativity. I welcome you to do the same, help me understand your point of view, but please do so without taking punches.
Keith
I think by "handouts" they meant "money taken in taxes" not money given to support a person directly. I think that people that need help should NOT get it from the government unless they have no other choice. BTW, my business is still slow, my wife lost her job, and yet she's not taking unemployment and we're not on food stamps even though we could be. I would ask friends to help me go do ministry, and I have asked our church for help when things are tight.
Hey Paul, I was hoping you could help me understand your point of reasoning a bit more on not taking unemployment or to use food stamps. If I'm hurting financially and just can't make any more income, the last thing I would want to do is burden a friend for resources, as I would know that it's taking away from them and their family on their limited income. If I use assistance from teh government, then I'm not really hurting or impacting family and friends and feel I have to pay them back. I guess I don't see what's wrong for going to the government for temporary help if you have already put money in the system by the taxes you've paid. Not to game the system or anything, but get temporary help until you can get back on your feet again.
(Shaking head) No comment.
■Sometime last year I was at a birthday party and the hosting couple was complaining about how Obama was giving handouts, now they would never accept, and stated that any Obama supporters should just leave. I just kept quiet as to not make a scene, after all, the attention of the party should be the the birthday person and not politics. Last week that couple sent me a letter asking for funds to support them on a mission trip. I’m not sure what’s so different about what they are doing and asking for a handout.
Morals and Ethics would get my vote on the diffrence
"■Sometime last year I was at a birthday party and the hosting couple was complaining about how Obama was giving handouts, now they would never accept, and stated that any Obama supporters should just leave."
Wow, what a fun birthday party!
I would suggest, though, that the "hosts" should have clearly, but tactifully, stated in the invitation that Obama supporters were NOT welcome at their birthday celebration.
"Sometime last year I was at a birthday party and the hosting couple was complaining about how Obama was giving handouts…"
Oh yes oh yes oh yes. I have been in this very spot countless times. In fact, every week I volunteer with wonderful (kind, ultra conservative, white, from 2 parent households that are upper middle class in stable communities) people, who assume I think along the very same party line as they. Just like you I hold my tongue (cowardly, probably) and then go out and vote my heart and Christian convictions.
I try to remember as much as possible the verse from 1 Corinthians 4:7: "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"
Keith,
I have to comment on your response. You throw out your opinion on a public forum and then ask that only like minded people respond? And then you say that those that may be a little harsh are banned from your site. I enjoy reading your blog because it has some interesting tech and science articles often. But then you throw out some liberal feeling emotion based opinion and refuse to take any criticism on the statement. How is that open minded to new ideas?
You emphasize that the liberal view is the most caring and compasionate but then refuse to accept any criticsm from an opposing point of view. I wish that instead of blocking my response, you could just block my access to your website altogether. If you have no stomach for heated debate, then I should just go, as you should have at the birthday party.
Not everything is a debate. TheGeeding is flawed. So are you. Get over it.
You can post an opinion without making negative generalizations about liberals. Perhaps you can't see that's what you are doing, but we do. It's Keith's blog, and he makes the rules, just like I do for mine. If you don't like the rules, don't play the game.
Well said! There's no reason not to keep a civil tongue when debating. Resorting to cheap shots and slurs are uncalled for and just plain rude. One of the reasons I became a reader of this blog was the absence of hate and discontent.
I know I'm coming in late to the discussion, but I had a thought I'd like to share. Obviously, I cannot speak to the intent or the context of your friends' comment about refusing handouts (and I sure hope they were joking about asking people to leave the party!). In my mind, asking for money to support a mission trip is usually more about supporting the church/God/ministry than it is about giving money to an individual. To invite someone to help raise money for me to go on a mission trip is to invite him or her to participate in the work I will be doing. Some think everyone should physically do the work of missions, but I believe financial support is a valid expression of faith. Yes, I can and should spend some of my own money; but, there's biblical precedent to seeking the assistance of the church (universal) for the (individual) work of missions. And, the work of missions is not limited to that which is only overseas or across cultures – God's mission is bigger than that. I would argue that all Christians should be involved in missions, whether by volunteering locally, giving financially or literally going to the ends of the earth to serve needs and preach the gospel.
Interestingly, at least in regards to your context I think, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has recently made a policy change regarding missions (if my elder friend is to be believed). The church is now requiring its missionaries to raise their own support, rather than supporting them from a national level. Missionaries used to be supported by the denomination, from offerings that all individual churches contributed to the national organization. This is a major change, and one that was upsetting to my friend. Perhaps the good Rev Hart from NY can correct me if this is erroneous.
The good Rev Hart isn't a Presby but perhaps he does have some insight.
Brent, thanks for adding your input, I always value your perspective and you make some good points that's making me reassess some of my original thinking. I will be honest that I've always struggled with missions. I never had an issue with providing food, shelter, education and the like, but struggle when missionaries approach my family in Vietnam and tell them they are going to a place called Hell and a way of life they and their ancestors have done for centuries is wrong. I guess that's where grace and compassion comes in regarding the message, but I think you might have a better understanding of what where I'm coming from what I'm trying to say. It reminds me of this old Eskimo quote, though I doubt there's much truth to it actually happening.
Eskimo: 'If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?'
Priest: 'No, not if you did not know.'
Eskimo: 'Then why did you tell me?'
The word "liberal" is often used as a stone to throw at people. It's supposed to conjure up images of Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, and Natalie Maines holding you down with your eyelids pinned open while being forced to look at nude pictures of Hillary Clinton. All the while, a minority welfare recipient talks on his cell phone (THAT HE GOT USING WELFARE MONEY) to President Obama about their upcoming basketball game.
The word "conservative" doesn't seem to carry the same weight, although "far right wing" or "neo-con" is used by the other side to conjure up images of Dick Cheney pulling the plug on your grandmother because if she doesn't have the funds for medical care, she needs to give up her bed to a "worthy" person who does. While Cheney pulls the plug, GWB tries in vain to complete a game of tic-tac-toe with himself while Karl Rove, Bill-O, and Hannity snort power bars.
The point being that the use of perjorative words is not a do-unto-others approach of debating.
I like what you promote Geeding.
I'd like to shake your hand, I sure appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.