I don’t know who needs to hear this but Neil Diamond, who retired from performing five years ago because of Parkinsons, just had a Broadway show of him open and it at the opening night he did this pic.twitter.com/eJ02YUAzr5
— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) December 6, 2022
What this article suggests wouldn’t be so sad if it wasn’t so true:
The point of Mefferd’s article is that when big name evangelical leaders fall, they (through multiple machinations) are not truly held accountable and often stay in the pulpit (or return quickly).
God can forgive anything. However, if you are a minister (or Christian leader) and you fall certain ways, it permanently disqualifies you from getting back in the pulpit.
Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
– 1 Timothy 3:2, NIV
For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,
– Titus 1:7, ESV
Certain sins make it so we are (permanently) no longer “above reproach” and, thus, disqualified. If we repent, we are forgiven, but that does not wash away the disgrace we brought upon our ministry and, worse, upon the name of the One we serve.
If it is possible,
as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18, ESV)
For I am sure that
neither death nor life,
nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present
nor things to come,
nor powers,
nor height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
– Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)
Is this, at least mostly, true? (In no way am I sharing it to say what was done to Native Americans was “okay.”)
From the new film Tár. Props to Todd Field for writing this little monologue. pic.twitter.com/LMIEn8ZQKQ
— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) November 17, 2022
Why are they asking for amnesty? Perhaps because nothing will prevent things like this from finally coming out:
The gotcha is that they cannot claim ignorance. People literally warned of these results and were treated horribly by those who smugly claimed “science” was on their side.
P.S. The underlying story that generated the article above is this:
I would think what this survey found was problematic, even if I wasn’t a white guy:
You should read the whole thing, but…
Key findings include:
- 52% believe their company practices “reverse discrimination” in hiring
- 1 in 6 have been asked to deprioritize hiring white men
- 48% have been asked to prioritize diversity over qualifications
- 53% believe their job will be in danger if they don’t hire enough diverse employees
- 70% believe their company has DEI initiatives for appearances’ sake
And I question even the “good news”:
The good news is that the vast majority of hiring managers ‘somewhat’ (30%) or ‘strongly’ (67%) believe their company has overall good intentions when it comes to DEI initiatives.
Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Lest I be misunderstood: I believe there are benefits to diversity and that everyone should be (and feel) included. I am cautious about the word “equity,” given what it can really mean, but am 100% behind equality.
However, discrimation is discrimination, and it is both illegal and immoral.
Am I the only one who thinks the Alfred E. Neuman and Donald Trump Funko Pops are strikingly similar? 🙂
Part of the argument for “COVID-19 amnesty” is that we didn’t know early on how COVID-19 behaved or what the outcomes/effectiveness of certain approaches would be. Is that true?
You should watch this video. It’ll lift your spirits.
I could have added this as an update to an earlier post today, but it deserves its own entry. Well-written, thoughtful piece by Mary Harrington:
The penultimate paragraph:
We all knew every pandemic policy would come with trade-offs. The lawn-sign priesthood forbade any discussion of those trade-offs. I don’t blame the class that so piously dressed their own material interests as the common good, for wanting to dodge the baleful looks now coming their way. But no “amnesty” will be possible that doesn’t acknowledge the class politics, the corruption of scientific process, the self-dealing, and the self-righteousness that went to enforcing those grim years of lawn-sign tyranny.
P.S. That may be the first time I’ve ever used the word “penultimate.” Did I do it right? 🙂
UPDATE: Francis Turner has a point:
I’m willing to forgive people but has to be a quid pro quo that is an acknowledgement that there is something to forgive.
Thought for today: Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want
Quote from Brian Johnson’s new book, “The Lives of Brian” (Brian is AC/DC’s lead singer.)
P.S. The Audible version is a “must have”…Brian does his own narration!
In this article:
It has an interesting prerequisite to forgiveness:
After watching this video, I was reminded of the “Three R’s” of forgiveness promoted by Dr. Laura Schlessinger, talk show host, and author. She was one of my must-listen-to hosts in the early 1990s…
The approach Schlessinger offered to avoid “toxic forgiveness” involved Remorse (expressing real regret), Repair (taking action to fix the consequences of behavior), and Not Repeating the action.
That is worth considering.
You can hear one of the authors, Lee Fang, discuss the article with Tucker Carlson here:
More commentary here:
There are few terms more calculated to cause a political ruckus than “deep state.” Since the start of Donald Trump’s presidency almost six years ago, “deep state” has been a catchphrase for anything connected with the U.S. government that is opposed to Republicans .
For a few reasons, I broadly oppose the use of the term. But now we have incontrovertible evidence that, since President Joe Biden took office almost two years ago, powerful federal agencies have acted in exactly the manner that many Republicans feared. They’ve colluded with Democrats and Big Tech companies against free speech and conservative interests.
UPDATE: This is a worthwhile read: Read More
Although I would put this “happiness formula” first…
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33, NIV).
…this one from Scott Adams (in <em>How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big</em>) seems pretty good:
Recapping the happiness formula:
Eat right.
Exercise.
Get enough sleep.
Imagine an incredible future (even if you don’t believe it).
Work toward a flexible schedule.
Do things you can steadily improve at.
Help others (if you’ve already helped yourself).
Reduce daily decisions to routine.
What do you think? How do you rate? (I’ve got a ways to go on quite a few of them.)
(Cross-posted on my 30 Day Quest blog.)
Short version…
In my group circuit class, Wednesdays used to be recover day. They stopped that last week. So, as a result, I now wear Protest Pink each Wednesday. 🙂
The owners of The Athlete District took this photo of me this morning:
(Cross-posted on my 30 Day Quest blog.)
This is cute:
Although, I enjoy this equivalent-of-sorts from Jewel even more:
