This situation with Haiti is a real heart-breaker. As you know the tragedy was compounded because of two factors. For a seven point 0 earthquake it was a “shallow” one, increasing the ground force. Also the structures were not well built. Buildings from the government palace to a prison, to other government buildings were destroyed. If our own Capital were devastated like this, we would not like it one bit. ABC news was expanded to a full hour and I watched it all. I guess there is one Hatian radio station still broadcasting and at night, apparently, people from New York can pick it up. Bill Clinton made a pitch over the airwaves for help. I guess that Aristeed guy was a good guy brought in by Clinton, but he’s gone now. Of course our prayers go out to those people. But sometimes I wonder whether we are praying to the wrong God. Pat Robertson said that Haiti as much as got what they deserve because two hundred years ago they made a pact with the Devil to be able to drive out the French. One wonders as did Stephanie Miller, just how the Devil could be quoted word for word, unless Pat Robertson was actually there. Pat Robertson risks damaging his own standing with God not to mention his own credibility, if he continues to have the sort of statements like he has on Haiti. Stephanie Miller joked that P R is proving Atheists are proven right in that if there was a God, he would be striking Pat Robertson dead for making a statement like "these Haitians made their bed so let them lie in it". Some will say that the Dominican Republic, that shares the other half of the Hispanola island, has fared much better, but perhaps this is because that country has not tolerated the corporate exploitation- - the way Haiti has.
But I would like to generalize a bit now to indicate my overall disgust for those who come up with “creative” reasons for not giving. First of all if anything on the Stephanie Miller was true, then Rush Limbaugh and others on the right only see race, and see Haiti as “a black problem” and fellow Blacks like Obama will use the incident to boost their own popularity. You know I happened to wonder – if a church were raising money for relief, would it make sense to refuse to give because you heard a roomer that the pastor’s wife bought a Lotto ticket every night at the local Quicky Mart? You could go “Well, if you added up all the money she has spend on Lotto for a year it would amount to more than I was going to give anyhow, so I’m off the hook”. Of course then there is Chuck Smith’s statement of “You know really, some of the biggest money worshippers are the Poor, and I’ve found that rich people have actually Transcended their need for Money”. One thing I have found and that is the poorer I get, the more value I place on money – and probably the few moral scruples as to how you could get it. Many people such as Dr. Levy call Al Gore a hypocrite because his house in Nashville is not “green” or energy efficient. But this is bogus logic. Because a person is morally inconsistent – it does not invalidate the moral principle being taught. For instance if adultery is Wrong, it will be wrong even if the preacher like Jimmy Swaggart preaching against it, himself has “fallen into temptation”. It’s only when Christians teach notions that are completely bogus to begin with that raises my moral hackles. For instance preachers who teach “Just pray all the time and go to Wednesday night bible studies- and you’ll be amazed at how God will prosper you in ways you never imagined”. But have you thought about the fact that an Ape is smarter than a Christian, or at least more logical. You’ve heard the adage, “monkey see – monkey do”. Well, a chimp will learn the “right” way to perform a task and teach ot to other chimps, even seven cycles out- - and this is true even if that is not the ONLY way to perform the task, they will do it the way they are taught. But the last thing Christian preachers want is to have their own behavior “mirrored” in their congregation. As some will even admit, “one of me is enough”. Their job is not to teach to equip you, the saint; their job is to say things to beguile you and “tickle your ears” so the pastor will become the object of worship. What Jesus of KFI and others seem to want is sort of a “Stepford Saint” where your normal DNA is sucked out, and instead there is this zombie Christian with no feelings or impulses of his own. The ape is smarter in another way. Because apes, like small pre school children, have a natural urge not only to teach others, but also to help others. But as you have seen, this impulse to help seems to be absent from people on the right. My own family has some very “creative” reasons why they don’t give me money. They say “Well, you are on SSI and it’s against the law to give you money”. But this same person said to me when I was preparing to get on SSI the following, “Just take this step of getting on SSI and you’ll never again have another financial problem”. Last night it was Jeopardy and the Simpson’s and then the thing on Apes. Simians have a basic problem with abstract concepts such as light and heavy. Often three and four year old children learn at a hundred times the speed of an ape when it comes to sorting objects. The one thing apes are good at as “which cup has the ball under it”. They are good at abstractly following objects they can’t see. And they are keen on facial expressions and seem big on “reading faces”. They also make sure they aren’t being seen when they steal grapes from you. Yeah. Apes do nice things, like share watermelon, to impress females.
Tuesday night it was Jeopardy and the Simpson’s and then Egyptian boat building and how their methods are fundamentally different from “modern” ship builders. Instead of using a basic frame and light planks to fill out the boat, they use heavy planks and fit them together like puzzle pieces using pegs for nails. Some have theorized that because of an absence of tar or grout, that they sink the ships so water will swell the planks to make them fit more tightly. The Egyptians traded with people across the Medeteranian thousands of years ago- - as far back as the Old Kingdom 3rd millennium B C.
Yesterday morning I had Drive radio on, and they were doing 1985. I have regarded 1985 as you know, as the "last year" of the "Classic Rock era.
In the night I woke with nausea. I thought I was getting a full on case of the intestinal flue where that “uneasy feeling” gets worse and worse till you vomit. That didn’t happen. I thought “perhaps if I just lie here and get a little more sleep I’ll feel better”. And that’s just what happened. As a response to this I decided it might be unwise for me to get a big cup of coffee this morning. I tried to turn on the TV but it would not go on, even gray screen, till about seven o clock. By that time I just let it stay that way and “simmer” till I turned it on after breakfast. I have FOX on. We had oatmeal for breakfast, without sugar, and toast with butter and jelly, and a fried egg. I took my medication ahead of time, and I also had Andrew’s orange juice. In fact, I even had a second cup of coffee. I still have thirty dollars, in three tens.
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