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The Sweet Before The Sour

deeppillowtalk87 — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:54:49 +0000

There is one thing I don’t like about some people in the South: they are very polite, and sweet; but, the minute they discover something about you that they don’t approve of, they become a little “sour” towards you. And I don’t mean this post to be taken the wrong way. There are tons of lovely people in the South. It’s just the select few who still have a warped way of thinking.

I have had people talk to me one minute, find out I’m gay–and, all of the sudden, they drop off the face of the planet. Or, against my will, the lectures start on the sin of homosexuality. However, the worst is when they still talk to you, but the fake smiles start showing up. The ones that are so forced it looks painful. And, then there is the I am gonna be sweet to your face, but I am going to talk major shit about you, behind your back.

I have notice that this is particularly true about the younger set in small towns. When there is not much to do, gossiping is a popular activity. Be careful who you share your deep dark secrets with. Before you know it, everyone knows your business. Unfortunately, I have had this happen to me a couple of times, before I learned my lesson. Boredom=gossip. Which means, I have to be very selective with who I talk to. It’s sad that I have to do that. But, it’s a known fact around here. People can’t keep their mouths shut if–even if their lives depended on it.

I can handle the formal sweetness that runs throughout the South. It’s very refreshing and pleasant. But, what I can’t stand is all the sourness that, sometimes, goes along with it. And, like I said earlier, it’s not everyone in the South. I don’t want to be accused of stereotyping. But backwars thinking does still exist down here; and it’s hard to get away from.

-Evan

Before We Were Smarter.

Dondi Virrey — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:01:10 +0000

“You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14 (NIV)

When we read and study the ten commandments, some of us would think that why are these even mentioned. Isn’t it obvious that we aren’t supposed to do it.

I remember when I was a kid, I remember that the norm then was being conservative. We enjoyed certain freedoms naive or untarnished by so-called liberal thought. I don’t recall malice as prevalent as it is now as when I was a kid.

Now, being conservative is out and liberalism is in. We see more and more people doing the corollary of what our grand parents or our parents did. Being old-fashioned became an insult and a judgement on people refusing to evolve with the times. Thus, conservative thought was equated with backwards thinking and considered an “extinctive” way of thinking. The conservative was easily discredited and ignored, considered simply too old.

We have to admit that although liberalism championed a lot of great causes, still when man takes a pure concept into the extreme and radical, that thought will and shall be corrupted. Thus, we see more and more the “theory of consenting adults” in practice.

I am here to state the obvious. Thou shall not commit adultery. When you are married to someone, you belong and are one with your spouse. That union doesn’t have a window. That union is exclusive, close and shut. Also, married people are to be responsible and should exhibit ownership for their own spouses. I will love her as I would love myself. (In marriage that amazing commandment is best exercised.) In marriage, Christ becomes the center of the relationship. Through Him and in Him, my marriage will never have occurred. God is the author. He made the best things happen. We are the ones who destroy it.

When we were young we were taught that God is love. And God sent His only begotten son to save us from our sins. We knew that love is pure and great. That we all have to be loyal and faithful in a relationship. When we were kids things were more simple and obvious. We love someone. We are faithful to that person, only to that person. We are to do good things for that person. We will not hurt that person. We will truly love that person.

Let us look back at how pure and beautiful we were then. And, lets ask God to restore that state of wonder and awe. Let us ask God to restore our innocence. Let us ask Him to take away all the fears and distrust we have in our hearts. Let us ask God to help us focus on the simple acts with no wickedness. Let us ask God for that childlike love to bless us. And through His love, we can bless others allowing all of us to feel the joy, the excitement, the rising anticipation as He unravels His love to us.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1 Corinthians 13 4-7 (NLT)

CounterThink

AttractingWellness — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 20:35:21 +0000

President Under Pressure

JamieCurtisBaker — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:04:00 +0000

Yesterday, President Barack Obama shocked the citizens of the United States of America by openly stating in a very public forum that he supports gay marriage. My Twitter feed was full of 140 character messages from people all over the country congratulating him on this landmark statement. I was excited too. Let’s face it, gay people should be treated equally. Regardless of personal beliefs that anyone has against homosexuality, the fact remains that persecuting someone for being different fell to the wayside right around the time we left England because they wouldn’t let us worship the way we wanted. This country was founded on the distinct possibility that every citizen deserves the undeniable right to be what and who they choose to be. I have nothing whatsoever against gay people. I have gay friends and have gone to gay clubs and had a fun time just dancing and being silly. In fact, I’d wager to say that most gay people I know are generally happier than most straight people I know. I am straight and married a woman. And I think anybody who is sincerely in love has the right to be with that person in every way possible. Sensually, intimately, emotionally, physically; and most important, legally. Gay people should have the same fundamental rights as any other sect of human society. They aren’t asking for much, just a piece of paper verifying they can spend the rest of their lives with the person they live. So Obama stepping up to the plate and saying something that should have been buried and resolved decades ago is a monumental occasion. However, I couldn’t help but take it at partial face value.
As great as this moment was, anybody with half a brain cell can see what the president is doing. And it tarnishes the message of equality he was trying to portray. This year is election year. In November, we go to the polls and cast our votes for the next four years. Obama has been in office four years and waits until about six months prior to his reelection to come out (no pun intended) and make this statement. It seems like a nice piece of bait to woo voters to his side. Why didn’t he push this platform on his first campaign? Why hasn’t he made this an issue the last three years? This is what concerns me at this late date. Equal rights for the gay community is vitally important in establishing the rules of freedom this country is built upon. However, to casually toss such a serious issue into an interview on the hopes of swaying a vote is a travesty. If Obama is sincere, then we can all smile and say thankya. However, if he is standing on the shoulders of gay society and using the platform to propel his campaign then he should be ashamed of himself.
Regardless, I am excited that he at least said it publicly. That it’s out there making headlines. I believe in equality. And I’m glad the President claims to as well. He was quoted as saying “For me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” Wonderful. Terrific. But if it’s such a personal issue, why are we just now hearing about? I digress, because the real issue is that the majority of politicians are still against gay marriage. Mitt Romney, the dead horse the Republicans are hanging all their chips upon, said following the President’s announcement, “I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.” Now that is about as old fashioned as you can get. Romney is thinking backwards. The country recently elected its first black president. There is no more room going forward for progressive politics. It isn’t business as usual. The country is coming around to diverse changes. And the Republicans seem hellbent on ignoring change. This isn’t the 1930′s anymore. It’s 2012, and we are headed to a brighter future. But to get there we need more change.
Change is never easy. And usually the populace is dragged through the process kicking and screaming. Eventually, though, we come to realize that change is necessary. Change is good. It might have been a better message had the President waited to be elected a second term and then dropped the gay rights into his January Presidential State of the Union Address. But he didn’t, so as much as I read about it groaning (thinking in the back of my mind what a shameless plug it is), at least we have the issue being openly debated. And finally the most important man in the nation endorses the right for two people in love to get married. Let’s face it, J. Edgar Hoover was a closet homosexual, but he never took an open stance on it. And he was never President. For the first African-American heritage president to openly defend the rights of the gay community sends a message to Congress and to lawmakers all over the country. The time for change is now. The status qua should never be about segregation or about turning your nose up at a certain segment of society.
So what is the argument against gay marriage? Let’s discuss the other view and see if we can’t poke holes in their “theories”. There are those who vehemently argue that marriage is a “religious act”. Okay, fair enough. You get your information from the two pages you read from the Bible after Google searching “what does the Bible say about marriage?”. Well, I’ll use myself as an example. I’m an Atheist. And so is my wife. We are legally married. God plays no part in our marriage. But love does; and loyalty; and unity. Okay, so maybe I’m being biased there. We’ll expand on the argument. Marriage is a religious affair, as many claim. And they also claim that marriage can only be performed by an ordained minister. But that isn’t entirely true either. I could go online right now, pay a small fee, and get ordained to perform legal marriages in all 50 states. (I’m an Atheist, remember?) There are no guidelines or rules that prove a basis for marriage as a sacred, religious ceremony. That argument is debunked. Using the Bible as an argument to persecute someone is the ultimate betrayal of freedom. This country offers no end to rights for people to worship as they choose. Shouldn’t those people help others get the same types of freedom?
The other big (Republican) argument is that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Why? Who says? Again, we are basing all of our “facts” on words that come from a book written about two thousand years ago. This same book tells people not to wear more than one fabric in your clothing. We all do. That same book tells us not to cut our hair or shave. We all do. This same book tells us that if a man cheats on his wife he should be put to death. Oddly, there’s no law that I’m aware of that enforces this. I’m not trying to make fun of religious beliefs. (Honest.) But it needs to be pointed out that the Bible is chock full of insanely bizarre “laws” that existed in another time and place. We don’t still sacrifice humans to appease the skies. We don’t publicly stone people to death. And we don’t burn witches at the stake. It’s 2012, and we are governed by the modern age, not by some ancient relic of a church-driven society. A marriage should be between two people who can prove they are in love. Two people that can show on a daily basis that their two paths have converged to move forward while supporting and bettering each other. Wedlock should be cherished as the unification of two hearts, regardless of the physical flesh that contains those hearts.
Just as early settlers deserved freedom from taxation without representation; just as slaves deserved to be more than 3/5ths a man; just as children deserved laws against being taken advantage of in the workplace; just as women deserved the right to vote; just as black people deserved to use the same toilets and drink from the same water fountains as everyone else; so does, then, the gay community deserve the right to marry and have it recognized as legal by the United States government. Gayness isn’t a disease anymore than black skin is a physical ailment. People are people, regardless of their views or beliefs. Live and let live, and never for a minute think that you are above another citizen simply because you lay down with the opposite sex. The human race is colorless and classless. We all share the same wants and needs. We all want to go home at the end of the day to a comfortable bed and a loving embrace. And if two men or two women can turn a house into a home, turn a flame into a fire, turn two souls into a happy life-force, then by all means let them. Who is anyone to stand in the way of love?

NORTH CAROLINA--NO MARRIAGE RIGHTS FOR GAYS=BACKWARDS THINKING

nearlynormalized — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:04:31 +0000

I love this; in North Carolina you can marry your first cousin but oh no, Gays and Lesbians have no legal rights to marry. There is so much more happening in this world, that the right to marry has to be denied is beyond ignorant. Oh well; take the $$$ and run.

Rape in the Military

mtlskeptic — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:06:55 +0000

Liz Trotta did an interview/commentary on Fox News about rapes in the military. It’s a vomit-inducing rant about how the army should have expected rapes to go up when they allowed women in the military because, apparently, putting women and men in close contact automatically leads to rape. I’m not sure who should be more insulted: the women or the men.

On the one hand, she’s basically saying that men are incapable of self-control when put in proximity to women. That’s pretty bad. It’s almost like accusing men of being unthinking savages completely controlled by their sexual desires. If that’s really the case though, why aren’t all men rapping women on the street. They are in close contact with each other. Why isn’t 5th avenue one big rape-fest?

On the other hand, she’s basically saying that the women are asking for it just by being in the military. That’s a terrible thing to say about people who want to serve their country. It’s a terrible thing to say about anyone. No one ever asks for rape. Making comments like that only perpetuates the backwards thinking that continues to minimize rape in our society. The answer is never to avoid the situations, by preventing women from serving in the military for example. What we need to do is educate people. We need to teach people to work with each other in high pressure situations and not take out their stress on each other. We need to make it ok to report rape when it happens. We need to support raped soldiers, not treat them as if they have done something wrong. We need to make them understand that it does not make them weak, or any less of a soldier, if they are raped.

That’s another problem. Not only do we have a habit of blaming the victim, but we blame them for being victims. There seems to be this thought that somehow being a victim of rape makes someone less of a person. The stigma is even worse for soldiers. They are supposed to be tough, fearless, able to fend off any attack. It’s even harder for them to come forward because they will feel like even more of a failure. We have to work on that. We need to support soldiers because they risk their lives to defend our way of life.

Who was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? A Child's Perspective

Orland Park Mom — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:38:50 +0000

My kids are home today and grateful for the day off of school. I wondered what they knew about the

MITT, MITTMAN, MIGHTY LESS MITT, SLEAZE, BS'R, YOU ARE A LIAR!!! HATE AND NO ARE THE REPUBLICANS VOICE

nearlynormalized — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:05:45 +0000

Portraying honor, that is what this handsome sleaze is doing…How many sons does he have and have they put on any other uniform except black pants and peddled a bicycle? Answer is no. Bottom line to all the BS floating around is even though Obama is President, Republicans won’t let anything go right while he is President; that has been the goal of the Republican Party. Now the ABA (American Bar Association) is using its political clout to trash many of the judicial candidates that Obama has proposed. We are going backwards in this country, does anybody care about our future? Defracking is not the answer. You know that sleaze ass penguin, Karl (I was raised in Utah) Rove is the mastermind behind this BS.

This ramble is just that, a ramble after a fine cup of tar-like coffee. Off to the woods, to grandmas home, maybe I’ll see a wolf.

“You saw difficulties…deprivations, and pain as to be avoided instead of as the blessings of Divinity.” – The 13th Prasad from the Planetmates

sillymickel — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:00:20 +0000

Breaking with Divinity, Resisting Divine Assistance

Planetmates Release The Thirteenth Prasad

Nomadic to sedentary switch was significant for 2 reasons with long-term dire consequences for all Earth Citizens including you.

Duck is First Consciousness at The Thirteenth Prasad.

"You saw difficulties, obstacles, even struggles, deprivations, and pain, as to be avoided instead of the blessings of Divinity, who through these means directs, teaches, and guides us...."

The Thirteenth Prasad – Breaking with Divinity

This drastic switch from nomadic to sedentary life ways was significant for two crucial reasons, each with dire consequences for the long term of all Earth Citizens, including yourself:

The first crucial reason is that the ending of your nomadic life meant a near total break with Divine Providence—whose purposes are twofold:

First and foremost the continued perfect direction and guidance of lives towards the growth and life ways that are optimal to each Earth Citizen, as determined by the Divine, what you call God –

For by Divine Guidance all Earth Citizens in Nature are led to their ultimate fulfillment and spiritual progress through the exigencies of what you call fate but what is actually the Divine Hand of Guidance and benevolent Teaching. Hereafter, with your crazed, backwards thinking, you would determine your ends, and would resist Divine attempts to assist you.

You saw difficulties, obstacles, even struggles, deprivations, and pain, as to be avoided instead of the blessings of Divinity, who through these means directs, teaches, and guides us in lives to where we end up ever closer and more understanding of our rootedness, rather, identity with the Divine. (to be continued)

Video Commentary by SillyMickel Adzema

What follows is a video of a reading of The Thirteenth Prasad, with commentary, elaboration, and context, by SillyMickel Adzema.

The issues highlighted in the commentary relate to further separation from Divine Providence—a product of our desire to obsessively control—to reframe life as a pursuit of avoidance of exigencies, obstacles, and pain instead of the way seen by Planetmates wherein all these things are embraced as Divine teachings/guidance of a very personal and loving kind.

“The Thirteenth Prasad” From The Great Reveal by The Planetmates – the audiocast

The link above takes you to the audio-only version of my commentary on The Thirteenth Prasad, exactly as is in the video. Click on the link to go to the the audio site, or you can listen to it here using the audio player below.

http://ecdn0.hark.com/swfs/player_fb.swf?pid=qqrgzdtgkk

Image of The 13th Prasad. “The Great Reveal” By The Planetmates: “Resisting, Defying Divine Assistance”

Paraphrase/ Summary/ Abstract of “The Thirteenth Prasad” — by SillyMickel Adzema

Your change from nomadic to sedentary lifeways had two significant effects on your species, each of which have been instrumental in creating the apocalypse emergency facing you and all other Planetmates today. The first effect was that of severing your connection with the Divine, what you call God, to the point of near total separation. As your Michelangelo painted it, you and the Divine touch the end of a fingertip. This is about right, and quite the fall from grace from what had been and the way it is for ALL other Earth Citizens. Divine Providence serves all Planetmates in two major mays. The first of these is the continued—continued from the womb and birth—the continued perfect direction and guidance of our lives toward the growth and life ways that are the best, as determined by God or the All That Is, for our ultimate fulfillment and spiritual progress. The Divine Hand guides and teaches us along perfect pathways through the exigencies of what you call “fate.” We see difficulties, obstacles, struggles, deprivations, and pain as the teaching tools of the Benevolent Teacher, guiding us toward lives where we end up ever closer and more understanding of our rootedness and, eventually, even identity with God. Whereas, because of your crazed, backwards thinking and your insistence on trying to control your own destinies—however much more difficult that would be since you resisted and even defied Divine Assistance—you did all in your power to avoid the Divine lessons brought to you through the adventures and exigencies of life—what you call hardships and suffering. So, your radical separation from the Divine caused you to mistake always the Divine lessons and blessings for evil, for wrongness. In this way you guaranteed your failure in the game of life; as a species your cumulative failures you piled one upon another as if they were progressive achievements, not the increasing web of disaster that is reaching its culmination today.

Continue on this site with
The Great Reveal, Chapter Twenty-Two:
The Fourteenth Prasad from The Planetmates

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Eighth letter to Wisconsinites - I told you so!!!

StephenM1276 — Fri, 13 May 2011 02:41:58 +0000

Dang it feels good to write that again.

Oh yeah, it does.

This is in regards to the final result of trying to get High Speed Rail for the State of Wisconsin. If you remember, the new rookie Governor Scott Walker rejected almost 800 Million Dollars to link the cities of Madison and Milwaukee together. And he had a some what of an idea, of getting some of the federal rail funds that were already rejected by other states like Florida to upgrade the Amtrak Hiawatha Line linking Milwaukee and Chicago. Most on both sides thought it was good to link a small-medium market city to a gigantic city like Chicago in order to get the rails moving. Well up to today, it seems that link is now dead because the Federal Government will not provide my homestate any federal rail money because of this. Well, the rookie governor says that “he’s dissapointed”. Really?! Rookie Governor, now you know what those looking for work feel. Now he knows what the folks have felt when they were cheated or passed up because of the lack of jobs in the most biggest county in the state. Again, this rail project that most are getting, should have helped those who are looking for work and feed their families. But on the other, if those in Wisconsin who thought that the rail project were to kill “their way of life” per say, then they are sadly mistaken.

Lost opportunities passed up. See this is what happens when “Elections Have Consequences”. Does that sound familiar? It should. Look what is happening. In my past postings I have described this numerous times in numerous examples of why Wisconsin Matters, the unions and etc. But this time on the High Speed Rail issue, this is what Walker will receive in regarding his idea of upgrading the Hiawatha: Nothing. Absolutely Nothing. Just like all the promises will be nothing like new. And I ask again: why is Scott Walker is governor of Wisconsin again? If Tom Barrett or matter of fact, Russ Feingold had the governor’s chair, this would not be a past factor.

And likewise, it is a constant reminder that if Wisconsin would have took the money and left it alone without the use of politics and backwards thinking (that’s right I said it!), the state would have been on the mark and on the move with the use of this infrastructure like everyone who is “on the move”.

Alabama Democratic Conference and Backwards Thinking

mysticcalm — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:49:24 +0000

When Joe Reed, a leader in the Alabama Democratic Conference said America was more ready to vote for a white woman than a black man he was wrong! Obama won and Hilary supported him. His position demonstrated that he was out of touch with the wants of the people. If others had thought the same way he did – race based instead of issues based, then America would have taken a great step backwards. We need a leadership that is willing to set the example and lead the charge by making political decisions that are no longer race or sex based. Unfortunately, the Alabama Democratic Conference with the direction of it leadership, Joe Reed, could not rise above that challenge. Alabama needs a new breed of representation that is proactive and progressive when it comes to political decision making. One must practice what one preaches and not judge by skin color.

The 13th Prasad. "The Great Reveal" by The Planetmates: "Resisting Divine Assistance"

sillymickel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:07:00 +0000

The Thirteenth Prasad

Duck Is First Consciousness at The Thirteenth Prasad