inothernews:bowlingalleylawyer:randyhaddock:

Start counting to 50,000, out loud. And as you’re counting, be fully aware that each number is a precious life lost in the Haiti earthquake. Someone’s mom, someone’s dad, someone’s grandpa, someone’s grandma, someone’s sister, someone’s brother, someone’s uncle, someone’s aunt, someone’s daughter, someone’s son, someone’s friend.

You’ll be counting for almost 14 hours straight. If the 100,000 death toll is accurate, you’ll be counting for more than a day — uninterrupted.

We haven’t had a tragedy of this magnitude on this side of the world in a
very long time. The death tolls from these types of tragedies are so
mind-numbingly big that it can be easy to see these figures as merely
numbers.

When I think about the pain and suffering that a single death can cause, I simply cannot imagine the pain and suffering that our neighbors in Haiti are
feeling right now. When I think back to the pain we all felt as a country on 9/11, I’m left with no words when I see the devastating images coming from
Haiti.

Relative to population, their loss is equivalent to roughly 1,500,000 deaths here in America. Double that if the death toll is 100,000. All that loss in a matter of minutes. And that’s not to mention the people who are still trapped under the rubble waiting to be rescued and people who will die from disease if they don’t get help.

These are tough economic times for all of us. Every dollar counts in today’s tight budgets. You don’t have to give a lot. Actually, if every one of us gave 10 dollars, that would be more than 3 billion dollars in aid to Haiti.

So, can you spare 10? That’s what, lunch? Skip it. It’ll be the best fasting you’ll ever do. Trust me.

DONATE: American Red Cross - Haiti Relief and Development

superpoop.

We can’t stop here, this is koop country! Etc.

wendyscho:

thereblogmonster:

Shit, Wendy, why you gotta do a thing? He didn’t claim that anyone was going to force the Catholic Church to do anything and he’s obviously intelligent enough to understand the distinction between Catholics and Christians. He also clearly stated that all people of all sexualities should be treated with charity, which is a hell of a lot more than you’re giving him. You have no evidence of homophobia here, only a definition of homosexuality based on Catechism rather than empirical study. As long as the U.S. government ensure my rights, who cares what a Catholic blogger thinks of my sexuality! The point is he doesn’t expect the government to enforce Church law just as I don’t expect the government to try and force broader equality into Catholic marriages.

Peace to you, fearlesswriter. FTH.

“treated with charity”, yes, I read that. It is what I found most offensive, which I dealt with in my last reblog. That kind of thinking is not only condescending, but leads to a “Pray Out the Gay” philosophy, which I find so horrible and scary I could liken it to the holocaust. I’ve seen a lot in my life, and the LGBT has come a LONG way since I was young, but the fact is, there’s a long way to go here, and we don’t get there by forgetting what the road was like coming down it. When you were in high school, people were openly out, in college you have LGBT social clubs, etc. When I was that age, out in high school meant you got beaten up DAILY. If you weren’t, and they suspected,  it meant you got bullied, just for wearing doc martens. AIDS was viewed as God’s way of punishing the gays, a cleansing fire, if you will. I know I kind of jumped all over this, but it’s a sore spot for me both personally and objectively. I might be the only gay conservative on tumblr, but I’m too old a person to stay quiet when I feel threatened.

I understand where you are coming from, but directing your anger in this case is working against your cause. No amount of LGBT activism will change the Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality, only the Church itself can do that, and I doubt we’ll see that in even my grandchild’s lifetime.

This guy didn’t say anything about pitying homosexuals. He said that everyone should be treated with sensitivity and respect. In the eyes of the Catholic Church and most of Christianity, everyone is a sinner and should be treated with charity and kindness. Attacking a Catholic for standing by his religion when he openly states his acceptance of secular same-sex marriages and homosexuals only exacerbates the problem.

wendyscho:

thereblogmonster:

fearlesswriter:

I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and if the federal government chooses to allow gay marriage, then I hope it will respect the Christian tradition of the Catholic Church’s Sacrament of Matrimony and understand that we are not discriminating.

As for “condition,” the previous two teachings in the Catechism state that homosexuality “remains largely unexplained” and that Sacred Scripture holds “homosexual acts to be intrinsically disordered” because it closes the “sexual act to the gift of life.” Again, regardless of their being Christians or not, “They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.”

I won’t beat around the bush. If some people find Christianity offensive because of the Sacrament of Matrimony, despite the Church’s charity to all people, then so be it; my hope is in the Lord, that if we are truly people of good will, then our paths will lead us to the love of the Lord. Peace. [:

I think this is fantastic, as a pagan and a homosexual who hopes to be married one day. There can be peace in diversity if we open our hearts to it. Thank you for your respect, compassion, and sensitivity: I will strive to accept those who disagree with me in the same manner. Again, this is just wonderful.

Um….this neatly fails to acknowledge this little thing we have in our country called “Separation of Church and State.” The government is not going to force you to perform marriages in your church, unless we suddenly also start teaching scripture in schools. Also, NOT ALL Christian faiths beleive that homosexuality is a sin. Remember those old questions on your standardized  tests?

21. True or False

If ALL Catholics are Christians, the ALL Christians are Catholics.

A. True

B. False

C. If you don;’t know the answer, then you are not as much of a Christian as you’d like us to believe; you’re just a homophobe hiding behind your messiah.

Shit, Wendy, why you gotta do a thing? He didn’t claim that anyone was going to force the Catholic Church to do anything and he’s obviously intelligent enough to understand the distinction between Catholics and Christians. He also clearly stated that all people of all sexualities should be treated with charity, which is a hell of a lot more than you’re giving him. You have no evidence of homophobia here, only a definition of homosexuality based on Catechism rather than empirical study. As long as the U.S. government ensure my rights, who cares what a Catholic blogger thinks of my sexuality! The point is he doesn’t expect the government to enforce Church law just as I don’t expect the government to try and force broader equality into Catholic marriages.

Peace to you, fearlesswriter. FTH.

fearlesswriter:

spinmyheartintogold:

if you would not mind fw, might i ask what exactly is your stance on same-sex marriage? i’m not quite sure if your statement made your stance clear, and i’m not exactly sure what you meant by ‘condition’.

I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and if the federal government chooses to allow gay marriage, then I hope it will respect the Christian tradition of the Catholic Church’s Sacrament of Matrimony and understand that we are not discriminating.

As for “condition,” the previous two teachings in the Catechism state that homosexuality “remains largely unexplained” and that Sacred Scripture holds “homosexual acts to be intrinsically disordered” because it closes the “sexual act to the gift of life.” Again, regardless of their being Christians or not, “They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.”

I won’t beat around the bush. If some people find Christianity offensive because of the Sacrament of Matrimony, despite the Church’s charity to all people, then so be it; my hope is in the Lord, that if we are truly people of good will, then our paths will lead us to the love of the Lord. Peace. [:

I think this is fantastic, as a pagan and a homosexual who hopes to be married one day. There can be peace in diversity if we open our hearts to it. Thank you for your respect, compassion, and sensitivity: I will strive to accept those who disagree with me in the same manner. Again, this is just wonderful.

(via movieoftheday)

Palmer is wearing The Best Suit Ever today, black-with-white-pinstripes with a white-with-black-pinstripes bowtie.

The Machiavellian revolution in thought is the most important revolution in thought in Western history with the possible exception of Socrates, who founded political philosophy. He begins the modern era of political thought with these things.

The Hebrew bible says that man is born into a garden created by God. God is concerned about man and therefore makes woman for a companion for him. They are not masters of the garden, they do not rule after it. They are to look after it and live in harmony with it. They have an assigned place with limits. They break the rules and suffer dire consequences. The teaching is that human beings ought to accept the limits given to them by God because it is good for them, is what is natural and right. If they follow the rules they will be in God’s favor and live free, happy lives.

Athens teaches that there is right by nature and there are things that are wrong by nature. Nature is the moral standard. Every being that exists has a “telos” or purpose or acme or peak or natural end. “It is the purpose of human beings to act in this or that way, they are meant to do that by nature, so if they don’t it is unnatural (wrong). They ought to be living a life of virtue, and if they are therefore moderate in all things, they will be correct.” Even if man is the measure of all things, he is still not the master of all things. It’s true also that in the Biblical account, the earth and animals are made for man, they are not made to be mastered by him. Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden, not for eating the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, but because God was afraid they would also eat from the tree of life and become Gods. Man is meant to be mortal. The difference between ethics and morality is that a vicious human being (a vice-practicing person) is not operating at his peak or fulfilling his telos, and an immoral human being is one which is judged to be evil according to a certain ideal or set of rules. A virtue allows you to be excellent, a moral tells you what to do.

Christianity, more than classical thought, taught that there is absolute good and evil. The Jewish story is more about living in harmony with nature, while the Christian story is living according to good and evil.

Some myths say that in the Underworld, you get punished for your bad acts in life. The Greeks and Jews mostly believed that you just went to a shadowy existence, but if you were a hero and lived an extraordinary life, you went to the “Isles of the Blessed.” The possibility of punishment was morality.

The biggest difference between Aristotle’s ethics and Christian morals is that humility is a vice in Aristotle’s ethics and pride is a sin in Christianity. Aristotle says blushing is good for a young person as a sign that they desire not to do shameful things but that an adult should not blush because they should learn what a shameful thing is.

In the Prince, Machiavelli rejects the classical Greek ethics, the Jewish ethics, and the Christian morals.

(via fuckyeahsubs)

Seriously, go do that right now.

topherchris:

Last Wind: A heartbroken pug

(found at Reddit)

wendyscho:

(via thereblogmonster)

blood or money?

Money. My iron levels are always too low for the other.