Blog RPS

Today many folks are celebrating Cinco de Mayo.  (Which is NOT the Mexican version of our Independence Day – that’s September 16th.)

But there are a few folks around who remember the significance of yesterday.  It was the 40th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre in Ohio – a day some remember when our own government went to war against its young people right here in our heartland.

It’s easy to toss around George Santanyna’s slogan, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” but I can’t help but wonder – with a huge measure of dis-ease, how similar the following footage appears to so many gatherings and protests we’ve seen recently in our country.

Have we forgotten our history? Or can we see the opportunity to disagree in constructive ways? Worth pondering I think – 40 years and one day later.

One final view – interesting to hear these words from the past from our 37th President – and how they were heard (or not heard).

Click HERE (Embedding on this link is disabled.)

Why have the Boy Scouts officially “jumped the shark?” Because they now have a “video games” merit badge!

More info. HERE.

Scouting just isn’t the same thing it used to be – obviously this has been true for quite a while – but where does a X-box controller “fit” along side making a campfire or learning how to use an axe?  Jeez…

Just like the last post… this video is absolutely amazing. The question is this: Do you REALLY see what’s happening on the stage of the Greek Theater in 2004? If you “get it…” Here’s the question: Why do we see things like this in the world of “entertainment” but so few other places?

Here’s the “other half” of the same equation – and it asks the same question:

Want to see some “real” theology in action? Then just watch. (And think about it – do you REALLY see what’s happening? This is deeper than any “current” music video. It’s also a whole lot deeper than most of the B.S. parading around in most churches as “theological diversity.” That also matters.)

OK:  Sure, I often use Youtube videos to say things – Guilty as charged.

But sometimes there is a truth and reality in these formats… that, like it or not, are sadly missing from your churches.

So… Listen to this powerful song.  But do something as you do:  Substitute in your mind as you listen – the word “ministry” every time you hear “music” or “singing;”  substitute “pastor” or “minister” every time you hear the word “singer.”

And somewhere in all the mix, try to be human enough to really feel the true pathos here.  I know more people for whom this particular metaphor fits than I can count on fingers AND toes.  So who’s to blame for this sorry state of affairs when it comes to the reality of spiritual life?

1973: The Eagles take the US by storm – proving once again the decade was perhaps the best of all in Rock music.

Fast forward 25 years – Hell does freeze over – and we’re right back where we started!

I can’t resist – a little throwback to the 70s when music was…

Tonight I learned that Jaime Escalante died on March 30th.

There might be a bunch of folks who don’t have a clue who he was.  They won’t know that Jaime Escalante changed the world.  By changing his part of it.  Read about him HERE.  The change this one man made at Garfield High School in east Los Angeles is amazing.  Worth noting.

I remember his story mostly because I remember the 1988 movie that told most of us in my generation his story.  Moving… honorable… courageous… astounding… pick your superlative here.  (And Edward James Olmos, who played him in Stand and Deliver even looks like Mr. Escalante!)

Some people should be remembered for who they were as well as what they did.  Jaime Escalante is one of those rare jewels in a world of dross.

R.I.P. Jaime Escalante… Well done thy good and faithful servant!

(Update from the previous post)

It really is worse than I thought… I’m not even sure she can command a 4th grade level command of the English language.  I mean… subject / verb agreement?  Quotes that make sense?  Or the manipulative way she keeps repeating the word “patriotic” like it’s a subliminal message?

You really only have to watch the 1st 4 minutes… You decide for yourselves.

So Sarah Barracuda (I won’t write out her entire name – not going to contribute to ANY Google bombing for her) speaks to a crowd in New Orleans today.

And she continues to attempt to pick a fight with our President – a fight that doesn’t make sense, given that she keeps hearkening back to the “good ole days” of Reagan – when the recent Nuclear Limitation Treaty President Obama signed with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev looks startlingly similar to EXACTLY what Ronald Regan called for during his Presidency.

But… Watching the evening news this eveing I finally figured out why this woman isn’t worth listening to… Wait for it… She actually used the word… “NUCULAR”… just like someone else we all know and love who has no command of the English language.  (At least she didn’t have her notes on her hand this time.)

Find the video and listen carefully.  (I plan to post it here once it’s available.)  And yeah, we want our foreign policy drafted by people who have no command of sixth grade English, right?  Come on folks:  It’s NUCLEAR... not NUCULAR.  And we want to keep 1/3 more warheads than we currently have – which is like 7 or 8 times that required to destroy the entire planet… exactly why?

OK:  I’m done – nothing else this idiot or her fans do is of interest to me.