A true Man of God

You know normally I don't have much use for the blow dried preachers in those Mega-churches with thousands of congregants. They always remind me of Reverend Ike who was a processed hair pimp who had late night commercials when I was a kid. He would have the dirt poor church ladies in Bed Stuy send him nickels and dimes so he could drive a Cadillac. 

Pastor John MacArthur has proven to be a real man of God. He is opening his church and having services even though the Communist government of Los Angles California is fining him $1000 a day and threatening to arrest him. In his own words:

“It has never been the prerogative of civil government to order, modify, forbid, or mandate worship,” said MacArthur and the church’s elder board in their statement. “Freedom of worship is a command of God, not a privilege granted by the state.”

Where is the Catholic Church in this battle to secure our rights to worship freely in the face of government oppression? Nowhere to be found.

I am ashamed of my Church. When this guy can go to jail and the Bishops count their money and diddle altar boys you know that we need a massive cleansing of the temple.

Drug Dealers Lives Matter?

Philippine senators probe killings of hundreds of ‘drug dealers’

By Associated Press

August 22, 2016 | 9:01am

 New York Post


MANILA, Philippines — Philippine senators opened an inquiry Monday into the killings of more than 1,700 suspected drug dealers and users amid a crackdown spearheaded by President Rodrigo Duterte, with witnesses accusing some policemen of gunning down suspects or being involved in illegal drugs.

Sen. Leila de Lima, who heads the Senate justice committee leading the investigation, said that she was worried about the widespread killings, and that law enforcers and vigilantes may be using the crackdown “to commit murder with impunity.”

At least 1,779 drug suspects have been killed, including 712 who were gunned down in clashes with police, with the rest being slain in still-unclear circumstances, possibly by anti-vigilantes, national police chief Director-General Ronald dela Rosa told the senators, adding that he did not condone extrajudicial killings.

"Drug Overdoses Killed More Americans Than Car Crashes or Guns"

"In 2013, the most recent year for which data is available, 46,471 people in the United States died from drug overdoses, and more than half of those deaths were caused by prescription painkillers and heroin. That compares with the 35,369 who died in motor vehicle crashes and 33,636 who died from firearms, as tallied by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Here is how Amsterdam deals with a drug use problem.

Say hello to my little friend?

Pope Francis decided not to chew the coca leaf when he was in Bolivia. At least so far. He did drink a tea made from the coca leaf. According the Daily News "The Pope was served a traditional tea made from coca leaves, chamomile and anise."

Supposedly it was medicinal because the Pope lost the use of one lung in childhood and the high altitude would affect him adversely.

So the pontiff  decided to fight the high altitude with a high attitude.

There is of course no truth to the rumor that the Pope would like to move the Vatican to Cuba. Or Miami.

At least I hope not.

Is ending the War on Drugs the Christian thing to do?

"The New England Conference of United Methodist Churches voted in favor of a resolution on Saturday to call for an end to the Drug War using Christian principles, according to a release from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)."

The resolution states:

In the love of Christ, who came to save those who are lost and vulnerable, we urge the creation of a genuinely new system for the care and restoration of victims, offenders, criminal justice officials, and the community as a whole. Restorative justice grows out of biblical authority, which emphasizes a right relationship with God, self and community. When such relationships are violated or broken through crime, opportunities are created to make things right.”

They then go on to mention an extensive list of concerns and reasons to end prohibition, such as public health, violent trafficking, and countless innocent lives lost or thrown into overcrowded prisons.

Does this mean some sort of gay marriage accommodation is not far behind?