Dogs, Humane Treatment & Humanity

In light of all the uproar over Pres. Obama making a positive comment about Michael Vick (who was convicted of charges relating to dog-fighting) being given a second chance (or redemption as I'd like to call it) -- I have learned one thing:

Dogs would show more humanity towards human beings long before Humans would show human-ness towards each other.

These past few days, I've read countless comments about the Michael Vick story.  Never mind that the fellow served a 2 year sentence and paid for his crime ... or that I do not know of any other case where someone went to Federal Prison for 2 years over a first-time, dog-fighting conviction.  Some called for Vick's career to end, while others said the vilest and the most racist things.  Then, there were the extremist who tried to convince us that they are such great lovers of humanity -- they advocated for the death of Vick!

I don't know if people who take a position for the sake of taking a position ... where they forget to respect and value each other as human beings first and imperfect beings second.   Don't we all fall from grace?  

But we live at a time where it is "me" first ... "my opinion" first ... "mine" first --  so many who will scream at the top of their lungs about the sanctity of human life have so little respect for living beings.

People do make mistakes ... and if we do not offer grace and believe in redemption -- I am afraid this world will not be a place worthy of any form of life.

To me ... life is something that happens from the inside out.

In relation to Michael Vick and the story ... this is a bigger story about the culture of animal fighting and those who do it for money ... and those who engage in it for sport because it is something that has happened for generation­s.

I've often thought that Michael Vick (with his athletic talents and rising stardom at that stage in his new NFL career) could have made money 100-fold through endorsemen­ts alone than dog-fighti­ng.

People make decisions based on so many factors (social, cultural, economic, familial, etc.).

The greater lesson is for us to discuss this and teach our children not just about the sacredness of all living things .... but also about the importance of discernmen­t and making wise choices.

Talent does not mean discernmen­t.  

Yes ... you are right... there's a disconnect between valuing life (animals and people) and everything living.  I imagine that you know someone who shows more love & respect to their dogs than they do to their spouse, children or neighbors?

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

President Obama's comments to the Philadelphia Eagles Owner creates hyperbolic national uproar!

Here's the story (for context): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/27/obama-michael-vick_n_801736.html


This story -- that had more to do about an sports-tea­m owner being recognized for his efforts to create a "more green" stadium  and a simple comment about giving someone a second chance -- seems to have turned into a story that reflects the true state of our Society's tenor.

The comments I've read here have been anything but human -- even though, folks claim to care about animals.  How can you claim to care about an animal while you wish the vilest things for a human being?  

Many comments I've read on other blogs are no different ... they are hateful, disrespect­ful of the President & completely unwilling to even consider the true nature of the call.

1.  This is a season of forgiveness­s, grace, hope and redemption­.  

2.  The President is also the cheerleader in Chief.  There's nothing wrong with him saying something positive about someone being given a second chance -- if they have served their time.  We all fail at some point or another ... and the degree of our sin will be judged by society based on their own biases.  

3.  I would like to know why a man deserves to lose his career for animal cruelty anymore than a man deserves to lose his career for spousal or child cruelty?  I love animals ... own rescue dogs.  

4.  How many other Americans have received 2 yrs imprisonme­nt for animal cruelty-re­lated offenses?

5.  Has this stopped animal cruelty?  Isn't hunting for sport (in the wild and contained areas .. and even from air) still legal?  

6.  Why is it necessary to include racial undertones (some folks) in a story that is supposed to be about caring for the life of an animal?  

The Sparrow

The Sparrow

by

Me

The sparrow is hurting
It is tired and weary
It's wings are leathery
From flying in the winds

The gust, gale and storm
How far must it go on
The wings, they are an aching
The heart, it's a breaking

The sparrow is hurting
The bright sun is beating
Soaring as high as it could
So many woulds and shoulds

Stop little sparrow
There's still a tomorrow
Sit and relax a lined brow
You can rest for a while now

The Sparrow glides down
Glad for the little town
Trees, nests, and wonderful shade
This branch seems tailor-made

Today was a tough day
The rest would be my way
Of letting the heart ache
Be gone with the sunset

Even sparrows dream of flying like Eagles

Mitch McConnell Fights Back Tears On Senate Floor (VIDEO)

And another epiphany ...

In the wake of John Boehner's (incoming Speaking of the House) cry-me-a-river dances and Mitch McConnell's (Senate minority Leader) handkerchief melodrama ...  I have had an epiphany.

The Republican­s are to cry on cue .... because they know that they are about the screw the Middle Class and help out their country-cl­ub buddies.  

These Republican­s aren't crying for the Middle Class ... This is the "we care and we get your pain" message.   All the while hoping that the American people who have been shafted by the Republican­s for so long will focus on the tears of clowns instead of the truth behind Republican policies.

(sorry, Smokey Robinoson)

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Who's That Girl In Your Bed

Who’s That Girl In Your Bed?

Who’s that girl in your bed?

Are feelings so hard

They’re tough as lead

The big bold pathos

Is it all being fed

Who’s that girl in your bed?

Is this going way into your head?

Stoking images of old Ulysses

Hoping you would catch the sting

With such casual promises

Of what she’ll bring to The Wing

Who’s that girl in your bed?

Is your heart already dead?

She says you are a star

Poses with talk so steep 

That she reaches so far

It makes you wanna weep

Who’s that girl in your bed?  

                                   

Is she making you see red?

Does she think she is a Royal

The girl feigns such confusion

You know she cannot be loyal

Your ethos left in contusion

So …

Who’s that girl in your bed?

Does she call you Henry, John, or Ted?

(written about a person I know - after much observation ... but I am sure many women have felt this way at some point in their life).

The Audacity of Grace

So ... if God's grace is enough and we walk in joy that we find in Jesus Chris ... why all the judging, hating, name-calling and declaring of who is saved or unsaved? I am still trying to understand this aspectof some versions of Christianity.

Is it really up to us to decide the innermost happenings of anothers soul? Or is it up to us to offer unconditional love & grace -- because God has already given it to us?

I am not a fancy scripture person; nor am I a perfect Christian (whatever that means). I do know, however, what Grace feels like. I do know that I know that I am loved by the most high God -- not because of what I say or do ... or what scriptures I quote; but simply the Great I Am saw it fit to love me -- exactly where I was because His Grace found me.

I do agree that our battle is not with the flesh; instead, it is of the spirit -- often our own spirits. It is far easier to push our political ideology in the name of Jesus where judging & hate becomes a way of life ... instead of lighting a candle through our own actions.

I'd rather not embrace a Religion; instead, I'd rather live a way of life that is one of humility, kindness, compassion, love that goes to people and all of God's creation (whether it be fauna, flora or creature) ... Grace is such a beautiful thing.

If my salvation comes through a very narrow prism that has to come at the expense of the worth anothers level of "salvation" -- I'd rather not drink that Koolaid.

As I mentioned above - I am no fancy scriptural bard. I don't even always drive the speed limit right on the dot nor pay my debts perfectly. But I do know that I can hug another - no matter what religious, cultural, ethnic, geographic, socioeconomic background they come from and feel God's presence within them flowing towards me.

That is the living Gospel that dares me to allow God do His job in me & through me.

So ... i dare sing Amazing Grace ... because in my darkest of moments -- I discovered Grace not because I was worthy or knew scriptures or understood my "saved-ness" -- but because it was simply given to me as a child of the most High.

The Disgrace of Grace

At a time when there's a big move to call this nation a Christian nation or want to impart Christian-faith based "values", laws and governance -- you always have the Purveyors of ignorance, misinformation or hate-bias, often belittling other faiths or atheists in order to promote the said agendas.  It is worth noting that often the propagators of such hate-based messages do so simply for the sake of making print, attracting higher ratings, or gaining more political clout.  Often, it is a matter of agenda over faith, reality over patriotism. 


So, it is no surprise that ultra right wing Michelle Malkin would write a very misleading hit-piece that would seek to capitalize  on the breaking story about a young Muslim American arrested on suspicion of trying to bomb in Portland.  


The Title of the article: 


"Just another bomb-plotting jihadist yelling :Allahu Akbar!"


Then ... I read the comments posted by Malkin's loyal followers on Facebook.  They were nasty, racist, narrow-minded, uneducated, hate-filled and laced with empty arrogance (i.e. 
Mohamud, meet Bubba!!" by Patrick Burrowes).  There were many who called for a bullet in the young man's head, not allowing Muslims to live in the United States, profiling Muslims ... and just unmentionable kinds of hate.  This was done all in the name of God & country.  But those who talk about Jesus & America ... I never once saw God or Grace.


I could not help but ask:


Do you know what Allahu Akbar Means?


It is the same as me going to Sunday Praise & Worship at Church singing that hymn made famous by Hillsong (a Christian music band): "How Great is our God" ...


Do you know what the word Jihad means?


Simply put, it means "to Strive".  In the religious sense .. it is the striving of the human spirit to reject the ways of the world to be nearer to God.


Do people not see the simplest of truth in all of this?


While not all Muslims are terrorists ... while not all Whites are racists ... while not all Blacks are gangsters ... while not all Christians have historically killed millions in the name of God ... and while not all writers are actual "journalists" ... hate & ignorance is always hate & ignorance.  And it is not exclusive to one particular religion, country or culture.

Our words can heal or hurt.  Our ability to think beyond our own ideology can bless or curse many generations to come -- literally & spiritually.


I ask: did God make Muslims in his image ... just like He made Christians?  Does God love Muslims just like He loves Christians?  what would God expect of us?  Would God want us to lay down our swords of political righteousness and raise-up our arms of Grace?


Grace is best described when you reach out to someone you truly believe does not deserve your kindness, understanding or acceptable.  Because that is what God does for us - daily.

So ... why then is it Disgraceful to offer Grace?  


Why are we - as people - so afraid to consider the possibility of Grace for those we do not like?


Why is it that we find it so easy to tear down another religion or faith in order to legitimize our own?   Does God really need us to legitimize Him?  Or ... is our faith and ability to offer Grace so infantile that we have to use religion as a weapon in order to survive our own sense of insecurities and lack of deep faith?


Grace ... 


By offering grace and willing to lay down our lives for Grace & unconditional love alone -- do we not emulate Christ?  Isn't THAT the antithesis of all things hate?  


While the word Jihad has been used for bad purposes by some extremists within those who practice Islam - can we not be honest and say that even our own Christian faith's Biblical scriptures have been used for extremist purposes such as racism, to oppress nations and justify slavery?


True Christianity takes courage -- the kind of courage that wins the inner battle between our self-loathing, fears, biases and ignorance And God's grace that calls for patience, kindness, hope, unconditional acceptance, love, not dishonoring others, not delighting in evil and more.   


To suggest that we approach our enemies - whether they are in our everyday lives or geopolitical lives - with Grace might sound disgraceful ... but that's just it.  


Grace ... because it encompasses all evil with unconditional love & courage ... is disgraceful in the human realm of existence.


But the choice is ours -- we can live embracing our hate or we can live "striving for" Grace -- that higher place of Godliness.

Dr. Laura Thinks Satellite Radio will make her hate & hypocrisy more legitimate!

While "Doctor" Laura may feel that the First Amendment is limited on the normal airwaves -- because her sponsors responded to her N-word ranting earlier this year ... and that switching to Satellite radio would protect her freedoms ... we aren't fooled.  Schlessinger cares more about making money and less about the First Amendment, Freedom of Speech or truly Helping People.


Dr. Laura, who pretends to be a therapist on the radio is no therapist; instead, she is a radio entertainer -- much like Beck, Palin or Limbaugh -- who has used her notoriety to legitimize her message & make money.  It is the new brand of truth -- repeat something loudly & many times .. it will eventfully become fact. 

People are not responding to her negatively because she speaks a hard truth -- it is the fact that she uses the First Amendment as a shield to spew her brand of hate & hypocrisy.  

Here's a woman who not just used a racially charged word -- she also spoke it in a context that was very telling of her real beliefs about inter-racial marriage and relationships.  

She is anti-gay and only stands to hurt the many youth who are crumbling under pressures of coming of age & dealing with bullies because of their sexual orientation.   

Schlessinger extols family values -- however, broke up two marriages by having affairs.  Furthermore, she was not aware that her mother had passed away at her (mother's) home for nearly two months.   So ... there laid her mother's dead body, undiscovered for two months.  If she was this big family values person (that always lashed out at her callers for not having strong family values) one would believe that these values would include checking up on an aging mother.  The hundreds of millions who do not preach to others from their high radio perch certainly tend to their aging parents, no?

Her actions speak loudly to her hypocrisy.  Her words speak for themselves.  

Running to Satellite Radio might make her money -- it will hardly make what she is doing any more important, decent or more legitimate in the eyes of the First Amendment. 





Read the story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/26/dr-laura-to-sirius-xm-rad_n_788628.html

Iraq War Veteran Jason Hurd shares his Open Letter to America

(Iraq War Veteran Jason Hurd writes simply & eloquently about his experience as a veteran, expectation as a patriot, realities as a soldier ... and what faces them after the battle.  I felt compelled to write to Jason Hurd.  Here's a link to his Letter: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/14/salute-to-service-jason-h_n_780746.html)


Dear Jason Hurd - 

I honor you & salute you for your courageous service to my country.  I am filled with gratitude for your love for this country that goes above and beyond words -- you put your money where your mouth was by serving in the military.  

Your suffering & pain is real.  I am so sorry my country did this to you ... because it is one thing to send a solider to battle but a whole other thing to subject a solider to a battle with no moral fortitude & little care for the soldier himself.  Yes, you signed up for this job - but as Americans, we also signed up to honor your right to life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.   I am angry that even your care is politicized and commercialized by the same villains who pretend to claim life is sacred & waive flags of patriotism; only to put profit above it all.

Thank you for using your circumstances to reach out to others who are struggling and bring to light the awful truth relating to the unspeakable trauma suffered by our Soldiers.  

You are in my prayers & promise to support your cause and share your story with everyone I know.

Sincerely,

A grateful & humbled American

Birthing - more than a life

Birthing - more than a life 

Birthing in the natural sense in itself is amazing.  It is Creation.  Newness.  Optimism.  Hope.  An Ode to a future.

Gardening is the best way I know how to find purpose and near instant gratification.  The dreaming, planning, saving and toiling is all but forgotten when I see butterflies kissing the petals in my garden.  A quiet morning in my garden is a mystical & spiritual experience that connects me to the divine & the earth -- back to birth.

I see hope and feel healed when I am covered in dirt, deep in thought ... not even noticing the often broken fingernails.  By no means do I have a garden of Eden -- far from it, really.  But when I look at the yard, I see the possibilities and the beautiful purpose in it all.  Maybe ... that is life, after all.  Learning to see the beautiful possibilities beyond the weeds.

Birthing ...

Last week when my son asked me about the specifics of "where babies came from", I decided to talk with him about the physical & the metaphysical about Birth.

I told him that the physical is the least of our worries and that having babies went well beyond the romantic notions portrayed by commercialism & ideology.  Instead, we talked about the process of being pregnant -- not from the Mom's perspective but from the baby's.  Here is a life -- a creation or an idea -- waiting to happen.  It takes months of darkness, oddities and growing through the unknown & unfamiliar.  But what was inevitable was that change and growth happened.  And that, literally and figuratively, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Literally and figuratively, life is and always will be a process -- a process that often tempts us to want to skip steps & phases.  But mother nature says otherwise. 

"Mother" nature decides -- with or without our consent.

Birthing ...

So, even when the best of situations seem to leads you to a dark and unfamiliar place, I say - hang on!  Don't be afraid -- you are growing and changing because of it.  Life is happening and there IS light at the end of the tunnel.

Birthing ... it is more than a life.

About Pain --thoughts from Khalil Gibran

Pain ... 
(a passage from Khalil Gibran's book The Prohet) 


And a woman spoke, saying Tell us of Pain. 

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. 

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. 

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy. 

And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields. 

And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief. 

Much of your pain is self-chosen. 

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. 

Therefore, trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility. 

For His hand though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen. 

And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears. 

A Letter to Sen. Mike Pence (R- Indiana) who is waiting on God to give him a sign on whether or not he ought to run for President in 2012

(the letter I imagine God would write to Mike Pence (R - Indiana) who is waiting on God to tell him whether or not he should run for President in 2012)

Dear Mike Pence -

This is God.

Thank you for asking me about the 2012 election.  But really - I want you to leave the future up to me and start working on the Present called present right away.

You see, there are people who are not able to find jobs & struggle to put three meals on the table.  There are those who are crushed under huge medical bills -- not because they were lazy or did not have jobs ... but because even with jobs & so-called medical insurance benefits, they just cannot face the onslaught of insurance regulations or medical bills.

And then there are those who are losing their homes and have to live in a car ... and  those are the lucky few.

American soldiers are facing immense pressure from multiple deployments and their psyches and families can only take so much.   The environment is in free fall -- not even Hell would consider it as a future home.

And the elderly, children and poor ... they are all struggling!  I hear Texas wants to do away with the extra help they would get in healthcare.   

Why haven't you done anything to protect the youth who feel so embattled and alone; I created them - perfectly - in my image; all because they are bullied for being gay or different?

I hear Harrod has two brothers called Koch who think they can buy-up the power of the working class to build greater empires for themselves and Judas left 5 siblings on the Supreme court to betray the trust of the American people.

People are struggling ... TODAY.  

Mikey ... if you want to use my name, help people in my name.  Stop trying to drag me into your political shame.  I'm here for Grace - not for a political race.

Love,

God 

p.s.  yes ... I do LOVE Democrats -- they, too, are made in my image : )

Hey, Lindsey Graham, there are NO Tea Baggers in Iran & we don't need to go to War with Iran Offensively!

(Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R-S Carolina) who sits on the Armed Services Committee & the Homeland Security Committee, said Saturday the U.S. should consider Striking on Iran.  Not only doing I think this is a crazy idea - I think Graham himself if nucking-futs! .... so here comes another "Marina-letter") 


Dear Senator lost-your-bloody-mind-Graham:

You want to drop bombs and destroy a country & its regime that has not attacked us. 

1. do you really think that the allies & supporters of Iran would just sit back and let it happen? do you not understand that there are 1 billion Muslims in the world ... and that the mindset is different from the Western mindset?

2. did you not learn anything from Iraq? How did that work out for ya? Our Soldiers are dead, maimed and losing their minds & families. Our country is drowning debt. How is it working out for our country?

3. you hope that the Iranians will want to "take back their government". NEWSFLASH! there are no Tea Baggers in Iran. after a war has destroyed most of its country - they are not going to want to take back their country -- they'd want to come after us. they are more sophisticated than Iraq

4. did the Iraqis "take back their country"? or is Iraq in utter chaos today?

Signed,

Un-flipping-believably-pissed Voter!


More for this story on: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/06/lindsey-graham-calls-for-strike-on-iran_n_779997.html