Inmates and Intimates (Does That Bother You? IV)

Isn't it funny how one or two letters can make such a huge difference? Abortion, Capital Punishment, Taxes, the economy... how about education!? Religiously not everyone is on the same page. Nowhere is everyone on the same page completely, or at least not in the same book. Some have books, others have blood given covenants. So morally can't we find that common ground? Men and women argue everyday about what needs to happen, rather that make it happen. Did you watch the GOP Presidential debates last week? Did you observe or think about President Obama's hitting the campaign trail, to try and bid for his second term? You say you support the death penalty, one group of friends labels you as a diehard conservative. You say you somewhat support it, and they call you a hypocrite. If you do not support it, you are a yuppie scum liberal, and if you are uncertain, do not totally support it, then again you are a hypocrite!

The imperfect Christian passed a fellow cyclist on the road side and thought about Jesus' parable of the "Good" Samaritan. The imperfect one turned and went back to check on him, and you know, he didn't ask the imperfect one what had taken him so long! Amazing huh? In my grandparents generation, and generations before, society "learned" to be patient. Patience was a discipline, that served us well. Then along came my mothers generation, and we learned to pressure patience, and wanted an answer, or delivery in just a few minutes. Well good people, we now live in the iGeneration, and no longer the Microwave, or Last of the Good-ones Society! So cheer on your favorite liar, and blame anyone you can except for self, in what's wrong with our society today. Abortion, Capital Punishment, the economy, and taxes would not be an issue, nor would education if we followed two rules...
Not my two rules, but Jesus':
1. "Love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,"
2. "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Luke 10:25-37 

And behold, a certain lawyer (an expert in the law) stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He (Jesus) said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
And He (Jesus) said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live (eternally).”
But he (the expert in the law), wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal (most likely a donkey), brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii (enough loot to foot the bill in most cases, he was not worried about having to come back and give more, he had my man covered!), gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend (any extra expense the man costs), when I come again, I will repay (reimburse) you.’
So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
And he (the expert in the law) said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” 

Prevention is better than cure! If we loved one another and taught love instead of hate, we would not have to worry about prisons, and rest homes! Here's a nicety little scenario for ya:

Place the elderly in prisons. They will get a shower a day video surveillance in case of problems, three meals a day, access to a library, computer, TV, gym ... Put criminals in nursing homes. They have cold meals lights off at 8pm, one bath a week, live in a smaller room and pay 4,000 a month !!!!! It's Pretty damn sad that we treat prisoners better than the elderly!!!!

Where are the real Christians!? All that say lord, lord, are not saved, but those that know the Lord, are. Some politicians say that they are Christians. Some people you meet everyday say they are Christians, but when they are after something for themselves, they will show you the devil. So again my Christian brothers and sisters, have you treated one another and nonbelievers as well as yourself? Where are you Christians?

Signing off, the imperfect Christian.

Peace, Blessings, and Joy... that real PB&J

In The News! (Does That Bother You? 3)

What motivates people more than bad news? Really good news should, right?

Zig Ziglar said, “People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.”

The imperfect Christian prays that those we inspire and motivate, are so inspired and motivated in a positive way.

The imperfect Christian was motivated to do a little research about Capital Punishment when he received the news about the Troy Davis case. You see in January of 2009 the imperfect Christian was voluntold he had jury duty. One thing that still rings out in the mind of the imperfect one, is that the defense attorney asked one really great question. He said, "Is it better to allow one guilty soul to pass freely, or to imprison an innocent one." Either way is horrible. Put yourself in that position. Would you want to be punished if you had done something as heinous as kill someone? You know you were deserving of a harsh punishment, but you would not want to have to be punished. In most cases a decent person would not sleep well even if it was an accidental death, let alone a murder. So there is at least that punishment. So how would you feel if you were completely innocent? Be a pretty hard pill to swallow wouldn't it?

Bill Ball covers Capital Punishment in a very classy way! He is a great Christian man, a Theological scholar that backs his blog with scripture, and I am fast becoming a student of his. He wrote about his viewing the CBS Sunday Morning Show, and about the blood lust epidemic. The link to his blog is:
http://billball.blogspot.com/
This man has a more than compassionate heart for Christ, and His people, and his blog is a great read... Look at his September 20th post about the blood lusting. Amazing how gore, and morbid concentrations excite us so. The blog is not long, and well worth the 2 and a half minutes you would have to put into it.
Proverbs 18:17 "The first to plead his case seems right, Until another comes and examines him."

It is your word against theirs... who will believe who? The courts have turned into a game of "Survivor" The tribe has spoken, it's time to bring me your life, I mean torch, because fire on the show represent your "life!" You just got snuffed out! How could you sleep at night, eat during the day, look at yourself in the mirror or face society not knowing if you helped execute an innocent man? Well I will say it again, unless I absolutely have to, I will not even drive through Georgia or South Carolina! It is terrible to think that it's true, but it is in a lot of cases, that popularity, and socially being accepted could be the deal breaker. A Survivor contestant could be sent home because he/she wasn't sexy enough. An inmate could be put to death for very similar reasons. What do you have to offer? Bad news if your answer is: Not much.

NY TIMES: Debate over the execution of Troy Davis
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/us/in-debate-davis-execution-offers-little-closure.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

This day in history President Lincoln signed the order to bring an end to slavery. This day in history sees a family and a nation struggle with more heated ethnic discussions about race being involved in a wrongful imprisonment and execution. Did Georgia's government have prejudice, and malice in their decision? The imperfect one can tell you that in NC 33% of the men and one woman put to death since 1994 were all males and branched forth from African ancestry. What is the ratio ethnically in the state you ask? The imperfect Christian will have to do a little more diligent research to give you an answer to that one. The imperfect one does not know the ratio of ethnic groups incarcerated either, but numbers do not always manifest prejudice, propaganda, and racists do.
http://www.npca.org/cultural_diversity/battlefields/150th.html


The LA TIMES reports that the convicted killer that dragged James Byrd to death says he deserves to die for racist slaying of James Byrd. Is he now truly remorseful, and honestly giving his statement? Or is this an attempt at reverse psychology in order to save his own life?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/texas-set-to-execute-man-for-1998-dragging-murder-of-james-byrd-jr.html
The AP reports: Last Meal A Done Deal In TX! Governor Perry says no more! Should there be a last meal? Is the governor right in putting an end to the last meal, and saying that every inmate should eat the same? Answer as though it was self sitting on the short end please...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEXAS_EXECUTION_LAST_MEALS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

To conclude, the imperfect one says this: From the looks of the wiki charts concerning the death penalty, he will not be driving through, flying over, walking or riding his bike in the states of GA, SC, or TX. In fact as much as he hates to admit it, if you want to feel at least safe enough to know that you want wrongfully be executed, it looks like we will all have to move to Illinois. But as many of you know the anti-christ hails from Illinois right? They to the imperfect Christians understanding are the only state in this grand union, that does not enforce the death penalty. Not to say you can't be wrongfully jailed, but at least you can rest assure, that the judge and jury are not going to condemn you to death by means of the state. Here is a map of the States that enforce Capital Punishment, and the methods they use or do not use...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_US_electric_chair_usage.svg

Tomorrow will be a sweeter blog... or so we hope. As for now, please forgive the typos.

Peace, Blessings, and Joy... that real PB&J

Capital Punishment (Does That Bother You? 2)

This started out with the second part of, "Does That Bother You," then a tweet changed all of that. So here goes...

Does it bother you to see a mother curse out her kids in public, and then does it bother you more to think about what more they are exposed to at home? Not just verbally, but in every manner? Does it bother you to see a younger person sit in a seat, be it a bus, a restaurant, or wherever, when an elderly person is struggling to remain standing, and not offer their seat to that elderly person? Does it bother you to hear people complain about the economy, taxes, health and moral issues, government, church, and everything else under the sun, but never - ever willing to do anything about what it is they're complaining about? It's not just the imperfect Christian, right?

The imperfect Christian had no intentions of writing about capital punishment, but now that there is death in the air he thought he would touch on some news. Nothing like the morbid thoughts of watching someone executed to start a discussion, eh? The imperfect Christian received a notice about a tweet from the NY Times. It was concerning the Troy Davis execution. Kim Severson is the Atlanta Bureau Chief for the New York Times. She currently at the prison awaiting the news of Troy Davis' stay, or execution. One Twitterpation Nation Member asked: How is it that Casey Anthony kills her child, gets a million dollar book deal, and get zero time in prison, and they can execute Troy Davis with no evidence? Well my friend, the imperfect one thinks that's a dandy question. If indeed that is the case, then imperfect Christian would to have a rational explanation, but if it is indeed the case then we all know that there is no rational explanation!

Another man in Jerry Buck Inman confessed to raping and killing a Clemson student. He was convicted and sentenced to death. This Monday the court heard his appeal. It is likely according to another former judge, Judge Watson, that his appeal will be overturned. Judge Watson said at this level, nearly 50% were overturned. Amazing how the law works, or doesn't perhaps would be a better way of phrasing it?

Killing of a relationship, after three different lead singers, or now possibly four, and thirty-five years with their label, Van Halen, is leaving Warner Bros., and moving on. What other news, is there, oh yes... the weather, nothing like perking up your day after hearing about murder, and execution, than to hear it's going to rain all weekend long. Well the imperfect one hates to be the bearer of bad news so he will close with some optimistic rays of hope... The rain should subside on Friday in his area, so the ride will be a dry one on Saturday morn, and there is still no word as to whether or not Troy Davis has been put to death. It has been rumored that he turned down his last meal. Said to believe that it is a sign of good luck, because it has worked at his last two appeals. No news is usually good gu-news! Also if there is no evidence to put this man to death, and he truly is not guilty of slaying the two people that he is accused of murdering, then perhaps this will give the Georgia Law Enforcement incentive to find the person(s) that are responsible... God bless the mothers of the victims, and the accused, and God help the soul of the truly guilty, because their just due may not come now, but if they do not confess, and turn from their wicked ways it will come later anyway, and that time will more than likely be too late.

For those interested, you can get up to the hour, and often up to the minute detailing on this case on Twitter, by keeping an eye on, or by following Kim Severson. A fellow by the name of Big Boi of the "Outkast" is tweeting as well, and getting retweets from the Bureau Chief herself! He (Big Boi) tweets, "Man, I wonder how much all that helicopter gas cost...your hard earned tax dollars at work!" Again great question fella! ;)

Peace, Blessings, and Joy... that real PB&J