Author: Rev. Joe Dirt

Posted on

Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo

I need to watch this.  It is going to be on the Sundance Channel towards the end of February.

When I was a County Sanitarian (Health Inspector) in Arkansas from 1983 to 1989, I had to deal with several Tony Alamo businesses.  They had a restaurant, at least one convenience store I remember.  They had a hog farm that was something out of a Mel Gibson Mad Max movie.  Between myself and another agency we got them to close that down.  I had to get on their main property one time to investigate a sanitation complaint.  They blocked my entrance, and of course by the time I went through all the legal hoops, if there had been a problem they had covered it up.   Fortunately, I never had to deal with Tony directly.

The rumor around town was that he kept his wife’s body Continue reading “Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo”

Posted on

Thank you for your service…Maybe

I have an interesting problem that has cropped up in the last 5 or 6 weeks.  I have several caps and shirts with the emblem from the FFG-52, USS Carr on them.  I wear the hats a bunch.  Partly because I like the way they look, but mainly in honor of my Uncle Paul H. Carr.  The ship was named after him for his heroic actions in WWII.

I’ve been doing this for years.  The ship was actually decommissioned a few years ago.  So a rough estimate would be 25 years or more.   Occasionally folks will ask me about the hat.  What has been really cool over the years is how many folks I have run into that have served on the ship.  When they see the hat they frequently come over to talk to me.  I have had some very nice conversations Continue reading “Thank you for your service…Maybe”

Posted on

Daddy Dog rescues Lilly

If you know us you know that we have a little lap dog name Lilly.  She weighs around 15 or 16 pounds, and none of it is fat.  She keeps all her fat ran off chasing squirrels she never even gets close to.   This weekend we are babysitting Osho,  the dog of Robin’s son.  Osho is a tad larger, probably weighing in at 60 or more pounds.  The two are them are best buds which frequently causes me to refer to them as Mutt and Jeff.  Unless you are of a certain age you probably do not remember Mutt and Jeff, but they were two characters in the comics that the newspapers of antiquity used to run.  One was short and the other was tall.

This weekend we had 10 inches of snow at our house.  Some areas close by got more snow. When the snow first fell is was soft and loose.  Lilly had a bit of a problem getting through, but she could do so by hopping Continue reading “Daddy Dog rescues Lilly”

Posted on

Keystone Diamonds

I went fishing the other night below Keystone Dam about dark-thirty.  I fished a couple of hours without nary a bite.  It was hot and muggy without much of a breeze so the bugs were out in full force.  They found the sweet, tender meat of my ankles much to their liking.  None of this would have mattered if the fish had been biting.

As I sat there waiting for the tips of my rods to go crazy with the thrashings of a 30-pound cat, I noticed a 4-legged cat or two making its way down to river.  At first I thought Continue reading “Keystone Diamonds”

Posted on

OpEd piece NYT – Why Trump Reigns as King Cyrus

This is one of the scariest things I have read in a while.

I’ve long wondered about Gospodin Trump’s attraction to “Christians”.  To me he is the antithesis of all things Christian, he is the antithesis of all things democratic, he is the antithesis of all things moral…

Yet I know many folks who identify as Evangelical Christians and they will be quick to tell you the Gospodin Trump is a vehicle of change sent by God.  That is typically the point where I excuse myself to go puke in the bathroom.  While not a believer myself I do try to be sensitive to the religiosity of others, but their fanaticism about Gospodin Trump really makes wonder if this is deserved.

A quote from the article :

“This isn’t the religious right we thought we knew. The Christian nationalist movement today is authoritarian, paranoid and patriarchal at its core. They aren’t fighting a culture war. They’re making a direct attack on democracy itself.“

The article entire can be found here:  Why Trump Reigns as King Cyrus

Posted on

Want to Learn Sudoku? Try the Sudoku Guy.

A Canadian gentleman has a YouTube channel teaching Sudoku.  He is very knowledgeable and entertaining. He calls himself The Sudoku Guy, and the name fits.

A story about the Sudoku Guy from the CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sudoku-guy-online-puzzle-tutorials-1.4580449

You can find the Sudoku Guy’s YouTubeChannel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd8JaOdfEWcJOtwG6YayW0w

And as a tease, the Sudoku Guy’s first video

Posted on

Rush – The Belt Buckle

I’m not a big fan of the Canadian rock band Rush, but they do have one thing that I really like.  It is their Rush belt buckles.  The reason is obvious, my last name is Rush and since I wear a lot of cowboy boots it is a fun thing to do.

I’m in the doctor’s office the other day, and the nurse is doing all the pre-doctor-comes-blowing-in things that nurses do when she comments, “I just love your belt buckle.”  I had on the one with big red letters, R U S H.  I was also supine on the examination table at the time, so the buckle was very obvious.

The nurse being somewhat younger than this seasoned citizen, I had to explain to her that it was from the website of the Canadian rock band of the same name.  Since my last name is Rush I found them a necessary item for my vaguely cowboyish/country attire that I occasionally sport.

She then commented that her 14 year old son was really into to the rock band Queen.

I replied, “I don’t think that would be a good belt buckle for your son.”

She was still laughing when she left the room.

And just in case you want one of Rush’s belt buckles: https://rushbackstage.com/dept/belt-buckles?cp=102112_102214_102530