Category: Rev. Joe Dirt’s Ramblings

The unsolicited, unreasoned, uninformed, unapologetic opinions of Rev. Joe Dirt

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Dollars are essentially votes

Folks who know me realize that I like to get good value for my dollar.  Some folks have called me cheap.  I don’t think that is really the case.   I just remember a concept I learned back in high school economics.  Whenever you make a purchase, you are effectively casting a dollar vote for that product.  More to the point you are voting on the pricing of that product.  I just like to be careful with my voting. 

I was in Walgreens to buy a bag ice.  Yes it is a little high in there, but the combined cost of gas to the grocery store and Continue reading “Dollars are essentially votes”

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Pat Robertson believes in Voodoo

pat-robertsonQuote from The Washington Post article about Pat Robertson’s comments on Haiti:

“Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson says Haiti has been “cursed” because of what he called a “pact with the devil” in its history.  His spokesman said the Wednesday comments were based on Voodoo rituals carried out before a slave rebellion against French colonists in 1791.”

Ol’ Pat seems to be in a permanent state of psychosis when it comes to all things religious.  He obviously believes in God and more importantly a Devil.  I’ve always wondered if Christianity and Islam could exist without the concept of a devil.  If there is not a devil running around causing all the evil in the world then that leaves it up to the omnipotent, Abrahamic god.  To my way of thinking there is a lot not nice things that go on in this world.  Of course, that brings us full circle back to Epicurus’ old questions

 I begun ruminating on his comments, and I decided that he must believe in Voodoo also.  Why else would he think that a ritual performed 219 years ago had the power to eject the colonial power out of Haiti?  Makes you wonder about what else Ol’ Pat believes.

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I pray…

I pray that we come to value each and every human for who they are, not what they are, or what they can produce.

I pray for the day when a person’s race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation does not limit their place/roles in life.

I pray that we come to learn that so many should not be hungry, thirsty or homeless when a few have more than they could use in a multitude of lifetimes. Continue reading “I pray…”

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Gay Teen Worried He Might Be Christian

Well you know…some parents have more issues to deal with than others.

Gay Teen Worried He Might Be Christian @ TheOnion.com

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Save the paragraph

paragraphI am starting a campaign to save the paragraph. I may get bumper stickers printed up.

Email and other electronic forms of instant communication have done much to butcher and change written communication. One of these is the loss of the paragraph in such writings.

For me, at least, it makes some of these hard to read when they run for 100s of words without a pause or logically grouping thoughts.

SAVE THE PARAGRAPH

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Ideas for Liberal bumper stickers

You’ve all seen them. Various bumper stickers denigrating socialism, health care reform, anything supposedly Liberal.

There does not seem to be a whole lot of ones out there of the other ilk. How about coming up with a few?

I’ll start it off.

Capitalism: Where 10% of the people have 65% of the wealth.

Capitalism: Have you checked your 401k lately.

I love how Korporations  manage MY health care.

Canada could teach US about citizen centered government

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Alternative Charitable Donations

This from an op-id piece by Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New Your Times. He lists several alternative charitable organizations. Something to think about, and maybe somplace to shoot some some of your donations.

Article “A Most Meaningful Gift Idea” at NY Times web site

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Health Care System Forces Bad Decisions

Some of us get to the fork in the road, see the sign that advises that the bridge is out ahead, and take that fork anyway.  All of us make some bad choices or decisions.  Some of us make more than others.

My brother has probably made more than many.  One of those was to continue smoking in the face of all the evidence of its harmfulness.  Another was choosing to work jobs that did not require urinalysis as part of the employment screening process.

Don’t get me wrong,  my brother is a hard worker.  He is a conscientious worker, and he prides himself in doing a good job.  He does not partake of substances illegal or otherwise during working hours.  Continue reading “Health Care System Forces Bad Decisions”

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How different are dog fighting and football

A recent article in The New Yorker, Offensive Play How different are dog fighting and football? By Malcolm Gladwell, explores the effect of extreme contact sports like football and boxing on the human brain.

For an American male, I’m a bit of an anomaly.  I do not really follow sports, except professional golf mildly.  There are several reasons for this.
 
One would be that for me personally sports are more for the doing rather than the watching.  I engage in several at a fairly incompetent level, but I enjoy them nevertheless.
 
Secondly, a while back, I just got bored with them.  Continue reading “How different are dog fighting and football”

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Objective should be to make the U.S. self-sufficient in marijuana

marijuana-leafHere is the link to the article in the Wall Street Journal Saving Mexico

I’m not a big fan of drugs.  I’ve seen them ruin too many lives.  I’m also not a big fan of keeping drugs illegal.  That is also wrecking too many lives.  Add to that the amount of energy and resources being wasted enforcing the  criminalization  and it equals crazy.  The energy/resources could be better used elsewhere.  

We tried alcohol prohibition and that did not work. It created vast criminal enterprises.  It is the same with drugs.  I appreciate that there is a moral argument here.  Continue reading “Objective should be to make the U.S. self-sufficient in marijuana”