oenophile

Please accept my warmest wishes for your happiness.

Except maybe that hope still lives and the dream shall never die. April 4, a shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Free at last! They took your life but they couldn't take your pride. In the name of Love. One man in the Love. U2

"That is my truth...and I have looked around...I am one of those sold out committed Jesus freaks...who are rare to emerge from the Way." Your statement is another way of saying, "I am holier than thou", so if the halo fits then wear it. I was thinking just this week that if one believes that believes the Bible to be literally true, one must necessarily mentally suspend logic and factual data. Consider some of these biblical "truths". 2 Kings 8:26 says that "Two and twenty years was Ahaziah when he began to reign..." Yet, 2 Chronicles 22:2 says "Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign..." I Samuel 31: 4-6 says that Saul took his sword and fell upon it. Yet, 2 Samuel 21:12 says that Samuel was slain by the Philistines in Gilboa. In Leviticus 11:20-21, God tells the children of Israel that all fowl that creep, going about on all four shall be an abomination unto them. Fowls do not creep around on all fours.

May I polish your halo?

When its my time I would like to be met by Frank Zappa and ride around with him surveying his dental floss ranch in Montana.

I think that one of the reasons people "rehash the negatives" is because when they were in TWI they were either afraid or conditioned to not to speak their minds about their negative experiences. Many of these experiences are vile and gutwrenching to read about. It is here that they feel safe to say that the emperor had no clothes, if you recall that cute story from childhood. ClayJay should remember that if it looks like poop, smells like poop and attracts flies like poop, it is probably poop. To call it chocolate ice cream doesn't change the fact that it is poop. You can "believe" all you want that it is ice cream but it's still poop. Were there positive experiences in TWI? I think most would say that there were. Yet many like myself would say that the positive experiences were like the bread on a poop sandwich. The good taste of the bread was overwhelmed by the poop.

hmmm T-Bone. Could it be that you were (ahem) stoned?

You can believe for poop to smell like a rose but its still going to smell like poop. The "law" of believing was used as a weapon against people who were sick or going through some other patch of (for want of a better term) hard luck. Criticizing someone for their "believing" when in these circumstances added to their misery and made the pious antagonist feel spiritually superior all the while being a miserable comforter.

Kimberly, I think the idea that God does not have perfect foreknowledge is a theological cop-out on the question of why did God create Lucifer. Aren't we told that God knows our beginning and end? How does He know that without perfect foreknowledge? How can we trust the events foretold in the book of Revelation will happen if God's foreknowledge is somewhat muddied?

For me it matters less what one believes than what one does. Jesus, himself, emphasized this point in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

I think a better question is if God in His foreknowledge knew that Lucifer would rebel and wreak havoc on His creation, why did He create him?

In the words of the Prophet Dylan... Don't you feel so all alone. Everyone must get stoned.

The Moonies actually do own the Washington Times. Reading it makes you stupid.

Thanks Act 2. He is doing well. He is a senior this year and will be going to grad school next year. Time does fly. It seems that just last week he was a freshman.

For those who are just dying to know who Guy Fawkes was and why November 5th is celebrated is celebrated, I will save you the google. On November 5, 1605 Guy Fawkes was discovered attempting to carry out a plan masterminded by Robert Catesby to kill James I (for whom the KJV is named) his family and most of the nobility of England by blowing up the House of Lords during the ceremonial opening that year. Also known as the Gunpowder Plot, Fawkes and his co-conspirators were reacting against the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 when King James refused to grant tolerance to English Catholics. Fawkes and company rented a cellar under the House of Lords where they deposited 1,800 pounds of gunpowder. Lord Monteagle, a Catholic, received an anonymous letter warning him to avoid the ceremonial meeting. At first Monteagle thought it to be a hoax but then decided to show the letter to King James. The king ordered a search of the cellars underneath Parliament which found the gunpowder and Fawkes himself leaving the premises. Fawkes was arrested and tortured but did not reveal any names of his co-conspirators until he was told that they had already had come forth voluntarily and acknowledged their participation in the plot. On January 31, Fawkes and his conspirators were tried, found guilty sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Fawkes was the last to climb the gallows and deciding to take his own life by jumping off the gallows and breaking his neck rather than giving the King the pleasure of hanging him. Londoners upon hearing of the Plot were encouraged to celebrate the King's escape from the attempted assassination by lighting bonfires in the city. November 5th has been celebrated in such manner since.

Bowtwi and Kimberly, Thank you ladies for your kind words. I'm 57 and going on 22. At that rate my son will overtake me in age by next spring!

Thank you, Krys. Hope all is well with you and the kids.

I don't recall VPW saying it but I do recall one of his minions saying it. It gave me chills. Wish I had the good sense to have left right then.

Me. Me. Me. Love me. Support me. Worship me. Why can't he be happy to enjoy his golden years while living off his trust fund. Doesn't seem such a bad idea to me. If he really wanted to do something really great, he could GIVE some of it to help an at risk kid or maybe volunteer at a soup kitchen.

Happy Birthday Socks! Warmest wishes for many healthy, happy returns of the day.

Over ten years ago CBS 60 minutes did a segment entitled "The French Paradox." It focused on the differences of lifestyle French and Americans with noted the paradox of the French engage in riskier behaviors linked to heart disease than do Americans, yet they are much less likely to develop or die from coronary disease. They smoke more, eat more fatty foods and even tend to be a little more overweight. But they also drink five times more red wine than Americans. Studies have shown that red wine contains a powerful antioxidant reservatrol, which has been shown in studies to increase good cholesterol (HDL) while reducing bad (LDL). Not only that it has been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers, rheumatoid arthritis and delays the onset of dementia. A votre sante. With that said, they only spend about 11% of their GDP on healthcare compared to our 17% and have far better outcomes. France usually ranks in the top five nations in health indices such as healthy life expectancy and lowest preventable deaths per 100,000 population. France experiences half the rate of infant mortality than does the USA which is an index closely tied to the availability of pre-natal care.

Kit, Perhaps your fears will be somewhat eased by the knowledge that there are many good Catholic hospitals in France such as Hopital St Vincent de Paul in Paris.

Hogwash, Kit. Another scare tactic and misinformation campaign pandered by special interests, i.e. big Pharma and insurance companies that will have to face real competition if healthcare reform goes forward. The real question you should ask yourself are you satisfied that we as a nation pays more for healthcare to get such a dismal return on investment as indicated by the statistics above?