Freethinker777

If you have politicians who foment fear and are in...

2009-12-09T05:34:33.455-08:00

If you have politicians who foment fear and are in an endless game of one-upsmanship to be "tough on crime," this is where we end up. That we imprison a greater proportion of our population than the world's despots should be a kick in the head. Assuming our brains are still working, which they're not.

I saw them for the first time a little while back ...

2009-12-08T05:31:16.441-08:00

I saw them for the first time a little while back on a friend's FB. It appears legit, and what a cool way to spend your charity $ - helping people help themselves... a lot like "teaching a man to fish."
Kathleen

I'd been thinking of dropping some pun here using ...

2009-12-03T07:59:31.270-08:00

I'd been thinking of dropping some pun here using the word "convicted," but it just isn't coming together.

Sometimes, you just have to fight the power.

yeah, they won't let me just pay the toll. they'r...

2009-12-01T20:34:10.322-08:00

yeah, they won't let me just pay the toll. they're making me pay the fines too. i think it's all crap. they may issue me a legit ticket or something. i think it's ridiculous.

This same shit happened to me last summer. I just...

2009-12-01T18:53:41.687-08:00

This same shit happened to me last summer. I just paid the toll and bought a toll tag and then I never heard from them.

Y-Life, No... I'm not that close. Melanie- I reme...

2009-10-20T16:42:58.124-07:00

Y-Life, No... I'm not that close.

Melanie- I remember sitting in Melo Mushroom three years ago and trying to convince you that SWBTS wasn't the best idea. You said, "NAY Sir! The Lord dost wantest me to attendeth this school of higher education." I went home and wept that night.

I don't even know what to say. I'm truly embarrass...

2009-10-20T16:06:02.475-07:00

I don't even know what to say. I'm truly embarrassed that I went to school there.

Wow, that's what we need, more blood at church...

2009-10-17T14:06:51.518-07:00

Wow, that's what we need, more blood at church...

I'm impressed you made it to the 23rd minute...it ...

2009-10-15T00:01:25.438-07:00

I'm impressed you made it to the 23rd minute...it may take me a while to actually get there. :)

Are you living in the 6,000+ home neighborhood? That could be interesting.

Hi! It's Lani...from xanga. I hadn't heard from ...

2009-09-27T22:14:37.153-07:00

Hi! It's Lani...from xanga. I hadn't heard from you in a while, and I looked on your site and saw that you had moved here. Do you find blogger more helpful than xanga? Why did you switch?

I am contemplating making the switch as well, and any advice would be awesome.

:0)

Hey, John. I'm glad to connect with you again on B...

2009-08-21T10:41:19.938-07:00

Hey, John. I'm glad to connect with you again on Blogspot. Xanga never ran properly over here in Germany, but I can read you again now.

Hope you are doing well.

not to crush ur hopes but the mickey d's chicken s...

2009-07-10T09:53:43.359-07:00

not to crush ur hopes but the mickey d's chicken select sandwich has more calories then their big mac. not that ur counting calories but chick fil a at least cares that you live to be 50 without having a heart attack.

LOL - Mickey D's has ALWAYS been on our list of "f...

2009-07-10T08:55:23.598-07:00

LOL - Mickey D's has ALWAYS been on our list of "fast food restaurants we do not visit." The kids have always known better than to even ask... in fact, although they've almost never eaten there, they've been sufficiently brainwashed to speak in qutie derogatory terms about Mickey D's food.

"jesus would be kicked out of the SBC." so true....

2009-07-05T02:51:29.831-07:00

"jesus would be kicked out of the SBC."

so true.
so sad.

Hey freethinker we miss ya on xanga.

2009-07-01T10:44:52.709-07:00

Hey freethinker we miss ya on xanga.

I really enjoy reading your thoughts. I decided t...

2009-06-24T10:12:49.176-07:00

I really enjoy reading your thoughts. I decided to write some of my initial thoughts to your post on my blog: www.liveinfreedom-ylife.blogspot.com because I thought they were much too long for a comment.

I'd love to dialogue more about all this.

Thanks for posting!

What the fuck are you talking about?

2009-06-17T16:01:42.905-07:00

What the fuck are you talking about?

you've got to see my wolf shirt if you like this.

2009-05-28T18:26:52.376-07:00

you've got to see my wolf shirt if you like this.

fun blog, john!! I used to follow you on xanga. ...

2009-05-21T14:19:04.576-07:00

fun blog, john!!

I used to follow you on xanga. It had been forever since I've checked back on there & I saw you moved. Hope all is well!

HA AH AH AH AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! There are not ...

2009-05-21T12:31:51.020-07:00

HA AH AH AH AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
There are not enough Ha Has to express the amount of funniness this is!

Anonymous- Not sure. I'm not there yet. :) Praye...

2009-05-19T21:33:00.311-07:00

Anonymous-
Not sure. I'm not there yet. :) Prayer?

Very cute! This post could have been written by my...

2009-05-19T21:27:00.330-07:00

Very cute! This post could have been written by my boyfriend, as he's told me all this many times before. So tell me, how does a gal go about getting your type to settle down if no one is ever going to compare to mom?

My first thought: The people who put the "Patriot...

2009-05-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

My first thought: The people who put the "Patriot Bible" together made an interesting choice to ask Boyd to review it...I'm glad they did b/c they hopefully received the appropriate feedback...that this was a bad idea.

Maybe some missionaries could take these over on their journeys as they evangelize the lost...that way converts will not only become citizens of heaven, maybe they'll also become citizens of the US of A.

Aaawwww. ;-) very nice.

2009-05-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Aaawwww. ;-) very nice.

I think the question is "what are we trying to acc...

2009-05-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

I think the question is "what are we trying to accomplish?" Are we just trying to make a gesture or are we really trying to fix a problem? Handing out money is just a gesture. Oftentimes it's only to make the giver feel better. We have no control over what people do with that money. They spend it on beer or candy bars or whatever. That's fine. That's their call. The giver is acting out in a way that really doesn't lay any sort of responsibility. But I think this is the most shallow of ways to give.

There's something better. There's a way to give that asks for accountability. You demonstrate it here with this type of questioning. This type of giving is in a form of more than just money. Money is, for lack of better term, cheap. It's far too easy to hand out a buck. it's much more difficult to give our time or ask questions or be in relationship. I think this is a higher calling. It's a step towards solutions and not just gestures.

I don't think it's one or the other. Both are needed. But let's not kid ourselves into thinking just tossing money at a problem has ever fixed anything. If we just do that, we become enablers, not givers. I see a very big difference between when we give to something and a person comes back asking for more. And when we give to something or someone and that then in turn produces something that gives to someone else. The guys on the porch at my buddy Adam's house, you give them money and they'll go buy a hurricane next door and be back asking for more. I can walk into any of those laundramats and they won't be asking me for more money. Neither one fixes anything, but I think it does speak to being an enabler. Furthermore, I think we can give to someone in relationship where they're able to be held accountable and then get past a cycle of poverty or addiction. This is a far greater use of time and resources than just prolonging one's cycle of crisis.

I don't think it's gossip to calling us to use our money wisely and giving an example to do so. I don't think it's unfair to say using one's money on a necessity on something unnecessary is unfair. And I definitely would say it's not fear mongering to call for accountability. I think it's actually asking people to do more than get their good guy fix for the day. There's nothing wrong with giving, but we shouldn't be unwise with how we use it.

Are you familiar with someone that deals with dependency issues and addictions that's an advocate of giving money like you're suggesting? I'm no expert, but I've spent some time with addicts and the poor over the past years, read what i can, and I just haven't come across that. Everyone I've come across says just the opposite.