Morning Politics

A friend wrote me this morning (from the Bible Belt) saying that I should be startled by this blurb below:
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Dear Friends,

As I was listening to a news program last night, I watched in horror as Barack Obama made the statement with pride. . .'we are no longer a Christian nation; we are now a nation of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc., . . . As with so many other statements I've heard him (and his wife) make, I never thought I'd see the day that I'd hear something like that from a presidential candidate in this nation. To think our forefathers fought and died for the right for our nation to be a Christian nation--and to have this man say with pride that we are no longer that. How far this nation has come from what our founding fathers intended it to be.

I hope that each of you will do what I'm doing now--send your concerns, written simply and sincerely, to the Christians on your email list. With God's help, and He is still in control of this nation and all else, we can show this man and the world in November that we are, indeed, still a Christian nation!

Please pray for our nation!
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This was my response:

I don't find it startling at all. But whether you like it or not, that's what America is becoming. To state anything different would be ignorant and revealing of someone who's not connected to the people of this nation. This is not a Christian nation - as evidenced by our own president and our nation's business leaders. But, (this might not be as obvious in the Bible Belt) we are more diverse than Europe in its religions, languages, cultures, and races.

I don't have a problem with Obama stating the truth. He doesn't say that he's not a Christian. What he is saying is that he's proud to be in a nation that welcomes all cultures, races, languages, and religions. Our forefathers came here to be able to practice their religion without discrimination. The constitution is not a Christian document. The Declaration of Independence is not a Christian document. Those are both politically-driven documents that lay the foundation for a nation to be established, which happened to be (in part) written by Christians. Theists and agnostics helped construct those documents, and our forefathers included them in that task - what's the difference here?

So, I have no problem with Obama's statement. He's stating the truth, no matter how hard it is for the Bible Belt to hear.

In Memorium

A childhood friend's mom died on Oct. 10. I just found out about it today. A flood of memories came rushing in about her and her son, Tony. He and I grew up together in NC and his mom was always so sweet to me. She taught me how to roll up my sleeves (as silly as this is) so they wouldn't unravel. She also made awesome soup - thick with ingredients and not too soupy.

Here's to a lady who will be missed and who left an indelible imprint on her world:

She worked at the local newspaper for 43 years in a number of capacities, and most recently was a features and lifestyle editor. She worked simultaneously in admissions at the local hospital for 23 years. She was a member of the NC Press Club, held various offices, and had been honored with the Communicator of Achievement Award. She had been a board member of the Family Support Network of Eastern NC and member of the county's Women's Commission.

Simply amazing. Here's to you Rosalie!

The US Consitution's 4th Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Eagle Eye

We went to see Eagle Eye today with a couple of friends. Granted, the storyline was similar to The Net, War Games, Stealth, Terminator, 2001 Space Odyssey, and the Matrix, but still very entertaining and captivated you till about the halfway mark. Then it became a bit predictable. Shia Lebeauf was good enough... at times I could see why the twink lovers are drawn to him.

Oddly, though, it didn't feel as if I had to suspend that much disbelief in the theater and it makes me not want to carry around my cell phone anymore.