Bebeklerin günahsız doğduklarına inanmazsam hristıyan olabilir miyim?

Her işime besmeleyle başlamayı adet haline getirmeye çalışıyorum. Nedendir bilinmez son günlerde Tanrım'la aramızdaki bağ kuvvetleniyor. Adını daha sık anar oldum. "Allahım ne yaptım da bana bunu reva gördün?", "Allahım sınıyor musun beni?", "Allahım al beni yanına?"... Hep bir şikayet, hep dert yanma, neden sevsin ki beni? Beni sevmeyeni sevmem lazım asıl değil mi? Beni yine sınıyorsun değil mi?

Hey sen yukarıdaki! Seviyorum aslında seni, gerçekten. En azından kendi kendime konuşur bulduğunda biri, verecek cevabım oluyor: "Dua ediyorum".

İlk yazım böyle olmamalıydı sanırım. Bu bir günce. Henüz 22 sini yeni dolduran, hayata karşı neredeyse tüm sorumluluklarını tamamlamış bir kadının, henüz 22 yaşında bir çocuk annesi olan bir kadının, henüz 22 yaşında günde 12 saat çalışan, henüz 22 yaşında yalanlara boğulmuş bir kadının güncesi, düncesi, öncesi. Herkes gibi sıradan, bir o kadar da marjinal.

Bu sefer yazacağım kararlıyım. And olsun.

Verdiğin nimetlere şükürler olsun ya rabbim.

"Developer-driven exurbs such as Anthem and Verrado surrounding Phoenix, Arizona, are prime examples of the unchecked low-density sprawl that urban planners around the globe are desperately trying to abandon.  These developments are located some 30 miles from the city center, where a majority of jobs are located, and they are usually connected by only one major freeway.  Residents thus depend on a long, narrow lifeline to meet their basic needs or fulfill simple tasks.  Virginia Tech associate professor Robert Lang believes that in an uncertain future, these types of residential areas are the greatest disadvantage for long-term livability."

Regarding said "distinction," website unrefinery.com opines, "We hesitate to even call Phoenix a city; the decentralized home turf of Allied Waste would be best described as a 400-square-mile monument to sprawl, water waste, traffic bottlenecks, and crystal meth.  Urban planning sometimes seems esoteric, but Phoenix offers a real-world reminder of why we need it."

For the last 4 years or so, my wife's employer has been the supplier of our health insurance. Basically, she has worked simply to pay for it. It isn't like she's being paid a boatload to work 3 or more days a week. She has been a great sport about it, but recently she decided that she might want to try being home more with the kids on odd school schedules and she wants to be home for them when they get out of school. I am behind her 100%. However Anthem Blue Cross isn't. And here is our story...

Let's begin with me. 2 years ago I had a back ailment. The general concession is that it is a bulging disk in my lower back. I underwent some physical therapy for about 2 months and had to endure 3 epidurals before I started feeling normal. Now I've developed a workout regimen that has me feeling healthier and I am working on my core muscles to aid in supporting my back. I watch what I do as far as lifting and extending myself and so far, it has been working! I have been feeling really good! (Knock on wood)

My wife, about 5 months ago, fell asleep in an odd position and woke up the next morning with a stiff neck. Not wanting to irritate it anymore, she went for 1 consultation with a local chiropractor. A few twists and turns later, she was fine and never thought anything of it. That, seemingly, was the end of it.

About 2 months ago, when Steph & I decided she should quit her job to become a "stay-at-home" mom (and I put that in quotes because my wife NEVER stays home), we re-applied to the SAME health insurance company (Anthem) that we are on now, only we wanted to take on the cost of the service. We figured it made sense since we are already in their database and have been using Anthem for some time.

Well...apparently this wasn't the best idea. Soon after sending in our application where we were totally honest about our health issues, Stephanie received a phone call from the company repeatedly asking her about her "neck issues". She couldn't seem to get through to the representative that it was a one time deal and that it was now resolved. But the woman on the other end continued to ask her about it for 25 minutes! Over and over, Steph told her what happened and over and over the woman harrassed her about it. Needless to say, Steph was kinda upset over the whole thing. She was worried that they weren't gonna cover us because of her. I told her not to worry about it because I couldn't imagine what MY phone call would be like. But it never came.

Instead, an email from an Anthem rep came and said that Anthem would insure our 2 kids for a regular rate, but Stephanie would have to pay a "little extra" for her "neck issue" and I couldn't be covered at all. Apparently I am a liability.

It's interesting that this is happening to us right now, seeing as how we've all been hearing about what a mess the health insurance world is right now. The funny thing is, except for my back injury, I really have had a pretty healthy life! Unlike some folks who have serious health issues and crazy doctor bills!

 Steph & I recently rented "Sicko", the last Michael Moore documentary about the health care system and how fucked up it is. This experience has definitely brought it more to our attention! So we're gonna look into other health care companies. Hopefully we can find one that is honest and will understand that we're just looking to survive out here, not take advantage of them. Personally, I can understand why Anthem wouldn't want to insure me. I can see that and I am willing to go with it. But what they did to my wife is ridiculous and unforgivable. Before long, if you go to see a doctor because you have a cold, you might be considered to be a liability and you could be dropped from your health care plan!

It's a sad state of affairs in which we find ourselves. These huge corporations basically run around, unregulated, making a shit ton of money off of us and we can't even get a neck massage. For those who think that this is America and this stuff can't happen...well...it does. And for those of you who don't agree with regulation for these corporations then I have to say...you are insane. These companies don't really care if you live or die. They just want your money. And they want it at a pretty high price.

So this week I'll be shopping around, trying to find a company that will cover me and my family. I got a feeling it's gonna be a difficult task. No one wants to insure me...a 39 year old caucasian male who has never smoked, never done drugs, drinks minimally and who has been physically active most of his life. I've never had major surgery, never had any heart problems, never required any high-priced drugs, never had a sexually transmitted disease and haven't required any kind of in-home nursing care. In my 39 years, I HAVE had the 3 epidurals, 2 kidney stones and a few stitches and several trips to my local chiropractor. Obviously I'm a money-pit if ever there was one! So if I sound like a liability, where do YOU stand?

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Submitted by Francois

I chose to post this because I like smart cookies!  And this girl is definitely smart.  Maybe a little obsessive with the Jonas Brothers, but she'll grow out of that (hopefully), but she no doubt knows that young artists have gotten their chance by posting on youtube (can we say Souljia Boy) and getting picked up by a record label.  Hope it happens for her!  Anyway, it is a cute video!

With the air of adventure and exploration, the song captures the spirit of the pirate that lives on since the golden age of piracy. In addition, the electronic sounds bear witness to the modern state of piracy as well as the projection of piracy into the future.

Below is a screen shot from the editing of Anthem. More coming soon...

Josh Howard, NBA Mavericks player, is an idiot. Howard talks to a camera during the playing of the National Anthem at a flag football game. Howard say's that he doesn't participate in that (Expletive) I'm black!.."

The Dallas News is reporting that:

"Owner Mark Cuban said the Mavericks dealt with Howard's flag football episode after it happened in July.

{Really how? Did you have a pizza party for him?}

"That said, we will be going through some advanced communication-skill sessions together this training camp," Cuban said Tuesday. "I have explained to him that cellphone cameras are not your friend and that what you think you said on camera is never what people will hear when it shows up on YouTube or TV.

{"Camera's are not your friend" The camera did not make Howard say this!... The camera's not only made this NBA player it makes money for the Mavericks, your both idiots!}

"This is not the first time Howard has been cast in an un-American light. He rejected an offer to join the U.S. Olympic team when he said the initial training camp in 2006 conflicted with his summer camps."

{Josh Howard is making himself UN-AMERICAN}

The Mavericks received numerous off-season trade offers for Howard, but almost all were from teams who presumed a low-ball offer might prompt a deal. Team officials have said repeatedly they're not interested in trading Howard.

"Josh really is a good guy with a great heart," Cuban said. "He just doesn't do a good job of showing that side of himself publicly. We will work on that."

{No Cuban he did show his heart publicly. The only thing you will do is work on hiding his heart by lying to the public}

Source

Listen to the commentators try and help Howard out saying things like, "video two months old just coming to light now because of the Internet," "even if he was joking?" "EVEN IF HE SHOOTS 20 POINTS A GAME." Pure media bias that is trying to cover this up because of Barack Obama running for president.

At least Scoop Jackson and Kevin Blackistone get it right, this will cost him his career at the Dallas Mavericks and will make it hard for him to play on another team.

"do not be alarmed by some of the language"

I have been seeing this hodge podge on Josh Howard and how has disrespect the flag. It has left me to wonder how you disrespect a song. This is crazy to me and another one of the many things that I consider to be nonsense. I guess people measure your patriotism on rather you support a song. Those same people who stand in criticism, I would gather have never have participated in any of the armed forces and probably never will.

Now I may not have agreed with how he said it but what he said was not that big of a deal. Here in lies the perception factor. If you ask many young, black males about how they feel about the anthem and they would probably respond the same way. The perception is based upon does America really care about me. I can unequivocally answer that they think that America has no concern for them whatsoever. I am 34 years old and I do no think that the policies and procedure have anything to do with my welfare.

When I see cops get off for shooting innocent men, Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo but then Michael Vick is imprisoned for killing dogs it would make me wonder. What is more important a bunch of dogs or human lives. I don not condemn Vick’s behavior but this is strange to me.

Call it what you want but this is why I am so thankful for the grace of God cause things are crazy out here.

just my thoughts

Last night’s Monday Night Football game had some issues.  The problems began before the game even started with Kat Deluna’s atrocious rendition of the National Anthem.  This will go down in history as one of the worst in a long line of terrible renditions of this song.  It was a terrible version filled with growling and runs all over the place.  It was off-key and badly sung in general.  At least she was all into herself instead of the lyrics.  They could have found someone better at the American Idol tryouts.  Thanks to Dallas fans for appropriately booing her sorry ass.

Being on ESPN, we had to put up with the idiot, Tony Kornheiser.  Now that Bryant Gumble is gone, he is, bar none, the worst sports commentator on television.  Last night, as I was frantically and unsuccessfully trying to get “The Ticket” (the Cowboys’ flagship station) to tune in on my radio, I came to the horrible realization that I would rather listen to Brent Musberger.  I never thought I would say that, but sadly it is true.

It is apparent that whatever the ESPN commentators are talking about is much more important than anything else that must be going on, especially the game itself.  At one point Stuart Scott was making some general point about DeSean Jackson after a play where he obviously got hurt.  Since the injury did not do anything to bolster his argument, I guess Scott felt that the injury was not worth mentioning.  Also, it is evident that ESPN is not concerned with providing their audience with a replay even if there is a questionable component to a play.  Thank goodness the refs finally got one right when they reversed the claim that a ball had been tipped (by a phantom, I guess) late in the game.  It was obvious that the ESPN crew was not even watching the game at that point, and it took the refs to point out the play to them.  Thank goodness for Tivo/DVR.  With it, I am able to rewind and review pertinent events of the game on my own, and then fast forward past all of the “blah, blah, blah.  There has to be someone better than this crew out there.  Please find them.

This all being said, the viewers of the game were treated to one of the best Monday Night Football games in history.  What an enjoyable shootout it was.  I make no secret of the fact that I am from the Dallas area, and am a lifelong Dallas fan, and as a result, an Eagles (and Redskins) hater.  This made the game all the better for me.  The rest of the league is lucky that the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants have to play six games against each other this season.  Overall, it was a great game, but it was not perfect on either side of the ball or with the striped shirts.

On this point, I want to say first that I do not consider myself to be a bad fan, one that always complains and finds fault in a game.  There are those guys who would pick apart a victory if their team won 50-0.  I am not like that, but that does not mean that I am blinded by victory either.

One thing that I believe is very hard for players to overcome is a tendency to make bad in-game decisions.  There are those players who perform well, but in certain situations fall apart or make catastrophic mistake.  Usually, this is occurs under pressure.

Monday night’s game had more than its fair share of these moments.  Some times a play simply underscores the fact that a player is a knucklehead in general.  Cowboy fans can thank DeSean Jackson for replacing Leon Lett as the player who made the most boneheaded decision in league history.  Get ready Eagles fans, I’m sure you will have years to enjoy the antics of this idiot if he can survive the Philadelphia media.  There is a great quote from Bull Durham that applies well to this discussion.  Crash Davis says, “Come on, 'rook, show us that million-dollar arm. 'Cause I got; oh yeah, I got a good idea about that five-cent head of yours.”

Jackson’s folly overshadowed two other brain-dead plays that had a much greater impact on the game.  Late in the game, Donovan McNabb did his best Lucy Van Pelt impersonation when he stuck the ball out for Brian Westbrook, drew is back, and then stuck it back out again just in time to cause a game-changing fumble.  There is really no good explanation for this play, but he was just matching a equally bad decision made by Romo earlier in the game.

In that instance, Romo went to pitch the ball back to Marion Barber III, and had it slip out of his hands in his own end zone. Romo, instead of kicking the ball out of the end zone for a safety, the appropriate play at the time, picked it up.  This allowed him the opportunity to perform a Romo-like play and simply throw the ball away, as he was outside of the pocket when he got to it.  Instead, however, he picked up the ball, and looked for a moment as if he thought he were Barry Sanders, and was going to run it out of the end zone from eight yards deep himself.  Unfortunately, when he looked up there were four Eagles there ready to fustigate him.  Again, instead of making the good decision, and taking the safety, he decided to try to throw the ball away too late, and handed the Eagles a touchdown.

Look, I like Romo, and think he is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the game of football today.  The problem is that I am beginning to worry about his ‘five cent head.’  Tony has shown a propensity for the bonehead play in his career so far, be it the faulty hold against Seattle, untimely interceptions or his highlight play when he scrambled all over the field for a first down (it was still a bad football decision, though it was very entertaining to watch.).  Many people have compared his ‘gunslinger’ mentality to Brett Favre (I hate these nauseous comparisons.).  We are told that ‘when you have a guy like this, you have to take the bad with the good.’  I don’t get this argument.  I just want the good.  I want a player’s great talent and ability to be bolstered by him smart in-game decisions.  That is what wins championships.  I’m starting to be afraid that when the chips are on the line, in a must-win game, that his ‘gunslinger’ mentality will result in Cowboy fans being shot through the heart.  I truly hope I am wrong.

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Never Forget...
"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place." 2 Chron 7:14-15