The Comics

I was going to save my Groundhog Day package of 'toons for today.That was until I saw this,'EEK!'(by Scott Nickel)yesterday.This is just too gosh darn funny:-)That is why it is the comic of the week.

Joseph The Dreamer>Pt II

From The Message Bible,Genesis 39:

After Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, Potiphar an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh's officials and the manager of his household, bought him from them.

As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him, saw that God was working for good in everything he did. He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.

Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master's wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, "Sleep with me."

He wouldn't do it. He said to his master's wife, "Look, with me here, my master doesn't give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he's put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn't turned over to me is you. You're his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?"

She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her.

On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there. She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, "Sleep with me!" He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to her house servants: "Look—this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he's trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I could. With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and ran outside."

She kept his coat right there until his master came home. She told him the same story. She said, "The Hebrew slave, the one you brought to us, came after me and tried to use me for his plaything. When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat with me and ran outside."

When his master heard his wife's story, telling him, "These are the things your slave did to me," he was furious. Joseph's master took him and threw him into the jail where the king's prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.

Genesis 40:

As time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt crossed their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker, and put them in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where Joseph was held. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to see to their needs.

After they had been in custody for a while, the king's cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning. When Joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. So he asked them, the two officials of Pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, "What's wrong? Why the long faces?"

They said, "We dreamed dreams and there's no one to interpret them."
Joseph said, "Don't interpretations come from God? Tell me the dreams."
First the head cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: "In my dream there was a vine in front of me with three branches on it: It budded, blossomed, and the clusters ripened into grapes. I was holding Pharaoh's cup; I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh."

Joseph said, "Here's the meaning. The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your old work—you'll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me when things are going well with you again—tell Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And since I've been here, I've done nothing to deserve being put in this hole."

When the head baker saw how well Joseph's interpretation turned out, he spoke up: "My dream went like this: I saw three wicker baskets on my head; the top basket had assorted pastries from the bakery and birds were picking at them from the basket on my head."

Joseph said, "This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will take off your head, impale you on a post, and the birds will pick your bones clean."

And sure enough, on the third day it was Pharaoh's birthday and he threw a feast for all his servants. He set the head cupbearer and the head baker in places of honor in the presence of all the guests. Then he restored the head cupbearer to his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as before. And then he impaled the head baker on a post, following Joseph's interpretations exactly.

But the head cupbearer never gave Joseph another thought; he forgot all about him.



Genesis 41:1-46:

Two years passed and Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile River. Seven cows came up out of the Nile, all shimmering with health, and grazed on the marsh grass. Then seven other cows, all skin and bones, came up out of the river after them and stood by them on the bank of the Nile. The skinny cows ate the seven healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

He went back to sleep and dreamed a second time: Seven ears of grain, full-bodied and lush, grew out of a single stalk. Then seven more ears grew up, but these were thin and dried out by the east wind. The thin ears swallowed up the full, healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up—another dream.

When morning came, he was upset. He sent for all the magicians and sages of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but they couldn't interpret them to him.

The head cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, "I just now remembered something—I'm sorry, I should have told you this long ago. Once when Pharaoh got angry with his servants, he locked me and the head baker in the house of the captain of the guard. We both had dreams on the same night, each dream with its own meaning. It so happened that there was a young Hebrew slave there with us; he belonged to the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us, each dream separately. Things turned out just as he interpreted. I was returned to my position and the head baker was impaled."

Pharaoh at once sent for Joseph. They brought him on the run from the jail cell. He cut his hair, put on clean clothes, and came to Pharaoh.

"I dreamed a dream," Pharaoh told Joseph. "Nobody can interpret it. But I've heard that just by hearing a dream you can interpret it."

Joseph answered, "Not I, but God. God will set Pharaoh's mind at ease."

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile. Seven cows, shimmering with health, came up out of the river and grazed on the marsh grass. On their heels seven more cows, all skin and bones, came up. I've never seen uglier cows anywhere in Egypt. Then the seven skinny, ugly cows ate up the first seven healthy cows. But you couldn't tell by looking—after eating them up they were just as skinny and ugly as before. Then I woke up.

"In my second dream I saw seven ears of grain, full-bodied and lush, growing out of a single stalk, and right behind them, seven other ears, shriveled, thin, and dried out by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up the full ears. I've told all this to the magicians but they can't figure it out."

Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh's two dreams both mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh what he is going to do. The seven healthy cows are seven years and the seven healthy ears of grain are seven years—they're the same dream. The seven sick and ugly cows that followed them up are seven years and the seven scrawny ears of grain dried out by the east wind are the same—seven years of famine.

"The meaning is what I said earlier: God is letting Pharaoh in on what he is going to do. Seven years of plenty are on their way throughout Egypt. But on their heels will come seven years of famine, leaving no trace of the Egyptian plenty. As the country is emptied by famine, there won't be even a scrap left of the previous plenty—the famine will be total. The fact that Pharaoh dreamed the same dream twice emphasizes God's determination to do this and do it soon.

"So, Pharaoh needs to look for a wise and experienced man and put him in charge of the country. Then Pharaoh needs to appoint managers throughout the country of Egypt to organize it during the years of plenty. Their job will be to collect all the food produced in the good years ahead and stockpile the grain under Pharaoh's authority, storing it in the towns for food. This grain will be held back to be used later during the seven years of famine that are coming on Egypt. This way the country won't be devastated by the famine."

This seemed like a good idea to Pharaoh and his officials.

Then Pharaoh said to his officials, "Isn't this the man we need? Are we going to find anyone else who has God's spirit in him like this?"

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "You're the man for us. God has given you the inside story—no one is as qualified as you in experience and wisdom. From now on, you're in charge of my affairs; all my people will report to you. Only as king will I be over you."

So Pharaoh commissioned Joseph: "I'm putting you in charge of the entire country of Egypt." Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his finger and slipped it on Joseph's hand. He outfitted him in robes of the best linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He put the second-in-command chariot at his disposal, and as he rode people shouted "Bravo!"

Joseph was in charge of the entire country of Egypt.

Pharaoh told Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but no one in Egypt will make a single move without your stamp of approval."

Then Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah (God Speaks and He Lives). He also gave him an Egyptian wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On (Heliopolis).

And Joseph took up his duties over the land of Egypt.

Joseph was thirty years old when he went to work for Pharaoh the king of Egypt. As soon as Joseph left Pharaoh's presence, he began his work in Egypt.

Some Groundhog Day Comics

Great Morning Sky!!!

This morning(January 30,2008)was cold as hell in Bellefontaine..The temperature was only 6 degrees and the wind chill was a freezing minus 15 degrees(F).Yet,as I left my car at work's parking lot,I saw an amazing sight.Glowing brightly in the bible black per-dawn sky were these absolutely shining objects.Venus and Jupiter seemed almost together and Antares off to the right seemed almost as bright.At first,I thought that,perhaps,i was was seeing three airplanes.but I wasn't!

As cold as the air and the wind were,this amazing,magnificent sight was what really took my breath away.Venus and Jupiter will be here awhile.I suggest making sure you get up to see this just plain awesome spectacular at least once.

Double WoW!!!

Let's Waste Some Time With Another Good Sex Story

"...the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, manager of his household affairs."

And so we must leave Joseph to his own devices.Soon,he will go through some actual trials and tribulations that are so wildly coincidental that it must be assumed that they are the inspired works of the hand of God.These circumstances,however,have to play out in their own good time....just how will the Biblical writers show this passage of time??

Here,I'll tell ya...no,wait...this is so good,I am just going to let Genesis 38 tell the story(again form 'The Message' Bible):

About that time, Judah separated from his brothers and hooked up with a man in Adullam named Hirah. While there, Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua. He married her, they went to bed, she became pregnant and had a son named Er. She got pregnant again and had a son named Onan. She had still another son; she named this one Shelah. They were living at Kezib when she had him.

Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn. Her name was Tamar. But Judah's firstborn, Er, grievously offended God and God took his life.

So Judah told Onan, "Go and sleep with your brother's widow; it's the duty of a brother-in-law to keep your brother's line alive." But Onan knew that the child wouldn't be his, so whenever he slept with his brother's widow he spilled his semen on the ground so he wouldn't produce a child for his brother. God was much offended by what he did and also took his life.

So Judah stepped in and told his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow at home with your father until my son Shelah grows up." He was worried that Shelah would also end up dead, just like his brothers. So Tamar went to live with her father.

Time passed. Judah's wife, Shua's daughter, died. When the time of mourning was over, Judah with his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah for the sheep shearing.

Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law has gone to Timnah to shear his sheep." She took off her widow's clothes, put on a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the road to Timnah. She realized by now that even though Shelah was grown up, she wasn't going to be married to him.

Judah saw her and assumed she was a prostitute since she had veiled her face. He left the road and went over to her. He said, "Let me sleep with you." He had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law.

She said, "What will you pay me?"

"I'll send you," he said, "a kid goat from the flock."
She said, "Not unless you give me a pledge until you send it."

"So what would you want in the way of a pledge?"
She said, "Your personal seal-and-cord and the staff you carry."
He handed them over to her and slept with her. And she got pregnant.

She then left and went home. She removed her veil and put her widow's clothes back on.

Judah sent the kid goat by his friend from Adullam to recover the pledge from the woman. But he couldn't find her. He asked the men of that place, "Where's the prostitute that used to sit by the road here near Enaim?"
They said, "There's never been a prostitute here."

He went back to Judah and said, "I couldn't find her. The men there said there never has been a prostitute there."


Judah said, "Let her have it then. If we keep looking, everyone will be poking fun at us. I kept my part of the bargain—I sent the kid goat but you couldn't find her."

Three months or so later, Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law has been playing the whore—and now she's a pregnant whore."
Judah yelled, "Get her out here. Burn her up!"

As they brought her out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, "I'm pregnant by the man who owns these things. Identify them, please. Who's the owner of the seal-and-cord and the staff?"

Judah saw they were his. He said, "She's in the right; I'm in the wrong— I wouldn't let her marry my son Shelah." He never slept with her again.

When her time came to give birth, it turned out that there were twins in her womb. As she was giving birth, one put his hand out; the midwife tied a red thread on his hand, saying, "This one came first." But then he pulled it back and his brother came out. She said, "Oh! A breakout!" So she named him Perez (Breakout). Then his brother came out with the red thread on his hand. They named him Zerah (Bright).

WoW!You can't make this stuff up(...or can you???)Anyway,this is raunchier then 'Desperate Housewives'.Don't worry...The Bible gets duller.

The Comics

This 'Brewster Rockit(by Tim Rickard)from Thursday,January 25 is the second place comic this week.It is both topical and LOL funny:-)


This week's best cartoon is this 'Candorville',by the amazing Darrin Bell.Not only is this Friday,25 of January strip LOL funny and very topical,but it goes beyond that.This comic strip actually made me think.Not just ethics amongst mudslingers,but ethics amongst ethics....and funny to boot!That is why this is the comic of the week.

Which Twin Is Witch?

I forget which Olsen twin is Ashley and which
one is Mary Kate,but,man,talk about going from cute to creepy:-(

Just Taking Up Space.

The fine people from Stephenville,Texas are not buying that the resently sighted U.F.O.'s were just fighter jets. Maybe they weren't.

Joseph>The Dreamer Pt:I

Israel lost Rachael when she was giving birth to her second child,Benjamin.Since Jacob loved Rachael best,her two children,Joseph and Benjamin,were his favorites.

Understandably,the other 10 children of Izzy were jealous of them...especially of Joseph...though younger then most of his brothers.Of course Joseph didn't help matters by telling his brother's his....dreams.

The thing was,though the brothers thought he was being arrogant,they were actually real dreams....dreams that forecast the future.And Joseph was just explaining the dreams...or was he?I believe his brothers were correct in being jealous of their pampered brother.

I mean come on,Israel gave Joseph a muti-colored coat,the envy of all his brothers.His brothers were rightly angered.

And you didn't want to piss his brothers off.When Shechem,son of Hamor(a Hivite chieftain),raped Leah's daughter,Dinah,the son's of Israel told the head over heals Shechem that he could marry Dinah if everyone in his clan got circumcised.After the Hivites circumcised themselves and they were still in pain,the son's of Jacob went into their camp and slaughtered them.


You did not want to piss these boys off.


But that is exactly what the young,smart,good looking,arrogant Joseph did.Here,let The Bible tell it:

Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, "Listen to this dream I had. We were all out in the field gathering bundles of wheat. All of a sudden my bundle stood straight up and your bundles circled around it and bowed down to mine."
His brothers said, "So! You're going to rule us? You're going to boss us around?" And they hated him more than ever because of his dreams and the way he talked.
He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: "I dreamed another dream—the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!"
When he told it to his father and brothers, his father reprimanded him: "What's with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?" Now his brothers were really jealous; but his father brooded over the whole business.

So,when Israel sent Joseph to(of all places)Shechem to check up on his brothers,his scheming siblings decided to take their revenge.First,they took Joseph and threw him down a dry well.They were going to leave him there to rot. They changed their plan when some traders heading towards Egypt happened along."Why should we kill him?"they said amongst themselves,"Why not just sell him to these traders?"

And that is what is what they did.To make the story more believable,the brothers killed a goat and took Joseph's colorful coat and wiped it in the goat's blood.They were then going to tell Israel that Joseph must had been attacked and killed by a wild beast.

Thus God set in motion a series of unfortunate events that would change history forever.

Like Father,Like Son!?!

George H.W.Bush had his 1,000 points of Light.

George W.Bush has his 937 lies that got us into a war!

Hey!'W'!It's 1,000 points of'lights'-not'Lies'!

Get it right,will,ya!?!

There's Got To Be A Mourning After

First,there's this:



The 'Right' is 'wrong' on so may things,and Bill O'Reilly is their poster boy.This man is so far off base on so many things that this incredible statement-given as smug fact-is just another example of his pompous 'ass'ininess.I am not sure that I am not just propelling this line of propaganda further along by promoting it.

But,ignoring this problem is just what these neo(conservative)Nazi's want us to do.The problem with homeless vet's is just too big of a problem to do that.

Never having served in the military,I admire those that do.I believe that most veterans fight for the right of other Americans-like me- to serve their country in many other different ways.The military troops of a America are a breed a part.Both God and country should bless them.

According to this article from 'Comcast.net/news,The Department Of Veterans Affairs,states that there are 1,500 returning vets from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that could be considered homeless.In the same article,'The National Alliance To End Homelessness',states that during 2006,336,000 vets were considered homeless at one time or another.

Bill O'Really,is more then just blowing smoke up are asses,he is almost committing treason.He is not just ignoring the problem,he is derogating the problem-pooh-poohing it away.This so called,patriot,and Republican flag waving war monger,is disclaiming the very heroes that are fighting for his and our freedom!

O'Really is just chump change when it comes to our homeless vets.The reason most vets become homeless is because they have a difficult time re-acclimating themselves into the mainstream society.According to this article from AlterNet.Org,here's why:They're heroes.Everyone knows about boot camp.How fighting and becoming a well oiled soldier is drilled into fresh new recruits.These young men and women are taught the ways of war.Kill without thinking.Obey orders.Make quick judgements.Normally sound social values are pushed to the side to make a better soldier.


I don't know how a person could survive a war without this training.


When a soldier comes home minus a limb,we can see his or her cost at serving our country.What we can't see is his or her mental cost.How does one come back to the world of opening doors for Gramma,smiling mothers strolling their babies,and stop and go traffic after seeing all these as ghostly apparitions in the daily trials of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan?We've all read the stories,see it on the news;how can a man or woman come back home without some emotional backlash?


And they probably should.It is a sign of mental stability and finely breed values clashing with the cost of war that is leaving these men and women homeless.It is a heart breaking lost.I don't see how any soldier returns without some type of shadow following them.

The government sees this as a problem as well.In what they call,'The Psychological Kevlar Act',they have come up with a solution made for nipping this problem at the bud....a cheap drug called,Propranalol.Sometimes called,'The Mourning After' pill,it is taken to relieve the taker of the emotional baggage associated with warfare.Propranalol supposedly does not take away the memory of combat,but makes the subject feel nonchalant about it.

I ask,this helps,how?

Why do I feel this drug will end up causing more problems then it stops?Soldiers are coming home,some,because they can't (or can) add up two and two together,and are having a very difficult time adjusting to HOME.This makes them human,perhaps needing of medical attention,and the very least,our respect.

Is a drug(probably under tested and with no known testing for long term side effects) that possibly will turn our fighting men and women into emotionless zombies really the answer...?

...I don't know.You tell me.

Roe vs.Wade:35 Year Anniversary

Presented as fact: There are currently 25 pregnant girls in our town's school system.The youngest is in fifth grade.

Presented as fact: Last year had the lowest abortion rate since 1990: one million,five hundred thousand.

Presented as fact: Many Pro-life citizens are Christian.They believe abortion is murder,and that the taking of an innocent unborn child is particular abhorrent.They base their belief on such Biblical references as the Old Testament's ,'Thy Shall Not Kill',and This from Jeremiah 32:31-35: And then they went out and built shrines to the god Baal in the valley of Hinnom, where they burned their children in sacrifice to the god Molech—I can hardly conceive of such evil!—turning the whole country into one huge act of sin.' And from such passages from the New Testament as Mark 10:13-16:The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.

The very idea of sacrificing children to the god of 'convenience' seems horrible and strange to these Christians that are taught that all human life has value.

Presented as fact: The Pro Choice movement in America is against government interference(or for very limited interference) when it comes to a woman's reproductive rights.Pro choice 'is not' pro abortion,but for reproductive choice.The pro-choice movement is about personal responsibility for one's own body.The pro-choice movement worries that any laws prohibiting choice will limit personal freedoms.Pro-choice believes that a government should have very limited involvement in personal life choice decisions.

The Pro-Choice movement believes that giving the United States government the final say on whether your mother,daughter,or sister lives or dies a prohibitively abhorrent concept.

Presented as fact:If you believe that abortion is justifiable in case of saving the mother's life,or in cases of rape and/or incest:you are pro-choice.

Presented as fact:There are many forms of legalized murder in the United states:Executions of criminals;self defense;defending your country and/or it's interests;medical legalized euthanasia[pulling the plug on terminally ill],etc.

Presented as fact:There is no definitive definition to when 'human' life begins,let alone when it is first considered murder to terminate that said life(i.e. a fertilized egg may,through a woman's natural cycle,be washed from her system.This could never be considered murder).If a women with a 20 week old fetus is murdered,the killer could be charged with a double homicide,yet the woman could still legally have an abortion.What would the outcome be if she was on the way to an abortion clinic is any body's guess.

Presented as fact:Women who've had abortions can suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Presented as fact:In the United States,it is believed that there are over 3,200 pregnancies a year in this country caused by rape.

Presented as fact:fetuses as young as 22 weeks can now survive outside the womb.

If you have anything to add to this list,let me know.

HARSH!

Martin Luther King Day

Here is a repeat of a 'classic' TheDrew that I posted last year for MLK Day(January 15th,2007)




I have always been a fan of Martin Luther King.I remember-as a preteenager-hearing him preach how only nonviolent and peaceful protests could achieve equal rights.I became more of a Christian because of his leadership role in the civil rights movement.After seeing pictures of white firemen spraying down black teenagers,and white policemen attacking elderly black women with vicious police dogs,AND THE PROTESTERS NOT FIGHTING BACK,no matter how some of my prejudiced elders and friends tried to justify these actions,I just could not buy into them.All I could picture was my grandmother being attacked by police dogs,my older cousins being sprayed with the very forceful fire hoses.AND NOT FIGHTING BACK.

I knew their cause was just.I knew that these whites were ignorant and wrong.Yet Dr.King preached not to hate these protagonist,but to pray for them.He dared to live the Christian dream.It was mind expanding.Because they would not fight,and would not back down,they showed to me that their cause was just.And I became a believer.

It also tainted my beliefs.It made me see the power of assembly.So when Kent State happened,I fully believed that that students were using a correct form of protest.

I could go on and blabber long and hard about my feelings,but I would rather leave you with something from the New Testament that may have nothing at all to do with what we are celebrating today,or just about everything.This is First Corinthians,Chapter 13.It,in my opinion,deserves to be read at every wedding(it was in mine).It is just about one of the best descriptions of love anywhere:

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous,love is not pompous, it is not inflated,it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.For we know partially and we prophesy partially,but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.

At present we see indistinctly,as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.In the end,there are three things that endure:faith, hope,and love,and the greatest of these is love.

In closing,buy someone a book for MLK Day.Pass knowledge around.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

The Comics

It is not often that I pick a Sunday strip for the comic of the week,but last Sunday's'[1/13/08]Stone Soup',by Jan Eliot,was this week's winning strip.Stone Soup is a fun strip about your somewhat normal American family....yes,I know,only if you consider a now-a-days,single mom,extended family as a normal(like I do).It is one of my daily reads.


The strip is unique in the fact that the characters age slightly,and while some days the strip has a timeless quality to it,other days it seems fresh as today.One of the perks of the strip is the single mom,Val Stone's yearly book club meeting with female characters from other comic strips(Rose Is Rose,Cathy,Dilbert,For Better or Worse,Zits,etc).This book club is what originally brought me to the comic.The art is great(Do the other strip artists draw their characters?)...and it looks like this might be the only time we are going to met the whole book club this year(drat!).That is why this is the comic of the week.

The Jacob Story-or-The Stairway To Heaven-or-Hip To Be Square

Jacob would become Israel.This is his story.

Issac,Jake's pop,sent Jacob to go visit Jacob's uncle,on his mother's side,Uncle Laban.On his way to Laban's,Jacob stopped at a place called Haran to sleep for the night.Using a rock as his pillow,he had a dream.In this dream,he saw the 'The Stairway To Heaven. DuDE!.{While traditionally,this has been know as 'Jacob's ladder',the more accurate translation is 'stairway'.}God told Jake that this land is your land.Jacob called the place,Bethel...or Bethlehem,and went on his merry way.

When the Jake-man finally got to unk's,Jacob immediately fell in love with his first cousin,Rachael.Jake said,"Hey,old man,what ya' say that you let me marry your babe daughter,Rach,I'll work seven years for ya'?Good deal,huh,old,man?"

Laban said,"Righteous."

However,thanks to there being no electricity and it being very dark,the Jakester woke up in his wedding tent,not with his beautiful bride,the Rach-babe,but with her older sister,Leah.Now,though,Leah had pretty eyes,she wasn't Jacob's beloved.So,Jake went to his uncle Laban and said,"DuDE!?!"

Uncle replied,"'Tis truely bogus,bro,but the man says that the OLDEST daughter has to get hitched first.Hey man,how many righteous DuDES like yourself gets to marry not one but two of his first cousins?Work seven more years for me and I'll let ya have Rachael,too.What ya say,Bro?"

This put Jacob over a barrel,"DuDE!"

So,Jacob worked 14 years for Pop-in-law,but they seemed like days because he loved Rachael....

....and he got busy.Leah was popping out babies by the score,but since Rachael wasn't,she had Jake get busy with her maid.Leah had her made maid join the party,too.DuDE! What a par-tee!

Soon,God blessed Rachael,and Jacob knew it was time to go home.He said to his father-in-law,"I'm going home,man."

Laban replied,"Don't you want paid?God's good to you.I should pay you something."

"Well,DuDE,since you ask,I'll take your spotted sheeps.There ain't too many of those."

"Deal,"But,uncle Laban then took all of his spotted sheep and gave them to his son's.That was un-cool.

This did not stop Jacob.To quote for the good book itself:

But Jacob got fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark, leaving white stripes on them. He stuck the peeled branches in front of the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. When the flocks were in heat, they came to drink and mated in front of the streaked branches. Then they gave birth to young that were streaked or spotted or speckled. Jacob placed the ewes before the dark-colored animals of Laban. That way he got distinctive flocks for himself which he didn't mix with Laban's flocks. And when the sturdier animals were mating, Jacob placed branches at the troughs in view of the animals so that they mated in front of the branches. But he wouldn't set up the branches before the feebler animals. That way the feeble animals went to Laban and the sturdy ones to Jacob.

Soon,Jacob said,"Enough of this,I am outta here."and he booked.

Ol' man,Laban didn't like losing his daughters and his hired hand so he went chasing after him.Rachael,unknown to Jacob,stole her dad's idols.Laban used the missing idols as an excuse to chase The Jake.When he caught up with Jacob,Laban said"Hey,man,leaving without saying goodbye was nasty,but did you have to take my idols.too?"

This outraged Jacob,"DuDE!If anyone in my party has your idols,I'll kill 'em myself."

Rachael,who was sitting on a pillow hiding to idols gulped and thought real fast,"Aah...I'm on my period,I'm not getting up."

"WoW!Bummer,man.I could have swore you took them.My bad."

"This is bogus,DuDE.Unrightous.Hey,I got an idea.Let's get stoned...make peace not war."

And so they did.

Jacob was heading for home.He had totally forgotten about Esau,"DuDE!"

So Jake-Up started sending Esau mucho presents and as he got closer he divided his party into two camps,sending the women and children up ahead in front of him.

That night,Jacob ran into a man of God and wrestled with him all night long.Jake said to the angel,"Say uncle,"and Jacob wouldn't let go.Finally,at the break of dawn,the angel struck Jacob's hip,but still Jake would not let him go,"Bless me,first,"he said.

The angel said,"OK,Things will be cool with Esau.And from now on you will no longer be called Jacob.From now on you will be known as 'The God Wrestler'.We can shorten that to Israel.

The angel was as good as his word.Jake was now Israel...

...and as for Esau....He was cool.He turned out to be one rightous DuDE.

Fit To Spit

That goofball Huckleberry Hound is at it again.This time the wacko compares homosexuality to bestiality.As you all know,I am a Bible thumper myself,but this guy is so off base,that he wants to Christianize The Constitution.

I am sorry,America does not need this guys brand of Christianity(I question his Christianity.His preachings of intolerance and hate are 'anti-Christ').

But,let's say he's' right' in his thinking.Christ+Country= Good.Mmmm...see...this is why separation of church and state are soo important.Right now,at this time,we are trying to bring 'democracy' to Iraq.Most Iraqis are Muslim.This presents a very BIG problem for a guy who wants to Christianize America...big conflict of interest.

How so?If Huckleberry Hound believes that Jesus Christ was crucified,died and resurrected.If he preaches that everyone by Constitutional law has to to believe this,then,then..em..how does he handle that fact that according to the Qur'an,most Muslims do not believe that Jesus died on the cross?

For The Qur'an says:That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not: Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.—Qur'an, [Qur'an 4:157

Some Muslims even believe that Jesus wasn't even the guy on the cross!But that he had a doppelganger up there,instead.

Now,'my' beliefs are not dependent on some other religion's,so this doesn't bother 'me'...but dawg man here,is openly showing he is more hard core on the subject.I mean,he wants ALL of America to believe in Christ.This should really piss Huck off.What would stop him from saying something really stupid like,"Well,then Muhammad is a phooney!"

Can you say."Instant WWIII ?Can you say,"No more democracy in Iraq?"

The man is the wrong man for the job.

And the nutcase Romney is no better.The man is anti-union.When I was growing up,America was about great jobs with great wages;the highest standard of living in the world!That's 'world',ladies and gentlemen.

But since Reagan,unions and the working man have been given the shaft.Now,the line is,'we have to compete;unions are corrupt;American workers are lazy.well,I am here to tell ya' man...you are wrong.I am part of the vast underpaid non-union work force.Most American workers I see work every day are hard working,honest folk made to work harder for even less money.10 plus hours without over time.Little or no insurance.Nepotism.All the while we have Enron,Halliburton,and CEO's making proportionately more money off their companies then they ever have before.

Not that all unions are perfect.This story about the N.F'n'.L.Breaks my heart.I did not know that great players from the sixties and early seventies,like Leroy Kelly,made only $12,000.00-$20,000.00 a year.I didn't know that they only get pentions of under $300.00 a month!And now that they're crippled they don't even get disability!

The N.F'n'.L. makes billions of dollars.This seems like blood money.I don't know if I even care to watch it anymore.

Women,you have got to be kidding me.Designer vaginas!?! Look,ladies,men are just happy anywhere near a vagina.Believe me,most men love you gals for just being you gals.Unless there is some sort of medical reason for this...why?Are you ladies that judgemental with each other..and do you check each other out this much?I mean,there is scrutiny and then there is scrunity.Stop this madness at once!You are beautiful just the way you are!

Now,i've got a picture of Joan Rivers in my mind I wish I didn't have.Arrgh!My eyes!


Speaking of eyes....people have been seeingUFO's Ev-ery-where.





Of course,people have been saying I have been taking up space for years.You've been real.That's for listening:-)

Proving Once Again People From Michigan Are Idiots

Once Again the people of Michigan have proved themselves to be idiots.The blue collar state voted for a picket line crossing strike breaker.Yep,Mitt Romney won the Michigan primary.Hey,you folks up north?Aren't you looking for good jobs?And you vote for a strike breaker?What's next,voting in,'Hang On Sloopy',for the University of Michigan fight song?

My Jacob & My Esau

One of the problems I find with taking The Bible literally is that the morals of one time and place do not necessarily fit into another place and time.The glory of the story from one place and time period then,is the 'lesson' that the other place and time can learn from it.

Here is an example of what I mean.Issac married his second cousin,Rebekah.They had twin children,Esau,the older,and Jacob,the younger.Esau grew into a burly outdoors man,with a red furry hair.Jacob,was the apple of his mother's eye.He was dotted over by her.

Issac was old,and blind and on his death bed.He told Esau to go hunt and bring back his(Issac's)favorite game,and then to cook it up and serve it to him.Then,Issac would give Esau his blessing.

Rebekah over heard this conversation and told her younger son that she would cook this favorite dish for her husband and then have Jacob disguised as Esau go to his father and receive Esau's blessing.

Of course this did not sit well with Esau once he got back from the hunt only to find that his father had given away his blessing.Esau had already given away his birth right as oldest son for a bowl of stew to Jacob.So,perhaps the blessing of the first born was rightfully Jacob's.But the way Jacob and his mother went about procuring this right was terribly wrong in many ways.

Of course Mommy suggests to Jacob that he should book out of there for a while.So,while this is not the end of the Jacob story(more like the middle...after all,he does become 'Israel'),this is where I am going to stop for now,with is now...

...which brings me to this now,our present.Until the big layoff of Oh' six,I was a 'product selector' in a big food distribution warehouse.I would select food products from the bins along either side of the many isles that they placed in and along.I would then put this product on either one of two pallets.I would pile this product up to eight feet tall.I dragged my loads along on a doubly long pallet jack.Perhaps you have seen my work.Have you ever been in a grocery store and seen pallets stacked high with cans etc and wrapped with what looks liked Saran Wrap.That was me.

Now,most food packaging (i.e. cans of soup,dog food,soda pop,etc.)were selected off of their own pallets.These goods were stacked on pallets in what we would call 'a block'.A block was the amount of cases that it took to make a full-level-layer.You then could build another full level layer on top of that one.Ten double cases of pop made a flat layer;nine cases of Campbell's soup made a layer...and so on.

The object for the selector was to build as even of a load(or loads)as possible.For instance,if you had fifty double cases of soda pop,you would try to select these all first.Then you could build five flat layers on your pallet.Next you could get the 27 cases of Campbell's soup,and so on.

But...allot of times,you would have 54 cases of soda;25 cases of soup.You would still want to build a nice level load,but you had all these extra cases.

This is where,'My Jacob & My Esau' comes in.On the back skid of my double length pallet jack,I would throw all my even-level-rows.On the front pallet,I would throw the rest.Of course,the back,nice and pretty level pallet,I called,'My Jacob,' and the monster ugly load in front that always looked like it was going to tip over or fall down,I called,'My Esau'.

Jacob was the good load because Jacob took Esau's birthright and stole his blessing,right?And Esau is the bad load because all he did was feel very hungry after hunting outdoors all day while his brother stayed in the house.I mean,the only reason he didn't get his Holy father's blessing was because he did what he was asked to do.He went out to hunt for his dying father's last supper.

That would be exactly right if you took this story literally.Jacob,whom soon becomes father of the twelve tribes of Israel,was deemed righteous because he had God on his side.Am I correct...but that is not exactly correct,didn't he trick Issac,his father,whom also had God on his side?That doesn't seem right,nor,fair.

No,I believe that the main point to this story is that God works through every day,ordinary people.God did not necessarily pick Jacob over Esau because Jacob was any better then Esau,but he could have picked Jacob to prove that he is in us all...even folks like Jacob..especially through folks like Jacob...folks just like you and me.

That is why I had my 'Jacob' and my 'Esau'.For you see,I could not have had my perfect little Jacob without my dishevelled Esau.And,after doing load after load,Jacob always was the correct nearly perfect pallet,but it was through Esau,that I learned to build better loads,and become a better grocery selector.

Literally,doesn't that kind of figure?Just because bad things happen,that doesn't mean God isn't with you.He is.He is.

Oh,and soon on into our story...Jacob figures that one out,too.

The Comics

This very funny 'Tiny Sepuku' ,from Wednesday,January 10,asks the very hard question of whether love should hurt and then gives us the answer.It is the comic of the week.
'Tiny Sepuku is an advice comic strip. The name is a butchered spelling of the Japanese word "seppuku" which roughly means "sacrifice for the benefit of others". It began as a parody of Hello Kitty in 1997' (quote from the Tiny Sepuku website)


The Comic Of The Week It is not often that I pick a Sunday strip for the comic of the week,but last Sunday's'[1/13/08]Stone Soup',by Jan Eliot,was this week's winning strip.Stone Soup is a fun strip about your somewhat normal American family....yes,I know,only if you consider now-a-days,single mom,extended family as a normal(like I do).It is one of my daily reads.

The strip is unique in the fact that the characters age slightly,and while some days the strip has a timeless quality to it,other days it seems fresh as today.One of the perks of the strip is the single mom,Val Stone's yearly book club meeting with female characters from other comic strips(Rose Is Rose,Cathy,Dilbert,For Better or Worse,Zits,etc).This book club is what originally brought me to the comic.The art is great(Do the other strip artists draw their characters?)...and it looks like this might be the only time we are going to met the whole book club this year(drat!).That is why this is the comic of the week.



The Comic Of The WeekThis 'Brewster Rockit(by Tim Rickard)from Thursday,January 25 is the second place comic this week.It is both topical and LOL funny:-)


This week's best cartoon is this 'Candorville',by the amazing Darrin Bell.Not only is this Friday,25 of January strip LOL funny and very topical,but it goes beyond that.This comic strip actually made me think.Not just ethics amongst mudslingers,but ethics amongst ethics....and funny to boot!That is why this is the comic of the week.



I was going to save my Groundhog Day package of 'toons for today.That was until I saw this,'EEK!'(by Scott Nickel)yesterday.This is just too gosh darn funny:-)That is why it is the comic of the week.



First off,I would like to give a fine round of applause to 'Frog Applause' for a great week of 'thinking inside the box'.A big shout out and an even bigger thank you to Teresa Dowlatshahi for reminding me that all comics and,therefore,all cartoonists should be appreciated.Thank you,Teresa.

At first I did not know what to make of 'C'est La Vie',by Jennifer Babcock.It was sketchy,unevenly drawn,and sometimes even skipping around somehow apparently seemingly totally out of sequence.

But then,suddenly,I really liked it.It's Disneyesque princess types,Donna and Kacey were supreme comic foils for the devil-may-care star of the strip:Mona Montrois and her stuffed naughty bunny,Monsieur Smokey.

A testament to the strip is this funny comic from last Sunday,February 3rd.What a hilarious send up.'Gay face-straight body'...what a hoot!It's been a long while since I laughed so hard at a comic,that is why it is the comic of the week.

This Saturday's 'Moderately Confused',by Jeff Stahler,is this week's runner up.

But this week's winner is a Valentine's strip from the perpetually in the running,'Frog Applause'.Teresa Dowlatshahi has made more than a clever,funny,sexy,erotic almost naughty Valentine strip,here.It is chalked full of cartoony goodness.There is more thought put into this day's strip then most other comics have put into them in a month.That is why this is the comic of the week.

As you can see,though it was a tuff week to pick one single toon,you just can't beat a good Cleveland joke.That is why last Sunday's,'The Meaning Of Lila',by said John Forgetta and L.A. Rose is the comic of the week.

I was going to go old school and pick this fantastic 'Blondie'...

But This La Cucaracha was just to funny to pass up.That is why it is the comic of the week.