When Pigs Fry.

I had just had a huge helping of hogmeat at Duke's Barbeque Friday night after watching Tyler's North Walterboro Christian Academy Warriors basketball team lose a close game to Hardeeville's Abundant Life Academy Cougars, when, in my nightly Bible reading I read this from Isaiah_66:17: “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things—they will meet their end together,” declares the Lord" That seems pretty immutable, doesn't it? Probably they should have put a warning outside the shop that "eating pork barbeque may cause hypertension, diabetes, and eternal damnation". Nah. Jesus seems to have given us a loophole, here, when he tossed out a bevy of dietary prohibitions by proclaiming it wasn't what went into a person's mouth that made him unclean in Matthew, but the unkind or nasty stuff that came out of his mouth. I was breathing a sigh of relieve, hoping that Jesus had changed all this "eating pork is an abomination" talk, when I caught a litany of death penalty-punishable sins recounted in an ad in Walterboro's Press and Standard newspaper by self-described "evangelist Walt". Homosexuals topped the list, but adulterers, blasphemers, witches, and those folks who cursed their fathers or mothers are all supposed to die (interestingly, but scripturally accurately, murderers and those causing accidental death don't have to die if they can slip off to a city of refuge). He left out working on the Sabbath; and the verse I'd encountered in Isaiah didn't make the list, which I'm sure is a great relief to the pork purveyors at Duke's, but was still intent that a large group of miscreants ought to be killed. But, wait... Didn't Jesus toss out the death penalty for a lot of the rules that he didn't get rid of altogether, when told the folks about to stone an adultress to death that they'd better be without sin themselves before they pick up those big rocks? My point is that we can all be kind of particular about what stuff emphasize in the Bible, and what stuff we can just sort of passover (pun intended). For example, I don't see where Jesus specifically abolished the prohibition of wearing clothes made of more than one fabric contained in Leviticus 19:19; so, should I be feeling a little hot under the collar in my cotton/poly blend shirt, or did Jesus implicitly get rid of ALL the "uncleanness" laws? I like Garry Wills' take on the "Unclean" in What Jesus Meant. When you've got a choice between the dietary and uncleanness laws- including laws governing sex- and Jesus' law of love, go with the law of love: Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.

The Boxer.

With all the electronic stuff that kids get today, I wonder if they've gotten a proper appreciation of how great a plaything a huge box can be? Submarines, airplanes, and castles are all within the reach of any 8 year-old who's parents got a new kitchen appliance. I saw the big box at left as I was walking to the courthouse. I thought about climbing in... Nah, not in a suit. So I took a picture and spent a few minutes daydreaming about days of yore.

Common Sense.

At left is an ad I saw in the November, 2012 issue of N.R.A.s magazine, "The Rifleman", that was left in the lobby of the Public Defender's office. The copy provides: "THE FIRST 30 SECONDS OF CONTACT ARE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME. IF YOU'RE RELOADING, YOU'RE NOT IN THE FIGHT. SUREFIRE'S NEW 60- AND 100- ROUND HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINES DELIVER MORE ROUNDS DOWNRANGE WITH FEWER RELOAD. TWICE THE VIOLENCE OF ACTION. HALF THE REQUIRED RELOADS."

Now consider this ad in the context of the following is a Wikipedia article summarizing the 2011_Tucson_Shooting in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot: "The shooting took place on January 8, 2011, at 10:10 am MST (17:10 UTC).[1][14] A United States Representative from Arizona, Gabrielle Giffords, was holding a constituent meeting called "Congress on Your Corner"[10][15] at the Safeway supermarket in La Toscana Village mall, which is in Casas Adobes, an unincorporated area north of Tucson, Arizona.[16] Giffords had set up a table outside the store and about 20 to 30 people were gathered around her when Jared Lee Loughner drew a pistol and shot Giffords in the head.[17][18] The shooting was caught on video by a store security camera.[14][19] Loughner allegedly proceeded to fire apparently randomly at other members of the crowd.[2][20] He reportedly used a 9mm Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol with a 33-round magazine.[21][22] A nearby store employee said he heard "15 to 20 gunshots".[23] Loughner stopped to reload, but dropped the loaded magazine from his pocket to the sidewalk, from where bystander Patricia Maisch grabbed it.[24] Another bystander clubbed the back of the assailant's head with a folding chair, injuring his elbow in the process, representing the 14th injury.[25] The gunman was tackled to the ground by 74-year-old retired US Army Colonel Bill Badger,[26] who had been shot himself, and was further subdued by Maisch and bystanders Roger Sulzgeber and Joseph Zamudio. Zamudio was a CCW holder and had a weapon on his person, but arrived after the shooting had stopped and did not use the firearm to engage or threaten the gunman.[27]" In this instance, the "good guy with a gun" subdued the "the bad guy with the gun", without using the weapon he carried. All he, Patricia Maisch, and Col. Badger needed was a folding chair, and the few portions of a second afforded when Laughner stopped shooting to change his ammo clip. Should we be grateful that Jared Laughner had only a 33-round clip, instead of the 100-round clip that Surefire provides?

Ode to the Demise of a Holiday Season.

The Holiday Season again has passed; gone for another year. Pumpkins, turkeys, and Christmas Cheer were never meant to last,

but celebrations are always near, and others'll take their place... So put away your Halloweeny face,

...and get out your King Day gear!