Month: September 2017

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NEWS FROM GABBYGRAYWHISKERS: Puerto Rico

irma

Here’s a shout out to Dr.Rex :

Gabby’s been heavy hearted since Maria destroyed our friend in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico.  Dr. Rex on her blog has tirelessly campaigned for the United States government to step up relief efforts and emergency supplies.  We get it on with the prayers and whatever support we can muster.  Sometimes, it just seems that it ain’t enough.

Dang it all, nobody deserves the supercilious remarks out of the head cheez whiz when he said Puerto Rico was in bad shape before the hurricane and has a huge amount of debt to reconcile.  C’mon, butthead-in-chief, where’s your compassion?  Aw hell, I forgot, you have none.  Never grew up with the rest of us who learned to face life without a silver spoon stuck in our mouth or other orifice.

Well, my fellow buckaroos, Gabby’s got a solution to the money crisis Trump referred to.  BANKRUPTCY!  Hell yes, what’s good for the goose is just as good for the gander.  Actually we’re talking turkey here but I don’t want to split hairs.  Four Trump bankruptcies shafted us between 1991 and 2009.  Shoot, bankruptcy is as American to them high financiers as apple pie is to us.  If deadbeat billionaires can do it, why not Puerto Rico?

And then buckareets, how about them taxes?   Why should Puerto Rico pay its taxes to a federal government that don’t support it?  And again, let’s just look to the tax-evader-in-chief.  Gobble, gobble!

Gabby might slaughter English usage and he might use inappropriate language, but he ain’t stupid.  NosirreeBob.

 

EEEEEEEEEEHAW

 

 

 

puerto rico

 

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sheep and goats

CANDLE

One of my favorite parables in the Gospels speaks of the shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats.   The sheep were those nations (people) who lived lives according to the principles of love and compassion.  The goats were nations who lived licentiously and selfishly while professing to follow God. When the separation had been completed, the goats asked why they were not included among the blessed on the right, the sheep. Scriptures of wisdom in Matthew 25 tell us that the King replied to the sheep, who lived by spiritual principles:

“For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.”

To the goats he admonished:

“For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.”

The beauty of this passage is that the compassionate who brought aid and comfort to others were doing it because that was their love for others in action.  They had no ‘carrot on a stick’ promise of salvation for being caregivers to the less fortunate and, according to the writers of Matthew, they innocently questioned, “When did we do this for you? When did we comfort and nourish you?”

The King answered that what they had done to or for the least of his brethren, they had also done to him.  That is the essence of the teachings of the mystics.  We, the entire creation, are all one organism living on this earth to serve and care for our brothers and sisters, many of whom survive under environmental, political, and religious oppression.  When I harm another being on this earth, I am harming myself.  When I diminish the sanctity of another’s life, I am diminishing the holiness within me. When I refuse to provide mere survival essentials to my brother, I am thereby starving my soul and greatly grieving the God which dwells within me.

When hurricane Matthew in 2016 marched up the east coast of Florida, several evacuation shelters reportedly required the homeless seeking refuge from the fierce winds and rain to wear yellow wristbands while in the facility.  They were segregated, allegedly denied the same courtesies and supplies as the others, and not given cots or blankets.  One Florida county refused to admit to its shelters some homeless with prison records.  The officials in charge cited that their intent was to keep them isolated from the law-abiding “good people”.  What they did not consider was that most of “those” people, the homeless, were decent men and women with families who were in unfortunate situations of extreme need.  The Lord of Christianity, Jesus, the Christ, would have probably been relegated to the segregated crowd to protect the good people.

Was Jesus law-abiding?  According to the powers of Roman government and Jewish theocracy he was a rebel and a heretic.  His stories in scriptures and a few correlating historical accounts depict him as a vagabond, a magician, and a homeless man roaming the countryside with a gang of other losers, misfits, and runaways begging for the essentials they needed to survive.  They were viewed by the decent God-fearing society of the day as treacherous and dangerous, deserving of persecution and crucifixion.  Not until centuries later did the Roman Church fathers clean up the person of Jesus, sanctify him and define him as divine.

Do I stand today with the persecuted and crucified?  Am I truly a brother of loving kindness to my brothers and sisters who live in Syria, Puerto Rico, Florida?  I want to be, I often fall short, but I pray that I never stop trying.  How about you?  Let’s change this world.  We can do it one simple act of compassion at a time.

“And what is wisdom?  Wisdom is knowing we are all one.  Love is what it feels like, and Compassion is what it acts like.”  Ethan Walker the 3rd in “THE MYSTIC CHRIST”

namaste rainbow

 

 

 

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NEWS FROM GABBYGRAYWHISKERS: breaking news flash

smiley 3

Well Lordy be!  Me and Larry been nominated for an award.  Shoot, last award I got was for the annual cow pie contest in downtown Homosassa.  Afterwards the judges changed their minds when momma told ’em I cheated ’cause I baked my pies in her kitchen stove. I’m guessing y’all don’t know about baked cow pies, makes them real hard and easier to toss.

Well, bless Shawn’s heart for nominating me.  She’s just a good ole gal over at  I AM MANY THINGS .  Here’s the rules for:

 

one lovely blog

 

  • Mention and thank the blogger who nominated you and link their blog.
  • Add the One Lovely Blog Award to your post.
  • Share seven facts about yourself.
  • Pass this on to as many people as you  can (max 15).
  • Include this set of rules.
  • Inform your nominees.

There ain’t many verifiable facts about me.

  1. Gabby ain’t just another pretty face in the crowd.  NosirreeBob.
  2. Gabby ain’t married.  No self-respecting woman would have him.
  3. Gabby’s retired since the cow pie factory shut down couple years ago.
  4. Gabby writes to share a message.  He just don’t yet know what it is.
  5. Gabby lives with his best bud, Larry.  Don’t have any other choice.
  6. Gabby don’t mess with alcohol nor drugs. NOSIRREEBOB.
  7. Gabby loves Jesus.

I ain’t gonna nominate too many folks for this award cause most of my buds is too bashful….kinda like me.

Charlie @ CHARLIE COUNTRY BOY 

Suze @ OBSOLETE CHILDHOOD

 

Shawn, it’s been a hoot!  Thanks

smiley-face-2

 

 

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renewal

smiley-face-2

As always, my blogger mind, upon rising this morning, said, “Hmmmm, what shall we write about today?  Politics, injustice, evil, government, religion…..blah, blah, blah?”

And as always, I first read the posts from bloggers whom I follow.  The ongoing tragedy in Puerto Rico from one, today’s challenge from another, a prayer for the world from another, and then, a post that nailed me between the eyes.

“Bingo, says I.”  Mike has bottom-lined where my life has been for several months.  The agony and frustration of living life on this earth, observing all the discord in the news and on social media, fussing with family and neighbors over things beyond my control and forgetting that the God I bow to everyday is totally and unequivocally in charge of the situation.  That higher power doesn’t need my help, doesn’t want my advice, and certainly doesn’t need me to defend its grace and authority reigning somewhere beyond my understanding and comprehension.

So, where does this leave me?  More importantly, where does this take me?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that I am tired of second-guessing everything going on in this world and I am weary of chastising politicians and religious leaders who are seemingly out of step with the march which I follow.  It drains the soul, my friends.

The Buddha advises us to realize the impermanence of this life, to direct inward the actions and thoughts needed to change the world, and to be the observer and not the owner of life’s injustices and suffering.  We do that through the ‘right thinking and right behavior’ of the Buddha’s path.

According to scriptures, Jesus said he was the Way and the truth and the life.  His journey through the Gospels assures us, as the author of Philippians 4:7 says, that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds.


Going forward, all I have to take with me is that faith which demands nothing other than living a life of love and compassion with my fellow sojourners on this earth.  That’s a pretty simple directive and I know I will screw it up occasionally, but, it seems like a great way to travel the highway of life, hang out in the slow lane, and let my cup overflow.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”  Psalm 23:5

namaste rainbow

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“do not harm” act in Congress

DO NOT HARM  house bill HR3222

This bill, introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and
Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA), would ensure that the
federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) couldn’t be used to exempt people or businesses from
adhering to laws designed to ensure basic
civil rights and legal protections. AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Research the bill.  If you agree that the rights of LGBT realized after decades of blood, sweat and tears must be protected from religious institutions’ attempts via the RFRA to regulate and negate those rights, contact your U.S. Representative and tell him you expect his/her support of the Scott/Kennedy bill now pending in the House.  Create an account with congress.gov to receive email updates on bills pending and voting schedule.

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a place for everyone

As bloggers, some of us aspire to more intense undertakings such as a novel or a book of poetry while others are content to simply scribble on and on into oblivion.  I fall into the latter category with an exception.  I would like my writing to make a difference in someone’s life.

My most recent post, ROY MOORE VERSUS TRUTH, details the advancing candidacy in Alabama’s United States Senate race of a man who has been described as a “homophobic, Bible-thumping firebrand.”  Indeed some of his verifiable quotes would give credence to that assessment.

I walk this earth as a dedicated anti-religionist.  “Religionist” is a term I use frequently to define someone who supports his/her intolerance, bigotry, racism, homophobia with their religion’s label and their religion’s scriptures.  Most often they view that scripture as inerrant, literal, and infallible.  The religionist’s adherence to a theology of hatred and condemnation precludes the universal message of love, compassion and brotherhood as given to us by Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad.  For additional clarification, I too love the verses and the wisdom of the great scriptures, but believe it is indefensible for anyone to use those writings as a catalyst for violence.

Perhaps as a means of qualifying myself to the those who are non-believers or to separate myself from people like Roy Moore, I inevitably have a need to mark my anti-religionist statement with an asterisk.  * “But, I am blessed with an undying faith in a Higher Power.”

What I share about myself is not a self-promotion.  Rather, it is a need to reach out to those who do  not understand a faith unbounded by theology or religion, those who have been deeply scarred by purveyors of religious hypocrisy, and those who have been misled by misguided religionists.  It is my personal vision of hope in perilous times.

The bowed head and folded hands presented in “Namaste” say, “I bow to the divine in you.”  When I greet my brother who does not profess a faith, I say “Namaste” because I know the divine exists within everyone.  When that brother who does not profess a faith acknowledges and accepts who I am, he is also saying “Namaste”.  Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we valued each other more?

Thanks to Scottie for his comment on my post ROY MOORE VERSUS TRUTH.  His short comment encapsulates the essence of Jesus into one paragraph.

“While I do not share his faith , nor am I religious in any sense……..I support his view of what faith should be……..there is not only a place for everyone, but a hope for how things could be if we valued each other more.” SCOTTIE @ Scotties’sToyBox

 

namaste rainbow

 

NAMASTE

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roy moore versus truth

“I will continue to resist, and revolt against the racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic leaders the Deporables and the Evangelicals support. They think they are doing the “will of God” when in fact they are playing God by their deeds, words and actions. These old white people will get the response from their Creator soon enough. Hopefully their time on earth has prepared them for the heat and humidity.” ENDS AND BEGINNINGS

JUDGE ROY MOORE

Please read the above link.

My heart grows weary in face of the accumulating evidence that America is regressing to the dark years of the 1950s before the advance of the civil rights movements.  Is it possible that Judge Moore truly represents the voice of Alabama?  Does this issue a dire forecast of where America is heading?

My friend at ENDS AND BEGINNINGS in today’s fine commentary illustrates the concern we should have with this potential Senator representing Alabama.

Some of Moore’s more memorable quotes;

  1. “Homosexual behavior is crime against nature, an inherent evil, and an act so heinous that it defies one’s ability to describe it.”
  2. “We have child abuse, we have sodomy, we have murder, we have rape, we have all kind of immoral things happening because we have forgotten God.”
  3. “False religions like Islam who teach that you must worship this way are completely opposite with what our First Amendment stands for.”
  4. “We have blacks and whites fighting, reds and yellows fighting, Democrats and Republicans fighting, men and women fighting. What’s going to unite us? What’s going to bring us back together? A president? A Congress? No. It’s going to be God.”

Unfortunately, people who have not been reared in a genuine Christian home see this unholy assault on the moral compass of most thinking Americans as indicative of Christianity.  The faith has suffered immensely at the hands of fundamentalist evangelicals who spout their fears and hatred supported by a translation of our Holy Scriptures which they claim is literal, inerrant and infallible.  Many devout followers have been ostracized for questioning this interpretation.  Those who have been fortunate enough to escape this brainwashing usually walk away from any and all organized religions.

However, I continue to honor the teachings of the Christianity I knew as a young man.  It was a way of life based on compassion, tolerance, inclusiveness, and equality for all of God’s creation.  Yes, that came from the Christianity I knew.  Not all who profess the faith follow the path which Judge Moore advocates.  Although I no longer assume the label, I will always defend the pacifism and egalitarianism of the Christian faith which reared me.  It is the Way which Jesus of Nazareth defines in his Biblical character.  It is the Truth and the Life.

Firebrands like Roy Moore are doing a great disservice to the vast majority of believers who absolutely do not walk his path nor advocate his intolerance.  I often refer to the words attributed to Jesus and it matters not whether those words are authentically his for they are nonetheless verses of great wisdom.  The book of Matthew in chapter 10 speaks of the persecution believers shall suffer for speaking the truth of Jesus.

That truth, the brotherly love and compassion which is defined in the story of Jesus,  is not flowing from the mouth of Roy Moore and others like him.  Rather, it is gushing from those who live their lives in peace and inclusiveness shining a light on the darkened world of fundamentalism.  It is the enlightened faces in Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism who endure persecution as described in Matthew 10 for daring to love unconditionally.  Truth does not emanate from the dark corners of racism, bigotry, homophobia, and sexism.  It never has and never will.

namaste rainbow

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in crisis mode: PUERTO RICO

Trump Tweets Puerto Rico Was ‘Broken’ Before Hurricane Maria

After criticism that he had not tweeted about hurricane devastation in Puerto Rico, President Donald Trump on Monday night appeared to blame the island for its suffering.

puerto rico

 

“Texas & Florida are doing great but Puerto Rico, which was already suffering from broken infrastructure & massive debt, is in deep trouble,” Trump tweeted. “It’s [sic] old electrical grid, which was in terrible shape, was devastated. Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with.”

Puerto Rico

Must I read between the lines to see the POTUS offering condolences, empathy for the suffering citizens of Puerto Rico, support for the rebuilding of the American territory?  Or perhaps, he has taken a cue from his evangelical support base……God takes revenge on those who offend….geez, what the hell did Carlos and Roberto do?

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divide and conquer

A recent NPR report gives account of Joel Clement, a scientist who was director of the Interior Department’s Office of Policy Analysis. In this position under the Obama Administration, Mr. Clement in a 2013 report warned,  “that the Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth and that the implications of the change would include rapid coastal erosion threatening villages and facilities, loss of wildlife habitat, ecosystem instability… and unpredictable impacts on subsistence activities and critical social needs.”

Having now been reassigned by Trump appointee Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to a position in an accounting office, Clement believes this demotion is retaliation for  “speaking out publicly about the dangers that climate change poses to Alaska Native communities.” Additionally he says, “….he’s turning whistleblower on an administration that “chooses silence over science.”

The current administration is quietly filling influential government jobs with supporters of Trump policies.  It is firing or demoting qualified individuals with years of government service who disagree and speak out about the direction Trump has taken.  This is the quiet revolution occurring behind the scenes without need for public/Congressional approval.  Wake up America!  Your country has been stolen by powers seen and unseen.  From the endeavors of Russia, corporate oligarchs, white supremacists, and Christian theocrats, the America a majority of us have cherished is a relic of the past.

Your POTUS is a master of deceit, the greatest showman on Earth, creating an atmosphere of outward chaos and division to conceal the inner workings of a despotic attempt to change the face of America.  But, he is a mere puppet of the greater powers which we need to resist.  Do not depend on your Congressmen or any other elected officials to counter this dismantling for they also have been bought by the same corporate greed which envisions an American oligarchy.  Keith Olbermann exhorts us to “resist”.  We can do so in the marketplace by reducing consumption and acquainting ourselves with the product manufacturers.  We can do so in government by knowing our candidates and choosing the ‘lesser of numerous evils’.  Most of all we must deny Trump’s attempt to divide and conquer.

 

 

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NEWS FROM GABBYGRAYWHISKERS: football

RAH RAH RAH, SISH BOOM BAH, KICK THEIR BUTTS, MAKE ‘EM SQUEAL, GIVE ‘EM HELL, YEAAAAAA TEAM!!!!!!

 

smiley 3Now, tell me folks, don’t y’all think Gabby would have been a great cheerleader?  I mean, the raw talent just oozes out of every rah, rah, don’t it?  I was doing just fine in tryouts until I ended a cheer with “KISS MY ASS”.   They simply had no sense of humor, whaddyathink?

Well, now we know the good Lord had bigger things in mind when he led me down the cheerleading path.  I’m today a cheerleader for the Big Guy in the sky.  YessirreeBob.  Y’all call him/her whatever you want and cross your theological T and dot your religious I.  In my heart I know that the head honcho coach is the greatest power there is.  Ain’t no bigger game on earth than the one that teaches unity, sportsmanship, hard work, and brotherly love.  Ain’t no god contrived by man that scores more points on the playing field called life.  It’s an inside thing folks.  We grab the spirit that’s been put inside us and we run with it.  We make a difference in the lives of other people.  We act like ladies and gentlemen even when the opposing team is kicking our butts.  NosirreeBob, we never give up the ball to intolerance, bigotry, hatred, and racism.

Yeah, I agree that’s enough analogy for one post.  Hell, what do y’all expect for free?  A five-page sermonette?  But, this past weekend with the hoopla over professional football players standing or kneeling for the national anthem is just another indication that your POTUS is deranged.  He’s got Russia hacking our elections, Iran testing missiles, healthcare failure looming, young professionals facing deportation, a war in Syria, a war in Afghanistan, an opioid war, and Kim in North Korea threatening to blow us all to smithereens…..and your POTUS is attacking the NFL for being disrespectful.  C’mon man, even Gabby with his 1960s style ‘give-a-shit’ attitude and the morals of an alley cat has more sense than that.  Where’s Trump’s priorities?

Say what you like about my cheerleading abilities, but y’all know I’m right as a greased pig in the pit with this little exhortation (Larry said that was an appropriate word to use). What my Grandpappy always told me was to be aware of the smoke screens that politicians throw out.  They’s just covering the really important bullshit going on behind the scenes.  Get out your knee-highs, we’re gonna need ’em.

 

EEEEEEEEEHAW               smiley-face-2

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