Below are the 5 most recent journal entries recorded in obriens_wake's LiveJournal:

Wednesday, January 11th, 2006
4:31 pm	Cycle of despair I live in a part of Cincinnati that has a high rate of crime and poverty. Less than a week ago, my partner was putting out the trash and was told to get back in the house becasue they had a canine unit tracking on the street. In addition there was a helocopter circling above. My partner called the police to find out what was happening. All the police could say was that they were looking for a robbery suspect and they could not say if the person was armed. I bet the person was armed because I don't think they would get out the copter for a simple B & E. The helicopter thing is common. In the four years that we have lived in our house, there has been; two rapes, a police shooting, a vigilanty shooting, a stolen car, two muggings, one drive-by shooting, several car chases, numerous keyings and lots of damage done to cars. All this has occurred on our block! Not just our neighborhood. We can now tell the difference between gunfire and firecrackers. Beleive it or not they do sound alike. Yet, I don't feel afraid in my neighborhood. The vast majority of crime revolves around drugs. As long as I don't involve myself in any portion of the drug trade I avoid a lot of danger. In fact, I have been to court several times as a witness to crimes and suffered no consequences as of yet . We do have an alarm system on the house and Christi and I take the dogs with us if we are out by ourselves at night. This is due to the fact that if we are victims of a crime it would probably be theft or rape. We get notices of a new sex offenders at least twice a week. However, the two rapes that did occur on our street involved drugs and the people who were involved knew each other. My sister-in-law and her family live about 4 blocks away from us and it is better. her portion of the neighborhood has mostly been restored although there is trouble there too. Our area is a mix of upperwardly moblie white urbanites, ecletic artists, gay and lesbians, poverty stricken people of color and white trash. All races, religions, orientations, socio-economic levels living side by side. I live in a violent neighborhood that also very condusive to creativity and social resposiblity. TO BE CONTINUED... Current Mood: discontent Current Music: Al Franken (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 5th, 2006
9:45 pm	Coal Miners Currently, I am using a computer, listening to nightline on my ipod, and have lights aglow overhead. All these things require electricity and for electricity to be generated it requires some kind of fuel. God bless for those who are willing to go into those mines and dig out that coal. God bless especially those who have given their lives for the glutteny of power. Today, I will make sure I turn off all the lights, shut down my computer, and turn the heat down a little. I usually do this anyway because I think we should be good stuards of the things we are given. Even if we seem to have plenty we should always use our resources judicially. Most people in the U.S. are up to debt to their ears because they have a false sense of plenty. There will always be plenty of time and money to pay the bills. Which in turn, has caused many to file for bankruptcy which has cause the credit card companies to lobby congress to make filing bankurptcy equivilent to indentured servitude. Back to the miners. There are many people who go to work every day facing grave danger. According to CNNMoney the ten most dagerous jobs are: 1. Timber Cutters 2. Fishers 3. Pilots & Navigators 4. Structural Metal workers 5. Taxi Cab/ Limo drivers 6. Roofers 7. Electrical Power Installers 8. Farm Occupations 9. Construction Laborers 10. Truck Drivers Then add police officers and firefighters. Now think about the desk, the pencil and paper that are made of wood. How about the building you live and or work in and the electricity that lights and heats that building. Does that building have a roof? Do you eat fish? Bet you eat something that comes from a farm and how does that food get to you? On a truck, or maybe a plane perhaps? There is a lot to be grateful for, especially for those 12 lives that were lost. Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: Night Line News podcast (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 4th, 2006
8:34 pm	Just by coincidence... While looking up the news story about the miners killed in West Virginia, I found this: January 4, 2006 | Get Your Local News and Weather ABC News Did Jesus exist? Italian court to decide An aerial view of the Vatican is seen in an undated file photo. An Italian court is tackling Jesus -- and whether the Roman Catholic Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago. REUTERS/Paolo Cocco The case pits against each other two men in their 70s, who are from the same central Italian town and even went to the same seminary school in their teenage years. The defendant, Enrico Righi, went on to become a priest writing for the parish newspaper. The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal atheist who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in court later this month. "I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression," Cascioli told Reuters. Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole Church, broke two Italian laws. The first is "Abuso di Credulita Popolare" (Abuse of Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or conned. The second crime, he says, is "Sostituzione di Persona," or impersonation. "The Church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of Gamala," Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought against the Roman army. A court in Viterbo will hear from Righi, who has yet to be indicted, at a January 27 preliminary hearing meant to determine whether the case has enough merit to go forward. "In my book, The Fable of Christ, I present proof Jesus did not exist as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of Christ's existence," Cascioli said. Speaking to Reuters, Righi, 76, sounded frustrated by the case and baffled as to why Cascioli — who, like him, came from the town of Bagnoregio — singled him out in his crusade against the Church. "We're both from Bagnoregio, both of us. We were in seminary together. Then he took a different path and we didn't see each other anymore," Righi said. "Since I'm a priest, and I write in the parish newspaper, he is now suing me because I 'trick' the people." Current Mood: amused Current Music: comedy webcast (4 Comments |Comment on this)
7:54 pm	Evolutiion and education I belong to another group that posts and these posts are sent directly to my e-mail. This was sent to me today and I just had to comment. E-mail: I had to forward this one, I just HAD to.  You go girl..... SOMEBODY'S RAISING THEIR KID RIGHT! One Nation,  "Under God".   One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children.  The teacher asked a little  boy:  Tommy do you see the tree outside? TOMMY: Yes. TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass  outside? TOMMY: Yes. TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky. TOMMY: Okay. (He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky. TEACHER: Did you see God up there? TOMMY: No . TEACHER: That's my point. We can't see God because he isn't there. Possibly he just doesn't exist. A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions. The teacher agreed and the little girl asked the boy: Tommy, do you see  the  tree outside? TOMMY: Yes.  LITTLE GIRL: Tommy do you see the grass outside? TOMMY: Yessssss!  LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky? TOMMY: Yessssss! LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher? TOMMY: Yes  LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain?  TOMMY: No LITTLE GIRL: Then according to what we were taught today in school, she  possibly may not even have one!  (You Go Girl!) FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT" II CORINTHIANS 5:7 Don't forget to pass this on! After reading this, I posted this: Wow, this e-mail really evoked a strong reaction in me on several levels. I want you to know that I was not offended though and look forward to such entries so that I may examine my faith more carefully. Let me preface what I am going to say, I taught and attended a public high school where the Book of Job was studied as literature and evolution was studied as science and I don't have a problem with either. When I started to read this entry, I felt a bit prickly because it used the context of evolution being taught in a classroom. When I re-read the entry, I found that in fact it was really about religion being taught in a classroom. It is my belief that evolution has nothing to do with the belief or disbelief in God. It is science not religion. There are a significant proportion of children that attend public school that are not of the Christian faith and should not have creationism forced upon them. As Christians, I think we should respect other people's beliefs even if they are contradictory to our own. Christians have a horrific history of trying to convert the masses. This creationism in the classroom is just another example. If we truly strive to live as Christ, we should lead by example, honor our neighbor, as we would have them honor us. God forbid the nations of Native Americans rise up and demand their beliefs be taught in public schools. If we truly honored our neighbors as ourselves, we would be honoring God. Have Christians been such a good reflection of God? If I thought Jerry Falwell really was a living representation of Christ then I would definitely become and atheist. Besides, if we really try to live our lives as Christ did, people take notice. Believe it or not, people are attracted to those who are kind and considerate. Yes there is a place for moral outrage and fervent belief but if everyone applies it to the person in the mirror instead of the person next to them, the world would be a much better place. It is ironic that SCIENCE has proven that people who participate in some form of religion live longer than those who do not. It relieves stress and builds a supportive community. By the way, this research did not distinguish between religions. When it is all said and done, I don't want anyone telling my child or me that THEIR way is the ONLY way to God. Heck, Christians don't even agree on how to have the best relationship with God or who deserves to even have a relationship with God. As was given at Pentecost, I go forth and SHARE the Good News. I don't want to institutionalize it I want people to come to it of their own free will. Ironically, it is the same free will that was given to us from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden. God wants us to be attracted to God because we want to, not because we are forced. Besides if we really want kids to become indoctrinated into the Christian faith we shouldn't be teaching it in school. Most people don't remember half of what they are taught in school. We should make a video game of Christian dogma. If it is done well enough, millions of children will have the pattern to the final level of heaven memorized and will be instant messaging it to all their friends. God save me from your followers. Even though the story mentions evolution, it is my interpretation that the moral of the story is not that evolution undermines Christian faith but that faith in God does not depend on a physical presence. My faith does not depend sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell. I am grateful for these senses but another sense, a sense of spirituality is the one that calls upon me to search and believe. To add to these comments, I would say that although I follow my own form of Christianity that I do not believe that Christianity is the only righteous pathway. Any form of spirituality that inspires you to be a kind and decent person is just find and dandy with me. To be truthful, Jesus is just the model I am most comforatble with. Budah, Mohamed, Chrishna etc. all try to get us to be decent to one another and be good stewards of the gifts we are given. For gosh sakes, I have friends that act more like Christ than Christians and theyare Wiccan. WAKE UP! Be nice to one another and keep your eyes on your own paper!     Current Mood: aggravated Current Music: Comedy webcast (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 29th, 2005
4:16 pm	New journal I am starting a new journal under a new name. My former name gaynpissed was chosen as a joke and doesn't quite seem to encompass my being. I hope to add t o this daily and to hear from many like minded and opposing viewpoints. (1 Comment |Comment on this)