Dear hijas,
We've seen that in regards to morality, the evolutionary impersonal answer of time plus chance plus the impersonal, or '-the force be with you-' type answer in a couple of the world's major religions doesn't satisfactorily answer the question of man's dilemma. Starting from the impersonal gives no answer to how objective right and wrong, noble and cruel, finite yet personal, have any meaning whatsoever.
Boring, boring, boring. It was nothing more than a bunch of guys talking for two and a half hours. Next to nothing happened. Not to mention it was very historically inaccurate.
“David Brooks praises the new movie “Lincoln” for illuminating “the nobility of politics” and, he hopes, inspiring Americans to reconsider their low regard for politicians. The film depicts Abraham Lincoln’s arm-twisting and political maneuvering in January 1865 to secure approval of the 13th Amendment, which, when ratified by three-quarters of the states, abolished slavery throughout the nation.
This was indeed an important moment in political history. But Mr. Brooks, and the film, offer a severely truncated view. Emancipation — like all far-reaching political change — resulted from events at all levels of society, including the efforts of social movements to change public sentiment and of slaves themselves to acquire freedom.
The 13th Amendment originated not with Lincoln but with a petition campaign early in 1864 organized by the Women’s National Loyal League, an organization of abolitionist feminists headed by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Moreover, from the beginning of the Civil War, by escaping to Union lines, blacks forced the fate of slavery onto the national political agenda.
The film grossly exaggerates the possibility that by January 1865 the war might have ended with slavery still intact. The Emancipation Proclamation had already declared more than three million of the four million slaves free, and Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia, exempted in whole or part from the proclamation, had decreed abolition on their own.
Even as the House debated, Sherman’s army was marching into South Carolina, and slaves were sacking plantation homes and seizing land. Slavery died on the ground, not just in the White House and the House of Representatives. That would be a dramatic story for Hollywood.”
ERIC FONER
New York, Nov. 23, 2012
The writer, a history professor at Columbia University, won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for history for “The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery.
Save your money and watch C-Span if you’re in to endless political speech. I fell asleep nearly half a dozen times. This is a nominee for Best Picture? Seriously, they might as well rename it Worst Picture. When films like The Hurt Locker (nothing more than 2 hours of talking about diffusing a bomb while using the F-word in every line) and The King’s Speech, boring to point you want to cut your testicles off with a butter knife and a complete overstating of history, can win, it proves all you need is to call it “history” and fabricate everything.
What ever happened to films with a beginning, middle and end with conflict, clear dialogue and a plot that moves along? That’s where GREAT movies are at.
Videotaping was vital to their winning super bowls.
Let’s take a look at all the excuses given to minimize it.
1. Everybody does it. False.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=3017423
Notice I did not say NO other teams do it. The notion of every team doing it is false. There is the possibility other teams did it before Denver was caught doing the same thing in 2010. However, the rules changed before the 2008 season that put radios in defenders helmets. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/article794017.ece
Before 2008, it seems doubtful, but possible. Even if a few other teams had done it, does that give another team the right to break the rules?
2. It didn’t help.
Please. I don’t care what Goodell said. He was out to protect the league, nothing else. If the taping didn’t help, why did they do it?
3. He didn’t know. Wrong.
“The rule is clear,” said Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, competition committee co-chairman. “There’s no need to clarify it.”
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-02-21-competition-committee_n.htm
4. What they did wasn’t illegal until 2006. False.
Where did this come from? Was it because a memo was sent out to point out the rules? Here is a list of the rule changes prior to the 2006 season.
http://profootball.scout.com/2/556118.html
After the 2006 season.
http://www.nfl.com/kickoff/story?id=09000d5d801e3eb1&template=without-video&confirm=true
Does anyone expect me to believe Tom Brady, who couldn’t start over Brian Greise in college, would just walk on to a team that was 5-11, and then become some sort of miracle worker? He threw 36 TD’s in 2010, over 1/3 of them were the Pats running up the score.
Or that Belichick, a coach who was so bad in Cleveland the franchise left the town, would suddenly become the best coach in the league? Give me a break.
Here are Romney’s lies from the first Presidential debate:
http://factcheck.org/2012/09/romneys-food-stamp-stretch/
His lies about energy:
http://www.factcheck.org/2012/10/romneys-clean-energy-whoppers/
But, to be fair and balanced, here are the current President’s lies during his time in office.
http://obamalies.net/list-of-lies
But truthfully, the two men are the same candidate.
http://hotbedinfo.com/2012/08/40-reasons-why-obama-and-romney-are-the-same-candidate/
Both will continue the failures of Reagan and Bush, which have put us in multiple recessions. Reagan balanced the budget? You have got to be kidding. The dude may have brought some “prosperity”, but the dude tripled the deficit. Best president of all time? Please. He is likely the worst. He made us a debtor nation instead of a creditor nation.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Ronald-Reagan-The-Father-by-Bob-Johnson-110204-832.html
Reagan and Bush are the two worst presidents in history, running up huge debts and piling on to the deficit.
I give Obama the edge as the better liar, because Romney’s lies are so out in the open. Here is a generator of all his flip flops.
http://mittromneyflipflops.com/#javascript:void(0)
RON PAUL 2012! VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY PREDICTED WE’D BE IN TROUBLE, YET WE ARE BECAUSE NOBODY LISTENED!!!
That has become the answer to everything in America, has it not?
Politics- either it’s used as a reason not to vote (been there, thought my vote made no difference so I thought about not doing anything, but got straightened out by my cousin Matthew).
Relationships- break up with someone and tell your friend, that’s what they will tell you. Well why? Tell me. Things won’t just fix themselves. Marriage problems that could lead to divorce? It’ll be fine.
While Romans 8:28 says that God will work things out for the good of those who love him, it doesn’t mean you should just sit on the couch and do nothing for him.
Does your boss suck? Are you being harassed by someone? It’ll be okay.
This generation has become reliant on someone to do the work for them, and dependent on the belief that things will just turn out fine. I bring both up because the two do intertwine. If one believes that someone else will do something for them, then either the problem will change (someone else does the work) or somebody else will do something about it.
What can people honestly do anymore? Someone can have you arrested for punching them. I suppose the whole NHL should be in prison then.
But back on topic, while people need to believe in the future to have any desire to get out of bed in the morning, indolence and reliance on others will not fix anything.
Nobody is completely innocent of this, myself included, but when it is your whole mindset, progress will be minimized.
Every artist has a different view on life, and it comes out in their music.
But, in listening to all the messages in the songs, adolescents have developed complete confusion on what is real and what isn’t. Most specifically in regards to relationships with the opposite sex.
If you listen to songs from the 80s, songs sung by men are very emotional and open about their vulnerabilities. Examples of this range from Journey’s “I’m cryin’”, Chicago’s “I don’t wanna live without you”, etc.
Today, culture in general as well as music has conveyed the mantra of “she meant nothing to me”, “everything was her fault”, etc. (saying that because I’m a guy). Rare exceptions are Katy Perry’s The one that got away.
But it boils down to what is more important in life- staying with someone you love or going to the place you want to be to pursue the opportunity you want? Money doesn’t bring happiness. Ask anyone who wins the lottery that. Largely society has adopted the notion that there will just be someone else later, and take that person for granted. Unfortunately, above is the advice that for the most part is what parents tell their kids. While it is true that we are all capable of finding and being content with another partner, nobody can be the person you knew. Sometimes that is for the better, sometimes it isn’t.
But how can society know if one person says this and the other says the opposite?
I can’t answer that question for you, but the answer is not always obvious.
Just realize that every situation is different, there are things you control, and some things you don’t. Just think about that when you are looking for that answer.
I sit here today overwhelmed by God’s grace. He pours it out on us so freely, no matter what we do. It doesn’t matter where or who we’ve been, he invites us in. Nothing can separate us from him. He is always with us. The offer of free salvation sets before every one on the Earth. It’s a matter of whether we are willing to accept that we are not good on our own merit and could never earn our own salvation- and that Jesus did it for us by paying the price for our sin. There is no grace threshold with him. He will always stand there with open arms ready to forgive and embrace you.
James 4:6
Ephesians 2: 7-9
“Grace paid for my sins, and brought me to life”
