Today is Saturday, September 24, 2005. Hurricane Rita has come to land. The governor of Texas has declared that 1.5 million people, stuck on the highways coming out of Houston was a "Successful Evactuation." This whole fiasco has been rammed down the throats of the people of Texas and Louisiana in order to incite fear and terror. On Tuesday afternoon, September 20, 2005, local officials from Baffin Bay, TX to Cameron, La. started issuing Mandatory Evacuation orders for their cities and counties. The storm was still 700 miles away. There was no way anyone could know where the strom would strike. Houston was ordered evacuated. It was total chaos. There were people moving at less than one mile per hour. All of the people trying to evacuate were stuck on the highway and if that storm had struck Houston those people would have been trapped out in the open with nowhere to go for shelter. This was nothing but a complete and miserable failure by the leaders of this state. Every governor, mayor and couty judge who subscribed to this idea of "Run like hell and to hell with reason," should be cast out of office and run out of the state of Texas on a rail. Shame on all of them.

This past legislative session, the Texas state legislature failed to pass a school funding bill. The governor said he was disappointed. How nice. He should have said that he is outraged that the elected representatives of this state care so little for the future of Texas, and the education of Texas' children, that they cannot put aside their political shenanigans long enough to make sure that the children of this state have the best possible education. He should have said that he is outraged that the people of this state would allow such political wrangling to go on while the chidren, and the future, of this state hang in the balance. He should have urged the people of this state to throw these political scoundrels to the wolves. But he did not. He was, however, disappointed. I promise I will work to let him know my disappointment with him come next election. Mrs. Strayhorn, we need you now. You are the best hope we have at present for a better future for this state. PLEASE RUN FOR GOVERNOR.

Today was the last day of school with students. The end of finals has come and gone. Tomorrow will be graduation and then I have the summer to learn that which I choose. For Ruston, there is a new pic which will be posted by Saturday on the for fun page of my main site. It happened just after all the students had left for the day. Peace to all and Good Summer as well.

"I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your claims, did not
have weapons of mass destruction. I told the world, contrary
to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to al Qaeda. I told
the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection
to the atrocity on 9/11, 2001," he told Coleman.

"Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be
right and you turned out to be wrong. And 100,000 people have
paid with their lives -- 1,600 of them American soldiers sent
to their deaths on a pack of lies, 15,000 of them wounded, many
of them disabled forever, on a pack of lies."

George Galloway, Member of Parliament, before
Senate Committee on Homeland Security, May 17, 2005

Why, in God's name, are there no politicians in this country who are willing to say what Mr. Galloway has said? Why has the United States, a country which was founded on the ideals of freedom and the rights of man, been so willing to throw logic and reason out the window and rush headlong to the killing fields? Why have we done this? If the answer does turn out to be oil, then we should hire our soldiers out to whoever needs them and is willing to pay the top price, because we will have become a nation of mercenaries. May God truly have mercy on us.

What is wrong with religion in America? More precisely, what is the problem with Mainline Protestant Churches in the United States of America? My wife and I went to a Lutheran Church this morning for worship. It left me dry. The hymns sounded like they came out of a Madison Avenue ad agency. They were nice melodies, and the parts were virtually unsingable. Okay, we are Orthodox Christians, but that is not how either of us were raised. We should feel more comfortable in a church like what we experienced today. But we don't! I can honestly say that I felt left out of the worship experience. WHY?

Here are some of the things I feel contribute to why I feel a deeply let down by this service as I do. During the reading of Scripture, the person reading began describing a dream they had about the Second Coming of our Lord. The main point of this dream was to tell the people of the congregation that they should have no fear about the return of Jesus Christ. Gee, and all this time, I had been labouring under the assumption that I should believe what Scripture says about the return of Jesus. I should just toss my Bible aside and listen to what this person has to say. My God! Thank you for the new found freedom!

Every hymn, along with being virtually unsingable, either as written, or as played, or as led by the pastor, was focused on one main theme. How I relate to God. Where is the idea of how I relate to others as a Christian? Where is the understanding of doing the will of the Father, even if reluctantly, as an expression of my understanding of Christ's love for me? I CANNOT be a Christian by my self. I have to be a Christian in relationship to others. All the singing of beautiful hymns in the world mean nothing if I do not respond to others as Christ responds to me.

Why is the Church I feel fed in one of those so decidedly un-American. It is only in a Church which demands such a great amount of my life and time that I feel like I am being touched and fed and treated like a child of God. Perhaps it is that demand which is the key. I felt no demands on me this morning. The people were friendly enough. But there was no call on my life to change what I am doing wrong and start doing it right. The pastor was a nice guy, but the sermon was 3 points and a poem. I AM NOT FED!!!!! It is not just this church which has left me like this. It is others and I am not fed by them either. Singing about justice and love are not enough. We must do as well. But in order to do, people must be called upon, demanded of, ordered to stand and be counted as part of the body of Christ. If we are not then the Church is not the part of the body she imagines herself to be.

Well the end of another school year is quickly approaching. Last weekend I got up at 5:30a.m. in time to see strong men weep at the sight of the Pope being laid to rest. It was just in time to see the Greek Catholics done their part of the Rites. It was interesting to hear the Liturgy of my Church spoken by people who do not recognize my Church.

Well, it seems to have slipped by again. Time, that is. Anyway, Christmas has come and gone with its own surprise. 12 inches of snow on Christmas Morning. In Sweden that may not seems like a lot. In south Texas that is more snow than most people see in a life time.