Dear God, help me to love those obnoxious and snobbish extroverts who think they are the center of the world.
Thank you.
Help me to have self control too.
Please.
Sigh.
And also those girls between 12-15.
Sigh.
Do you understand the title?
I hope you do.
The biggest event every four years that happen in United States.
Oh you probably know it by now.
Sigh.
Why ask for change when the only real difference is the Skin color?
That was the question I asked when i was a secondary one student.
Change, was the message he circulated to his supporters, so what change was there?
A better relation with middle east? Fine, reason accepted.
Almost three years ago, I was one of the roughly
100,000 people in Grant Park celebrating the election of Barack Obama.
However, today, if the Wall Street Journal polled me on President Obama,
I would say I disapprove of the job he’s done as president.
I’m not alone. Early Tuesday morning, two new polls came out showing
President Obama’s approval ratings at an all time low. ABC
News/Washington Post poll has his approval at 43% with disapproval
ratings of 53%. NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has his approval at
44% with a disapproval rating of 51%.
73% of those polled in the NBC/WSJ poll felt the nation was on the
wrong track; while 19% thought the nation was headed in the right
direction.
I’m left wondering who is that 19 percent?
President Obama has some real problems if I’m flirting with Mitt
Romney. I’m a left leaning, black, urban professional with a law degree.
Thinking back to 2008 and the type of voter Obama did well with, I hit
all of the demographics: I’m black, college-degreed and live in an urban
center (Chicago at that). If I’m thinking of abandoning him, then he
has some real problems.
The reason I’m reading Mitt Romney’s economic plan is because it
doesn’t appear Obama has one. He’s been in office well over two years
and he has to give another speech on his jobs plan? Unemployment has
been over 9% for two years. Why don’t I know about his jobs plan
already?
And the drama about the speech highlights his real problem: the
President of the United States has no spine. The President of the United
States wanted to give his jobs speech on Wednesday but backed down
after Republicans condemned him for his timing. I am bone tired of the
President wanting to do something, Republicans blasting him for it and
him backing down. It doesn’t matter what he does, Republicans will blast
him; he needs to act like he’s the President rather than getting
permission from John Boehner to take a piss.
Would George W. Bush change the timing of a speech to placate Democrats?
Another example: President Obama wanted to close the prison at
Guantanamo Bay. Republicans argued that security would be compromised
and the prison is still open. Question: If President George W. Bush
wanted to close Guantanamo Bay, would it still be open?
As much as President Bush’s policies can be questioned at least he
knew he was the President and acted like it. Instead acting like the
President and leading Americans, Obama tries to build consensus by
giving speeches and delegates everything to Congress. Think about the
debt ceiling debate, he implored Congress to get him a proposal instead
of creating and fighting for his own plan. The same is true with his
landmark piece of legislation, health care. Republicans mistakenly call
it Obamacare, like he was the one who created it. It should be called
Pelosicare. Like everything else, Obama gave speeches imploring Congress
to pass universal healthcare and then went off somewhere hoping
Congress would give him something sign.
It is a very long time until Americans decide whether Barack Obama is
a one-term president. A lot of things can happen which could sway
Americans back into his camp. But if Barack Obama really wants to
continue being the President of the United States, he needs to get
someone in the Oval Office to teach him how to act like it. If he starts
acting like the President, rather than whining about Congress (which is
more vulnerable than he is) and delegating everything to it, his
approval ratings might go up.
Exactly. Why. He. Suck.
No offense, but he seems like a figurehead.
America is... to me... kind of doomed.
Why? cause even candidates of the republican side seems weak.
Mitt Romney insulted people's religion.
I mean, why?
Shouldn't the president, among all people, be the most accepting?
But he insulted the religions of others.
Just look at this article.
http://works.bepress.com/frederick_gedicks/6/
Truth and Consequences: Mitt Romney, Proposition 8, and Public Reason
Frederick Mark Gedicks
Abstract
Although formal religious tests for federal office are
constitutionally prohibited, they have long been fact of political life
in presidential elections. John Kennedy remains the only nonProtestant
ever elected President. The “Judeo-Christian tradition”
notwithstanding, no major party has ever nominated a Jew for
president—let alone a Buddhist, Hindu, Mormon, Muslim, or unbeliever.
Against this electoral history, it was perhaps predictable that
mainstream Christian commentators would feel free to legitimate
religious attacks on Mitt Romney during the Republican presidential
primaries on the ground that Mormonism is a “false” religion.
Ironically, however, the Mormon church periodically intervenes in
initiative and ratification campaigns to defend “true” or “divine”
principles that it believes ought to be enforced by law and reflected in
public policy. How upset are folks entitled to get when their church
is labeled “false” in an electoral campaign, if the church itself
regularly participates in such campaigns on the basis of religious truth
and falsity?
My purpose in this Essay is to examine the deployment of religious
truth-claims in electoral politics, through the lenses of Gov. Romney’s
unsuccessful campaign for the Republican nomination and the LDS church’s
participation in the successful Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex
marriage in California. I will argue that in contemporary electoral
politics, attacks on the truth of a religion make little sense in light
of the pluralism and postmodernism that now characterize the
contemporary United States, but are a likely consequence when the
religion itself introduces such truth-claims into electoral politics.
I argue religious pluralism and contemporary postmodern sensibilities
now preclude any religion from plausibly asserting in public contexts
that its claims are true to the exclusion of all others. In such a
culture, the introduction of religious truth-claims into electoral
campaigns presents distinct disadvantages and dangers to liberal
democracy, particularly when done from the right. I illustrate the
deleterious effects of such claims, and the corresponding virtues of
public reason, by reference to the attacks on Romney’s Mormonism during
the Republican primaries and the Mormon church’s support of Proposition
8. I close with some observations about the necessary priority of
pluralism to truth in electoral politics.
Exactly.
Ok, lemme explain.
Yes, my belief is similar to Romney, but why did he need to make a statement about something that didn't really matter? He should talk less about it, and talk more about the pressing issues in United States.
Focus, boy. Focus.
Now time for me to focus on my work.
Sigh.
Facing the route ahead, should I transfer course?
If I do, I will do it with no regrets.
Business informatics, or engineering, no problem.
I just want to live life.
But of course, I can choose not to.
Let's just see what comes out.
And when November approaches, I would know the answer to that question, as well.
Well Singaporeans are very concerned about current affairs, and mainly those 'big news' in Singapore.
Why do I say this? Look at that picture I posted. The top 5 are either talking about Singapore Government(not bad things,but analytical views) and my personal view over the chc saga. So... what was my response to it?
Well, simple. Singaporeans like to 'see' the different opinions given, so that they can judge and either say 'good post can kill time' or 'bad post,super biased and sucks' or 'meh'. I have nothing against all 3, so cheers to boredom killed! Hope you enjoyed!
Cheers!
Repost from Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church.
How to Use A Lay Research Team
August 6, 2012 By Rick Warren
Any pastor — no matter how small his church — can have a research team.No matter what size your congregation, there are people there who like to read and research. They’ll be thrilled to help you, if you just give them a list of your sermon topics.I meet with my lay research team every few months, and I explain to them the direction I’m going to take with my sermons, including any sermon series that I’ll preach. I then tell them what to look for: quotes, illustrations, articles, statistics.There are two rules for the research team:First, whatever they give me, they won’t get back. In other words, give me a copy, because I don’t want to be responsible for returning an article or a book, etc. If I don’t use it, then I’ll file it for future use.
Second, I tell them to not get their feelings hurt if I don’t use what they’ve given me. I always get more material than I could possibly use, and I don’t want someone saying, “Gee, I did all this research, and he didn’t use it.” Their research may have helped me as I formed the sermon, but it never made it into the sermon. Or, I may use some of their research at another time.I set up one person as the liaison with the research team. That way, everyone can feed the information to one person, and then that person can give the results to me. It keeps me from getting 15 different messages from 15 different people.
And, finally, I request the information be sent through email. That way I can cut and paste it right into my sermon notes.
Post script: I wanna join a research team! Hahahahahaha
Ok so, I have heard of this question many times, wonder about you guys.
"Is the glass half full or half empty?"
And people go like, oh if you see it as half full you are an optimist and if you see it as half empty you are a pessimist.
And I went and said: "Bullshit!"
Now when people ask me this question, I will ask them if the glass was full or empty before the action was done to make it half. If it was filled to the brim and then emptied, then it's half empty. If it was empty and then filled, it would be half full.
But of course, those people who just wanted to know which "characteristic" you are just to judge you will make this face -.-
And i get very angry because firstly, I am stating my point of view. If you don't like it, you think I'm trying to be lame/disturb you, or whatever reason, I would like to say this- that emoticon, no matter in what context, doesn't deserve to be used. I have told myself not to use that emoticon many times because what others say or do can make you pissed off, but you dont have to do anything(including emoticons) to tell people you are pissed off. If you don't like it, or do not approve it, just say it nicely or kindly move aside, Request to leave the conversation a while and cool down. In fact, whenever I see that emoticon, I immediately feel angry and would like to flame the person. But I don't because I know that the other party is only upset/angry/disturbed at the moment.
Bottom line is this, while you may be trykng to prove a point and show everyone that you're witty, others may have their two cents worth of appropriate ideas. Even if you do not accept it, just bear with it because what good you do when you ruin the mood? In fact, I rather be patient and keep a happy go lucky attitude then spoil someone else"s mood. Why? Because whatever others may say, do not let it affect you, for why should people's tongue cause you to be provoked? But, if others DO(not say but do) something to you, then it's a different story. Understood? Good.
Post Script: I have nothing against such questions like half full or empty, but only if the question is backed by people of psychological experience or the question really makes sense. These people do not include: Popular pop stars, people with this thing called "swag", people who are famous for "cool shitz" and people with these so called "true facts/quotes/memes".
I am unable to express my burden for the people around me. i want to go to them and scream: 'Go, and look at the book of Joel!'. Now the thing is this, Joel can be a hard book to interpret, and yes, don't just read the book, research online on it as well, but Joel is by far one of the most relevant books in the old testament, for our time.
So just because I'm paranoid of being different, doesn't mean I cant ask this question, so i am going to ask it. Do you brush your teeth only when you are experiencing tooth decay? No, but every day, once in the morning and once at night, right?
Now this is the same thing with our attitude.
We must not come to God only when we have a problem. Now understand this, there is nothing wrong with that, but that cannot be the only reason that exist. But we should come to God everyday, to build a relationship with him.
So what is the relation between these two examples?
Now the thing here is this: We brush our teeth everyday, to prevent tooth decay.
Similarly, we must pray and seek God everyday in our quiet time, in his word, so that we can build up our faith in him! And when we have our faith built up in him, we are able to overcome the obstacles with our faith in our God who is mighty to save.
It is important that we build up our faith.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
To build up our faith, we must have our quiet time. A quiet time is a period of time where we use to solely seek after God.
When we are in our quiet time, one thing that we do is to pray. And more often than not, don't we always find ourselves lacking in an area, and that we start praying for our God to deliver us from the situation? The thing is that when we pray, we must not just state our problems, but that we confess that our God is bigger than our problems! There is really, nothing too great for a God who created the heavens and the earth!
I dont know about you, but for me, sometimes i pray and when I'm done, i go back and think to myself, i am so gonna die(in that area, context not meant to be taken literally)! NO! When you pray, confess and belief in the positive!
We must exercise our faith in God.
Yes, people may let you down, but God will never let you down. Now, certain times, due to our previous experience in a particular area, which have always been unsuccessful, we tend to instill upon ourselves that no matter how we pray, God may(MAY) deliver me(if he is kind that day) but most likely he can't even be bothered. No! That is the lack of faith! We must have faith, especially in an omnipotent God.
So how do we receive faith?
Now this is not just limited to a person- god relationship, but even person-person relationship. The more you know somebody, the more you understand somebody, the more comfortable you are with somebody, the more you will trust that person. Yes? That is why it is important that we must know God more. And not only that, we are to enter into a fellowship with God.
Now the word fellowship used in the bible was the greek word koinonia, which means the communion by intimate participation. And it is also only when we come into a fellowship with God, that we are able to receive fullness of joy. Now that when we are together in communion with the Lord, we are able to now, put our faith in God because why, because we know that the thoughts he has for us are thoughts of peace, and to give us a future and a hope, thoughts that are not of evil! And that greater is he who is in me, that he who is in the world! And that He is our strength and our refuge, and that he watches over us even more than the sparrows, whom(the sparrows) are seen and cared for by He Himself, how much more us! And how do we know this? When we read his word! Which is, the bible, and since the bible is jesus(for the word was God, and is God). Therefore reading the bible is equivalent to understanding God!
And now, it is only that when we come into a place of intimate communion, a secret place, our prayer closet, our altar that we built before with a heart of worship and sacrifice of praise, then can we know him more, then can we trust him more, and then and only then, can we truly walk in his ways, as his word directs our path.
Let me end off with an example.
In many countries, not really in my church though, the 40 days before easter is called the Lent. It is where we start to be holy and pure and we repent of our sins and do a reflection of our lives. To me, i think that is a great idea. But for me, especially starting today(I am going to ignore my past), I want to live a life that everyday, I commune with him, everyday, he wakes me up and reminds me of his goodness and mercy. Yes it is good to have the Lent, and all, but why not today, since you have read my sharing till this part, spend just a minute. If you can spent 10 waiting in line for a burger queue, spent just one, saying, Hey jesus pop, i love you. And share with him. And if you can, note that this is just an encouragement, every night before you sleep, just spent those 10 minutes you have before you brush your teeth, saying, hey God, and start telling him about your day. Then read the word. Just a chapter a day will do. Even if you dont feel like doing it, do it. It is like sometimes we say, Who cares, one day without that colgate wont hurt me, imma sleep now. But no, make it a habit to talk to God and read his word. In fact, spent a minute after reading the word just trying to ask God, God, what is it that i need to know? And as you slowly develop this habit, as God's word, and his promises, and his blessings, as He reminds you daily of them, then you will be able, to have, more faith, and then, your inner man will be built up, and then, you will be able to face those challenges, those areas of your life which you never thoyght you could. Just give him a week where you read his word and pray. And confess those promises God has for you. I ensure you, your life will never be the same.
This Jesus I have been talking about is able to change your life, he holds the key to eternal life, he is the prince of peace, and has overcomed the world. If you would believe in him wholeheartedly, and that this Jesus can save you, and that when you pray to him, and that when you read the bible, your whole life can change and take a 180 degree turn.
Post script:
Ok, now pardon my lack of arrangement of points and all, but this post was pretty impromptu. I just wanted to share what I felt.
This is cricantrail, and i will see you again soon.
