if i were a republican

Ha! I knew that would get somebody's attention in a "when donkeys fly" sort of way. But for real....it's already that time again and I've seen Mitt and Sarah enough to know that the GOP has not a clue how to compete against President Obama, even though he is wildly unpopular, even with the ones who voted him in. I, by the way, was not one of them. I abstained from casting a vote in that particular race as I choose to have my ballot counted toward something new and different. What I've seen is more of the same, only with democratic overtones. And of course, right when they're revving up to push the dynamic duo into next year's race, John Edwards gets told that he's violated federal law by having a mistress. Really? Don't tell me he's the first politician who ever got caught with his pants down. Me thinks there is somewhat of a political motivation to that move as well. In the interest of equal opportunity let's also remember those who stalk young men in restrooms.

It has gotten to be the norm that media and politics centers around what is bad about the other guy, and not what YOUR guy (or gal) has on their track record that might qualify them to actually change something for the good. It starts at the organizational level of every group from class officer all the way up to president of the US. Some time ago our financially well off church was paying a very large salary to a senior pastor with lesser amounts going to the associate and minister of music. It was a status symbol, as such, or a reward for the ones who had done time within the framework of the political structure of the UMC. I always wondered why they didn't just split the money equally between the two pastors and make them partners instead of having one in the power position. Over the years I have been at odds with some of the "official" stances of my denomination, most notably with gays. I was there when our friendly little congregation ousted a perfectly nice openly gay gentleman who came to worship with the rest of us sinners. I was appalled, to say the least.Passing personal judgement on others is, in my opinion, one of the biggest sins there is because when you do that...you presume to be as powerful and wise as God and that's just blasphemous. We do not know where the other person has been, what they have been through and witnessed and how that contributed to who they are today. There are a lot of dirty little secrets that never get told and stay locked in the closet with all the other skeletons. It takes a lot of courage to deal with the pain straight up and say goodbye to it rather than denying that it exists. I'm just sayin'.

We got a shot of freon yesterday that has cooled things down a bit but it's still like an oven outside and the air is so thick with pollen and ozone you can see it. Not a pretty picture for early June. My Pollyanna side insists on believing that this will be the worst of it early on and the rest will be more "normal". As if there is a normal anymore. At least it's cool at the sawmill, so much so that we were wearing jackets until this week. I'm glad the boss held out and kept those thermostats low when we were freezing because it's too hard to get corporate to crank it down when we hit the hot'n'humid parts. I'll be there with bells on all weekend to serve the sick and downtrodden, and the idiots too. Such is life on the front lines.

Peace out ^j^