RUBBER DUCK DYNASTY

I haven't read all the details about the flare up in reaction to what Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty" said in the GQ article and in other talks he has given. But that's not what's of interest. Reality TV shows are a phenomenon based on hype, novelty, crisis and people who think they are sensationally different. But enough about C-SPAN.

It would appear that there's enough offense on reality shows to go around without creating more. But that's part of the game. It gets attention. To be fair, not everything in a reality show is farcical, some of it is of basic human interest. I thought the last Rose Ceremony on Duck Dynasty was particularly touching.

I don't want to be judgmental, but I have to believe there's a lot more going on with that much camouflage than just hiding from ducks. I thought that's what the beards were for. Why get disguised in a blind then make duck calls. Do the ducks really think it's  going to be a possibility for some loving? Besides, how many pairs of camouflaged boxer shorts do you really need? I mean, are the ducks more likely to spot you if you're wearing your whitey tighties?

It does seem that saying anything about gay love is difficult when there are the extremes of severe anti-gay legislation in some foreign countries and the "how dare you say anything at all" crowd. (Who, BTW, need to get over themselves.) Each extreme is so sure that they haven't let the facts get in the way. But nonetheless, stuff gets said anyway. Is it like a traffic accident where you just have to slow down and stare? Or is it that we're afraid they'll do marriage a lot better? ...At least for a while. But after 44 yrs., my wife and I are doing quite well with our settled for brother-sister relationship.

Besides all the overblown media coverage, I doubt if what Phil Robinson said, or the way he said it, will change anyone's mind. Opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one but they think theirs is the only one that doesn't stink. The issue is more like the cute rubber ducks floating around in a carnival game. It looks like something's going on, but there really isn't. But every now and then, you win a prize. ....Very much like a reality show. Or more specifically, the "Rubber Duck Dynasty" show that we're all in.

You can't miss the "God Hates Fags" signs of the zealous members of the Westboro Baptist Church. I doubt if that's a direct quote. In Sunday School, the main verse you had to memorize was John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." This  is definitely better but there still seems to be some very divergent ways to understand exactly what it means.  

You can't miss the Duck Dynasty family's take on it nor can you miss the words and actions of the newest pope. So there seems to be at least two streams of grace here, or interpretations of the Bible, or just the way you want to understand God.

In the end, I don't think anyone but yourself before God can determine the fate of your soul. Although, some might have much longer conversations than others. Personally, I'm going to take a good book to read. 

BONUS PIC

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

Yes, here it is. That holiday. You're already behind with a slim chance of catching up. I see that some shoppers on Black Friday weren't on their best behavior. Don't they know that Santa's watching? More than likely they've been bad all year. 

I wish I could let it all go and be giddy and gay, in the old fashioned way of course. But at this point, there's little innocence, or illusion of innocence, to be found. Yet, I still am drawn to the lights of the season. Perhaps they are just reminders of times past or the illumination that seems to be so badly needed.

Light comes in many forms, as does enlightenment. Things change with new understanding, but sometimes it takes a long time and some will never get why the changes were needed. I try to be somewhat aware of what others face, particularly women and children. There are so many examples of the mistreatment, abuse, violence, domination, rape, war, drones and enslavement that one wonders what to hell is going on and why isn't anyone doing anything about it. Suffice to say, most men are quite stupid. .....And that includes me.

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WHY? WHY? WHY?

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Selling sacred texts has changed somewhat over the years as the selling of books in general. But it was curious when Costco labeled the Bible FICTION as many of you might have seen.

I'm not sure what all was involved, but it's easy to see the concern. Now my idea is that someone wanted to get their work done fast so he/she could go for a smoke and the only labels he/she had were FICTION and NON FICTION. Perhaps such a choice shouldn't be left to someone with a nicotine deficit, but the choice has been made by many others under idea conditions and they still made the wrong choice. I'm not sure how accurate this poll is, but I offer it in that antidotal sense.

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"Do you have a light?" I don't hear that question anymore. There has been a whole shift to the better. And when we look at the smoking era advertising, it's interesting to see who shows up. There was a time when giving a carton of cigarettes was a decent enough gift, even Santa thought so. But my favorite promoter was Ronald Reagan, only because my wife's brother and sister-in-law think he was better than President Obama, who is someone who might still be glad to get a carton of cigarettes for Christmas.

But in all fairness, we should get credit for changing, admitting we were wrong, and telling how we saw the light. ...What mortals we be.

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Here's a nice reminder of another attitude that has changed. ...I think. Although now, I wouldn't mind getting some of these myself. I do believe there's going to be a hand mixer under the tree, but do I dare to ask Santa for a Kitchen Aide with all the attachments?

A very wise Republican representative said the other day that you have to talk to women on an emotional level.

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Tacky Christmas declarations are like porn. I'll know them when I see them. And what about those who try to use the most bulbs and have a Disney level light show? I guess you can only hope they're  nowhere near you. I might have done more  with lights, but I never did. I got enough from looking at what others had done, tacky or not.

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At Christmas in Vietnam, I was missing home, family, church and everything I had come to love about growing up in the country. Perhaps when the feelings are so deep, it takes more than the normal ways of expressing them. I'll not apologize for the sentimentality and idealism. Sometimes that's all you have and it's just as real as anything else.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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BONUS PIC

                                                                                   

CREDITS- Almutawake for photo of Muslim mother and child, Huffington Post, an email my neighbor sent me, Flicker and Chesterfield, who want to remind you that it's not too late to send a carton of cigarettes to a loved one.

TOMORROW MAYBE

Tonight starts Hallmark's Watering Down of Christmas, an annual sentimental dilution of a former Christian holy day. There is a momentary nod to Thanksgiving but that's about it. For many, that's quite enough. It also is in keeping with Santa coming at the end of the Macy's parade of very loud bands and uncontrollable balloons. Then on Friday, any thankful thoughts get swallowed up by the Post Turkey Day Festival of 

Shopping and Greed. 

With December being saturated with carols and the banning of carols, cookies, lights, decorations, cards, parties, creches and the banning of creches, bell ringers, trees, season greetings with or without the use of Christmas and of course movies, Advent loses its penitential aspect and the Twelve Days of Christmas seem to be an ad on or an afterthought. .......Yet, if there isn't snow for Christmas, it just doesn't seem the same.

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WHY? WHY? WHY?

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SOMETIMES I THINK 

THAT MY COMPUTER 

IS AS NICE A PLAYTHING 

AS THE ONE 

GOD GAVE ME.

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In three weeks, November 22, 1913, it will be the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. It was chemistry class with Mr. English when the announcement came. Those were extraordinary days. But what I didn't realize until later was that the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was held as usual. ....I guess I must have watched it.

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The New Yorker has a great cover this week. It seems as if the NSA should be brought in to get Obama Care working right. ...Or maybe, as some have suggested, Edward Snowden.

Doctor, Doctor, gimme the news

I got a bad case of lovin' you

no pill's gonna cure my ill

I got a bad case of lovin' you

John Moon Martin

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NONES and INDEPENDENTS are two trends worth noting and not just because I likely qualify for both. Nones being those who don't identify with an organized faith and Independents being those who do not belong to a political party. I don't know any particulars and I really don't want to as something is lost if you establish specific definitions.

But both trends say that what the establishment or mainstream offers doesn't fit and it doesn't fit in more and more ways. This increase also parallels the more recent exposures of misconduct, hypocrisy, and criminality. It also may be a response to the group think, convenient container or birds of a feather approaches. Membership has its privileges, but it also has its costs. Maybe the tipping point is as little as a change from 51% to 49% sense of belonging. Or maybe you decide that you no longer want to be a part of a headcount, at least not of an organized one. 

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MERRY CHRISTMAS