People Are Still Dumb

So, in an effort to keep Kelly Siegler off the Republican ballot for Harris County District Attorney, I decided to help Jim Leitner's cause by putting up some yard signs around the Republican polling place for my precinct.

Only one other candidate had yard signs around the Republican polling place. These yard signs were for a Democratic candidate for some judicial position. When I saw these signs, I thought to myself, 'Why would someone put up Democratic signs around the Republican polling place? Wouldn't these signs be better served around the Democratic polling place, which is in a different location?'

Whatever. Maybe that's just me and my line of thinking.

So, I put up 3 Jim Leitner for Harris County District Attorney signs around the Republican polling place. I thought that was appropriate because Mr. Leitner is a Republican candidate. But, what do I know? This is the first primary that I plan to vote in, so I'm fairly new to the whole primary process.

Good luck, Mr. Leitner!

And I hope Texas voters take the opportunity to vote in the primary tomorrow, no matter which party they decide to vote in. It's important for all registered voters to do their civic duty. How many people have died to protect our right to vote? How many people would give anything to vote in our country? How many people take this right for granted?

I am reminded of the opening of the movie, The Boondock Saints. The monsignor says:

Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we
must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.

Dare to take an interest. Dare to make a difference. Dare to look beyond yourself.

On the way home tonight, I was driving down I-10. I noticed that the cars in front of me were slowing down suddenly, so I slowed down, also. When I got to the Shepherd exit, I saw that there had been a bad car accident. One care was stopped in the fartest left lane. A small car was parked at an angle in the 2nd lane to the right with its front smashed. I saw someone kneeling outside the driver door of the small car. I also saw what looked like gasoline on the ground under the small car. There was debris on the farthest right lane from what I assume had resulted from the accident. There was bad lighting in this area, and several cars were looking to have difficulty passing the accident scene. I drove to the right and used the exit ramp. Then, I called 911 to make sure that someone had reported the accident. I connected with the ambulance people and asked if the accident had been reported. When they said no, I gave them as many details as I could about the accident location and scene. I did not want to drive away and not make sure that these people got the medical attention that they apparently needed. I hope the ambulance went to the location and was able to help. I did not want to be indifferent.

The scene did scare me because the small car did look like it was leaking gas. When I see an accident, it reminds me of what a terrible driver I am. It reminds me that something like that can happen to me if I am not careful or do not pay attention. I just hope I was able to help those people in my own small way. I pray that they are alright. I gave the ambulance dispatcher my name and cell phone number, and no one has called me back regarding the accident. I am not sure if that is a good sign or a bad sign.

Tonight is too cold and windy to be involved in an accident.

People are Dumb

I found this link to a Newsweek article on JoelOsteen.com.

Do Politics and the Pulpit Mix?

Is this really what passes for actual news these days? Seriously? Whoever approved this article for web publication (it's a web exclusive, by the way) should be fired.

I realize that not everyone has had the great opportunity to take a class on the Tax Treatment of Charities, but I have. It was an enjoyable and informative class. It was more interesting than I expected.

One of the things I learned in this class was that § 501(c)(3) organizations (including churches) are prohibited from engaging in political activity if they expect to retain their tax-exempt status. This political activity includes endorsing political candidates. Some churches have lost their tax-exempt status because they either endorsed political candidates or encouraged people not to vote for certain candidates.

Under Title 26 of the United States Code, churches cannot engage in political activity and remain tax-exempt. The Internal Revenue Code grants a lot of leeway for churches. Churches do not have to make annual reports to the IRS, and they do not files taxes on their income. However, they have to remain true to their charitable purpose, which in the case of churches, is promoting religion.

I think it is ridiculous to ask Pastor Osteen what political candidate he endorses. I am sure several attorneys have advised him to keep his mouth shut when it comes to politics. And Pastor Osteen is a smart man; his congregation is the largest in the nation and his ministry is world-wide. Why would he jeopardize his church's tax-exempt status for a political candidate?

I applaud Pastor Osteen for doing what most people should do when it comes to politics: keeping his opinion to himself. Not only is this a good practice tax-wise, it is a good practice life-wise.

Marriage

I was changing channels, when I ran into Pastor Joel on the Tube. After Pastor Joel, there was Ed Young on Channel 55 in Houston. He was speaking about marriage. He said a 19 year old girl wrote to Ann Landers saying she never wanted to get married ever. The girl was cynical about marriage. Yeah, sounds familiar to me.

He asks us, when we think of marriage, do we think of cynicism or celebration.

He says the job description of the wife is found in the Bible. Ephesians 5:22-24 says:

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

The pastor advises men that if they are right and their wives are wrong, there's a problem. The pastor advises men that if they are wrong and their wives are right, then the men are learning. There pastor says there is no place for physical abuse or emotional abuse in a marriage.

He also points the wives to 1 Peter 3:1-2:

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do
not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of
their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

The pastor says if the husband is not doing the right thing, that the wife should get out of the way. The wife needs to have faith that God will fix the husband as long as she gets out of the way. The husband needs to live a sacrificial life. The pastor says if wives act in biblical submission, then God will bless thm and their husbands will protect them as God intended.

Hmm... Well, I'm not married, so I don't have to worry about any of this.