Isis, and ISIS

The Rogue Speaks:

 

Sweet, loving Isis was a goddess in the Ancient Egyptian religion.  She was also worshipped in the Greco-Roman world.  Isis was the ideal mother and wife, and a friend of the downtrodden.  Even the wealthy aristocrats prayed to Isis, and she always listened.

 

The name Isis means "Throne."  Her headdress is a throne.  The pharaoh was her "child" and she provided the throne on which he sat.  Isis married her brother, Osiris (not gonna happen today, is it!!)  They had a baby, Horus.  Osiris was murdered by Set, his own brother, and Isis used her magic to resurrect him from the dead long enough to conceive Horus, even though she had to collect all his body parts first.

 

Egyptians believed that the Nile River flooded because of the tears of sorrow Isis wept for her beloved Osiris. This belief continued until paganism was suppressed in the Christian era.  The popular paintings of Horus nursing became a Christian theme, with Mary nursing the infant Jesus.

 

The kind and gentle Isis helped anyone she could, and still managed to keep the house clean and provide hardy meals for her family.  It would never enter her mind to kill or harm anyone!!

 

It is now 2016, and another ISIS has appeared on the scene.  Unfortunately this is not the good and kind Isis, but a terrorist group with the same name.  The ISIS you have been hearing about in the news for the last several years is the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.  It is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (the eastern Mediterranean), or ISIL. It is an active jihadist militant group in Iraq and Syria, and it is trying to be the "religious" authority of all Muslims.  To be fair, there are also other world-wide religious groups who feel that their way is the only way, and that anyone who does not follow their teachings is doomed.

 





 So I'm not showing them!!

 

 

 

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who died in 1792 was the first modern Islamic fundamentalist and extremist, and ISIS is known for its "Wahhabist" interpretation of Islam.  Osama bin Laden came from Saudi Arabia, and was known to be a Wahhabi ( Please don't confuse the word with "Wasabi," which is a wonderful spicy condiment from Japan!  Hahahaha!!).  Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab claimed that many Muslims were not true Muslims because they did not follow the strict teachings.  This is significant, because it is forbidden for one Muslim to kill another, but in the Wahhabist's skewed and sick interpretation of the Koran, if someone is not a "true" Muslim, then killing them is just fine and dandy! Many uneducated people believe that the Koran instructs the followers to kill the "infidels."  I kind of equate this with those who bomb abortion clinics, and kill innocent people simply because they think differently about abortion.  Do you get my drift?

 

ISIS does not regard it's religion as just one school of thought--it believes it is the only way, and nothing else counts.  Does this sound familiar??

Today Donald Trump proclaimed that ISIS was founded by President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A well-known commentator asked Trump if he was saying that Obama and Clinton aided ISIS. "NO!" Trump replied. "They founded ISIS!"  Since Trump is woefully ignorant in regard to anything outside his scams, someone should inform him that al-Wahhab essentially founded ISIS, which has now become a group that has absolutely no connection with true Islam.  They are now simply killing machines, made up of men and women who are mentally fractured, and filled with unjustifiable anger and malice.  

As we all know by now, Trump is a complete and total idiot who knows nothing about history and the world at large.  He has definitely finished the job of destroying the Republican party.  Of course, it only took him a couple of months to do something that the party itself had begun when George W. Bush became president.  Good riddance to these greedy liars, I say. 

 

 

 

H is for How I See It

The Rogue Speaks:

I have been away from my blog lately, because sometimes life gets too complicated and causes one to not be able to think in a reasonable manner.  However, so much is happening in our country right now, that I feel compelled to express my thoughts on the issues at hand.

Before I comment on those issues, I would like to tell you a little story about a dentist, William T.G. Morton (1819-1868).  Morton, in the 1840's, began using inhaled ether on his patients in his dental practice.  Prior to that time, extracting a bad tooth was horrendously painful.  The patient screamed, moaned, and gripped the chair, while the dentist grabbed the offending tooth with a pair of pliers and twisted, pulled, and yanked until the tooth came out.  People flocked to Morton and his new invention in droves to have painless extractions, and inhaled anesthesia was invented.

There was a glitch in this wonderful invention, however, and it was with the surgeons whom Morton approached with his invention to make surgery pain-free.  The surgeons actually believed that screaming, writhing, and bellowing in pain while one's limb was being cut off, or one's appendix was being removed was the way it was supposed to be. Surgery always came with pain.  That was the hard and fast rule.  This is no joke, people!  These doctors REALLY believed that!  If you don't believe me, Google can help you out with this.  It was quite a while before these doctors finally came to the realization that Morton's invention made their lives and the lives of patients easier when they were treated humanely with a few whiffs of ether before the mutilation began.  Some people find it very difficult to let go of their archaic thinking, either out of stubbornness, ignorance, fear, or all three.  Sad, don't you think?

 

 

 

On the subject of undocumented Mexicans, here's how I see it:  In the mid to late 1800's, the US brought hundreds of thousands of Mexicans into the southwest to work on the cattle ranches and in the fields, harvesting fruits, etc.  They were hard-working, and they were cheap labor.  During the wars, they were sorely needed because American men were off fighting.  Working in America became a way of life for Mexican immigrants. Today, it seems to have been built into their genes, and they just can't seem to stay away, no matter the cost.

 

In 1924, the Border Patrol was established, for one reason or another, and even though the public didn't see Mexicans as "illegal aliens," the law said they were fugitives.  That did not stop farm and ranch owners from hiring them, or protecting them, however, because they kept the costs down, and gave the owners more profit.  And don't kid yourself, they're still doing it.

 

 

 

The door closes, the door opens.  In 1942, we were at war again, and Mexicans, illegal or otherwise, were once again needed.  Whenever America let them, they came.  And if it were not for those hard-working people, America would not be the most lush agricultural center it is today.  If all of those workers leave America, and go back to Mexico, never to return, don't even think about buying all those fresh fruits and vegetables you enjoy.  You will not be able to afford them unless you are part of the 1%. 

 

Donald Trump has absolutely no class.  Every time I hear him yelling about immigrants, rape, murder, etc., and see that silly comb-over flapping in the breeze, I get a little throw-up in my mouth.  The problem is not with the undocumented Mexicans, the vast majority of whom are just trying to work hard and take care of their families, but with the wealthy, sociopathic drug-lords.  Trump should be able to identify with them, because he most definitely is a sociopath as well.  He will trample anyone to get what he wants.

 

 

In the case of gay marriage, here's how I see it:  Our Founding Fathers came to this country searching for religious freedom.  Anyone who believes otherwise is woefully ignorant.  They did not come to America to insure that we lived in a "Christian nation."  They gave us our Constitution.  In that document, the only reference you will find to God, are in the words "In the year of our Lord," which was the accepted way of stating the date at that time.  Most people haven't even read the Constitution, and merely take the word of some other person as to just what it says.  Pretty lazy, I think.  Read it yourself.  I did.

 

 

 

Whenever anyone starts trying to explain the science of sexuality to the "conservative" element, they all stick their fingers in their ears and sing, "Lalalalalalalalala!!!!" at the top of their lungs.  Why  they choose to remain so ignorant is just beyond me.

 

Evangelicals are literally choking on their screams that homosexuality is a sin.  They are quick to quote Leviticus, that old testament book of laws that supposedly God handed down to the Children of Israel.  I am not one of the Children of Israel.  I am not Jewish--I am Northern European and English/Irish.  If the book of Leviticus ever applied to anyone, it definitely is not me.  I eat bacon.  I love shrimp. I wear poly/cotton blends, and I don't believe in stoning anyone for any reason.  Not only that, the word homosexuality appears  NO WHERE in either the old or the new testament, UNLESS someone has re-written the Bible to suit their own beliefs.  If you have studied the Bible, you should know that re-writing it is a no-no.

 

To those Bible-thumping, mean-spirited, close-minded people who claim to be "Christians," how about following the teachings of Christ for a change.  You remember him--that radical, socialist Jew, swarthy, with long hair and sandals, who said in John 8:15, "Ye judge of the flesh; I judge no man."

 

Before I jump into my final rant, I would like to give you a little background on the Pledge of Allegiance.  It was written in 1892, by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), who was a socialist minister.  When I was a little girl, saying the Pledge every day in school, the words "under God" were not part of the Pledge.  It was changed in 1954 at the urging of Dwight Eisenhower, who was president at that time.  Bellamy's daughter was very much against the change.

 

As to the Confederate battle flag, here's how I see it:   Segregation, rednecks, moonshine, KKK, ignorance, stupidity, arrogance, and hate.  One would think that over the centuries, with all the advances in science, genetics,  history, etc., that the human beings in this country could have reached a consensus that, as our Constitution reads, all men really ARE created equal.  There is just no mystery about that.

 

 

 

Whew!!! This is the longest I have been at the computer in MONTHS!  If you've a mind to, I would love to hear your views on these subjects.

 

This is actually a re-post, written when all of us were participating in AlphabeThursday.  I really miss it!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

 

Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned

The Rogue Speaks:

That is actually what many citizens of Rome said!! It was year 64, and the fire broke out in the southeast corner of the Circus Maximus.  It quickly spread through all the shops, and the conflagration lasted for the better part of a week.  Then it started up again and lasted for about a month, totally destroying 10 of the 14 districts in which the city had been divided.

Many people believed that Nero was responsible, because he wanted to be able to compare the current downfall of Rome to that of Troy.  Nothing he could do could remove the suspicion that "the emperor had fiddled while Rome burned."  Even the plebes, who had been staunch supporters, decided they didn't like him so much any more.  This was especially true when they found out that his plans to rebuild the city included a very large portion that he designated as strictly his!

As his popularity started circling the porcelain bowl, Nero realized that he had better find someone to blame for the destruction.  "I've got it!" he cried. "Let's blame the Christians!  People already don't like them because they won't worship me!  They're the perfect scapegoats!"

It just so happened that Peter and Paul were visiting the Christians in Rome at the time, for a secret revival, so the Romans snatched them up, and took them to Nero's circus near the Mons Vaticanus.  Everyone was invited to  "Torture The Christians Night."

Things didn't exactly turn out the way Nero planned, though.  Peter and Paul were exposed to wild animals, smeared with pitch and set on fire, and the event was so grisly that the people began to feel sorry for the two Christians.  Later, Peter was crucified upside down on the Vatican hill, and Paul's head was cut off.

After seeing all the horrible torture, the people became convinced that Nero actually did set that fire, so his little plan to blame it on the Christians backfired.  The people decided, "what a sick freak!"  His popularity plummeted, and that, my friends, is that!!


America has its own Circus Maximus going on right now, and the star of the show just night be related to Nero.  Hopefully, the "plebes" will realize just what a narcissistic con-man the current "Nero" is and have a change of heart about helping him to ascend the throne.  We don't need his kind trying to rule America like Nero ruled Rome. 


So far, this week has been an excellent example of the players in "Lord of the Flies."  Things will change next week, though, when the real adults begin their convention in Philly.

Safety in Numbers

The Rogue Speaks:




I know you will be relieved to know that my post today is NOT about politics!  Instead, I decided to share a photo I took while playing golf on Jekyll Island a couple of weeks ago.  I stopped, and kept my eye on this group for a few minutes to see if anyone would make a move.  Sometimes it really is possible for us all to get along!!!

This is my offering for Warm Heart Wednesday!!

Warm, Warm, Warmer!!

The Rogue Speaks:


Wow!!  Am I ever getting old!  I find myself becoming more and more rigid in my thinking, which really isn't supposed to happen at this time in my life.  I don't have a lot of patience with people lately, and as many of you know, I have never suffered fools gladly, or any other way.  I am way more content to just paint, play golf and bridge,  sit and read, or watch my recorded drama shows at night so I can skip all the commercials.  I can definitely do without any more political news in my life.  Despite all that, for some reason I am still HOPEFUL that some sane individuals will take the reins and steer us away from free-falling into the abyss that seems sure to come.  Despite all that, I am still hopeful that America can turn itself around and become the sane, kind, and giving country it used to be (at least in my own mind).  This used to be a country that welcomed immigrants to its shores, abolished slavery, opposed racism, helped the poor and the needy.  In short, it did "the right thing" for humanity.


Between the years 1949 and 1976, America was pretty much a good place for the middle class, with their income rising at a steady rate.  Then came "trickle-down economics," which is a catchy little phrase that some people came to believe in.  Unfortunately, it was at that time that the rich started getting richer and the middle class started getting screwed.  It was a policy that never, ever worked the way we were told it would.  That trickle became a drip, and then it dried up altogether.  By 2008, our 401K had disappeared entirely.  I was REALLY mad!  The banker guy, who was still getting paid the fat bucks, eventually lost his job, and then had the gall to call us and say he was starting his own company and wanted our business.  "What business?" I asked him. "Your greedy incompetence lost us all our money!  You're an idiot!"


So here we are in 2016, and the "American dream" has become "Nightmare on Elm Street."  A fascist pig is running for President, and urging his band of miscreants to punch people in the face, and they are actually doing this!!!  The rest of the world is laughing at our stupidity. 


The other GOP candidates hoping to stop the "false god" are not any better than he is, since what they want for America is exactly the reason that the Founding Fathers came to this country to avoid in the first place.  They are all worthless, power-hungry, polluted pond-scum.


Speaking of pond scum, the kind that DOESN'T pollute, is actually floating on the little ponds on the golf-courses right now in the form of pine pollen.  It is bright green, and will eventually dissipate when the weather gets warmer.  It's kind of pretty, in a nature sort of way.  Saturday, we saw seven deer, running and prancing along the trees at the edge of a fairway.  There were herons skimming the lakes, looking for a quick meal, and even an alligator or two, sunning their armor on the banks. 


It was a little slow playing out there, because there were people actually older than we are, playing along and enjoying the first actual days of spring.  I seem to have an awful lot of patience with those folks, because that could be me as soon as tomorrow.  In the meantime, I don't have to think about all the political crap we are standing in, and my only concern is why my second shot ricocheted off a pine tree and ended up in the middle of a palmetto.  One day, I will understand.


This post is in response to Warm Heart Wednesday.   We love you, Jenny!!!

Think a warm-hearted thought!!!

The Rogue Speaks:


Here it is March and I haven't posted anything warm since January, when it was actually pretty cold in Brunswick.  It's hard to think of warm-hearted things when our country is so politically fractured and there is just so much at stake.  I have many friends around the globe, and they are just wide-eyed in amazement at what has happened to America in the last few months.  They think this country is crazy!  No, really!! They do!!  Their countries have looked up to ours for so, so long, and to see what certain disgusting characters are getting away with here just leaves them stunned.




The bizarre characters alone are bad enough, but the media??? I hold the media in large part responsible for the way at least one candidate has moved up into the danger zone.  We have him shoved down our throats on a daily basis, several times a day, for the sole purpose of ratings and advertising dollars.  Not one single media outlet supports the guy as a candidate, yet they continue to let him come into our homes, talk trash, insult people, blatantly lie (especially about not knowing who David Duke is!) and make us get throw-up in our mouths. Yet they don't censor him, and in fact encourage him, all for money.  Shame on them!!!  Shame!!  They went too far and now the train is totally out of control and speeding toward a collision of biblical proportions.




The Republican party is in a world of hurt right now, because they, like the media, didn't plan well for the way things are turning out.  When things started to really get out of hand, they just sat back and watched, and made him sign a pledge.  They should have washed his mouth out with soap early on, and kicked him to the curb, but they didn't.  Another big mistake was moving up voting (Super Tuesday), and switching around the order in which certain states hold their primaries. The RNC decided to do this before the last election because they wanted Romney as their candidate, and the move would give him the numbers he needed to win the nomination and shut out the other contenders.   They have the big old southern states, the bible belt, voting  March 1, along with Texas.  Lot of ultra-conservatives there--lot of evangelicals, racists, anti-Semites, and a whole lot of "poorly educated."  Those folks don't always know what their candidate is actually saying, since he doesn't know how to finish a sentence, but they are just glassy-eyed at how rich he is.  I think THEY think he's gonna make them rich, too!  By moving the voting up in that particular group of states, they have given Satan a chance to garner enough votes to claim victory (at least in his own eyes) as the Republican nominee.  Sad, isn't it!!  "The love of money is the root of all evil."


I worry about this situation  A LOT!!  Probably too much for my own good, but I have grandchildren and I don't want the country to implode before they have had a chance to live a good life.  I'm pretty warm-hearted when it comes to my grandchildren!  There!!  I did it!!  I got "warm-heart" in before the end of this post!!!  Now go visit our sweet Jenny and read more entries!


p.s. I live in a beautiful area of coastal Georgia.  I love the live oak trees and the palmettos, I love the sand dunes and the soft air that is just so great for my skin!  I love walking on the beach, collecting shells and taking photos.  We always dreamed of living here.  What we failed to calculate into our dream of Eden was just how many ignorant, uneducated, racist dunces actually live here as well.  They have kind of seriously gotten on my last nerve since yesterday when a vicious, hateful, lying con-man won the GOP primary.  So today we went to play golf on Jekyll Island, on one of the courses that winds itself through those live oaks, pine trees, and palmettos, and across streams with sunlight filtering through the deep shadows.  I didn't get cold out there.  In fact, I was WARM-hearted in all that beauty.  A nice break!

As for today...

The Rogue Speaks:

I don't really have a "Warm Heart" story for today.  Wish I did!  But it's just not in me!  Instead, I am going to refer you to my friend Sue's blog.  She is just such a gifted writer, and while we disagree on several views, we seem to have a kind of connection that lets us be truthful with one another instead of merely nodding in agreement, but secretly thinking "this woman's an idiot."  Sue is anything but! She is the sort of thinker who puts the majority of Americans to shame.  She is not opposed to listening to new ideas, and learning new truths.  She is talented, thoughtful, spiritual.  So please click on the link below and read her post.  Then go to the comment section and read my comment.  It will tell you why I just couldn't come up with a "Warm Heart" story for today.

http://grannysuesnews.blogspot.com/2016/01/where-is-pavilion.html

Warming My Own Heart

The Rogue Speaks:

The last seven months have been extremely stressful for us, and I am really grateful to start fresh with a new year.  Being at St. George Island over Christmas allowed things to quiet down briefly, and I was able to pursue one of my favorite pastimes--beach-combing--so I could add to my collection.  I will share more about that in a later post, however.

I decided a few days ago to deactivate my Face Book page.  I found I was spending way too much time there, and only occasionally did something useful come from it.  A few days before, I came across a quote that spoke very strongly to me.  It was so meaningful that I have decided to share it here:

This is my offering for Warm Heart Wednesday.  Sometimes we just need to step back and view The Big Picture to set us back on the right track in our lives.  Please check out the other offerings on our sweet Jenny's blog.  Thanks!!