Suit Up!!!

I have no idea what's wrong with me.

I'm guessing it has something to do with my age or something. Maybe it's because my brain thinks I have something else to obsess over that I can't afford.

 My brain is pretty stupid at times.

For whatever reason, I've recently discovered that I really want to dress well. This doesn't mean that I want the best designer jeans or the coolest, wittiest, most sarcastic tee-shirts. I'm talking about actual men's fashion. Silk ties, tie jewelry, regular jewelry, watches, shoes, proper fitted poplin shirts, and hats. Do I have the means to obtain said fashion? Not even close. So far that hasn't stopped me, however. I managed to pick up a decent collection of ties and also inherited some great cufflinks and tie chains from my father and grandfather and I choose to wear them whenever I can.

My bosses implemented a dress code at work several months ago and I found this to be, arguably, less than the wisest move they've ever made. I was pretty happy going in to work with my jeans and a decent shirt and my clients were comfortable with talking to someone that looked like them and appeared to understand that "dressing up" was wearing jeans without holes in them. The powers that be  decided that we weren't nearly professional enough in jeans and a sweatshirt (thanks Brad) and that we needed to wear dress pants or khakis and closed toe shoes because that's what makes us professional. My response to this was vociferous and frequentbut ultimately futile, so I decided that nothing I said was going to change their minds and if I was going to be forced to wear this, I was going to 1) never wear anything with the company logo on it again and 2) was going to WEAR this. I decided that I was going to wear good shirts and good ties at least once a week. Turns out I dress better, and more "professionally" than anyone else I was working with. What made me happy about all of that, though, was that I began finding ties that I didn't even know I had and that they went with shirts that I wouldn't ever think would go together.

I wore a suit for New Year's Eve and my shirt had French cuffs and my fedora for a party bus that we were told was going to be "formal". What I discovered was that my definition of formal and other people's was different. Apparently formal, or semi-formal, means wearing a blazer, nice shirt, and nice jeans. I felt old and overdressed, but I looked awesome! Well, as awesome as I ever look. It was still ME after all. Clothes can only do so much.

February 1, we went to Rock Island to take the children to a Shinedown and Three Days Grace concert (because that was one of their Christmas presents and we are cool parents like that) and since we didn't go with them, we went to visit with one of my best friends and former classmates from grad school, Alex, and he took us to a Cigar and Hookah bar. In itself, a place I'd never visited, but exposed me to an experience that didn't seem like it would be relaxing but was like therapy for me and any one that knows me will recognize my need for therapy. I spent several hours talking, relaxing, and laughing like I hadn't done in months. I met awesome people and reconnected with my larger and far more worldly friend and left recharged. One of the people that I met there was Alex's friend, Spewie. I'm pretty sure that was his name, obviously not his REAL name and I never heard the story behind him getting that name, but he had a real life smoking jacket. I'd never actually seen a smoking jacket in real life, but I'd seen pictures, much like the rest of my life. I live in IOWA for crying in the sink, people. Culture around here is pretty much limited to the local theatre troupe, and more often than not, one of your neighbor's bratty kids is in the cast and someone's Aunt Penelope is the one sewing the "period costumes". So the discussion started with the smoking jacket and quickly moved to the woman that tailored it for him and went on to the tailored suits. I've read a saying that says "A tailored suit is for women what lingerie is for men" and I think any help men, middle aged men in particular, can get is useful. God only knows that *I* need it. If a tailored suit could change my face, too, I'd have one already! So this woman that made the smoking jacket is planning on making him a suit as well and now I want one as well. I don't care what it costs.
Ok, that's not true. I do care because I live in reality and I'm not a complete idiot, (Nearly complete, maybe 85% complete, but not complete) but I really want one and hopefully this will be a chance to get one. So say a prayer, recite a spell, sacrifice a goat, send good thoughts, or however you get down if you would please, so I might be able to afford this sometime soon.

So I say all that to say this, Pinterest (Thanks Country Girl) is now feeding my addiction/obsession/desire because that's the only place I can drool over beautiful clothes and all of those things that I want without actually paying for them. I have pins on there that describe how to tie ties with knots that I've never seen. I have a whole board dedicated to this sexiness and not once am I included in these pictures, thank God! There are other boards, but this one is my favorite right now. I have some REALLY expensive tastes and realize that I can't afford them, but I'm realistic, if I can find out where to get them, I'm totally going to steal this stuff.

We Don't Speak Whiny-Baby here.(I don't know how long this will remain posted since I know people that work there)

I'm a little confused. On March 1, 2013 Scriptures For America Worldwide Broadcasting Network (SFAWBN) (I know, it's a little suspect already) reported that the company owned and operated by the Greene family, Hobby Lobby, might have to close it's doors because of the pressures placed on it by the federal government to provide contraceptive coverage for women. Their complaint is that they don't believe in contraception and they are being forced to act in opposition to their religious beliefs to comply with the government mandate.

Huh?
Since when does a business, whether publicly traded, multi-national or family owned, mom and pop store, have the right to claim a religious designation because the owners happen to have a particular worldview? Furthermore, when did it become their right to claim that because their religion is against it, they shouldn't have to comply? Even more to the point, since when did it become a "Christian principle" to close your doors because you don't like having to pay for something, put thousands of people out of work, and blame it on someone else? That, in and of itself, is a baldfaced lie.

They don't HAVE to close their doors. That is a choice they are making and trying to make people think they should have the same protections that church-run organizations do. If they would like the protection of a religious organization, they will have to do more than hold a set of beliefs. They will have to actually BE a religious organization and do all the things that churches do, like not sell things for a multi-million dollar profit and qualify for non-profit status and things like that. They don't get to be a family and hold Christian beliefs as a family and get to claim church status.

" A new government healthcare mandate says that our family business MUST
provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health
insurance. Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause
abortions, which means that we don’t cover emergency contraception, the
morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might
end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary
to our most important beliefs. It goes against the Biblical principles
on which we have run this company since day one. If we refuse to
comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.

Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy. Our
government threatens to fine a company that’s raised wages four years
running. Our government threatens to fine a family for running its
business according to its beliefs. It’s not right. I know people will
say we ought to follow the rules; that it’s the same for everybody.
But that’s not true. The government has exempted thousands of companies
from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won’t
exempt them for reasons of religious belief." ~ David Greene, Founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby 

Based on the letter that he wrote to SFAWBN, for some reason Mr Greene holds this belief that since he is a Christian, the people that work for him aren't as important as the beliefs he holds. I'm sure someone will make the statement that "they don't have to work there" but if, as he claims, that their full time employees start at 80% above minimum wage, there aren't many places to find a job that an unskilled worker can do for that kind of wage. So the employee is forced, again, to choose between insurance that covers the services they use and a "living wage". The other amusing thing I see in this is that they continually refer to their multi-million dollar corporation as a family. What family decides what is best for those other adults in the family and makes decisions for them based on their own, personal beliefs. I'm not sure what companies he has seen be "exempted for reasons of convenience or cost but not for reasons of religious belief", because the ONLY exemptions for this mandate have been made expressly for that reason. He's just whiny because he's just a Christian with a business, albeit a successful one, and not the Catholic Church. The government is threatening to fine other companies that have raised wages in a bad economy, it's not just the Greene family, but they somehow think they are special because they happen to hold a belief that says that life begins at conception and think that everyone should agree with them. In fact, they hold the belief that they can force their employees to either agree with them or pay for contraception on their own because the Greene family's religious beliefs are paramount.

Most of all I really like *sarcasm* the blanket, "Being Christians, we don't pay for drugs that MIGHT cause abortions" (emphasis mine). He doesn't even have the conviction that the drugs do the thing that he's objecting to, just that it's possible and therefore must be banned. He says that it goes against the Biblical principles they they have run the company on, but he doesn't clarify which Biblical principles those are and I can't find that life begins at conception anywhere in my Bible. He also doesn't seem to get that the "Morning-after" Pill doesn't necessarily cause an abortion, because it can take up to 72 hours for conception to occur after sexual intercourse, but that's simply a nuisance and doesn't need to be paid attention to. It COULD cause those cells to stop growing!

The last lines in the letter are absolutely the best:

"The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your
fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies
but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic
church.
Since you will not see this in the liberal media, please pass this on
to all your contacts."
Apparently Mr Greene doesn't follow all the news or any of the actual exemptions created by the Administration. It also doesn't appear that Mr Greene has researched what the government can and can't do in enacting laws that "go against your fundamental religious beliefs" and if he thinks I'm wrong, he should go ask the Mormon Church about the government making laws against polygamy. I DO think he's right in that it won't be seen in the liberal media because they try to report real news and not waste-of-time lawsuits meant to draw attention to a millionaire attempting to play the martyr.

As a Christian, I really dislike being told what I'm to believe and how I'm supposed to act by a man that isn't following the tenets laid down by the author and finisher of the faith, Jesus, but by his pastor and his own self-importance. This letter and the corresponding lawsuit is an act of vanity and is terribly unbecoming in someone that thinks so highly of themselves as a Christian and a person of character.

Why Christians might eventually face persecution in the United States

For decades, most of my life really and from as far back as I can remember, I was told that in the book of Revelation, John was shown that Christians were going to go through a time commonly referred to as the Tribulation. Anyone brought up in a Protestant, non-denominational or interdenominational Pentecostal or charismatic church will know exactly what I'm talking about. In fact, anyone that grew up in a church like that will know that the next important question that must be answered and will decide which camp you belong in, because nothing says Christian brotherhood like division, is if you're pre-Trib or post-Trib. The answer to this question can actually lose you the fellowship of Christian brethren and has been known to have people asked to leave churches so it's a pretty important piece of information. This refers to the Rapture and whether or not God's people would be forced to go through the time of testing for Christians or if they would be called by Gabriel's trumpet and be caught up with Christ in the air and be spared the persecution of that time.
One of the things that happens during the time leading up to that is that the Christian community will be persecuted. This is one of the things that was drilled into our heads that we needed to watch out for: persecution from society and the government. We had to be careful of everyone that thought differently than us to the point that educated people and the media were all suspect. If anyone thought differently than us and had a college degree, they were probably brainwashed. I explain all this to say that during all this time I remember questioning how or why Christianity would ever or could ever be persecuted in this country. I had a hard time understanding how a religion based on a God that was loving and only wanted what was best for people could ever be viewed in a negative light in such large numbers that they could have persecution on a scale that could spell the end of those people.
I also heard all my life that we were in the End Times and yes, this is capital E, capital T, End Times. These are the times that were prophesied that would the times that would bring about the Second Coming of Christ. This, of course, brought the discussion back to pre- or post-Tribulation but this had to happen because humans were going to attempt to effect the return of Christ. In the last few years I've had occasion to wonder if all this indoctrination was about so much BS and if any of it even makes sense but then I started looking at the political marriage between the Conservatives and the Religious Right and it started to make sense. A few things fell into place.
I read an article in the Washington Post that asked what, if any, role Christianity had in the murder of an openly gay mayoral candidate in Mississippi. The short answer to that question is that there is no indication of the murder being a hate crime at all. There were no scrawled writings, no notes, nothing that says what the motive for this murder was and, furthermore, if there was any type of religious component on the part of the murderer(s) to commit this crime. The longer answer involves a broader perspective and says that the right wing Christian part of society has a view that isn't evolved, isn't interested in having an evolving view, and in some cases has made vile and violent suggestions about what to do with people that they view as sinners. Most of these statements are in direct opposition to what the Bible states and since much of the conservative part of the Right wing group is political, they have made statements about the effect of these groups, such as homosexuality or poor people, on society and what judgements are awaiting them when Christ returns. Moreover, why the larger society should shun them or not accept them because their interpretation of their "sin" makes them unacceptable. The louder and more angrily the Christian community announces what sinners these groups of people are, the less they proclaim the love of God. The less they read the Bible and listen only to their church leaders or follow church tradition, the less they display the love of God and lower the opinion of much of the rest of society. The more time spent on insisting on the "rightness" of their own religion and the "wrongness" of all the others, the less people can stomach even the idea of Christianity and the harder it is to distinguish between the crackpots like Westboro Baptist Church or Terry Jones in Gainesville, Fla and the Billy Grahams of the world. For that matter it makes it difficult to tell the difference between the Billy Grahams and Franklin Grahams of the world.
THIS is how the persecution happens. Making statements about what a sin homosexuality is or how horrible a man the President is because he is insisting that contraception be paid for by insurances or... pick a subject on which the teaching of Christ doesn't match what the church is teaching now is how the opinion of the world gets lower and lower to the point that it makes it easier to persecute them. I don't believe that lower church attendance in the United States at this time is an accident or a coincidence. I also don't condone the persecution of any group of people, but I'm just stating that for all the fear of the Christian community about the possibility of the persecution during the Tribulation, they appear to be bringing it on themselves. One of the other things that I was always taught was that in the end times, there would be people deceived by false prophets and false teachers. What isn't clear is what are the teachings that would be doing the deceiving. It seems to me that it's entirely possible that the false teachers might not be deceptive intentionally. The best teachers of false material are those that truly believe what they are teaching. The problem that I can think of is that the people that also identify as Christian but have looked to follow the actual words of Christ will be persecuted as well.
My mother and I have the same view of this period of time and the way to approach it, no matter what happens. Our view on this is that it really doesn't matter if it's pre- or post-Trib, who might be deceived, or which views are going to be doing the deceiving, the most important thing to do is to be prayed up and love everyone and above all, love God. Nothing else really makes much difference. Making sure that people are doing what others think is the right thing to do is ridiculous and pointless because no one really knows who will be deceived and who won't so the only thing that can truly be done is to let people know where one's hope lies and why you believe what you believe and teach people to read and pray to hear God on their own. That, to me, is the only thing that can keep one safe and God is the only person that can make sure they aren't lied to.
This is the thought that I have.
I'm done with the Soapbox for today.