I Guess I’m Just Too Offensive

Near as I can tell, the good people at Christianpost.com deleted a comment because they didn’t like my verse.

Not my comment, mind you, so I can’t be certain. But I was following links, and have my suspicions. After the jump:

See, this story tells of a terrible tragedy miracle, in which four people died, but one survived.

Hannah Luce, daughter of Teen Mania founder Ron Luce, is continuing to improve as she recovers from a plane crash last Friday. She was the sole survivor among the five on board.

“The fact that Hannah is here with us is a miracle, and while I am overjoyed and so thankful to God that she’s here, I am also deeply saddened at the loss of Austin, Stephen, Garrett and Luke,” Ron Luce wrote Tuesday on his blog. “I can’t even begin to understand the pain their parents are feeling right now.”

It’s a terrible thing. At this point, I would be overjoyed to have my daughter survive, but I can’t quite wrap my head around people other than the parents calling it a miracle, claiming that God had a hand in saving one, without taking any blame for killing the other four. I have no qualms with the parents calling this a miracle–any port in a storm–but the commenters don’t have a stake, and if they are going to claim miracle, they can be expected to have that claim questioned.

And it seems they can and will delete posts that do question this miracle. Including, apparently, one that quoted one of my verses. The verse was about a previous miracle, a case in which a man survived a fall from a skyscraper, with only 10 broken bones (both legs, right arm, multiple ribs, vertebrae). His brother was killed in the accident. Come to think of it, it seems a very similar situation to this current tragedy miracle.

I always found it rather odd
When people think to credit God;
The doctors helped, at least a bit,
The rescue workers didn’t quit,
The strangers there, who saw him fall
And made the first responder call
So many people did so much
But still we see His Holy Touch–
You see, it seems the signs are there
That show this man has seen God’s care:
The shattered ankle, broken shin
The shards of bone that pierce through skin
The massive bleeding in his gut–
Yes, every fracture, every cut–
This is the way that God Above
Displays His omnipresent Love.
And just in case He’s still denied
Remember, this man’s brother died.
Such agony makes Man aware
Of just how precious is God’s care
And when Humanity forgets,
God has a way to hedge His bets:
He’ll find a patsy, just some guy,
Like this Moreno, way up high–
When disbelievers start to scoff
God simply pushes this guy off;
With bleeding, pain, and broken bone,
God shows us that we’re not alone,
With just a little Godly shove,
He gets a chance to prove His Love.

Hey, That’s Supposed To Be A Quill…

Entirely too busy grading to write anything of substance. But… one of my students’ papers reminds me of this older post (don’t ask how–I wouldn’t tell you anyway).

A slight change, from quill pen to tattoo needle, and reader Sheree has a fine looking cuttlefish all her own! A picture may be worth a thousand words, but I’m speechless.

Gorgeous. Click to embiggen.

If I ever got a tattoo, it would (duh) clearly be my Cuttlefish With Quill. But that won’t happen while I share a bed with Cuttlespouse.

Virginia Is For… Bigots

He’s a former Navy Pilot
So you know he’s got the stuff
He has prosecuted homicides
That ought to be enough
He’s a commonwealth attorney
Who has shown he’s really tough—
What’s the reason he was voted down today?

Though the governor supported his
Appointment to the job
There’s a group of House Republicans
(Well, “group” pronounced as “mob”)
Who were following their leader
(That’s Prince William’s “Sideshow Bob”)
Who decided he’s unfit because he’s gay. [Read more…]

Headline Muse, 5/11

The judge down in Florida found
She was guilty, and thus he was bound;
He must put her away…
And so women, today,
Learned a lesson—you must stand your ground.

Headline: Florida woman sentenced to 20 years in controversial warning shot case

So… shoot unarmed black teen while “standing your ground”? Released, only arrested after public outcry. Shoot warning shot while being black and female? 20 years, with state law giving the judge no discretion.

Like the ludicrous three-strikes laws, the lesson here is clear; no warning shots.

The law favors a clean kill.

The Bible As Projective Test

The Bible says to love your brother,
Respect your father and your mother,
Do what’s right for one another…
The good we’re meant to do

It says whom you may keep as slaves,
To stone the child who misbehaves,
And wicked is the man who shaves…
It’s evil, through and through

And everyone who simply looks
At what it bans and what it brooks
Will find they’re reading different books
And not a simple whole

Sometimes I think the path is best
To treat it as a Rorschach Test—
Inside, you find your views confessed
A mirror to your soul [Read more…]

Barometer Students

Do you have them? They don’t show up every semester, so consider yourself fortunate if you get one, and powerball-level lucky to get two or more in a class. These are the students whose faces are an honest reflection of how well you have explained something. If you are less than clear, an eyebrow might go up, or a head might tilt just a bit. Another student might be nodding in agreement, but frankly, always nods in agreement, even if you are presenting the old, wrong, out-of-date view you are about to demolish.

But the barometer student is skeptical. Listens. Processes. Understands. And (most helpful to you) it’s written on her or his face.

Just spoke with one of three such students this semester (lucky me!), who I would have sworn was lukewarm about this class. I could not have been more wrong (I blame cultural differences; this student was from overseas). Once again, I am a happy Cuttlefish. And a sad Cuttlefish, because this particular barometer (indeed, two out of three of this semester’s barometers) is graduating, and the odds are we will never meet again.

I suppose by this time in my career I should be accustomed to never seeing people again after becoming invested in their lives. Maybe I am, and the sadness is not strange, but simply an appropriate reaction to the situation. “Accustomed” does not mean “immune”.