Thursday, September 24, 2009

Jesus on Twitter?

When I saw this headline the other day: What Would Jesus Tweet?---it immediately caught my attention. I went on to read the article---which was one preacher's take on using social media to spread the Word of God.

Since Twitter has become all the rave, more and more people are coming up with interesting ways to tie the social media site to their own agenda. But I do think connecting Jesus to Twitter is over the top. Asking what would Jesus tweet means every time we write 140 characters, we should ask ourselves if this is a message Jesus would put out there. Would Jesus be an IN YOUR FACE kind of person or would those spiritual tweets be redundant messages full of love and inspiration? What would Jesus tweet to us baby boomers? WWJT

I am connected to several pastors on Twitter and Facebook because I want to be. I do appreciate the inspirational messages they put forth. I also like to see that they're real human beings and not some self-absorbed, I can do no wrong man or woman of God on their self-made pedestal.

So what do you think? Does using social networking tools put the gospel message at risk? Can anything of real and lasting value come from technology that limits information to a mere 140 characters?

To read the entire article What Would Jesus Tweet click on the blog title.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Baby Boomers and Health Care Reform

A lot has been said about health care reform but I think the biggest statement came this week when it was announced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that more than $55 billion dollars was spent on baby boomer health care in 2007.

Another interesting finding in this report is the fact that nearly one-third (29.0 percent) of hospital stays for baby boomers were elective. Procedures that were more likely to be elective, such as knee replacement, back surgery, spinal fusion and hip replacement, had the highest rates among privately insured patients aged 55-64.

What wasn't addressed in this report, and what I believe is a key factor, are the number of needless elective surgeries baby boomers undergo like: liposuction, breast implants, facelifts, etc.

There is no doubt in my mind that we need health care reform and I am personally sick of the media giving credence to these "staged" town hall meetings where people are complaining about government interference. Sadly, some people are being "spoon fed" a bill of goods and are getting all riled up without really knowing or understanding all of the facts. If you trust the word of a Glenn Beck, then I know you're clueless because he's not even a bonafide journalist. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

If you want to get riled up about something, get mad at the government for not cracking down on the cheaters in the insurance industry. Get mad because the pharmaceutical companies are causing your medication to be triple the cost. Get angry about the number of needless and ridiculous referrals some doctors make on behalf their patients--and then turn around a bill medicare some outrageous fee. If I have a back problem, why send me to a neurologist?

Get mad at your government because you can no longer wait for them to clean up the waste and fraud.

Or is this really a black man being President???

Monday, September 07, 2009

Labor Day Facts

When the minimum wage was implemented under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, workers received $.025 per hour. It increased to $1.00 in 1956. Twenty years later the minimum wage went to $2.30. As of July 2009, the wage now stands at $7.25.

The following states pay ABOVE minimum wage:

Washington $8.55; California, Illinois & Massachusetts $8.00; Vermont $8.06; Oregon $8.40; Rhode Island & Michigan $7.40; Maine & New Mexico $7.50; Ohio $7.30; Colorado $7.28; District of Columbia $8.25

These states pay BELOW minimum wage:

Arkansas $6.25; Wyoming $5.15; Georgia $5.15; Minnesota $6.15; Kansas $2.65

There are 7.7 million workers who hold down more than one job.

Obviously you can understand why with minimum wage not keeping up with today's cost of living.


**Statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Labor**