Tomatoes in the Bible

So...there's a diet regimen called the "God Diet". One of the main ingredients in this diet is the tomato. How utterly strange is that?! Tomatoes are native to western, South America. There were no tomatoes in Europe until the 1500's. They weren't introduced to the Middle East until around 1800!

How is it that the tomato is mentioned in the Bible (Corinthians and elsewhere) when the New Testament was supposedly written around 50 AD...1500 years before those people ever saw a tomato? There were no tomatoes there at the time!

I can only arrive at one conclusion: the areas of the Bible that mention tomatoes must have been written 1500 years later. It must be all the product of the perpetual, continual, creative license taken by the Vatican (or whoever was doing the writing in the mid-1500's).  It appears those authors, having discovered the wonders of tomatoes so long after the passing of the Apostle Paul and his own writings, wanted to glorify the newly discovered treat...the tomato! So...they incorporated it in the Bible to lend credence to...themselves.

One can only imagine what else may have been invented and included in the Bible over all the years! Certainly, the "God Diet" is based on fiction as is so much more!

(Uh...of course it must be a miracle...and God works in mysterious ways.)

Also, maybe the translation was incorrect. Maybe the Apostle Paul was talking about grapes...or olives. I don't think so, though. I don't think he said anything at all about such things. Someone else attributed those quotes to him, 1500 years after his death. (It turns out that this gross mis-quote actually happened nearly 2000 years later!)

Oh...and maybe Joseph Smith really DID find the "Golden Tablets" in the Ohio field and really DID forget where he put them.

Maybe a lot of things...or maybe we should all just think.

Okay...with a little more research, I've discovered there's only one, on-line translation referring to tomatoes in the Bible. It is "The Message" Bible which is a completely crap version. All others seem to be totally different. As such, I'll be removing this post shortly.

Dog Food

A few days ago, I read an article about thousands of Dogs dying, most likely from tainted food and most likely from China. The story failed to mention which brands of food were implicated, oddly.

I have always fed my dog, Origin. Also, I keep a spare bag of Purina, Beneful, for the times when I run out of the Origin. In addition, there are three separate kinds of, supposedly healthy, dog treats in the house.

I read the labels of all five products, to my dismay.

There is really no indication on any of them as to where the "food" comes from. They say things like, "...packaged for so and so". And "...manufactured for so and so". However, even with the most expensive brands, there is no mention where the food actually comes from. It may ALL come from China for all I know! Certainly there are some brands known to come from China...especially those sold at Walmart where Chinese manufacturers lead the pack!

Not all the affected pets have died from this mess. Some developed lingering lethargy and eventually recovered. Many died.

This situation is unacceptable. I want to know where the "food" comes from and I want the producers to be forthright and accountable!

Read the labels!

Detroit/Oakland

I know it may seem silly but I'm listening to the radio with the deciding game in progress...one of the radio guys (probably the "color" guy) sounds a lot like a cartoon character...it's kinda funny to listen to the funny, little voice. This guy gets paid for this!?!? What a strange world! Why wouldn't the media group hire someone who has an adult, human voice? This guy can probably sing the soprano (or counter-tenor) role in any opera. Ah well...so much for professional sports. What a waste!

Boehner...The Scummiest Man in America!

This man is the scummiest man to ever live in the United States!

Just look at him! One can almost imagine him thinking, "I'm so wonderful and I don't care what's good for the people! I care about me and nothing else."

He stands firmly against everyone who isn't rich.

He stands against my continued receipt of Social Security. (Indeed, my benefits can be considered an entitlement. Why? Because it is! I paid into that system for fifty years and I AM entitled to the resultant benefits!)

He stands firmly WITH corporations, big business, Wall Street and the filthy rich of this country...just for them! Not for us!

He is a self-righteous scum!

How can the American people be so blind and stupid? Get this self-serving lunatic to stand aside and let us have our lives and dignity back.


...more to come...

To Obama..."This is not a world we should accept"

Hah! That was the headline in the newspaper today. Syria is absolutely no threat to the US. Leave them to their own devices and look inward for a change. This is not a United States we should accept! There are millions of people with little or no income. There are millions with insufficient food, health care and housing. Look at home Mr. Obama! Instead of wasting time and effort (and lives and money) in Syria, what say you mount a campaign to level the playing field at home? Make a real effort to balance the tax burdens between the rich and poor. Do something (ANYTHING !) right for your own people and stay the hell out of the Middle East! Besides, there are many other areas of the world where horrendous atrocities are occurring every day. Why focus on Syria? Are you (Obama) so deep in the pockets of Israel and corporate America that you can't function rationally? I am so ashamed and disappointed!We don't want another war! We want jobs, decent health care and a fair piece of the American Pie. We want the rich to pay their share of taxes. We want our government (You, Mr. Obama) to work for us for a change. You (Obama) will not be in the next Presidential election. You (Obama) don't have to bow to outside influences. Do the right thing for your own citizens.

Bomb Syria? NO!

Okay, now there's a story in the news that American diplomats are being evacuated from Lebanon. Why would that be? Because they would be in danger if we attack Syria. There would be no (almost) chance for Syria to ward off the United States. There would be high-flying bombers and/or drones coming at them. They would be basically invisible to Syria. What would they do? Go after real US targets nearby. Like Lebanon. Why stop there? Why not just hurl some weapons at Israel too?

This Syria thing is an incredibly foolish fiasco for the US. Americans don't want it. Obama and Congress are way off base.

Here's something else. What if Syria just decides to commit suicide in the face of an overwhelming force coming their way? What if they just destroy their own nuclear facilities and make sure everyone loses? Supposedly, they've already been killing off their own citizens. They could easily launch attacks in Lebanon and Israel while also contaminating the whole area with radiation from their own nuclear plants.

STAY OUT OF SYRIA!

Let them fight their own battles. Let their own neighbors step in. They all hate us anyway and they'll hate us even more if we get involved.

SYRIA...JUST SAY NO!

Who do we think we are in the United States? How can it possibly be right to attack Syria? Maybe Obama wants to claim one war for himself since he can't really claim Iraq or Afghanistan as his wars. He inherited both of them. Incidentally, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were foolish and based mostly on lies. Supposedly, we attacked Afghanistan because the Taliban didn't turn over Bin Laden (as though they really had a choice in the matter). Then we attacked Iraq just because the wacko Republicans wanted to.

Now...Syria! No way. Let some other country step up for a change. We haven't been victorious in war since WW2...not Korea, not Viet Nam, not Afghanistan, not Iraq and...we won't be in Syria either. Let's stop killing people all over the world.

A brief update...in today's news, Donald Rumsfeld is quoted as saying something like, "Obama has not justified Syria intervention." That is totally crazy! Rumsfeld is one of the key, guilty parties in the illegal, deadly, US fiascos in Afghanistan and Iraq! Does he think we're all idiots? Is he mentally ill or just delusional? If Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld et al are not thrown into prison for their crimes, at least they should keep their mouths shut and slink into the shadows.

Is Obama trying to be a republican? There can be nothing good coming from an attack on Syria. Let those wack-jobs in the Middle-East take care of their own problems. Don't spend a single penny of my tax dollars on this horrible venture.

Okay...while I'm on this particular rant...I want the United States to stop handing out billions of US dollars to other countries (foreign aid). We can't take care of ourselves while we continue to prop up people and governments all over the world. Let them take care of themselves!  Heck's Bells! Isn't it a Republican mantra that a person should not rely on government assistance! Yet both parties seem to think it's okay to continue handing over billions to the rest of the world so they can live off US entitlements. Stop it!

We've proven to be an absolute failure in almost every international venture. What say we look at home? What say we let all those other countries (mostly, who hate us anyway) fend for themselves and let the cards fall where ever they fall. If anyone is a real threat to us...okay..we have the military power to overcome adversity. However, we can't continue fighting invisible enemies in the forests, caves, deserts and mountains of the world. These are all pure folly. Let's tighten our belts and look at our own people for a change, eh?

Here, in the United States, we have seen and heard the rhetoric concerning Syria. It doesn't matter how much is true or false. What does matter is that the citizens of this country (those, our elected officials work for) don't want this country to insinuate itself in Syria. Overwhelmingly!

STAY OUT OF SYRIA! LET'S MAKE THIS A DEFINING MOMENT IN OUR HISTORY WHEN THE UNITED STATES REMEMBERS IT'S A GOVERNMENT BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE...OUR PEOPLE!

Minor, additional update...today's news indicates that Boehner supports Obama in the effort to start a new war in Syria. How can it be so obvious?! If Boehner supports it...it MUST be wrong. What the Hell  happened to Obama? Stay the Hell out of Syria. NO MORE WARS! PLEASE!