Time to mockingly thank those of the stupid with a bucket of gratitude

It's time for me to start giving out my Thanksgiving Buckets of Gratitude.

A bucket of gratitude for the stupidest people in the state of Maryland, all across the nation, and around the world. How can we forget real stupidity?!

Let's begin.

To President Obama: Thanks for the government shutdown, failures with obamacare, and your 2nd term presidency. It just goes to show you that the 2nd term curse still lives on. Yes, I am not on board with Obamacare and it's just another tax we taxpayers have to fund. Let's look at your government as well. Taking vacations on the expense of the taxpayer's dime, allowing for the IRS to target political groups, the gunwalking scandal, the DOJ targeting reporters, and Benghazi... Boy, you got a lot on you plate and you aren't even thinking about the American Citizen. You let the US fall off of the Fiscal Cliff... you let the government shut down while Obamacare stayed open for business... And we've seen so many failures with that... It's laughable! Now you are struggling to save face. You weren't READY to govern. Now your approval rating continues to slide and slide.

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude.

To Martin O'Malley: Thanks to your slimeball administration... It continues to destroy the taxpayers with rain taxes, toll increases, anyway you feel like swindling the Maryland government. Redistricting in 2012 to get rid of the republican faction in Maryland. Allowing for undocumented immigrants to have free tuition, yeah so great you think about them, but forget about the Maryland Citizen. Sales tax goes up. And you have an administration that's claiming: "We're passing the legislation the people want." When you leave in 2014, you will not be missed. 2013 just proved it when 6 mayoral posts went to the republicans. I think the Red Rising is beginning in the state of Maryland along with the fall of one-party power. Let's also remember that you banned guns in the state of Maryland. Businesses are leaving Maryland... Tolls have gone up... Man, you are a MONEY WHORE!

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude

To Ross Arnett, Alderman of Annapolis: You proposed a charter amendment to switch to a council-manager style of government, in which the city manager would report directly to the city council, and not the mayor. This would make the mayoral office largely ceremonial, with the mayor being able to cast only one vote on the council. Boy that really put you in deep crap. You got more than 5,000 calls from mayors, representatives, governors from all over. He said this wasn't new at all and they were trying to put it together during the Cohen administration... Wait, I didn't hear a WORD OF THIS during the Cohen administration in Annapolis. Not a word. Ross Arnett, why don't you just fire yourself for what you did. You are the most hated man next to O'Malley.

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude 

To Terry McAuliffe, Governor of Virginia: Bankrolling the independent was probably one of the dumbest decisions ever. You wanted to make sure you had yourself the governorship of Virginia by bankrolling the independent and making sure he got some of the vote as well. Why play dirty? Be fair. Enjoy your 1 term.

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude 

To those of the MLB's biogenesis scandal: Proud of you guys, really. Getting your asses injected with steroids so you can become bigger and stronger. Yeah, that's REAL smart. Many players banned including 2 superstars. Did you not think you would get caught?

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude

To Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun: I hope you two enjoy your suspensions, your saving grace is over with.

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude

To all who picked the Broncos in the AFC Divisional back in January: How stupid are we feeling now? Denver is 13 point favorites and will easily beat the Ravens. Flacco is no match for Manning. Yeah... Too easy of a win for the Broncos... NOT!!!!! 70-yard touchdown from Flacco to Jones is now solidified in NFL lore. Then the 47-yard FG by Justin Tucker who hails the mighty god above, put the Broncos in misery. I bet you are feeling pretty stupid now. Face it, Manning can't play in the cold!

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude 

To Skip Bayless: You waited one more game to take away the nickname bestowed on Joe Flacco. Flacco made you eat your words in the end. Instead of giving the Ravens a ton of credit for winning Super Bowl XLVII, you claimed that the 49ers were robbed by a "bang-bang" call. Oh shut up, will ya. It was bang bang, could've been thrown either way. Seriously. Give it a rest will you. Tim Tebow also doesn't have a job too. So you can stop glorifying him. Your disgust of the Ravens organization continues to make Baltimore an even stronger football city.

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude

To Allan H. Selig, Commissioner of Baseball: Maybe, just maybe, you'd have a lot larger fan base if you stop making baseball look like crap all the time and stop favoring Milwaukee so much.

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude

To American Atheists: You know, it's time to allow Christians to celebrate the holidays and not have you guys use the power of the Establishment clause of the first amendment and also the supreme court to promote your ideology. America was founded on the principles of the good lord above and you guys are making America a growing atheist nation. Plus you guys are hypocrites!!!! So Christian Creches and Crosses have to come down, but you'll let the Muslim and Jewish population hold their religions firm because you call them "CULTURES." Well guess what, Christianity is a CULTURE and a RELIGION. So knock it off you sad people and allow Christians to celebrate the holidays.

Geez, what a bucket of gratitude

AND THAT'S THANKSGIVING'S BUCKETS OF GRATITUDE FOR 2013! ENJOY!

America's 250th Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks for His Divine Providence

America has reached 250 thanksgivings thanks to the fixed date by Sarah Hale and Abraham Lincoln back in 1863.

Our Native American friends brought along tradition to the commonplace Thanksgiving today. Roasted Turkey, Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Stuffing, Gravy... There is no need to protest on a Thanksgiving day like some Native American organizations do. The Oneida Indian Nation says those groups need to think twice about what they are really protesting about and it's the truth. This wasn't genocide or anything like so. This was about sharing and giving thanks to the almighty.

It's Thanksgiving again and It's America's 250th Anniversary of Thanksgiving. Where we have the annual parade, good food, friends, and family to enjoy it all. Plus we have FOOTBALL GAMES! Yes, Packers-Lions, Raiders-Cowboys, and Steelers-Ravens. Yep, great football!

But what do I have to be thankful for?

- Family
- Friends
- A wonderful girlfriend and her family
- My job working for our nation
- The military overseas
- Having a place to come home to
- Red Bull Racing
- Good Food
- A bed to sleep on with blankets during those cold nights
- My car (which has over 138,000 miles on)

I mostly have to be thankful for the lord and his divine providence along with the bounty that has bestowed upon us this Thanksgiving.

May god bless everyone of your families, friends, and to those who are traveling, take it easy on the roads, be smart... seriously.

Have a great thanksgiving everyone, I don't say it often but... this is one time I have to say it.

~ Joshua

The War on Christmas (Part 1): The Sad State of Christmas

The War on Christmas - A 5-part blog series

Part 1: The Sad State of Christmas (Over-Commercialization and the growing secularism)

Christmas is coming and coming soon and here begins another rush to get the best toys and gifts for our family and loved ones. Rushing to get that Tickle Me Elmo doll or a Playstation 4. Heading out on Thanksgiving Night, forgoing family festivities and tackling the big sales at Wal-Marts, Targets, Kohls, and other stores around the nation. Today, I begin my 5-part journey into today's War on Christmas.


My 5-part series begins with the Sad State of Christmas, which will dive into some of the problems pertaining to what should be one of the most joyous seasons of the year. The 2nd part goes over some of the court cases that have had great contradictions with other holidays and not only that, how 1 person's complaint can ruin an entire school's music concert or bazaar. The 3rd part goes into the historic ages of Christmas, when it was brutally banned from even taking place back in the 1500s, 1600s, and even now going into modern times. The 4th part will go into Black Friday, how business booms on Black Friday but how so often, we forget about the big thing: "Christ." Lastly, we will dive into what Advent brings us this year and every year, and not only that, talk about how even Christians today are failing at realizing what Christmas is really all about.

Have we officially forgotten what Christmas is all about? We certainly have. Each and everyone of us is guilty of forgetting the true meaning of Christmas. The general thought of over-commercialization of Christmas came in 1965 with "A Charlie Brown Christmas" when Charlie Brown questions why we have totally forgotten the true spirit of Christmas. Today, we see heavy commercialization of the holiday as big sales come around, people are flocking to stores left and right just to get the best gift.

To be honest everyone, we have lost that spirit of Christmas. We have forgotten that Christmas is about being with our loved ones during this time and to share the joys of Christ's birth. It seems more and more that today, all we care about is the greed that comes with it. There was certainly no greed when 3 Wise Men gave Jesus Christ their gifts (Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh). There's a lot of greed today and downright arrogance if we didn't get the right gift. Just accept what's given to you.


Now more than ever is the constant reminder of the grow secularism around the holiday. How Christmas trees are being renamed "Holiday trees", how concerts are being cancelled just because of court cases and the power of our constitution's first amendment. Today, a person doesn't want to see the word, "christ" in Christmas. What is the problem that word: To Atheists and Agnostics, It's very offensive and has no place in the holiday season to what they regard as a "myth" and a figment of Christian's imaginations." This will be addressed tomorrow in part 2.


Many stores are moving to rid "Christ" from Christmas and it's raising the ire of many associations in America. There are many examples of this: Like CEOs of Banks telling their branches that Christmas trees are offensive and should not be put up. A JPMorganChase bank in Fort Worth was forced to take all their decorations down due to a customer who felt it was uncomfortable to bank there with all the Christmas Decorations up because she was an atheist. She promptly closed her account down and banked somewhere where "Jesus was not invited."


People, are we this delusional? Have we lost what's left our minds? CHRIST is what CHRISTMAS is all about! Give me a break! C'mon! What? Is the word CHRIST going to leap out and stab you in the back? No it won't.


We have got to stop with this overindulgence in the commercialization of Christmas and begin restoration of the true meaning of Christmas right now. All I see is more and more commercialization. It's just really sad that we see this nowadays.


And now even today... More and more secular holiday themed movies are coming around and we are throwing Christ out of our lives in the ever growing atheist world.


And personally, there just doesn't seem to be any way to stop it.

Advent: The Birth of a New Christian Year

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." - (Isaiah 7:14)

On Sunday, Christians celebrated Christ the King Sunday as the end of the Christian liturgical year and Ordinary Time. Now we are dawning the new Christian liturgical year next Sunday with the start of Advent. Advent is a time of expectation and waiting as Christians celebrate the preparation and arrival of the birth of Jesus at Christmas time.

Advent is one of my favorite times of the year, it's happy and joyous, it's a time where we ring the gold and silver bells festively, and prepare the coming of our savior. The colors move to purple in the Methodist sense and in the Lutheran sense, it is blue

Christians have plenty to be excited about. It may be the same story every year but you know what... It is one of the most important messages of the start of the new Christian year.

Blue lines carry the advent altar for Lutherans, while it's purple elsewhere (like at my church). We also look forward to all the festive times ahead.

Advent is a very important time in the Christian calendar? Why so? It's the start of a new year in the Christian Church. We go through 4 Sundays of learning about Christ's coming. We have songs of great joy and happiness.

Christians are blessed with an almighty king that will come in triumph.

And Advent speaks very loud volumes.

~ Joshua

In defense of the defense

Lately, more and more NFL defensive stars and players have been getting slapped around with fines because they are either hitting players too hard... shoving quarterbacks with two hands... and Tom Brady of course whining like the little bitch he is...

Has offense really become the cash cow nowadays? I mean we have seen a huge rise in total points per season and not only that, defenses are getting slammed with fines because they doing what they are supposed to "play defense."

Here's what we need to do to fix this:

1. We need to get rid of the 5-yard no contact rule. The 5-yard no contact rule gives too much of an advantage to the wide receiver. These guys should be challenged at the line of scrimmage and so and forth, giving them a 5-yard head start is beyond me.

2. Defenses need to be able to hit the quarterback. They should not be limited to the "Strikezone" of the Torso. Take them down by the legs or be able to hit them in the shoulder. I mean come on.

3. Stronger wording and emphasis in contracts that basically say tell the offense and defense: IN THE NFL, YOU PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK. Meaning: You get injured? It's part of the game.

So far this season, more than $2 million in fines have been handed out to defensive players. Brady and Manning have whining and bitching for more safety in the NFL for the quarterback. You know what, why not just put a red jersey on them and forbid all defensive players from hitting him. This way, we get rid of the need for the offensive line... I mean, good lord almighty!

Tom Brady has whined for so many calls and even just little "lovetaps." This league has turned into a consummate joke!

Now I can say something about my quarterback... He is probably one of the toughest players in the NFL, he has been knocked around, kicked around, bullied like no other, but still, he just GETS RIGHT UP from the hits he takes. He's not a wuss like Tom Brady. He takes a hit in the legs, what does he do? He whines and complains for a flag until he gets one. Lord knows we wouldn't want to hit the NFL's golden boy.

The quarterback may be the most important position but it's also the one position that's the most heavily scrutinized.

NFL, you need to wake up and let the boys play, fans pay big money to watch a ball game, not to see whiny little primadonnas act like children. The NFL of the good old days was when men were definitely men.

Whatever happened to the good old days of football...? Well, they are long gone.

Thanking the veterans of our military

As an American, I believe that our military receive only the very best from our nation and government. They're the ones who should be taking home the big paydays for putting their lives on the line in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. For their contributions to keeping not only our nation safe but the world as well. Men and women who have busted THEIR BUTTS for our grand nation.

To our veterans, we salute you, no matter what war you were in, what part of the world you are in, or anything else I forgot.

Thank you.

The Methodist's Viewpoint: The Prosecution of the Global Christian Church

That picture above me is Jesus Christ and as a Christian, I believe in him and the rightful churches that have been bestowed on this Earth.

As I shook a tube of Italian dressing last night and thought about the Friday night mass, it got me to thinking about the whole Global Church. This was only my 4th mass I have been to. As a mixed denomination Christian, the catholic mass is very hard to follow, much less did I understand a lot of their concepts and beliefs. But that also got me to thinking as well, though we have different concepts and beliefs, we still believe in the one Jesus Christ. The bible is no set of rules of life that you follow. The bible is a good news book that people use for strength and guidance. The bible has certainly guided me through the worst of times.

I am a mixed denomination (Methodist and Lutheran) Christian who believes in Jesus Christ and "the big dude upstairs." I always thought of the Earth as like a house, you got your first floor, which is life, the second floor which is heaven above, and the bottom floor (or basement) as hell.

Today, I would like to talk about the ever growing Atheist Nation and the continued prosecution of Christians and their beliefs. Then I'd like to speak about the Global Church.
 
According to reports, there are nearly 45,000 christian denominations, and there are only 200 total denominations (0.004%) that can claim absolute continuity in the church. Among those denominations, we are all seeking the same thing: Jesus, his love, and how we get to heaven.

As of right now, we don't know what the after life is going to look like until we pass on and partake of our reward in the end. Christian followers believe that we will earn our place in heaven when the time comes.

-- The ever growing Atheist Nation and the continued prosecution of Christians and their beliefs --

Atheism is growing at an extremely alarming rate in the United States. In fact, it's going as far as News Outlets are calling us an ATHEIST NATION. Even Ben Stein, who is a jew, who is an excellent defender of the Christian denominations is saying: This just isn't good news.

Atheism has risen more than 6.1% worldwide in the past 2 years, and while the number seems very small, it's an alarming rate that's got religious officials jumping out of their garments.

You know what scientologists believe? Scientologists believe in the afterlife, you basically just watch a video of your life, and in the end, your soul drops off of the coast of Los Angeles. Ok, no, that's not how it works. Any scientology believer needs to just be ready to be sent to hell because all your church has become is a money/cash grabbing church who rests beliefs in E-meters and being a Thetan or whatever... Good lord, I even flipped off the HQ of the Church of Scientology in Clearwater, Florida... A money grabbing religion... that's all scientology is.

As a church goer, my money that I offer goes to the church's well-being and is a gift to the lord most high. Did you know that many millionaires and billionaires just don't believe in god, all they care about is their money, and not the well-being of our world?

Well Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett... You pathetic people need to understand that money DOES NOT make the world go round. Your foundations haven't done anything to help our land and not only that, they forget churches who can really use the money.

The nation as a whole is turning atheist or agnostic... I wholeheartedly believe that we are turning into an atheist/agnostic nation. Why is there a war on Christians and their beliefs? Why is it that they got to use political power and the supreme courts to rid the world of Christians and their ideology? The 1st amendment of the constitution is what grants them that power.

We look at many cases that the 1st amendment has had an affect on Christians. Most of which are cases that involve the forthcoming holiday of Christmas.

One case basically told a school that having a Cross on their window was very offensive, however they were allowed to keep a jewish menorah and a muslim crescent and star... Ok, that don't make sense. Menorahs and the Crescent and Stars are religious symbols. For them, oh that's ok... But when one person sees a Cross or a symbolism of Christmas, it's basically: OH, THAT'S OFFENSIVE!!! SO WRONG TO HAVE!!!! This must go to court!

Another case involved a christian-turned-atheist girl who told a Cranston, R.I. school to take down a banner that had been hanging since the 50s that given as a gift from a senior class. She said it offended her greatly. The school refused and after taking the school to court, she won a judgment, forced the state to pay her bills, and the banner was taken down. Ok, if it offends you? Go to another school! Get lost!

The worst case was found in Toronto, Ontario, where a school was forced to cancel it's Christmas concert because a woman found the word "Christmas" offensive. Oh please. 1 word? Yep, it offended her to the point where she sued the school, she won a judgment, the concert was canceled, and all symbols of Christmas had to be taken down. However, Hanukkah and Muslim symbols could stay. Wait, those are religious symbols too, how do people not see that!

I am not a racist and have nothing against Jewish or Muslims. Not a bit. But why is it that Christians are being treated differently in these cases?

I guess in the end, Christians are always wrong.

Christian's win percentage in court cases involving this sort of stuff is probably lower than 10% because some way... the atheist and non-believer population will find something albeit either small or large which discredits it and the court goes against the Christians.

No matter what, the Christians always seem to lose.

--- Our Global Christian Church ---

As a whole, there are 2.9 billion Christians worldwide which is a huge population.

But as a group, no matter what Christian denomination we are, we have to stick together. That's all because of a strong global church of Christ. Yes, we may have different denominations and beliefs, that's understandable, but as a whole, we are the global church.

Catholics have a strong belief system and they flood the churches as they are devoted servants of Christ. They are governed by Friars, Fathers, Priests, Cardinals, and the Pope. All of whom are devoted servants of Christ as well. The population of the Catholic church is more than 1.6 billion and that's a LARGE CHURCH RIGHT THERE. Very large. But don't they believe the same god that other denominations do? Yes.

Lutherans were considered the Anti-Catholics under the time of Martin Luther who questioned the Catholic Church. They are governed by Reverends, Very Reverends, Bishops, and Most Reverends. Their population currently sits at more than 474 million followers and the most are located in Germany as unofficially, their national religion is in fact Lutheran. But don't they believe in the same god that other denominations do? Yes.

Methodists seemed to be almost "outsiders" in the doctrines of faith. Founded by John Wesley in the early 18th century, they are governed by the same group as Lutherans: Reverends, Very Reverends, Bishops, and Most Reverends. The population of the methodist religion sits at 80 million worldwide and to be frank, it's still relatively a new religion. Most methodists can be found in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. In fact, Maryland and New York have the most methodist churches per capita than any other state in the United States. However, don't they believe in the same god that other denominations do? Yes.

Baptists and Southern Baptists believe that immersion only for professing believers will find their way into heaven. Founded by John Smyth in 1609, they are governed by the same group as both Lutherans and Methodists: Reverends, Very Reverends, Bishops, and Most Reverends. Their population is 100 million worldwide with the largest coming from the Southern Baptist Conventions. Alabama and Mississippi have the highest concentration of Baptists in the world. However, don't they believe in the same god that other denominations do? Yes.

As in all of these denomination examples, the congregation that comes together are servants of the lord. We are all out doing our own thing, however, we are still keeping that faith in our hearts by praying and doing just things. We're not out busting up atheists and agnostics for what they don't believe in, but why must they trample us?

The Global Christian Church needs to come together to make this place befitting for everyone to live in regardless of beliefs and denomination. It doesn't matter what denomination we are under, what matters is that we are the group that believes in the big dude.

-- Are we losing our grip? --

Christians attendance in church and memberships have gone up more than 20% since the start of the 2000s. Christianity is not dead and will never be dead. Christianity is no joke, it's pretty powerful stuff.

A great example of this would be the movie, "The Passion of the Christ", believers and non believers were going to see this harrowing, however shining example how Christ suffered on the cross. And what's incredible is that the New York Times reported a MASSIVE explosion in memberships and renouncement of atheism.

Such examples - Increases in Membership

Catholic Church: 24.6% including a 707% increase in persons want to start catholic conversion classes.
Methodist Church (MWC): 269%
Lutheran Chruch (LWC): 200%
Baptist Church (BWC/SBC): 411%
Renouncement of atheism and renewed belief in God: 40.5%
Global Church attendance: 34.6% (Up by more than 20% they previously thought)

The Passion of the Christ was probably one of the toughest movies to watch. While yes, graphic, extreme gore and violence overshadowed it, Mel Gibson was making a point about how Christ suffered on the cross for all Christians for the forgiveness of their sins. Which there is a maximum truth in that.

While we Christians all don't believe in the same things, we all believe in the same good lord. It doesn't matter what we are. We believe and we ask that shouldn't be prosecuted for our beliefs. Leave our beliefs alone. Quit using politics and the courts as a way to destroy what atheists believe as a "myth."

Pope Francis has even reached out to atheists and agnostics, saying it's time to stop prosecuting the Christian doctrines of faith of all denominations. He's right, we need to stop with the court cases that harm the Christian way of life and the utter beat down of other faiths against others.

Just recently in the news, 36 Christian Churches including 5 Eastern Orthodox churches in Egypt (even 3 that were around since the 1400s) were burned down by the muslim brotherhood. The first thing out of my mouth was: "Christianity is losing again..."

People just need to keep the faith and keep it strong. Believers need to stay strong and keep that very strong faith of good with them.

Like they said: "God is great, beer is good... and People are crazy." Yes people are crazy.

And people need to stop acting crazy.

~ Joshua