"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." - Arlo Guthrie

I know I said there wouldn't be a post tonight, and technically there isn't. This has been written throughout the day because my brain is on an extended ADD storm and I NEED TO LET IT OUT!

I read an article on MSNBC.com about bootleg cigarettes in NYC. Under Mayor Blooomberg's leadership the city has raised taxes on cigarettes until a pack (!) now costs $15. This has led to all kinds of underground businesses that can sell a pack for a lot less and still make a lot of money. Some buy cases down south, enough to fill the trunk of an average car, drive to NYC to sell them and make $3,000. But the example that blew me away told about Indian reservations that are exempt from collecting those taxes. They're supposed to sell cigarettes only to tribal members but city officials seem to think they may not be sticking to that law. The Poospatuck Indian Reservations sold enough cigarettes last year for every man, woman and child on the reservation to smoke 523 packs a day!

On Thursday nights we watch Person of Interest and The Mentalist on CBS. Coincidentally, both shows last night included dialog using the word bodega. I had to look it up. I thought it was just a bay north of San Fransisco.

Part of the problem with Sunday's sermon is the growing gap between justice as an objective system for punishing criminals and the reality of our legal system. O.J. walks, Lindsay Lohan makes a mockery of the court's edicts and illegal aliens are deemed undocumented immigrants.
In Scripture sin, condemnation and salvation are objective truths with no fuzziness, even around the edges. How does a preacher communicate the sure and certain judgment of God on all sin when we see nothing of the sort from our courts? The doctrine of propitiation, the whole notion of forensic truth depends on a grasp of the objective nature of justice. Except our isn't. Even apart from the very real problem of the conviction of innocents, the clearly guilty find ways to walk. How then to explain propitiation?

"Sheep May Safely Graze" (Bach) is a beautiful peace of music.

As part of our 4-tier ad campaign at Pathway I've learned about those Facebook ads appearing on the right of the home page. They are purchased by firms that specifically target people based on the info in their profile, tags on their pics, etc. So I see (bizarre) ads like the one this morning for "Cal-Look VW's from Brazil." Three countries on three continents in one ad title. But I understand why I got that ad and the two for cycling gear. However, the ad for dental implants....

I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the automatic flush toilets in businesses, especially when they go off unexpectedly. Oh my!