God Did NOT Run For Office!

In recent weeks, Stainless and I have been discussing the fact that Americans make lousy Christians. We, indeed, have so many freedoms and are so abundantly blessed, that we cannot even begin to comprehend the idea of a sovereign God, setting His own parameters and guidelines for what He accepts and expects.

Now, a number of my readers claim to be atheists or at least, agnostic. PLEASE  read no further. This isn't for you. That's another Blog for another day.

But, for you God-fearing, Bible-thumping, gun-toting (American) Christians, please consider this in your daily prayer and meditation: YOU DID NOT ELECT GOD TO BE PRESIDENT OF YOUR RELIGION!

A democracy is NOT what you've signed on to. It IS a monarchy. He IS King!

We bristle at that thought, don't we? We can't wrap our minds around that, can we? It almost sounds distasteful, unfair, rude, unacceptable. This is Murica! God really needs to put His potential laws on a ballot and see if He can get a 51% majority vote before He mandates some really difficult ideas for us to accept, doesn't He?

The Turtle Lady, now deceased, and one of my favorite people of all time used to say, "I've served God all my life....mostly in an advisory capacity!" I think we can all relate to that sentiment. This sweet lady learned late in life and taught me, that God does not need or require my input. He is God. He is King.

When I was a kid, I would often see the bumper sticker that read, "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." For many years, I believed that lie. Most of my christian friends still believe that lie. And that lie had taken us down a very dangerous path.

The truth of the matter is, God said it. That settles it. Whether or not I, you, the preacher, the president or ANYONE else believes it, has NOTHING to do with the equation!

We did not elect God, God. He did not run for office. He does not need our vote or our approval! Sorry! Nobody on this planet wants a vote MORE than me. I JUST DO NOT GET A VOTE! And if I don't, neither do you.

The "vote" is destroying my faith tradition. Many congregations are making major doctrinal changes, directly opposed to clear Biblical teaching, based on a 51% majority. My faith tradition is not the only one struggling in this area.  Our freedoms and our deep-seeded need to worship in a democratic Christianity is destroying God's Kingdom.

I shutter and get a little scared when I hear myself or you say, "I know that's what the Bible says, but I just can't bring myself to comprehend, understand, accept, or believe something so archaic and unreasonable."

Dear God, please forgive us of our blessings!

THE TV KEEPS ROLLING!

I'm not sure what you called it when you were kids. We called it "rolling." Anytime the Horizontal Hold was amok, the TV would roll. It was maddening. And it took a very steady hand to turn the Horizontal Hold knob and get it in just the right place.

The TV also had a Vertical Hold knob. But I do not recall the Vertical Hold ever being amok. Vertically, the TV was fine. Horizontally, it was often a mess.

If you haven't caught the application, then Bless Your Heart. It's been on my mind every day, while experiencing one of the most difficult weeks of my life.

I meditated daily on my Vertical Relationship. I thought about just WHERE do I get my value? Just where does my security come from? And it is becoming abundantly clearer and clearer, that there is nothing in my life more important than my Vertical Relationship (finger points skyward). And when my vertical hold is in place, all the horizontal relationships seem to fall in line.

HOWEVER, when my Vertical Hold is off kilter, all my Horizontal relationships suffer. As soon as I start getting my value and security from a horizontal relationship, my mind moves into a VERY bad neighborhood.

It's much easier to spot it in you. I see you getting your value and security in education, jobs, spouses, kids, grand-kids, bank accounts, houses, recreation, yes even church....the list goes on ad infinitum. I can see it clearly in you. But I fail to see it in me. More often than not, someone close to me has to point it out.

Someone has to pull me aside and say, "Kevin, you're getting your sense of worth out of your horizontal relationships!" Brother, there are dark and dreary days ahead for you!"

So, even though the Vertical Hold was always okay on the TV, it doesn't appear to be that way with me. I need to grab the Vertical Hold button and get it back into place. The Vertical Hold button needs adjusting before I can even think about grabbing the Horizontal Hold and stop this thing from rolling!

Pert Near A Man of the Cloth

Hours upon hours upon hours of phone conversations and face to face discussions have chased me back to the quiet solitude of the Blog----Cheaper Than Therapy.

It has indeed been a crazy few months. Some of you know. Most of you are unaware. Over the last few months, I've been preaching for a small, local congregation. Stop it! There's no need to LOL and take shots. I've heard all the quips and have even taken a few jabs at myself in the mirror.

The reasons for accepting this challenge are many and some of them are not easily explained. First and foremost, I was ASKED. It REALLY is that simple! I was asked to be of service and I agreed to do it. Nothing more. Nothing less. I spend most of my days in an earnest attempt to do the next, right, apparent thing in front of me. This request seemed to meet that criteria and I took on the task with all the enthusiasm I could muster.

It was not easy. I own a small company and have to work every day. As I rode around in my little truck, I would meditate on possible ideas for Sunday. At some point on Saturday, I would try to get some sort of an outline on the computer. I would always be up by 6 AM on Sunday to finish up what I had obviously not done the day before. After lunch on Sunday, I would sleep ALL afternoon. I found the exercise to be emotionally and physically exhausting.

The congregation rallied around me and was in the process of taking this thing to the next level.  Of course, there was one naysayer. But he only opposed me because he wanted the job. We (the congregation and I) were in discussions to fulfill a life-long desire of mine and make me a full time preaching minister. It was SO close it was almost surreal.

I QUIT today. I ended my sermon by saying that it would be my last time to stand behind that pulpit. Teressa was the only one in the room that knew I was going to do it. I am sad. I am disheartened. I'm a little discouraged. But I am NOT bitter. I am grateful. I am thankful. The lessons learned will last a lifetime.

I will close this out by making a few random observations with no apparent logical progression:

1) I owe an amends to EVERY preacher that I have terrorized over the years. I have now had "an apple out of that sack" and I shutter to think of comments that I've made to preachers over the years.

2) Most religious people are very comfortable "playing church" and they don't bristle at alternate suggestions. They don't even hear them to begin with.

3) Even in churches not given to "ceremony," the desire for Clergy is still very prevalent.

4) Evidently, 99% of preachers in the business are making NO practical application of scripture. I would make very simple applications (what this text means at 8 AM on Monday). Even the "lifers" responded like it was ideas they had NEVER heard.

5) Christians are just as "self-centered", often times, even more so than non-Christians. I don't blame them, fault them, or judge them. Bless their hearts! Their denial is SO strong. They truly have no idea that most of their time is spent in useless contemplation of their very own navels.

I grew to love these people and although they started from a position of tolerance, they grew to love me. I will be in prayer for them tonight and in the days ahead.

I was "pert near a Man of the Cloth." In the end, RELIGION got in the way. It's not a new problem. It goes back thousands of years. Sadly, the biggest obstacle standing between us and God is very often NOT sin........it's Religion. May God forgive us!

Live Like You Were Dying

I'm not going into the whole story. The bottom line is that I have never felt more compelled to write a post. My heart is heavy and I just feel so sad! And powerless? There are no words to describe the absolute powerlessness that I have been wrestling with since Friday night.

Many readers of this blog know Randy Bean's situation and have read Robin's updates at https://www.mylifeline.org/randybean/updates. I knew Tuesday when the update's first line was "This is a difficult post to write...." that I was going to be forced to do the same. This is a very difficult post to write.

Robin was a member of the famed RLT Class of '83 and a member of the same church youth group that I was. Robin is a GOOD! Nothing like me. She's quiet, kinda shy, and never seeks to draw attention to herself. Candidly, we were never really that close. She would never align herself with a loud, arrogant, attention-seeking A** like me. I would suppose that most of her responses to me, back in the day, would be a simple head shake, while thinking "Who in the world does this clown think he is?"

A little over a year ago, Robin's husband, Randy, was diagnosed with some sort of inoperable brain tumor that I can neither spell nor pronounce. A year nearly went by before I reached out. That was in January. Sunday night was the second time. Two times in 15 months. God forgive me!

I sat with Robin for a few hours back in January while Randy was having a shunt inserted to relieve the pressure on his brain. I have never felt more powerless or ill-equipped to be in any situation.

I was SUPPOSED to be the one doing the encouraging! Just the opposite occurred. Robin encouraged me. Her strength, determination, and sense of peace was unlike anything I have encountered in a long time. I left the hospital numb and made several phone calls on the drive home just trying to process the whole experience.

Randy and Robin are raising two boys with Down Syndrome. Barring Divine intervention, Robin will soon be facing this prospect alone. I CANNOT imagine! But Robin CAN! And in those few short hours, I encountered and learned a lot about a Mother's love. Robin's concern for these two boys and her absolute dedication to their well-being is beyond measure. I will not try to quote her exact words. But I truly wish each of you could look into her eyes when she talks about her boys.

Through the generosity of friends and strangers, Randy has been given the opportunity to live like he was dying. He took his boys on a trip to Colorado and recently, just he and Robin got to get away.  Tim McGraw's song has a special meaning for Randy and Robin. I am just so grateful that they got to go "Rocky Mountain Climbing."

Think of the Bean family often over the next weeks. And if you pray, please ask God to wrap His loving arms around this family.

Post Script: As soon as I re-activated my FB account, I learned that Gail Jones Criss's (also the Class of '83 and another member of that same church youth group) Husband has Stage 4 Lung Cancer. I would ask the same for them.

PLEASE Don't Tell Shoe!

Well, boys and girls, it was exactly one year ago today that Cheaper Than Therapy was launched into cyber-space! I cannot think of a more appropriate time to write my final post to this silly little experiment.

We've covered a lot of ground in the prior 52 posts. I got an initial ego boost as I thought this thing was spanning the globe! I had to be educated as to the "misinformation" that comes from the world wide web and it was a humbling experience. These things called "BOTS" crawl around the information super-highway and "ping" everything in their path. And they do it from servers all over the globe. And they greatly inflate the statistics page that Blogger provides.

Consequently, I have not had "Page Views" from dozens of countries and amassed the World Wide following that I thought. Best guesstimates are somewhere around 5,000 legitimate page views, including 2 or 3 foreign countries. My "tens" of fans, though, have been faithful and supportive and it has been an overall positive experience.

Most of you were in dire need of the free education I've provided you over the past year. In the end, however, this whole thing might just have been about two posts. "Has It Really Been Thirty Years?" stands out clearly in my mind. And of course, "Does Anybody Want a PB & J?" was by FAR my favorite and most heart-felt entry.

I need to give a shout out to Stainless, Oil Can, The Denton Yogi, and of course, Shoe for conversations that have sparked ideas and inspired entries over the past year. In my attempts to teach them (HA!), several posts evolved from those  little chats.

Now, I've got to say one of the hardest things I've ever had to say. It pains me greatly to post on the World Wide Web the most important thing I've learned in the past year. SHOE WAS RIGHT!

You may or may not remember Shoe's opinions about Facebook. Shoe stands firm in his conviction that he doesn't do Facebook because, in his words, "I'm a grown-A** man!" It is with the most humble and contrite heart that I now confess that he is, indeed, correct in his assessment.

I could not care ANY less about your experience on Facebook. The following is true for me:

1) Facebook is by FAR the biggest TIME-WASTE in my life. This is no doubt due to this silly smart phone that accompanies me everywhere I go. It's just too tempting to pull it up and I do it way too much...in meetings, at meals, in front of the TV, and driving down the road. This MUST stop.

2) Facebook is like pouring gas on the fire of my self-centeredness! I explained that early on in "Self Centered--You Have No Idea." My check-ins, my Nike run posts, my opinions....my, my, my, my, my! The whole idea about CTT was that I'm sick and tired of ME! Yet, Facebook condones and encourages that ME behavior.

3) Facebook encourages and exacerbates my growing frustration with you. You are supposed to unwaveringly and whole-heartedly LOVE everything I say and do. But instead, some of you write several paragraphs on MY Timeline and use phrases like "respectfully disagree." WHAT? Are you kidding me? Then, of course, a few of you are guilty of FWI (Facebooking While Intoxicated). I am embarrassed for you and, hopefully, with you.

4) Sadly, most of you just don't get Facebook. One or two of you do. And your posts crack me up and give me great joy. The rest of you take yourselves so #### seriously, that when I throw out things for sheer "shock value," you resort to name calling and disdain. "Trimming the Friends' List" is for pure shock value. I have NOT unfollowed everybody on my list! Good grief! Can you really not see that? I just thought I was self-centered! Your responses make me look like an amateur at self-centered obsession!

I have not disallowed any comments to this blog. I have reserved "moderation rights." But everything that has come in has been posted. Since it's obviously difficult to figure out how to comment in Blogger, most of you comment on my Timeline. I have not deleted any of them. But I have sat in amazement and awe at what some of you have felt the "need" to share. Like I've said before, it's free to set these things up. Knock yourself out! I've never understood your compulsion to write YOUR blog on MY Timeline.

I am most humbled by the Private Messages that come in weekly to the posts. You are the ones that inspired me to continue, because you wanted to discuss some of these things without trying to prove how smart you are in a public forum. Your lack of self-centeredness is a great example to me and I truly envy your humble hearts.

The only way my tens of readers see this is through my Timeline link. So, I will keep Facebook up through Monday or Tuesday and then deactivate for the last time.

In the end, I can only blame myself for not being able to handle this. It's really not your fault! Some of you exasperate me. But you were doing that way before CTT, and will continue to that in the future until I can come to grips with that silly cliche, "Live and Let Live."

So, I'm throwing in with Shoe and becoming a grown-a** man! What a joke! We're not grown-a** men. We're both too self-centered and immature to handle this "new" social media craze!

I just hope that I will continue run and occasionally go to the gym. I'm not even sure a workout counts if I can't announce it to the world!

May God Bless You All!

Long Held Beliefs Just Not True!

As we all know, the Bible clearly states that "God helps those who help themselves." Right? It has to be in there. I've heard it a brazillion times. It's true. It's in Scripture. It's a rule!

Actually, no. It's not in Scripture. No where in Scripture. Not even in the front part that most of never read. That was a stupid statement. Cause it's not even in the back part, that most of us never read. Don't lie to me about your intense daily Bible reading!

However, it's been said and repeated so often,  I would surmise that most ordinary folks walking the street are pretty sure that God helps those who help themselves and it's somewhere in the Bible. Maybe, it's in Hezekiah.

I'm not sure "Pet Peeve" is a strong enough term. But recently, I've had to deal with a couple of "other" truisms which make me want to throw myself from an 80 Story building and catch my eye-lid on a rusty nail.

Have any of my tens of readers ever heard that wise saying that "The Customer is ALWAYS right?"

I have no idea who deserves the credit for formulating this long held belief. I do know a couple of things: 1) He was obviously a customer! 2) He was absolutely full of meadow muffins!

I am not going to take the time to enumerate the dozens of reasons why the above statement is simply not true. If you happen to fall into the category of believing it is, you would not understand them anyway and nothing I can say will change your mind.

But know this: Nine times out of ten, the customer has no expertise, no knowledge, nor experience with the product or service he is buying. To suggest that he is "always right" is nothing short of preposterous! Whew! I feel better having gotten that off my chest!

The nonsense above, however, pales in comparison to the oft cited "There's no such thing as a dumb question!"

Uh, excuse me! Oh, yes there is! There is such a thing as a dumb question and I've been on the receiving end of thousands of them!

Oh, I get it. I really do. In the classroom, questions are encouraged. No one should be left behind. Nor they should they be afraid to ask a question if they are truly lost. But, my experience suggests that "being lost" is seldom the reason for asking a question.

Being stupid is! And couple that with an insatiable need for attention in a setting like.....maybe a Bible Study.....and some genius is bound to ask a dumb question! It generally starts with two words: "WHAT IF......?"

The dreaded hypothetical question. Are you kidding me? Are you really about to bring this whole study, discussion, class, or whatever to a grinding halt by asking an ignorant hypothetical question? It's obvious that you are. And it's obvious that you haven't read my post about it being better to look stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!

Very few of my tens of readers have ever been in a class I've taught. I wish you could see the eyes of the attendees when I announce at the beginning of class that, "BTW, when I'm teaching, there is such a thing as a dumb question!" It can certainly be off-putting. But it sure makes things easier for me. And almost always insures that I'm never asked again. That, too, is a good thing.

The hypothetical question does have its place. I am saddened that no one posed a hypothetical question when President Kennedy and those MORONS advising him were planning the Bay of Pigs. Certainly, President Carter could have used a hypothetical when they were planning to free the hostages and that tragedy happened in the desert. The "Devil's Advocate" is necessary in strategic planning. I see that. Lives can be saved.

But for the most part, the hypothetical question in a study or discussion is pure discussion/study Anthrax! And I often find myself wishing I could sniff it, snort it, drink it, inject it....or however Anthrax is supposed to be ingested.

Mark Twain is credited with saying, "No generalization is worth a d##n, including this one." Think about it. It will take time for some of you to get it. But, it's my blog. It's my crazy thoughts. I feel a sense of ease just knowing I've said it.

Do You Want To or Need To?

The problem with having hundreds of channels available on the TV is that I waste too much time sitting in front of my "golden calf", clicker in hand, just running the channels. Last night was one of those nights. I happened upon TLC's "My 600 LB Life" and I could not hit the remote.

It was just like all the other shows about obesity. I'm not going to go into it. It's the same story! At the end of the day, it's about addiction. And it is VERY sad.

Now, let me get this out of the way. If you are reading this and you are slightly overweight, need to lose a few pounds, just plain fat, or grossly obese....I am NOT going to condemn you. I am NOT going to judge you. I do NOT think your weak-minded. I do NOT think you lack will power! At the same time, I am NOT sure that you're a victim! What I've come to learn in the past few years is that generally speaking, there are FEW victims. Mostly, there are volunteers.

The truth is, we all have issues that we NEED to address. Everybody on the planet has things in their lives that they NEED to change. The question is only this.....Do You Want to?

A few weeks ago, in a Tuesday night Bible study, we came across what, at face value, is the stupidest question Jesus ever asked anyone. In John 5, Jesus happened across a paralyzed dude at the Pool of Bethesda, who evidently had been an invalid for 38 years. Jesus walked right up to this cat and had the nerve to ask him "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6)

What? Are you kidding me? What an incredibly crass and inappropriate thing to say to a guy that's been crippled for 38 years! Come on Jesus! You should be ashamed of yourself!

OR SHOULD HE?

I will leave the answer up to the reader. Think about it. Think real hard about what changes would come about in this guy's life if Jesus healed him. Being dependent upon others was the only life he knew. Being carried around, being fed, begging for money. What would healing mean? Getting a job? Feeding himself? Wiping his own butt?

The dude NEEDED healing. The Carpenter asked him if he WANTED healing!

It's not always an easy question. And the answer is not always YES. Many of you know that my best friend drank himself to death back in 2010. It was absolutely the most horrible thing I've ever witnessed. He really NEEDED to sober up. He did NOT WANT to......even a little. He made it very clear to me. Almost verbatim, he said, "Kevin, I've been to those rooms and I can read. The 'rules' state that the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Kev, I have NO DESIRE to stop drinking!"

I actually respect that. Once he laid it out like that, the pressure was off. He had set the terms. He was aware of the consequences. And he died at 50 years old. I don't love him any less or miss him any less. At least the dude was honest! And he answered the question.

Last night, a recurring theme for this obese woman was whether or not she REALLY wanted to change.

That's the question we all face daily. Do I NEED to? or Do I WANT to? It may be the toughest question we will ever have to answer!

Clichés Make It So Easy To Lie!

This is Number 50! I can't believe it. Nor can anyone else who really knows me! This silly little thing was not supposed to go past a couple of months, at the most. All in all, it's been fun. I am constantly making mental notes as to potential topics. Some posts have over-lapped with others.  You have pointed that out in your "comments." But I am very pleased that I have stood firm in my resolve to 1) Not beat you down with my insignificant running exploits. 2) Entertain any of your requests for a topic.

Each week, when I link CTT to my Facebook wall, I am hopeful that it will be for the VERY last time. Alas, that never seems to be the case. Without fail, some thought gets into mind, and I am certain that my TENS of readers need to be educated on the topic!

Which brings me to clichés! The truth is....I could get the next 40-50 weeks of posts out of old, tired clichés. It would be a beating. But, I would have fun. Don't worry! I am going to resist that temptation. You're welcome!

This morning, I am simply going to address two....the most IRRITATING and the most DANGEROUS!

I did not watch the Golden Globes last night. I don't get the Awards Show! I am certain, though of one thing. At some point, one of those MORONS, in accepting their award, said the following: "It's been one h*lluva ride!"

NAILS ON A CHALKBOARD! That simple little saying absolutely makes my skin crawl! I promise you this. When I write my final post to CTT (hopefully very soon), I will not insult you by signing off, "It's been one h*lluva ride!" VOMIT!

WHEW! I feel much better now that I've gotten that off my chest!

Now, to the matter at hand, and the real motivation behind this post. During the Phil Robertson/A&E imbroglio, I heard for the brazillionth time, the most dangerous cliché that people throw around.

I truly cringe and sometimes feel the need to seek shelter from lightning strikes when my fellow Christians are brazen enough to utter, "Love the sinner! Hate the sin!"

A word of caution, be very CAREFUL if you find it necessary to to let this pass through your lips. They KNOW! They REALLY do know! And they really DON'T like being LIED to!

And yes, they have been lied to. It's interesting to note that the Carpenter issued the litmus test in John 13:35, when he said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

I mean this is EASY, right. Jesus wasn't talking about loving the sinner. He was talking about His followers loving each other. The good guys! Right? If you, the good guys, will simply love each other, then ALL men will know that you are my disciples! Easy, peasy! Right?

WRONG! Step into almost ANY congregation and see what kind of vibe you get. And before you BLOW up my comments section, be very careful! Because I might just show up next Sunday. And just by walking into the place, I will obviously look for things that are no where mentioned in the Bible, but I will be on a mission to look for evidence that will make me conclude that, "Man, oh man, this bunch sure does love each other!"

Time after time, our places of Worship reflect a general dislike of the preacher, leadership that is disconnected, kids who hate the old folks, senior members that despise the kids, and everyone is mad at the Hispanic members, because they are typically the most active Christians and use the facility every day, but won't pay their fair share of the rent!

In general, we have failed at loving each other. How in the world are we going to convince the Sinner that REALLY love him? It's a VERY tired cliché! And it is so VERY dangerous! They know. Trust me, they know!

Outrage Seems To Be the Modus Operandi

Even after espousing the greatness of satellite radio, I found myself back on "free radio" briefly this week. The Musers, of Ticket fame,  were coming off vacation and the Cowboys had just lost the day before. Curiosity got the best of me and I thought I would see what was on their mind.

It was during "Gordo's Corner" that the great mind of Gordon Keith expressed an opinion that I have thought about all week. The lads were catching up on the whole A&E/Phil Robertson imbroglio, because they had not been on the air when that news broke. It was almost as though Dunham had read CTT, because he just kept repeating, "Why does anyone care what Phil Robertson has to say about anything?"

Gordon Keith's response was short, concise, and probably the most interesting comment he has ever made. He said:

"Because we are a nation that runs on OUTRAGE!"

Wow! Is he right? Could this be true? In one short statement, did a goofball on Sports Talk Radio sum up the current human condition?

I can only come up with two possible responses. 1) YES! and 2) GUILTY!

I don't have to do a lot of serious reflecting before the reality sets in that OUTRAGE pretty much runs my life! I go about my day just trying to find something to be pissed off about! Sadly, it's starting to hit me just how EXHAUSTING this modus operandi truly is!

Most recently, I have been watching the Global Warming Nuts who are stuck in the ice and it's making me insane! In 2007, the ice was disappearing because of global warming. In 2013, there is too much ice because of global warming! This year, they recorded more ice in the ice caps than they have ever recorded in the history of ever! But the global warming studies indicate that the situation is much worse than they first feared.

What does an aneurysm feel like? Cause I'm pretty sure this kind of stuff makes me feel like I'm having one!

Outrage! About global warming, of all things! Seems kind of insignificant, huh? Especially to those of you who can't sleep at night because our current POTUS can't produce a valid birth certificate!

Let's be clear. I am not a fan of our current POTUS. But if Gordon Keith is right, we've got the perfect guy up there to enable us to continue under this modus operandi!

A few weeks ago, I pointed out on someone else's FB page that a college ID of the POTUS was a fake. I got 100% pure outrage in response. It was something like this:

"He lies to us. Why can't we lie about him? He is trying to kill me by taking away my health insurance! How slowly do you have to kill someone before it is not deemed premeditated murder?"

I saw no need to respond because this person needs much more help than I am capable of offering. I don't really blame the guy, though. I actually love him very dearly. I have come to understand that he's operating on outrage! And since the cliche is true that "if you spot it, you got it,"  I realize that I'm operating on outrage, too. We are really not that different and have much more in common than I would like to confess to.

The problem is clear. So, is the solution. It was addressed in CTT very early on when I tackled the "wisdom to know the difference." If so inspired, look in the archives. I'm not going to rehash it.

But I am going to do one thing. I am going to try as hard as I can to remember the comment of a goofy sports talk radio host. I am going to continually ask, "Kev, why are you running on outrage?

Because at the end of the day, this running on outrage leaves me running on empty!