Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal also voiced support for his embattled constituents: “Phil Robertson and his family are great citizens of the State of Louisiana. The politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with. I don’t agree with quite a bit of stuff I read in magazine interviews or see on TV," In fact, come to think of it, I find a good bit of it offensive. But I also acknowledge that this is a free country and everyone is entitled to express their views. In fact, I remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment. It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended."

Are you ready to get on with it? Well, here we go again, and we open up our little calendars so that we can synchronize our schedules and find that we have come to Tuesday, January 21, 2014. I'll do my best to not to do what one fellow did. He called everyone together, told them to open their calendars, and then announced they were there to simonize their calendars. Words matter folks. Maybe he was thinking about a clean start. I noticed how the MSP (Mainstream Press, my abbreviation.) gleefully reported the big dip in ratings for the opening episode of the Duck Dynasty series. They pulled in 8.5 million viewers as opposed to over 11 million people for their season opener last year. This gave the MSP another opportunity to once again erroneously paint Phil Robertson as a hater of homosexuals and black people. I'm no prophet but my prediction for the year is how this will become an obsession and relentless theme for the MSP throughout this season. The show may have taken a dip but needless to say, for cable reality programs, there are no equals. On that same night where the MSP were gloating over failure and decline, Duck Dynasty dominated all of cable for both the two new episodes and all of the reruns for the night where the show saturated the ratings placing 7 of their programs in the top 15. Just so you know, I thought the two new programs, which were the only ones I watched, were pretty good, but, unlike the MSP, I'll not hide the fact that I do carry some bias when I evaluate my viewing choices.

I enjoy reading the play by play comments that people make on Facebook during the televised football games. Typically, it's the only sport where people tend to do this. They actually talk to the people involved in the game. Like: "Hey, nice call ref. Hope eye surgery will help your vision!" Or maybe: "Way to go man. You do a great job of making a lot of money but when you get the ball, you stink up the joint." I suppose it shows why the NFL dominates all other professional sports in our country. There's an assumption that most of the folks on Facebook are watching the same game, therefore, they will understand the comments. Right? What about folks like my mom who mostly watches the Hallmark channel? I never see her making a comment like: "Way to kiss that girl man, good job!" I do have a theory about the movies they show on the Hallmark channel. Every single one of them has exactly the same script and plot. They are just played out with different actors and in different settings. Same. Exactly. I think they may even use the same music. How do I know about what goes on regarding the Hallmark channel? Good question. I can assure you that you can come to this conclusion just passing through. Just passing through. Picking up speed, just passing through.

I think that will be enough to give us some food for thought, or, if not, maybe you can use it as canon fodder. You know. Another iteration of my own little version of the ready, fire, aim brigade. One thing about hanging out with our dear Brother Milton, he is about the most 'in the moment' thankful person you will ever see. His brain was damaged due to the catastrophic trauma he experienced. It left him with hardly any consciousness of the present or short term memory. God has given him not only a sense of peace about his current condition but also a whimsical sense of humor along with this uncanny perception of thanking God on a moment by moment basis. He may not remember if we prayed over the meal even though he did the prayer, but he will not eat a bite until someone assures him the prayer was said. He may not remember anything noteworthy about their journey from Louisiana to our home but he will tell you that he remembers and is thankful for his most recent ability to draw another breath. We are all still learning from the testimony of this dear man of God and perhaps that's one reason God spared his life. I know one thing for sure, I still need a whole lot of learning. Amen.       .....More later.