May 29, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
May 29 is … End of the Middle Ages Day
Now we are in the Old Ages. That is why the world has been treaty us so badly. It is telling us to get off her lawn.
The Illinois legislature is ready to end the spring session. Our state is bankrupt. The state pension system has been the object of mismanagement, lies, theft and deception; it is the worst in the nation. The answer the nuthouse in Springfield comes up with is let’s take more money from the people in the system even though they joined under certain terms and now Springfield wants to change the rules. In January, our state increased income taxes by 67% and more. As the session winds down, what are our elected monkeys doing? They are trying to outlaw trans-fats. They are redrawing district lines to ensure self preservation. They are discussing more gambling and a casino for Chicago, a concept they bring up every year and have since 1991 but never take any action on. They want to tax our soft drinks and bottled water. They want to consolidate school districts but never will.
It is time for another Constitutional Convention and term limits. I believe a union our retired workers group should file a lawsuit for theft, mismanagement, deceptive practices and negligence against every state legislator, current and former, from 1972 to today. Every state executive in an elected position must also be named in the suit. This can be one against corporate officials, stockbrokers and money managers. The defense will be state immunity but immunity does not apply in intentional conduct situations. That would force all the politicians to deny it was intentional conduct meaning they were too stupid and incompetent to see what everyone else saw and told them about.
Not everything in Illinois is going to hell in a hand basket. The University of Illinois won the regular season Big Ten crown in the in baseball this year. Last night they won the Big Ten baseball tournament. That gives the Illini the automatic bid into the NCAA baseball tournament which culminates with the College World Series in Omaha. Congratulations and good luck to the Illini. Will Strack of Sycamore, IL is a pitcher on the Illini team.
It is Sunday but the megachurch that produces the “Hour of Power” weekly TV service is not having a good day and has not had many good days for several years. The Southern California megachurch founded by one of the nation's pioneering televangelists, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, on Friday filed a bankruptcy plan that would pull the Crystal Cathedral out of crushing debt by selling its sprawling campus and famous, glass-spired sanctuary to a local real estate investment group for $47 million. The plan would allow the ministry to lease the church buildings back for a guaranteed 15-year period, with the additional option of buying the core campus back at a fixed price within four years, said Marc Winthrop, the church's bankruptcy attorney.
The deal would erase the cathedral's $36 million mortgage and wipe out almost all of the $10 million in unsecured debt — including $7.5 million owed to vendors — that has plagued the Crystal Cathedral for several years after a disastrous leadership transition and a devastating slump in donations.
The deal would erase the cathedral's $36 million mortgage and wipe out almost all of the $10 million in unsecured debt — including $7.5 million owed to vendors — that has plagued the Crystal Cathedral for several years after a disastrous leadership transition and a devastating slump in donations.
The charismatic Schuller got his start in Southern California preaching about the "power of positive thinking" from the roof of a concession stand at a drive-in theater as the car culture began to boom in the post-World War II era. He was considered a theological radical at the time, but people were soon driving from all over the Los Angeles area to sit in their cars and listen to Schuller preach through the movie loudspeakers that hooked to their windows.
Schuller, now 84, soon turned his humble pulpit into one of the nation's first megachurches, beaming his weekly Sunday service into 1 million homes worldwide through the "Hour of Power" TV show, which went on the air in 1970. Schuller became a familiar presence on television, a smiling figure in flowing robes, with snowy white hair and wire-rimmed aviator glasses.
In 1980, he opened the Crystal Cathedral, a 2,900-seat see-through church made of 10,664 panes of glass. A $20 million architectural marvel designed by the acclaimed Philip Johnson, it became a major Southern California landmark and a tourist attraction that drew people from all over the world. Schuller soon added a K-12 school and a tourist center. But his religious empire began to collapse after a disastrous attempt in 2006 to hand over the leadership to his son, Robert A. Schuller. The much-heralded changeover alienated older "Hour of Power" viewers and ended in a bitter and very public family spat, with the younger Schuller disappearing from the broadcasts and abruptly leaving the church altogether in 2008, less than three years after he assumed his father's mantle. The elder Schuller's daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman, was eventually named senior pastor, a position she continues to hold.
A plummeting economy also took its toll, and viewer donations declined by as much as 24 percent in 2009, the year before the church declared bankruptcy. Its local congregation now stands at fewer than 5,000 people, although new Spanish-language and Arabic-language services draw about 2,000 and 400 worshippers respectively.
Schuller, now 84, soon turned his humble pulpit into one of the nation's first megachurches, beaming his weekly Sunday service into 1 million homes worldwide through the "Hour of Power" TV show, which went on the air in 1970. Schuller became a familiar presence on television, a smiling figure in flowing robes, with snowy white hair and wire-rimmed aviator glasses.
In 1980, he opened the Crystal Cathedral, a 2,900-seat see-through church made of 10,664 panes of glass. A $20 million architectural marvel designed by the acclaimed Philip Johnson, it became a major Southern California landmark and a tourist attraction that drew people from all over the world. Schuller soon added a K-12 school and a tourist center. But his religious empire began to collapse after a disastrous attempt in 2006 to hand over the leadership to his son, Robert A. Schuller. The much-heralded changeover alienated older "Hour of Power" viewers and ended in a bitter and very public family spat, with the younger Schuller disappearing from the broadcasts and abruptly leaving the church altogether in 2008, less than three years after he assumed his father's mantle. The elder Schuller's daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman, was eventually named senior pastor, a position she continues to hold.
A plummeting economy also took its toll, and viewer donations declined by as much as 24 percent in 2009, the year before the church declared bankruptcy. Its local congregation now stands at fewer than 5,000 people, although new Spanish-language and Arabic-language services draw about 2,000 and 400 worshippers respectively.
Robert Schuller survived longer than most of his contemporaries. He has never been embarrassed by a sex scandal but like most of these types of TV evangelists, greed takes hold of their ambitions and thinking. I am sure he is a true believer in God and Christ but the Bible speaks of the meek inheriting the world and that it is harder for a rich man to get thru the eye of a needle than to get into heaven. None of these TV preachers speak of these biblical passages. It is convenience preaching designed to make the messenger wealthy and if some help occurs along the way, so be it.
Notable birthdays on May 29th throughout history:
1736 Patrick Henry US, patriot "Give me liberty or give me death"
1826 Ebenezer Butterick inventor (tissue paper dress pattern)
1903 Bob Hope [Leslie Townes] Kent England, entertainer/comedian (famous profile). Simply the best ever. One of the greatest Americans ever and he was not born in America.
1917 John Fitzgerald Kennedy Brookline MA, (Senator-D-MA), 35th President (1961-1963)
1939 Al Unser auto racer (Indianapolis 500-1970, 71). Did he win it on his birthday?
Notable deaths on May 29th:
1892 Baha'u'llah [Mirza HA Noeri] Persian founder (Bahá'í), dies at 74. Founded the Baha’i Faith. Check out Baha’i Temple in Wilmette.
1978 Bob Crane actor (Donna Reed Show, Hogan-Hogan's Heroes), dies at 49. This guy did stuff I wouldn’t do and I’ll try anything.
Notable events on May 29th;
1990 Dow Jones average hits a record 2,870.49
1990 New York Mets fire manager Davey Johnson & hire Bud Harrelson
1990 Rickey Henderson steals record 893rd base, breaking Ty Cobb's record
1990 New York Mets fire manager Davey Johnson & hire Bud Harrelson
1990 Rickey Henderson steals record 893rd base, breaking Ty Cobb's record
Just a couple of thoughts I had.
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011
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Book Titles:
Holmes the Ripper
A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction
"I have always suspected that too much knowledge is a dangerous thing. It is a boon to people who don't have deep feelings; their pleasure comes from what they know about things, and their pride from showing off what they know. But this only emphasizes the difference between the artist and the scholar." - Margaret Anderson
