Time To Break Out The Soap Box - News of Upcoming Changes and A Bit of a Rant

Hello again, and welcome back to my little corner of cyberspace.  It's April which means it's National Autism Month and National Child Abuse Prevention Month, both things that are close to my heart and I plan to address both as frequently as possible this month; but not today.  No, today I wish to tell you of some changes I have coming up for this web site, and, as the title of this ramble implies, go on a bit of a rant.

As those of you who have followed my rather intermittent ramblings know, I started my company, Targets With Attitude, in an effort to raise money to fund a Special Needs Trust for my son who happens to be autistic, and this web site has helped to get the company's name out there.  However I think it's time to start to redesign this site.  Many people have complained that they have trouble navigating this site as well as they should be able to, and if the people who come to this little corner of cyberspace cannot find the items I have for sale then obviously I'm not going to raise a lot of money for that trust!  So over the course of the next month or two I hope to redesign the site to make it more attractive, easier to find, and most of all, easier to navigate.  Unfortunately, that does mean that there will be times when you won't be able to get here, but I promise to try to keep them to a minimum.

Another thing I'd like to announce is that I have started another division of Targets With Attitude called A Sharper Attitude, which is a sharpening service that grew out of teaching my daughter how to sharpen kitchen knives and the various knives and swords in her collection.  About the only things she and I won't sharpen for now are Barber Shears (which take special equipment that I cannot afford at the moment) and medical items (mainly because I don't want to get  involved with the Department of Health and Environment Control), and I hope to have a web site up for that service soon as well.

However, now that I have said that, I have a subject I feel I must address.  Normally I try to avoid politics and religion like the plague, and with good reason.  Nothing can get people riled up like those two subjects, and the last thing any merchant of any kind needs is to alienate a potential customer; but events in recent months have gotten to the point where I cannot in good conscience remain silent and thus the following rant.

As many have probably guessed (from the fact that I live in the Bible Belt if for no other reason) I am a Christian.  In fact I am a member of an Evangelical Lutheran Church of America congregation, and I am also a member of church council at my church.  I am also a Republican, and have been since I first voted back in 1980 when I voted for Reagan for President.  Yet having said that, I am deeply troubled by the direction my party seems to have gone lately.  All too much of what I have been hearing from the candidates who are supposed to represent my party is nothing but thinly disguised hate and fear, two thing which have never proven to be a sound foundation for any decision.  Nor is the Democratic party much better.  You may say "But dude!  We have to do something to defend our country!  We can't just let any old Tom, Dick, or Harry in."  Yes, that's true.  But at the same time, making laws that block everyone of certain nationalities, races, or religions is directly opposed to everything our Constitution is supposed to stand for!  Nor can I support it as a Christian.  In John 21, verses 15 to 18, Jesus asks Simon Peter no less than three times if he loves him.  All three times Peter replies that Jesus knows he loves him, and all three times Jesus responds by telling him to feed and care for his flock.  Jesus doesn't tell Peter to make sure the laws are obeyed.  He doesn't tell Peter to weed out the undesirable, or the heretic, nor does he tell him to kill those who stray.  He tells Peter to love and care for them, period.  I would also point out that in Mark 12 verse 31 and Matthew 22 verse 29 Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  No where in the Bible can I find a verse where Jesus says to kill, imprison, or otherwise discriminate against any one except by twisting that verse beyond my recognition.  Yet almost every day I hear or read where some political big wig on both sides are calling for us to do exactly that!  Well I say enough!  You may vote however your conscience tells you to, and the very freedoms and rights granted and instilled in our Constitution say that you may say anything you feel you must; but I cannot and will not support fear, hate, and bigotry in my political leaders.  Nor will I continue to remain silent when I see rampant idiocy being put forth as reasonable alternatives to problems that are not any where near as bad as the person proposing these ideas claim they are.  To do so in my opinion would be no less than condoning the same evil that came to be in Germany before WWII or Czarist Russia before their revolution and Communist Russia after the revolution.  Do careful background checks on anyone who wishes to immigrate? Sure, that's just common sense.  Ban any all all immigrates who happen to be Muslim or Arabic?  No, no, a thousand times no!  Build a wall across our border with Mexico?  Why, gee, that worked SO well in Berlin after all.  Make it illegal to be Islamic?  Do that and you've just tossed out our Constitution as thoroughly and completely as those who wish to do away with the 2nd amendment, as well as opened the door to making it illegal to be Lutheran or Catholic!  I am well aware that this rant may cause me to loose readers and ostracize potential customers, and I regret that.  But I cannot be other than I am, and I will not be a traitor to myself or my God.

For now though, I wish you all the best.  Take care, and I hope you will continue to visit my little corner of cyberspace even if you don't always agree with me.