Family Dynamics

~ Deacon Steve Swope ~ Leave a comment

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My wife got this Mothers’ Day card today from our daughter, Jennifer.  It expresses what I think are true family dynamics.  When our kids were little we used to say to them, “Just do that again and we will sell you to the gypsies.”  They knew we were kidding and we didn’t mean it…mostly…sometimes, well…every now and then.  Every family has a story like this and it describes the dynamics of a close family.  We would have never sold our kids to the gypsies, but the saying became part of our family’s give and take.  Truthfully, until this card arrived today we had forgotten we ever said it.  Our loving daughter resurrected the saying today and hopefully it will remain part of our family.  We can’t wait to see our grandchildren again!!!  I wonder what else we used to say to our kids that we have forgotten and if they can find cards for those.   YIKES!!!

 

#YouCan’tFixStupid

~ Deacon Steve Swope ~ 2 Comments

My last post was about how the neo-Nazi’s and Antifa were #NotWelcomeHere in my hometown of Newnan, Georgia.

People of good will know that those in the neo-Nazi movement are just ignorant fools and the fools confirmed that for us yesterday. The permit that the city issued to these clowns allowed them to hold their ‘rally’ from 3pm to 5pm at the Greenville Street Park in downtown Newnan. They set out to march to the park….and got lost.! Yes, in our small city, they got lost. These nuts arrived at the park at 4:15pm. Promptly at 5:00pm law enforcement shut down the rally and sent them packing. These idiots want to run the world; but they clearly couldn’t even run (or find) a lemonade stand.

The really great news is that thanks to our city leaders, the Newnan Police, the Coweta County Sheriff’s Department, the State Patrol and many others, there was no violence and no injuries. There were about twelve arrests, mostly for misdemeanor or felony stupidity.

The good that came from this is the solidarity shown by the wonderful citizens of Newnan in opposition to hatred.

#NotWelcomeHere

~ Deacon Steve Swope ~ Leave a comment

I love the town that I live in. My wife and I have raised our kids here and our grandchildren visit often. It’s a peaceful multi-ethnic community 45 miles southwest of Atlanta. Unfortunately, today we’re being invaded.

Two groups are coming to our city that are not welcome here. The racist, ignorant neo-Nazi group NSM is planning a rally this afternoon. To counter that rally the violent Antifa group is coming too. Neither of these groups represents what our city or our citizens stand for.

To the credit of our city leaders and law-enforcement our community is ready for whatever happens this afternoon.

All of our downtown businesses are closed for the day. Because Saturday is one of the most important days for any retail or dining establishment this could have represented a huge loss for those businesses. The citizens of our city resolved to come downtown on Friday night and patronize all of the businesses and restaurants. Last night, when my wife and I went downtown we found the streets packed with good citizens, stores jammed with with shoppers, and restaurants filled to capacity. That’s the kind of city we live in.

These two groups are not welcome here but the United States Constitution guarantees them the right to assemble in my city, your city, and any city. Our citizens have responded to their hatred with kindness and compassion for our local merchants. We can only hope that there will be no violence, no one gets hurt, and these unwelcome intruders will leave and never come back.

#Privacy and #Rights

~ Deacon Steve Swope ~ Leave a comment

Recently I received a message from a friend criticizing my decision to #DeleteFacebook . I did because of their intentional information leak to Cambridge Analytica and generally their bad behavior. Please note that I said “information” rather than “data.” Losing private data sounds a bit like forgetting to save a spreadsheet, having personal information given to a third party without your permission is much more serious.

My friend said “If you have nothing to hide, lack of privacy and what Facebook did isn’t a big deal.” That position is ludicrous. To say that privacy isn’t needed because I have nothing to hide is like saying freedom of speech isn’t needed because I have Continue reading “#Privacy and #Rights” →

#DeleteFacebook – An Idea Whose Time Has Come

~ Deacon Steve Swope ~ Leave a comment

From the March 24th cover of The Ecomomist

I have never been a big user of Facebook. I rarely posted to it and when I did it was simply a link to my blog. I almost never spent time reading posts on Facebook because a lot of them were political nonsense, silly memes or users shouting at each other.

The recent news that Facebook allowed the private information of over 50 million users to be compromised by Cambridge Analytica and thus various political Continue reading “#DeleteFacebook – An Idea Whose Time Has Come” →

Skiing Thoughts

~ Deacon Steve Swope ~ Leave a comment

 

I have just spent two days skiing at Snowbasin and have the following thoughts:

  1. I don’t ski as fast as I once did, damn!
  2. My legs are not 30 years old, despite what I wish!
  3. A lunch break is a good, no make that an excellent idea!
  4. Skiing is easier than playing the banjo!
  5. There are only four things to do with skis, turn right, turn left, go straight or sell them.
  6. A hot tub with five (very large) guys in it is not something that I want to join.
  7. In the crazy world we live in, getting away to the beauty of nature, where everyone is happy, and pointing your skis downhill into fresh powder refreshes the soul.

#NoTariff is Good – They are a Can of Worms

~ Deacon Steve Swope ~ Leave a comment

#NoTariff is a good tariff. #NoTradeWar is easy to win. They are a can of worms.

The recent announcement by Trump that the United States will impose a 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum is a case of incredible economic ignorance, foolhardy hubris or both. Some of the greatest minds in economics, both Republican and Democrat have expressed the same sentiment, sometimes in even stronger terms. This week 107 Republicans sent a letter to the president urging him not to impose the tariffs. In the letter they state correctly that, “tariffs are taxes that make U.S. businesses less competitive and U.S consumers poorer.” I’m pleased that my representative, Drew Ferguson signed the letter. Continue reading “#NoTariff is Good – They are a Can of Worms” →