Tree sap and Cat Fur

Eddie got himself covered in tree-sap at some point during the night.

We have been over at the Sonrise Church, taking advantage of the age-old tradition of sanctuary, and the surprisingly warm hearts I've come across inside those walls. Anyway, we have been over there so often that Eddie has figured out his territory and boundaries, so I occasionally take him off the leash and let him "hunt". He's been very effective in removing several mice, a rat and a gopher so far (which he deposits at my head, then sleeps on the small of my back... job done).

Some how Eddie Cat got his back and hind-legs covered in some type of tree sap. Not sure what type, though it isn't the pine (which is good). I not really sure what it is, but it was hardening by the time I woke up and even minor movements were causing Eddie Cat obvious pain.

So I spent the morning rubbing coconut oil into his fur and brushing it out. Some of the clumps were too large for even that process so I scissored them.

To his credit Eddie Cat only bit me once, when his patience with the process had reached its limit. After growling at each other for about a minute, he laid back down and I finished getting the tree-sap out of his fur.

So it has been an active morning, and now it is well into the noon time, and I have to get a promised lunch. So off I go.

That was a bother…

Apparently, even with all of the smoke and mirrors given to me last time at Court, … if I showed up this time (at the Readiness Trail), then I was innocent of all charges. I reason this because that is all I did…, show up…, and all of the charges were dropped. Since this one got muddled up by my past exploits, and I don't have video or recording of the event, I'm just going to let it go. The next fun filled adventure is on April 1, 2008. This is the one I have the video of (actual evidence) to support; so I won't be just "letting it go." I'm going to push it to trail and in civil court as well.

Have not heard anything yet from the ACLU, which is a bit disappointing, but I will continue to do the footwork and move forward. Hopefully they will be able to jump on-board as well. I would like to insure a very one-sided battle in getting this law unenforceable. I believe that what I have now is enough to insure a "win", but I'm not much interested in a "fair fight".

The San Diego County Superior Court however, appears to not be interested in prosecuting these Illegal lodging tickets from Santee. If they plead innocent, then it is dropped by the DA. But at the very least, this process of pleading innocent requires two days of court time. This is not enough to walk away from it and simply educate the homeless in Santee to plead innocent no matter what the "deal" is, or what the jail time threat is issued. The threat to the homeless is two days in court, sitting there while everything they own may be discovered and stolen. There is always the threat that the homeless may not be in a position to make the court date, or the follow up "Readiness" trail as well. Heck, a lack in meds could put some of them in a mental state that they don't remember to show up, or what they are doing there.

Besides that, even though the courts are not prosecuting, the Sheriffs are still enforcing (heartily) this unconstitutional municipal code. Enforcing it as a direct threat, and using it as an abusive tool under the badge of authority. As far as I can tell, this appears to be a Hate Crime on the part of the Deputies, but I'll let my lawyer see where we are going to go with that. Again, my main target is the SMC, nothing more.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATION

Reports done by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the Department of Justice about hate crimes against homeless people prompted the California State Legislature to take action.

Senate Bill 1234, which was introduced in February of 2004 by State Senator Kuehl, became public law in September of the same year and went into effect in July of 2005. It is now California Penal Code 13519.64.

This law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards to develop a two-hour telecourse to be made available to all law enforcement agencies in California on crimes against homeless people and how to deal effectively and humanely with homeless people, including those with disabilities. The telecourse is to include information on multi-mission criminal extremism, which includes crimes committed in whole or in part because of the victims’ actual or perceived homelessness. In developing the telecourse, the commission is to consult subject-matter experts including, but not limited to, homeless and formerly homeless persons in California, service providers and advocates for homeless people in California, experts on the disabilities that homeless people commonly suffer, the California Council of Churches, the National Coalition for the Homeless, the Senate Office of Research, and the Criminal Justice Statistics Center of the Department of Justice.

Something that has come to mind of late, with my "The Lawless Christian" research and these local experiences, is that Laws don't make you safe, or promote safety, or culture a feeling of safety. Laws are simply the beginning of arguments and battles.

The Word of God, beyond letters

Too often, I feel, Christians hold the bible up, black covers clamped in righteous fist like a bludgeon, and say "This is the Word of God!" When what they mean is, "this is the Law of God". Some how the meaning and the text have become lost amongst the believers.

I don't feel this is simply semantics, since the disciples, following Jesus' example, go to great lengths to distinguish between the Law and the Word. The New Testament is not the Word of God, Jesus is the Word of God.(John 1:14) His message powered by the Holy Spirit transcends static text and language. The New Testament is a record of the Word of God, it is not the Word itself. I don't feel that this clarification devalues the importance of the New Testament in anyway, but simply recalls its original and intended value. I do believe however that to ignore the message and teachings of the Christ, and to insist that the Bible and the Word are the same thing, is to devalue the purpose and meaning of Christ's sacrifice. "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life," 2 Corinthians 3:6

We are too often distracted by the light glowing brightly on the dark wall and forget the value and purpose of the light's source. Too often we grasp at what we can see and hold in our hand, rather than reaching out to that which is beyond our current perceptions.

Jesus, the Word of God, is much like the concept of Freedom. Everyone believes that Freedom is a good thing, but not everyone is willing to take responsibility for their freedom. Thomas Jefferson once said "Those who wish for Freedom and Safety, deserve neither."

Freedom is a lot of work, and enacting Freedom in our lives is to take full responsibility for our lives; to give up all the excuses and crutches for our faults and shortcomings; to say "I am responsible for my life because I choose Freedom over servitude."

2Cr 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which [vail] is done away in Christ.

2Cr 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

2Cr 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

2Cr 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty.

2Cr 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.

St. Augustine - On Law and Spirit

t is evident, then, that the oldness of the letter, in the absence of the newness of the spirit, instead of freeing us from sin, rather makes us guilty by the knowledge of sin. Whence it is written in another part of Scripture, "He that increases knowledge, increases sorrow," Ecclesiastes 1:18 —not that the law is itself evil, but because the commandment has its good in the demonstration of the letter, not in the assistance of the spirit; and if this commandment is kept from the fear of punishment and not from the love of righteousness, it is servilely kept, not freely, and therefore it is not kept at all.

For no fruit is good which does not grow from the root of love. If, however, that faith be present which works by love, Galatians 5:6 then one begins to delight in the law of God after the inward man, Romans 7:22 and this delight is the gift of the spirit, not of the letter; even though there is another law in our members still warring against the law of the mind, until the old state is changed, and passes into that newness which increases from day to day in the inward man, while the grace of God is liberating us from the body of this death through Jesus Christ our Lord.


Augustine's book on the Spirit and the Law is amazingly close to what I'm striving for here (again, I've never really been original in my works).

The letter kills, but the spirit gives life

I'm still working through all of this "knowledge" that I'm compiling, striving to better understand the nature of what was taken from us at the Tree, and what was returned to us at the Cross.

I apologize if all of this research and fumbling about the scriptures has become a burden to you (reader), especially if you have come here to learn more about the homeless and how to help. But I am not a single minded person, who does not strive to become fuller in life and in the Lord. So, again, I've tagged these particular notations and entries as "The Lawless Christian", giving to you the ability to find all of these, or ignore them as a group.

These areas, as I read the bodies of work they are from, helped a great deal in bringing to mind what I is I am after. While still ethereal in my mind, the idea of the "Lawless Christian" manifests a number thoughts which require deeper research. Not just for the writings I would like to do on this subject (I definitely prefer to have a good foundation in my understanding of the scriptures before delivering commentary), but also for my own enjoyment of the scriptures themselves.

There are still many good works to cover. Questions and Focal-Points such as the ones I have, are by no means original thoughts. I have always found that these questions and topics have been well covered since the times of antiquity, and rarely can I even suggest the claim of original perspective.


3. The fatal consequences came with a rush. There is a gulf between being tempted and sinning, but the results of the sin are closely knit to it. They come automatically, as surely as a stream from a fountain. The promise of knowing good and evil was indeed kept, but instead of its making the sinners 'like gods,' it showed them that they were like beasts, and brought the first sense of shame. To know evil was, no doubt, a forward step intellectually; but to know it by experience, and as part of themselves, necessarily changed their ignorant innocence into bitter knowledge, and conscience awoke to rebuke them. The first thing that their opened eyes saw was themselves, and the immediate result of the sight was the first blush of shame. Before, they had walked in innocent unconsciousness, like angels or infants; now they had knowledge of good and evil, because their sin had made evil a part of themselves, and the knowledge was bitter.
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/7gens10.txt

--Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren : (1826-1910) "was a Baptist minister. Born in Glasgow to Baptist parents, he was baptized in 1840 and trained at Stepney ,College.
http://www.puritansermons.com/bio/biomacla.htm

"The letter kills, but the spirit gives life," 2 Corinthians 3:6 which merely prescribes that we should not take in the literal sense any figurative phrase which in the proper meaning of its words would produce only nonsense, but should consider what else it signifies, nourishing the inner man by our spiritual intelligence, since"being carnally-minded is death, while to be spiritually-minded is life and peace." Romans 8:6 If, for instance, a man were to take in a literal and carnal sense much that is written in the Song of Solomon, he would minister not to the fruit of a luminous charity, but to the feeling of a libidinous desire. Therefore, the apostle is not to be confined to the limited application just mentioned, when he says, "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life;" 2 Corinthians 3:6 but this is also (and indeed especially) equivalent to what he says elsewhere in the plainest words: "I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet;" Romans 7:7 and again, immediately after: "Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me." Romans 7:11 Now from this you may see what is meant by "the letter that kills." There is, of course, nothing said figuratively which is not to be accepted in its plain sense, when it is said, "You shall not covet;" but this is a very plain and salutary precept, and any man who shall fulfill it will have no sin at all. The apostle, indeed, purposely selected this general precept, in which he embraced everything, as if this were the voice of the law, prohibiting us from all sin, when he says, "You shall not covet;" for there is no sin committed except by evil concupiscence; so that the law which prohibits this is a good and praiseworthy law. But, when the Holy Ghost withholds His help, which inspires us with a good desire instead of this evil desire (in other words, diffuses love in our hearts), that law, however good in itself, only augments the evil desire by forbidding it.

The necessity of the meaning of "Knowledge".

Something that has always bothered me about the story of the Fall of Man, is this "Knowledge of Good and Evil", this sudden insight into the nature of Sin, and the subsequent requirement of Laws which we (Man), have no chance of really understanding.

This has bothered me since I was a child in my Grandfather's church.

To paraphrase the story, we (Man) is told not to eat (by God) of the tree of Knowledge. We do eat from it, and suddenly we have this Knowledge.

Now, what has always been a quirk in my understanding of this tale, has never been the reason for the existence of the tree, or why God put it within our grasp. Those are simply the parameters of God's creation. He wanted the Tree there, just like he wanted Lions, Tigers and Bears. What sticks in my head is what happens next…

We have this "Knowledge" and the first thing we come up with, is we are Naked, and Naked is "wrong"; Naked is something to be ashamed of… which surprises God. After all, he's been looking at our Naked selves for quite some time.

Genesis Chapter 3 verse:7-11

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?

Now, later God says (verse 22) And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:...

While God determines quite soon that man's thoughts are "evil" we (man) have no real instruction as to the "rules" of life. We do have the "knowledge" of good and evil, but apparently we have a warped view of things.

It is not until after the flood with Noah, that God begins to give "Laws". The first being that eating meat with blood is not a good thing. (Gen 9:4) Then warnings against Murder (Gen 9:6) and the explanation given is that Man is Created in the Image of God.

We are then told that we are to have sex and children.

And then the first covenant with Man is given.

Gen 12 we find out that Audutry is not right with God, though he has said nothing about this, assuming we know, the Pharo or Egypt apparently knows and says that he would not have had sex with Abram wife, if he didn't believe she was Abram's sister (which is how Abram introduces her to the Pharo). God just plauges him.

17And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. 18And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

This type of discovery-after-the-fact of the Laws of God goes on until deep inside Exodus, which is the first time that God says, "Look, here are the commandments, and we'll go through the rest together later".

So, while we have this general Knowledge (awareness) of Good and Evil, we do not have clear understanding.

We know there are things that are Good and things that are Evil, but this understanding is at a very childish level. Good, we see as things that make us feel good, Evil are things that make us feel bad.

We have also lost the Spiritual connection with God.

Beginning thoughts on the Word and the Law

The Law and the Word

Perhaps it is my focus during these last few months, and perhaps it is just the season, but I've been contemplating the differences between the biblical meaning of the Law and the Word of late.

Most of this contemplation has been fragmented and disjointed at best, as the period of time the subject entices me most, is when I'm walking to my work spot, or back to the Sonrise Church.

But there have been some interesting injections into my day from periodic readings, and the bible study groups I have been attending. Nothing thunder-stroked, but enough to see some perspectives, which I have been aware of, but have not fully appreciated.

Law is something we naturally seem to either think of defending ourselves against, or trying to work around so that we still get what we want. Laws, historically and sociologically, have never enhanced nor nurtured a population of peace; but rather a population of control.

We call it "Original Sin" but what I think the "apple" really signifies is the "Origin of Sin". For as we find in the verses of the New Testement, There is no Sin, without the Law, and only with the law is Sin and Death manifest.

Jesus came to return us to Lawlessness.

John 1:1:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 6:63:
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Acts 6:4:
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

Acts 19:20:
So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

Hebrews 7:28:
For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

I John 1:1:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;


The Law was given to the Hebrews through Moses. It is called the Torah by the Jews. The Torah (Hebrew: תּוֹרָה Translit.: torah Translated: doctrine, teaching) has been revered as the inspired word(s) of God, as it is said by tradition to have been revealed to Moses by God. The Torah is the (written) Law or written Torah (unlike the oral Law called Mishnah).

God gave Moses the law because after the fall of man and the ejection from paradise, man was lost and confused in his attempts to fin meaning or direction in life. More than that however, the Law became required because Man, through the eating of the fruit, became aware of "Good" and "Evil". The phrase is quoted as the "Knowledge of Good and Evil", however, this translation at this time may be confusing.

Rabbi David Fohrman of the Hoffberger Foundation for Torah Studies, citing Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed, states that "the tree did not give us moral awareness when we had none before. Rather, it transformed this awareness from one kind into another." After eating from the Tree, humanity's innate sense of moral awareness was transformed from concepts of true and false to concepts of good and evil. Genesis describes the tree as desirable (3:6), and our concepts of good and evil, unlike our concepts of true and false, also have an implicit measure of desire.

According to George M. Lamsa, "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil" is an Aramaic idiom that means moral law, the knowledge of good and evil. If so the fruit of the tree might be using moral law as a tool to break the commandment "Judge not."

Know; Knowledge:
no, nol’-ej (in Hebrew chiefly yadha‘, noun da‘ath; in Greek ginosko, oida’ "to know fully," epiginosko, noun gnosis epignosis): Knowledge strictly is the apprehension by the mind of some fact or truth in accordance with its real nature; in a personal relation the intellectual act is necessarily conjoined with the element of affection and will (choice, love, favor, or, conversely, repugnance, dislike, etc.). Knowledge is distinguished from "opinion" by its greater certainty. The mind is constituted with the capacity for knowledge, and the desire to possess and increase it. The character of knowledge varies with its object. The senses give knowledge of outward appearances; the intellect connects and reasons about these appearances, and arrives at general laws or truths; moral truth is apprehended through the power inherently possessed by men of distinguishing right and wrong in the light of moral principles; spiritual qualities require for their apprehension spiritual sympathy ("They are spiritually judged," 1Co 2:14).

Knowledge is affirmed of both God and man, but with the wide contrast that God’s knowledge is absolute, unerring, complete, intuitive, embracing all things, past, present, and future, and searching the inmost thoughts of the heart (Ps 139:1,23); whereas man’s is partial, imperfect, relative, gradually acquired, and largely mixed with error ("Now we see in a mirror darkly .... in part," 1Co 13:12). All these points about knowledge are amply brought out in the Scripture usage of the terms.

The Term Knowledge for me right now is in deep question. While the Hebrew uses the word "knowledge" I am not sure of the tense that is used, and the Tense in this case has huge alterations in meaning.

Ar Yehóva Eru tyarnë tuita cemello ilya alda i ná vanya cenien ar mára matien ho sa, ar yando i alda cuilëo endessë i tarvo, ar i alda istyo márava ar ulcuva.

And Jehovah God made grow from the earth every tree that is beautiful to look upon [cenien, "for seeing", dative] and good to eat from [lit. "good for eating from it"], and also the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of (the) knowledge of good and evil. [Yando "also", QL:104. This early "Qenya" word for "also" may well have been rejected along with the word ya for "and" - Tolkien's later Quenya has ar instead - but we know no other word for "also". - Tarvo, genitive of tarwa "garden". The combination wo is probably impossible in Quenya, and in this position it would likely turn into vo. Compare the name Curvo (Kurvo) in PM:352; this probably represents the impossible form *Kurwo, since the stem is clearly KURU as in Curufinwë, the longer form of this name (*Curuo > *Curwo > Curvo). - I alda istyo "the tree of knowledge", istyo being the genitive of istya "knowledge". Márava ar ulcuva "of good and evil": Ulco with stem ulcu- denotes "evil" as a noun, VT43:23-24. In the phrase márava ar ulcuva I use the "possessive" or "adjectival" case in -va rather than the genitive in -o, since the va-case seems to function as an "object genitive" in such phrases as nurtalë Valinóreva "hiding of Valinor" (Silmarillion ch. 11), Valinor being the logical object of the "hiding". In the case before us, mára "good" and ulco, ulcu- "evil" are the logical objects of the istya or "knowledge": good and evil are the things that are "known".]

http://www.uib.no/people/hnohf/genesis2.htm



John 1:17:
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ

Romans 6:14:
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Romans 7:6:
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Romans 7:7:
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Romans 7:8:
But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

Romans 7:9:
For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

Romans 8:2:
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.


I Corinthians 15:56:
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Galatians 2:16:
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.


Galatians 2:19:
For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

Galatians 2:21:
I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

I Timothy 1:8:
But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

I Timothy 1:9:
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Titus 3:9:
But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

Hebrews 7:19:
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.


I John 3:4:
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

James 4:11:
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.


Hebrews 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

Hebrews 9:19
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. 21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

After waking up this morning and going over these notes I wrote last night, I believe that these are the small seeds of a much greater study which I would like to pursue. I'm going to categorize these notes into a collection called "The Lawless Christian".

My biblical study and research skills are very good, but I will probably be requesting help, and hoping for comment as I bring all of these thoughts into some semblance of order. It is my hope, and prayer that this study helps others in their search for understanding and faith.

Sure took them a long time to think of this...

LA PUENTE - Authorities on Tuesday were helping the homeless near the San Gabriel Valley River bed find services.

All morning, transients trickled into San Angelo Park for a clinic, which included free medical evaluations, long-term health care options and other services from county public works, social services and law enforcement.

"Addressing the homeless problem is not unique," sheriff's Deputy John Rose said. "But this kind of collection of resources, addressing the problem this way, is unique."

(Read the full story here)

I don't want to sound judgmental on this one at all. It sounds like a great start, and as the Sheriff says, it is unique. It is sad that it is unique, but unique it is.

Most of the "crazy" people I run across out on the streets require so little to "straighten out", but what they require is absolute. If you are already Bi-Polar, or Schizophrenic, and; you don't eat, have a proper supply of vitamins, a good blood-sugar count, enough sleep, on top of not having your medication, then you are going to be a little crazy... or a lot crazy. But the basic fact is, you are not going to be thinking well enough to help yourself off the street.

A homeless person who gets a job, and later gets the flu, is sick for so long that he looses the job. A simple thing like the flu, something most people take as "part of life" can end a person on the street.

I also really liked the story on the "Homeless & Disabled" Court I read yesterday. Very cool idea and an amazing man running the show. (Read that story here)

Arsenic and Old Lace -- The Dark Side

Two old women in Los Angeles called the "Black Widows" in the press have been arrested and charged with murdering two homeless men in order to collect the insurance on them. This money for murder scheme netted the two women 2.8 million dollars before police tracked them down. (Read the Story here)

I was just talking about that old Cary Grant film Arsenic and Old Lace yesterday. While Santee on the whole is certainly not a great place for the homeless person, even one trying to get off the streets and regain a position in life, So far they haven't started running them over with cars, or killing the homeless for money.

Feeding the Homeless with Sonrise

 

I had a good time at Sonrise tonight. It was a good way to spend the evening on the 18th anniversary of my soberity. Being of service, no matter what the task or for whom is generally a good idea. The people at Sonrise seem to feel the same way, and I'm very grateful that there are still such people in the world.

Eddie wasn't exactly impressed, but ... he's a cat, and he always gets fed.

You can see more photos on my web album area

Sonrise March 13 2008 Giving Love

So, how was your morning?

Some people just have to deal with traffic getting to work; the homeless in Santee have other problems.

The video cuts off quickly at the end, because I'm sticking the camera in my pocket, so that I have something to give my lawyer when this pillar of justice takes my stuff.

I really am getting quite annoyed with this Sheriff situation, and this whole thing. My purpose is the law, but more an more, I beginning to believe that perhaps people don't change until you make it hurt a bit.

Christopher Avery Promotion project

Finished with Dr. Avery's project today, but we have a lot more to do together here in the future.

I like working with clients like Dr. Avery, he has a good message, and he's an excellent writer as well, meaning he knows how to bring his message across to the reader. I'll be working on book promotion with him, as well as some video work here in the near future, while he works on his next book.

I'm sure I'll be talking quite a bit about him in the future.

Eddie and Bird:30 AM

 

Bird:30 AM was about 6:30 am this morning. The sun begins to glow in the East, the chill across the grass begins to mist, and the birds begin to gather from their night-time branchs. They gather in murders. Huge numbers alight on fence and powerline, and all of them begin to chirp to one another. The chirping is soon a deafening roar of high pitched yelling as each of the flock members fight to be heard.

Then they descend, a turmoil of atmospheric pressure.

It's one of Eddie's favorite moments.

Starbucks Hotspot changing to AT&T from T-Mobile

A manager at one of my favorite hang-outs here in Santee told me the other day that Starbucks is going to change over from T-Mobile to AT&T for the wireless hotspot service.

These news articles appear to verify that story, but I did see some contrary articles out there.

Wall Street Journal

Wired News

ZDNet News

Washington Post

I don't mind the change, because it will save me about $50.00 a month not having to have both (I frequent Barnes and Nobel as well), so that is good, but AT&T has always been the inferior of the two services to me. First of all I can't use my POP account on Gmail with it (have to go to the GMail web site to send out mail), and the service cuts you off after an hour or so, requiring you to log back in, which is a pain when you are downloading large files (like videos from clients who need them edited the next day).

Of course, since I'm homeless right now in Santee, I probably use the services much more than the average person, and I certainly stress them much more than the average person because of my various trades. So my complaints may not be incidents which you may notice is your usage.

Something I have noticed however, is that T-Mobile hasn't bothered to send anything to me regarding this switch over.

Face of the Guiding Light of Santee

I don't know the Mayor of Santee, never had the need to look anything up on him, or what his views really were; but I just ran across this little tid-bit of information:

"Basically we don't have a homeless problem (in Santee), except down by the river, and those people are camped illegally and destroying the environment," he said. "I'm not a homeless advocate in any way, shape or form."

Voepel said he'd received very few complaints from his constituents on Santee's abstention from supporting the plan I wrote about today. "I believe that the more homeless programs we fund in Southern California, the more people come here and be homeless," said the man who refers to his city as the La Jolla of East County. "I have a very hard-nosed viewpoint, a very conservative viewpoint. Some people say it's very un-Christian, but I am a Christian."

Well, as long as Jesus doesn't come through Santee, I guess he'll be OK.

These quotes are from an article Kelly Bennett wrote on the Voice of San Diego . Voepel goes on to say some other incredibly stupid and horrible things, such as suggesting that Genocide is a solution to political problems.

Now I don't feel bad at all. It is kind of like killing Hitmen, you can do anything you like to them, and you never feel bad about it the next day.

While the police officers in Seattle use their Obstructing a Police Officer charge as leverage, the local Santee Sheriff deputies like to use the "Lodging" municipal code for the same thing, handing out Lodging tickets to any homeless person, who is doing anything within the sight of these roving patrols. Lodging is also used as an excuse to rough up homeless people. As was told to me, "You are trespassing in the public park, because you are homeless".

Despite the fact that the 10.20.150 SMC states that it is an "overnight" offense, the sheriff deputies seem to forget this aspect of the law quite frequently.

I am truly hoping that this week will begin to see some changes in this law. But what about the attitude behind the law? Will our local deputies simply switch over to another law, Obstructing an Officer, for example, and continue the harassment campaign? I would like to believe that the only reason they are enforcing this very silly code is they are being told to by local government. But my last encounter with the local law enforcement has left me feeling rather dubious of this assessment.

Something I have been curious about and finally got around to looking up is "what the heck is Lodging?" According to the Santee Municipal Code Definitions 17.04.140 a Lodging Unit is:

“Lodging unit” means a room or group of rooms used or intended for use by overnight occupants as a single unit, whether on a transient or residential occupancy basis, located in a motel or dwelling unit providing lodging, whether or not meals are provided to such persons. Where designed or used for occupancy by more than two persons, each two persons capacity shall be deemed a separate lodging unit. For the purpose of determining residential density, each two lodging units shall be considered the equivalent of one dwelling unit.

But there is no definition for Lodging as it pertains to the 10.20.150 law. There is also no definition of Camping, or what they could possibly mean by Tarry.

With out clear definitions to our Municipal Code, how can enforcement be available without the expectation of abuse? It would seem to me that Santee simply doesn't care, and expects the victims of its abusive law enforcement to simply be quite and take their punishment. The real shame of it is, that it could be just that simple.

I have been reminded several times that it is not just the homeless who have to deal with abusive and discriminatory enforcement tactics from the local municipal codes. Several home owners have told me about outrageous abuses in building licenses, building inspections, and value assessments.

So while it may be a pain to be homeless in a city like Santee, it might be worse to own a home here.

Jailed and Forgotten

A homeless man in Seattle was picked up and brought to jail by a Patrol Officer, for "obstructing a public officer." What type of obstruction was never recorded, nor was the homeless man charged for "obstructing a public officer" or anything else for that matter.

He was then forgotten for 3 months.

The Story is on the Seattle PI web site.

And people ask me why what I'm doing while I'm homeless right now is so important to me.