Author: the outside lane

Happy. That about covers it.
Religion

Absolute Power Corrupts

the outside lane

I am still processing Creflo Dollar’s arrest for strangling his daughter, throwing her to the ground, and beating her with his shoe, the beaten, 15 year old daughter calling 911 for help, the 19 year old daughter fully corroborating what the 15 year old said.  I’m not processing because I am surprised, but because my skin is crawling over what comes next.  What comes next is that Dollar will have to address it in a sermon at some point, and how will the tale spin?  Does he admit that it is always wrong to beat up your daughter?  Or does he say it is okay to beat up your daughter if she is sassy and full of the devil?

I wonder this because when I started going to church out at EMIC, and started going to KC’s meetings, divorce was a huge no-no.  Even Creflo preached that only in cases of adultery or abuse should Christian couples divorce.  But then something strange happened.  Some of GP’s and KC’s close friends started having marital problems, and the teachings changed.  If your spouse was cheating, beating OR if your spouse was keeping you from fulfilling your mission with the lord–then you could get a divorce.

“Keeping me from fulfilling my mission with the lord,” was the catchphrase for at least three high profile divorces in a very short time period.  In at least two of those cases, a brand new spouse (much younger–grossly younger in one case) was waiting in the wings.

What I am trying to say is that the message always changed to match the needs of the men preaching it.  Henry VIII would have LOVED this ministry.

It wasn’t just with divorce, but every time The Prophet’s whim changed, the teaching changed.  From using the term “Easter” to how much you had to give to be considered a “covenant partner”.

I fully expect that Creflo Dollar will find a way to spin his abuse into something his daughter deserved, and I have no doubt that among the people who follow him, there will be those who take it as license to beat the hell out of their own children.  He will have set a dangerous precedent based on his temper, and children will be hurt.  Then what?  Then how does the doctrine warp?

The only thing that could surprise me about this story is Dollar presenting a full mea culpa.

 

Big Ministry is the new mafia.

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Avoiding Fraud Tip

the outside lane

If you have ever held a joint bank account with someone, and have removed that person from the account, go ahead and just close out the account and open a new one.  Why?  Because you probably had checks with both names on the account, and unless you have a super vigilant teller guarding the vault, your ex could clean you out without much trouble.

Your ex could also be passing off checks with various merchants.  As long as the presenter has ID that matches the name on the check, why would anyone wonder?

Start fresh completely and save yourself the further heartache.

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Thursday in the Rain

the outside lane

I have vacation envy.  All my coworkers are having vacations, and mine isn’t until August.  Ah, well. 

It’s been unseasonably rainy and cool here, and I am loving that.  What I am not loving is the traffic that goes with the rain.  Texans are hardly able to stay on the road in the best of conditions, but you add a little water to the road and it’s like Bambi on ice.  Bryan and I were texting each other roads to avoid last night.  “Don’t go down X.”  “Ok.  Don’t try to go down 5.”  “Where are you?”  “I’m at Y.”  “Get off on T because Y is at a dead stop at Y and V.”  “Ok.”  (And by texting, I mean I was talking into the voice recognition feature on my phone while sitting perfectly still, not punching keys while I was driving.  I’m not a native Texan.)

You know, I feel very fortunate to have a spouse who cares enough to help redirect me in traffic.  I like him a lot, and I think that liking counts for more than just about anything else.  I’m also very fortunate to also have the “anything else” going for him, too.

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Worth Dying For?

the outside lane

As of today, over 1,800 young men and women of our armed forces have been killed in Afghanistan.  Just to keep it real, here is a listing of the latest dead:

–Spc. Gerardo Campos, 23, of Miami, Fla.; died June 2 in Maiwand, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire; assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

–Staff Sgt. Alexander G. Povilaitis, 47, of Dawsonville, Ga.; died May 31 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when the enemy attacked with an improvised explosive device; assigned to 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

–Lance Cpl. Joshua E. Witsman, 23, of Covington, Ind.; died May 30 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

–Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean E. Brazas, of Greensboro, N.C.; died May 30 while conducting combat operations in Panjwa’l, Afghanistan; assigned to Naval Base Kitsap Security Detachment in Bremerton, Wash.

–Cpl. Nicholas H. Olivas, 20, of Fairfield, Ohio; died May 30 in Zharay, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device; assigned to the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

–Sgt. Julian C. Chase, 22, of Edgewater, Md.; died May 28 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

–Two soldiers died May 28, in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when their helicopter crashed; they were assigned to the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, Ansbach-Katterbach, Germany; killed were: Capt. John R. Brainard, 26, of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine; and Chief Warrant Officer Five John C. Pratt, 51, of Springfield, Va.

–Spc. Tofiga J. Tautolo, 23, of Wilmington, Calif.; died May 27 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his vehicle was attacked with an enemy improvised explosive device; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

–Two soldiers died May 27 in Chak-E Wardak District, Afghanistan, when their unit was attacked by enemy forces; killed were: Spc. Kedith L. Jacobs, 21, of Denver, Colo.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas; and Pfc. Leroy Deronde III, 22, of Jersey City, N.J.; assigned to F Company, 125th Brigade Support Battalion attached to 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

–Lance Cpl. Steven G. Sutton, 24, of Leesburg, Ga.; died May 26 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan; assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

–Staff Sgt. Roberto Loeza, 28, of El Paso, Texas; died May 25 in Logar province, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with indirect fire; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

20 years old.  21 years old.  22 years old.  23 years old.  24 years old.  Shot.  Blown up.  Knocked out of the sky.  Just kids.  Dead.  For what?  For whom?

Remember when kings used to ride out and fight their own battles?  I think it’s high time we return to that way of waging war.  Can you imagine our elected officials being told they had to put on fatigues?

It’s something to keep in mind as the election draws nearer.

 

 

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Oodles of Random

the outside lane

Gearing up to start posting new Women Worth Knowing profiles soon.  I have a backlog to work through.  Not a bad problem to have!  If you know a Woman Worth Knowing, though, drop me a note so we can get her spotlight started.

And my thought for the day…go crazy with kindness!  If you want a Dalek Lama shirt/bag/whatever, contact me.

On a completely different topic, I will share the best banking advice I have.

The number one tip I can give is this:  Use a check register to keep track of your balances.

You cannot rely on the balance you pull from the ATM, online banking, or even the teller at the bank.  Why?  Because none of those can see pending transactions that have not yet posted.  You’d think that all Point of Sale systems would be real-time now, but they aren’t, and that can get you into trouble if you’re not careful.

When you make a purchase with your check card, the bank doesn’t automatically know it.  That all depends on the merchant services the business is running, how they turn in their receipts, and how they receive payments from banks.  You could make a purchase at JimBob’s Hardware on May 15, and JimBob might not turn in his receipts for payment until May 23*.

Between May 15 and May 23, you might be spending money based on what the ATM tells you is your available balance, thinking that because you spent $300 at JimBob’s on May 15, the balance you see includes what you paid for those fancy doorknobs.  But, it doesn’t.  Then, on May 23, JimBob turns in his receipts and BLAM!  You are in overdraft, and you owe $35 for every returned item, and possibly more in negative account fees.

You would probably notice a $300 difference, but those $8, $3, $16 transactions will sneak up on you.  A check register is the only way to go, even if that check register is just a piece of scrap paper in your wallet.

Something else to know is how  your bank processes transactions.  For example, my bank processes all deposits first, then processes debits based on date/time, and if no date/time is available, then by amount, lowest to highest.  This is healthier for the customer because if you have $300 in the bank, and you have 4 transactions of $100, $50, $50, and $200, assuming these transactions don’t have date/time stamps, you’ll only get hit with one fee instead of two.

Find out how your deposits are credited, too.

  • Cash deposits should net you immediate credit.
  • Same bank deposits should net you credit on that business date.
  • Outside bank deposits will be subject to collection availability, but should generally net you credit by the next business date.

Same bank deposits should cover any transactions you make on the same day, but won’t guarantee coverage for transactions you made the day before.  That’s the difference between immediate and same day credit.  Immediate credit covers everything that will hit the account that day.  Same day credit covers most everything, but there can be gaps.

A business day is a working day.  Monday through Friday are business days.  Saturday and Sunday are not.  If you bank on a Saturday, you are actually banking on Monday’s business day.

And for the love of pete, don’t yell at tellers.  Maybe that’s my best advice.  Tellers have a very strict set of rules and regulations to follow, and there are swift, severe consequences for failing to meet them.  So, unless you are willing to hire that teller once he/she is fired for breaking the rules to accommodate you, don’t yell at them.

*Obviously this is hypothetical.  It is far likelier that JimBob will cash out sooner than that.