jacob news

Status: experimental Jacob became Israel, which means �he who struggles with God�. His descendants became the nation of Israel, who struggle with God down to this very day. According to the stories, Jacob actually, physically, wrestled with God, or an angelic representative thereof. Apparently Jacob had some pretty good technique, as he held his own until sunrise, when the angel declared the match a tie but then touched Jacob�s hip, laming him. It�s as if to say that God allows you to wrestle him, in fact it might be the Right Thing To Do, but he�s still going to exact a price. You can�t just swing on the supreme monarch of the universe without penalty, he�s a cocky sonuvavirgin. The outcome of Jacob�s wrestling match with God was a lame hip, a new name, Israel, a promise that his descendants would become a great nation, and a badass story to tell at the watering hole.   I hadn�t thought about the story of that Jacob for a long time, when Jordan Peterson started covering it on his ...

A strange thing happened to me. I went through a time of horrible personal crisis that left the life I knew in shambles. Yet at the same time, I came out of it liking myself more than I ever have.   This strange result came from realizing that I was not in control of the outcome of my crisis. So I focused on what I could control: myself. Was I actively deciding, moment to moment, to be the kind of person that I wanted to be? Was I speaking 100% the truth? Was I boldly leaving no important words unsaid? Was I avoiding the temptations of self-sabotage? Was I taking some time to think of others, and to leave those around me a little better off?   As I focused on myself, I saw a lot to be proud of. I noticed all the ways I was already the kind of person I wanted to be, and the ways in which I was growing into it. I used to judge myself based on the outcomes of my actions. In the past, if someone responded negatively to my efforts I took that as evidence that I was a less worthy pe...

Check out this new commercial as the blog enters its second year. I am working on getting it posted to Instagram but I have been experiencing some technical difficulties all day long. It will be there soon. For now, you can view it here as well as on Facebook. 

The Republicans finally got something done. After a year of failures and embarrassments, the GOP was able to pass a major piece of legislation that Republican presidents have tried to pass since the days of Ronald Reagan. This tax overhaul has been in the news for months and this conclusion makes it almost seem like an ending to a movie. There was even a motivational speech given by the President afterwards where he gushed over his colleagues in Congress (deciding to forget the insults he hurled at them this year). In turn, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell gushed over the President. Ryan cited Trump�s �exquisite presidential leadership� as a factor in getting the bill passed and McConnell rattled off a list of the president�s accomplishments this year. Some highlights from the President's celebratory speech.             I listened to the speech and couldn�t help but laugh a little on the inside because had this bill not passed, there w...

CNN�s election coverage is always a spectacle to watch. As I watched the network last night, I was gripped by the suspense that they broadcasted throughout the night. It was like watching college football. The studio is brightly lit and there are screens everywhere. You�ve got John King in the corner with his digital, touchscreen board rambling on about what could happen and comparing what is happening to previous elections and then you�ve got a panel of Democrats and Republicans debating statistics. And they go in depth with their statistical analysis. They break down the exit polls, talking about white women, black women, married women, women with children, etcetera. On the bottom of the screen you have multiple charts and displays popping up next to �Breaking News� alerts. And throughout the entire cinematic experience, everybody is talking quickly and spitting out data with dramatic music in the background.             If you lo...

According to the President, being a liberal is now worse than being a pedophile. With that clarification, here is my new list for the worst things in the world according to Donald Trump: 1.      The truth 2.      Liberals 3.      Rosie O�Donnell 4.      A script 5.      Chuck and Nancy 6.      Being told �No.� 7.      Anybody who disagrees with him. The list changes from day to day. However, �pedophiles� has yet to appear.             Tonight�s main story is about Steve Bannon who campaigned for Roy Moore in Alabama last night. His �speech� (if that is what you want to call it) was more of a soapbox for Bannon to go off on all kinds of people. One of the obvious targets was Doug Jones, the Democrat in the Senate race. Bannon described him as a �personification of Hillary Clinton�s policies.� He ...