Even Further Delays in the Case of the "Meditating Monk".

As I first noted in a blog post from February of this year, the followers of Ashutosh Maharaj, a religious leader who had been declared clinically dead in January 2014, have kept his body in a deep freezer, claiming that their leader is not deceased but in a samadhi - a deep state of meditation.

The disposal of Ashutosh Maharaj's body has been before the Indian courts for quite some time - it was reported in March that a final decision by the court would be on April 28.

April has come and gone with the cult leader's body still in deep freeze.

The only update I've been able to locate was an article from Sept. 30 reporting that the court has given the cult until November 30 to decide on it's own what will be the fate of their guru's frozen body.

I'll try to get further news on the monk around December 1. I can hardly wait.

Gideons Bible - Cebu City.

Finding a Gideons Bible in a motel or hotel room in the U.S. is so common that, to me, they are practically invisible - I just never give them much thought.

It was, however, a bit strange finding a Gideons Bible at the Express Inn in Cebu city, Philippines. Seeing one there really brought home to me just how widespread the practice of placing Bibles in motel/hotel rooms is for the organization.

I took a photo of the Bible placed in room 306, because I found something especially odd about it.

Someone had taken a marker and wrote the name of the hotel across the pages of the Bible. I have no way of knowing if this was done by a Gideon or someone working for the Express Inn. The question in my mind is, "Why?".

Usually, I'd say writing the hotel name that way is to prevent stealing. But, the hotel doesn't really own the Gideon Bible, so they wouldn't be losing anything. If it was written by a Gideon, it seems to be a misplaced gesture.

Surely, if anyone is in need of a Bible, it would be someone who steals a Bible.

Obama/Trump. Two Sides of the Same Coin.

In 2008, during U.S. Presidential campaign, I was shaking my head in disbelieve as Americans became enamored with Barack Obama. He was - and still is - the ultimate "empty suit". It was obvious to any clear thinker that Obama did not have the expertise to run the country; the American people were in love with Obama's charismatic personality.

Americans had fallen victim to the cult of personality.

Now, as Obama is winding up his 2nd and final term, Americans appear to have taken the bait again and are falling for Donald Trump.

The Establishment politicians and media are now the ones shaking their heads.

How could the American people support Trump in such vast numbers?

They voted for Obama - twice. Do you really need any further explanation?

Woman Calls 911 After Finding Spider.

A woman in Michigan found a black widow spider in a package of grapes which she had purchased in a Walmart Super-center.

The oddest thing in this story, is that the young lady called 911.

"I told them that 'this isn't really an emergency, but I have a Black Widow spider in my grapes and I don't really know what to do," the woman's boyfriend told local TV. "He kind of just paused and was like, 'kill it' and I was like 'you want me to kill it? You're not going to send anyone over?' This is a poisonous spider and he's like, 'yeah, just kill it and throw it away.' "

The boyfriend also said it took "quite a few sprays" of insect killer to kill the spider.

First, it's amazing to me that anyone would feel the need to call 911 because she found a spider in her produce. Secondly, who needs to be told to kill a Black Widow spider, and why would you even bother to hunt up the bug spray? Kill the thing with you @#$#@^ shoe.

Finally, the woman and her boyfriend would "still really appreciate an apology from Walmart."

Really?

It shouldn't be all that surprising to find a spider or insect crawling around a fruit or vegetable. That should be common sense. Walmart cannot possibly be held responsible for anything such as this.

Banned by Mark Shea.

As I mentioned in a blog post from June, one of the blogs that I frequented at that time was Mark Shea's Catholic and Enjoying It!. As I said at that time, I don't always agree with Mark - we definitely part ways over the minimum wage - but I find, for the most part, we agree on issues more often than we disagree.

It appears now, though, that I'll have to stop reading his blog. I've found myself blocked from commenting on his blog, and I see little reason to continue reading what he writes if I'm not allowed to comment.

Mr. Shea's blocking me took me by surprise.

It began with a recent post of his, "He’s just saying what we’re all thinking" where he was critical of the GOP base and their love of Donald Trump. No, I did not defend Trump. I don't support Donald Trump, and I seriously doubt that I ever could.

The conflict I had with Shea came after someone asked Shea who he would pick in a Trump vs Hillary match-up. Shea replied, "Neither".

Of course, I wouldn't vote for either one......that's not where the disagreement lay. I wrote,
"Mark has given up on voting for less than perfect candidates. The person must be pure."

Mr Shea took offense to that statement, whereupon he called me a liar, and left this link - http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/wanting-to-attain-heaven-and-avoid-hell-is-normal-catholic-faith and blocked me from leaving further comments.

Having read the article to which he linked, I stand by my observation. I am willing to admit that my assessment of Mr. Shea's view may not be 100% accurate, but even if I'm in error, I believe Shea's reaction is over-kill.

It's not unusual for Mr. Shea to throw a tantrum when a reader disagrees with him.

As I said, I see no reason to continue following Catholic and Enjoying It! if I cannot leave the occasional comment. I'll send a link to this post to Mr. Shea via his email - that's the only way I can let him know of my thoughts on his blocking me.

I can't be certain that Shea will read this post, or if he does read it whether he will condescend to comment on it here. One thing I am certain of, however; I would not block whatever comment he might choose to leave.