Friday, May 26, 2006

In the Hot Seat with Elmer's Brother

There are many people who have not been in the Hot Seat who have earned an interview.
Elmer's brothers blend of wit and intelligen posts shoul have earned him an interview long ago. He has the difficult task of following three of the better interviews Kidst, Possum and Brooke. In many ways it is harder to interview an Elmers brother who agrees with me in many areas then Ducky.

The Homosexual Mess

1 I want to ask you about God in an abstract . Do you believe in a god of compassion or a stern unforgiving god. Repentance for sins is a key element of Judaism and the sins are by no means exclusive to homosexuality. Does God in your view forgive our failing if we repent.

2 Do you accept the notion of a division between Civil and Theological law ? Most Judeo Christians accept this notion. However it is absent in most Islamic societies.

3 Do you define marriage as a religious or civil matter ?

4 Is the boudary to the first amendment exhortation to commit acts of violence against nonbelievers and gays ? I am not too concerned about people claiming I am bound for hell as a unbeliever.

Islam

5 Is Islam a colonial religion ? I can not name any other religion that even jokes about global domination .

6 Are the historic crimes of Islam whitewashed by the left. If Jim Crowe is evil in the USA then 1400 years of Islamo Jim Crowe is just as evil.

7 Is one of the problems that people view Islam within the framework of their own religions ? Most Judeo - Christians accept that Utopia is a concept for the next world. Are people mixing apples and onions when comparing their own religions to Islam ?

Conspiracy Nuts

8 Are conspiracy kooks line John Brown playing with a full deck ?
9 Is there a basic bigotry behind the conspiracy cranks ? People who are bigoted against Israel and Jews tend to draw conspiracies based on these bigotries ?
10 Is there any one conspiracy that you have heard that stands out for its stupidity ?

Blog Humor

11 I am guilty for starting the house pet eating and troll abortion jokes in our community. Is there something funny about spoofing far left types with violating their causes. The original dog eating joke was illustrating a point to a person who
was not bothered by blowing up Jews in Pizzerias but was outraged gefilte poodle.

12 Which blogger excluding yourself has the best sense of humor. I find myself laughing at the points Mr Beamish raises.

Immigration disasters.

13 I am somewhat surprised that some of our our posters are against accelerated immigration benefits for servicemen ? Should people who are in the military get their waiting times reduced ?
14 Are you prepared to throw the book at employers who violate our labor laws ?
15 Has the era of family based immigration ended ? Should immigration be based on vocational needs rather then family ties.

Fun and games

16 Have you ever seen a Gila Monster ? Can you describe a Gila Monster to those who are unfamiliar with the term.
17 What type of music do you listen to ?
18 Which celebrity stands out as the most annoying ?
19 What is the worst film you have seen ? Yentyl was a disaster and Striesand should not have been allowed near a camera ?
20 Do you play video games ? If you did what bloggers avatar would be the best as the hero.

Taxes

21 Are gas taxes a slap in the face of rural americans who often comute 30 miles to work.
22 Are cigarette taxes way too high ?
23 There is talk of a fast food tax . What are your views on the subject ?

Random

24 Are men who wear plaid pants nerds ?
25 Who is the most annoying person on Daytime TV ? Dr Phil is more annoying then Oprah and that is a feat.

21 comments:

Dan Zaremba said...

So where's EB?

beakerkin said...

Elmer's brother will be along shortly. If you get a chance look at She Designs blog. It is amazing
but she doesn't allow comments.

nanc said...

great questions beak. cannot wait to see how elbro answers - you are on quite a roll here!

nanc said...

p.s. just the short time i've been around him - i'd be willing to bet elbro NEVER watches network t.v., much less daytime network t.v. he's far too entertaining!

FLORIAN said...

Ah-ha...so EB is going to take the hot seat for a bit eh? I'll be very interested in this for sure. Hope everybody is enjoying the Memorial Day weekend! God Bless America!!!!

Dan Zaremba said...

Just in case you didn't know EB served with our divers in Basra getting the exploding bits out of the harbour.
Somehow he's not too fond of dolphins.
But you would have to ask him personally about this.

Always On Watch said...

Beak,
Great questions! You are a superb interviewer.

I'm looking forward to EB's answers. I count his as one of my friends.

Thanks to Missing Link for providing the information about EB's service. EB is a humble guy and doesn't tell much about his service.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

This machine kills fascists...

elmers brother said...

Here goes.

1 I want to ask you about God in an abstract . Do you believe in a god of compassion or a stern unforgiving god. Repentance for sins is a key element of Judaism and the sins are by no means exclusive to homosexuality. Does God in your view forgive our failing if we repent.

I believe in a God who is both merciful, loving and just. He could not do anything outside of His character. I agree with you that repentance is a key element for Christians as well. I am not as eloquent as some in expressing their opinions and on the internet in general I find it difficult to express what it is I really want to say. I think like most orthodox Christians we don’t find homosexuality any worse than any other sin, lying, adultery etc. Although the consequences may be different. In the book of James it says if you fail in one law you fail in all the others. God does forgive and He gives grace. Repentance means to turn away, do a 180. I am the neediest of sinners I admit I need God. I believe God will deal with us on an individual basis. He will both forgive and hold us accountable.

2 Do you accept the notion of a division between Civil and Theological law ? Most Judeo Christians accept this notion. However it is absent in most Islamic societies.

I do. I think most civil law is based on some religious principle, murder, stealing e.g. The moral law as Dennis Prager says seems to often trump the civil one. For e.g. he says that if you or I were a Mexican and we were trying to feed our family and if it meant we had to cross the border illegally to feed our family we would probably do the same thing. I do believe there should be a division. As for Islam, as a Christian I can’t earn eternity by performing certain rituals or good works. But if you believe as a Muslim that your eternal security might somehow be intertwined with how many times a day you pray then this could be how Islam focuses on the outward appearance by enacting religious laws instead of concentrating on the heart. I am still educating myself.

3 Do you define marriage as a religious or civil matter ?

I define marriage as a religious matter with civil consequences, if that makes sense. The Christian sees marriage as a picture of our relationship with Christ; a religious matter that is sanctioned by Him. However the civil authorities see it as a legal means to define relationships between people for the purpose of taxes benefits etc.


4 Is the boudary to the first amendment exhortation to commit acts of violence against nonbelievers and gays ? I am not too concerned about people claiming I am bound for hell as a unbeliever.

I don’t believe in violence against non-Christians or gays if that’s what you mean. Not because of the first amendment but because Christianity I believe would forbid it. If I have not won the right to share my faith with someone by living a life that is pleasing to God and demonstrating that life to someone where do I have the right to commit acts of violence towards them. Am I answering your question?

Islam

5 Is Islam a colonial religion ? I can not name any other religion that even jokes about global domination .

If history is any indication it would appear so. The crusades as I understand them in part were an answer to Islamic colonialism.

6 Are the historic crimes of Islam whitewashed by the left. If Jim Crowe is evil in the USA then 1400 years of Islamo Jim Crowe is just as evil.

I think since the failure of communism the left has been looking for someone else to jump in bed with. That would mean they would have to ignore what radical Islam does.

7 Is one of the problems that people view Islam within the framework of their own religions ? Most Judeo - Christians accept that Utopia is a concept for the next world. Are people mixing apples and onions when comparing their own religions to Islam ?

I don’t think you have to be a religious person at all to see the truth about radical Islam. There are some posters at Infidel Bloggers Alliance who are not affiliated with a religion at all.

I do view Islam through my Christian eyes, because it gives me a standard by which to judge. If Christianity told me to strap a belt of explosives and kill people I would not be a Christian. Islam also believes their Utopia will be an earthly one. Their eschatology or end times theology is the antithesis to the Christian end times.

Conspiracy Nuts

8 Are conspiracy kooks line John Brown playing with a full deck ?

To be honest I am want to subscribe to Felis’ point of view. Answering people like JB only seems to legitimize him. Ignoring him would hopefully send him away. I don’t know why he hangs around. It’s certainly not making him any friends. The first time I saw him comment was at AoW’s and he was complaining about being censored and yet he didn’t allow comments on his site. Seemed hypocritical at the time. I have noticed that lefties and their ilk will not tolerate dissent but demand the right to dissent. Oxymoron? Or just Moron? I choose the latter.

9 Is there a basic bigotry behind the conspiracy cranks ? People who are bigoted against Israel and Jews tend to draw conspiracies based on these bigotries ?

There is a bigotry side to it and it is reminiscent of pre WWII Germany. I do find it troubling, but not surprising. I do find comfort in living in a country that as a whole supports Israel.

I also try to keep myself in check so I don’t end up on the other side of that coin. My closest friends will tell you that I ask them to hold me accountable as well in regards to my feelings and posts regarding radical Islam.

10 Is there any one conspiracy that you have heard that stands out for its stupidity ?

I read a persons comments on a blog who said that Bush knew there was a cure for cancer and has withheld it from the public to make money. This person also thought that he was the antichrist and could prove it from the Bible. Myself and another person proceeded to show her that Ronald Reagan, Michail Gorbachev, Bill Clinton and Prince William were all the anti Christs too. LOL

Blog Humor

11 I am guilty for starting the house pet eating and troll abortion jokes in our community. Is there something funny about spoofing far left types with violating their causes. The original dog eating joke was illustrating a point to a person who was not bothered by blowing up Jews in Pizzerias but was outraged gefilte poodle.

I haven’t seen the dog eating comments but the troll abortions I am familiar with. I think it’s important not to take yourself too seriously, especially on the internet. I can prove anything on the internet, see last answer.

I love to spoof the far left. A couple of bloggers and I have a blog parody of a lefty that we started when she banned us from her blog. If the left had a sense of humor then it just wouldn’t be necessary. This particular lefty thinks she is the sole arbiter of truth, proceeds to alienate anyone who comments on her blog and usually ends up cussing out anyone who disagrees with her. She has called me a baby killer and decided that I was going to hell. So yeah make fun of her we do.

12 Which blogger excluding yourself has the best sense of humor. I find myself laughing at the points Mr Beamish raises.

This is a tough one. I am relatively new to this community but Nanc, Tmw, Felis, Brooke and Beamish have all caused me to laugh so hard that I pissed my pants a time or two.

Immigration disasters.

13 I am somewhat surprised that some of our our posters are against accelerated immigration benefits for servicemen ? Should people who are in the military get their waiting times reduced ?

Most definitely. See my posts on Rafael Peralta who is up for the CMH. He enlisted in the Marines the day after becoming a resident alien.

14 Are you prepared to throw the book at employers who violate our labor laws ?
This is a difficult question for me. I have relatives who own a fruit farm in Michigan. They follow the law as far as documents go but they have no idea which documents are cooked or not. Do I think they should be punished? No. Do I think there should be consequences for hiring illegal immigrants? Yes How’s that for a non answer.


15 Has the era of family based immigration ended ? Should immigration be based on vocational needs rather then family ties.

I don’t think anchor babies should be allowed. I think it should be based on the needs of the country, not whether or not you have family here.

Fun and games

16 Have you ever seen a Gila Monster ? Can you describe a Gila Monster to those who are unfamiliar with the term.

I have never seen a live Gila Monster, unless you want to include the video of Hillary I saw today.

17 What type of music do you listen to ?

I love music and I am a guitar player. I listen to guitar greats like Eric Clapton, EVH, Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughn etc. But I like everything from the Andrew Sisters to ZZ Top.

18 Which celebrity stands out as the most annoying ?

Tom Cruise pretty much tops my list. BOING! BOING! GONE!

19 What is the worst film you have seen ? Yentyl was a disaster and Striesand should not have been allowed near a camera ?

Name a chick flick.

20 Do you play video games ? If you did what bloggers avatar would be the best as the hero.

I play PS2 with my son occasionally and it would be a tie between Beamish and Sir Warren.

Taxes

21 Are gas taxes a slap in the face of rural americans who often comute 30 miles to work.

Taxes on gas are too high and if the government truly wanted to help the people out they would stop trying to find gougers and pull out a mirror. I travel 100-200 miles a day and believe if my employer didn’t pay for that I would be pissed.

22 Are cigarette taxes way too high ?

I am an ex smoker. How much is a carton these days?

23 There is talk of a fast food tax . What are your views on the subject ?

No I don’t like the idea at all. Unless it’s the ice cream at the Burger King in Saudi Arabia then tax the hell out of it.

Random

24 Are men who wear plaid pants nerds ?

Aren’t these men called Scots?

Yes and no. If they aren’t wearing a fish tie then they are not a nerd but a dweeb. If a fish tie and polyester shirt accompany those pants then certainly being called a nerd is probably the least of their problems.

If it includes all the above and toilet paper stuck to the bottom of their shoe than that’s a dork.

No toilet paper but pocket protector definitely a nerd but not a poindexter.

BTW My fish tie looks great with my kilt.

25 Who is the most annoying person on Daytime TV ? Dr Phil is more annoying then Oprah and that is a feat.

I don’t watch many soaps. I don’t like Maury Povich (Nanc it’s not cuz my DNA might match some little kids either!) and Jerry Springer (even though half my wife’s family has been on there and when you go to wedding in their family everyone sits on the same side of the church. If you know what I mean).

elmers brother said...

Felis

I like my dolphin with mayo and tobasco sauce.

Dan Zaremba said...

Good one Elmer's Bro!
Your expertise in defining various 'nerdy' types is just superbly outstanding. LOL

Re; Dead dolphins
I'd like mine server as sashimi.
Yum.

elmers brother said...

do you like it with wasabi ML?

Anonymous said...

And pickled ginger! Mustn't forget the ginger! Of course I like mine mixed with celery, onion and curry powder! And real mayo!

tmw
Good morning, G*D bless and why did you talk about food now? All I've got to eat is half baked bacon and cold mini muffins.

Anonymous said...

BTW- Good interview, Beaker, you do seem to bee on a roll!

tmw

Always On Watch said...

EB,
I have never seen a live Gila Monster, unless you want to include the video of Hillary I saw today.

She does bear a resemblance. LOL.

And thanks for saying this:

I am the neediest of sinners I admit I need God. I believe God will deal with us on an individual basis. He will both forgive and hold us accountable.

Sometimes we Christians come across as self-righteous when we speak of "sin," but all of us are sinners and NEED redemption. That part of our theology often gets lost in the shuffle and in the heat of discussion.

The Christian faith is a personal faith, and like you, I often have a difficult time finding the right words to communicate spiritual matters.

Great answers all around, EB!

nanc said...

so now you're calling me a diuretic?

nanc said...

this should be registered in the top ten best of the best interviews in the beak hotseat hall of shame...er...uh, i mean fame!

he should definitely have a tenth anniversary rerun of this and a few of the others.

amazing. and i do believe i've seen that photo of hitlery and i immediately had to wash my eyes out with soap. i try not to look at her in the eye - don't even try it - ever.

elmers brother said...

it's hypnotizing isn't it nanc?

FLORIAN said...

Excellent points EB. Despite what you may think or believe, you did a great job explaining yourself in this interview. Thanks.

Dan Zaremba said...

Beak, knows how to make people 'confess'.
Should we advise the US government they would save us all a lot of hassle by employing him to talk to all those mujahadeen?


Merry Widow, EB,

Ginger and wasabi of course.
We'd like the works.

elmers brother said...

beak I had a closer look at your avatar and I think it would fit my personality much better on the PS2