Random

~ Hope for the tobacco farmers? NICOTINE may be the new WONDER DRUG -- which perhaps explains why God created it. A lot of us had been wondering.

~ The sun has returned. The winds are gentle again. But it looks like TYPHOON MAN-YI is steaming on toward OKINAWA.

~ CHINA has apparently been EXPELLING "MISSIONARIES" -- Christians who go to China to teach English.

~ SPRINT has reportedly DISCONNECTED about 1,000 of their CUSTOMERS because they called the "customer care" lines too often. Well, that's one way to get out of a frustrating wireless contract.

~ Why are evangelicals getting rattled over the Vatican's latest assertion that the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH is the ONLY TRUE CHURCH? In a recent document they stated that Protestants aren't true churches but "ecclesial communities." Of course, the word ecclesial means church and by definition the church is a community.

None of this is new. It's RHETORICAL JOCKING. The church in Rome periodically goes through a stage where they feel obligated to reassert their right and authority to control the rest of the church. The Eastern Orthodox churches got annoyed with Rome and gave them the boot over the issue in 1054. Mostly these days WE JUST YAWN AND IGNORE THE VATICAN when they speak on this issue. It's business as usual in Rome.

~ MILEAGE RUNNING -- some people are real players when it comes to the frequent flier game.