Here is your Republican Senate at work. I encourage all citizens to look at these cherry picked items. They show that the Republican Party does not have the best interests of the American Public in mind. Instead it shows without a doubt who they work for, big business and oil barons. These items show that the average American Republican voter has been duped!
I challenge any person of sound mind, logic and reason to justify these actions. Explain how any of these things help anyone other than the rich and powerful. I don't think any person of moral character can justify any of it.
I searched through the list provided by http://gov.mtopgroup.com/art1/live/senate for keywords like "Social Security", "Environment" and "Keystone". The results were utterly shocking. I swear, if any Republican voter looks through this list and approves, I'll be certain that the Republican party in whole has lost their collective minds.
I hope this helps. We sure need it.
131 (42-56) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1094: Warren Amdt. No. 1094 As Modified; To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to expanding Social Security. S.Con.Res. 11 3/27/2015
84 (51-48) Rejected On the Motion S.Amdt. 471: Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Wyden Amdt. No. 471; To create a point of order against legislation that would cut benefits, raise the retirement age, or privatize Social Security. S.Con.Res. 11 3/24/2015
123 (51-49) Rejected On the Motion S.Amdt. 944: Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Nelson Amdt. No 944; To create a point of order against legislation that would use tax dollars to censor publicly-funded climate science. S.Con.Res. 11 3/26/2015
114 (54-46) Agreed to On the Amendment S.Amdt. 607: Thune Amdt. No. 607; To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow for the permanent elimination of the Federal estate tax. S.Con.Res. 11 3/26/2015
104 (46-54) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 817: Durbin Amdt. No. 817; To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to provide tax benefits to patriot employers that invest in American jobs and provide fair pay and benefits to workers and to eliminate tax benefits for corporations that ship jobs or profits overseas. S.Con.Res. 11 3/26/2015
103 (58-42) Agreed to On the Amendment S.Amdt. 928: Blunt Amdt. No. 928; To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to protect the United States from an energy tax. S.Con.Res. 11 3/26/2015
94 (46-54) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 523: Stabenow Amdt. No. 523; To prevent United States companies from getting tax benefits for moving jobs overseas, to end offshore tax loopholes including inversions, and to provide incentives for United States companies to relocate overseas jobs to the United States. S.Con.Res. 11 3/26/2015
86 (46-53) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 652: Warren Amdt. No. 652; To make college more affordable for middle-class families by allowing borrowers with outstanding Federal and private student loans to refinance at the equivalent interest rates that were offered to Federal student loan borrowers during the 2013-2014 school year and to fully offset the cost of such a program by requiring millionaires to pay at least a 30 percent effective Federal tax rate. S.Con.Res. 11 3/25/2015
85 (1-98) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 357: Cornyn Amdt. No. 357; To raise taxes and spending by enacting President Obama's fiscal year 2016 budget. S.Con.Res. 11 3/24/2015
78 (45-52) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 323: Sanders Amdt. No. 323 As Modified; To create millions of middle class jobs by investing in our nation's infrastructure paid for by raising revenue through closing loopholes in the corporate and international tax system. S.Con.Res. 11 3/24/2015
48 (44-54) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 178: Markey Amdt. No. 178; To ensure that products derived from tar sands are treated as crude oil for purposes of the Federal excise tax on petroleum. S. 1 1/29/2015
24 (53-42) Agreed to On the Motion to Table S.Amdt. 25: Motion to Table Markey Amdt. No. 25; To ensure that products derived from tar sands are treated as crude oil for purposes of the Federal excise tax on petroleum. S. 1 1/22/2015
19 (50-47) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 27: Wyden Amdt. No. 27; To amend the Internal revenue Code of 1986 to clarify that products derived from tar sands are crude oil for purposes of the Federal excise tax on petroleum. S. 1 1/22/2015
116 (57-43) Agreed to On the Amendment S.Amdt. 836: McConnell Amdt. No. 836; To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency of greenhouse gas emissions, which may include a prohibition on withholding highway funds from States that refuse to submit State Implementation Plans required under the Clean Power Plan of the Agency. S.Con.Res. 11 3/26/2015
31 (36-62) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 75: Cardin Amdt. No. 75; To provide communities that rely on drinking water from a source that may be affected by a tar sands spill from the Keystone XL pipeline an analysis of the potential risks to public health and the environment from a leak or rupture of the pipeline. S. 1 1/28/2015
49 (62-36) Passed On Passage of the Bill: S.1 As Amended; A bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. S. 1 1/29/2015
45 (62-35) Agreed to On the Cloture Motion: Upon Reconsideration Motion to Invoke Cloture on S.1; A bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. S. 1 1/29/2015
23 (89-5) Agreed to On the Motion for Attendance: Motion to Instruct the Sgt. at Arms; A bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. S. 1 1/22/2015
22 (43-54) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 72: Menendez Amdt. No. 72 As Modified; To ensure private property cannot be seized through condemnation or eminent domain for the private gain of a foreign-owned business entity. S. 1 1/22/2015
3 (63-32) Agreed to On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed: Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S.1; A bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. S. 1 1/12/2015
17 (51-47) Rejected On the Amendment S.Amdt. 71: Lee Amdt. No. 71; To require a procedure for issuing permits to drill. S. 1 1/22/2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
New Vision for the Future Gives Unlimited Opportunity
The best way to stimulate the economy is to pour money into education, NASA/Space Exploration and research & development.
Our government has been mismanaged for a very long time. Instead of supporting policy that would expand our economy, and our civilization, we have poured money into oil subsidies, greedy Wall Street crooks and war.
Every since time immemorial, human economy has been based on expansion. Humanity has expanded out over all corners of the Earth. There is no where else to colonize for the masses. That leaves us competing for finite resources.
Skilled factory jobs have been outsourced to lands where the cost of labor is less. All the while, our society has told the young that they must get a college degree to make a good wage. In the process of obtaining that degree, they are gouged to the limit for things like books and tuition. They go into massive debt only to find upon graduation that the promised jobs do not exist.
All this has caused spending on social programs, and crime caused by desperation and poverty to increase at an unsustainable rate.
So how would pouring money into education, NASA/Space Exploration and research & development solve our problems, you may ask?
We had a chance to avoid all this back in the early days of the 1970's, in the Apollo era. That is the time our nation dropped the ball, and greed took control. If our society had continued funding NASA and education at the same rate, and accounting for inflation, we would not have the problems we do today. Humanity would have had colonies on Mars, and the Moon by now. Along with that we would have skilled people to do the work necessary for such expansion. The jobs would be there for them who wish to seek advanced education, and for them who wish to do skilled craftsman type work. The crime rate would be lower because there wouldn't be so many poor, desperate and disillusioned people. Social spending would be far less than it is today as a percentage of our overall budget. We, as a species could support many more billions of people because we would no longer be confined to only one celestial body for a place to live. War would not be so frequent because humans would not be competing so desperately for finite resources. Humanity could of had, should of had a Golden Era, but we were robbed of it.
It is not to late to turn things around. All we have to do is vote out all the primitive thinkers, and start a massive global effort to do now what we should of been doing during the last 40 years. We, as a nation, and as the most powerful economic and industrial force on our planet should take the lead. We can, by our example, cause other nations to join our efforts.
Don't get me wrong, please. I am not going to say it will be easy because it won't. It took the will of an entire globe of freedom loving people to defeat despotism during WWII. It took sacrifice and dedication, long hours and blood to solve that horrible problem, but we did it. We did it because we had to do it or be slaves.
The efforts we need to build a new society, who's industry is based on the unlimited possibilities of expansion into the cosmos, can still be had. We can avoid the further economic enslavement of humanity by greedy, self serving people if we take action. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to set things right, and the more unnecessary suffering innocent people will be subjected to.
So how do we do it? When I was growing up in Florida, I remember seeing rockets flying overhead. First on their way into orbit carrying the Gemini capsule, then on to the Moon with Apollo. I'm to young to remember the Mercury missions in live thought. I do have vivid memories of the Saturn V flying across the Florida sky in all its glory. It was awesome in the extreme!
We delighted ourselves watching Star Trek, with our old friends Captain Kirk, and Mr. Spock on the television, and dreamed of a day when our civilization would do as they in real life. We thought we were on that path, and embraced science and technology wholeheartedly. Our generation was convinced that we were on a continuing path towards the stars. That was then, and the cold war ended. Along with it ended our nations dedication to that cause.
What we thought was a dedication to science and exploration turned out to be a contest of one-upmanship between the United States and the Soviet Union. As soon as we convinced ourselves we had won that contest by placing humans on our moon, and safely bringing them home, our focus turned from exploration to low Earth orbit, and the placing of communication & GPS satellites around our planet. This was the building of part of the modern electronic infrastructure we enjoy today. We could of had much more.
In 1970 our nation spent 1.92% of the Federal budget, or $18,768,000,000 on the space program, in 2007 dollars. In 2012 our nation spent 0.48% of the Federal budget, or $16,014,000,000 in 2007 dollars. During the 42 years between the dollar amount, in 2007 dollars, has varied little, and the percentage of the federal budget has kept shrinking. By my estimation, if our space program had the same funding, as a percent of the federal budget that was had in 1970, our nation would be spending $64,158,653,846 in 2007 dollars.
All figures in the preceding paragraph are from this wiki; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA#Annual_budget.2C_1958-2015
Feel free to check my math.
((100/.48)*$16,014,000,000)*(100/1.92)=$64,158,653,846
During that same 40+ years education spending hasn't fared much better, and welfare spending has increased almost 4 fold. Check the chart below. It is in 2009 dollars, but I think that is close enough for this purpose.
I hope by now you suspect what I'm getting too. I am saying our nation dropped the ball when we ended the Apollo program. I believe that if our society had kept spending on NASA and/or space technology and development, and education at proper levels, keeping up with inflation we wouldn't have such massive welfare spending now. I believe we would of avoided the recessions we have endured, along with the suffering the accompanying high unemployment levels caused. Furthermore, our nation would have avoided the massive federal debt we find ourselves saddled with.
The reason I believe all that is because if we had of kept up the forward momentum we had then, our nation would have these following things;
1. A highly educated, and skilled workforce.
2. Industry in orbit, on the Moon and on Mars.
3. The harvesting of asteroids for metals, and other elements.
4. Greater wealth for all due to items 1, 2 and 3 in this list, giving us less welfare spending.
5. 40+ years of developed civilization on the Moon, and Mars.
6. A more stable, and sustainable industrial base.
7. A higher level of technology than we have at this point in time.
8. Less degradation of our ecosystem.
9. Less global conflict.
10. An open ended cause that everyone could feel like they were contributing to, and claim ownership of.
I'm not saying our leadership failed us on purpose. They probably didn't know any better. I know Richard Nixon didn't know any better. He was a corrupt, short sighted man, who was focused on the perceived problems of his times. He was lacking in enlightenment, and showed it in his attitude with race, government, and authority.
All that Nixon stuff is food for a whole other article. I mentioned it just to show the type of thinkers who brought us to this. Still, you should get the over all picture of what I'm going on about by now. We could of been much better off. It's almost like we've been going through a modern day Dark Ages. It is like real human advancement was put on hold in favor of other things we thought were more important, but really were not. Our society was to primitive to know any better. Now we do know better.
I've mentioned in the past of how the bank bail-outs, and such was enough to fund several Apollo size projects in other articles, but it is worth mentioning again here. I'm mentioning it because corruption is a part of the problem. Misguided federal policy weighs heavily into it. Infighting between the political parties, and no real direction for our society too! The issues that has caused us to go down the failed path we have chosen are many and complex, but there is hope. It is not to late! Not yet anyway.
There is a time in a civilizations advancement when if they do not choose the right path, they could be stuck in the quagmire of stagnation forever. When the infrastructure of civilization becomes to anemic, and fragmented to take on such high goals, that civilization could very well be in danger of it's progress being brought to a halt. An advanced civilization can fail due to global war. Our civilization can be brought to its knees due to short sighted goals, greed and corruption. When I look at the news, I get a feeling our world is going down that dead end path.
I think if we turn it around now, we have a chance to avoid all that failure. It is going to take a lot of work to repair the damage. It is going to take all of us working together, and steadfastly to achieve that goal. What a goal too! We can grab that brass ring, and reap the rewards! All of us can. We don't have to march down that road to oblivion our misguided leaders have started us on.
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was 7 years ago already. Could you imagine what things would be like if our nation had of put all that $1.1 trillion into 7 Apollo size programs, with the training, and people employed, etc. etc.? President John F. Kennedy's speech was May 25, 1961. By Oct. 11, 1968 Apollo 7 was ready with the First manned Earth orbital demonstration.
At its peak, the Apollo program employed 400,000 Americans and required the support of over 20,000 industrial firms and universities. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Apollo.html
Lets do that times 7.
I get 2,800,000 jobs requiring the support of 140,000 industrial firms and universities. I know it wouldn't be directly like that, but I also know it would be a major boon too!
Our government has been mismanaged for a very long time. Instead of supporting policy that would expand our economy, and our civilization, we have poured money into oil subsidies, greedy Wall Street crooks and war.
 |
| Westward Expansion |
Skilled factory jobs have been outsourced to lands where the cost of labor is less. All the while, our society has told the young that they must get a college degree to make a good wage. In the process of obtaining that degree, they are gouged to the limit for things like books and tuition. They go into massive debt only to find upon graduation that the promised jobs do not exist.
All this has caused spending on social programs, and crime caused by desperation and poverty to increase at an unsustainable rate.
So how would pouring money into education, NASA/Space Exploration and research & development solve our problems, you may ask?
 |
| F-14A Flies Over Burning Oil Wells in Kuwait |
It is not to late to turn things around. All we have to do is vote out all the primitive thinkers, and start a massive global effort to do now what we should of been doing during the last 40 years. We, as a nation, and as the most powerful economic and industrial force on our planet should take the lead. We can, by our example, cause other nations to join our efforts.
Don't get me wrong, please. I am not going to say it will be easy because it won't. It took the will of an entire globe of freedom loving people to defeat despotism during WWII. It took sacrifice and dedication, long hours and blood to solve that horrible problem, but we did it. We did it because we had to do it or be slaves.
The efforts we need to build a new society, who's industry is based on the unlimited possibilities of expansion into the cosmos, can still be had. We can avoid the further economic enslavement of humanity by greedy, self serving people if we take action. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to set things right, and the more unnecessary suffering innocent people will be subjected to.
 |
| Apollo 11 Takes Flight |
We delighted ourselves watching Star Trek, with our old friends Captain Kirk, and Mr. Spock on the television, and dreamed of a day when our civilization would do as they in real life. We thought we were on that path, and embraced science and technology wholeheartedly. Our generation was convinced that we were on a continuing path towards the stars. That was then, and the cold war ended. Along with it ended our nations dedication to that cause.
What we thought was a dedication to science and exploration turned out to be a contest of one-upmanship between the United States and the Soviet Union. As soon as we convinced ourselves we had won that contest by placing humans on our moon, and safely bringing them home, our focus turned from exploration to low Earth orbit, and the placing of communication & GPS satellites around our planet. This was the building of part of the modern electronic infrastructure we enjoy today. We could of had much more.
In 1970 our nation spent 1.92% of the Federal budget, or $18,768,000,000 on the space program, in 2007 dollars. In 2012 our nation spent 0.48% of the Federal budget, or $16,014,000,000 in 2007 dollars. During the 42 years between the dollar amount, in 2007 dollars, has varied little, and the percentage of the federal budget has kept shrinking. By my estimation, if our space program had the same funding, as a percent of the federal budget that was had in 1970, our nation would be spending $64,158,653,846 in 2007 dollars.
All figures in the preceding paragraph are from this wiki; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA#Annual_budget.2C_1958-2015
Feel free to check my math.
((100/.48)*$16,014,000,000)*(100/1.92)=$64,158,653,846
During that same 40+ years education spending hasn't fared much better, and welfare spending has increased almost 4 fold. Check the chart below. It is in 2009 dollars, but I think that is close enough for this purpose.
 |
| Education-v-Welfare Spending |
The reason I believe all that is because if we had of kept up the forward momentum we had then, our nation would have these following things;
 |
| Skilled Person Assembling Lunar Module |
2. Industry in orbit, on the Moon and on Mars.
3. The harvesting of asteroids for metals, and other elements.
4. Greater wealth for all due to items 1, 2 and 3 in this list, giving us less welfare spending.
5. 40+ years of developed civilization on the Moon, and Mars.
6. A more stable, and sustainable industrial base.
7. A higher level of technology than we have at this point in time.
8. Less degradation of our ecosystem.
9. Less global conflict.
10. An open ended cause that everyone could feel like they were contributing to, and claim ownership of.
 |
| Lunar Module Blueprint |
All that Nixon stuff is food for a whole other article. I mentioned it just to show the type of thinkers who brought us to this. Still, you should get the over all picture of what I'm going on about by now. We could of been much better off. It's almost like we've been going through a modern day Dark Ages. It is like real human advancement was put on hold in favor of other things we thought were more important, but really were not. Our society was to primitive to know any better. Now we do know better.
 |
| United States Flag on the Moon |
There is a time in a civilizations advancement when if they do not choose the right path, they could be stuck in the quagmire of stagnation forever. When the infrastructure of civilization becomes to anemic, and fragmented to take on such high goals, that civilization could very well be in danger of it's progress being brought to a halt. An advanced civilization can fail due to global war. Our civilization can be brought to its knees due to short sighted goals, greed and corruption. When I look at the news, I get a feeling our world is going down that dead end path.
 |
Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station |
 |
| Human Footprint on the Moon |
At its peak, the Apollo program employed 400,000 Americans and required the support of over 20,000 industrial firms and universities. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Apollo.html
Lets do that times 7.
 |
| Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) |
.jpg) |
| Moon Mining Colony Provides Jobs & Hope for the Future |
Note 5-27-2015: (This is new data I have been made aware of.) During the banking crisis the treasury made $16 trillion in low interest loans to the very banks that caused the problem in the first place. It cost our nation $176 billion (2009 dollars) for the cost of Apollo and other space related things in the time frame of 1962 to 1972. $16 trillion could of supported 91 times the NASA effort had back during the 1962-1972 space effort.
At its peak, the Apollo program employed 400,000 Americans and required the support of over 20,000 industrial firms and universities. 400,000 X 91 = 36,400,000 jobs
12 million persons were unemployed in 2009 at the peak of the recession. I hope you see where I'm going with this. We were taken to the cleaners big time. Our nation spent all that money, fiat money, and have precious little to show for it. Well, maybe the top mega-rich have something to show for it, but not the little guy.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Fox News Megyn Kelly Provokes Discussion on Mid-East
I was discussing comments made by a bone-headed Fox News commentator (Megyn Kelly) about Obama, religion and the Mid-Eastern part of our world with some colleagues. I thought I would share a little of this with you. The conversation caused me to be able to express my views about the whole disgusting situation. Here is an excerpt.
The colleague said, "I wanted you to know James Parks Jr. That I voted for Obama in his first election but didn't vote for him or Romney in the 2012 election. I am not racist in any way but don't really like either party. As a pro Israel Jewish man I personally don't agree with Obamas policies towards Netanyahu. I don't like the nuke talks with Iran either."
I replied, "I don't like anything about what is going on in the Mid-east with pretty much everybody. Not trying to be disrespectful, but a lot of the problems are about power and control using religion as a tool. All the sectarian violence is absurd. Sectarian meaning sections when there is only one race, the human race. Religion used to whip up emotion, all the while the religion is a myth. They have the idea that "You kill me, I kill you." in an endless cycle of retribution. Even the sections within the sections are at war with one another.
Some Christians in the United States are part of the problem. They support Israel for the wrong reason. They should support Israel because they love the people, and all people of Earth are one, but they have sinister motives instead. It isn't talked about very much, if at all, but the reasons some US Christians (and Jews for that matter) support Israel are selfish, and IMHO insane. They Wish to rebuild the Temple on the Mount. The Christians believe Jesus will not return in a so-called "Second coming", and Jews believe that Israel will not be complete until this building is realized. The Christian reason being much more deadly because they wish for a world ending Apocalypse. They don't give a hoot about who gets killed in the process because they envision some fabled afterlife as preferable to life. That is a very dangerous belief. Some might call it suicidal and psychotic. The deals, saber rattling and posturing are a part of it. Their end times prophesy.
Primitive past human behavior and beliefs thrust right into this persons life. In my mind, and a lot of other people's minds, all of it is just as much a myth as the ancient Greek Gods like Apollo, or ancient Mesopotamian God Marduk. None of it is worth one single drop of blood human or animal because all of it is an invention of Man."
Friday, April 10, 2015
Climate Change: How Many Stop Signs Does Humanity Have Left?
Climate Change Deniers said "Earth science is not hard science"
The only reason the Republican energy lobby thralls are saying that idiotic line is to try to discredit the fact of human made climate change. These fools do not even want to slightly entertain the notion that we are having an effect on the earth's climate. If they did, the only logical thing to do after that realization is to put the breaks on burning fossil fuels. If any prudent observer would check they would find that the most rabid climate deniers in congress are from big oil/coal states. That alone should raise red flags.
So who should one believe? Big oil/coal slave, climate deniers who say burn baby burn, or 98% of the scientists (you know them guys with PhD's in earth sciences) who say we are in danger.
Once when I was younger some friends and I was riding down the road in St Augustine Florida, at night. There was a section of road that had 5 stop signs in a row. One of the guys told the driver "I never stop for all these signs. Run them.", and he did. After the 5th one there was the flashing lights of a police car behind us, causing the driver to pull over. The policeman gave the driver a ticket for running 5 stop signs.
After we got back started down the road, the other guys started giving the one who told the driver to run the stop signs the business. "Look what happened! You caused driver to get 5 tickets by telling him to run them signs." they said. I had to jump in there and correct them. "Just because he told driver to run them signs doesn't mean he had to do it. The driver was at fault for doing something against the law. He knew it was against the law, and he had complete control of the car. Furthermore, he put us all in danger."
Do you see the resemblance here to what is happening with climate change deniers and the public? It is like the twisted notion of who is at fault in the story. How many stop signs does humanity have left?
The only reason the Republican energy lobby thralls are saying that idiotic line is to try to discredit the fact of human made climate change. These fools do not even want to slightly entertain the notion that we are having an effect on the earth's climate. If they did, the only logical thing to do after that realization is to put the breaks on burning fossil fuels. If any prudent observer would check they would find that the most rabid climate deniers in congress are from big oil/coal states. That alone should raise red flags.
So who should one believe? Big oil/coal slave, climate deniers who say burn baby burn, or 98% of the scientists (you know them guys with PhD's in earth sciences) who say we are in danger.
Once when I was younger some friends and I was riding down the road in St Augustine Florida, at night. There was a section of road that had 5 stop signs in a row. One of the guys told the driver "I never stop for all these signs. Run them.", and he did. After the 5th one there was the flashing lights of a police car behind us, causing the driver to pull over. The policeman gave the driver a ticket for running 5 stop signs.
After we got back started down the road, the other guys started giving the one who told the driver to run the stop signs the business. "Look what happened! You caused driver to get 5 tickets by telling him to run them signs." they said. I had to jump in there and correct them. "Just because he told driver to run them signs doesn't mean he had to do it. The driver was at fault for doing something against the law. He knew it was against the law, and he had complete control of the car. Furthermore, he put us all in danger."
Do you see the resemblance here to what is happening with climate change deniers and the public? It is like the twisted notion of who is at fault in the story. How many stop signs does humanity have left?
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
"Religious Freedom Restoration Act" is Not a Display of Christian Values
So often I find people of faith who do not follow their religions teachings, or understand them. More so when I look at things like the poorly named "Religious Freedom Restoration Act".
This is the way I understand it. When you open a business, you serve not only yourself by making a living, you also serve the community and its people's government. What government could stay in existence, and serve all the people without collecting taxes from business? What business could endure without the protection of government? What civilization could endure without the service of business and government? I maintain that business and government are secular pursuits.
Have Christians forgotten what their own master taught them?
Matthew 22: King James Version
20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.
...and to what end would the denial of service to any person? Denial of service in an effort to preserve one's own religion is a fruitless endeavor. It does not serve that end, because a person is going to believe what they want, no matter the setting. Instead the denial of service is a veiled attempt to change how other people live their lives, and to bring them in line with some dogma. Again I ask, have Christians forgotten what their own master taught them?
Matthew 7 King James Version
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 25 King James Version
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
I do not believe Jesus was any God or Son of God. I do believe that he was doing what he truly believed to be the right thing to do for his times, and selflessly, and without prejudiced! So why does this Atheist have more regard for the teachings of love that Jesus delivered than these so-called Christians? I think that in some ways people like me, who don't believe in the divinity of Christ, or the existence of gods have a better understanding of morals and virtue than some who call themselves devout.
This is the way I understand it. When you open a business, you serve not only yourself by making a living, you also serve the community and its people's government. What government could stay in existence, and serve all the people without collecting taxes from business? What business could endure without the protection of government? What civilization could endure without the service of business and government? I maintain that business and government are secular pursuits.
Have Christians forgotten what their own master taught them?
Matthew 22: King James Version
20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?
21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.
...and to what end would the denial of service to any person? Denial of service in an effort to preserve one's own religion is a fruitless endeavor. It does not serve that end, because a person is going to believe what they want, no matter the setting. Instead the denial of service is a veiled attempt to change how other people live their lives, and to bring them in line with some dogma. Again I ask, have Christians forgotten what their own master taught them?
Matthew 7 King James Version
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 25 King James Version
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
I do not believe Jesus was any God or Son of God. I do believe that he was doing what he truly believed to be the right thing to do for his times, and selflessly, and without prejudiced! So why does this Atheist have more regard for the teachings of love that Jesus delivered than these so-called Christians? I think that in some ways people like me, who don't believe in the divinity of Christ, or the existence of gods have a better understanding of morals and virtue than some who call themselves devout.
Georgia teacher tells students their parents aren’t Christians if they voted for Obama
Students of all faiths deserve the best, fact based, unbiased education our tax dollars can buy. The only way to do that, and serve all people fairly is to have a government that is ABSOLUTELY secular in all ways. That includes the education system. If some teacher is so hot on teaching their version of religion or politics to students, they should quit their job in public education and go teach in a private, religious based school.
A Georgia teacher — whose husband sits on the school board — is under fire for telling her students that President Barack Obama isn’t a Christian, and if their parents voted for him they are not Christians either, according to the blog Georgia Watchdog.
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