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You've gotta love Congressman Randy Neugebauer. First he yells out “baby killer” while anti abortion Congressman Bart Stupak holds a press conference to talk about healthcare. Then Nuegenbauer apologizes, saying he really said “it's a baby killer”.
Now the ever changing Neugenbauer is using video of his his “baby killer” shout out in a fund raising campaign commercial.
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When will the Catholic Church stop trying to hide, deny and otherwise cover up the massive child molestation problem within its priesthood?
We keep hearing the same old stories of how some priest molested boys, the church found out, transferred the priest to another parish, covered up the crime and denied everything.
The Church got nailed a few times in court, forcing it to pay big bucks to defendants.
You'd think they learn the lesson, come clean, spread a little sunshine on their secretive “cover their ass” policy towards priest child molesters.
But no, they continue on, business as usual.
The saddest thing is members of the church, who feed the machine with their donations, seem to be in the same coverup mode as the Pope and his subordinates.
At this point in time, they are equally to blame in the coverup.
It's time for the members of the flock to seize control of their church, clean up the mess, and move on.
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I just love Caribou Barbie's wanted poster for targeting democrats in the upcoming elections. Putting their photos in the cross hairs of a gun sight was a nice touch.
I guess when your main job is calling attention to yourself and trying to get paid bigs bucks to do so, you resort to the most henious types of imagry.
Incitement to violence is a crime. If, God forbid, one of her targets gets shot, I hope the authorities go after her as an accessory.
It is time for this violent rhetoric to stop before someone does get killed.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
What Ever Happened to Human Decency?
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As we go into the final stages of the healthcare war, I am increasingly wondering what happened to civility in this country.
Yes there has always been political rancor, name calling and the hurling of epithets at people who disagree with you on this or that issue. No of course, the epithets are more basic; liberal and conservative are now dirty words, fighting words and words of derision.
For the record (my record anyway) it's okay to be a liberal and okay to be a conservative.
What's not okay is to use those labels to stop progress in our country.
Quoting and shouting support for the Constitution is quite popular these days. So let's start with the Preamble:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Please take note of the phrase “promote the general Welfare”.
What could be more promoting of our country's welfare than to make sure everyone gets healthcare? Do people against healthcare reform really want people getting sick, staying sick and possibly dying because they can't afford healthcare? Do they want lives ruined because the person or family can't afford healthcare?
Are we as a nation that uncaring? Are our hearts so hardened that we just don't care?
Where is the general human decency that mandates helping our fellow man when he or she is in need?
Jesus healed the sick and feed the hungry. Matthew 25: 35-40 says:
“For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me;
Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?'
And the King will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”
So my question to all of you who are against healthcare is: where is your Christian spirit? Why are you so against what Christ obviously mandates?
Why are you so afraid to do the right thing and help those who can't help themselves.
I don't care about the cost. What I care about is the amazing lack of compassion by so many when it comes to helping their fellow man.
What has happened to our society that allows us to let people go hungry, people not get proper medical care, not have shelter and not have the basic necessities to live?
Where did our compassion go?
What distresses me the most is these professed Christians who yell loudly about their faith and, in some cases, tout the singular righteousness of their faith while simultaneously ignoring the teachings of their faith.
If these professed Christians actually practiced what they tell others to do, we'd have universal healthcare, we'd make sure that everyone in our country gets enough to eat, has clothes to wear and a safe place to live.
Now they say churches will take care of these people but that's not the case. Some do a good job of ministering to the afflicted but many only give lip service. One only has to look at the giant mega-churches with their lavish buildings and grounds to see where the money really goes.
Is it more important to build a big ostentatious church or heal the sick?
What would Jesus say?
Instead we have this massive political battle. It's not about healthcare, it's all about power and control. Both sides want it and will demonize the other side to get it. They'll spend millions of dollars pushing their agenda (money that could go to help the afflicted). They'll resort to the lowest name calling, shouting down those who oppose them and while doing all this forget one of the prime directives of the Constitution:
“Promote the general welfare”.
What is more in our best interests an the general welfare of our country than to make sure everyone in our country gets medical care when they need it? We are more productive, better educated and genreally happier when we are healthy.
Why would anyone be against doing whatever it takes to heal the sick - especially those who can't take care of themselves or afford medical care?
We are lost as a society not because we have too much but because we have lost our compassion for our fellow man. Yes we'll send a few bucks to the disaster relief mission of the day. We might even send some people to help. But by and large we don't get our hands dirty taking care of the people in our own backyard who need help.
Those people we tend to ignore.
Jesus wouldn't. Why do we?
Today as healthcare reform (such as it is) heads to a vote I believe it's better to think of this a s a first step forward, not some one time, never make changes or tweak it bill.
Providing healthcare for those who can't get it. It's the right thing to do.
It's what Jesus would do.
As we go into the final stages of the healthcare war, I am increasingly wondering what happened to civility in this country.
Yes there has always been political rancor, name calling and the hurling of epithets at people who disagree with you on this or that issue. No of course, the epithets are more basic; liberal and conservative are now dirty words, fighting words and words of derision.
For the record (my record anyway) it's okay to be a liberal and okay to be a conservative.
What's not okay is to use those labels to stop progress in our country.
Quoting and shouting support for the Constitution is quite popular these days. So let's start with the Preamble:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Please take note of the phrase “promote the general Welfare”.
What could be more promoting of our country's welfare than to make sure everyone gets healthcare? Do people against healthcare reform really want people getting sick, staying sick and possibly dying because they can't afford healthcare? Do they want lives ruined because the person or family can't afford healthcare?
Are we as a nation that uncaring? Are our hearts so hardened that we just don't care?
Where is the general human decency that mandates helping our fellow man when he or she is in need?
Jesus healed the sick and feed the hungry. Matthew 25: 35-40 says:
“For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me;
Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?'
And the King will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”
So my question to all of you who are against healthcare is: where is your Christian spirit? Why are you so against what Christ obviously mandates?
Why are you so afraid to do the right thing and help those who can't help themselves.
I don't care about the cost. What I care about is the amazing lack of compassion by so many when it comes to helping their fellow man.
What has happened to our society that allows us to let people go hungry, people not get proper medical care, not have shelter and not have the basic necessities to live?
Where did our compassion go?
What distresses me the most is these professed Christians who yell loudly about their faith and, in some cases, tout the singular righteousness of their faith while simultaneously ignoring the teachings of their faith.
If these professed Christians actually practiced what they tell others to do, we'd have universal healthcare, we'd make sure that everyone in our country gets enough to eat, has clothes to wear and a safe place to live.
Now they say churches will take care of these people but that's not the case. Some do a good job of ministering to the afflicted but many only give lip service. One only has to look at the giant mega-churches with their lavish buildings and grounds to see where the money really goes.
Is it more important to build a big ostentatious church or heal the sick?
What would Jesus say?
Instead we have this massive political battle. It's not about healthcare, it's all about power and control. Both sides want it and will demonize the other side to get it. They'll spend millions of dollars pushing their agenda (money that could go to help the afflicted). They'll resort to the lowest name calling, shouting down those who oppose them and while doing all this forget one of the prime directives of the Constitution:
“Promote the general welfare”.
What is more in our best interests an the general welfare of our country than to make sure everyone in our country gets medical care when they need it? We are more productive, better educated and genreally happier when we are healthy.
Why would anyone be against doing whatever it takes to heal the sick - especially those who can't take care of themselves or afford medical care?
We are lost as a society not because we have too much but because we have lost our compassion for our fellow man. Yes we'll send a few bucks to the disaster relief mission of the day. We might even send some people to help. But by and large we don't get our hands dirty taking care of the people in our own backyard who need help.
Those people we tend to ignore.
Jesus wouldn't. Why do we?
Today as healthcare reform (such as it is) heads to a vote I believe it's better to think of this a s a first step forward, not some one time, never make changes or tweak it bill.
Providing healthcare for those who can't get it. It's the right thing to do.
It's what Jesus would do.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Glenn Beck
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the thing that has alwasy bothered me is people like Beck, Limbaugh and the rest of the radical talkingheads is there unquestioned belief in what they say and their unwilingness to go up against someone with a different point of view.
I guess they are afraid of being bested in an actual debate, afraid their "facts' will be proven wrong and that thye will be outed for the charlatans and snake oil salepeople they are.
as with all radicals, they 'my way or the highway" rule applies and those who disagree are not worthy of true debate, hich is a cheap way of ignoring opponents.... See More
what irks me the most is how Beck defines Christianity in terms of charity and compassion. Even his own Morman faith adheres the basic tenants of the teachings of Jesus.
as with most loudmouth braggarts - Beck is all talk and no action.
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the thing that has alwasy bothered me is people like Beck, Limbaugh and the rest of the radical talkingheads is there unquestioned belief in what they say and their unwilingness to go up against someone with a different point of view.
I guess they are afraid of being bested in an actual debate, afraid their "facts' will be proven wrong and that thye will be outed for the charlatans and snake oil salepeople they are.
as with all radicals, they 'my way or the highway" rule applies and those who disagree are not worthy of true debate, hich is a cheap way of ignoring opponents.... See More
what irks me the most is how Beck defines Christianity in terms of charity and compassion. Even his own Morman faith adheres the basic tenants of the teachings of Jesus.
as with most loudmouth braggarts - Beck is all talk and no action.
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Oklahoma offers Bible class in schools
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Adding this "elective" class to the Oklahoma education system is an accident waiting to happen.
How will this class be taught? Will schools use the Bart Ehrman approach that the Bible is a mismash of questionable documents and unreliable information?
Will it be taught under the eventual auspices of whatever religious group is in power in a particular school district?
How long will it be before people of particular faiths protest the class as being too secular?
I believe the school system would have been better off offering a comparative religion course so students have the opportunity to learn about a variety of religions.
Fat chance that will happen in Oklahoma
Adding this "elective" class to the Oklahoma education system is an accident waiting to happen.
How will this class be taught? Will schools use the Bart Ehrman approach that the Bible is a mismash of questionable documents and unreliable information?
Will it be taught under the eventual auspices of whatever religious group is in power in a particular school district?
How long will it be before people of particular faiths protest the class as being too secular?
I believe the school system would have been better off offering a comparative religion course so students have the opportunity to learn about a variety of religions.
Fat chance that will happen in Oklahoma
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
the problem with adults
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A Mississippi School Board has decided to cancel the Senior Prom rather than let a gay student bring her date.
This is what happens when a group of adults decide to rule students and their activities with an iron fist.
Why ruin prom night because a gay person is coming witha date?
What's wrong with these adults? What does it say about this community when they elect narrow minded self righteous people to positions of authority?
Is this what Christ would have wanted? He wouldn't have shunned the gay couple. He would have welcomed them with open arms.
Why isn't the school board?
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A Mississippi School Board has decided to cancel the Senior Prom rather than let a gay student bring her date.
This is what happens when a group of adults decide to rule students and their activities with an iron fist.
Why ruin prom night because a gay person is coming witha date?
What's wrong with these adults? What does it say about this community when they elect narrow minded self righteous people to positions of authority?
Is this what Christ would have wanted? He wouldn't have shunned the gay couple. He would have welcomed them with open arms.
Why isn't the school board?
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thought
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One can give nothing whatever without giving oneself -- that is to say, risking oneself. If one cannot risk oneself, then one is simply incapable of giving.
- James Baldwin
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One can give nothing whatever without giving oneself -- that is to say, risking oneself. If one cannot risk oneself, then one is simply incapable of giving.
- James Baldwin
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