Coming from the NY Times, this actually surprises me.  This is a bit off the reservation for them.  I understand that the White House was none too pleased about it either.  Seems that the truth can be a bit embarrassing sometimes.

As bad as this article may sound, it still sugar coats the truth.  We are in a financial dungeon, and right now China holds the keys to our cell.  If that rotting carcass of a health care bill passes, or some form of the cap-and-tax or other climate change bill passes, then China will throw away the key.  Our debt and currency will be worthless and unmarketable.

Yet the socialist/communist democrats just want to continue spending as if money grows on trees.  Money may be made from trees, but the value behind it is much more difficult to come by.  The democrats are doing a smashing job (pun intended) of destroying that as well.

Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government

WASHINGTON — The United States government is financing its more than trillion-dollar-a-year borrowing with i.o.u.’s on terms that seem too good to be true.

But that happy situation, aided by ultralow interest rates, may not last much longer.

Treasury officials now face a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed.

Even as Treasury officials are racing to lock in today’s low rates by exchanging short-term borrowings for long-term bonds, the government faces a payment shock similar to those that sent legions of overstretched homeowners into default on their mortgages.  (This is why you don’t let liberals be in charge of anything.  They think that the reason they failed is because we just didn’t let them implement enough of their liberal madness.)

With the national debt now topping $12 trillion, the White House estimates that the government’s tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this year, even if annual budget deficits shrink drastically. Other forecasters say the figure could be much higher.

In concrete terms, an additional $500 billion a year in interest expense would total more than the combined federal budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The potential for rapidly escalating interest payouts is just one of the wrenching challenges facing the United States after decades of living beyond its means.

The surge in borrowing over the last year or two is widely judged to have been a necessary response to the financial crisis and the deep recession, and there is still a raging debate over how aggressively to bring down deficits over the next few years. But there is little doubt that the United States’ long-term budget crisis is becoming too big to postpone.  (Wrong.  It wasn’t necessary.  If I have 3 maxed out credit cards and can’t pay the bills, I don’t go get another credit card to make those payments.  That is exactly what our government is doing.  Overlooking the fact that the democrats BEFORE George Bush set the stage for the housing crash back during the Clinton administration, had we let the bad institutions (and auto companies) fail, there would have been an immediate recession.  However, now that we have dug our financial hole deeper than our ladder is high and are continuing to dig, we are headed for a depression that will make the 1930’s look like a party.  There is no such thing as a pain-free life.  The more you run from the consequences of your actions, the larger those consequences become.)

Americans now have to climb out of two deep holes: as debt-loaded consumers, whose personal wealth sank along with housing and stock prices; and as taxpayers, whose government debt has almost doubled in the last two years alone, just as costs tied to benefits for retiring baby boomers are set to explode.

The competing demands could deepen political battles over the size and role of the government, the trade-offs between taxes and spending, the choices between helping older generations versus younger ones, and the bottom-line questions about who should ultimately shoulder the burden.

“The government is on teaser rates,” said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan group that advocates lower deficits. “We’re taking out a huge mortgage right now, but we won’t feel the pain until later.”  (That’s what the democrats are banking on.  They hope they will be long gone by the time the pain hits.)

So far, the demand for Treasury securities from investors and other governments around the world has remained strong enough to hold down the interest rates that the United States must offer to sell them. Indeed, the government paid less interest on its debt this year than in 2008, even though it added almost $2 trillion in debt.

The government’s average interest rate on new borrowing last year fell below 1 percent. For short-term i.o.u.’s like one-month Treasury bills, its average rate was only sixteen-hundredths of a percent.  (Returns that low are why they can’t sell the long term bonds.  If you buy them and rates go up, you lose.)

“All of the auction results have been solid,” said Matthew Rutherford, the Treasury’s deputy assistant secretary in charge of finance operations. “Investor demand has been very broad, and it’s been increasing in the last couple of years.”

The problem, many analysts say, is that record government deficits have arrived just as the long-feared explosion begins in spending on benefits under Medicare and Social Security. The nation’s oldest baby boomers are approaching 65, setting off what experts have warned for years will be a fiscal nightmare for the government.  (The liberals robbed the so-called Social Security “lock box” a long time ago.  The program began with more than 60 people paying taxes for each SS recipient.  Now that is down to about 4-to-1.  Pretty soon, taxpayers will just have to let a SS recipient just move in with them.  It’s past time for SS to go away.)

“What a good country or a good squirrel should be doing is stashing away nuts for the winter,” said William H. Gross, managing director of the Pimco Group, the giant bond-management firm. “The United States is not only not saving nuts, it’s eating the ones left over from the last winter.”

The current low rates on the country’s debt were caused by temporary factors that are already beginning to fade. One factor was the economic crisis itself, which caused panicked investors around the world to plow their money into the comparative safety of Treasury bills and notes. Even though the United States was the epicenter of the global crisis, investors viewed Treasury securities as the least dangerous place to park their money.

On top of that, the Fed used almost every tool in its arsenal to push interest rates down even further. It cut the overnight federal funds rate, the rate at which banks lend reserves to one another, to almost zero. And to reduce longer-term rates, it bought more than $1.5 trillion worth of Treasury bonds and government-guaranteed securities linked to mortgages.  (The government buying its own debt.  Remember that credit card shell game I spoke of earlier?)

Those conditions are already beginning to change. Global investors are shifting money into riskier investments like stocks and corporate bonds, and they have been pouring money into fast-growing countries like Brazil and China.

The Fed, meanwhile, is already halting its efforts at tamping down long-term interest rates. Fed officials ended their $300 billion program to buy up Treasury bonds last month, and they have announced plans to stop buying mortgage-backed securities by the end of next March.

Eventually, though probably not until at least mid-2010, the Fed will also start raising its benchmark interest rate back to more historically normal levels.

The United States will not be the only government competing to refinance huge debt. Japan, Germany, Britain and other industrialized countries have even higher government debt loads, measured as a share of their gross domestic product, and they too borrowed heavily to combat the financial crisis and economic downturn. As the global economy recovers and businesses raise capital to finance their growth, all that new government debt is likely to put more upward pressure on interest rates.

Even a small increase in interest rates has a big impact. An increase of one percentage point in the Treasury’s average cost of borrowing would cost American taxpayers an extra $80 billion this year — about equal to the combined budgets of the Department of Energy and the Department of Education.

But that could seem like a relatively modest pinch. Alan Levenson, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, estimated that the Treasury’s tab for debt service this year would have been $221 billion higher if it had faced the same interest rates as it did last year.

The White House estimates that the government will have to borrow about $3.5 trillion more over the next three years. On top of that, the Treasury has to refinance, or roll over, a huge amount of short-term debt that was issued during the financial crisis. Treasury officials estimate that about 36 percent of the government’s marketable debt — about $1.6 trillion — is coming due in the months ahead.  (What happens if China decides not to buy?  Economic collapse.)

To lock in low interest rates in the years ahead, Treasury officials are trying to replace one-month and three-month bills with 10-year and 30-year Treasury securities. That strategy will save taxpayers money in the long run. But it pushes up costs drastically in the short run, because interest rates are higher for long-term debt.

Adding to the pressure, the Fed is set to begin reversing some of the policies it has been using to prop up the economy. Wall Street firms advising the Treasury recently estimated that the Fed’s purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities pushed down long-term interest rates by about one-half of a percentage point. Removing that support could in itself add $40 billion to the government’s annual tab for debt service.

This month, the Treasury Department’s private-sector advisory committee on debt management warned of the risks ahead.

“Inflation, higher interest rate and rollover risk should be the primary concerns,” declared the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, a group of market experts that provide guidance to the government, on Nov. 4.

“Clever debt management strategy,” the group said, “can’t completely substitute for prudent fiscal policy.”  (No kidding.  It’s called “don’t spend more than you have.  The turds floating in the punch bowl of Washington, D.C. have forgotten that it’s not Monopoly money they’re spending, it’s OUR money.  But most of them never had to earn an honest day’s wage in their lives, so how should we expect them to understand?)

+

J. Grant Swank, Jr.

This Barack Hussein Obama Recovery.gov lies.

It is unfortunately believed by the uninformed. That is utterly abominable but once again underlines that Obama plants deceit in every corner of his oversight.

Obama lies regarding statistics on numerous Recovery.gov levels. Obama has been asked to fix the site. He refuses to fix the site. He will not attempt to fix that site.

How can this be? Can be tolerated?

The answer is that Muslims are taught to lie for it furthers Islam World Rule. Allah instructs via the Koran to outsmart the enemy. Lying then is an Islamic virtue.

To Christians, lying is a sin. Therefore, Christians in the nation expect people to tell the truth. Of course, Christians know there are liars out there. But when these liars are caught, Christians expect them to be exposed. Sometimes they are penalized or disciplined in some manner.

However, a Marxist Muslim President gets away with lying because the liberal media will not expose him. His own lying team, naturally, will not expose him. And so he twists the honest citizenry once again in the wind.

There are plenty of Dems in Congress who are not Muslims; but since their leader lies, they take on his mantle. And countless get by with it.

Hopefully in the next elections, these liars will be spanked out of Congressional halls. Of course, some more liars will no doubt take some of their places; but let’s pray that enough liars are sent into oblivion that truthful individuals sit in their seats.

Obama lied from years back. Demented Jeremiah Wright preached for twenty years to Obama.

In that cultic mentoring Obama was taught how artfully to lie. Michelle was as well. Now these two sit in the White House, screwing up our Republic.

Obama’s czars and shadow government plot through sessions to refine their lies. Then when they are caught, for instance, in Congressional question-and-answer sessions, at times the query gets the cat out of the bag.

Recovery.gov is symbolic of the prime motive spinning Obama’s lying machine. Like Wright’s cultic warehouse where hate and deceit were a membership requirement, Obama’s lying machine builds on to Wright’s creedal teachings in political environs.

Back to the bottom line regarding Recovery.com: It is laden with lies because it is overseen by a socialist Muslim who honors Islam’s warped ethic that condones lying as a moral good.

From Recovery.gov, one can extrapolate to whatever Obama considers his political mission, schemes that lie, such being a fundamental quotient. That includes his health care plan. Also his stand on abortion. That includes his (mis)management of Afghanistan as well as his projections for job increase, stimulus policy substance, international relations, basic freedoms regarding religion and speech, and so forth.

Obama plans on destroying America through the power of the lie. Of course, history reveals indeed how tremendously powerful the lie is.

The lie is the given in Obama’s religion. It is the absolute in his speeches, his dealing with other nations, and his empty promises laid on America.

In other words, Obama cannot be believed in anything he says. He cannot be believed in anything.

Recovery.gov is an in-your-face example.

Senator Mary Landrieu’s (democrat, Louisiana) services don’t come cheap.  Harry Reid (d-NV) needed her “services” to keep his Frankenstein monster health care bill alive, and she started bidding up the price on her “trick.”  Ultimately it cost Reid, excuse me, it cost the taxpayers $300 million dollars to secure her “favors.”

On top of the $2 TRILLION that this bill is likely to cost, we have yet to factor in all of the pork and bribes that are going into keeping this bill alive.  What did the other democrats get in return for their votes?  You know without a doubt that many of them got something in exchange for the political suicide they were asked to commit.

America, please wake up and realize that if these communists aren’t stopped NOW, by the time November 2010 rolls around there won’t be much of our country, freedom, or liberty left to save.  Find out what process needs to be followed for your state and start the process to remove or recall your senators and congressmen from office.  If I find out what that process is, I’ll pass it along.

I must admit that this Saturday seemed to be quite eventful indeed. Not only did that guy told me that “Gays should be set ablaze!” but also, earlier that night, something more happened.

I was with my friends at our favourite cafeteria and when we were about to leave to get some wine to drink – I really hate it when we do that – like deux ex machina, the owner of the cafeteria asked me if I had my laptop with me. He explained that there was a girl, sitting on her own, who wanted to surf on the Internet for a bit. Thinking that she was a friend of the owner I gave her my laptop.

So I had my excuse. I told my friends that I’d catch up with them later before they left. So, on my own now, I approached that woman and introduced myself. When I asked her if she was a friend of the owner she replied negatively. Then she explained that she knew him, meaning that she would greet him if she ran into him in the street, and that she asked for my laptop because we had met the previous night.

Whoa. That was definitely suprising. I really did not remember her. Well, it was Friday night – meaning that I was – again – pretty wasted. Of course I told her the truth.

She was taken aback by the ease I said that. Anyway we sat together and chatted lively – a lovely company she was indeed. After a while she turns to me and says: “I’m surprised by your sincerity”, adding that I was the first one she met who was so sincere.

Yet I think I’m missing something. Shouldn’t we be sincere? Shouldn’t we be proud of actions? Well, according to many, no. At least not always.

Well I’m sorry but I absolutely disagree. If you are ashamed of something you do, then just don’t do it. If you like it then be proud of it. I mean, there is no point in hiding and covering up with lies our actions.

Let’s take, for instance, an imaginary guy who totally loves dancing ballet. Yet he is afraid that he’ll be laughed at by his friends if they learn it. So, every time he has ballet lessons, he lies to his friends that his father does not allow him to go out. And he lies to his dad too that he is out with his friends. So, unavoidably he traps himself into a vicious circle which he is unable to break since nobody will speak to him if they learn that he lied.

Isn’t that stupid? Why keep something you do as a secret? It is like torturing and ravaging our own minds and souls. And once you start is hard to stop. Because a lie can only bring another lie.

That imaginary boy ought to be honest with his friends, didn’t he? He loved ballet so he had to take pride in it. If his friends really loved him they would accept it and would not make fun of him.

Well I suppose that is the reason why we lie. Because we are afraid to be left on our own. Solitude. One of our greatest fears. But how can we desire to be something plastic, unreal? Why do we prefer being with people who we pretend to like or pretend to be someone else when we are with them? Instead of being sincere and real?

At least that’s what I do. I am real, out & proud. I’ve got nothing to hide at all. it’s a common “secret” that I’m the bitch and that I can be a slut. But I don’t care if everybody says bad things about me. From the very first moment I meet somebody I show him what I am – if he likes it he stays, if he doesn’t he sways. After all that’s my motto:

This is who I am – I won’t change for you, I don’t pretend to be somebody I am not. Whoever likes me it’s fine – all the others can gladly die. After I’m better on my own rather than with a bunch of plastic people.

Truth. Honesty. On these ideals I base every relationship I have. And, honestly, it makes me happy. Because I don’t keep my feelings inside my chest. I just can’t do it. I’m not mean because I speak the truth. It is just you that only want to hear lies. So I’m not the type of guy who says: “Sweetie I love your hair!”, but means: “Oh my God! Your hair totally sucks you slut!”

How did people end up becoming plastic? Fake and liars? If you are not proud of yourself then reconsider. Whether the things you do, do not fill you as a person or you just do them get approval.

Just get real. Don’t deny your feelings and don’t lie. If something’s good for you then it will be good for the ones who love you. Be true. Accept yourself as you are with your flaws and your weaknesses. Don’t pretend to be something different, something that you are not.

Neither pretend to be honest. Because, truth be told, pretending to be honest is the new trend. I’ve seen that kind of people. And in this way not only you are not honest and sincere at all but you are just a hypocrite. A pathetic, little hypocrite.

I don’t get the reason why you have to live supressed by your lies and with the fear of the revelation of the truth when you can do the simplest thing;

Be true. Honest.

Revive the greatest of the lost arts -

Genuineness..

We lie because, in that moment, we are living from the flesh which is saturated with fear; we choose what seems to our flesh the less painful path.  Christians and non- are capable of this, but only Christians can alternately choose to live by the Spirit, to live as the New Man, who knows no fear but lives in the love and grace of the Father!

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”  – Romans 8:5-6

Scripture quotation from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Sebagai pembuka, saya mengutip statemen seorang teman dari milis yahoo groups…

“Bukalah matamu hai bangsa indonesia.. salah satu hal penghambat kemajuan bangsa ini sebenarnya adalah ketololan kita mempercayai adanya tuhan dan memperlakukan ajarannya secara `overacting` dan fanatik. Dan diindonesia ketololan ini ditambah lagi oleh pemimpin rakus dan licik yg punya hobi menggalang massa atas nama agama. terutama agama islam, sebuah ajaran paling kolot dan tolol dibumi ini. pesantren dan kelompok2 pengajian dibuat untuk mem`brainwash` generasi muda agar lebih mudah dikontrol dan sekaligus agar dapat digerakan sebagai kekuatan massa. lihat saja pendukung abdurahman wahid yg menyatakan diri mereka sebagai pasukan berani mati dan berteriak2 `alahuakbarbismilahbismintul` sambil mengacungkan parang seperti preman pasar. atau front pembela islam yg mengobrak-abrik toko2/tempat hiburan yg menjual barang2 yg diharamkan oleh `tuhan` mereka. benar2 manusia biadab. Agama islam adalah racun nomor satu dikehidupan diindonesia ini (kedua adalah budaya jawa) dan kita tidak akan maju dan berkembang bila hal ini dibiarkan. science dan technology adalah hal yg lebih realistis untuk dijadikan patokan/pedoman. tidak heran bila bangsa kita ini tertinggal jauh dalam hal itu. kita terlalu sibuk ketakutan dan menyembah langit yg kosong diatas.

Bukalah matamu bangsa indonesia. tinggalkan agama dan tuhan. Fuck muhamad !! fuck jesus !! fuck all y`all religious hipocrites. Science and technology is the way of the future!!!”

Wups..jangan terburu-buru mengutuk yang punya statemen diatas dengan membabi buta dulu….hehe.. Mari bahas terlebih dahulu dengan membebaskan pemikiran kita …siapa tahu mungkin ada benernya…(cuma mungkin loh…).

Untuk membahasnya saya merujuk pemikiran MARX karena sangat representatif. (sekali lagi..jangan terburu buru menjudge bahwa orang ini sang atheist. Lihat logika-nya..jangan person-nya.. )

Marx pernah mengatakan dalam karyanya Toward the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, yang ditulisnya pada tahun 1844, bahawa “agama itu adalah candu rakyat”. Pendapat yang demikian dipercayai lahir dari pengalaman Marx yang melihat pemimpin dan institusi agama Kristian di Eropah sebagai sebahagian daripada oligarki yang menindas rakyat.

Pemimpin agama itu bukan saja merupakan penyokong kepada para penguasa, tetapi juga menguasai pemikiran rakyat supaya pasrah terhadap keadaan mereka yang tertindas, dan mempercayai bahawa mereka akan memperoleh kemakmuran selepas kematian berasaskan janji bahawa kebahagian itu ada di syurga.

Dalam keadaan demikian, rakyat menjadi pasif dan tidak mahu mengubah keadaan mereka yang buruk itu dengan berjuang untuk menciptakan nasib yang baik dengan kekuatan mereka sendiri.

Itulah sebabnya Marx menganggap agama sebagai candu rakyat.

Dengan perkataan lain, Marx melihat pemimpin agama sebagai sebahagian daripada pihak penguasa atau pemerintah yang menindas rakyat. Dan dalam keadaan hidup tertindas itu, agama mengajar mereka supaya pasrah kerana dikatakan kebahagian sebenarnya ada di dunia lain, dan bukan di dunia yang nyata ini.

Jika demikian, bukankah agama itu telah menjadi candu rakyat?

Komaruddin Hidayat, dari Yayasan Paramadina, melalui tulisannya “Beragama Dikala Duka” (Kompas, 11/2/95) mengemukakan bahwa ketika Marx berbicara tentang Tuhan dan Agama, tidaklah berangkat dari postulat-postulat teologi, melainkan dengan mengamati situasi konkrit manusia, yang secara psikologis mereka tertindas oleh situasi sosial dan politik yang opresif.

Marx yang merasa terpanggil untuk membela mereka yang tertindas secara politis dan ekonomis, ketika lembaga dan penguasa agama hanya menawarkan solusi berupa hiburan semu, yaitu janji-janji surga di seberang derita dan kematian. Bahkan Marx lebih kesal lagi, ketika melihat agama dengan para tokohnya telah berkolusi dengan penguasa yang tiran, yang menindas dan membodohi rakyat.

Yang menjadi sasaran pokok dari kritik Marx bukanlah hakikat Tuhan serta; ajaran metafisika agama, melainkan praktek keberagamaan yang bersikap eskaptis, yaitu menjadikan agama sebagai tempat pelarian dari pergulatan sosial yang memerlukan penyelesaian konkrit, bukannya tawaran surgawi di seberang kematian. Keberagamaan semacam ini, bagi pemikir semacam Marx tak ubahnya sebagai opium yang menghilangkan derita sementara(palliatif), karena akar penyebabnya tidak tersentuh sama sekali.

Sekiranya tokoh-tokoh agama pada waktu itu, tidak menjadikan agama sebagai tempat pelarian dari pergulatan sosial yang memerlukan penyelesaian konkrit bukan tawaran surgawi di seberang kematian, bukan berkolusi dengan penguasa yang tiran, tentu tak akan muncul ucapan yang demikian dari Marx, persoalannya akan menjadi lain.

Kebebasan harus diperjuangkan, direbut. Tidak akan diperoleh dengan mengharap belas kasihan dari kelas yang menindas.

Analognya; bila rakyat yang tertindas (Proletar) diijinkan atau diberi kebebasan untuk berpikir bebas akan nasibnya sendiri, tentu mereka akan kritis dan memerangi ketidak adilan. Agar rakyat terhibur dan punya impian irasional maka agama di tampilkan.

Nah alasan marx tentang agama adalah racun sebenarnya juga terjadi pada kita, saat ini..detik ini..yaitu penindasan ….

]]> http://boycottcomerica.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/workers-demand-severance-pay-picketing-scheduled-at-comerica-bank-on-11242009/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:53:55 +0000 bankingwhistleblower http://boycottcomerica.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/workers-demand-severance-pay-picketing-scheduled-at-comerica-bank-on-11242009/ http://texan2driver.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/ft-hood-terrorist-nidal-hasan-was-obama-advisor/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:16:34 +0000 texan2driver http://texan2driver.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/ft-hood-terrorist-nidal-hasan-was-obama-advisor/

You read that right.  Nidal Hasan was on the Homeland Security Policy Institute Presidential Transition Task Force.  An adviser on the Obama transition team.

Obama won’t jump to conclusions about a fellow muslim who guns down 13 people while screaming “allah akbar,” but he will immediately jump to conclusions about a white cop PROPERLY doing his job investigating what appeared to be a break in at the home of one of Obama’s race-baiting buddies.

Why hasn’t anyone covered this?  Where is CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Chicago Sun Times, and all of the other liberal rags on a story like this?

See page 29 of the attached pdf file to see it for yourself.

Nidal Hasan
Uniformed Services University School of Medicine
(…and aspiring terrorist and martyr. Soldier of allah? Try cowardly, hate-filled muslim.)

PTTF_ProceedingsReport_05.19.09

As you know, Love can be either hell or heaven.

When the one you love say that he will keep his promise, and you find out that he did not, what would you do?

Keep him, or leave him?

Would you trust in love itself or trust the one you love again?

‘Cause you can never trust when it comes to lie. 

Why would you want to be with the one who hurt you? You don’t need a liar.

By Heru (H. Emmanuel Ofori-Atta)

Oh what a beautiful day it was when I threw away my t.v.
Or should I say Tell-Eye-Vision?
You see, I got tired of strangers telling me how I should look, feel, or listen.
I got tired of strangers showing me how other people are living,
and therefore how I should be living.
And by the way, what does watching a football game on t.v. have anything to do with
celebrating a so-called day of Thanksgiving, oops I was mistaken, I meant Thanks-taking.

Oh what a beautiful day it was when I threw away my t.v.
Or should I say Tell-Lie-Vision?
No more lies for me.
Mental sabotage I won’t be missing.
So many potentially great people are caught in a psychological prison.
Our minds are programmed by t.v. programs, we’re caught in a media prism.
And this box called t.v. has become oh-so popular.
So many Sisters are caught in soap operas.
So many Brothers living their lives like they’re in the next show of cops and robbers.
We even get our slang from this thing called t.v.
The police are now called Five-O, is this Hawaii?
So many people are just bored, lonely or just plain lazy.
You’re spending time with something that weakens your human development,
and you’re telling me that you ain’t crazy?
Imagine cuddling up with something close to your foe.
Instead of learning something that strengthens your community or humanity,
all you did in your lifetime was learn how to quickly turn from channel 7
to channel 5 to channel 4.
Outstanding, exquisite, you did it.
You’re out of sight.
Remember, every time you turn on your t.v.,
you are inviting people into your home who you would not normally invite: RuPaul?
Let me be more explicit,
if you cannot throw away your t.v. tonight,
you have no right to look down at a crack or heroin addict.
You see, your addiction is stronger because you’ve been practicing it much, much longer.

Now, let’s deal with those commercials that influence people to buy things they normally
would not buy and wear things they normally would not wear.
It all begins when a young child starts to stop-sit-and-stare.
It all begins when a young child starts to stop-sit-and-stare.
There goes one, there goes another, hook, line and sinker.
T.v., Tell-Lie-Vision does not prepare you to be an independent thinker.
Just like back in the day.
Just like back in the day when every one wanted to be cool like Fonzie.
Now, ’nuff people have become Puff Daddy zombies.

Oh what a beautiful day it was when I threw away my t.v.,
or should I say Tell-Eye-Vision?
Mental sabotage I won’t be missing.
By now you can tell that I am on a liberation mission.
So right out my window, I threw away my t.v. or should I say Tell-Lie-Vision?
But I bet the stray dogs can use that box for pissing.

http://www.proudfleshjournal.com/issue3/ofori-atta.htm#h1

Днес случайно ми попадна една рекламна брошурка. Поразгледах я и попаднах на два интересни продукта.Ооо, доста евтин плеър…Изненада! Това на картинката не е това което е описано вдясно. За незапознатите- това на картинката е iPod Shuffle 4G, продукт на Apple. Или това е поредния трик да си закупите плеъра, или просто плеъра на DIVA изглежда по същия начин.

Следващият продукт е:Звучи доста добре, нали? Камера, високоговорител, меню на български, FM радио, 1000 вградени игри… Pretty impressive!Я! Изглежда познато нали? Само че има един проблем… Ако си закупите това нещо, ще получите това от картинката, а не това което си мислите че е… За неразбралите- това на картинката изключително много прилича на PSP classic… Дори и аз се залъгах за момент. Най- лесният начин за проверка- ясно си личи, че под екрана го няма надписа ‘PSP’. Очевадно е също, че и цената е почти наполовина по- малка отколкото струва един PSP. Никъде не пише кой произвежда тази чудесия, следователно може и да идва от някой гараж в Китай. Ако си купите това нещо, то или няма да изглежда по този начин, или ще изглежда, но пак няма да е PSP.

Извод: Когато пазарувате, било то онлайн или на място в магазина, винаги си отваряйте очите! А ако вече знаете какво искате да си купите, проверете ‘предполагаемия’ продукт дали всъщност е искания от Вас.

П.П. Много мои приятели вече изгоряха с подобни продукти. Подлъгани от цената, те се озоваваха с коренно различни продукти.

BRIBE [brahyb] noun, verb, bribed, brib-ing

-noun

1. money or any other valuable consideration given or promised with a view to corrupting the behavior of a person, esp. in that person’s performance as an athlete, public official, etc.: The president offered the senator a $100 million bribe she could use to buy votes in her state if she would vote for the health care bill.
2. anything given or serving to persuade or induce: The senator was given $100 million as a bribe to vote for the health care bill.

Senator Landrieu,

You may not realize that at this point in history you can’t continue the corrupt liberal and democrat way of playing politics without severe consequences to the country and to yourself.

America is on the edge of the abyss.  Our financial system is in ruin, our dollar is worthless, nations around the world are dumping the dollar, and the nations to which we are debtors are beginning to balk at buying more of our debt.

We simply do not have the money to spend on this health care bill.  Should it pass, it will seal our fate, and nail the coffin shut on America.  We will be in a depression.

Anarchy and chaos will result, and no one, including you, will be unaffected.

Americans know what you are doing to them, and they will remember.

When enough Americans have their freedom, liberty, and way of life stripped from them, don’t think for a moment they won’t remember who stripped it from them, and don’t think for a moment they’ll allow you to continue to live in the crystal palace on the hill while they suffer.

Will you serve yourself and the democrats, or will you serve America and your constituents?

Choose now whom you will serve.

Posted by LibbyShaw

Cross posted on Daily Kos, Texas Kaos and The Burnt Orange Report.

This morning I received the following electronic newsletter from Senator John Cornyn on the Senate Health Care Reform Bill.

Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released his 2,074-page health care bill, which Senate Budget Committee analysis shows will cost American taxpayers $2.5 trillion when fully implemented over ten years. (My bold.)

Until we have had a chance to read the full 2,074 page Reid Bill, it’s impossible for Americans to fully grasp what the Majority Leader has cooked up behind closed doors. It is my hope that Sen. Reid will afford all Americans the same courtesy that he had: ample time to study the legislation and deliberate the best way to proceed.

Lie 1 debunked: The proposed Senate bill saves $127 billion over first ten years.

And in the second ten years we will realize even more savings.

Over the second 10 years, CBO projects even greater cost savings–up to $650 billion, with the caveat that after 10 years, their analyses become highly uncertain.

Do you have a problem with saving lives and money, Senator?

Why are Republicans constantly moaning and bellyaching about having to read a long and complex bill? If they are too dumb or lazy to read, why bother running for office? And as far as cooking stuff behind closed doors, isn’t that what you Republicans did since Ronald Reagan?

Come on sore loser, give us a break.

There is more.

What we do know so far, as reported by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), is that this bill will have a wide, negative impact on Americans across the board – from seniors on Medicare to small business owners to future generations of Americans who will be footing the bill. The bill will increase taxes on all Americans by nearly half a trillion dollarsand breaks the President’s pledge not to raise taxes on working families earning less than $250,000—at a time that unemployment is at a 26-year high.

Huge whopper 2 in bold above.

This is a disgusting fear mongering LIE. The vast majority of Americans will not receive a tax increase. The link above will give readers a glimpse into the Republican’s record of lying on just about every piece of legislation proposed by Democrats. Lie, obstruct, scare. Repeat lie, obstruct, scare. That is what the GOP has become.

And there will be a wide negative impact on Americans across the board from Seniors on Medicare to small business owners to future generations? Huh?

Lies 3, 4. 5. That, Sir, is called a bold face lie and you are using scare tactics. The bill is not going to hurt Medicare. Period. It will impact Medicare Advantage which some folks, not all, have. Honestly, I find it disingenuous and hypocritical for Republicans, who have wanted to get rid of Medicare for years, are suddenly concerned about and defending it.

A national public option means competition. Therefore small businesses will finally be able to afford to cover employees, or at least offer plans that their employees can afford. What on earth is wrong with that? And as far as hurting future generations this is all a bunch of fear mongering sewage. If anything we’ll have a healthier population precisely b/c 94% of Americans will have access to affordable health care coverage.

While CBO has not been given time to analyze the Reid bill’s impact on premiums, every other independent analysis to date has found that Reid’s new mandates and taxes will increase health care premiums on American families. The Reid bill increases taxpayer spending and liability for health care over the next ten years—instead of reforming our already insolvent entitlement programs. It will gut the already insolvent Medicare program by $464.6 billion, hurting access to care for seniors. It includes a government-run public option that will, according to CBO, have premiums higher than private plans and cause millions of Americans to lose the coverage they currently have. The largest expansion of Medicaid since it was created means the Medicaid program will be the only coverage option for 60 million Americans. It will also impose $28 billion in punitive taxes on employers who do not comply with Washington’s new job-killing mandates.

I should put this entire excerpt in bold b/c it one pack of lies after another.

Lie 6. The so-called independent analysis comes from the Lewin Group that is tied to big insurance.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the Lewin Group, a health care research consulting firm, is owned by Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group.

Sure, they are independent.

Huge whopper 7. Cornyn said the bill would gut Medicare.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director Edward Coyle, AFSCME Director of Retiree Programs Steve Regenstreif and the Florida Democratic Party today responded to the lies and misinformation the GOP is spreading about seniors and health insurance reform–including RNC’s lies, which today announced a misleading ad on their “Seniors Bill of Lies.”

Since the health insurance reform debate began, the GOP has attempted to spread lies and misinformation about how health insurance reform will affect seniors. But the truth is, President Obama’s reforms will lower costs, protect choice and provide more options. Seniors in particular will benefit from health insurance reform as it will eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, will end wasteful subsidies to the insurance companies and close the Medicare Part D prescription drug “donut hole.” For seniors age 50 to 64 who are not yet eligible for Medicare, the reforms proposed by President Obama will ensure that seniors who are between jobs or have a pre-existing condition cannot be denied coverage by the insurance industry.

Indeed, AARP has come forward to debunk the lies spread by Republican lawmakers.

There are many naysayers who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and will stop at nothing – including lies — to derail health care reform. Many will try to scare Americans with myths and fabrications about proposed health care legislation —tactics they believe will block vital changes to our nation’s broken health care system.

Make no mistake: opponents of health care reform have powerful tools at their disposal, including the ability to spend exorbitant amounts of money on television, newspaper, and radio ads to spread their myths.

AARP is committed to debunking these myths so that our nation can move toward the ultimate goal of quality, affordable health care for ALL Americans. Here are a few of the most popular myths about health care reform, followed by the facts that debunk them.

The link above debunks the lies one by one.

Myth: Health care reform will weaken Medicare and reduce benefits.

Fact: This is a scare tactic used by special interest groups trying to block progress on health care reform. The plain fact is that none of the health care reform proposals being considered by Congress would cut Medicare benefits or increase out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services. In fact, rather than weaken Medicare, real health care reform will strengthen the financial solvency of the Medicare program. Let me make this absolutely clear: AARP does not support legislation that would weaken Medicare benefits.

Huge whopper 8. Cornyn says the health care reform bill includes a government run public option that will have premiums higher than private insurance. This is where we see just how joined at the hip John Cornyn is with the health care industry.

Fact: CBO Estimates Show Public Plan With Higher Savings Rate.

In total, a public plan based on Medicare rates would save $110 billion over 10 years. That is $20 billion more than earlier estimates, a spokesman for House Speaker Pelosi said.

There is more.

Lie #1: “trouble … for the national debt.” The public option has been deemed a cost-saver by the Congressional Budget Office, $110B for the strongest proposed plan, $25B for the weaker plan (that is in the Senate bill).

Huge whopper 9. Senator Liar, Liar Pants on Fire insists that millions of Americans will lose coverage they already have. As we know by now, this laughable and is pure nonsense. Cornyn as all other delusional Republicans who are 100% pimped out to the health care industry believes if we have a robust public option, folks will be automatically pushed into and it and the poor innocent health insurance companies will lose patients. Please. Cry me a freaking river. Republican lawmakers should be reminded that insurance companies are spending millions upon millions of dollars to fight health care reform. Even Fox Fixed News gets it! Maybe if the health insurance industry put those millions into actual health care instead of denying it and handing out death sentences we wouldn’t have needed major HCR in the first place.

The five largest private insurers and the trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans spent a total of $6.4 million in the first quarter, an increase of more than $1 million from the same quarter last year. The industry is working to counter proposals endorsed by the White House that would offer a government health insurance option for millions of Americans.

Besides as Paul Krugman states below, the magic of the marketplace does not work in health care. A public option is less expensive than no public option.

Serious students of health care have known for a long time that the magic of the marketplace doesn’t work in health care; the United States has the most privatized health-care system in the advanced world, and also the least efficient. The pale reflection of this reality in the current discussion is that reform with a strong public option is cheaper than reform without — which means that as we get closer to really doing something, rhetoric about socialism fades out, and that $100 billion or so in projected savings starts to look awfully attractive.

It has also been clear from international evidence that universality is cheaper than leaving a few people expensively without care. That’s reflected now in the projected savings from a strong employer mandate.

Lie 10. John Cornyn implies that health care reform will introduce a new level of entitlement. There they go again with their big ugly entitlement obsession. God forbid should poor folks and the struggling working and middle classes receive something they deserve as everyday hard working Americans.

Lie #2: “it still creates a whole new government entitlement program”. An entitlement program is a government program that people of a certain criteria have a legally enforceable right to get benefits from, meaning the government has to find the funds one way or another. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are entitlement programs.

The public option simply is not an entitlement program. It would be a choice alongside private plans in a health insurance “exchange” or marketplace. And it would be “self-sustaining,” funded primarily by the premiums of its customers, just like with private insurance.

Government subsidies would help those who couldn’t affordable the premiums. But that is true with any of the plans in the health insurance exchange, public or private.

That big bad guvmint run socialized health care is really about choice and competition. And if our esteemed Republican lawmakers have such a problem with big guvmint run single payer socialized taxpayer funded health care, well, why don’t they give up their own?

It must be nice for folks to have a representative in Congress who will actually stand up for his constituents.

John Cornyn has not only been busted as a serial liar on health care reform, he’s also been outed for his heartless cruelty in blocking health care reform.

John Cornyn say he and his staff will be pouring over the bill.

These initial findings are troubling, to say the least. My staff and I will be pouring over the 2,074 pages, assuming we are given the time to do so. You can access the full text of the Reid bill from my web site:http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/?p=HealthCareReformHQ.

Is that right? It seems to me, Senator, that you have been against this bill before it was even written. If you and your staff really poured over the bill you would have never sent me your misleading, disingenuous and fictional newsletter either. Representatives Weiner and Grayson show respect for their constituents. You, on the other hand, continue to ignore the needs of most of yours, Sir, and you continue to insult our intelligence on a daily basis. Texas has the highest number of uninsured residents and yet you and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison simply do not care. Period. The two of you have the finest health coverage tax payer money can buy so to hell with the people of Texas.

Republican Talking Points:

Lie. Obstruct. Scare.

Lie. Obstruct. Scare.

That and this:

A LA JAPONESA. I a l’aràbiga, i a la nòrdica, i a la de qualsevol cultura que sap valorar la importància de la higiene i que s’esforça en honorar-la; així ho hem començat a fer a ca nostra, on les sabates, ara, queden a la porta. I ja estem notant els primers efectes –la casa ha tornat més íntima, més pròpia, i s’hi està (encara) més a gust.

DELUSIONS NO MORE. M. ja sap que, de Santes i de Reis, no n’hi ha. Ens va fer la pregunta l’altre dia, plantejada negativament, tot esperant confirmació de la denegació. I l’hi vàrem donar, naturalment –quin descans! Aquesta mentida, tan blanca i piadosa i venial com una mentida pot esser, però mentida al cap i a la fi, i mentida de cap a peus, era per mi com una espineta clavada en la bufeta de les coses ben fetes.

UNA ALTRA DE MíNIMS. Ser feliç, és no ser infeliç?

I sometimes just really love my horoscope. I’m a Pisces and I fit the profile rather well overall. So, sometimes, when there’s a lull in my day, I check out the Yahoo horoscope and yesterday it said something about watching my words because there was a ’sitcom-esque series of misunderstandings’ currently going on in my life.

Hilarious because well, there is!

One of my absolute best friends snooped through my email and my text messages looking for… I don’t exactly know what…. It’s funny because she came across a text message that seemed hateful when in reality it was the exact opposite.

Anyway, we talked the misunderstanding out today and I’m still left feeling a tiny bit unsettled. The conversation was rather short, she knew she was in the wrong for maliciously going through my personal/private conversations and coming up empty handed with no evidence to support the theories that were brewing in her head about my level of loyalty to her.

The action itself is easy to forgive. Perhaps it karma because I have gone through all my ex-boyfriends emails/text messages – but I found exactly what I was looking for.. (hehe) whereas, she didn’t. And it led me to think about the trust in our friendship that has spanned seven years now. The underlying motivation behind this invasion of privacy is that she just didn’t trust me, she assumed that I was bad mouthing her and causing rifts in some friendships where she was experiencing a very strong disconnect.

It really broke my heart to think that one of my very best friends in the entire world thought of me as her enemy – as if I don’t have the very best intentions of her in my heart. What’s the point of parading around calling ourselves sisters and then assuming so many negative things behind the scenes? It’s awful really.

But, it got me thinking and broadening the situation even further. Innately, are people always suspicious of other people? Are we always on high alert in an effort to protect ourselves? But is this just forcing us to become distrusting and jaded?

Okay… I have so much to say on this topic, but I really need to go to sleep. It’s close to 4am… So I will continue this another time.. but I wanted to post something to let you know I’m still alive…

And I’m kind of sad that I’m wasting such a great blog post title. I so love it.. hehe.

Good night loves!

Have a magnanimous weekend! (J.Fruit – that was for you!)

Bisous.

listening to the whirring of my mini fan heater… i hate the heater, it gets so dry, my throat hurts, but i also hate the extreme wet cold urrrrgh… too many thoughts clanging around in my head again… the curse of asperger’s? very akin to madness for sure…

i got some chocolate today at godiva… i remember the time i was there with veronica and i bought her a bag of chocs… i really like veronica… wish i’d met her before i ever met him… it wasnt my fault, he’d lied abt veronica to me, i never found out till it was too late… but it was indeed my fault that, when i had finally met veronica, i complied with his demand to fabricate a story and i lied to veronica abt my past with him… but i just cld not carry on with the subterfuge and utter blatant disrespect of lying to the face of someone has lovely as veronica, and so i confessed… my apology was for lying to her, and not for my past with him, because i did not know the truth abt her at the time… and i hv never once regretted telling her the truth ever since…

how can u live with lying lying lying to the face of someone u respect?… i asked this question many times… i asked him… and i also asked little miss talented artist… but both cld not give me any answer… becos they live that way – they think nothing of lying to the face of ppl whom they say they respect… they say it is in the name of protecting that person from hurt, and of social politeness… how twisted…

and him?… veronica said something very profound – he has no emotional honesty… how true… how cld he say “i love u darling pie” to someone’s face and allow that someone to believe wholeheartedly in his words while he just played his own little game of “fantasy”?… hmmmm…

urrrrgh… it’s getting pretty hot… if only this silly heater cld be more regulated… ah well, at the price i paid, i shd not complain… it has served me well thru 2 winters already… how time flies… and i still dont kw for sure whether i wld accomplish what i came here to do after all this that’s happened to me… i feel as if i hv lost all ability to dream… my beloved little swallow said he hopes i will find back that spunky kid he once knew before this nightmare came upon me… i hope so too…

ok time to fiddle with that darned heater… whirring whirring whirring…

Do you lead one?  Do you have one?  It’s a pretty good question these days since there’s a lot of talk about Tribes going around.  And it seems to be an evolving situation but an interesting one since it’s apparent that it’s becoming a very powerful cultural phenomenon.  I would say that it’s probably because of the increased connectivity we all have allows us access to people who have the same views and values.  For more on Tribes, I would recommend Seth Godin’s book, oddly enough titled: Tribes.

I had the priviledge of attending the recent PGC200 (www.pgc200.org) launch event in San Diego CA.  It’s a group that I’m advising that is creating a tribe.  It’s primarily made up of technical professionals (scientists and engineers) who are banding together to support one another professionally during trying economic times.  The featured speaker at this event was Gary Ridge, President and CEO of WD40 who has recently published a book with Ken Blanchard called Helping People Win at Work.

What’s exciting to watch about the development of PGC200 is that it’s a welcoming place for people who are not usually used to doing things like marketing themselves to interact with others who are good at that type of thing.  And it was only fitting that Gary Ridge was the featured speaker because he has actively worked to develop the Tribe culture at WD40.

In the book, Gary and Ken Blanchard describe a tribe as being a place where someone belongs as opposed to a team which is something someone plays on sometimes.

That’s an interesting definition and I think it’s highly effective when looking at a company’s culture during your job search.  Is it a place where you “belong” or someplace you go to play eight hours a day?

Gary and Ken also define leadership as a partnership which I think is a great definition.  In this partnership, are you helping someone to be successful and is someone helping you?  In this way, you can be a leader without a title and those you help become members of your tribe just as you become members of the tribe of those who help you.

LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are good places to find examples of Tribes.  People become followers and friends on these sites based on common interests which can be as simple as a joke of the day.

Like her or not, I think one of the most interesting examples of the Tribe phenomenon is Sarah Palin.  My take on her resigning the governorship of Alaska is that she is leading a tribe of followers, drawing people who are disaffected with their political parties and are looking for a place to belong.  We’ll see if that translates into political office but it’s certainly translated into book sales.

Tribes seem to be popping up all over the place, so maybe it’s time to start yours.  If you’re in a company, help others to be successful and they will become part of your tribe.  If your looking for a job, let your tribe help you. If you don’t have a tribe, start one by going beyond networking to really create a place where people feel they belong in your circle.  As Jay Abraham defines it, it’s the difference between a client and a customer.  A client is someone whose interests you watch out for rather than being in a transactional relationship.

So let me know what you think of this Tribes phenomenon.  I’m interested and hopefully you’re following this blog regularly.  It’s kind of like having a Tribe of my own.

P.S. – PGC200 will be having another event in San Diego in December featuring Ken Blanchard, stay tuned for more information or go to the www.PGC200.org.

Remember, your skills are your job security.

Best,

James Seetoo

ok so here goes…

I’m going to talk about where I come from to give you an understanding of myself.

I grew up in a Hispanic home.  My mother very strong yet submissive and my father full of testosterone and macho-isms.  I grew up second oldest of four girls.  The oldest pretty full of talent, third oldest cute and full of charm, and the youngest beautiful and the baby.

Where did I fit in a family full of stars.  I had no clue as to who I was.  I did as was told.  Yet I still had a bold streak in me.  Whenever I could I would talk  back to the parents and stand tall.  Yet slowly as I got older I started to regress into myself.  I started to have homosexual tendencies (whatever that means).

I would day dream of being with women.  I would dream of dating them, loving them, and being in love with them.  I remember my first few crushes. They were with the student teachers at school.  My first crush was in fourth grade and the second crush was in fifth grade.  Looking back… HOW COULD I NOT BE GAY!

All the signs were there.  Every single one.  But I grew up extremely religious!  I was told from a very young age how wrong that was!  How wrong it should be.  How I will end up in the pits of hell if I declare to be gay.

I remember one time I before falling asleep my sister S (3rd oldest of the bunch the one with charm) and I were talking, as we did a lot before falling asleep,   I had decided to tell her that I knew I was gay.  Once I told her she got up IMMEDIATELY and told my mother.  My mother then came into the room and told me why it was wrong, that that is not what God wanted for us and then prayed over me or it out of me.  Whatever it was I realized from that day forward that I couldn’t be gay.  That it was wrong and anything else that I tell my mother or sister S would come back and bite me in the ass.

So needless to say I stopped being that fully vibrant child because I started to hide a part of me.  I’m not sure if its the best part of me but a good part of myself.  The part of me that was full of life.

Well this has been my beginnings.  I will keep it short.  Next post I will add more.

“i am not a word person”, he likes to say… but for someone claiming not to be a man of words, his words – many many words – hv all left indelible scars behind… “i love u, darling pie” still echoes mockingly in the head, like a dancing jangling skeleton, bits of rotten flesh still hanging onto joints and crevices, flapping with sick morbid insouciance… and today, on the way home, this skeleton fell out of the closet yet once more… not at all delectable huh?

a sobre lesson for all with asperger’s – whatever u do, make all effort to guard ur heart against trusting and believing too literally in what ppl say, cos they seldom ever ever mean what they say… he didn’t… and i learnt this the hard way…

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (teaching), for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:16-17 

I have had the disappointing privilege of meeting numerous people claiming to be Christians/ believers of God/ followers of Christ, who do not take the Bible as complete literal truth.  They say that some parts are not to be taken literally, but then I read Scriptures like the opening passage and grow sad for them.  My first thought is to ask them, well, what do you think about yourself in relation to God?  This is important and detrimental to understanding if one is of Christ or not.  Either you BELIEVE IT ALL OR NOT AT ALL.  This is to preachers as much as the congregations of your churches.

So here’s the question.  Do you believe the Bible literally or not?  Better yet, do you even have a true understanding of God’s Word to be able to make a valid case for why you do not read the Bible in its full context to be taking literally?  Jesus validated the Old Testament Scriptures quoting them numerous times as He taught those who were listening.  Before you decide to take issue with me on this, understand that this is not my original thought or question.  You would have to take your resistant heart up with Christ.  Read below and decide for yourself. 

“If god were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here.  For I didn’t come on My own, but He sent Me.  Why don’t you understand what I say?  Because you cannot listen to My word.  You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry our your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in Him.  When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars.  Yet because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me.  Who among you can convict Me sin?  If I tell the truth, why don’t you believe Me?  The one who is from God listens to God’s words.  This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”  ~ Jesus (John 8:42-47)

First, I guess I should address the fact that I haven’t posted in a while.  It isn’t that I’ve quit on the blog.  This is just one of those cases where life got in the way of plans that were made.  In short, I’ve been busy, but I plan to continue this blog for quite awhile.  That said, I apologize for my lack of posts over the past month or so.

What I want to touch on now is something about which numerous people have already spoken (my “late to the ball” metaphor might serve as a better name for this blog in general), but it’s something on which I want to write regardless.  The issue is the upcoming publicity stunt by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron in which they will hand out copies of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species at the “top 100 U.S. universities.”  You can go here to check out what they’re doing in their own words.  The kicker is that Comfort has written an introduction that will be included in the book.  It is 50 pages long, and it is ridiculous.  A pdf of that introduction is available on the linked site.  Check it out.

For starters, here is a video put out to publicize the event:

Let’s consider the first few things said in the video.  Cameron claims, “One by one, we’re being stripped of our God-given liberties.”  Which liberties are these?  Don’t worry, Kirk is going to clue us in.  He says, “Our kids can no longer pray in public.”  Really?  When did this happen?  Of course, it never happened.  It is wholly untrue that kids can’t pray in public, including public schools.  Kids can pray all they want (though teachers cannot coerce children into praying to that teacher’s god).

He continues, “They can no longer freely open a Bible in school.”  Bzzt!  Wrong again.

“The Ten Commandments are no longer allowed to be displayed in public places.”  Where does he come up with this stuff?  Are churches not “public places”?  There is absolutely no such prohibition.  Now, it is true that you can’t display these in places like government buildings, but that’s to avoid the government’s endorsing one god over another.  Moreover, that in no way prevents anyone from displaying the Ten Commandments on their own property where everyone can see them all the day long.

“The Gideons are not even allowed to give away Bibles in schools.”  This is is correct, but, again, this is to avoid having the government, even tacitly, endorse one religion over another.  Honestly, the people who don’t get that this is in their best interest just are not thinking this through.  I can’t even begin to imagine how loud the uproar would be by conservative Christian parents if some Muslim organization were giving away copies of the Qur’an while a teacher was leading his students in prayer to Allah during school hours.  I imagine it would be just a bit less than the outcry by Baptist parents if a teacher were telling her students that they needed to confess their sins to a priest in order to be forgiven, or the reaction of Catholic parents whose children were told that they could bypass their priest altogether and go straight to the source in their confessions.  The reason this stuff isn’t in schools is to protect freedom of worship, not prohibit it, and suggesting otherwise shows one to be either incredibly naive or a deceiver.

It goes downhill from there, but this should suffice for my purposes.  What we have above are three separate lies and one assertion whose words are true but whose implied concern is false, and this is in the first thirty seconds.  That’s quite a bit of untruth from someone supposedly concerned about the moral failings of our society, and it is all done in the name of God.

It gets worse.  Ray Comfort was offered the opportunity to respond to increasing criticism about this endeavor by US News and World Reports. He posited the question “Why are many atheists so angry?…If I am (as Professor Dawkins says) ‘an ignorant fool’, why are so many feeling threatened by what I’ve written? Surely, the Introduction will be ignorance and foolishness, and simply confirm the students’ presuppositions that intelligent design isn’t worthy of even a first look.”

There are many reasons to be concerned about such a thing, and I’ll name a couple before getting to Comfort’s own response to the question.  It is simply the case that a great number of college students are unfamiliar with the material in question and are thus susceptible to being deceived by those claiming to be authority figures.  Those unversed in history or biology will not have the tools or knowledge to see through Comfort’s absurdities and lies and, as such, may very well be swayed by his inaccuracies.  By writing the introduction of the “150th Anniversary Edition,” Comfort puts himself in the role of an expert, an authority on the subject.  He is well aware of this, else why even bother with this charade?  Comfort has the ability to influence children with his introduction, and that is exactly why he undertook this project.  That is why people are concerned.  And, I mean, duh.

Comfort’s responds to his own question is that those opposed to his book should be concerned.  They should be concerned because there’s a direct line from Darwin to Hitler, and “Nazi Germany was the natural outcome of what Darwin called ‘one general law’.”  I kid you not.  Darwin, who, along with his entire family, fought for the abolition of slavery his entire life, who said that mercy, our empathy for our fellow humans, was our best quality, created Hitler and Nazism.  Forget the centuries of Christian writers who were rabidly anti-Semitic.  Forget the role of the Catholic Church itself.  It was all Darwin.  A more absurd lie could not be told.  (Lest there be any confusion, I am in no way suggesting that Christianity was responsible for Nazism.  The rise of Nazi Germany is an incredibly complicated story of which there is no single or simple cause.)

Comfort continues, “The Introduction also defines an atheist as someone who believes that nothing created everything—which is a scientific impossibility.”  So much is wrong with this that it is tough to know where to begin.  First, there are quite a few Christians who believe that evolutionary theory gets it right.  One of the most influential defenders of evolutionary biology right now is Ken Miller, a devout Christian.  His book, Finding Darwin’s God, is a comprehensive explanation of evolutionary theory that also contains a systematic dismantling of the common criticisms of evolution, including intelligent design.  Next, an atheist is not “someone who believes that nothing created everything.”  An atheist is simply someone who lacks a belief in any gods.  That’s it.  One’s views of cosmogeny simply have nothing to do with that whatsoever, and the fact that Comfort wants to redefine the word to something radically different only highlights his intellectual dishonesty.  Further, and this is the real kicker, it just might not be a scientific impossibility that the universe popped into existence out of nothing.  What we’ve discovered is that lots of things about the world are counter-intuitive to us, and this might just be another one.  But, most important of all, none of this has anything to do with evolution at all! Our understanding of the universe has radically changed since Darwin, and it will likely change again.  Likewise, the details of evolutionary biology have changed since the advent of relativity, quantum mechanics, big bang theory, and a host of other things in physics and cosmology.  The point here is that these things are just not dependent upon one another in any significant way.

Comfort makes a number of other enormous mistakes, but I see no need to detail each of them.  There is a larger issue here that needs to be addressed, and that is that Comfort has been made aware of these “mistakes” over and over again. This is hardly the first time these things have been said, even by Comfort, and he has been repeatedly corrected.  Even so, he keeps trotting out the same tired examples.  But the point to this is that these can no longer be seen as mistakes.  As corrections have occurred, that means he is aware of the falsehoods, yet he keeps spreading them.  That makes him a blatant liar.

In the end, I am unclear on what Comfort and Cameron’s goal is.  They are liars, and they know it.  Even so, they hold themselves up as moral leaders and say their hope is to save our children and ourselves.  What moral authority can one hope to hold when that authority is achieved by deception?  None.  This is a message that should be heeded most of all by other Christians.  Why any group would allow moral reprobates such as these to act as if they are the group’s representatives is beyond me.  However, I don’t know that I would agree with ripping out the introduction, as others have suggested.  Instead, I would take the opportunity to discuss these issues with any students who receive the book.  I would advocate holding lectures on the campuses at which the books are being distributed where the points in Comfort’s introduction are taken apart one by one.  That way not only do kids get the book, of which they should have some copy, they also get vaccinated against Comfort’s lies, and, more importantly, they become aware of this kind of tactic, making them less likely to fall for it in the future.  That would actually be something very good that could come out of this whole debacle.

Email to a friend

An old friend of mine recently saw this posted at her university. The second photo makes it so much better (she may have put that part up herself actually). The best part is that people have taken the numbers!