FOR VIDEO
by KGW and Associated Press
Posted on February 26, 2010 at 12:54 PM
******
CANYON CITY, Ore. -- Grant County residents packed a community hall in Canyon City to voice fears that a white supremacist from Idaho may go ahead with his plan to move to nearby John Day.
About 200 people were turned away from the Canyon City community center on Friday because fire laws limited attendance to 300. Another 300 people watched the meeting as it was streamed live on the Internet.
A second community meeting was planned for Friday evening.
A white supremacist from Idaho said last week that he wants to buy property in John Day to create a national headquarters for the Aryan Nations.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Big Brother Taken To Court
L. Merion webcam issue is new legal territory
By Larry King, Dan Hardy, and John Shiffman
Inquirer Staff Writers
Even today, relatively few students can imagine their schools giving them a computer to take home.
Fewer still can envision their schools using those devices to spy on them.
Yet that was the charge leveled in an explosive federal lawsuit filed last week against the Lower Merion School District in its use of remote-control cameras on those laptop computers.
Now federal prosecutors have subpoenaed the district, The Inquirer has learned. The grand-jury subpoena, delivered Friday, sought records related to the cameras and the system that district officials used to activate them, said a person who had been briefed about the matter. He spoke on the condition of anonymity.
School district spokesman Douglas Young, while declining to say if a subpoena was received, said yesterday that the district would cooperate with any investigation.
U.S. Attorney Michael Levy, who previously headed the office's computer crimes unit, declined to comment. But one federal official offered a rough outline of what investigators might be looking for.
"Among the allegations we would look at are whether any wiretap or computer intrusion laws were broken," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We're just getting started. And at the end of the day, we may not find any federal violations." More Here
By Larry King, Dan Hardy, and John Shiffman
Inquirer Staff Writers
Even today, relatively few students can imagine their schools giving them a computer to take home.
Fewer still can envision their schools using those devices to spy on them.
Yet that was the charge leveled in an explosive federal lawsuit filed last week against the Lower Merion School District in its use of remote-control cameras on those laptop computers.
Now federal prosecutors have subpoenaed the district, The Inquirer has learned. The grand-jury subpoena, delivered Friday, sought records related to the cameras and the system that district officials used to activate them, said a person who had been briefed about the matter. He spoke on the condition of anonymity.
School district spokesman Douglas Young, while declining to say if a subpoena was received, said yesterday that the district would cooperate with any investigation.
U.S. Attorney Michael Levy, who previously headed the office's computer crimes unit, declined to comment. But one federal official offered a rough outline of what investigators might be looking for.
"Among the allegations we would look at are whether any wiretap or computer intrusion laws were broken," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We're just getting started. And at the end of the day, we may not find any federal violations." More Here
Saturday, February 20, 2010
HERO OR VILLIAN - IT DEPENDS ON YOUR POLITICS...
"Extremist groups are already aligning behind [Joe Stack], beginning to talk about him as a hero," said Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which studies American militia and hate groups. "The growth of those groups has been astounding."
Stack allegedly had posted a suicide note online the morning of his death, and the angry diatribe against the IRS and government received around 20 million hits before it was taken down at the request of the FBI, ABC News reported Friday.
The founder of the anti-government We the People Foundation, Bob Schulz, claims an anti-violence stance although he says he understands Stack's motives.
"There's a huge patriot movement," Schulz said. "I've been doing this kind of work for 30 years. Never have I seen the likes of what's going on now. It's delightful."
Potok sees the anti-immigration, anti-government hysteria rising from its dormancy in the mid-2000s fired by the election of President Barack Obama, ABC said.
"Obama's election, which is in a way related to the non-white immigration issue, was representative proof that this country is irreversibly changing demographically. Then the economy has played a role and things have gotten worse and worse." CONTINUED HERE...
Friday, February 19, 2010
Black Farmers to Get $1.25B
US government promises $1.25B to black farmers
Julie Rose
Friday February 19, 2010 MULTIMEDIA
The Obama Administration announced yesterday it has reached a settlement to compensate thousands of black farmers who were discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The announcement comes less than a week after black farmers held rallies across the south demanding the government pay up. John Boyd of the National Black Farmers Association organized the rallies and says the latest settlement is long-overdue.
"If you could see the faces that I saw over the past few weeks where about 8,000 black farmers came out to rallies we had in the South," says Boyd. "I had a black farmer look at me and say 'Dr. Boyd, do you have gas money that you can lend me to get home?' That's real, you know?"
It's been more than 10 years since the Department of Agriculture admitted to denying loans to black farmers. About 16,000 of those farmers received settlement checks averaging $50,000. But many more farmers applied too late and didn't get a dime. Now, the Department of Agriculture has announced a plan to pay them $1.25 billion. Continued here...
Julie Rose
Friday February 19, 2010 MULTIMEDIA
The Obama Administration announced yesterday it has reached a settlement to compensate thousands of black farmers who were discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The announcement comes less than a week after black farmers held rallies across the south demanding the government pay up. John Boyd of the National Black Farmers Association organized the rallies and says the latest settlement is long-overdue.
"If you could see the faces that I saw over the past few weeks where about 8,000 black farmers came out to rallies we had in the South," says Boyd. "I had a black farmer look at me and say 'Dr. Boyd, do you have gas money that you can lend me to get home?' That's real, you know?"
It's been more than 10 years since the Department of Agriculture admitted to denying loans to black farmers. About 16,000 of those farmers received settlement checks averaging $50,000. But many more farmers applied too late and didn't get a dime. Now, the Department of Agriculture has announced a plan to pay them $1.25 billion. Continued here...
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Primer For Tea Baggers - Reposted
I love it when I run across an article that speaks volumes, is timely, and begs to be reposted. This is one of those times. You can read it all HERE. Personally, I think I'll make copies and hand them out throughout the course of my day.
Posted by BitcoDavid at 9:58 pm
A Primer for Tea Baggers
Critical thought depends on the concept of shared common language, and on an agreed upon set of terms and definitions. If two people are engaged in the building of a table, say, and one asks for a hammer, the success of the project depends on the other handing him a hammer. In the deeply polarized climate of modern American politics, the use of certain terms has reached a frenzied pitch. These terms are thrown about with abandon, but they do have actual meanings – predefined and agreed upon definitions. In other words, when we ask certain individuals, now, for a hammer, we get a wrench.
Let’s clear some stuff up.
Socialism refers to the common ownership, operation and distribution of industrial production and resources. It is characterized by equal access to goods and services for all individuals, with a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended. It derives from the late 18th century, and is an outgrowth of the Enlightenment. Socialists were a driving force in the French Revolution. It is an economic structure, and although it tends to eschew religious belief, it does not seek to abolish religion amongst the masses.
Communism is a social structure. All classes are abolished and all property ownership is assumed by the Totalitarian State. Karl Marx, a sociologist – philosopher, and the founder of the ideology, believed that Communism would eventually replace Capitalism as the logical, scientific conclusion to society. This would be accomplished through a global, proletarian revolution. Further, he felt that this would only be possible after a three-step process. First, Capitalists would have to build the world’s infrastructure and methods of production. Then Socialists would take over, driving the industrial machine to a state of overproduction, providing a glut of goods and services. Finally, the Totalitarian State would emerge to eliminate classes and divide all goods and services amongst the masses. Marx lived from 1818 – 1883. Socialism predated him by the better part of a century. Communists are vehemently anti-religion and believe that it interferes with the requisite fealty towards the Totalitarian State.
Fascism is an Authoritarian political and military ideology that combines radical nationalism with a Capitalist oligarchic economic system. The word itself was first used in Italy as early as 1920. The Italian fascio means, “bundle.” The symbol in Italy for fascism was a bundle of wheat. The idea being, that a single straw is easy to break, but an entire bundle, at once, is near to impossible. This is a defensive and militaristic posture, not a social or economic structure. Fascism is a dangerous, nationalistic and ethnically intolerant political system. It tends to be extremely religious, but always in such a way as to maintain primacy of the Authoritarian State.
I saved this one for last, because this is my primary reason for writing tonight’s piece.
The word Nazism comes from the Anglicization of an acronym for the German Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. This was the deeply Authoritarian, Nationalist, Militarist Police-State, ideology developed by Adolf Hitler. Most political scientists and sociologists consider Nazism, to be a form of hysterical fascism. It derives from the farthest Right wing end of the political spectrum.
Suffering greatly at the loss and perceived betrayal of Germany after WWI, Hitler posited his 25-point ideology to the German public in 1920. These 25 points included a national policy of Pan-German-ism, vehement anti-Semitism, anti-immigration-ism, racism, social Darwinism, eugenics, anti-Communism, Authoritarianism and ruthless opposition to economic, and political Liberalism.
By 1932, his party held the majority of seats in the Reichstag, and by ‘33, He was Fuhrer of all Germany.
Nazi belief in religion was varied, some being devout Christians, others Nordic and Germanic pagans, and still others absolutely secularist. Similar to Fascism, Hitler saw religion as a sub-set of Nazi thought, where the people’s primary loyalty should be to the state, but where religion could serve to help bind that loyalty.
It is important to state here – to remember here, that Nazis marched across Europe in the 1940s, like the Black Plague did in the 14th century. As they did, they tortured, raped, enslaved and killed some 14 million Human beings. In pursuit of their “Lebensraum,” they crushed the bones of children, forced elderly women to stand, naked, in the snow for hours on end, and then hosed them down with ice water, to see if they would die. The Nazis performed horrific surgeries on innocent people, without even so much as anesthesia. They burned people with blowtorches, shocked them with electrodes, baked them alive, and gassed them – and all this, before arriving at their master concept, their “Final Solution,” Operation Reinhardt. During the year and a half, that program was in effect – the Nazis were murdering upwards of 20 thousand people per day, seven days a week. “Sonderbehandlung,” it was called – special treatment.
According to Glen Beck, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin – according to these people, I’m one. According to these people, I’m a Nazi. My political affiliation is not one of the ones I chose to define in tonight’s piece. My political affiliation is Progressive Liberal. We’ve been around since about the turn of the century, too. We believe in equal rights for all people. We believe in a fair and safe workplace, where hard work is justly compensated. We believe in the humane treatment of animals, in ethnic diversity and in fair and open immigration policies. In good stewardship of our mother-planet, and we believe in an end to war and famine, not just in the U.S.A., but also throughout the world.
It hurts me when I hear myself, or my President, referred to as a Nazi, because I know whom the Nazis were. It hurts me when I see skin-headed teenagers wearing SA uniforms and carrying swastikas, because I know whom the Nazis were. It hurts me when I hear revisionist Historians and religious zealots claim the Holocaust never happened, because I know whom the Nazis were.
I challenge Beck, Palin and the entire “tea-bagger” crowd to show me, based upon the above definitions, where Obama, actually, is any of those things. What policies of the current administration are you referring to when you call him a Socialist, a Communist or – above all, a Nazi? Moreover, for the love of God, what did I ever do to you, for you to call me one?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
RESCHEDULED COLD SHOT TONIGHT
Monday, February 15, 2010
I don't really know when it happened - you probably don't either - but, somewhere along the way the far right spawned an awful lot of air-headed bimbos. The one pictured here is Orly Taitz, best known for her activities in the "Birther Movement." And, no - that insanity hasn't been laid to rest yet. Taitz is a dentist, among a bevy of other things, and frequents Tea Party events gathering support for her quest to force President Obama to prove his citizenship by producing his birth certificate. Never mind that the certificate has already been produced - she's just not satisfied.
You know, some people just aren't satisfied with their 15 minutes of fame, and some just have to be pried off that horse long after it has been beaten to death. Orly Taitz won't quit until she is thrown in jail for contempt. Between Taitz, Malkin, Bachmann, Coulter, and Palin they could probably start a pretty lucrative comedy business selling bullshit. They could call it "Dizzy Broads, Inc."
Taitz Uses Appeal Of $20K Fine To Further Birther Crusade
Justin Elliott
February 15, 2010, 11:45AM
Attorney Orly Taitz has found a way to turn the $20,000 fine levied against her for frivolous legal filings into an opportunity to prove that President Obama was not born in the U.S.
Taitz tells birther-friendly WorldNetDaily she has filed a request with a federal judge in Washington to force Obama to give up his birth documents because she needs them in the appeal of her fine, which was imposed in October as part of a case in Georgia.
Taitz also says she is defending herself against possible disciplinary action by the California bar, of which she is a member.
WND quotes from the filing Taitz says she has submitted:
"Plaintiff is seeking a preliminary injunction ... to obtain the vital records of the defendant prior to the February 26 deadline for document and response submission of the response by the plaintiff to the [California] bar," she wrote. "Plaintiff is seeking a preliminary injunction within 20 days, as prescribed by LCvR 65.1 (d) to be scheduled by the court prior to March 1."
She said the U.S. Supreme Court has concluded, in a previous case, a sitting president "has no immunity from civil law litigation against him from acts done before office and not related to the office."
The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia told TPMmuckraker in December that he is waiting for Taitz's appeal to be resolved before he attempts to collect the $20,000 fine. Her appeal is still pending before the U.S Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Politics brings ot some really strange individuals and the last year has dealt us some pretty incredible characters. None, perhaps, any more weird than this Joe the Plumber guy. He has been cavorting around various right-wing circles trying to capitalize on his 15 minutes of fame for over a year now and while he has a handful of people who clamor for his autograph, he really hasn't gained much momentum. But, every now and then, the media needs a filler so they run to Joe.Joe the ‘Plumber’: ‘I don’t owe John McCain shit, he really screwed up my life’
By Stephen C. Webster
Sunday, February 14th, 2010 -- 7:51 pm
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For one-time political icon Joe Wurzelbacher, reminders of his old campaign buddy Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) aren't exactly pleasant.
Some grapes turn more sour than others, it seems.
More commonly known as "Joe the Plumber" -- even though he held no such certification when McCain endowed him with the title -- Wurzelbacher has thrown a fair amount of hatred toward the Arizona politician and the Republican party as a whole since the 2008 presidential campaign ended. But it's his recent comments to Pennsylvania public radio that really take the cake. READ MORE HERE
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Glenn Beck Is Cerifiable
http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=1559
Beck: Lenin had a phrase for people like these. They were called “useful idiots.” I think a lot of our twenty-somethings are becoming useful idiots. One of those useful idiots seems to be Meghan McCain. She is John McCain’s like totally awesome like daughter.You see, Beck thinks that Progressives and Obama are attempting to turn children against their parents for the purpose of undermining the foundation of our society. Well, isn't it just like Glenn Beck to dream up this kind of rubbish. He must really be hurting for ratings. But then those who mindlessly follow this cretin are lapping it up.
Who was it that said, "Conservatives aren't all stupid people, but most stupind people are conservatives?" I would like to shake his hand.
Neo-Nazis Lose Their Parental Rights
Finally, a decision has been reached in a story that I brought to you some time back. Obviously, Canada doesn't mess around when it comes to their children.
The Manitoba government has won permanent guardianship of two children whose parents were accused of teaching them neo-Nazi beliefs.
A Court of Queen's Bench judge has ordered that the boy and girl remain in the custody of Child and Family Services (CFS), which has placed them in foster care with a relative.
The court also dismissed a constitutional challenge from the father, who argued the government violated his right to raise the children according to his beliefs. He is the stepfather of the girl, now nine, and the biological father of the boy, now four years old.
'This is communism, state-sanctioned theft of children to punish their parents based solely on an alleged belief system.' —Mother of seized children
To protect the identities of the children, no one involved in the case can be named.
The children were removed from their home in 2008 after the girl showed up at her elementary school with racist writings and symbols on her skin.
The government agency argued the children were emotionally harmed and were also being raised in squalor and suffering from neglect. Read more:
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
COLD SHOT SPECIAL
Last week, Daryle broke the story placing ACORN foe James O'Keefe squarely in the midst of the white nationalist crowd. Major news outlets picked up the story and the rest is history. This was on the heels of O'Keefe's arrest for tampering with the phones of Senator Mary Landrieu.
Of course, Mr. Jenkins will fill us in on all the juicy details as well as discussing the upcoming American Reniassance Conference. American Reniassance (Jared Taylor's group) has been labeled a terrorist group by Virginia State Police. You can read about it here.
Take part in the discussion on Blogtalk radio:
8:00 EASTERN TIME
CALL NUMBER: (347) 857-3972
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Bill White Wins Another Round
Judge drops 1 of 4 charges against neo-Nazi
By Laurence Hammack
The Roanoke Times
A federal judge today dismissed one of four charges that neo-Nazi leader William A. White was convicted of in December.
"The court finds that there is no substantial evidence which would permit any rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty," U.S. District Judge James Turk wrote in an opinion.
The jury verdict dismissed by Turk alleged that White had threatened Richard Warman, a human rights attorney from Canada who often brings civil actions against white supremacists.
White, the self-proclaimed commander of the Roanoke-based American National Socialist Workers Party, wrote on his Web site that Warman should be killed.
But unlike the other threats for which White was convicted, most of White’s comments were not communicated directly to Warman, Turk wrote in his 32-page opinion.
The decision upholds the remaining three convictions against White — intimidating a group of apartment complex tenants in Virginia Beach and threatening a university administrator in Delaware and a bank employee in Missouri.
A jury convicted White of the charges following an eight-day trial in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
White is scheduled to be sentenced April 14. Although he faces up to 30 years in prison on the remaining charges, sentencing guidelines are likely to recommended a lighter sentence.
By Laurence Hammack
The Roanoke Times
A federal judge today dismissed one of four charges that neo-Nazi leader William A. White was convicted of in December.
"The court finds that there is no substantial evidence which would permit any rational trier of fact to find the defendant guilty," U.S. District Judge James Turk wrote in an opinion.
The jury verdict dismissed by Turk alleged that White had threatened Richard Warman, a human rights attorney from Canada who often brings civil actions against white supremacists.
White, the self-proclaimed commander of the Roanoke-based American National Socialist Workers Party, wrote on his Web site that Warman should be killed.
But unlike the other threats for which White was convicted, most of White’s comments were not communicated directly to Warman, Turk wrote in his 32-page opinion.
The decision upholds the remaining three convictions against White — intimidating a group of apartment complex tenants in Virginia Beach and threatening a university administrator in Delaware and a bank employee in Missouri.
A jury convicted White of the charges following an eight-day trial in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
White is scheduled to be sentenced April 14. Although he faces up to 30 years in prison on the remaining charges, sentencing guidelines are likely to recommended a lighter sentence.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
A WORD TO THE WISE
ANNOUNCEMENT
As of last night, this blog has been set to only accept comments from people who call themselves something or other. No more "anonymous" posters will be entertained. You can still maintain your anonymity but you have to be a named anonymous.
Now, I know that this will not solve the problems that we have been having here with people trying to imitate others and people who are only interested in game playing. However, this is my first step before I revert to registered users only or moderated comments.
I have given you guys a lot of leeway and cut a lot of slack - much more than would have been tolerated anywhere else. But, just like the spoiled children that some of you are, you have taken advantage of that - and, quite frankly, you have gotten on my last nerve.
Throughout all of this, I have tolerated death threats and threats of violence to me and mine. I have watched you malign and defame others and make uncalled for threats and accusations, all while I have been attempting to present information worthy of intelligent, articulate, and sane discourse.
This really goes against what I believe in. I would much prefer to leave things the way they were, but, in good conscience, I can't allow this to continue. And that really sucks for those of you who have offered coherent and cohesive discussions without having to sign in. To those people, I apologize. If you have a better suggestion as to how to solve the problem please send me an email.
Now...on a side note:
I can assure all of you that the real Hooch who posts here is NOT Michael Blevins.
As to Michael Bevins, aka VonBluvens...He has indicated time and again that he has left "the movement." That does not necessarily mean that he has given up his racist beliefs or thoughts. It does, however, mean that he is no longer a part of any racist organization. Personally, I believe that when someone wants to change their life, better their situation, and concentrate on family and self, we should let them do that.
For some twisted reason there are those who simply don't want that to happen for Michael. Shame on you. You seem to have some warped idea that you can malign him and cajole him into making an appearance - well, get the hell over it and move the hell on. This is not the place for you to engage in your vile and venomous attacks.
The same goes for others who want to put up fake blogs and webpages and use Nikki's Nest to promote them. And, I am speaking to both left and right on the spectrum. If, after all of these years on the internet, we haven't learned how to bring our fights and disagreements to each other in a manner worthy of being heard then we have no business trying to advance any agenda or any movement.
If you look back through the pages of this blog you will see that a lot of very good discussion has gone on here between people who generally did nothing more but scream at each other. However, lately it has deteriorated into a cesspool of vitriol and ignorance where those of us who truly have something to say have to wade through the vomit of a bunch of mentally defective imbecilles who simply want to jack-off all day.
To those who want to persist in this behavior - you're just going to have to find another litterbox. To those who are willing to discuss in a civil and topical manner - you are welcome.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
JESUS IS NOT FOR WUSSES
From my friend, David Austin. He really sums it all up pretty nicely and ties a big bow around it. This is priceless. Thanks, David.
YOU CAN READ THIS ON DAVID'S BLOG, ALONG WITH SOME OF HIS OTHER WRITINGS.
Jesus is not for wusses.
Posted on February 2, 2010 by QuakerDave
This comes from a couple of very interesting “conversations” I had with a couple of virtual friends on a certain social networking site where I spend way too much of my time lately, on the subject of religion and faith. If that sort of subject matter turns you off, feel free to click on elsewhere. I’m not going to debate the existence of God or the evils of organized religion in general with you, so let’s not go there, okay?
And some of my Friendly friends might take issue with perhaps what they will read as the “hard” tone this post may take, but understand that I say all this in the spirit of love. Honest.
Still here? Cool.
The conversation started when someone posted a link to an old blog post concerned the propensity of certain members of the Christian Far-Right – mostly the folks I refer to as Multi-National Evangelicals - who seem to spend an inordinate amount of time tending to the care and breeding of their persecution complexes. We get a dose of it every holiday season with the annual “war on Christmas” prattle. Then whenever those darn gay folks start kicking up a fuss about something, like they are now over the President’s promise to do “something” about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (here’s a clue, sir: it’s called an “Executive Order”), our Far-Right brothers and sisters drag out all that “traditional family values” stuff, and how the “family” (presumably NOT the ones headed by gay and lesbian heads-of-households?) is “under attack.” Shoot, even the Pope was moaning about this last week, about how the whole wide world sems to just hate all us defenseless widdle Christians.
Right.
Are we serious?
Here’s what I see, in terms of real-life evidence to the contrary:
The overwhelming majority of the American population claims to believe in God, and the overwhelming majority of those folks self-identify as Christians of some sort. There are Christian churches on almost every street corner in almost every community in this country, and some of them are, like, really big. They all have tax-exempt status to carry on free of government interference (unless they’re a peace church, which is another whole blog post or two). Conservative Christians can run their own schools, and they don’t even have to teach, like, real science in them. Evangelicals have their own cable channels, radio stations and networks, magazines, music recording companies, movie production studios, web sites, and newspapers.
The overwhelming majority of the people who run our national politics go out of their way to self-identify as Christian. We have never had a non-Christian as president, and frankly, I don’t believe we’ll have a non-Christian president in my lifetime. Our presidents, regardless of party or political ideology, routinely fall all over themselves catering to Far-Right evangelical types, even though those folks do not represent a majority of folks of faith in this country.
So how exactly are these folks being “persecuted”? In fact, to be honest, I hear a lot more them doing the persecuting themselves. So why all the rather unattractive whining?
Besides the fact that it’s good for fund-raising, I mean.
You know, Jesus, as my late father the United Methodist lay preacher used to say, was a man’s man. HIS dad was a carpenter, a tradesman, a man who worked with his hands for a living. Jesus worked in that shop as a child. As an adult, he hung out with fishermen and other guys who worked outside. Guys, I’m betting, with tans and scruffy beards and callouses. You know, real guys. I never was one for picturing Jesus as all pasty and fey, as the classical artists and Hollywood have done. Jesus laughed. He hung out. He went to parties and drank wine. As my virtual friends reminded me, he also went a little nutso that day at the temple when he kicked over all those tables, and he got angry with his disciples when they kvetched too much.
He endured all sorts of REAL persecution and he never backed down.
I can only recall reading about him complaining once, and frankly, by then, it was understandable (he was nailed to a cross at the time, as I recall).
He wouldn’t recognize these people as his followers, I don’t think.
Because Jesus wasn’t a weenie.
What kind of a weak religion do these folks have, to moan and complain like this? What kind of faith is that?
In her book Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, Anne Lamott (a woman, as another friend once told me, who knows) said this about faith:
I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something Father Tom had told me — that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.
I like that. Faith is messy, yeah. Because like a lot of other messy things we humans get involved in (marriage, governing, etc.), faith takes work. It isn’t easy. If it was simple and easy to come by, everyone would have it. Because faith isn’t about taking the easy route that some people seem to think constitutes faith, which is really just blind acceptance or blind obedience. That’s not faith: that’s fascism. Faith is a long, tough, twisty, steep hike, buddy, and if you’re going to go on that journey, you better wear your sturdy hiking shoes. Sometimes the road is flat and effortless, and sometimes it’s full of big rocks and broken glass and other people’s cigarette butts. And sometimes the way appears to be washed out completely. You can go on, or you can quit. Your choice.
But to just stand there and whine?
Man up, brothers and sisters.
But whatever you do, quit complaining. Please. It’s wimpy.
YOU CAN READ THIS ON DAVID'S BLOG, ALONG WITH SOME OF HIS OTHER WRITINGS.
Jesus is not for wusses.
Posted on February 2, 2010 by QuakerDave
This comes from a couple of very interesting “conversations” I had with a couple of virtual friends on a certain social networking site where I spend way too much of my time lately, on the subject of religion and faith. If that sort of subject matter turns you off, feel free to click on elsewhere. I’m not going to debate the existence of God or the evils of organized religion in general with you, so let’s not go there, okay?
And some of my Friendly friends might take issue with perhaps what they will read as the “hard” tone this post may take, but understand that I say all this in the spirit of love. Honest.
Still here? Cool.
The conversation started when someone posted a link to an old blog post concerned the propensity of certain members of the Christian Far-Right – mostly the folks I refer to as Multi-National Evangelicals - who seem to spend an inordinate amount of time tending to the care and breeding of their persecution complexes. We get a dose of it every holiday season with the annual “war on Christmas” prattle. Then whenever those darn gay folks start kicking up a fuss about something, like they are now over the President’s promise to do “something” about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (here’s a clue, sir: it’s called an “Executive Order”), our Far-Right brothers and sisters drag out all that “traditional family values” stuff, and how the “family” (presumably NOT the ones headed by gay and lesbian heads-of-households?) is “under attack.” Shoot, even the Pope was moaning about this last week, about how the whole wide world sems to just hate all us defenseless widdle Christians.
Right.
Are we serious?
Here’s what I see, in terms of real-life evidence to the contrary:
The overwhelming majority of the American population claims to believe in God, and the overwhelming majority of those folks self-identify as Christians of some sort. There are Christian churches on almost every street corner in almost every community in this country, and some of them are, like, really big. They all have tax-exempt status to carry on free of government interference (unless they’re a peace church, which is another whole blog post or two). Conservative Christians can run their own schools, and they don’t even have to teach, like, real science in them. Evangelicals have their own cable channels, radio stations and networks, magazines, music recording companies, movie production studios, web sites, and newspapers.
The overwhelming majority of the people who run our national politics go out of their way to self-identify as Christian. We have never had a non-Christian as president, and frankly, I don’t believe we’ll have a non-Christian president in my lifetime. Our presidents, regardless of party or political ideology, routinely fall all over themselves catering to Far-Right evangelical types, even though those folks do not represent a majority of folks of faith in this country.
So how exactly are these folks being “persecuted”? In fact, to be honest, I hear a lot more them doing the persecuting themselves. So why all the rather unattractive whining?
Besides the fact that it’s good for fund-raising, I mean.
You know, Jesus, as my late father the United Methodist lay preacher used to say, was a man’s man. HIS dad was a carpenter, a tradesman, a man who worked with his hands for a living. Jesus worked in that shop as a child. As an adult, he hung out with fishermen and other guys who worked outside. Guys, I’m betting, with tans and scruffy beards and callouses. You know, real guys. I never was one for picturing Jesus as all pasty and fey, as the classical artists and Hollywood have done. Jesus laughed. He hung out. He went to parties and drank wine. As my virtual friends reminded me, he also went a little nutso that day at the temple when he kicked over all those tables, and he got angry with his disciples when they kvetched too much.
He endured all sorts of REAL persecution and he never backed down.
I can only recall reading about him complaining once, and frankly, by then, it was understandable (he was nailed to a cross at the time, as I recall).
He wouldn’t recognize these people as his followers, I don’t think.
Because Jesus wasn’t a weenie.
What kind of a weak religion do these folks have, to moan and complain like this? What kind of faith is that?
In her book Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, Anne Lamott (a woman, as another friend once told me, who knows) said this about faith:
I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something Father Tom had told me — that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.
I like that. Faith is messy, yeah. Because like a lot of other messy things we humans get involved in (marriage, governing, etc.), faith takes work. It isn’t easy. If it was simple and easy to come by, everyone would have it. Because faith isn’t about taking the easy route that some people seem to think constitutes faith, which is really just blind acceptance or blind obedience. That’s not faith: that’s fascism. Faith is a long, tough, twisty, steep hike, buddy, and if you’re going to go on that journey, you better wear your sturdy hiking shoes. Sometimes the road is flat and effortless, and sometimes it’s full of big rocks and broken glass and other people’s cigarette butts. And sometimes the way appears to be washed out completely. You can go on, or you can quit. Your choice.
But to just stand there and whine?
Man up, brothers and sisters.
But whatever you do, quit complaining. Please. It’s wimpy.
RELIGIOUS RIGHT SAYS LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Folks on the religious right have taken the new hate crimes law to task. They believe it is unconstitutional and that it elevates people engaged in sexually deviant behavior (homosexuals) to a special class. I wonder...is their concern more about the Constitutionality or about their prejudices?
FULL STORY HERE
FULL STORY HERE
Religious Right Sues Over Hate Crimes Law
Submitted by Kyle on February 2, 2010 - 10:29am
I am actually surprised that it took the Religious Right this long to file suit:
A conservative civil liberties group is challenging the constitutionality of the recently enacted federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 ... The Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center says it elevates people engaged in deviant sexual behaviors to a special, protected class of persons under federal law.
The lawsuit naming U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of three pastors and the president of the American Family Association of Michigan.
All of the plaintiffs “take a strong public stand against the homosexual agenda, which seeks to normalize disordered sexual behavior that is contrary to Biblical teaching,” the Law Center said in a news release.
“There is no legitimate law enforcement need for this federal law,’ said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center.
“This is part of the list of political payoffs to homosexual advocacy groups for support of Barack Obama in the last presidential election,” Thompson continued. “The sole purpose of this law is to criminalize the Bible and use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically-based religious belief that homosexual conduct is a sin. It elevates those persons who engage in deviant sexual behaviors, including pedophiles, to a special protected class of persons as a matter of federal law and policy.”
The four plaintiffs are Michiagn Pastors Levon Yuille, Rene Ouellette, James Combs, and Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan.
Robert Muise, who is handling the case, said the new law promotes two Orwellian concepts: “It creates a special class of persons who are ‘more equal than others’ based on nothing more than deviant, sexual behavior. And it creates ‘thought crimes’ by criminalizing certain ideas, beliefs, and opinions, and the involvement of such ideas, beliefs, and opinions in a crime will make it deserving of federal prosecution."
Monday, February 01, 2010
A FULL TWO YEARS BEORE...
Is anyone surprised by this?
A secret plan to foster an internal coup against Saddam Hussein was drawn up by the Government two years before the invasion of Iraq, The Independent can reveal.
Whitehall officials drafted the "contract with the Iraqi people" as a way of signalling to dissenters in Iraq that an overthrow of Saddam would be supported by Britain. It promised aid, oil contracts, debt cancellations and trade deals once the dictator had been removed. Tony Blair's team saw it as a way of creating regime change in Iraq even before the 9/11 attack on New York.
Full Story and Documents Here
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