Archive | Religion RSS feed for this section

The Finalists for “America’s Most Racist” are Mike Lee and the Heritage Foundation

11 May

The Republican party is furiously trying to revamp its tarnished image as racist sycophants who have no use for minorities, who they’ve clearly deemed inferior. The way they’ve chosen to go about this daunting task is to find new and improved policies designed to disguise their racist proclivities. However, this has backfired in ways no one could have imagined, as the fringe element of the party has taken over the asylum.

The winner of the most unbelievably assuming racist, entitled bootlicker has to be Utah Senator Mike Lee. This fine LDS specimen is a tremendous fan of the teachings of Professor Cleon Skousen and advocate of absolutely ZERO gun-control truly feels that provisions must be included in immigration reform to keep treating undocumented workers essentially like slaves. Of course this is perfectly acceptable. When your idol is a zealot, like Skousen, who said the following about slaves: “one of the blessings of slavery” was that slaves’ marriages were fleeting, and suggests that being bought at auction improved slaves’ self worth. The real victims of slavery, were the white owners. The book also referred to black children as “pickaninnies.” The freshman Senator has attempted to modify the Gang of 8‘s attempt at immigration reform by excluding the following professions from requiring any form of documentation:

“cooks, waiters, butlers, housekeepers, governessess, maids, valets, baby sitters, janitors, laundresses, furnacemen, care-takers, handymen, gardeners, footmen, grooms, and chauffeurs of automobiles for family use” from prohibitions against “unlawful employment” for undocumented immigrants.”

It sure sounds like a wealthy person’s list of needed cheap labor. It’s pretty obvious who this entitled Mormon is working for in Congress. Perhaps it could also be something some of his FLDS voters require to maintain their lifestyle while staying under the radar in their polygamous compounds. Who knows? We know he’s a big proponent of anything advocated by the Heritage Foundation and against a pathway to citizenship for undocumented people.

The Heritage Foundation recently came up with their own racially offensive survey on the intelligence quotient of Hispanic immigrants. Jim DeMint, the former Confederate South Carolina Senator, claims legalizing undocumented immigrants will cost $6.3 trillion. He fails to mention this price tag is for a FIFTY YEAR PERIOD. The current leader of the Heritage Foundation has always been the enemy of anyone who happens to be poor, a minority, a homosexual or a woman. For instance, DeMint has said, ‘if someone is openly homosexual, they shouldn’t be teaching in the classroom and he holds the same position on an unmarried woman who’s sleeping with her boyfriend — she shouldn’t be in the classroom.’ He believed the Confederate Flag should fly over the capital statehouse in Charleston and naturally, his state was the last to remove it. You can still see plenty of Confederate flags waving in the air by the residents of the southern state that enjoys 47th in life expectancy and is the 3rd highest in infant mortality.

Former Senator Jim DeMint President of the Heritage Foundation

Former Senator Jim DeMint
President of the Heritage Foundation


So racist Jim retired from the Senate to make more money and have more power to shove his socially and fiscally conservative agenda down the throats of America. He and his ilk believe immigrants are just too damned expensive to the one percent’s ability to rob the coffers of Social Security, which is their ultimate goal. Their Utopian world consists of a Hooverville-esque nightmare for the American plebeian, because the Heritage Foundation is here to preserve America for the privileged white male. Immigrants, especially those Hispanics that maintain his lawn and clean his home, will never, according to his organization, get off welfare and earn an honest living. There are 69.5 million people dependent on the government for subsistence and this is simply too many for his liking.

The problem with Utah Senator Lee is he’s dripping with Mormonism, and truly thinks, like Willard Romney, he is one of “God’s chosen leaders” in these “latter days.” He is absolutely against helping anyone if it should cost him the slightest inconvenience. Hell, he even hates the handicapped. Jim DeMint and his Heritage Foundation, another “Christian” group, has overtly come out against Hispanics in such an offensive way, their only Latino supporters may be GOP hypocritical “Hispanic” Senators, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who are both of Cuban descent. Ironically, the Cubans are the only Hispanic demographic from which the GOP enjoys support.

If these lunatics keep at it, they will lose not only every subsequent election when demographics are largely against their favor, but their existence as a legitimate political party will disappear. The GOP (a.k.a. the Misanthropic Party) has shown, with the election of Mark Sanford, they love a “good Christian” who begs for redemption but actually deserves none. In fact, pretending to be a good Christian while adhering to absolutely none of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount seems to be their modus operandi. Time will be the Republicans’ biggest enemy as America becomes darker, more diverse and thus their obsolescence is nearly assured.

About these ads

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is a Mormon Theocracy Replacing Law Enforcement in Boulder City, Nevada?

28 Apr

20130428-103638.jpg

Mormons believe that they are the “noble and great ones,” the spirits that god would “make his rulers” on earth. Just like with Abraham, the pronouncement that “thou was chosen before thou wast born” also applies to the pre-mortal status and eventual earthly destiny of each Mormon. This is precisely why they call themselves latter-day saints: they consider themselves an elect breed apart and above all others, holier-than-thou in every sense of the word. These are the End of Days, after all, and God’s chosen people must be in control.

This is a story of how this arrogant theology has perverted and corrupted government, more specifically Law Enforcement, in a city dominated by LDS theological doctrine. One brave man, now Former Police Chief Thomas Finn, has spoken out against this unacceptably insidious behavior and he unquestionably will be vindicated when his story is better understood. News 8 Reporter George Knapp bravely brought this matter to the public forum which inadvertently demonstrated another case of defamation by Mormons when they are hell bent on discrediting someone who is not “one of them.” Mr. Knapp intended only to bring Chief Finn’s plight to the public. Let me make this perfectly clear, Knapp’s objective was not to disparage Mormons in general. However, any time one exposes despotism in any form, it can be a risky endeavor.

20130428-103953.jpg

Police Chief Thomas Finn

Police Chief Thomas Finn has an impressive list of educational credentials

A Few Noteworthy Accomplishments:

•F.B.I. National Academy, 185th Session, Quantico, Virginia 1996
•Master’s Degree, Public Administration, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 1993 •Certified Public Manager, Rutgers University New Jersey Department of Personnel 1991 •Bachelor of Science, Criminal Justice (Cum Laude), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 1983

Not only is he extremely knowledgeable on all matters pertaining to law enforcement and criminal justice, he’s a passionate teacher who loves the history and application of law enforcement since our Colonial Days. Mr. Finn had quite a following and was a very beloved Professor at Rutgers University. His lectures were always filled with eager students who found themselves passionate about the subject Mr. Finn taught with such enthusiasm and competence. His history of service from a patrolman in 1980 all the way through his ascension to the Chief of Police in two parts of the country, were always conducted with exemplary service and performance.

Officer Finn was a distinguished chief of police who is another unfortunate casualty of this despotic cult which craves domination of the public domain. I’ve had the privilege of speaking with former Police Chief Thomas Finn about a subject with which I’ve become all too familiar: Mormon Nepotism. Prior to his dismissal on April 15th, this man has never once been fired from any job he’s ever held. Mormon City Attorney, Dave Olsen claimed Mr. Finn was a paranoid, frightened angry man inside. Funny how that sounds terribly familiar. Park Romney said, “… I am personally aware, on the basis of such experience, of the actual differences between what Mormons profess in public and practice in private when they think their agenda is being threatened.” Naturally they will praise the Chief to his face, but look out folks, Sunday LDS services actually discussed their contrived issue of having a non-chosen son of Abraham in charge of the Police Department.

In the past I’ve looked to those with experience to guide me about the workings of the LDS Church. Park Romney, Professor Mark Larsen and Kay Burningham, ESQ. have, with painstaking personal trials and irrefutable logic, elucidated the details of a grotesque fraud of cosmic proportions masquerading under a charitable façade of public spirited nobility. All of my expert reference providers were part of the cult of Mormonism at one time and have since come to the exact same conclusion: it is, without question, an insidious fraud. The aforementioned authors have systematically dismantled all fallacious tenets of the cult and effectively demonstrate how these rules of conduct (or “Doctrines and Covenants”) apply to how LDS adherents run every aspect of their personal and public lives. For example, Among other things, Joseph Smith is reported to have taught, “That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that that man is in the high road to apostasy.” Broken down more simply, anyone not complying with the Mormon Cult is labeled by the LDS faithful as being influenced by Satan.

We all know full well Councilman Cam Walker, City Attorney Dave Olsen, Mayor Tobler and Mongols Motorcycle Gang attorney, Stephen Stubbs (all Mormons) could never have Chief Finn (a Roman Catholic) removed on the basis of “Satan’s influence” as that would never hold up in court. In collusion, they attempted to label a man who lives and breathes ethical law enforcement, who conducts his personal and professional life “by the book,” as mentally unfit for the job.

To get a better handle on who exactly is Chief Finn, i asked him a few questions pertaining to current issues in the news. When I posed the question to Mr. Finn, ‘do you think the excessive police presence while trying to locate the second Tsarnaev brother was overkill,’ he put things in a perspective that I hadn’t considered. Paraphrasing, he said, if the police had flubbed the case one bit and one more casualty occurred due to lack of thoroughness on their part, they’d never be forgiven. He also believes automatic weapons have no place in the hands of civilians, contrary to what many of his colleagues believe. He’s a no-nonsense man who speaks his mind and believes in integrity in all he does. Literally, this cadre of cohorts have taken the LDS tenet of Lying For The Lord and justified the iniquitous firing of one of the most qualified and best Police Chiefs in Clark County. When Mr. Finn filed a claim with the EEOC in Boulder City, citing Mormonism as the paramount reason for his dismissal, he was most assuredly justified.

According to the log filed with the former city manager, Vicki Mayes, Mr. Stubbs, the Mongols lawyer, was on a quest to find an officer to speak out negatively against Chief Finn. He was unable to find anyone because there were no officers who had any problem with the chief. He even asked if “he could find an officer in Reno to testify against Finn,” would that suffice? For some unjustified reason, after being on a brief medical leave, the day Mr. Finn returned to his job, he was fired. Here’s the story in a nutshell in the words of Mr. Finn:

A two-month investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, followed by a review of the investigation report and interviews of the investigators by District Attorney Steve Wolfson cleared me,and D.A. Wolfson stated exactly what I was saying all along. What is particularly troubling is that the city NEVER asked me why I issued the “email deletion” (regarding the gathering of Mongol Gang Members in 2012) order to my officers. They took Stubbs’ rantings as gospel and moved ahead with the investigation into my “felonies.” Stubbs asked for the investigation in November, it was started by the A.G. in January, I was interviewed in February and cleared in April. Then, EIGHT days (April 15th) before I was cleared of all wrongdoing, they FIRED me!!!
I was appointed to a state commission by two NV governors, served on a national highway safety committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police for eleven years, was appointed by a NJ governor to serve as a commissioner on a labor-management relations commission, represented the Nevada Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association for two years, and then Boulder City decided to terminate me after seven years of service without giving me a reason.
In the words of one of my favorite humorists, ..if they’ve got nothing concrete on him that would convince the DA of wrongdoing… they are not only holier-than-thou arrogant, but also…. STUPID as hell. To fire someone, especially a chief of police, with no probable cause is as pig-ignorant as Romney telling his donors about the 47% “scum.”
Unfortunately, Mr. Finn and his wife have other plans, and they no longer include Southern Nevada. It is highly unfortunate for all of us he had to go through these trials unnecessarily. Perhaps with greater understanding of Mormon Nepotism, we can avoid situations such as this Boulder City fiasco in the future. No one should ever be persecuted in this country for their religious beliefs and when a group of a particular religious or ethnic majority control all aspects of government in our diverse nation, it will inevitably lead to a compromising of our democratic values and justice.

Tags: , , , , ,

Dangerous Fundamentalism: The Taliban and the American Tealiban

22 Apr

20130424-193220.jpg

Irony can be defined by the incongruity which occurs when actions of a group mirror the behavior of a people whom they fear and despise most. Following the 9-11 tragedy, our united front was focused mainly on eliminating the terror breeding grounds established by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The Taliban imposed a form of government that was unacceptable and offensive to most Americans. Absence of democratic process, equality, Islamic law and the utter subjugation of women in their culture were the antithesis of what we deemed a free society. Their total domination of media, organized rebellion against a government they considered tyrannical and Islamic ideological purity seemed so unpalatable to the Christian crusaders of the mighty USA and the George W. Bush military machine.

Yet, as the Republican Party slides down the slippery slope towards Old Testament principles, the Conservative movement mirrors the Taliban more than they realize. The Teaparty can often be referred to as the Tealiban

20130422-091843.jpg

The dangerous policies and religious doctrinal mandates are far more similar than either group would willfully acknowledge. In the areas of vaccination and vital medical care, religious denial of science and the subjugation of women and the proclivity towards a culture obsessed with guns, American Fundamentalists and Taliban Extremists are hardly discernible.

20130424-091357.jpg

The Koran and the Old Testament treat women as sinful creatures by nature. The image of Eve as temptress in the Bible has resulted in an extremely negative impact on women throughout the Judaeo-Christian tradition. All women were believed to have inherited from their mother, the Biblical Eve, both her guilt and her guile. The Koran has many quotes such as this Al-Tirmidhi 3272 – “When Allah’s Messenger was asked which woman was best he replied, ‘The one who pleases (her husband) when he looks at her, obeys him when he gives a command, and does not go against his wishes regarding her person or property by doing anything of which he disapproves’.”

In the eyes of the Draconian religious zealots, women are simply vehicles for reproduction, and should only provide enjoyment and servitude for men. The unbelievably chauvinistic and restrictive fundamentalist laws of both the Taliban and the disregard for equal protection for American women by Judicial Magistrates are becoming hard to decipher.

The American Fundamentalists are very much against science and medical progress much like the Islamic government of Afghanistan. Recently, a Pennsylvanian couple who believe in the power of prayer over medical care lost their second child by eschewing medical attention. States like Washington and Oregon are seeing a resurgence in Pertussis due to a fundamentalist-driven hysteria against vaccines. The fallacy of autism being caused by vaccines plus the unwillingness to interfere with god’s plan are beyond dangerous and should never be acceptable in modern America.

Because women are simply unclean and sinful beings, they have far less protection than men in Taliban society. Laws regarding the healthcare and well-being of Afghan women are so restrictive, they suffer much higher mortality rates due to pregnancy and childbirth. In Afghanistan, perhaps the only thing more dangerous than being a woman is being a pregnant woman in need of medical care. A 2002 survey counted 1,600 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The cause of death was most often hemorrhaging or obstructed delivery, both preventable if skilled health care is available.

To make matters worse, foreign aid administrators, who provide vital vaccinations are treated with suspicion and unwarranted violence by the Taliban. Ten foreign medical workers were murdered because they were believed to be spies, while simply trying to administer polio vaccines to the very poor. Americans simply choosing to ignore the proven scientific benefits of vaccines and willfully putting their children and others at risk is certainly a step in the wrong direction as well. If vaccines and science are viewed as suspicious and interfering with “god’s will,” society is well on its way to massive medieval medical malpractice.

The American leaders of megachurches and fundamentalist sects often rally against their perceived threat of a tyrannical government by encouraging more gun ownership within their congregations. “Blessed are the Peacemakers? Absolutely. Make mine a .45 Colt with a 5 1/2 inch barrel.” This comment and many like it have been commonly overheard in sermons all over the Bible Belt where guns and god go hand and hand. The Taliban often sacrifices children by using their religion to justify violence.

I’ll just say it in plain English. Most of all the world’s plight of inequality, violence and atrocities committed against humanity are attributed to RELIGION. The societies who enjoy the highest standards of living and happiness are the LEAST RELIGIOUS. As a country founded upon the principles of separation of church and state, one of the most important steps to averting misery in this country is to stop kowtowing to the demands of fundamentalist insanity and stop the madness of Biblical thought that so greatly resembles those who we are fighting against halfway across the world.

20130425-102544.jpg

Tags: , , , , , ,

Separation of Church and State Is Not Supported by Justice Scalia

28 Mar
Opinions on Marriage Equality Rapidly Evolving

Opinions on Marriage Equality Rapidly Evolving

The American population does not equate homosexuality with sins as egregious as rape or murder, much to the dismay of the hard-line Fundamentalist Christians on the Right. This shift in attitude towards gays is based on recent polls which demonstrate increasing acceptance of the idea of marriage equality, especially among the millennial generation (those born after 1980), where eventually, discrimination against homosexuals marrying will be considered as unpalatable as overt racism is today (provided you are not at a Teaparty Express rally). Unfortunately, one of our very own Supreme Court Justices believes quite the contrary. “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?” Scalia said he is not equating sodomy with murder but drawing a parallel between the bans on both.” Equating the acceptance of gay marriage with tolerance of murder certainly perverts society to a point where logical conversation can no longer take place. It is worth noting that Antonin Scalia exerts massive influence over Justices like Alito and Thomas so it is unfortunate that at least one-third of our highest court in the land rules in favor of Biblical law over the Constitutional principles they were appointed to uphold.

Don’t actual human beings who simply want their marriages recognized in law at least deserve equal dignity with guns? Not as far as Scalia is concerned. Scalia himself, in his majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (establishing a heretofore unrecognized individual right to bear arms) looks to what weapons are “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens” to determine which classes of guns might, or might not be, deserving of Second Amendment protection. So evolving standards of gun ownership over the course of 200 years can be used to interpret the constitutionality of gun control laws. If Scalia were truly an “originalist,” he would have stopped at muskets and bayonets that were in common usage at the time the Bill of Rights was passed. The evolution of firearm technology receives far more consideration than the increasingly more tolerant mores of society and its attitudes towards equality for all.

Scalia was the headliner this year at the St Thomas More dinner in Las Vegas in September, 2012. He’s also appeared at an evening Catholic Red Mass liturgy at the Guardian Angel Cathedral just off the Strip. The church service seeks divine guidance for judges, lawyers and other legal professionals. The SCOTUS justice believes canon law and constitutional law are inextricably linked. His very own son is a Catholic Priest who firmly believes in reparative therapy for gay and lesbian “sinners.”

20130328-094615.jpg

Father Paul Scalia

20130328-094708.jpg

Justice Antonin Scalia

Antonin’s son Paul, a Roman Catholic, has served as chaplain for the Arlington, Virginia chapter of “Courage” an official Catholic apostolate that ministers to people with “same-sex attractions” or what the rest of society refers to as gay, lesbian and bisexual people. The ludicrous assumption that sexual identity is something left to choice and not inherent characteristics people are born with shows just how outdated his thinking is.

Scalia has a sordid history in rulings that entirely discount racial bias as inevitable, as if they are simply a natural byproduct of society. As a strict constructionist, Scalia would have supported the decision of Plessy Vs.Ferguson which allowed for state mandated segregation. Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954 fortunately reversed that awful mark on our society as a non-egalitarian nation. Scalia does, based on his history of religious dogma actually superseding the Constitution, support Biblical law over Democracy. We all know the Bible is laden with misogyny, slavery, prejudice and murder. Having members of our very own Supreme Court who think this way is an embarrassment and represents totally regressive thinking.

The high court will continue to inflict its brand of biblical justice on our nations’ gay and lesbian population if they don’t strike down the ban on same-sex marriage in ALL fifty states. DOMA was passed in 1996, according to Justice Kagan, in a climate with dislike of gay people. As the attitudes of our citizens evolve and shift on this equal rights issue, it is absolutely absurd our highest court in the land should continue to uphold draconian measures based on a work of fiction. By labeling gays as an abomination, Scalia, the strict constructionist who terrorizes Americans with his antediluvian brand of justice, hopes to nullify the equality espoused by our Founding Fathers. Around the world, so many are watching the United States, once a bastion of freedom and hope, with horror as the possibility of sanctioned discrimination may continue if Scalia has his way.

Tags: , , ,

CPAC 2013 and Selective Mandates Show Republican Ignorance

13 Mar 20130313-093315.jpg

A few weeks ago, I ran into an old acquaintance from Connecticut, who was in our fair city for a few days. The first thing he told me was how absolutely bizarre Las Vegas seemed as to display numerous gigantic billboards advertising the opportunity to fire an automatic firearm. For someone from the eastern seaboard, this is rather anomalous.

20130313-093315.jpg

Billboards like this one are very common in Las Vegas, Nevada

In light of the obvious mass shooting tragedy that has rocked the civilized world, especially New England, any reasonable person visiting the City of Sin would find it callous and objectionable to glorify this type of weaponry. I told him this is rather de rigueur here and it doesn’t even phase most residents. Las Vegas has much the same attitude as many Red State (or purple in Nevada’s case) attitudes where guns are considered a right and a necessity for the über paranoid who have been hypnotized to believe President Obama is on a Marxist bender to disarm the nation. The Obama administration and his Leftist Army is trying to make the government so invasive, he wants to demand everyone must eat broccoli or arugula and join the New Black Panthers while paying for lazy welfare queens to go to Planned Parenthood for weekly abortions.

As utterly irrational as this may sound, it is not much of a stretch for a few towns in the South. Nelson, Georgia, population 1,300 is labeled “a liberal’s worst nightmare” because they have mandated every head of household own and maintain a firearm. Republicans hate big government and despise any invasion into their personal freedoms. But let’s look at their record of trying to mandate their way into our private lives. If they are offended by government simply trying to keep Americans safe from all-too-frequent massacres, one would think they’d be outraged at the government controlling religious freedom, reproductive health and interpersonal adult relations, right? A reasonable, logical person would think so, but we are talking about the GOP.

Indiana, one of the most Republican states in the country, has put forth a bill to mandate praying in the classroom. The recitation of The Lord’s Prayer has been proposed by an Indiana State Senator. “…The governing body of a school corporation or the equivalent authority of a charter school may require the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of each school day. The prayer may be recited by a teacher, a student, or the class of students.” Obviously the precious First Amendment would be completely dismantled by this idea, but as long it doesn’t restrict an American’s right to own weapons that can shoot 152 bullets in 5 minutes, it’s “on the table.”

New kid on the block and Republican heckler, Senator Ted Cruz (Tx), had the audacity to suggest restricting the types of guns one can own is equivalent to outlawing certain types of books. The false equivalency of the lethality of guns versus possession of certain books elucidates the perverted machinations of Cruz’s mind, which clearly is lost. In case you missed his pernicious exchange with the Democratic Senator, Diane Feinstein (CA) yesterday, here it is:

None of these small government advocates have a problem mandating teachers be armed in the classroom as well. They discard studies that show an increase in firearms is directly proportionate to an increase in firearm-related homicides. Several states have proposed laws to arm teachers and one has even passed legislation practically demanding teachers be armed, as is the case now in South Dakota.

On the issue of women’s health and reproductive freedom, the GOP has been incredibly diligent at legislating their way into the bodies of women, who comprise roughly half the population, no big deal. The anti-abortion bills put on the floor for a vote in the House alone exponentially outnumbers the jobs proposals by Republicans. But it’s even worse in the state governments run by Republicans where they’ve virtually wiped out affordable and safe abortion for poor women, especially in Arkansas, Mississippi, South Dakota and Michigan. Lest we forget the redefining of a violent act like rape and the transvaginal ultrasound probe requirement many Republicans have supported as mandatory to any abortion procedure, even when the woman is a victim of a sexual assault. This gross interpretation of freedom cost many Republicans their seats in the 2012 election, but it seems these folks have a very short memory, much like a goldfish I presume.

Today, Ohio Senator Rob Portman proclaimed his support and reformed attitude towards marriage equality. He professed how his support for love and acceptance as depicted in the Bible supersedes the traditional definition of marriage also known as DOMA, which was signed into law in 1996 but is slowly becoming highly unpopular and downright offensive to forward thinking Americans.

Do not despair, CPAC 2013 has a unique way of portraying America as hate-filled and intolerant as some of the fine speakers they showcase every year. Florida Tea-party darling Senator Marco Rubio (R) preached his usual science-denying climate change is unproven and a zygote is more important than the mother who carries it garbage. “The people who are actually closed-minded in American politics are the people who love to preach about the certainty of science with regards to our climate but ignore the absolute fact that science has proven that life begins at conception.”

 

Mandates like trying to keep people from drinking too much sugary soda and insurance companies paying for contraception have the right wing in a frenzy. But if you force an Atheist, Hindu or Muslim to recite a Christian prayer, force a woman to have an unwanted child, prevent two loving adults from marrying or allow a mentally unstable individual the right to purchase assault rifles, you are simply following god’s law and doing the work of Republican Jesus. Mandates are only wrong when they don’t make Wayne LaPierre wealthier. Perhaps this is why these guys are outraged over the shut down of White House tours; because deep down inside, in that last microscopic shred of humanity, the GOP realizes they won’t ever see the inside of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue any time soon. Elections will be theirs to lose if they continue on this path, and I’m sure not going to stop them!

20130318-095819.jpg

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Beware the Teaparty Down Under: Abbott is a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

17 Feb
abbott

No, not the villain from the Matrix. This is Australian Head of the Center Right Liberal Party Tony Abbott

We’ve heard this garbage before, but we’re used to hearing it from right wing crazy people here in America. But when a prominent politician and possible PM hopeful in Australia echoes Freedomworks‘ anti-Science stance on global climate change, it is cause for alarm. Tony Abbott pictured here, has gone on the record saying: ‘‘I don’t think we can say that the science is settled here’’ He went on to question whether ‘‘emissions are quite the problem that some people say they are’’, and argued, ‘‘whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.” This is contrary to the findings of roughly 97% of climate scientists who study the effects of man-made pollutants on our global ecosphere. Unfortunately, Australian politics is not laden with stars in the Labor party (which is akin to our Democratic Party in the U.S.) and no one candidate is poised to take the reins of government like Tony Abbott in the September 14 elections later this year.

There are code words the conservatives in the U.S. often use to indicate they are anti-science and pro-big business, with little regard for the environment and health of their people and wildlife. Mr. Abbott takes a page out of the GOP playbook and uses the catchphrase, “the climate change-science is far from settled” here:

Not only is this man, who likely will win in a divided political climate, a danger to those who will be impacted by the rising tides and weather catastrophes in store for all of us if we don’t lower emissions, but Mr. Abbott is a highly religious “family” man, reminiscent of the U.S. pro-life crowd. A poll of 100 voters across Sydney found that Labor and Green voters despise the way Abbott injects religion into his political campaign and policy. On the other hand, Liberal voters respect Abbott as a ‘conviction politician’ who is firm on his beliefs. Liberals, mind you, are like the GOP in America, except a bit more logical. You’d actually be hard pressed to find a party like the Teaparty-laden GOP in a Western Democracy. Abbott has been called “Mad Monk” and “Captain Catholic” by some who believe, as many of us do here in the USA, that religion has no place in politics.

In order to appear as equally sexist, misogynistic and bigoted as his American Teaparty counterparts, Tony Abbott has a rich history of chauvinistic bullying in his C.V. His attempt at mirroring candidates like “legitimate rape” failed Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin are evident in this quote: “When it comes from Julia (Gillard, the unmarried, current PM) , ‘No’ doesn’t mean ‘No’,” his choice of that charged term was completely intentional, and part of a nasty, subterranean agenda. He often refers to the current PM, Ms. Gillard, as unqualified on matters of family as she has no children. He appeals to the farthest right wing elements of his country and to think a man of Abbott’s transparent motives has a such great odds at winning in September is quite disturbing to many Australians.

The last thing a world in turmoil from unchecked corporate hegemony needs is another puppet leader like George W. Bush in a hemisphere that has been wrought with climate change disasters as of late. In a world where the most educated and civilized are moving away from religious dogma dictating social policy, it is anachronistic to have a man like Abbott as head of any state. Generally, Australians are only given one month’s notice of an upcoming election. Hopefully PM Gillard, with this unusual time frame, has given the Labor Party enough notice to try to best a dreadful candidate who will only depress a fairly strong world economy who has averted a recession. The Progressives of America are with you Australia. I hope we can help keep another Mitt Romney from a “Down Under” victory.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Manti Te’O and His Mormon Faith: No Wonder He Was Duped

25 Jan

20130128-113528.jpg

How did a Polynesian, Mormon football player end up at a Catholic University and cause a national commotion like Manti Te’O has managed to create? We’ve heard the story, a player garners sympathy from Heisman Trophy committee members by creating a gut-wrenching tale of tragic proportions in order to win the coveted prize. The scandal has most likely ended his chances at the award, but the question still remains unanswered: why would such a gifted student-athlete fabricate such nonsense and be as gullible as he was? It’s simply attributable to nothing more than his LDS upbringing. It’s highly likely the cause is nothing more than the epistemology of Mormonism which has been proven categorically false.

You seldom associate people of Polynesian descent with a faith that has a sordid history of labeling anyone of color as “cursed.” Many are unaware, in addition to BYU in Provo, Utah, there are other tentacles extending from this consummate headquarters of Mormon treachery. There is also BYU Idaho and BYU Jerusalem. The Polynesian connection is evidenced by the founding of a Hawaiian version of the Brigham Young (a.k.a. Bring’em Young) University, BYU Hawaii.

In order to extend their reach both ethnically and geographically, LDS Missionaries conquered the future American Island region early on and managed to convert enough Lamanites to make a substantial addition to the LDS worldwide tithing base. As an added bonus, the area is rich with mega-talented football players who are often Mormon, so BYU is generally highly competitive with the help of these players of Polynesian origin.

Manti said his decision to go to Notre Dame, instead of BYU (Utah) came from prayer and introspection. I also suppose the decision not to serve his mission was something he prayed to decide? I’m absolutely certain NFL money wasn’t paramount to the prospect of teaching Third-Worlders the tall tales of Joseph Smith.
He is not the first to forego his mission.

There is a big force in Mormon culture for all young men to serve a two year mission. As of late it seems the culture has given exceptions to this rule for athletes. Steve Young, Danny Ainge, Jimmer Ferdette and Manti Te’o did not serve missions. The Mormon culture will label their work and spotlight on the field/court as missionary work because they will bring positive attention to the church. And for Mormons this is the perfect marriage. That essentially confirms the purpose of a Mormon Mission: to sign more people up and amass more wealth for this Fortune 500 Corporation, LDS Inc.

Park Romney, author of “The Apostasy of a High Priest” offered his opinion on the Manti Te’O scandal as it relates to LDS culture and upbringing (known by Mormons as lying for The Lord).

“The underlying culture and philosophy of Mormonism encourages the mentality that results in this type of behavior, even while ostensibly discouraging it. This is accomplished in ways that are understood by students of epistemology”.

As an ardent disbeliever in any organized religion, I consulted a friend who shares my lack of belief to get a different perspective on the entire Manti Te’O affair. As an ex-Mormon humorist, I sought his take on the whole affair as it relates to the linebacker’s chosen belief system. A tenuous grasp on truth is paramount. More specifically, I asked what aspect of Mormonism could enable and encourage such gullibility. He responded:

“I dunno, I mean, the whole enchilada is saturated with “factual” fiction. Gold plates? Angels? Seer stones? Peter, James, and John ordination? The three “undead” Nephites? Semite Indians? Book of Abraham? Fence sitters in heaven? Polygamy? Magic underwear? Consecrated oil? Hell, they might as well believe in leprechauns, Ouija boards, gremlins, rabbits’ feet, fairies, pixies, brownies, divining rods, and the boogeyman. Come to think of it, they DO believe in the boogeyman: Lucifer. Soooo sad.”

It’s as simple as this. If you can fall for the teachings and machinations of the Mormon Church, you may believe anything you see and hear on the Internet. After all, you’ve been desensitized to believing half-truths and outright lies without question. Faith is often man’s biggest liability, not a desirable asset. Hearing the term, he/she is a person of faith has the opposite effect on me as it might on so many in this country. In my humble opinion, it is a trait one shouldn’t brag about or advertise. If you can believe unsubstantiated fiction is fact, you probably can believe anything. Unfortunately, football and most other aspects of our supposedly secular society are inundated with the credo that praying to a “Heavenly Father” is the right thing to do. It will be quite some time until we evolve as a society where this nonsense is no longer heard, but I’m not holding my breath.

For more insight, check out Park Romney’s website for a wealth of information on current events, epistemology of many faiths and great resource listings. If you’re interested in electric vehicles and sustainable energy, or would enjoy great tweets, follow Mark Larsen here.

Tags: , ,

Tax-Free Terrorism: The NRA and LDS Church

3 Jan
20130111-094526.jpg

Orrin Hatch (R-UT): NRA cohort in the Senate

There is a false perception in America that there are more gun owners than there actually are. The number of households owning guns has declined from almost 50% in 1973 to just over 32% in 2010. This misconception that most Americans are proud gun owners just isn’t true. It has helped bolster a political narrative, emboldened the National Rifle Association and left politicians worried about losing elections if they try to do any of the following with regards to guns: increase regulation, increase taxes, restrict sales, legislate in favor of safety and sensibility or ban any particular type of deadly firearm or accessory. The NRA, whose affiliated organizations include the Institute for Legislative Action, the NRA’s lobbying arm, and the NRA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, which provides “a means to raise millions of dollars to fund gun safety and educational projects of benefit to the general public.” Like this group, religious institutes, namely the LDS Cult, enjoy untold savings from their tax-exempt status. So why not partner up and make it doubly tax-free?

I’ve tried to steer clear of dissecting the Mormon political, social and economic culture since the defeat of Willard Romney, but I can’t seem to shake the connection between matters that are egregiously wrong with our society and that cult. Researching the history of the NRA’s rise to power pointed me in an unexpected direction. The perpetrator of this lobbying travesty is none other than Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Ut). Today, the NRA had the audacity to say Congress is “jumping on every tragedy to ban guns.” Not this Senator, he’s been a champion of “gun rights” rather than championing the rights of innocent people to live life without the threat of dying by the hand of a gun-crazed lunatic.

Tracing the ascension of the NRA’s obscenely powerful lobby leads us right to Hatch. This opportunistic Mormon was responsible for authoring the 1982 Senate subcommittee report, “The Right to Keep and Bear Arms.” His partner in crime, NRA leader Wayne LaPierre, asked him what were his objectives in writing this report. He responded:

“There were really two goals, I suppose. First, we wanted a definitive account of the history of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. For decades – maybe even longer – people had tried to pretend that the Second Amendment was somehow ambiguous, (they did?) that the intent of the Framers, when it comes to this one amendment, was simply unknowable. Of course, it should be noted that most of the people making this argument tended to believe that the meaning of the entire Constitution changes over time. But, with the Second Amendment, they’d been more than willing to simply read it out of the Constitution entirely. Our second goal with the report was to change the dialogue on gun rights. Instead of arguing how far the government could go to keep people from buying guns, we wanted to get people thinking about doing more to facilitate lawful, reasonable gun ownership. I think we were successful on that count as well, though it took a number of years for the debate to be where it is now…..Even into the 1990s, it was fashionable for Democrats to demonize guns and gun owners on all sides. Guns became a scapegoat – and, by extension, those of us who supported the rights of gun owners were also scapegoats.

Leading the charge for the poor, persecuted gun owners is the same man who, earlier in his life, served as a missionary for the LDS Church in the Great Lakes region, and later as a bishop, presiding over a congregation of 600 people.

By simply wanting to stop the sale of weapons American Generals say are inappropriate for civilian use, those who grotesquely pervert the Second Amendment act as if taking their lethal toys means we are decimating a sacred document, which actually says no such thing. Utah, with it’s largely LDS population, seems to have a fondness for arsenal procurement. I’ve previously noted Utah seems to be the epicenter of gun vigilantism, as there is incredible profit in the gun business and Utah has the 2nd most guns per capita in the nation. Obviously, 2nd Amendment misinterpreters share a commonality: they feel their possession of entertaining weaponry (which makes them feel more masculine) supersedes innocent life preservation.

Utah is leading the charge to arm its citizens. A town proposed mandatory gun ownership for every household in a Utah city. They’ve also topped the list of crazy ideas gone mainstream by trying to arm every single teacher. This is how they respond to Sandy Hook! The National Rifle Association countered with “arm the teachers.” Gun clubs claim hundreds of teachers are applying for free weapons training. Two hundred people showed up for a class in West Valley City, Utah, outside Salt Lake City, on December 27, 2012, for example. Not all of the people who took the course were teachers. But some were, including Carolyn Cain, who teaches special education kids in kindergarten to the 6th grade in Utah County, Utah. Utah County is home to the headquarters, ironically, of the Crossroads Gun Show. How fortuitous for their bottom line!

The LDS Church and the NRA are both profit driven groups, which I’ve certainly ascertained during the presidential campaign. Both are predominantly Republican. Both seem to care little for the poor and defenseless of society. Both facilitate murder and pay not one cent to promulgate their violent agenda.

20130111-094919.jpg

Wayne LaPierre CEO of the NRA

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Your Doomsday Preparations Are Killing Us

19 Dec

She uttered the words, “Lord The Day Is At Hand! We Are In The Last Days! You Are Jehovah God!” You might think this is a fringe cult leader uttering these extreme words of admonishment. Nope, it’s just Teaparty darling Michele Bachmann (R), a now four term Representative from Minnesota’s sixth district, revealing her religious fanaticism as if we all share these beliefs. These words spoken by powerful leaders can have disastrous effects on people by playing to their fear of the unknown. What better way to combine god and guns than preparing people for some prophesied apocalypse.

The idea that we are in the end times or “latter days” seems to be popular among not just fringe groups, but mainstream religions. It is true that, for many decades, the LDS cult followers have been admonished to accumulate, and then use on a rotating basis (to keep it fresh), a minimum one-year supply but ideally a TWO-YEAR supply of food. The whole idea was that some catastrophe was imminent (a nuclear holocaust?), and that each and every LDS household would need that storage to survive. The prevalent attitude was that when the apocalypse came, the non- and jack-mormon neighbors would try to raid the homes of the obedient, righteous LDS to get their 2-year supplies, and thus it was also necessary to have firearms to protect themselves and their families, a.k.a. the chosen good guys against the evil mobs. It was coming! Be prepared! One of the largest unregulated Internet gun sites is Mormon-owned, further contributing to our firearm-obsessed society. We can’t forget the most famous Mormon doomsday preacher, Glenn Beck and his fearmongering, which does little to comfort anyone with paranoid psychoses.

Tragedy-stricken Newtown, CT is a heavily Republican stronghold. The mother of the shooter was a Conservative, “NRA guns & god enthusiast”. Nancy Lanza, murdered by her son Adam was a so called “doomsday prepper/survivalist” worried about the imminent economic implosion that will inevitably accompany President Obama’s second term. Certainly, she did not deserve her fate, but was it wise to instill this paranoia in an already unstable person? How did a so-called responsible gun owner allow her mentally handicapped son to get a hold of her guns and ammo? Perhaps we will never know. But we do know this mindset can have tragic consequences.

This week, a Utah sixth grader came to school with a gun in his backpack citing the recent shooting as the reason for carrying a lethal firearm around defenseless children. Utah happens to be the second most heavily armed state in America, as it is over 70% LDS, which ardently supports the NRA. The potential disaster was averted when authorities intervened and put the boy in custody. Why do so many children and mentally unstable individuals have access to so many guns? Because we are the most heavily armed nation on earth with 90 guns per 100 people. Guns are far more readily available here than they are in other countries, even a volatile nation like Yemen has fewer firearms per capita.

20121219-032517.jpg
The number of hate groups continues to rise since 2000, even more so now that President Obama has been re-elected. I am not just referencing extremist groups like the online white nationalist forum Stormfront. I’m talking about the prevalence of joint NRA-ALEC legislation that allows for semi-automatics to legally terrorize our streets. The NRA is closely aligned with the most extreme elements in the Republican Party and has brought a number of the GOP’s most influential operatives into positions of power within the organization. The GOP and NRA are now locked in a symbiotic relationship where Republican legislators advance the NRA’s extreme agenda while the NRA musters its hardcore supporters to serve as attack dogs for a wide range of conservative causes. In recent years, they’ve sought to spread laws that would prevent cities from banning machine guns—”…guns whose rapid repeating rounds have nothing to do with hunting deer or other game and everything to do with maximizing the death toll when fired at human beings,” according to PRWatch.org.

God and guns seem to go together which brings to mind when then Candidate Obama mentioned how some people cling to their religion and their guns. This caused an outrage not seen until Mitt Romney uttered his 47% remark at a private fundraiser. People are very defensive about both matters, as if they are one in the same. Mike Huckabee attributed this recent tragedy not to our insane violent gun culture, but the absence of “god” from our classrooms. Fortunately, there are sane people teaching our children that know much better than the Fox News crowd.

It’s not just in America that firearms and the clergy have symbiotically coexisted. One of the world’s wealthiest institutions, the Catholic Church, is also laden with a history of turning a blind eye to the real cause of violence. Perhaps not as egregious as the Crusades or the Inquisition, recent church history is also pretty shameful. The refusal of Pope Pius XII to excommunicate Hitler and Mussolini during World War II forever marred his pontificate with a historically unpopular position of neutrality. When the Nazis invaded Poland, Pius XII refused to condemn the invasion; reason was because one of the biggest advantages the Vatican enjoyed was the lucrative agreement he had with Hitler. In 1998, the Pope apologized for the church’s tacit cooperation with the Nazis, but the relationship with fascists is still evident today.

The modern opulence and security the Vatican enjoys is in part courtesy of the generosity of Benito Mussolini. Thanks to the signing of the Lateran Treaty between his government and the Vatican the Catholic Church enjoyed a number of safeguards and protection. Interestingly enough, the Vatican itself is the largest shareholder in Beretta Arms Company today, even though publicly it supports a UN ban on private gun ownership.

In this country, people like Mike Huckabee and the faith-based coalition will never assign culpability to the NRA. The GOP is entwined with fringe hate groups (see the Teaparty) and will continue to preach violence from the pulpit and/or Fox News, which is, at times, indistinguishable. Preaching about the second coming of Christ, the End of Days scenarios or a complete economic apocalypse can only make a culture steeped in violence more unstable and paranoid. Doomsday is a notion promulgated by superstition, folklore and religion. Imposing these fears on a society at large is both immoral and dangerous.

Tags: , , , , ,

Is Religion Leading America to the Dark Ages (or have we never left)?

12 Dec

“Religion is the opiate of the masses,” Karl Marx said, and how right he was. Studies have shown as income inequality increases, so does the frequency of prayer. The more religious a society, the more accepting of fictional justifications commonly espoused by a particular faith that allow a population to accept unacceptable socioeconomic disparities. The United States, contrary to its status as the pioneers of science, is disproportionately preoccupied with an imaginary friend than its European or Australian colleagues. We are also living with income disparity levels not seen in America since 1774! There is significant evidence this has been detrimental to our development as a nation, our pursuit of happiness as well as perpetuating the culture of constant war and foreign occupation that has irreversibly scarred the USA. We are far too religious for our own good.

20121212-091502.jpg

As prayer becomes more prevalent so does income inequality

I intend to elucidate my hypothesis using three separate spheres of influence of religion on society:
1. Physical and logical brain functions

2. Emotional development and happiness

3. The culture of war fostered by religion and the military.

Physical Impact of Prayer on the Brain
Medical science has shown the hippocampus is the part of the brain involved in memory forming, organizing, and storing. The more one learns about the world, the less mysterious it becomes and one is less likely to accept oversimplified “god did it” type answers. My ability to differentiate between a creationist tale of my world versus the scientific facts of its real age (the biblical 10,000 years over the actual age of 4.6 billion years) may have stifled my scientific potential. I refer to a study of hippocampus atrophy in adults over fifty-eight with a focus on Life Changing Religious Experiences as a variable. With increased religiosity one observes a decrease in the function of the hippocampus. It seems watching the 700 Club can be hazardous to your health.

I am guilty of perpetuating this mythology on my own children, as it is inescapable in our society. My youngest goes to preschool where they learn about Christmas and Santa, which doesn’t bother me one bit. Sadly, I have resorted to using the ‘Santa Claus is watching you’ threat on my toddler to keep him in line, and this is probably not much different than telling a child god or big brother is watching you. It’s as if you are selecting which myths your child should believe and for how long, which is no different than cherry-picking which parts of the bible you feel are veracious. The victims of childhood indoctrination have a hard time knowing which parts of the Bible they should accept as literally true and which are merely allegorical and not to be taken literally. For example, if one rejects the account in Genesis of a six-day creation, and the account of the lives of the descendants of Adam and Eve to Noah and beyond, upon which the claimed young age of earth is based, why does one not also reject the account of original sin, the fall of Man and of the need for forgiveness and redemption upon which the entire Christian faith depends and upon which the entire rationale for Jesus’s sacrifice is supposedly based? What in these stories distinguishes one from the other with sufficient reason to reject one and accept the other? It’s nice to believe in fantasy and to encourage imagination, but living life with the lack of true rationality may just make us less happy. The available rankings of the world’s happiest nations actually strengthens this correlation between a more rational society and a more satisfied populace.

Happiness and Emotional Well-being

If you take a look at the top ten happiest countries you’d notice a disproportionate percentage of the top ten happiest are Scandinavian countries. Also noteworthy is the very same countries which appear on that list are also the least religious. Is there an absolute correlation? No, of course not. But we can learn from the greatest example of historical suffering and stagnation since the Roman Empire, which was known as the Dark Ages. This was an era where superstition reigned supreme and it clearly demonstrated the negative impacts religion can have on a society dominated by its stern enforcement and absolute power over men. The modern day examples of societies becoming more humane, compassionate and progressive are extremely obvious, where the most secular nations enjoy the highest standards of living. I posed the question, ‘do less religious societies have a higher level of morality?’ to author Phil Zuckerman, researcher and professor. He replied:

“Yes, I would argue that most of the least religious nations on earth today are the most moral in terms of having the best health care, elder care, child care, maternity/paternity leave, most humane prisons, no death penalty, lowest murder rates, lowest levels of corruption, lowest levels of police brutality, best care for the physically disabled, most sane environmental policies, women’s rights, gay rights, good educational systems, etc. However, I can’t say with 100% surety that is is because they are strongly secular. Correlation is not causation. But I can say this: many countries have become more humane and moral in the wake of religion weakening. Perfect examples include Japan and Scandinavia.”

When you have a nation who believes that the only way to salvation is for the country to revert back to the teachings of the Old Testament and this must be added to the Constitution, we are indeed in trouble. Too much fear and hate is perpetuated by many of these groups claiming to represent Christ and promoting this kind of nonsense is only detrimental to a society’s progress. Our government’s dominance by the Moral Majority and the Faith Based Initiative have kept our civil rights at levels far less evolved than many other western democracies.

The Culture of Perpetual War Fostered by Religious Fundamentalism

The United States military, the most expensive and largest on earth has an unusually anti-secular attitude. Mikey Weinstein, a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says “mandated religion has no place within the technologically most lethal creation of the US government.” A survey commissioned by the Air Force Academy in 2010 showed some improvements in the climate of religious tolerance on campus, but also found that many cadets still felt pressured to take part in religious activities. Nearly half of the non-Christian cadets surveyed, for example, said their fellow students have a “low tolerance” for atheists, a 20 percent jump from a similar 2008 survey. This came on the heels of reports that Air Force missileers were receiving Bible-centered ethics training, with the aim of helping them shake off lingering doubts about firing nuclear weapons. The training – which had been in place for almost two decades and was known jokingly among the airmen as “Jesus loves nukes” – was halted in 2011. God and country is a big part of the military culture, as anytime there’s a ceremony of any type, there’s always prayer.

The most fundamentalist chaplains are often selected to lead prayer with military groups. A motivational pastor from the Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Raymond Giunta, 47 led a prayer breakfast at the Pentagon in early December. Turns out this is the same Pastor Giunta who was found to have taken more than $10,200 in cemetery trust funds intended for graveyard upkeep while he worked as the director of the California Cemetery Board in the mid-1990’s. Fundamentalist “Pentacostal” religion seems to dominate the military, and it went up all the way to General Petraeus.

General David Petraeus, recently disgraced, is a very “spiritual” military leader. He heavily pushed the concept of Spiritual Fitness Tests, Spiritual Fitness Concerts and Spiritual Fitness Centers and spared no expense attracting Christian Fundamentalist performers. Funny how that whole holier than thou thing worked out for him, isn’t it? I find it rather interesting how the military has perverted the message of Christ to mean we should take over any part of the world we desire, especially those parts that believe in a different god than Jesus. Without the fallacy of this religiosity, the military would probably not be able to sell its barbaric message to so many in the Military Industrial Complex, namely the United States Congress who funds it so very generously.

It’s a personal decision to believe what one chooses to believe. However when that belief is forced upon a society in one way or another, it seems it can only create a culture that mirrors the devolution of Medieval Europe, replete with all the inequality, brutality and intolerance that comes with the mandated belief in the unproven. Constitutionally, we’re a society which allows for religion, not a religion that allows for society. In 1988, America was #1 in “where to be born” list. Now it is joint 16th. It would be nice if religion could be considered a factor in our diminished status.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 109 other followers

%d bloggers like this: