You Can Take Government Out of Religion, but…
To finish the title of this article is to remember an old cigarette commercial that anyone who’s old enough to remember cigarette commercials can remember. That brand of cigarette was Salem Cigarettes and the commercial sang a song that went like this:
You can take Salem out of the country but, you can’t take the country out of Salem.
So in this case I refer to religion and government instead of Salem cigarettes and the country. In other words:
You can take Government out of religion but you can’t take religion out of government. It would have been just too long of a title but I hope you get my point. Or I should say – this is what Republicans seems to want us to believe nowadays.
Recently there has been a very heated battle going on between social conservatives and liberals and in that battle, conservatives are insisting that government get out of religion as far as allowing religious institutions to be able to decide to provide certain types of health care if someone’s religion has an ethical problem with it. Read more…
Is Evangelicalism a Cult?
I realize the title of this article may seem a little bit on the baiting side and it’s meant to be. Mostly because it’s time to put the shoe on the other foot and see how that fits. And, just because Evangelicalism is so popular in America, doesn’t make it right on that aspect alone. If you go to other countries in other parts of the world, other religions are more popular, such as in the Middle East. Islam is most popular in some countries and even Hinduism in others or Buddhism in even other more Eastern countries. Evangelicalism is popular here but it isn’t in most other countries.
If we use some of the same criteria to judge Evangelicalism as we do maybe Mormonism or maybe another religion that Evangelicals consider cults, we might also consider Evangelicalism a cult too. For example, the idea that if you’re not Evangelical then you’re not a Christian; this in itself is a good sign of a possible cult when you exclude everyone who doesn’t belong to the group you belong to as being not of God or not Christian.
I was raised in a Pentecostal background and belonged to what was considered a Full Gospel church when I was a child. I was even a boy preacher when I was 11 until I was 15 years old. Now most denominations would not accept such a thing as a boy preacher. I wasn’t the only boy preacher though. There were even a couple of famous boy preachers in their day such as Little David and Marjoe Gortner and I was never that famous. Read more…
Why Gay People Want to Get Married
There are probably several reasons why gay people want to get married – love, stability, normalcy and maybe a little envy. I do know that when you’re gay and grow up watching heterosexual people fall in love and get married, it makes you want to have that same thing in your life.
The desire to have stability in one’s life is probably the most practical reason why gay and lesbians wish to walk down the aisle but it probably isn’t a good reason by itself. Love helps. When two people love each other, they should have the option to spend their lives with each other and not in just a living arrangement; that kind of relationship comes with no real commitment besides each other’s promises.
But marriage is more than just a living arrangement, which up to the last few years, living arrangements were the only way that most gay people could have a committed relationship. The question might be, what does a piece of paper and some vows have to do with making a relationship work over just a living arrangement? Read more…
Part 1: The Application
Hey Folks. Glad to be back here at Fid’s place. It’s been awhile since I have had a chance to post here due to some minor personal issues; namely how to survive now that I can no longer work.
“God willin’ and the Libertarians don’t get elected”; it looks like I am mere months away from actualy seeing a check.
I have a hearing on the 22nd of this month and the Lawyers and Doctors are Optimistic.
Optimistic. Nice word. Won’t feed the family though.
It is interesting that for Thirty-five years I worked. Hard.
I showed up everyday; even when I was sick; unless I was unable to leave home due to my symptoms.
I did whatever was asked of me in the various jobs I held and didn’t complain when the work was hard or the hours long or the pay; less than I deserved.
Now; I’m not saying that I was an ambitious go-getter out to take on the world.
Not me. But I was a good , solid, employee who could be trusted with responsibility and was so trusted.
I never told the Government that they would have to wait two or three years for me to send them the Social Security Tax I owed.
And I owned my own business for ten years and payed the one and a half times self-employment rate.
I never questioned their veracity when they promised that they were using the money wisely and that I would be able to count on Social Security if I were ever disabled.
I never asked them to apply for my money or provide proof that they actually would do what they said
No; I worked for thirty-five years; payed my taxes; and then when I became disabled; after my Quintouple By-pass Surgery; due to an unhealed (Non-fused) Sternum and several other issues; easily proven by a series of X-rays, MRIs, Blood Tests, Nerve Conduction Studies, Breathing Tests, and REPEATED manipulation of painful joints, muscles and nerves by several Physicians, Psychologists, and Medical Technicians; and my obvious Agony in response;; I applied as required for those disability benefits that they promised I would recieve if I became disabled and……………………………………………………………
Let Those Gas Prices Soar!
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I must admit, I’m being quite selfish when I say “Let those gas prices soar!” and that’s because I live within a few blocks of my job. I’m also a homebody – meaning I don’t go out much and I don’t spend much in gas. Even when gas prices are the highest, it only adds a few dollars a month to the cost of my gas.
The point I’m making here is that the higher and the longer prices soar, the demand for alternative fuels goes up and that’s very good for the country. For me, the most important reason why we need to move at even a faster pace to switch to alternative fuel is the fact that oil is hurting our environment but there are other very good reasons also; one being that countries like Iran hold such a grip on America.
Don’t believe it when someone tells you that we just need to drill for more oil here so that we don’t depend so much on foreign oil. Sure, it helps but it’s never going to be enough – our demand for oil continues to grow and there’s just not enough oil that we can pull enough oil out of our own ground to cover that demand. Read more…
Homeless Child to Pro-Lifers: Where are you now?
I’m sure you meant well by trying to protect my life before I was born but what am I to do now? My mother didn’t want me and I’m hungry because I have no food. You said that you cared about me when I was in my mother’s womb but why am I so lonely and so hungry now? My mother says the government cut off our food stamps because those who claimed to love me demanded that they be cut, so that those who are wealthy could have another tax cut. What does that mean? I’m just a child and I don’t understand; if you wanted me to be born so badly, then why can’t I eat?
My mother and I had to move into a mission because she no longer could afford rent. There are other kids here too and they’re just like me; no place to live and no food to eat.
I hear that there are millions of people like you who fought to see that I was born but where are you now that I have no place to go?
When I grow up and can’t afford to go to college and end up with a meager job that barely feeds me and my family; where will you be then? Will you be there to help pay for my college if my mother can’t? Will you feed my children if I lose my job and can’t afford to feed them anymore? Where will you be then?
What kind of life will I have if I have no opportunity to better myself? Why do you say you care that I’m born but you’re nowhere to be found, now that I’m here? You don’t support me in the government anymore, now that I’m born. You fought to be sure my mother didn’t abort me but then you left me to fend for myself.
There are millions of kids like me and some who have it worse. Some kids are born to parents who abuse them because they never wanted them in the first place. But you made sure they were born by pushing laws that protected them, but then you left them to fend for themselves in a world that didn’t want them either.
I may end up in prison and then you’ll see that I’m locked away for a very long time, or maybe I’ll die an early age from street violence or just hunger or malnutrition from having no food.
But, I just wanted to know; where are you now?
Related articles
- Hungry and poor in the Big Apple (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
- The Homeless Need Better Than Canned Food Castoffs (blisstree.com)
Barack Obama’s Dance with the Devil
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I’m sure those that read this are first wondering; who is the Devil that I refer to? In a biblical sense, the Devil is the destroyer and seeks the destruction of his enemies. I’m not quite referring to the Devil, or Satan himself but I do refer to those who would cause harm to Barack Obama’s chances to be reelected by standing in the way of anything he does. So at the risk of being a bit overboard, we all know who we’re talking about.
Obama has played it quite well I think, he’s managed to put those who would destroy him in a very small, conservative box. They claimed that he has hurt the economy and he’s been apologetic concerning our foreign policy. It took him longer than he thought it would and that played into their hands, but only long enough for Obama to make them eat their words. Read more…
Democrats Want a Rick Santorum Nomination
It’s obvious that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is gaining momentum in the Republican nomination race for president. Let’s be clear; Democrats are quite confident that our candidate – incumbent President Barack Obama can beat any of the current candidates in November, but our confidence goes up with a Rick Santorum nomination. Why? Because we well know that Mr. Santorum is far right of the majority of Americans.
I have to admit, I may have miscalculated in earlier posts that Rick Santorum had a chance at the nomination, but that’s because I actually gave Republicans more credit for intelligence when it came to choosing their candidate. I figured that they’d understood clearly that even if they like Rick Santorum and support his stand on most of the issues, he still wouldn’t do well with independents which they need to win over to take over the White House. It’s getting to look I was wrong.
I suppose I underestimate the aching need for ultra-conservatives, whom Santorum’s policies represent, to have their candidate to stand for what they believe in, even if it means losing the general election to Obama in November. Read more…
How Do We End Election Year Politics?
When one says election year politics, it doesn’t particularly mean that it’s because it is the year of an election, at least not anymore. The truth is elected officeholders begin election year type of politics as soon as an election is over with. The reason being, they need to raise campaign money for the next election as it’s what makes it possible for them to compete once the next election comes, though it is in two years or four years.
The biggest problem we have with our election process is the need for politicians to raise oodles of money to run for office. They also need to become whatever those with the most money want them to be. For Republicans; they need to show how conservative they are, if they’re Democrats; they need to show how progressive or liberal they are.
Most of the time for both Republicans and Democrats, they will need to vote and support legislation that benefits the wealthy because they have powerful lobbyist who have the most money to throw at them. If we ever want a country that listens to its people, then we need to rid the nation of the influence that these lobbyist have over our government. Read more…
