How Despicable.

I find people like this extremely abhorrent. I don’t mind this woman’s anti-abortion stance, that’s her right and freedom. What I take issue with is her arrogant self-righteous attitude and spirit that makes me question her Christian bona fides in much the same way she wants to question mine. She starts right out:

To all those who name the name of Christ who plan to willfully disobey Him by voting for Obama, take warning. Not only is our nation in grave danger, according to the Word of God, so are you.

I didn’t get that memo. In fact, God told me to vote FOR Obama. Also, I don’t take too kindly to fear tactics like she’s employing and whenever anyone does it sets off the alarms. Frankly, I’m willing to bet (and I’m not a betting man) that I know the Word of God better than she does, so I’m not worried about the nebulous danger that she’s trying to make me fear.

In one week, America will make a choice. And to those who call themselves "Christian" who are planning on voting for Barack Obama, put down the Obama talking points and read God's voter guide before you go to the polls:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19)

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I not only planned on voting for Obama, I ALREADY HAVE!!! Putting Christian in quote marks tells me that she doesn’t think I’m a real Christian since I don’t believe like she does. I assume she means the Bible when she says “God’s voter guide,” because she quotes me a verse from the First Covenant saying it like GOD is speaking to me right now. Is she prophesying? I don’t think so. She’s merely swinging the verse that someone taught her was good and kind of apropo like some kind of cudgel.

Then she rattles off a bunch more verses which I could just as easily apply to her when she comes out with this doozy:

Obama-Biden are pro-death.

What can you do but call that out for what it is: just a flat-out goddamned lie. Let me say that again, that’s just a FLAT-OUT GOD-DAMNED LIE! As in, the statement bears no resemblance to reality. The woman is being hysterical at best, but since she likes to throw the Big Ten around how about:

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Ex 20:16

Then she goes into an anti-gay screed. What gay people do affects me not in the least, but could someone tell me why they’re usually nicer, more creative, and have better taste than nearly every religious person I ever met – and I met a lot.

Then she goes into redistribution of wealth like it was a bad thing. I can only gather for all her bible-spouting that she has never read the book of Acts, as in Acts 2:44-45 and 4:34-35, not to mention Matthew 19:21. What most people don’t understand is that we’ve had an enormous redistribution of wealth over the last thirty years, only it has been from the poor and middle class to the already rich, and it’s impoverishing us. I think it’s a good thing to turn that flow around, back to what it was like in the fifties and sixties when the country was at its peak.

She wraps up by basically condemning again anyone who doesn’t think like she does, rattling off a few more condemnatory verses, again wielding the cudgel of fear that we won’t be saved.

I’ll be simple, fear is not of God. Anyone that goes there is not in the Spirit of God. However, it is a staple technique of charlatans and oppressors. When it happens we can know that we do not have to trust the source of it.

This is par for the course with these “Pro-Life” people. I don’t believe for a second that they care one whit for the fetus they say they want to “protect.” Why? Because they won’t have anything to do with it once it’s born. They couldn’t care less about the child. After it’s born it’s YOYO (You’re On Your Own). The only reason they posture themselves this way is because they think it gets them brownie points with God.

There is nothing in the entire essay to lead me to believe this woman actually knows God in any direct experiential way. It’s entirely legalistic in a warped Old Covenant sort of way. It’s the spirit of the Pharisees, not Jesus. A “Christian” is a disciple of the teachings of Jesus. Honestly, I think she needs to get to a nunnery and do some major studying about the New Covenant and engage in serious meditation, prayer and devotion to the Lord. It would do her spirit good.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

FYI: This is what Sarah Palin is all about.

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Seven Days.

Thank God, only one more week left to this endless campaign. While it’s looking good right now for Obama, I will be holding my breath until he’s declared the winner by the Electoral College, whose are the only votes that really count in this republic. It’s not a done deal for me. There’s been a LOT of shenanigans being pulled by the Republicans with voter suppression. I shudder to think of what will happen if Obama wins by millions of votes, but McCain/Palin get elected by the EC. It just so happens that the day after the Election Day is November fifth, Guy Fawkes Day:

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

It’s really an admission of failure of the McCain campaign that a week from the election and all they can do is raise the specter of the boogeyman of socialism – Obama’s a socialist, they say. Anyone that believes that Obama is a socialist first does not know what socialism is, and second does not know what Obama believes. Again, it’s just utter bullshit. It always seems that it’s the Republicans that shovel the most bullshit. It’s like it’s all they got. They certainly can’t run on redistributing the wealth to the already wealthy (which is what they’ve done the last thirty years). They’re saying that Obama’s for “spreading the wealth around,” as if it were a bad thing. I certainly hope so! I could use a little more wealth coming my way, but I’m not going to hold my breath. We haven’t seen the end of this crunch.

It seems the Republicans are fearing a real bloodbath on Election Day. We can only hope that our long national nightmare be over. I’m talking about thirty years of national insanity. It looks like this could be one of those realignments that come about once a generation. The Democrats were swept into domination of the government in 1932, due to the First Great Republican Depression. I personally believe Franklin Delano Roosevelt to be the best president we ever had. The Republicans tried to make a comeback after World War II, winning the White House with Eisenhower. However, Eisenhower was what was called at the time a moderate Republican, and the Republican Party soured themselves on the electorate with Joe McCarthy. Interestingly, I would say Eisenhower was to the left of Clinton economically. That’s how much things have changed in my lifetime. They tried making a comeback with the vile Nixon, but he nearly destroyed the party. Reagan made the comeback in 1980 and ushered in the sea change for the Republicans. Fortunately, the Republicans never got control of both houses of Congress, until the 2000 election. Then after 9-11, Republicans got whatever they wanted for a solid five years. The Democrats regaining Congress merely put the brakes on the Republican agenda.

Now we are on the brink of the Second Great Republican Depression. It’s good that the Democrats are poised to take serious control of government. Obama is very familiar with the struggles of the poor and middle class. It has been his life. With the notable exception of his pow years, McCain has been nothing but a spoiled brat of privilege his whole life, much like George W. Bush.

So, yeah I’m with Obama. I think he’s one of us.

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Oh. My. God.

Well, after waiting for it for thirty five years when I was a young guy, it seems The Crash finally decides to show up when I’m old and gray. Yep, it sure looks like they really screwed the pooch this time. When they actually start saying the words, “worst economic crisis since the thirties,” things have to be bad. Make no mistake, this is the direct result of conservative economic policies that have been pushed on us since Ronald Reagan. What we are seeing is the loudest repudiation of those ideas that could occur.

Let’s see, they come up with a 700 Billion dollar bailout, but the markets around the world precipitously drop. Last week the Dow drops 2500 points or near a quarter of it’s value, the largest in HISTORY. Everyone got excited when it went up over 900 points on Monday, only to see that wiped out by today two days later. Now the Dow is not an accurate measure of the economy, but it does reflect what the business class thinks of the economy, specifically, it’s future.

It isn’t through yet. They say the bailout got them through to the election three weeks away. More than likely there will be some more serious tremors after that, especially the beginning of next year.

Locally, pretty much everyone I know is in a slump and have been for months.

I’ll still be holding my breath for the next three weeks, but it seems that Obama may win this election unless it gets stolen by the Republicans which is still a very good possibility. There is voter suppression going on in a number of states that just happen to be considered “battleground,” and they still control the damn machines. The Obama campaign is pushing people to vote early, if possible. We did here in Georgia a couple of weeks ago. I read this morning that over 500,000 have voted in the state already.

I’m really thankful for the meditation practice that I’ve taken up this year. Things are getting pretty crazy out there, and it’s my spiritual refuge.

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