Okay --- so WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

nm

1) The Heritage Foundation ACA Lie

www.americanthinker.com...

The 'mandates' laid out by the Heritage Foundation were of an entirely different nature, as they focused on two areas: 1) Employer Mandate, requiring all large companies to provide healthcare coverage and 2) A Catastrophic Insurance Mandate, intended to protect the public from absorbing the costs for uncovered emergency care.

Routine health care was always regarded as an individual obligation.

2) There are no anti-homosexual verses in the Bible. There are verses that describe the act of homosexuality as a sin, and describe Marriage as the union of man and woman. Homoesxuals are not sinners because they are attracted to same gender. Homosexuals are sinners because they sin like most everyone else: they lie, they covet, etc. In some cases the engage in homosexual acts, but then so do some heterosexual people. Heterosexual people sin with adultery and pre-marital sex. We are all sinners, join the club. But gay folks don't automatically have some special "dark brand" on their souls because they like people with the same genitals.

As with most things, the lies come from those who are creating strawmen to then plan NEXT STEPS against.

a reply to: Annee

David & Jonathan

Forgive my bluntness, but... I don't care about that. Their business, not mine.

What I was referring to was the use of the term 'abomination' to describe homosexual behavior. That term is typically reserved for idol worship. The theory I was referring to is that the pagan tribes of that area and time period used homosexual acts as a major component of their rituals, and the law against homosexuality was actually a law against participation in the pagan ceremonies.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

The theory I was referring to is that the pagan tribes of that area and time period used homosexual acts as a major component of their rituals, and the law against homosexuality was actually a law against participation in the pagan ceremonies.

Not to mention that it was common practice, still is apparently, for soldiers to rape and sodomize captured enemy soldiers. The Israelites were forbidden to mimic that practice.

originally posted by: TheRedneck

OK, I just grabbed 3. I love reading his stuff.

One time thing.

a reply to: TheRedneck


Hello Redneck,


There's a series of books called "Counterpoints". They engage several experts with differing viewpoints on theological issues to put forward the case for their position. Usually the cases are made, then there's a rebuttal. Everything is very respectful and I usually finish the book with the sense that I've been exposed to the best case possible for each side. It's great format and in those books I've read, I've noticed that the "divide" between "experts" on controversial issues is much narrower than that between non-experts (I include myself in the non-expert category).

Your previous post made me curious about whether there was a Counterpoint book that addressed the issue of homosexuality. As it happens, there is. It's called Two Views on Homosexuality, The Bible, and the Church.

I haven't read it and so I can't speak to whether this particular book is a good place to start or not, but given the quality of the other books in the series it might just be. (It won't be available till the 29th of this month as it happens).


Hope that helps in your research project.

a reply to: windword

I was not aware of that. Thank you.

TheRedneck

a reply to: imwilliam

I will try to remember that. It sounds interesting.

It's not really a research project though... yet. Right now I have one research project at work, three... no, four on the board in my private shop, one website project in the works, active research into the correlation between current events and Daniel 8, a motor controller circuit for my school's IEEE chapter, a power supply for my son, and I really need to get some drawings for a new actuator design I want to test.

Oh, and two people wanting to collaborate on new inventions... when they get time.

Some day, though.

TheRedneck

a reply to: Teikiatsu

American Thinker is a Right Wing Rag.

Hardly unbiased.

Okay, so - from Reuters international edition:

For Attorney General: Jeff Sessions

Trump picked U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general, rewarding a staunch supporter whose tough and sometimes inflammatory statements on immigration have reflected his own.

The choice was applauded by the top Republican in the Senate but drew sharp criticism from civil rights activists.

One of the earliest Republican lawmakers to support Trump's White House candidacy, Sessions opposes any path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and was an enthusiastic backer of Trump's campaign promise to build a wall on the border with Mexico.

Backward and wasteful use of resources.

He has also argued for curbs on legal immigration on the grounds that it drives down wages for U.S. workers.

And that is what happens if you don't insist on a decent minimum wage for EVERYONE. But then again, the GOP doesn't want minimum wage laws at all, just like they don't want to pay any taxes AT ALL.

Nevertheless, this guy is in favor of putting corporate overlord criminals in jail, and prosecuting instead of "fining" corporations. That part is good.

But apparently he is utterly cold and indifferent to the difference between people who have fled their homes due to war, extreme poverty, or both - and Wall Street execs who rip off consumers with glee and then say "go ahead and sue me" (like that asshat Jamie Dimon said with a laugh). There is a huge difference.

He sounds like the kind of guy who would delight in reinstating Debtor's Prison, too.

Don't forget either that he is racist to the core, and that is why he was not chosen as a judge decades ago. He is not a good guy. Fine to put him up against Jamie Dimon, but too much of a sledge hammer on struggling families who left their homelands in despair and came here huddled and starving.

"How can we trust someone in that role who has demonstrated he thinks all forms of immigration are bad for America?" said Beth Werlin, head of the American Immigration Council.

Guess we better take down the Statue of Liberty if we're all full up with room for the huddled masses. That's how we all got here, but no more.

First come, first served; we are CLOSED NOW.
Parking lot full.
No Vacancy.
Sold out.
By invitation only.

Sessions and Pompeo seem likely to be confirmed by the Senate despite heavy resistance from Democrats. Republicans will control a majority, with at least 51 seats in the 100-seat chamber, when Congress reconvenes in January. Flynn's post does not need Senate confirmation.

I'll address Pompeo and Flynn next.

a reply to: Teikiatsu

And now they are scared of their own boogeyman, and are having temper tantrums, and holding their breath until they get their way. Acting like they can pout their way into power again.

Like the children they are.

LOL!!

You are thinking of Congress, and the temper tantruming, filibustering, reading aloud of Green Eggs and Ham, and sore losers that they have been since Obama got elected. Who acted like children? Oh, right. Congress and various Governors. Now they get their own "boogeyman" and he is going to elevate the very scummiest of them.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

a reply to: Teikiatsu

Tell me about how you will prevent Creationism and Hell doctrine from being in our schools.

I won't.

This right here makes you a vile person. You will promote teaching lies to children. That makes you a liar, too - if you think it's okay to indoctrinate little children into your warped delusions.

A scientist, and you believe in Creationism? And in hell? I am so goddamned sick and tired of theocratic thinking.

a reply to: Teikiatsu

2) There are no anti-homosexual verses in the Bible. There are verses that describe the act of homosexuality as a sin, and describe Marriage as the union of man and woman. Homoesxuals are not sinners because they are attracted to same gender. Homosexuals are sinners because they sin like most everyone else: they lie, they covet, etc. In some cases the engage in homosexual acts, but then so do some heterosexual people. Heterosexual people sin with adultery and pre-marital sex. We are all sinners, join the club. But gay folks don't automatically have some special "dark brand" on their souls because they like people with the same genitals.

As with most things, the lies come from those who are creating strawmen to then plan NEXT STEPS against.

The BIBLE is not our CONSTITUTION. It is your favorite bed-time horror story, and that is all. Sexual behavior is not "sinful" or "pure". It is sexual behavior. I saw a video of a turtle 'mating' with a rubber "crock" shoe....even uttering an involuntary orgasm-induced high-pitched gasp.

Wow, you got a super-heavy dose of Evangelical indoctrination didn't you! Such a pity. Such a waste of a mind with so much potential.

One of the NEXT STEPS would be to expose the Bible as the pack of lies that it truly is. We try, for sure....but the Bible-thumpers won't have any of it. They rail against Dawkins, the late Hitchens, Harris, Tyson, all brilliant and relevant thinkers and speakers....

they utter falsities and make decisions that affect their children and their communities with life-shattering abuse.
It's disgusting.

And any person who still holds up "The Bible" as some sort of mandate is no better than ISIS.

a reply to: Annee

lol Correct!!

Rush Limbaugh has said that the American Thinker is "one of my most favorite and thoughtful blogs."

The American Thinker .... doesn't take much thought. They're the ones who reported that Obama flashed a "Muslim gang sign" when he pointed his index finger upwards during some event. Crazy!!!!

Again, that paranoid thinking that relies more on emotion and belief.

Steve Bannon is now reported to have said he's not a "White nationalist" and is now disowning the alt-right. How very convenient, when it was he who claimed to be the godfather of the White Supremacist alt-right.

Steve Bannon Speaks Out in Rare Interview: The Media Has ‘No F*cking Idea What’s Going On’

this is an actual quote Bannon gave Michael Wolff:

“Darkness is good,” says Bannon… “Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That’s power. It only helps us when they—“ I believe by “they” he means liberals and the media, already promoting calls for his ouster “—get it wrong. When they’re blind to who we are and what we’re doing.”

Um...Dick Cheney was the monster who who orchestrated the Iran mess with W: Dirty Wars R Us

Cheney, Rumsfeld, and W are all guilty of war crimes. I wonder if Jeff Sessions will prosecute them and just leave the people who have a joint in their pocket alone to self-medicate away the agony of having to live with this mess.

He did, however, say that he's going to spur the infrastructure improvement to create jobs. Cool. Good. That's what FDR did. Bannon is not wrong on this one. That is the ONE THING we need to do that is bipartisan and will put people to work. That is a centrist and populist move that is laudable.

But denying he is a racist is a lie - just like Trump is a liar who is already saying "Well, I was exaggerating. I'm not really like that."

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

For Attorney General: Jeff Sessions

Who will quite probably be one of the toughest and fairest AGs we have seen in a long time. My only complaint with this appointment is that it means he will have to leave the Senate. I wish we could clone him.

And that is what happens if you don't insist on a decent minimum wage for EVERYONE.

Who pays that "decent minimum wage"? Companies. Who pays the companies? People. Who do people pay when American companies charge too much? Foreign companies who don't pay minimum wage.

I really wish people would stop advocating for unemployment.

TheRedneck

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

And any person who still holds up "The Bible" as some sort of mandate is no better than ISIS.

Yep. The Bible actually contains many deep truths about humanity, if one doesn't take them literally. That's been the problem of any fundamental, literalist thinking. They fail to see the real truth embedded in a story. And the Bible has some amazing, wonderful stories. Ive got a Christian fundamentalist in my family who recently finally admitted to one of the children, out of earshot of the spouse, that, well, Jonah really wasn't swallowed by a whale.

While I don't think that any of my fellow Americans who are Christian fundamentalists are going to decapitate me, you are correct in that many of them have interpreted their ancient texts to mean that they must take over a country. Ted Cruz was supposed to be the One who was to rule America. Now one explanation.... excuse..... for Trump is that God uses all kinds of people in His work.

As I mentioned before, working on a piece of legislation is just one thing going forward. There still is the pushback to return some common sense and reasonableness to America. The excuses are already starting by Trump supporters to excuse Trump for his actions by declaring that his lies are somehow different..... "all men are equal, but some men are more equal than others". Welcome to the funny farm. George Orwell is vindicated.

So, to sum up my thoughts right now:

Sessions: good that he will go after white-collar CEOs. I hope he does the Iceland thing and throws them all in prison.
BAD that he's such an immigration naysayer. BAD that he's not able to separate psychopathic indifference and racism from doing the right thing.

Bannon: good that he is going to urge infrastructure investment. Put people to work. Fine. The same thing FDR did; I wrote a thesis about all of that in college.

The New Deal was a series of social liberal programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1938, and a few that came later. They included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term (1933–1937) of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Liberal stuff! Oh NOEZ!!!! You alt-right haters! Hey!!! He's acting like a "libtard"! He's talking about reviving the one thing that got us out of the last DEPRESSION. It entailed LOTS of social security things.....you know.....
LOL!!

Okay, if Trump is going to instruct them to do Infrastructure spending and hiring, that's great.
If he is going to instruct Sessions to lock up the white-collar douche-bags, he'd better start packing a "put me in prison, too" bag.

But no - he settled the Trump University suit to make it "go away." How is Sessions okay with that, I wonder??

a reply to: TheRedneck

I'm not advocating for unemployment.

I'm advocating AGAINST slavery. I wish people would stop thinking that $7 an hour is a living wage. Companies need to pay their EMPLOYEES a living wage before paying their shareholders. THAT needs to stop.

If you don't want them hiring "illegals", then hold the companies accountable. I worked at Hyatt hotels, and and I will tell you that the HR department KNEW that those SS cards, and claims of citizenship were lies. THEY KNEW IT. I know that because I worked with them.

As long as the employee lied about being a citizen, they would hire them. I saw it happen. I talked to the staff about how they got here, why they came. They all came illegally from south of the border. The Somalis and Sudanese all came legally as refugees. Foreign nationals were routinely placed as "interns."

The rights of those people were disregarded. Sexual harrassment went unstopped. Illness was not recognized as any sort of excuse for absence or inability to perform heavy labor at the same pace. And YES I would testify to this in a court of law.
Penny Pritzker is of the Hyatt clan. They are dirty, filthy rich scum who got rich on the backs of slave-wages and mistreatment of their staff.

I know this from being an insider.