...for doing just what our government does every time they collect Social Security from the citizens.
The only difference is that the US takes the money BY FORCE, and Bernie had to actually convince people to give him their money.
If Madoff warranted 150 years, how many years does that merit our congress getting every time they are in session? Ponzi schemes are Ponzi schemes, no matter who the perpetrators are.
Seems the government class is the protected one, not the capitalist class. The capitalist gets life imprisonment for stealing, the government gets returned to power so they can keep doing it.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Michael Jackson is Dead
...and this is all I have to say about it (explicit lyrics follow):
To Michael, Farrah, Ed McMahon, and Billy Mays: be seeing you in His Grace at some point in the future.
To Michael, Farrah, Ed McMahon, and Billy Mays: be seeing you in His Grace at some point in the future.
An Interesting Poem
A poem, not surprisingly left out of the anthologies of her poetry)
You may rejoice to think yourselves secure;
You may be grateful for the gift divine -
That grace unsought, which made your black hearts pure,
And fits your earth-born souls in Heaven to shine.
But, is it sweet to look around, and view
Thousands excluded from that happiness
Which they deserve at least as much as you -
Their faults not greater, nor their virtues less?
And, wherefore should you love your God the more,
Because to you alone His smiles are given;
Because He chose to pass the many o'er,
And only bring the favoured few to Heaven?
And, wherefore should your hearts more grateful prove,
Because for ALL the Saviour did not die?
Is yours the God of justice and of love?
And are your bosoms warm with charity?
Say, does your heart expand to all mankind?
And, would you ever to your neighbour do -
The weak, the strong, the enlightened, and the blind -
As you would have your neighbour do to you?
And, when you, looking on your fellow-men,
Behold them doomed to endless misery,
How can you talk of joy and rapture then?-
May God withhold such cruel joy from me!
That none deserve eternal bliss I know;
Unmerited the grace in mercy given;
But none shall sink to everlasting woe,
That have not well deserved the wrath of Heaven.
- - -
And oh! there lives within my heart
A hope, long nursed by me;
(And should its cheering ray depart,
How dark my soul would be!)
That as in Adam all have died,
In Christ shall all men live;
And ever round His throne abide,
Eternal praise to give.
That even the wicked shall at last
Be fitted for the skies;
And when their dreadful doom is past,
To life and light arise.
I ask not how remote the day,
Nor what the sinners' woe,
Before their dross is purged away;
Enough for me, to know
That when the cup of wrath is drained,
The metal purified,
They'll cling to what they once disdained,
And live by Him that died.
You may rejoice to think yourselves secure;
You may be grateful for the gift divine -
That grace unsought, which made your black hearts pure,
And fits your earth-born souls in Heaven to shine.
But, is it sweet to look around, and view
Thousands excluded from that happiness
Which they deserve at least as much as you -
Their faults not greater, nor their virtues less?
And, wherefore should you love your God the more,
Because to you alone His smiles are given;
Because He chose to pass the many o'er,
And only bring the favoured few to Heaven?
And, wherefore should your hearts more grateful prove,
Because for ALL the Saviour did not die?
Is yours the God of justice and of love?
And are your bosoms warm with charity?
Say, does your heart expand to all mankind?
And, would you ever to your neighbour do -
The weak, the strong, the enlightened, and the blind -
As you would have your neighbour do to you?
And, when you, looking on your fellow-men,
Behold them doomed to endless misery,
How can you talk of joy and rapture then?-
May God withhold such cruel joy from me!
That none deserve eternal bliss I know;
Unmerited the grace in mercy given;
But none shall sink to everlasting woe,
That have not well deserved the wrath of Heaven.
- - -
And oh! there lives within my heart
A hope, long nursed by me;
(And should its cheering ray depart,
How dark my soul would be!)
That as in Adam all have died,
In Christ shall all men live;
And ever round His throne abide,
Eternal praise to give.
That even the wicked shall at last
Be fitted for the skies;
And when their dreadful doom is past,
To life and light arise.
I ask not how remote the day,
Nor what the sinners' woe,
Before their dross is purged away;
Enough for me, to know
That when the cup of wrath is drained,
The metal purified,
They'll cling to what they once disdained,
And live by Him that died.
/Hat Tip to Chezandlilly for finding this.
On Jews, Israel and Anti-Semites
If one is a believing Jew, it is impossible to BE such a Jew without believing in God's promise of Israel. Among the greatest acts a believing Jew can perform is known as Aliyah -- or "being called" which in the sense of Israel means to be called home.
That's Judaism, as it was believed and practiced since the Romans more or less kicked them out about 2,000 years ago. All the time Jews settled in Europe, Africa, Asia and later, the Americas -- every Jew knew that tomorrow we shall be in Israel -- that someday God would return them.
Now, some Jews only believed that this could happen under the messiah, but scholars agreed overall that God would work the Return in His own way and time.
Enter Zionism -- a largely SECULAR movement, more or less a socialist movement, to create a nation for the Jews, but Jews as an ethnic group, not necessarily religion. Either way, they went to rabbinical, Jewish religious tradition -- to decide what made a"Jew a Jew," and decided it was -- if one's birth mother was a Jew, or you were a lawful convert -- you were a Jew.
Even if your religion is Buddhist, or a Jew-Bu, as they(we) like to call ourselves, you can be admitted to Israel as a citizen -- as long as momma was Jewish. All except what I am -- a messianic Jew. Ironic, to be sure, but they don't like us Jews for Jesus much.
Now, many of us, myself included, a Jew who is not believer in Judaism, might find this whole viewpoint crazy, but different religions have different declarative statements.
To Christians (the vast majority) Christ died and rose. Crazy idea but it's what we believe.
Jews, depending upon the tradition, may or may not have certain dietary laws, keeping Kosher.
There is also have that ethnic component, a child of Jewish woman is a Jew.
Also, there is a land deal with God. This is obviously controversial to people who don't believe in this God, or people who don't believe the deal is valid for whatever reason.
Now, it certainly is possible to be anti-Zionist and NOT anti-Semitic, but it's VERY difficult. You technically are not anti Jew, but you ARE anti-Judaism. Tough stuff. A very narrow line indeed.
These are difficult issues and don't lend themselves well to snaps and one liners. That being said, just as a great deal of the people who are big in the anti-illegal immigration movement are in fact bigots, a great number of anti-Zionists are anti-Semites.
As someone who for most of his life has been Jewish, not religious, AND against the State of Israel (I am against all religious states and all religious tests for citizenship), I have pondered these issues. I DO however support the State of Israel as an ally of the United States, just as I support England, while disagreeing with the status of its Church (same with Lutheran/Germany and so on).
That being said I come to my position knowing that one can not separate the Children of Israel from Israel. It is what it is.
That's Judaism, as it was believed and practiced since the Romans more or less kicked them out about 2,000 years ago. All the time Jews settled in Europe, Africa, Asia and later, the Americas -- every Jew knew that tomorrow we shall be in Israel -- that someday God would return them.
Now, some Jews only believed that this could happen under the messiah, but scholars agreed overall that God would work the Return in His own way and time.
Enter Zionism -- a largely SECULAR movement, more or less a socialist movement, to create a nation for the Jews, but Jews as an ethnic group, not necessarily religion. Either way, they went to rabbinical, Jewish religious tradition -- to decide what made a"Jew a Jew," and decided it was -- if one's birth mother was a Jew, or you were a lawful convert -- you were a Jew.
Even if your religion is Buddhist, or a Jew-Bu, as they(we) like to call ourselves, you can be admitted to Israel as a citizen -- as long as momma was Jewish. All except what I am -- a messianic Jew. Ironic, to be sure, but they don't like us Jews for Jesus much.
Now, many of us, myself included, a Jew who is not believer in Judaism, might find this whole viewpoint crazy, but different religions have different declarative statements.
To Christians (the vast majority) Christ died and rose. Crazy idea but it's what we believe.
Jews, depending upon the tradition, may or may not have certain dietary laws, keeping Kosher.
There is also have that ethnic component, a child of Jewish woman is a Jew.
Also, there is a land deal with God. This is obviously controversial to people who don't believe in this God, or people who don't believe the deal is valid for whatever reason.
Now, it certainly is possible to be anti-Zionist and NOT anti-Semitic, but it's VERY difficult. You technically are not anti Jew, but you ARE anti-Judaism. Tough stuff. A very narrow line indeed.
These are difficult issues and don't lend themselves well to snaps and one liners. That being said, just as a great deal of the people who are big in the anti-illegal immigration movement are in fact bigots, a great number of anti-Zionists are anti-Semites.
As someone who for most of his life has been Jewish, not religious, AND against the State of Israel (I am against all religious states and all religious tests for citizenship), I have pondered these issues. I DO however support the State of Israel as an ally of the United States, just as I support England, while disagreeing with the status of its Church (same with Lutheran/Germany and so on).
That being said I come to my position knowing that one can not separate the Children of Israel from Israel. It is what it is.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Cap and Crap
More evidence that Obama and his congress are perhaps the worst government we have ever had the misfortune to have serve us.
At least the ineffectual republicans made a halfway decent video. No matter what, this terrible piece of legislation will make things worse for some time to come. Idiots.
At least the ineffectual republicans made a halfway decent video. No matter what, this terrible piece of legislation will make things worse for some time to come. Idiots.
Monday, June 22, 2009
I Support the people of Iran
I am with you and praying for you in your efforts, in your quest to be free.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Happy Father's Day
Had to find a Star Wars one, of course. On a more serious, and joyful note, I would like to take the time to thank my F(f)athers in Heaven.
My dear dad, I can not express how much I miss you. You are one of the biggest parts of what make me me, and even though we didn't always see eye-to-eye on everything, I miss every debate, every groan, every smirk we made in each other's direction. I eagerly await our reunion. Until then, thank you and Happy Father's Day.
Dear Father in Heaven, El Shaddai, thank you for giving me my other dad, our blessed lives and all the bounty and great things we shared. I'll see you when you lift me up into your arms. Until then, thank you and Happy Father's Day.
To those of you who are fathers out there, may our Father in Heaven bless you and keep you. Thank you for being there for your kids when you can. Thank you for taking the loving responsibility for new life, and new civilization. The future depends on you. Have a great day. Chill and grill.
Knowing God & Common Sense
Been very busy in the real world so I haven't had much time to post here. Pastor Dennis is back as well over at Message in Motion:
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
New Moon Trailer
Looks like it'll be a good teenie bopper flick. It'll be crap, but harmless, fun crap with a nice message about love, loyalty and taking a stand for what you know in your heart to be true.
Nothing wrong with that at all.
Nothing wrong with that at all.
Monday, June 1, 2009
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