Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
As a Jew who is familiar with “The Gospels” there is something perplexing about some Christians in America who have risen to power in our political process within the last four decades. Much of Jesus message, as detailed in “The Gospels” has been one of sympathy to the poor, enmity to the rich and love for humanity. I can give you the time tested quotes but just about everyone is familiar with them. Indeed through my childhood and formative teen years Christmastime every year would yield endless repetition of “Peace on Earth, Good Will to All Men”. Sometime in the 1970’s people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell gained prominence and political power preaching their version of Christianity. These Christians became Kingmakers as it was assumed and actually true that their millions of followers would vote as a bloc. The Christianity that they preached had little to do with the American Christianity that I grew up with. To be sure their teachings on sexuality differed little from Christian thought for the previous 1,700 years and so abortion was evil, virginity was prized and sexuality was to be performed in subscribed methodology. What was different was that this version of Christian belief was a far more muscular and mach one. War was good when fought for American principles of capitalism and self interest. The wealthy needn’t worry about the “eye of the camel.” Poverty was seen as the result of moral failure. Rendering unto Caesar (the Government) was no longer the moral thing to do.
Now knowing history there were always periods where certain Christian leaders were in favor of warfare, favored the wealthy and sought to kill non-believers. Nevertheless, all through those era’s the same message of peace and love was preached as doctrine, whilst the religious leadership ignored the dichotomy of their own works. However, hypocrisies have always existed in every religious belief. The overriding principles always remained static, even if logic had to be twisted to ignore the obvious dichotomy. This is certainly true of the religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam, that each give their own interpretation of the “Torah.” The most glaring example of this is the entire Chapter of Genesis, which is literally riddled with dichotomy. Who did Cain, Abel and Seth marry and where did their brides come from? The standard method of dismissing these dichotomies was to ignore them and censor the questioner. Today though, in certain Christian circles these overarching principles derived from the teachings of Jesus have become ignored, to be replaced by a new “Dominionist” view, which would turn Jesus into a warlike, wealthy Republican that hated government and taxes. That is the subject of this guest blog.Chris Hedges is a well-know investigative journalist, who admittedly has a more dyspeptic view of the world than I do. Yet he is a brilliant person and very often nails a particular topic. This week I read an article by him that I received via OpEdNews http://www.opednews.com a blog I subscribe to. The articles title is: “The Radical Christian Right and the War on Government”. http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Radical-Christian-Righ-by-Chris-Hedges-Christian-Right_Government-Bullying_Government-Corruption_Right-Wing-Extremists-131007-879.html
Hedges article begins:
“There is a desire felt by tens of millions of Americans, lumped into a diffuse and fractious movement known as the Christian right, to destroy the intellectual and scientific rigor of the Enlightenment, radically diminish the role of government to create a theocratic state based on “biblical law,” and force a recalcitrant world to bend to the will of an imperial and “Christian” America. Its public face is on display in the House of Representatives. This ideology, which is the driving force behind the shutdown of the government, calls for the eradication of social “deviants,” beginning with gay men and lesbians, whose sexual orientation, those in the movement say, is a curse and an illness, contaminating the American family and the country.
Once these “deviants” are removed, other “deviants,” including Muslims, liberals, feminists, intellectuals, left-wing activists, undocumented workers, poor African-Americans and those dismissed as “nominal Christians” — meaning Christians who do not embrace this peculiar interpretation of the Bible — will also be ruthlessly repressed. The “deviant” government bureaucrats, the “deviant” media, the “deviant” schools and the “deviant” churches, all agents of Satan, will be crushed or radically reformed. The rights of these “deviants” will be annulled. “Christian values” and “family values” will, in the new state, be propagated by all institutions. Education and social welfare will be handed over to the church. Facts and self-criticism will be replaced with relentless indoctrination.”
His description of this movement, called Dominionism, comports with my own view of what has happened to some Christians in America, who have intertwined Jesus with the Republican Party and its current driving force the “Tea Party”, which is a faux movement established by and led by some of the wealthiest families in our country. Hedges goes on to talk about Senator Ted Cruz, who very quickly has been seen as a “White Knight” for this movement and a hopeful Presidential contender:
“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz — whose father is Rafael Cruz, a rabid right-wing Christian preacher and the director of the Purifying Fire International ministry — and legions of the senator’s wealthy supporters, some of whom orchestrated the shutdown, are rooted in a radical Christian ideology known as Dominionism or Christian Reconstructionism.
This ideology calls on anointed “Christian” leaders to take over the state and make the goals and laws of the nation “biblical.” It seeks to reduce government to organizing little more than defense, internal security and the protection of property rights. It fuses with the Christian religion the iconography and language of American imperialism and nationalism, along with the cruelest aspects of corporate capitalism. The intellectual and moral hollowness of the ideology, its flagrant distortion and misuse of the Bible, the contradictions that abound within it — its leaders champion small government and a large military, as if the military is not part of government — and its laughable pseudo-science are impervious to reason and fact. And that is why the movement is dangerous.
The cult of masculinity, as in all fascist movements, pervades the ideology of the Christian right. The movement uses religion to sanctify military and heroic “virtues,” glorify blind obedience and order over reason and conscience, and pander to the euphoria of collective emotions. Feminism and homosexuality, believers are told, have rendered the American male physically and spiritually impotent. Jesus, for the Christian right, is a man of action, casting out demons, battling the Antichrist, attacking hypocrites and ultimately slaying nonbelievers.”
Up until reading this I didn’t know much about Ted Cruz, other than he was a right wing Texas Senator, who was pushing the government shut-down tactic, which we see in play today. I did know he was a Harvard graduate and presumably a bright man. Because of that it seemed to me that his positions were the mere political posturing of yet another sociopathic office seeker. The information about Ted Cruz’s father certainly clarifies the picture more because I can now accept that Cruz is a true believer in what he is spouting.
“This cult of masculinity, with its glorification of violence, is appealing to the powerless. It stokes the anger of many Americans, mostly white and economically disadvantaged, and encourages them to lash back at those who, they are told, seek to destroy them. The paranoia about the outside world is fostered by bizarre conspiracy theories, many of which are prominent in the rhetoric of those leading the government shutdown. Believers, especially now, are called to a perpetual state of war with the “secular humanist” state. The march, they believe, is irreversible. Global war, even nuclear war, is the joyful harbinger of the Second Coming. And leading the avenging armies is an angry, violent Messiah who dooms billions of apostates to death.”
In progressive, moderate and liberal circles the question of why many working class people vote Republican, against their self-interest has risen continually. I think Hedges supplies part of the answer above. We know that far more women than men elected President Obama in both his runs for office. A cult of masculinity has been asserted. A cult that disdains women’s equality, would take control of their bodies, make them subservient to their spouses, refuse them birth control and even take away their right to vote. In our Macho culture, where a male who earns little is scorned; is perpetually afraid of losing his job; yet is nevertheless encouraged to “be a man”; the need to find someone to blame, or something to empower him is overwhelming. In some Churches that preach he is his wife’s boss and those values of macho masculinity are his right/heritage, many men find succor. What has helped with this is the reinforcement of outlets like FOXNews and clever campaigns of propaganda sponsored by billionaires, who are the people actually repressing them.
“Dominionists believe they are engaged in an epic battle against the forces of Satan. They live in a binary world of black and white. They feel they are victims, surrounded by sinister groups bent on their destruction. They have anointed themselves as agents of God who alone know God’s will. They sanctify their rage. This rage lies at the center of the ideology. It leaves them sputtering inanities about Barack Obama, his corporate-sponsored health care reform bill, his alleged mandated suicide counseling or “death panels” for seniors under the bill, his supposed secret alliance with radical Muslims, and “creeping socialism.” They see the government bureaucracy as being controlled by “secular humanists” who want to destroy the family and make war against the purity of their belief system. They seek total cultural and political domination.
All ideological, theological and political debates with the radical Christian right are useless. It cares nothing for rational thought and discussion. Its adherents are using the space within the open society to destroy the open society itself. Our naive attempts to placate a movement bent on our destruction, to prove to it that we too have “values,” only strengthen its supposed legitimacy and increase our own weakness.
Dominionists have to operate, for now, in what they see as the contaminated environment of the secular, liberal state. They work with the rest of us only because they must. Given enough power — and they are working hard to get it — any such cooperation will vanish. They are no different from the vanguard described by Lenin or the Islamic terrorists who shaved off their beards, adopted Western dress and watched pay-for-view pornography in their hotel rooms the night before hijacking a plane for a suicide attack. The elect alone, like the Grand Inquisitor, are sanctioned to know the truth. And in the pursuit of their truth they have no moral constraints.”
Chris Hedges connects many more dots in his article and I urge you to read the rest of it here: http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Radical-Christian-Righ-by-Chris-Hedges-Christian-Right_Government-Bullying_Government-Corruption_Right-Wing-Extremists-131007-879.html
We have seen some on this blog who either subscribe to Dominionist belief, or who are fellow travelers in the movement to “Christianize” America, by turning it into a theologically driven country. Hedges point that you can’t reason with them resonates with me. Despite any surface pretensions of “Christian Charity” or “Love the sinner, hate the sin” the truth is that in power these true believers would ruthlessly destroy all who didn’t publicly adhere to its beliefs. We see in many the blog posts here what happens when Islamic extremists gain power over Countries whose majority is Muslim. Despite the fact of their seeming acceptance of a pluralistic system, once they attain power, they ruthlessly dispose of any who do not follow their particular form of orthodoxy. The same thing is true of the Dominionist Christian Movement in the United States. They will seem to participate in our Constitutional processes as a tactic to gradually assume power. Once that goal has been achieved then they will not hesitate to enforce their views relentlessly and recklessly.
While Dominionists achieving power this would be a disaster for the United States, it also would most probably mark the end of humanity. The end game for these believers is “Resurrection” and the return of Jesus leading his armies to Armageddon marking the end of the world. In power, with nuclear armaments and a pretend Jesus to lead them, their ascendancy could well mark the end of of humanity.
Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
davidm,
You wrote:
“Nevertheless, there is something wrong with an educational system that makes reading the Bible in public school a criminal offense.”
I responded:
“I’d like to know the names of the public schools where this is the case. Most people don’t object to the Bible being read as literature in public schools. What they object to is the Bible being fed to students as the word of God. In the state of Massachusetts, reading the Bible as literature is a requirement. It’s included in our state’s English Language Arts and Literacy Curriculum Framework.”
*****
The curriculum framework provides suggestions for specific Bible stories that teachers could use in teaching children about traditional literature–which includes Bible stories, fables, fairy tales, and myths. The framework doesn’t include a requirement for teaching children about the Bible in a religious context…or for teaching them the Bible from cover to cover.
Mr. Spindell,
You logic is no better than your spelling. Who are “dominionists” wealthy backers who are willing and able to step in if the government is destroyed, George Soros? The SEIU? Also, what makes you think I don’t complain about corporations who don’t pay taxes? You don’t know me so don’t make erroneous assumptions about what I believe in, what I do and do not complain about or who I vote for. Had you gotten your facts straight before blathering from the hip, you might have been surprised and restrained yourself. If you don’t get your facts (or your spelling) right, you will never get your conclusions right either. Wise up. Get your facts straight and don’t make conclusions about people you have never met. Ad hominem attacks have no place in honest discourse.
And, hey, what’s the deal with the non-responsive statement about the Bible? My comment said nothing about the Bible. You might be surprised about my views on Scripture, too.
Vince Jankoski
“What they don’t realize is that it is people like you, who don’t say a word about Corporations who don’t pay taxes and vote for people who have shifted the burden of supporting this country to all but those most capable of doing so, disdain them and think them losers. As Mitt Romney said and you no doubt believe “47% of these people are takers.” The real “takers” are about .01% of us who use government as a sophisticated ATM.”
Vincent Jankowski I apologize to you unequivocally for the statement above since I don’t know you and a I presumed things about you for which I have no evidence. I offer no mitigation for my error except to say that I am chastened by it and will endeavor not to make the same mistake in the future. Saw you blog and while there are some points we may disagree upon, it is written in a sober and non-inflammatory manner. When I err I admit it and in this case I erred.
davidm2575:
That’s not quite the whole story, is it? Freshwater “proselytized in class, continued to undermine evolution and created a display of religious items in his classroom.”
“Lower courts have spoken clearly: Freshwater violated the Constitution by using his position as a teacher to attempt to impart his religious beliefs.”
Who do you think you’re fooling when you claim a teacher was fired for “having a Bible on their desk”?
Nal, my point was just that there has been many incidents that create a chilling effect on free speech and education in the classroom. Freshwater was not the only one.
http://csl.sog.unc.edu/node/1093
Also, Walt Tutka shared his Bible with a student and was fired.
And following is an interesting case about student being mocked by a teacher for having a Bible and saying the Bible is a non-fiction book:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/teacher-bullies-student-for-saying-bible-is-nonfiction-in-calif-christian-legal-group-responds-106497/
“Who do you think you’re fooling when you claim a teacher was fired for “having a Bible on their desk”?”
Nal,
David was fooling himself into believing he actually had a viable argument for a change.
davidm,
Public schools should not be the institutions who are held responsible for teaching children about the Bible. If parents want their children to learn about the Bible, they should teach them–as should the pastors/preachers in the churches they are members of.
Elaine M wrote: “Public schools should not be the institutions who are held responsible for teaching children about the Bible.”
Then why did you just share a curriculum that teaches the Bible as literature? Does not a curriculum imply responsibility?
Public schools should be held responsible to give a broad education in all matters. Many parents know nothing about the Bible. Why condemn these students to ignorance? The Bible has greatly affected our history. In an ideal world, I would expect the school not only to provide basic instruction in the Bible and how our history has been shaped by it, but also to educate my children about Islam and the Quran. After 9/11 especially, these are issues that greatly affect us all. Instead our school system wastes time showing disney films like Finding Nemo.
You might also consider that some of the polarization in this country is a result of this attitude of limiting public education. Some homes teach their children the Bible, and so they grow up with a paradigm different from the homes that do not educate their children about it. Other homes teach their children the Quran. None of them are allowed to discuss it with teachers in school. Then when these children grow up, they don’t understand one another. They accuse each other of dishonesty because of their inability to understand one another. From such can come wars.
davidm:
that was interesting. that guy sounds pretty reasonable to me. who can argue with a smaller federal government and more control at the state and local level?
that is the real rub, the diminution of national power in DC.
Bron wrote: “who can argue with a smaller federal government and more control at the state and local level? that is the real rub, the diminution of national power in DC.”
Exactly. That’s why Obama is screaming so loud about some Congressmen actually voting the way they want to vote instead of just doing what their backroom dealers tell them to do. The establishment Republicans are just as upset. It exposes how they have been playing these games all along.
davidm said: “Nevertheless, there is something wrong with an educational system that makes reading the Bible in public school a criminal offense.”
I’d like to know the names of the public schools where this is the case. Most people don’t object to the Bible being read as literature in public schools. What they object to is the Bible being fed to students as the word of God. In the state of Massachusetts, reading the Bible as literature is a requirement. It’s included in our state’s English Language Arts and Literacy Curriculum Framework.
http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/0311.pdf
Elaine M wrote: “What they object to is the Bible being fed to students as the word of God.”
Point well taken.
In being focused on the SCOTUS decision in Abington School District v. Schempp, I may have miscommunicated the idea that Bible reading is illegal. That case did indeed forbid State statutes requiring the reading of the Bible. Nevertheless, teaching the Bible from an academic standpoint is legal in all 50 states. The problem is, that doesn’t mean they do it.
Most people come up very ignorant of the Bible because the schools do not address it at all. I don’t ever remember reading the Bible in elementary, middle, or high school. In the last few years, several school teachers have been fired for either handing a Bible to a student, or having a Bible on their desk, or other such things. There is a chilling effect on any speech about the Bible. The average university student I talk with is ignorant of even the simplest concepts about the Bible. I consider that a failure of public education.
I was fortunate to have a history professor in college who taught Western Civilization, and he was not bashful about stating that the church had more influence on the course of Western Civilization than any other institution. Rather than hide from it, he embraced it, and history suddenly started making some sense for the first time in my life. Previously, history was all about memorizing names and date, but he presented ideas and concepts that reflected themselves in art, music and literature for the various time periods we studied. I wondered why all that had been kept hidden all my years in public education. One has to wonder if the secularization of public education is a good thing.
davidm2575:
“A bit” extreme? No, it violates the Constitution. That same document that everyone professes to love.
Kudos to you for knowing how to spell principal.
Such an educational system exists on in your fantasy. The primacy of fantasy. Teaching the bible in public schools is a different matter. However, you said “reading”. Do you recognize the difference?
Anyone who is interested in learning more about dominionism and what it entails should go to Leah Burton’s “God’s Own Party” blog and discussions. She is extremely knowledgeable on the subject and can shed much light as to what is going on especially behind the scenes and with the military. Please check it out. David, you are full of it.
surpnsbch wrote: “go to Leah Burton’s “God’s Own Party” blog…”
Why go to the anti-site to learn about something? God’s Own Party? Bias from the get-go. I read her definition of Dominionism, and immediately see she plays loose with the facts. Waste of time.
If you want to know what the Dominionists are saying and doing, just go to their sites. The recent articles shared here have been commented on by Joel McDurmon who identifies himself as a Dominionist.
http://americanvision.org/9559/dominionism-scares-leftists-frenzied-lies/#sthash.mz4OnWLN.dpbs
Loving something and understanding it are not mutually assured states.
Many people love the Constitution.
Few understand it properly and contextually within the framework of jurisprudence and legal theory.
If they did, there would have been hordes of torch-wielding citizens in the street demanding the heads of Bush/Cheney and Obama for respectively ordering torture and claiming the ultra vires power to the Executive to be able to execute American citizens without due process, both actions that are manifestly unconstitutional by the plain language of the document itself.
Many people love Jesus too, but far too few understand the Bible properly and contextually within the framework of the history of that document or how it has historically been shaped to the ends of man by men or that the Gnostic tradition was probably closer to the actual teachings of Jesus than the New Testament.
Many people love M&M’s and yet have no idea how they are made.
Love and understanding are not the same thing.
DavidM:
now you have done it, the inferno awaits.
nal:
watch the vote in Virginia next month, that might give you an indication of which way the US is going.
Cuccinelli has good conservative credentials, small government, fiscal responsibility, decent economic policies but he is against many things which go on in the privacy of ones home.
I cant bring my self to vote for Terry McAuliffe but I am feeling the same way about the Cucci. I am probably going to vote for the Libertarian, hopefully many others will end up doing the same thing although I doubt it, he is rather young.
Ted Crux spoke at a closed-door event (what are they hiding?) for conservative pastors that has been organized by David Lane. This is the same David Lane that writes:
Our long-term strategy must be to place the Bible in Public Schools as the principle [sic] textbook of American education.
LOL! DIdn’t anybody proofread his post?
Nal – Ted Cruz is definitely a Christian, he is definitely a favorite of Christians, and he is a favorite of his dad who is a Christian pastor. However, that does not make him a Dominionist who wants to destroy our government and replace it with a theocracy. Do you recognize the difference?
As for David Lane wanting to make the Bible the principal textbook in public schools, that is a bit extreme. Nevertheless, there is something wrong with an educational system that makes reading the Bible in public school a criminal offense. The Bible greatly influenced our western culture for more than 1500 years. It is a failure of our educational system not to inform our children about its contents, just because it is deemed to be “religious.” Thomas Jefferson studied the Bible in the languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin when he was in school. Jefferson coined the phrase, separation of church and state, and I do not think he would go along with the way that phrase is being interpreted today. Justice Stewart was right in 1963 Abington School District v. Schempp when he said the SCOTUS was establishing a religion of secularism by their decision not to allow the reading of the Bible.
“Nevertheless, there is something wrong with an educational system that makes reading the Bible in public school a criminal offense.”
DavidM,
Your dis-ingenuousness knows no bounds. Good try.
DavidM:
now dont go frightening to locals with talk of Ted Cruz being your hero.
The fear of that man is palpable. He is like Lenin to the conservatives.
“I have said previously that Ted Cruz, being newly elected to the Senate, has been unknown to me. However, he now is quickly becoming a hero of mine.”
DavidM,
Some quotes and commentary about your new “hero” and yes it does seem like you two are of like mind as well as disingenuous:
“A more disturbing element of Cruz’s speeches were his repeated calls for a “black robe regiment,” a concept promoted by Christian revisionist historian David Barton who claims that clergy were the main backbone of the American Revolutionary War. Here’s what Cruz had to say to the August 29th gathering of Heritage Action, the main lobbyist group behind shutting down the federal government:
It was pastors who were the backbone of the Revolution. Did you know where Paul Revere was going when he was saying the British are coming? He was going to the home of a pastor by the name of Jonas Clark… [who] was one of many that were called the black robe regiment. These were pastors that wore long black robes. Many of them had the continental army uniform under the black robe. They would preach in church on Sunday and then go out and fight with half their congregation for our independence. I want to encourage our pastors today not to hide behind their pulpits but take the spirit of the black robe regiment.”
And then from his Dad and mentor:
“The theological ethos of Rafael Cruz’s vision is in Christian dominionism; he talks about preaching a “message of dominion” that all Christians have received an “anointing as kings.” I watched a sermon he preached on August 26, 2012 at the New Beginnings megachurch in Irving, Texas, led by Christian Zionist charismatic pastor Larry Huch. Huch incidentally had a very interesting prophecy to share when he introduced Cruz to preach:
We’ve been doing this series here that God laid on my heart: Getting to the top and staying there. A message for us as individuals, the kingdom of God, but also for America. It’s not enough to get there. We need to stay there. It’s not a coincidence that in a few weeks, we go into what’s called in the Bible Rosh Hashanad [sic]… It will be the beginning of the spiritual year 2012. The number 12 means divine government. That God will begin to rule and reign. Not Wall Street, not Washington, God’s people and His kingdom will begin to rule and reign. I know that’s why God got Rafael’s son elected, Ted Cruz the next senator.
But here’s the exciting thing… The rabbinical teaching is… that in a few weeks begins that year 2012 and that this will begin what we call the end-time transfer of wealth. And that when these Gentiles begin to receive this blessing, they will never go back financially through the valley again. They will grow and grow and grow. It’s said this way: that God is looking at the church and everyone in it and deciding in the next three and a half years who will be his bankers. And the ones that say here I am Lord, you can trust me, we will become so blessed that we will usher in the coming of the messiah.”
Seems credible to me, but then I would think it’s music to your ears.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/morgan-guyton/the-theology-of-governmen_b_4020537.html
Mike Spindell – You present nothing but a conspiracy theory whose basis in fact is more flimsy than when Republicans tried to claim Barack Obama embraced Black Liberation Theology because he sat under his pastor Jeremiah Wright for 20 years who taught it vehemently.
Do you REALLY believe that Ted Cruz is against our Constitution, and that he lied when he swore allegiance to our Constitution? Do you really believe that Ted Cruz is trying to destroy our government so that others can step in and establish a theocracy? Do you not see how crazy this sounds?
The facts suggest that Ted Cruz LOVES our Constitution, and he has dedicated his life to upholding it. He fights for religious liberty. Good for him. He is a champion of our democracy and our Constitution.
I seriously think I need to take time to go figure out how to join the Tea Party and send Ted Cruz some money to keep doing what he is doing. If he is driving you guys to such irrationality, he must be doing something right, whatever it is.
“Do you REALLY believe that Ted Cruz is against our Constitution, and that he lied when he swore allegiance to our Constitution?”
Yes and Yes. I also think that those pushing the shutdown are violating their oaths of office and in effect committing treason against this country. Doing something unconstitutional and getting away with it, doesn’t make it Constitutional.
Mike Spindell wrote: ” I also think that those pushing the shutdown are violating their oaths of office and in effect committing treason against this country.”
How so? They are not suppose to vote? What are you saying? That they are only allowed to vote the way a party or the administration tells them to vote? Why does the Constitution give them a vote if they are committing treason by exercising that right to vote? I really do not understand where you are coming from. Please explain.
New pejorative re tea party types — Overweenies
Mr. Spindell,
Your post is self-contradictory. If the tea party members and like minded religious conservatives wanted to establish a theocracy, they would not want government shut down. No government is the antithesis of a theocracy. Theocrats want a strong government that could control its citizens, a government which would, for example, collect everyone’s medical information, tax away the citizen’s freedom to spend their hard-earned dollars as they wish, and intercept people’s emails. A government which usurps with the rights of its citizens needs a little shutting down from time to time.
BTW, to answer your quandary, poor people vote for conservatives because they, more than most, understand the connection between their work and their earnings. They realize that when the government takes away their money, it is taking away their labor.
“If the tea party members and like minded religious conservatives wanted to establish a theocracy, they would not want government shut down. No government is the antithesis of a theocracy.”
Vincent Jankowski,
You are furiously spinning but as the song goes:
“The things that are liable to appear in the Bible,
They ain’t neccessarily so.”
If you destroy the government you open the country up for who ever steps in to replace it. Given that the “Dominionists” have some extremely wealthy backers and allies, they would be in perfect position to take over and fill the vacuum. The have also worked hard to infiltrate the military at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
“They realize that when the government takes away their money, it is taking away their labor.”
What they don’t realize is that it is people like you, who don’t say a word about Corporations who don’t pay taxes and vote for people who have shifted the burden of supporting this country to all but those most capable of doing so, disdain them and think them losers. As Mitt Romney said and you no doubt believe “47% of these people are takers.” The real “takers” are about .01% of us who use government as a sophisticated ATM.
Bob K.,
Mr. Cruz has somehow managed to surge past Michelle Bachman as one of the craziest people in politics.
Let us not judge Mr. Cruz on his accomplishments in the distant past, for he hath richly atoned for them.
Let us judge Mr. Cruz on his current behavior. Mr. Cruz has reformed. He hath renounced his former associations with the educated elite.
Let us proclaim Mr. Cruz a moron in the eyes of our deity, the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Go then, and be fools no more. Mr. Cruz has that covered.
This dystopia novel shows what America would be like if the religious right gained control: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=rabbletown
Someone on this blog in weeks past stated that Ayn Rand was Rand Paul’s mother. Is that true? My brother Jack thinks that Rand Paul is a disciple. I don’t know what that word means. When Ron Paul was sitting around the table at the News Hour someone, while they thought they were off camera, asked Ron about his years as an osteopath. His reply was that he saw more ussy than the rest of the candidates put together times ten. A guy like that ain’t gonna cheat on his wife with Monica and employ a cigar.
“A guy like that ain’t gonna cheat on his wife with Monica and employ a cigar.”
JakeM,
Don’t bet on it. A close friend at college who was at the head of his class in the Pre Med track confided in me that his goal was to become a gynecologist so that he could look at vagina’s (he put it more crudely) all day long. At the time he was twenty and seeing a 13 year old girl, which made double dating awkward. He married her and we lost touch as he went out of State to Medical School. Three decades later an article appeared in Long Island Newsday about a gynecologist with a wife and five children being accused of sexually molesting three patients. The following day the amount rose to eight patients, Two days later it was up to 51 patients. The following day the headline read that he had checked into a local motel and blew his brains out. It was my old college friend That Paul even made such a comment “off mike” is actually quite sleazy don’t you think?