Dart board Evangelicals

Evangelical Christians are a solid right wing voting block for conservative Republicans. They are dependable voters who rely on strong moral positions against abortion and support for "pro-life" issues, as they endorse litmus test candidates. These concrete thinking believers use simplistic code words to decide how they will vote - almost always, as Republicans. They don't care about what a candidate does, like sexual misconduct, so long as what is said goes on the record to reflect pro-life issues. But, what does the Bible say about these issues?  In my opinion - nothing.

But, life is not entirely "pro" or "totally choice". 

Rather, there are special circumstances that impact and affect practically every human decision.

Psalm 18- is probably the only Biblical passage worth blogging about. Evangelicals should think of it as the "bulls eye" of Scripture- "I love you- Yahweh my strength"

In my opinion, right wing Evangelicals are literally throwing darts at the Bible. They're inventing uncompromising precedents upon which, they believe, all politicians are to be judged. Then, they vote in lock step based upon whatever judgment they deem to be appropriate. This is classic cult mentality and Orwellian "group think" (a deterioration in mental deficiency).

Evangelicals are not reading what the Bible says when they create their extremist political views. In fact, there are no Biblical passages that supports political extremism.  

Therefore, I decided to go to the Bible and write the passages I randomly find, like throwing darts at Scripture. Here is what the Bible "really" says about how Evangelicals should develop their political positions. These passages are randomly selected from opening my Bible and letting the pages fall, where they may. 

These passages are stepping stones for Christians who should learn what the Bible says before leaping to extremist points of view and, thereby, voting for candidates who are "litmus tested", because they advocate for one particular issue.

Evangelicals that "litmus test" political candidates, should begin by reading what the Bible says, rather than making stuff up.  

I randomly opened my home New Jerusalem Bible, and the page fell to Psalm 18:  "I love you. Yahweh my strength."

Perfect!  Maybe, I don't need to go any further. My first random Biblical selection was the "bulls eye" of Scripture- Psalm 18.  Nothing else matters.  It's what Jesus Christ preached, all expressed in six poetic words. Evangelicals who only vote for Republicans, without regard to how the extremist policies negatively impact others, clearly need some counseling about Psalm 18.

Another randomly opened page- Mark 16:14- (Jesus) "...showed himself to the eleven themselves while they were at table. He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy because because they refused to believe those who had seen him...."

Evangelicals ignore Jesus when they turn their backs on undocumented children immigrants or when they support candidates who are sexual predators of children, just because they happen to be Republicans. Evangelicals who ignore the personal testimonies of innocent victims of the child sexual predator, Roy Moore of Alabama, are vicariously ignoring both Psalm 18 and the teachings of Jesus, who said in Matthew 25:40:-"whatever you do to the least of my brothers, so you do unto me...."


It goes without saying that Evangelicals should read the Bible with an understanding of what it says, rather than just mouth the words to create their own, unsubstantiated, political realities.

Those Evangelicals who want to be literal in their Biblical interpretations and apply their concrete thinking to political candidates need only read The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.  Both passages are easy to memorize and to apply to our daily lives- and to political candidates.

Alt-right is in cult mentality - anecdotes urgently needed

Branding "alternative facts" and "fake news" as "lies"

Telling lies and re-branding them as "alternate facts" or "fake news" are becoming increasingly unbelievable; but a cultist's way to dismantle truth. Americans absolutely and unequivocally can't allow this double speak Orwellian processing of "untruth" to continue. Telling lies under any euphemism is still "telling lies".  HELLO?  Remember the cliche "If it walks like a duck"?

There are Biblical rules against telling lies. Bearing false witness is specifically addressed in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 2-17. Deuteronomy 5:6-21).

Jesus proclaimed the righteous would be filled, as one of the 9 Beatitudes, as described by Matthew 5: 3-12. So, how is it that Christians, many Roman Catholics (including American Catholic Bishops) and Republicans who blindly support Donald Trump, continue to believe, support and repeat the lies his campaign built up into a sublime art form, without calling them "sins" or "falsehoods", or "untruths" or "false witness".

Perhaps you're not a Christian or a person who believes in Scripture, either Old or New Testament? For the secular person, here's the lexicon of synonyms in the Thesaurus associated with the word "lie". Along with the obvious synonyms, like "deceit" and "deception", some of the graphic "lie" associations include "forgery" and "whopper", among others. Check them out.

Consequently, the purpose of this blog is to explore my thoughts about how to compound an anecdote for the dangerous slippery slope of creating euphemisms for the practice of telling lies. "Alternative facts" are lies, the term is now viral and must be added to the Thesaurus. "Fake News" is clearly stated as being "not true"; but, incredulously, the "fake news" phenomenon has created cult believers! Donald Trump is the "Fake News Creator in Chief"! As a matter of fact, in the ethnographers world, where culture is examined by graphics and the written word, Trump gets the brand of being the "fake news" source, because he invented "birtherism", which is The Big Lie (a Joseph Goebbels concept) about President Barack Obama's birthplace.

So, how do we compound an anecdote for "alternative facts"? Obviously, a vaccine prevention or a verbal antibiotic cure isn't possible. Even more profound, the word "truth" doesn't penetrate into the "alternative facts" disease. It's like fighting the deadly Ebola virus, without using rubber gloves, because, eventually, the fake news germ will overcome voices demanding "proof" and "accountability". Right wing cultists can't believe in truth, unless they hear it couched in alternative facts and fake news.

Blogs, like Maine Writer (not intended to be a plug!) must be pervasive to pressure the Donald Trump cultists into producing evidence to sustain their fake news "lies".

In other words, just where are the millions of undocumented who voted when they weren't authorized to do so? This myth was created by the Trumpzi regime to erroneously rationalize how Donald Trump lost the popular vote by 2.8+ million votes.

Donald Trump really believes the National Association of Secretaries of State, in all 50 United States, conspired to allow from 3-5 million non-documented people to vote in the presidential election? Of course, Trump is delusional, but that's what makes "fake news" tangentially insidious. It's weird thinking gone "viral", crated by the delusional cult leader i.e. Donald Trump. 

Eventually, truth risks collapsing under the weight of the delusional cult phenomenon.

Visually, the highly successful "Women's March" on January 21st, was one anecdote; because, eventually, even the cult leader Donald Trump acknowledged the reality of the international movement.

So, here's my compound to anecdote the cult of alternative facts and fake news. We must respond to in real time, sustained by the light of truth. Although this sounds altruistic or simplistic, it's indeed a dangerous concoction, as millions of oppressed people who lived during the Cambodian Khmer Rouge genocide know, only too well.

Our anecdote for the alternative facts and fake news cottage industries, gone viral in the United States White House, must be adjudicated, challenged under the First Amendment and relentlessly reinforced by truth telling, at all levels of communication.

The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes demand it of us.

This is America's time to stand firm for truth; but it will take a sustainability effort like nothing we've ever experienced in the past.

Will freedom of speech trump telling truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

When the US Supreme Court hears arguments about whether or not to allow political lies to be challenged, it seems to me, the justices should go back to law school 101, before deliberations on this case begins. History tells us the Ten Commandments were the foundation of our western legal justice system.  In the document Moses is credited with chronicling, Exodus 20:16- thou shall not bear false witness...., seems to me the high court would be trumping this tenet of the bailiff's swearing in oath and Moses, if the ruling in support of free speech, including the liberty to spread lies, is permitted to overrule what's taught in the Ten Commandments.

Of course, cynics will deny the validity of the Ten Commandments as being the foundation for our western justice system. If so, then what's the basis of the oath all witnesses take before testifying in a jury trial or before a judge?  "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth....". Although atheists are apparently permitted to omit the optional "so help me God" clause, the fact is, witnesses raise their right hand and swear to tell the truth. To do otherwise, or to lie while under oath, is called perjury, which is a crime.

It also seems to me, US Supreme Court rulings supporting Second Amendment rights to own guns, over the right of people to be protected from gun violence, likewise, trumps the Ten Commandment about "thou shall not kill".

Perhaps it's time for our US Supreme Court conservative justices, especially the Roman Catholic Justice Scalia and Chief Justice Roberts, should consider their Judeo-Christian heritage while contemplating how freedom of speech fits with the Ten Commandments.

In other words, perhaps the Supreme Court justices should read a law 101 book. Nearly all professions require refresher courses. It would be reassuring to know how the justices refreshed their judicial roots, before ruling on case law that puts our US Constitutional freedoms of speech and to bear arms, above the traditional enforcement of the Ten Commandments.

Entitlements for the Rich - Manifesto by Steven Pearlstein

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/i-am-a-job-creator-a-manifesto-for-the-entitled/2012/09/28/756f2e90-07ee-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html

Some voting Americans are creating a new interpretation of Biblical teaching about the poor.

Columnist Steven Pearlstein gives us words to ponder in this regard when he writes: "I am a Job Creator: A Manifesto for the Entitled"

Maine Writer's op-ed: Americans pride ourselves as a Christian nation, but seem to give little attention to the Beatitudes Jesus Christ gave us in his Sermon on the Mount. 

http://www.trinitystudycenter.com/mount/matthew_5-1-12.php 

Some claim the Sermon on the Mount is the New Testament appendix to The Ten Commandments, written in the Biblical Book of Exodus, by Moses http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20&version=NIV

Neither Biblical document references deferential treatment for people based on race or socio-economic status. Moses didn't tell rich people or poor people "Thou shalt not steal". He said this law applies to everyone, equally. Although Jesus said the poor would inherit the earth, his reference included those who are servants of the poor. In other words, one could argue that Jesus referred to sharing the wealth. As a matter of fact, Jesus even demonstrated this generosity, by multiplying the loaves and fishes, so everyone who came to see him could eat - presumably, for free.

http://kingofages.com/2012/07/18/john-6-1-15/

Although I sure wish this manifesto had been my own creation, why re-invent this copyrighted brilliance. Here's the manifesto from Mr. Pearlstein as printed in the Washington Post (link above). By the way, pay attention to the narcissistic "I":

I am a private-equity fund manager.

I am the misunderstood superhero of American capitalism, single-handedly creating wealth and prosperity despite all the obstacles put in my way by employees, government and the media.

I am a job creator and I am entitled.

I am entitled to complain about the economy even when my stock price, my portfolio and my profits are at record levels.

I am entitled to a healthy and well-educated workforce, a modern and efficient transportation system and protection for my person and property, just as I am entitled to demonize the government workers who provide them.

I am entitled to complain bitterly about taxes that are always too high, even when they are at record lows.

I am entitled to a judicial system that efficiently enforces contracts and legal obligations on customers, suppliers and employees but does not afford them the same right in return.

I am entitled to complain about the poor quality of service provided by government agencies even as I leave my own customers on hold for 35 minutes while repeatedly telling them how important their call is.

I am entitled to a compensation package that is above average for my company’s size and industry, reflecting the company’s aspirations if not its performance.

I am entitled to have the company pay for breakfasts and lunches, a luxury car and private jet travel, my country club dues and home security systems, box seats to all major sporting events, a pension equal to my current salary and a full package of insurance — life, health, dental, disability and long-term care — through retirement.

I am entitled to have my earned income taxed as capital gains and my investment income taxed at the lowest rate anywhere in the world — or not at all.

I am entitled to inside information and favorable investment opportunities not available to ordinary investors. I am entitled to brag about my investment returns.

I am entitled to pass on my accumulated wealth tax-free to heirs, who in turn, are entitled to claim that they earned everything they have.

I am entitled to use unlimited amounts of my own or company funds to buy elections without disclosing such expenditures to shareholders or the public.

I am entitled to use company funds to burnish my own charitable reputation.

I am entitled to provide political support to radical, uncompromising politicians and then complain about how dysfunctional Washington has become.

Although I have no clue how government works, I am entitled to be consulted on public policy by politicians and bureaucrats who have no clue about how business works.

I am entitled to publicly criticize the president and members of Congress, who are not entitled to criticize me.

I am entitled to fire any worker who tries to organize a union. I am entitled to break any existing union by moving, or threatening to move, operations to a union-hostile environment.

I am entitled to a duty of care and loyalty from employees and investors who are owed no such duty in return.

I am entitled to operate my business free of all government regulations other than those written or approved by my industry.

I am entitled to load companies up with debt in order to pay myself and investors big dividends — and then blame any bankruptcy on over-compensated workers.

I am entitled to contracts, subsidies, tax breaks, loans and even bailouts from government, even as I complain about job-killing government budget deficits.

I am entitled to federal entitlement reform.

I am entitled to take credit for all the jobs I create while ignoring any jobs I destroy.
I am entitled to claim credit for all the profits made during a booming economy while blaming losses or setbacks on adverse market or economic conditions.

I am entitled to deny knowledge or responsibility for any controversial decisions made after my departure from the company, even while profiting from such decisions if they enhance shareholder value.

I am entitled to all the rights and privileges of running an American company, but owe no loyalty to American workers or taxpayers.

I am entitled to confidential information about my employees and customers while refusing even to list the company’s phone number on its Web site.

I am entitled to be treated with deference and respect by investors I mislead, customers I bamboozle, directors I manipulate and employees I view as expendable.

I am entitled to be lionized in the media without answering any questions from reporters.

I am entitled to the VIP entrance.

I am entitled to everything I have and more that I still deserve.

Maine Writer's finale:  Americans Christians! How Do You Plead?