Ned-N-Reader

MY EXITOUS

2009-03-25T21:51:00.006-06:00

I have decided to soften my position on the separation of Church and state. I am undertaking a campaign to have The Ten Commandments, as written in the book of Exodus, restored to courthouse walls. It has become ever more clear to me that this is truly the basis for our current system of laws.

`NED~

The Ten Commandments

Exodus 34:11-34:27
11 Observe what I command you today. See, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a snare among you. 13You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their sacred poles* 14(for you shall worship no other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God). 15You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone among them will invite you, and you will eat of the sacrifice. 16And you will take wives from among their daughters for your sons, and their daughters who prostitute themselves to their gods will make your sons also prostitute themselves to their gods.
17 You shall not make cast idols.
18 You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.
19 All that first opens the womb is mine, all your male* livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem.
No one shall appear before me empty-handed.
21 For six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in ploughing time and in harvest time you shall rest. 22You shall observe the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year. 23Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, and the sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not be left until the morning.
26 The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God.
You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.
27 The Lord said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel

Ned-N-Reader: Eviloution Vs Malevolent Design or Ned's Big Bang Query

2009-03-24T08:41:00.000-06:00

Ned-N-Reader: Eviloution Vs Malevolent Design or Ned's Big Bang Query

Eviloution Vs Malevolent Design or Ned's Big Bang Query

2009-03-23T18:57:00.006-06:00

I think all controversy concerning the teaching of evolution could be avoided, by competent scientist and teachers, if they would just end every lecture or technical paper with, "And the God of Abraham and Isaac, creator of heaven and earth, Father of Jesus of Nazareth, made these miracles possible, gave me the eyes to see its truth, and the strength and wisdom to carry this message to his chosen flock. Can I get an Amen?"

Evolution Resumed

2009-03-09T18:49:00.014-06:00

Today president Obama issued a presidential memorandum and spoke of scientific integrity.

"Promoting science isn't just about providing resources - it is also about protecting free and open inquiry," Obama said during today's signing ceremony. "It is about letting scientists like those here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it’s inconvenient - especially when it’s inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda - and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology."

In honor of of this return to sanity, I would like to add dos centavos.

The absolute surest way for creationist to disprove"Darwin's Theory," is by homeschooling generations of their children.

Blessings, Ned

Creationists make it sound as though a "theory" is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night.
~Isaac Asimov~
"Evolution has seemingly passed over those that cannot understand it."
~Ned~
"May we please have a moment of science, for those poor souls that cannot understand evolution as God's scientific method."
~Ned~
"Science is no longer frozen; global warming has resumed."
~Ned~

The Protection Faith

2009-03-09T11:12:00.010-06:00

The government should never exercise control over any religious tradition, except in the prevention of harm to citizens outside of that tradition. Likewise, no religion should hold sway over the government that preserves the rights of all the people it serves. Regardless of how it is spent, government monies distributed to any religious organization cannot be prevented from promoting that religion or their proselytizing to the people it aids. A religions order cannot help being influenced by a government that finances them or their endeavors. Even the practice of tax exemptions for religious organizations should be scrutinized. Tax exemptions are always just another form of welfare.
For the protection of the faith shared by an abundance of US citizens, James Madison, Father of Our Constitution, Author of the Bill of Rights, wrote, "Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other sects? " ~Memorial and Remonstrance~
~Ned~

Winston McCain

2008-03-09T16:10:00.014-06:00

In comparing himself to Winston Churchill, John McCain may be on to something, "Churchill Strategery." Perhaps in another eighty six years we can really proclaim,

"Mission Accomplished!"

~NED~

"When Iraq becomes strong enough in our opinion to stand alone, we shall be in a position to state that our task has been fulfilled, and that

Iraq

is an independent sovereign state. But this cannot be said while we are forced year after year to spend very large sums of money on helping the Iraqi government to defend itself and maintain order.": Winston Churchill - 1922

John McCain likens himself to Winston Churchill
Telegraph.co.UK, United Kingdom - Mar 7, 2008
By Alex Spillius in Chicago The Republican candidate John McCain yesterday released an advertisement comparing himself to Winston Churchill, as he attempts
'We're Americans and we'll never surrender. They will' Independent
McCain's New Web Video, 'Man in the Arena' National Review Online
All 3 news articles »

The Ballad of Chemical Ali

2008-02-29T12:58:00.005-07:00

The US is cheering on the upcoming execution of Chemical Ali, for gassing the Norther Iraqi Kurds, with the gas the Pentagon had supplied him with. (this was the second excuse given for invading Iraq, when no WMDs were found) For months now, the Turks have been killing Northern Iraqi Kurds on a daily basis, with US supplied weaponry and our blessing. (these are the people we came to liberate) This week, knowing that the Chemical Ali's execution story was about to break and could be credited as a 'Merican victory, Secretary of Defense Gates has publicly denounced the Turkish bombing of Kurds in Iraq and ordered them to cease bombing. How can we take credit as liberators, if our allies are killing the peoples we came to liberate? The Northern Kurdish PKK, which were good when Saddam was gassing them are now labeled as terrorist by US, because they are enemies of the Turks and we move our armament through Turkey into Iraq. The Southern Iraqi Kurdish PKK are our friends and not terrorist, because they are enemies of the Iranians, like Saddam was when we supplied him with the gas that he used on the Northern Kurds. Are you still with me?
The Bush administration is so crooked, they have to screw their socks on every morning.
The moral to the story: If the US offers you arms, to help combat one of their enemies, don't take 'em. One day you are chemical ally and the next you're "Chemical Ali." Dead!
NED

BBC News
'Chemical Ali' execution approved in IraqTelegraph.co.UK - 8 hours agoIn the late 1980s, he was commander of Iraqi forces in northern Iraq. At the end of the Iraq-Iraq war in 1988, he ordered the use of chemical weapons against the Kurdish village of Halabja, killing 5000 residents.Iraq's leaders approve execution of Chemical Ali Times OnlineGreen light for Chemical Ali's hanging Melbourne Herald SunThe Associated Press - CBC News - BBC News - Aljazeera.net All 545 news articles »

Flip Flops - Buy One Get One Free

2008-02-28T12:59:00.010-07:00

This morning I was listening to a representative of evangelicals on PBS. He was saying that the religious wrong has some reservations and differences with John McCain. The commentator ask what it would take to reconcile those differences and the fellow replied that it depended on what McCain says between now and the election.
I can tell you what John McCain is going to do, what he always does, talk out of both sides of his mouth. McCain condemned the radical divisiveness of Jerry Falwell and then only weeks later, after making his bid for the presidency, appeared with Falwell and spoke at Liberty University's Commencement.
Now Johnny has completely reversed himself on waterboarding and torture. The press loves to refer to McCain as a maverick, because of his rhetorical differences with the republicans, but he has never once voted those differences. How maverick is that? He also is referred to as a man of honor because of his military service, but if a war hero stands up for right, regardless of pressure & politic and then votes for wrong, is he that heroic? I urge you to take a look a these links below and judge if this fellow is the kind of US presidential candidate we should even consider. I realize that the integrity bar for the presidency is at a historical low and anybody would be an improvement.
NED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioy90nF2anI

McCain is wrong about waterboarding Contra Costa Times, CA - Feb 26, 2008John McCain, a former prisoner of war and earlier steadfast opponent of torture, to turn away from his own principles in support of waterboarding and ...
Is John McCain a liar?Aljazeera.com, UK - 5 hours ago Is McCain a phony who’s long been protected by his gilded reputation or does he suffer from severe memory loss? By Robert Parry In journalism, ...
Radar Online
McCain: Waterboarding's New KahunaRadar Online, NY - Feb 14, 2008Dudes, waterboarding fever: catch it. Former POW and current GOP frontrunner John McCain certainly has. The senator, who once rather poetically referred to ...

One Nation Under Who?

2008-02-25T20:53:00.006-07:00

The grim reality for those that would have US a faith based nation is that One Nation Under God or In God We Trust, can mean anything that any two peckerwoods gathered in The Great Whatever's name, say it does. WWJD? Who the hell knows, with new denomination of non affiliates springing up every day. Just write yourself a dogma or theology that coincides with your political bent and demand the loyalty of your flock of sheople. In fact, require that they pledge their allegiance, money and votes, under Gaud. Theres a new Jesus being born every minute; not enough hours in the day to crucify and resurrect them all.
Let's opt out of this religious madness and embrace the constitutional separation of church and state that our founding fathers authored.
NED

Americans Change Faiths at Rising Rate, Report Finds
New York Times - 10 hours agoBy NEELA BANERJEE WASHINGTON - More than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or no religion, according to a new survey of religious affiliation by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.Protestants Verging on Becoming Minorities U.S. News & World ReportStudy reveals changing landscape of religion Salt Lake TribuneLos Angeles Times - Reuters - Boston Globe - Washington Times All 242 news articles »

Let's Re-think

2008-02-19T19:13:00.005-07:00

Whose phone can Bush wiretap without a warrant?
Every reporter and citizen traveling abroad and reporting on our illegitimate war and US affairs around the world. (News of lack of yellow cake or WMDs and such or pictures of Abu Ghraib)
Ever congressman or senator traveling abroad for any reason, which would include all of them at some time. Every member of the armed services, serving abroad and calling home. Every foreign phone call of every Corporation doing any business abroad. (That's all of them) The CEO of Halliburton that lives in Dubai. Ha! All communication between the US Holy Roman Church and their home office. Eastern Orthodoxers too. Every e-mail that is forwarded in or out of the US by anyone.
And if that isn't enough, Bush, Cheney and Mitch McConnel want to make every phone company exempt from civil suits for any damage that may result from the leaking of information gathered through warrantless wiretaps.
Anyone who can honestly say that they believe this is necessary or wise to protect US against terror, would have loved Germany in '31. Do you really want to give this unrestricted kind of power to our executive branch?
NED

Brave New World

2008-02-19T12:36:00.006-07:00

For several weeks now, I have been ranting and raving about the Bush Administrations pervasive use and protection of unlimited, warrantless domestic wiretapping. My republican friends have all been pretending that they can't see any problem with this policy and that adherence to the FISA act would place our country in grave danger, severely impeding our moral crusade against terror. It is inconcevable to me that the party of smaller less intrusive government is willing to turn a blind eye to this to this affront to liberty, for power and politic. The conservative court has refused a hearing on domestic spying and the Attorney General is looking the other way.
Suddenly it occurred to me that the shoe is about to be on the left foot. I fully anticipate, that quite a few republicans are going to be fired in November; Senators, Congressmen, President, Attorney General, who knows? Imagine the un-restricted wiretapping of republicans by democrats, with a democratic Attorney General and an old conservative stacked Supreme Court, that has already ruled, "No Problemo." The US emerges from a Nineteen Eighty Four scenario to Huxley's Brave New World.
Kinda gives you reason for pause, don't it, neocon?
Blessings,
NED

John The Piper's Son

2008-02-18T21:23:00.006-07:00

John McCain has pledged that if elected, he will veto any piece of pork barrel legislation that comes across his desk.

John John the
Piper's' son.
Stole a pig and now
He's gonna run.

~NED~

Grab a beer and watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeJb90ZmyRQ

The Titanic Stays the Course

2008-02-09T16:27:00.001-07:00

This idea of an economic stimulus package to bail out our ailing economy has all of the merit of "Mission Accomplished." Its only purpose is one brief flash of light in the final, darkest last days of the Bush administration. The sound economy which Georgie loves to brag about is only an illusion, as the entire Bush economy has been one big stimulus package. Under the Bush administration the US has borrowed 500,Bill,ill,ion dollars to fund the Iraq war. Most of this money is spent in the US with contractors and has the effect of heating up our economy and causing inflation. Then we ship their entire product over to Iraq and blow it up, creating a never ending demand for more defense spending. In adition to this, Bush has given US tax cuts and rebates with money we have borrowed from the Chinese. These bucks trickle down to the middle class citizen, he rushes over to Walmart and buys more goods from the Chinese, so they can loan US more money. Bush's numbers look pretty good, except for the fact that our national debt has grown to 9.3, Trill,ill,ill,ion dollars, wages have declned, cost of living is up, as well as unemployment, inspite of all this stimulus. Now Little George has proposed a stimulus to cure his stimulus and the congress has signed another 151, bill,ill,ion dollar Chinese note. Why? Because, George wants to go out on a high note and no congressman will vote against giving money to the people in an election year, even if it is borrowed from China. Brilliant! Well guess what, your little stimulus pittance is going to cost your children 400,bill,ill,ion dollars before it is repaid. You will be spending your children's inheritance. If you are planning on voting for another republican conservative in the next election to bail US out, you had better look at the facts.
The chart above, based on historical figures from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, shows the total deficit or surplus for each fiscal year from 1990 through 2006. Keep in mind that fiscal years begin Oct. 1, so the first year that can be counted as a Clinton year is fiscal 1994. The appropriations bills for fiscal years 1990 through 1993 were signed by Bill Clinton's predecessor, George H.W. Bush. Fiscal 2002 is the first for which President George W. Bush signed the appropriations bills, and the first to show the effect of his tax cuts.
But Ned, you ask,"What about Reganomics?" Lookie lookie.

Remember the old republican saw, that defecit spending isn't a problem as long as its percentage of GDP is not too high? Do they intend to return to post World War II levels?
~NED~

No Child Left Denied

2008-01-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

Only Homeschooling can ensure that your children receive every disadvantage that you have.
~NED~

DEVOLUTION

2008-01-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

If you don't believe in Evolution, you can put a stop to it within your own bloodline by Homeschooling.
~NED~

Testament: by Tony Snow

2007-12-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

I often speak with people about mortality and what a blessing it is to become completely conscience of it. Tony Snow has written much of my experience and feelings most perfectly. My son and I are both survivors of grave cancers and my heart history is a matter of miracles for books. The blessing has not been in the surviving, but in the experience of receiving an element of faith, seeing our earthly life for its depth and breadth rather than length and the prospect of eternal life so vivid I can nearly touch it.
~NED~

This is an outstanding testimony from Tony Snow, President Bush's Press Secretary, and his fight with cancer. Commentator and broadcaster Tony Snow announced that he had colon cancer in 2005. Following surgery and chemo-therapy, Snow joined the Bush Administration in April 2006 as press secretary. Unfortunately, on March 23, 2007, Snow, 51, a husband and father of three, announced the cancer had recurred, with tumors found in his abdomen,- leading to surgery in April, followed by more chemotherapy. Snow went back to work in the White House Briefing Room on May 30, but has resigned since, "for economic reasons," and to pursue "other interests."It needs little intro... it speaks for itself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Blessings arrive in unexpected packages, - in my case, cancer. Those of us with potentially fatal diseases - and there are millions in America today - find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God's will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence "What It All Means,"Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the "why" questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things, and the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is, a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.But despite this, - or because of it, - God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere. To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life,- and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many non believing hearts - an intuition that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away.Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live fully, richly, exuberantly - no matter how their days may be numbered.Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease,- smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see, - but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance; and comprehension - and yet don't. By His love and grace,we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.'You Have Been Called'. Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet, a loved one holds your hand at the side. "It's cancer," the healer announces.The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. "Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler." But another voice whispers: "You have been called." Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter,- and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our "normal time."There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived an inexplicable shudder of excitement, as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tiny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change.You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive,pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness,danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul,traipsing through the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes ( Spain ), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue, - for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the holy city. From the Cross,he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us, that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others.Sickness gets us part way there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. Administer friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two peoples' worries and fears.'Learning How to Live'. Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms, not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of love. I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was an humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. "I'm going to try to beat [this cancer]," he told me several months before he died. "But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side."His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity, - filled with life and love we cannot comprehend, - and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms. Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations?Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it. It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up, - to speak of us!This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God. What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us who believe, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place, in the hollow of God's hand."
T. Snow

...when we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings: ---Sogyal Rinpoche---

The House That Dick Built

2007-11-16T06:12:00.000-07:00

Defense Secretary Gates threatens to lay off 200,000 civilians working on military bases by the first of the year if congress fails to fully fund the Iraq war. I can hardly wait to hear the screaming, crying and gnashing of teeth.
Gates threatens civilian jobs in congressional districts around the country; the congress caves to pressure from it constituents, because they need their jobs to pay their portion of the war debt (currently $20,000 per household); The war debt climbs to 3 Trillion and the people owe even more money and taxes must rise..... Finally a plausible explanation for the war in Iraq: We fight the war to create jobs for people who work to support the war that creates jobs that pays for the house that Dick built.
This sounds like the failed attempts at producing a perpetual motion machine. Money like energy always incurs heavy losses when converted from one form to another, especially when there are skimmers in the line like Halliburton/KBR and Blackwater.
~NED~

The Spoils of War

2007-11-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

"I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag." -- Major General Smedley Darling Butler (1881-1940) Major General USMC, "Old Gimlet Eye'' and "Hell Devil Darling", one of the most highly decorated military men from the pre-World War II era. Source: from a speech in 1933.
http://rationalrevolution.net/war/major_general_smedley_butler_usm.htm
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes_by/major+general+smedley+darlington+butler

I received this Quote some days ago from Information Clearing House. I think I totally dismissed its wisdom and truth until this morning, when the same words began to rattle in my head.

The rich man wages war and the common man does the dying.
We always seem to understand the senseless, dishonest nature of war after our surviving and wounded are home for a while. With about a decades worth of firm resolve, we vow to never let this happen again. Yet, before the bill has been settled, there begins the rattling. Sabers!
~NED~

The Unholy Alliance

2007-11-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

Robertson, right, appears with Giuliani after endorsing him.
And what are those solid Christian vales that Rudy wishes to align himself with?

Rudy's Position:

Rudy Giuliani: I was mayor of New York on 9/11. I want to be president because of 9/11. I want to protect the US from blood thirsty Muslims becase of 9/11. We must never forget 9/11. 9/11 is a day that will live in infamy. I'm qualified to be president because of my experience on 9/11. I will make the best president becase of 9/11.
Abortion
Ultimate decision by woman, her conscience & her doctor. (Aug 2007)
Seek bipartisan ways to reduce abortion & increase adoption. (May 2007)
1997:Supported partial birth; opposed parental notificiation. (May 2007)
Giuliani donated to Planned Parenthood throughout 1990s. (May 2007)
Ok to repeal Roe v. Wade, but ok to view it as precedent too. (May 2007)
Allow states to fund or not fund abortion. (May 2007)
Embryonic stem cell research ok if limited properly. (May 2007)
Pro-choice; no ban on partial-birth abortions. (Dec 1999)
Gay Rights
No Marriage Amendment needed now, but maybe if DOMA fails. (Oct 2007)
Supports domestic partnerships, but not same-sex marriage. (Aug 2007)
Don't change gays-in-military policy in time of war. (Jun 2007)
Opposed Pres. Bush's ban on gay marriage. (Jan 2007)
Pro gay rights. (Jul 2006)
Extended all city benefits to same-sex couples. (May 1998
Gun Control
NYC gun control laws made NYC safest big city in US. (Sep 2007)
Supported nationwide licensing & assault weapons ban. (May 2007)
Gun control reduces urban crime; no effect on hunting. (Feb 2007)
NYC sued two dozen major gun manufacturers and distributors. (Jun 2000)
All gun owners should pass written test. (Mar 2000)

Pat's Position:

Pat Robertson: The terror attacks of Sept. 11 proved that God was lifting his protection from an abortion-giving, gay-loving nation.
Pat Robertson: You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist. I can love the people who hold false opinions but I don't have to be nice to them.
Pat Robertson: I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that's the way it is, period.
Pat Robertson: The Constitution of the United States, for instance, is a marvelous document for self-government by the Christian people. But the minute you turn the document into the hands of non-Christian people and atheistic people they can use it to destroy the very foundation of our society. And that's what's been happening.
Pat Robertson: [about apartheid South Africa] I think "one man, one vote" just unrestricted democracy, would not be wise. There needs to be some kind of protection for the minority which the white people represent now, a minority, and they need and have a right to demand a protection of their rights.
Pat Robertson: NOW is saying that in order to be a woman, you've got to be a lesbian.
Pat Robertson: [about Planned Parenthood] It is teaching kids to fornicate, teaching people to have adultery, every kind of bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism - everything that the Bible condemns.
Pat Robertson: The public education movement has also been an anti-Christian movement. We can change education in America if you put Christian principles in and Christian pedagogy in. In three years, you would totally revolutionize education in America.
Pat Robertson: You see what happened in 1962. They took prayer out of the schools. The next year the Supreme Court ordered Bible reading taken from the schools. And then progressing, liberals, most of them atheistic educators, have pushed to remove all religion from the lives of children. The people who wrote the "Humanist Manifesto" and their pupils and their disciples are in charge of education in America today.
Pat Robertson: Many of those people involved with Adolph Hitler were Satanists, many of them were homosexuals. The two things seem to go together.
Pat Robertson: I think we ought to close Halloween down. Do you want your children to dress up as witches? The Druids used to dress up like this when they were doing human sacrifice. [Your children] Pat Robertson: are acting out Satanic rituals and participating in it, and don't even realize it.
Pat Robertson: [about Gay Day at Disney World] I would warn Orlando that you're right in the way of some serious hurricanes and I don't think I'd be waving those flags in God's face if I were you. This is not a message of hate; this is a message of redemption. But a condition like this will bring about the destruction of your nation. It'll bring about terrorist bombs, it'll bring earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor.
Pat Robertson: The key in terms of mental ability is chess. There's never been a woman Grand Master chess player. Once you get one, then I'll buy some of the feminism.
Pat Robertson: I think the sky is blue because it's a shift from black through purple to blue, and it has to do with where the light is. You know, the farther we get into darkness, and there's a shifting of color of light into the blueness, and I think as you go farther and farther away from the reflected light we have from the sun or the light that's bouncing off this earth, uh, the darker it gets. I think if you look at the color scale, you start at black, move it through purple, move it on out, it's the shifting of color. We mentioned before about the stars singing, and that's one of the effects of the shifting of colors.
Pat Robertson: To see Americans become followers of, quote, Islam, is nothing short of insanity. Terry, you know, I've been in Africa many, many, many, many times, and you see people over here learning Swahili, for example. Swahili was the language of the slave traders. The Islamic people, the Arabs, were the ones who captured Africans, put them in slavery, and sent them to America as slaves. Why would people in America want to embrace the religion of the slavers, and the language of the slavers?
Pat Robertson: As long as the husband is following the mandate of the Lord, the wife should submit to his leadership even though she may disagree with it. God's standard is true. Yet in many marriages, the wife is more able than her husband. Regretfully a woman with great abilities sometimes marries a man who does not have much ability. This wife must resist the temptation to dominate her husband. Her husband will sometimes make decisions that the wife feels are wrong. She must either gently persuade her husband or pray that God will change her husband's mind.
Pat Robertson: Why are so many marriages falling apart? Why is the divorce rate so high? Why is there such a tragedy in marriage? Now the basic answer to the basic problem of marriages today is a question of leadership. The wife actually makes the husband the head of the household and she looks to him and she says, "Now you pray, and I'm going to pray for you that the Lord will speak to you."
Pat Robertson: [about homosexuals] It's one thing to say, "We have rights to jobs, we have rights to be left alone in out little corner of the world to do our thing." It's an entirely different thing to say, well, "We're not only going to go into the schools and we're going to take your children and your grandchildren and turn them into homosexuals." Now that's wrong.
Pat Robertson: I am absolutely persuaded one of the reasons so many lesbians are at the forefront of the pro-choice movement is because being a mother is the unique characteristic of womanhood, and these lesbians will never be mothers naturally, so they don't want anybody else to have that privilege either.
Pat Robertson: If the widespread practice of homosexuality will bring about the destruction of your nation, if it will bring about terrorist bombs, if it'll bring about earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor, it isn't necessarily something we ought to open our arms to.
Pat Robertson: [about separation of church and state] That was never in the Constitution, however much the liberals laugh at me for saying it, they know good and well it was never in the Constitution! Such language only appeared in the constitution of the Communist Soviet Union.
Pat Robertson: The courts are merely a ruse, if you will, for humanist, atheistic educators to beat up on Christians.
Pat Robertson: [during an interview] I read your book. When you get through, you say, "If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that's the answer." I mean, you get through this, and you say, "We've got to blow that thing up." I mean, is it as bad as you say?

Attaboy Pat! Vote the courage of your convictions.

Rudy, you're doing a fine job. Endorsements are like Easter eggs; you need to get as many of them in your basket as you can.

~NED~

To: Saddam bin Hussein at-Takriti c/o Allah

2007-11-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Saddam,
I hardly know where to begin, with you being hung and all, this letter seems a bit late. As you already know, we didn't find any DubyaMmmmDeeez. We had the list of those ones we sent you during that Iran thing, but I guess you used 'em up or true to your word, destroyed 'em. With you gone, it's kindly troublesome keeping them I-rainians down on the farm, if you know what I mean. The other thing is this, you might of been right all along about those Kurds, at least the PKK ones. They been causin' quite some troubles for our new Turkish friends. I think we may have to send the Turkies some little WLDs (wepuns of limited distrucshun) to finish the job you started.
As it turns out, you didn't have a yellow cake or labs either, but since we decimated "YOUR" conutry, seems like everyone in the hood thinks they ought to get some, just to use on yours truly. Boy, that sucks. See, fool me once, but you can't get fooled again.
Most Mercans are getting real sorry about the whole misunderstanding (67%), but Dick says we mussen't let on. "In KBR we tust."
I have to go and take Barney for a walk. Sorry about stealin' your conuntry and getting you hung. I guess we're kinda even up since you were threatenin' to kill daddy. Rummy says hey.
XOXOXO
George

Honoring True Heroes

2007-11-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind...War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." : - John F. Kennedy

Censorship by Youtube/Google?

2007-11-05T07:17:00.001-07:00

The following two links were links to segments of a performance by comedian Lewis Black on a HBO special, posted on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOe7EuHclyo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaNDeJW4ACM

I shared these links with friends in my personal e-mailbox and received replies stating that they enjoyed the vids. Today if you try to access these links you will receive the following message.

This video has been removed due to terms of use violation.

Both of these videos are not very flattering to George Bush, anti-evolutionist or the religious right. I have e-mailed links from Youtube on occasion without problem; and the remainder of Black's HBO special has not been removed. This whole business smacks of censorship. This message is being transmitted on a Google Blog; a sort of test of freedom of speech.

~NED~

Your Doing a Great Job Georgie!

2007-11-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today in the news, Our Prez is proposing sanctions against Pakistan for declaring military emergency rule.

The US and Britain are today expected to demand that Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, honour pledges to hold elections in the next two months and step down as the army chief, or face a cut in western support.
Guardian Unlimited -

You're doing a great job Georgie. Let's really piss off one more country for not having our brand of democracy (Huh!), that already has strategic nuclear capabilities. For you neocons, that's WMDs.
~NED~

Peace for a Troubled World

2007-11-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.
Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life

Apocalypso No!

2007-11-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Gloria Patria
The Glory Be, also known as the Doxology, is one of the earliest-known prayers to refer to the Holy Trinity. In Eastern Rite Catholic churches (as well as Eastern Orthodox ones), the Sign of the Cross is made while the Glory Be is recited.
The Glory Be
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen."

Living as if the end is near and foretold, as many do, has served our world poorly. Many have used it for the vilification of peoples, wholesale murder and the justification of hatred. Let us make a way of peace for an eternal world.
Amen,
~NED~

The Neocon Strategy

2007-11-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

If the notion of unilateral preemptive strike by US toward Iran becomes a reality, it will lead to a much more harsh reality than our country faced in our own civil war.
~NED~

View this Link
Http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/opinion/04rich.html?hp

Tippling City, Ohio

2007-11-01T22:23:00.000-06:00

I think our commander may have been up to his old habit of tippling in Tipp City, Ohio.

There are jobs Americans aren't doing. ... If you've got a chicken factory, a chicken-plucking factory, or whatever you call them, you know what I'm talking about." --George W. Bush. Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"There are some similarities, of course (between Iraq and Vietnam). Death is terrible." --George W. Bush, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"I've been in politics long enough to know that polls just go poof at times." --George W. Bush, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"My job is a job to make decisions. I'm a decision -- if the job description were, what do you do -- it's decision maker." --George W. Bush, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"Politics comes and goes, but your principles don't. And everybody wants to be loved -- not everybody. ... You never heard anybody say, 'I want to be despised, I'm running for office.'" --George W. Bush, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"I said to her, make sure the rug says 'optimistic person comes to work.'" --George W. Bush, on his instructions to First Lady Laura Bush in choosing a rug for the Oval Office, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"One of my concerns is that the health care not be as good as it can possibly be." --George W. Bush, on military benefits, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"Forms of government matter, in my opinion. It matters how -- the nature of the government in which people live." --George W. Bush, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"My attitude is, if they're still writing about (number) one, 43 doesn't need to worry about it." --George W. Bush, on his legacy, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"A good marriage is really good after serving together in Washington, D.C." --George W. Bush, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"The best thing about my family is my wife. She is a great first lady. I know that sounds not very objective, but that's how I feel. And she's also patient. Putting up with me requires a lot of patience." --George W. Bush, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

One Way Diplomacy

2007-11-01T06:49:00.000-06:00

"I feel that I have done what Secretary Rice and President Bush have asked of me by transforming public diplomacy and making it a national security issue," she said.
~Karen Hughes~

Under her leadership, the U.S. budget for public diplomacy nearly doubled, to $900 million a year. The State Department focused on trying to reverse the hostility toward America in the Muslim world, assigning more Arabic speakers to talk to the Arabic news media and setting up "rapid-response units" to try to counter negative commentary on U.S. foreign policy.
~New York Times~

Wouldn't true diplomacy include trying to reverse the hostility toward Muslims in the American world? That is a world security issue.
~NED~

Freedom From Fear

2007-10-30T17:48:00.003-06:00

When, with God's help, we calmly accepted our lot,

Then we found we could live at peace with ourselves

And show others who still suffered the same fears

That they could get over them, too.

We found that

Freedom from fear was more important than freedom

From want.
~Bill W~

Islamofascism vs Christofascism

2007-10-30T12:38:00.000-06:00

Lately, many of our hawkish leaders, as well as presidential candidates, have been referring to our mid eastern enemies as Islamofascist. They are Taliban and al Qaeda, not entire Islamic nations painted with a broad brush of Islamofascism. This kind of rhetorical prejudice will cause us to invade yet another country over propaganda instead of intelligence. We invaded Iraq, a sovereign nation, without just cause, killed hundreds of thousands, bombed their infrastructure, imprisoned and tortured their citizens. I believe we are the Christofascist. Oddly enough our people have been mislead and ill-served by our leadership, much the same as the Iranian people by theirs.
~NED~

CORRECTION

2007-10-28T21:07:00.000-06:00

Las Cruces not Las Crses.

Ewe are kwite correct. My referrbished keeboard has a ewe and a wi that don't alweighs work.

The Great Oil War Strategy

2007-10-28T17:13:00.000-06:00

If the US had purchased Oil with the 480 billion we have squandered on the Iraq war we could have purchased 13 billion barrels in 2003 and our entire consumption of oil would have been free for two years. Talk about a great government giveaway program. Instead, we have squandered the money, spent over twice that much for two years worth of oil and our country is less secure. If we begin to extract our troops today, the final bill will still be over 1 trillion by the time we rebuild our military.
The cost of the Iraq war is $231,000 per minute and our consumption of foreign oil is $197,000 per minute.
For an oil war this really isn't going very well unless you are in the oil binness like a Bush or work for Halliburton like Big Dick.
~Ned~

What's a B,ill,ill,ion?

2007-10-28T16:45:00.000-06:00

If you spend $40,000 a week, it will take you 6 months to spend a million
Dollars.
Using the same schedule, $40k, 52 weeks a year, it will take you 480
Years to spend one billion dollars.
The war in Iraq costs 16 B,ill,ill,ion / month.
~Ned~

More Simply Stated

2007-10-28T13:56:00.000-06:00

We are going to give Turkey war ships so they can destroy the PKK Kurds in Northern Iraq, cause they are bad, cause they fight the Turks our friends and we will give WMDs to the PJAK Kurds in Sothern Iraq, cause they are good, to use on the Iranians, cause they are bad and Nancy Pelosi is going to pass a resolution condemning the Turks of trying to exterminate the Armenians in WWI, cause they were good and that's bad, cause the Turks helped US get Saddam Hussein for trying to kill the Kurds in the North who we said were good.
We invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein cause he used the WMDs we gave him to use on the bad Iranians, on the Northern Kurds who were good and now bad, cause they fight the Turks, but that wasn't good. This was the reason given after we found out that we were attacked by Arab al-Qaeda living with the Taliban in Afghanistan and not al-Qaeda from Iraq, who we thought had yellow cake, but it was the Iranians all along who had their cake and ate it too. Now, Joe Wilson knew this in the beginning, so we told everyone about his wife Valerie Plame to shut him up and Scooter had to take the Plame blame, but he wasn't the one and the Democrats blamed several people including VP Dick. Sounds a lot like the old Plame game.
Makes you Proud to be a Merican, don't it? Pass this on to everyone you know and support our boys at the CIA.
~Ned~