Some guy filed suit that it was "unfair" that a plain wooden cross placed on national parks land seventy years ago to honor the dead of WWI because it allegedly promotes one religion on federal land. What? How dumb is that. It's now being argued at the US Supreme Court.
There are two errors in "logic," such as it is, by this clown and his supporters, who filed the original suit in 1999. Here they are:
1. The first error is that a "specific" religious symbol refers only to that religion's followers (as in only the Christian WWI war dead are being honored). I can easily prove the error in that. Suppose that a bunch of Buddhists got together and created a memorial, with one of their symbols, that honored all women who died in childbirth. I would find that touching and would never assume that they only meant all Buddhist women. I mean, DUH! Likewise a Jewish monument honoring all lost in the Holocaust, I figure that they are sending "good vibes" to all who died, and not only the Jews. If Muslims had calligraphy somewhere honoring all grey haired middle aged women who grew up in poverty, I'd be flattered, and not assume that they mean only Muslim grey haired women. Only a moron would reckon that a cross honoring all WWI dead is somehow selective and an insult or omission, rather than an honor to everyone. Sheesh.
2. The second error is that having a "Christian" symbol, a historic one, not a new one, on federal land is somehow enticing or coercing people to recognize Christianity as a "state" religion. This is totally bogus and I can prove it. Yep, I can prove it. How? OK. Attention all hikers in federal lands and national park systems. If you come across an ancient carving of American Indian cultures that depict any part of their religion, since it's on federal land it's wrong to put it there, so I guess it's OK for you to remove the carvings. Either deface them or chip them out and sell them in the antiquities market (maybe help to balance the budget). Why not? Would not the presence of an American Indian religious symbol carved into a rock on federal land be endorsement of the "state" religion? Better get ready to remove any and all American Indian religious carvings anywhere on federal land. In fact, I think I might even insist on it, if the cross is so bad... gosh, think how we've been living under the insult and coercion of American Indian pagan faith symbols being protected and treasured on Federal lands. Hmmmm.....
There, now that was not so difficult, was it now?
;-)
Showing posts with label Christian repression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian repression. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Continued thanks to Syria for Iraqi refuge
I continue to be very grateful that Syria has helped the best that it can the many Christian refugees who had to flee Iraq and who are now in Syria. I also thank the UN for their help and attention, even as I'm disappointed the rest of the world, including the US, has been insensitive to the plight and sadness of Iraqi Christians.
I hope that they find homes where they feel safe, and perhaps many of them will stay in Syria. Just as the wave of immigrants refreshed and built the American economy a hundred years ago, I hope that educational institutions and entrepreneurs will invest in Syria with a mind toward expanding job opportunities for Syrians and the immigrant Iraqis alike.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0805970.htm
I hope that they find homes where they feel safe, and perhaps many of them will stay in Syria. Just as the wave of immigrants refreshed and built the American economy a hundred years ago, I hope that educational institutions and entrepreneurs will invest in Syria with a mind toward expanding job opportunities for Syrians and the immigrant Iraqis alike.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0805970.htm
My thoughts about Mumbia, India situation
No one has official word about who is behind the terrorist attacks, so to give advice I have to make some assumptions. I'll assume that they represent Islamic believers on the extreme end of the faith scale.
India has put itself into quite a pickle with their deliberate ignoring of their own Christians being tortured, killed, raped, publicly paraded naked, and driven out of their homes into the jungle and camps, where they are homeless and sick. Why does this have an impact on the terrorist attacks? Disdain. One cannot negotiate with Islamic extremists if you are demonstrated unbelievers, who persecute other believers. While many assume that Islamic terrorists only consider fellow Muslims to be believers, when negotiating, one still wants to avoid their contempt and disdain that has resulted from showing that you are a persecutor of believers, especially in such an immodest way. The USA learned that to their extreme discomfort in what they did to some Iraqi prisoners, making them be naked and depraved in prison. Remember also that Islam is a belief based on total equality, where there is no class system, unlike the most repressive class system what was ever created, which still exists in India.
So while I am not saying that the terrorists made their action for any reason other than their own cause, I am giving India some cultural diplomacy advice that they have ignored, including in their dealings with me, at their peril. I find it interesting that there are reports of a Jewish prayer center being occupied with hostages of a rabbi, his wife and others. If true, I think the odds of the hostages surviving are best if they are perceived as believers rather than political representatives. You see what I mean? But this is all guesswork at this point, is it not?
My point is that the "land of Gandhi" has no credibility as far as being perceived by those who have devout and even fanatic motivation by their serving God, whether their actions bring credit to God or not in fact. There is no Muslim who would not be horrified at what treatment the Indian government has ignored (and even the police encouraged), when priests and nuns were stripped, sexually assaulted, tortured, murdered, paraded and defamed. Muslim extremists would make note of the weakness and complicity of the police in attacking Christians. Notice that high ranking police were quickly killed in the assault. You are in a difficult position, in both battle and negotiation, if your opponent has total contempt for you. It creates an "anything goes" mentality in achieving one's objectives, one that is difficult to either thwart or negotiate with, especially as they will gladly achieve what they consider to be martyrdom.
Ten years ago I had a job where I had dozens of Indian green card holders working for me. I was fond of them and defended them against those who poked fun at their Hindu beliefs. Yet, my sense of fondness was drained away as I found that Indian occult beliefs (astrology) informed many of those who stalked and persecuted me. Indians, behind the scenes, stalked and persecuted me, making my life miserable, because of their imaginary beliefs in crazy reincarnation, and their ambition at trying to manipulate the future, rather than trusting in God and having any sort of humility.
One must remember that the way you treat your own people opens the door for how extremists will treat you. That is called "escalation." Even if there is no common ground between people your country persecutes, Christians, in this example, and the presumed Islamic terrorists in Mumbai, they watch TV, they read the papers, they do their research, and they observe whenever a country, especially its police, loses the moral high ground due to their own disgraceful behavior. This is why the terrorists will usually fight to the death, since they are confident they have the moral high ground. It is never helpful in fighting terrorism or negotiating if a country inflates the terrorists perception that indeed, they are fighting immoral and corrupt institutions.
That said, it is never right to take innocent life. But again, we look around the world and see those areas where life is perceived as being "cheap." The tone is first set by the home culture, not by the intruder.
India has put itself into quite a pickle with their deliberate ignoring of their own Christians being tortured, killed, raped, publicly paraded naked, and driven out of their homes into the jungle and camps, where they are homeless and sick. Why does this have an impact on the terrorist attacks? Disdain. One cannot negotiate with Islamic extremists if you are demonstrated unbelievers, who persecute other believers. While many assume that Islamic terrorists only consider fellow Muslims to be believers, when negotiating, one still wants to avoid their contempt and disdain that has resulted from showing that you are a persecutor of believers, especially in such an immodest way. The USA learned that to their extreme discomfort in what they did to some Iraqi prisoners, making them be naked and depraved in prison. Remember also that Islam is a belief based on total equality, where there is no class system, unlike the most repressive class system what was ever created, which still exists in India.
So while I am not saying that the terrorists made their action for any reason other than their own cause, I am giving India some cultural diplomacy advice that they have ignored, including in their dealings with me, at their peril. I find it interesting that there are reports of a Jewish prayer center being occupied with hostages of a rabbi, his wife and others. If true, I think the odds of the hostages surviving are best if they are perceived as believers rather than political representatives. You see what I mean? But this is all guesswork at this point, is it not?
My point is that the "land of Gandhi" has no credibility as far as being perceived by those who have devout and even fanatic motivation by their serving God, whether their actions bring credit to God or not in fact. There is no Muslim who would not be horrified at what treatment the Indian government has ignored (and even the police encouraged), when priests and nuns were stripped, sexually assaulted, tortured, murdered, paraded and defamed. Muslim extremists would make note of the weakness and complicity of the police in attacking Christians. Notice that high ranking police were quickly killed in the assault. You are in a difficult position, in both battle and negotiation, if your opponent has total contempt for you. It creates an "anything goes" mentality in achieving one's objectives, one that is difficult to either thwart or negotiate with, especially as they will gladly achieve what they consider to be martyrdom.
Ten years ago I had a job where I had dozens of Indian green card holders working for me. I was fond of them and defended them against those who poked fun at their Hindu beliefs. Yet, my sense of fondness was drained away as I found that Indian occult beliefs (astrology) informed many of those who stalked and persecuted me. Indians, behind the scenes, stalked and persecuted me, making my life miserable, because of their imaginary beliefs in crazy reincarnation, and their ambition at trying to manipulate the future, rather than trusting in God and having any sort of humility.
One must remember that the way you treat your own people opens the door for how extremists will treat you. That is called "escalation." Even if there is no common ground between people your country persecutes, Christians, in this example, and the presumed Islamic terrorists in Mumbai, they watch TV, they read the papers, they do their research, and they observe whenever a country, especially its police, loses the moral high ground due to their own disgraceful behavior. This is why the terrorists will usually fight to the death, since they are confident they have the moral high ground. It is never helpful in fighting terrorism or negotiating if a country inflates the terrorists perception that indeed, they are fighting immoral and corrupt institutions.
That said, it is never right to take innocent life. But again, we look around the world and see those areas where life is perceived as being "cheap." The tone is first set by the home culture, not by the intruder.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Thank you to Qatar cabinet on the same subject
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=248294&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
Cabinet condemns genocide of Iraqi Christians
Cabinet condemns genocide of Iraqi Christians HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani presided over the weekly Cabinet session held yesterday at the Emiri Diwan.
After the meeting HE the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Nasser bin Mohamed bin Abdul Aziz al-Thani stated the following: At the outset of the meeting the Cabinet expressed Qatar’s condemnation of genocide, terrorising and displacement of Christians in northern Iraq which could undermine security and stability in the country and target its national unity. The Cabinet underlined the need to provide security to all the categories and sects of the Iraqi people and to protect Christians, to ensure their security and safety and to respect their rights and dignity.
The Cabinet called on the Iraqi people to unite in the face of such ugly acts to help maintain the unity of the country and the right of all its sects and categories to live within it in security and peace.
***
A reminder to my blog readers who are Christian that Qatar recently witnessed the consecration of its first Catholic cathedral, and other Christian denominations are building churches on nearby land, generously granted by the Emir for this purpose.
Cabinet condemns genocide of Iraqi Christians
Cabinet condemns genocide of Iraqi Christians HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani presided over the weekly Cabinet session held yesterday at the Emiri Diwan.
After the meeting HE the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Nasser bin Mohamed bin Abdul Aziz al-Thani stated the following: At the outset of the meeting the Cabinet expressed Qatar’s condemnation of genocide, terrorising and displacement of Christians in northern Iraq which could undermine security and stability in the country and target its national unity. The Cabinet underlined the need to provide security to all the categories and sects of the Iraqi people and to protect Christians, to ensure their security and safety and to respect their rights and dignity.
The Cabinet called on the Iraqi people to unite in the face of such ugly acts to help maintain the unity of the country and the right of all its sects and categories to live within it in security and peace.
***
A reminder to my blog readers who are Christian that Qatar recently witnessed the consecration of its first Catholic cathedral, and other Christian denominations are building churches on nearby land, generously granted by the Emir for this purpose.
Iran condemns the persecution of Iraqi Christians
I was so very pleased to see this generous and forceful statement in support of the Iraqi Christians who have suffered so much persecution and displacement. This was a great and sincere gesture by the government of Iran and I do very much appreciate it. I'd like to see the global western "mainstream media" more widely report supportive and peace making gestures such as these instead of endlessly repeating unproductive rhetoric. My thanks to the Iranian embassy in Baghdad and I hope they in return reside there in peace.
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0810160195142713.htm
Iran Condemns Attacks on Christians in Iraq
Iran's Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday slammed in a statement the recent terrorist attacks on Iraqi Christians in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.
The statement referred to Mousl's October 14-15 bombings as "measures against humanity." According to reports, at least a dozen people were wounded in a series of bomb explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday in Mosul, 390 km north of Baghdad, and at least two insurgents were killed in clashes with police.
More than 1,000 Christian families have left the city in recent days after the attacks which US forces blame on al-Qaeda.
The statement said that the attacks were "inhuman measures carried out in line with enemies' moves to cause tension, undermine the country's security, damage the political trend and position of the Iraqi democratic government and to destroy national unity." "Enemies of Iraq's political trend and democracy will not be able to harm solidarity between minorities and other tribes and damage the country's national unity," the statement stressed.
Shortly after the terrorist attacks, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has sent a delegation to Mousl consisted of seven ministers of his cabinet including ministers of defense and migration to watch over situation of the fled Christians and prepare necessary grounds for their return.
2327**1394
---> Iran-Iraq-Embassy
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0810160195142713.htm
Iran Condemns Attacks on Christians in Iraq
Iran's Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday slammed in a statement the recent terrorist attacks on Iraqi Christians in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.
The statement referred to Mousl's October 14-15 bombings as "measures against humanity." According to reports, at least a dozen people were wounded in a series of bomb explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday in Mosul, 390 km north of Baghdad, and at least two insurgents were killed in clashes with police.
More than 1,000 Christian families have left the city in recent days after the attacks which US forces blame on al-Qaeda.
The statement said that the attacks were "inhuman measures carried out in line with enemies' moves to cause tension, undermine the country's security, damage the political trend and position of the Iraqi democratic government and to destroy national unity." "Enemies of Iraq's political trend and democracy will not be able to harm solidarity between minorities and other tribes and damage the country's national unity," the statement stressed.
Shortly after the terrorist attacks, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has sent a delegation to Mousl consisted of seven ministers of his cabinet including ministers of defense and migration to watch over situation of the fled Christians and prepare necessary grounds for their return.
2327**1394
---> Iran-Iraq-Embassy
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Institutionalize crazy people
So called "mental health professionals" do not believe in institutionalizing crazy people who endanger themselves and others. They pat themselves on the back while watching reruns of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest." They leaf through their scrapbooks of how wonderful they were in the 1960's and 1970's when they made the big bad state dump the insane into the streets and chant how kind and humane they are. When one kills they say, "Oh, well, no one can predict THAT." Well hello? The man arrested for the slice and dice of the therapist has been, according to uneducated reporters who didn't have a PhD or nothing but just interviewed neighbors, known to be crazy for years, terrorizing his apartment building in Queens and no doubt suffering himself from his state.
"Mental health professionals" only believe in confining Christians from preaching the Gospel and that's a fact. When I interned in outpatient services all the "mental health professionals" cared about was getting pro life patients out of their groups and making sure I don't actually ask my patients about their relationship with God. Oh, and that was in a Catholic hospital, but the mental health services was run by secular, um, "not Christians." How kind, how compassionate they are... making sure the crazies in pain are running around in the street while the Christian counselors have their mouths zipped shut.
"Mental health professionals" only believe in confining Christians from preaching the Gospel and that's a fact. When I interned in outpatient services all the "mental health professionals" cared about was getting pro life patients out of their groups and making sure I don't actually ask my patients about their relationship with God. Oh, and that was in a Catholic hospital, but the mental health services was run by secular, um, "not Christians." How kind, how compassionate they are... making sure the crazies in pain are running around in the street while the Christian counselors have their mouths zipped shut.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
