Homosexuality - Religion - God

Is your religion separating you from God?  Sent to us from Scottie....thanks Scottie :)

How can it be fair to say I can't be saved by God if I'm gay?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/oct/05/god-gay-christian-bible?newsfeed=true


 Please click on the link to read this well thought out post.

A fight that wears me to the bone

Hello Friends;
  One of the difficulties with blogging is trying to make one's blog postings relevant and interesting.  Some like to post a lot, some like to pick and choose, and others like me are still finding our way.  You see, when I sit down and write about an issue, I become immersed into it and quite emotionally involved.  I would never make a good journalist as I'd quickly go batty....er.  So, how does all of this come from me to you today?  Well, a confluence of emails have forced me out of the lazyboy - chair and description - and say some things strong upon my mind.

  The first email is one you have likely seen on Scotties blog.  Our wonderful friend Miles sent this to us in concern, from half-way across the world, of the way that we Americans handle "justice".  His concerns are well founded.  I have included the information from QS2 that Miles sent me, and below that my response to Miles after looking some things up on (dtm)

This is TJ Tremble as he was aged 14. He committed a murder. He was sentenced to “Death in prison” never to be released. He was tried as an adult. Needless to say he did not get to vote like an adult, drive like an adult, drink like an adult or anything else like an adult for the very obvious and simple reason that he was NOT AN ADULT.
There are only two countries in the UN who have not signed up to stopping this sort of sentencing madness. One of them is Somalia.


He is one of many.

Hi Miles;



I am sad to say that I did look up not only the picture but the story of TJ. As you may know, he was charged with the killing of his step father and mother, using a gun, and stealing a car.
He was originally found on the side of the road, intoxicated but stable, with the car in the ditch. He was questioned, aged determined, and ownership of the vehicle determined....upon which the owners, the step father/mother, were found dead of a .22 calibre shot to the head. He was read his miranda, his parents were notified and his room searched. The parents found a ride to the station, and were able to send a message to "come clean" through the officers but were not allowed to speak with the kid. He was questioned without his parents, his attorney, and under the influence of alcohol. Further, it is reported that he was 14.5 years old, but only an 8th grade education, which indicates some being held back in school and therefore we can think about a lesser intelligence as a further factor.


Now for the good news: He has been granted another trial through the assistance of a place called EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) in that the confession should be thrown out.


Michigan has no death penalty. Unfortunately, there is no parole for murder, so he is literally sentenced to die in prison. A long, slow lingering death.
 The irony:  While Michigan no longer sells cigarettes to prisoners, when they still did so, the "men" under the age of 18 who were sentenced as adults, we not allowed to purchase cigarettes.  Why?  Too young.  You have to be 18 to understand the effect of cigarettes and make that decision. 

  You may recall my posts regarding Paul Gingrich. 
This is the picture of Paul as he is being led from the trial after sentencing.  He is 12.  He has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.  A twelve-year old boy tried and sentenced as an adult.  This was in northern Indiana.  Interestingly, just across the border, in Michigan, a 21 year old woman is expecting to do about 6-years for killing her child.  So, a child who allegedly killed an adult gets 25+ years, an adult who kills a child gets 6.  I don't get it.
 

  Melissa, who surely has difficulty getting her wings to fit neatly into her wardrobe, told me about Paul, and she also told me about another boy being given up to the holy grail of prosecutorial aspirations.  Please meet Christian Fernandez.  He is an 11-yr. old 6th grader, who has no understanding of the machinations going now.  I've been so sad to hear this boy's story, and it begins with a mother only 12 years older than he is.  Yep, do the math.
  http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-06-06/news/29648541_1_toddler-bunk-bed-florida-boy
  The story against him is that, left alone with a two-year old brother, he somehow assaulted the little one which, two days later, resulted in death.  The question, of course, is what would have happened if the child was not left with another child, or if the parent had been a parent, further, if the parent had taken the little one to the hospital instead of "wiping his face and putting ice on his head".  
  Well, as you can tell by that poorly worded paragraph, I'm a bit rattled by the enormity of this.  Melissa is working toward another petition and included a link for me to share with you all.    Please click on Petition to go to that. (Petition)

  Now for some good news.  Thank goodness.  Does everyone remember Jordan Brown? 

I'm going to let Melissa tell you in the words that she used to tell me....
 
Randy,

How are you doing? I thought about you and figured I would send you an update. The latest on Jordan is that he is awaiting a trial in juvenile court. Three media sources in PA have petitioned the judge to have an open hearing (juvenile cases are closed to the public in PA) and the judge denied their request. They appealed to the Superior Court and so his trial is delayed for two months. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing - opening the trial to the media. If there is corruption in Lawrence County, like I suspect there is, an open trial is best. It's a tough call. The delay could last up to two months while the other court makes a decision.

  So, if you didn't catch that, Jordan, who was 11 at the time of his arrest and incarceration....close to three years ago now, and still not tried or convicted, is going to be tried as a juvenile.  And why is that surprising...he's a kid!  But, you have no idea the fight that went into getting the courts to see him as one.  All you who signed his petition can be glad knowing that your efforts were successful!  Thank You!!!

  So, what a post, huh.  It's hard to keep the attention focused on it all, and even harder to not allow oneself to become exhausted with the enormity of this trend of treating children as adults at a whim.  I expressed similar to Melissa, and her response was incredibly encouraging.  I'd like to post that below...hope you don't mind Melissa.

Randy,
Some days it is easier to fight these things than other days. Sometimes I have a really bad day and I step back, take a day or two off, and then come back to it. There are a lot of hateful and angry people out there and that makes this kind of work very difficult. But there are a lot of good and kind people out there too - people who want to fix these injustices but don't know how.


I don't know that there is really a choice when it comes to keeping at a fight like this. The kids who get hurt by our justice system really have no voice. I am one of those people who believes that if we see something evil, or see something that is happening that is wrong, we have an obligation to stand up against it. If we do nothing then we are accomplices. I don't want to be an accomplice. I don't want to wait for someone else to do something. I can't fix the world, but I can slowly work toward making it just a tiny bit better...even if it is just by touching a few people's lives. You know, Jordan's case got moved to juvenile court. That's a win. There were so many battles along the way to even get to that point, but that taught me that people CAN make a real difference. Had Jordan been tried in adult court it would have sent the message to prosecutors that doing something like that to an 11 year old is ok. The same goes for Cristian. If I can't get Cristian's case moved I can raise as much awareness as possible so that when he does get his trial it will just take one juror for a mistrial or acquittal.


I know how you feel...I know how reading the news and seeing the injustices and the duplicity in terms of how one person is treated one way and another is treated another gets you down. I have those days too. Sometimes I have those weeks. But if we ignore it and we do nothing it will only get worse. Meaningful change doesn't happen overnight but I believe with every part of my being that change CAN happen.
Melissa
  My friends, please note the links on the right.  Please care just a bit longer.  Melissa's words have really encouraged me to keep on keeping on.  I hope they encourage you, too.

I'm never moving out!

  If you want to see two parents squirm in conflict, let their 17 year old son tell them this.  A coworker recently told me that he is considering selling his house soon as he was just given that threat.  I laughed with him, but noticed a certain haunted look in his eyes.  Then I read this article: (http://moneyland.time.com/2011/09/26/suburban-ghetto-poverty-rates-soar-in-suburbia/)


For well over half a century, the American dream has typically centered on life in the suburbs. A move to the idyllic suburbs—picket fences, sidewalks, cul-de-sacs, the whole deal—has traditionally signified success, a move up the economic ladder. Lately, however, the ‘burbs host millions more residents living below the poverty level than do America’s “poor” inner cities, and poverty rates in suburbia are rising faster than any other residential setting.
According to the Brookings Institution’s recent analysis of Census data, poverty rates rose all over the U.S. during the recession era: From 2007 to 2010, poverty rates increased in 79 of the 100 largest metro areas, and median household income decreased in 82 of the 100 largest metro areas.
But one type of area in particular—the prototypical American suburb—has gotten poorer quicker, and that’s been the trend even before the financial collapse of 2007. The Brookings report states:


A combination of factors including overall population growth, job decentralization, aging of housing, immigration, region-wide economic decline, and policies to promote mobility of low-income households led increasing shares of the poor to inhabit suburbs over the decade. From 2000 to 2010, the number of poor individuals in major-metro suburbs grew 53 percent, compared to 23 percent in cities.


Overall, urban residents are still far more likely to be poor than their counterparts in suburbia: The poverty rate in U.S. cities in 2010 stood at 20.9% in cities, compared to 11.4% in the suburbs.


But the suburbs are catching up in the race to the bottom, and there are currently more suburban residents than city dwellers living below the poverty level. Per CNN Money’s story about the Brookings Institution’s analysis, there were 15.4 million suburbanites living in poverty in 2010, compared to 12.7 million living below the poverty level in cities. Whereas poverty levels rose 11.5% from 2009 to 2010 in the suburbs, they inched up 5% in cities.


From 2000 to 2010, the poor populations skyrocketed in the outskirts of many cities: The Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, and Milwaukee areas are among the 16 spots around the country where the number of suburban residents below the poverty level more than doubled during the decade. During the recent years of economic strife (2007 to 2010), the U.S. suburbs added 3.4 million poor, compared to 2 million more poor people in cities.


  Now, the irony, of course, comes from a great many once "lower income" families who have lived in the poor neighborhoods and such, struggling for years to find that so-called American Dream as they say "oh you poor little rich kid".  And, in an odd sense, it does make a person pause for a moment.  But, consider:
  This trend of seeing the higher educated and better socially placed, for lack of better words, people struggling in this generation could be a hallmark for the whole middle and lower class income brackets to thin into real starving poverty.  Why, well, it really comes down to a line from the 70's, maybe 60's, referring to us as Starship Earth.  You see, we are all in this together.
  I am single, have had some breaks in my life, and so I guess I live at a middle income.  My coworkers range from being similarly blessed to one now homeless.  I have a worker new to us who came from a job making twice what I do only to now be happily working for minimum wage.  And, as we in this economic environment repeatedly tighten our belts, we buy fewer widgets, gadgets, and gizmo's.  We find ways of keeping our vehicles longer, of going out to dinner less often, and of vacations spent at home.  This, I think, is a rolling issue, evolving into a consumer less likely to buy the frivolity of last generation.  That, oddly,rolls into fewer dollars for people employed in those fields, who then spend less to make their ends meet, which..... you get my point.
  That greed is considered a sin is no surprise.  It focuses on only the self, forgetting the community around and the people near by.  Further, it is not something that comes to a positive conclusion but seems to only breed a continuing starvation and need for more greed in that original person as well as those he/she begins to infect.  And yet, that is the economic focus as of late.  As the rich starve the underclass, so very focused on their right as (ahem) "job creators" (?), they seem to forget that the very backs that carried them to their mansions are being broken and losing the ability to carry further.
  So, as silly as it sounds to bemoan the sinking position of the "middle class", America needs that very diversity and market driving force of an economically multi-strata populace. 

Who is this woman? Someone to watch.

Ma and Pa G.O.P.

I saw this and it just had to be posted. 

You might be a conservative if…


1: You’re irate over the president taking so many vacation days on the taxpayer’s dime (61 thus far), but you thought George W. Bush earned every minute of his leisure time (196 days at the same point in his presidency).

2: You’re happy with your 40 hour work week, paid vacations and company-provided healthcare, but you’re strongly anti-union, because those commies haven’t done anything for you lately.

3: You strongly support the First Amendment and it’s guarantee of religious freedom to all, but you don’t think Muslims have a right to build an Islamic Community Center in Manhattan.

4: You believe Ronald Reagan was a devout Christian, even though he hated going to church, but any president who spends twenty years going to the same Trinity United Church in Chicago must be a Muslim.

5: You believe when a Republican governor creates a healthcare package with an individual mandate for everyone in his state, that’s a good idea. But when a Democratic president does it, suddenly it’s unconstitutional.

6: You’re so enthused about demonstrating your Second Amendment rights, you can think of no finer place to brandish your pistol in public than at a presidential rally.

7: You believe Bill Clinton was responsible for Osama bin Laden’s escape ten years ago, but thankfully George W. Bush caught up with him and killed him in Pakistan.

8: You believe in putting American jobs first, except when president Obama rescued 1.5 million GM and Chrysler autoworkers, because that was socialism.

9: It angers you that you can’t communicate with the Mexican busboy at your local Olive Garden, but when you took a vacation to San Francisco’s Chinatown, you thought it’s quaint that so many Chinese-Americans are holding fast to their traditional language. Because that’s America!

10: You deny that the lunatic who tried to murder Gaby Giffords was a conservative, even though he targeted a Jewish, pro-choice, pro gay rights, Democratic Congresswoman.

11: You thought it was perfectly normal that every president in history had an untethered right to raise the debt ceiling when warranted, but when Obama asked the GOP held congress to do it, you thought it only natural that it be tied to cutting Social Security and Medicare.