the Draft

At age 18 I received a letter from my Uncle, Sam, how told me I had better stop by the US post office to register myself for the draft.

After wards I received a number of catalogs from "Adam and Eve".

I wish someone had told me then that the Draft is UnConstitutional.

Growing up in the early 70's, we heard about the Draft Dodgers and it was implied that they were bad.

The Constitution does not give the Congress the right to take your children and make them US government property to dispose of as it decides.

If it were, the Revolutionary war would have been fought with draftees. After all, not everyone agreed with the Founding Fathers that America should break with England.

The Revolutionary war was an all Volunteer Army.

They fought for Freedom on American Soil so that we, their descendants would have, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,".

"Liberty" and "Government Ownership" are mutually exclusive.

How do I protect my unborn child from a Government would "rule the world"?

Big Brother is watching

I googled, Karlthebunny, to find my link.

Up came just about every link I have posted too with Karl the bunny, along with some I didn't...

too close to home for me...

Amen

"There is nothing in the preamble to the Constitution

which defines the purpose of the United States of America

as remaking the world in our image,..."

ANDREW BACEVICH

Closing In

Zelda and I are both doing well financially.

We both work in an industry that is sensitive to the banking crisis.

My boss sat down with us last Friday to give us the State of the Union of our company.

We have the jobs to keep us busy.

We have the clients who want to have us do work for them.

There is a market for their product.

Unfortunately... they haven't been able to get the financing to start the projects...

Fortunately, the owner of the company I work for are willing to cut us back in pay rather than cut us loose.

We hope Obama's inauguration will relax the purse strings...
...
While we are bailing out the Auto Industry, I came across an article by Bill Moyers that high lights the tax breaks the Big Companies have been getting from the Congress over the last decades.

They used to pay 20% of Fed taxes.
Now they pay less than 8%.
You and I pay 15% plus.

their bail out

My beautiful, patient wife

Zelda wants to know the sex of out baby.

I want to let the baby tell us.

She has been very patient.

We went in today for a sonogram.

Both nurses were really good to honor our wishes.

It was our doctor, who KNOWS we don't want to know, who slipped up and ...

She back tracked pretty well and there is some doubt...

Betrayed by our DOCTOR, (who looks like Alanis Moresette).

Bankrupt

In his book, "Grunch of Giants", Buckminster Fuller documents the origins of the concept of "I own the land under your feet", which is the basis of Governments.

He also runs the numbers.

The Great Depression was brought about by the US involvement in the European war.
We, the US Government, spent $$$$ to fight someone else's folly.

And because of it, the Governments around the world spent more money than they had.

As Fuller observes, the US went bankrupt due to it's participation in World War I.
The Great Depression was the outward expression of that bankruptcy.

World War II was the world wide expression of the bankruptcy of the world's large countries.

Hitler was a result of war, of the depression, of the world's folly.

Who will pop up around the world to be the next Hitler?

The US government is bankrupt. And in turn, we all pay.

It's History repeating itself...

Obama's mis step

I disagree with Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at Obama's swearing in.

Warren supported Pro 8 in Calf. that amended, changed, the California CONSTITUTION to take away the RIGHTS of diverse peoples to marry.

On Warren's web site, he claims that "every religion" for the last "5,000 years" has described "marriage as One man and One woman for life".

He claims to be a preacher and will tell you what the Bible says.

If that were true,
he'd have noticed that in the book of Genesis 29:14, Jacob, who will fight with the Angle of the Lord and be renamed Israel (He who struggles with the Lord), was deceived by Laban, and married not one, but two women, sisters. Leah and Rachael.
Chapter 35:23 goes on to name the children Israel had with both women.
The 12 tribes of Israel, the youngest goes on to preform in his own musical about a multi colored coat. (And should we mention the children he had by his wive's maid servants...?)

Shall we not let Mr. Warren know that in 2 Samuel, Chap. 5:13, King David, most favored by G-d, "...David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem,..." (from the New International Verstion Study Bible).

I hope you noted the "s" in that quote.

And do we need mention that David's claim to fame was having an affair, Sexual that is, with the beautiful Bathsheba, 2 Samuel Chap 11:1, and having her husband sent to the front line where he was killed?

By verse 24 he's already married to her...

But as Warren has so keenly noticed,
and his followers blindly swallow,

one woman,

one man,

forever...
***
And I hope you didn't miss the

"Amend the Constitution"

when it suits those

who want to limit

the freedoms

of those

they disagree with...
***
A bigit

is a bigit

no matter

what the clothes

he wears...
***
a bigit is not someone,

with whom the President of the United State of America,

should be speaking,

unless

to expose him

for the bigit he is

Do you know where our money comes from?

Interesting thing money.

We used to be on the Gold Standard, meaning I could stop into any bank, hand the clerk a $20.00 bill and get a $20.00 gold coin.

In order to increase the money in the system, more gold had to be found, mined, melted, and made into a $20.00 coin.

It limits inflation, which is not, as many would have us believe, an increase in prices, but instead, a decrease in the buying power of our money...

Over time, the middle class increased. My grandfather was able to build his first home in his twenties and live a good life.

We went off the gold standard in 1971.
But before that, we talked the major countries of the world into basing their currencies, their Marcs and Francs and Canadian Dollars on the US dollar.

Now nothing backs the US dollar.
And in turn, nothing backs those other currencies...

The US constitution requires US money to be backed by "...Only Gold and Silver..."

That's why I support Ron Paul's House Bill "HR 2755" to End the Fed.

Testing, Testing...

The lab screwed up the Zelda's blood work testing for possible problems with the baby.

The latest results came back today with three out of four good results. It's the potential for that fourth bad result that has us concerned. (As if there isn't anything else to cause worry in the world today)

So Zelda and I will be going in tomorrow for additional tests, ones that require very long needles.

Damn lab...

Not in My House

I would have to say that most church folks are not intellectuals.
This doesn't imply that non church folk are.

Church is more of an emotional thing?

By example.

Gay Marriage.

Conservative Church goer doesn't read the Bible for themselves.
(The average church doesn't promote serious Bible reading as a whole by their parishioners).

They work in the original Sound Bites.
Mark chapter 3, verses 1 thru 10.

So the average Conservative Church goer hasn't a clue what and where they get their beliefs.

Sex out side of marriage. (Jesus doesn't speak for or against it)

Homosexuality. (Jesus is not concerned with it, and never talks about it).

What Jesus does speak about is Love, Compassion, and Moving On.
***
Conservative Church goer is fearful that what goes on in someone else's house will somehow affect what goes on in their own home.

So in a preemptive strike, they do unto others what they fear will happen to them.

They decide what someone else can or can't do in the privacy of their own home.

Jesus did have something to say about that,

He called those folks,

Hypocrites.

What would Jesus Buy II

I am like most Americans, I believe I am in control of my life.
But reality would be quite different.
Being human, I get caught up in the crowd. I also do not control what I have been taught to believe.
We did after all, buy a new house at the top of the market.

We are surviving...
***
One comment made Tuesday at the screening of "What would Jesus Buy?" was made in response to my observation on free speech.

Comment:
*The Supreme Court ruled that Corporations have the rights of US citizens.*


It is easy to point fingers, and this comment struck me as such ("it's the Government's fault", etc.), but I didn't have a counter thought.

Now I have had time to think it over.

My comment was worded to place the responsibility on Us, the Citizens. How did we get to a place where this could happen? That a non living thing, a piece of paper in a file drawer, could have more power than We, the citizens do?

The court ruling happened in the 19th century. I don't believe anyone even knew about it or could see the ramifications. Those who did, were the people who would benefit from it.

Amongst similar minded people at the church, it was easy to get into the Corporations are the Bad Guys frame of thinking.

Reality... We the People CAN do something about Corporations being qualified as having the same rights as We the People.

California's supreme court recently ruled that Gays have the right to marry.
The People of the state of California voted to Create a Constitutional amendment over ruling the Supreme Court.

If enough of the population felt strongly about Corporations as people, we could make the Change.

But it's up to Us to care enough...

And the corporations main job is to keep us docile, fat, and happy...

What would Jesus Buy?

That was the name of the film we saw Tuesday at church.

The big haired Rev. Billy, (comedian/political protester) preaches against the commercialization of the holiday.

Christmas as we know it was drummed up and promoted by companies wanting to sell stuff.
They wrap it in a religious "giving" theme and get the churches in on the act.

"Christ" really ISN'T the reason for the season.

It's based on the pagan festival of lights.
Darkest time of year and all...

We light candles in the Church and turn out all the lights at evening service.
Jesus didn't do that in his ministry...

Back to the film.
"The Rev. Billy and his Church of Stop Shopping starts in New York and over the month of Dec. make their way to LA. to Disney Land where the "Great Satan" lives.

He makes his points...

After the film the Pastor at our church passes the mike around for thoughts and comments.

The initial impact for me was, "How did we get to a place where on a public street in NY, there are hundreds of company billboards and advertisements expressing "free" speech
*I have always thought that free speech should be Exactly That, FREE, as in, speech for the sake of speech, and NOT SPEECH for the intent to make money*, there in Times Square.
Later in the film Billy enters shops and eventually Disney Land to express his Free Speech, STOP SHOPPING and enjoy each other!
Of course it's private property and he is arrested.

Christmas in the religious sense is about family and being together.

Christmas in the commercial sense is about making a profit.

Christmas in America seems to be more about the Shopping and less about family.

I think there is something holy in the act of giving.
As a well known author has said, "G-d doesn't need to receive things from us, but we need to give things to G-d".

The question becomes for me...

What is it that I am giving?

and in turn,

What is it that I SHOULD give...?

Zelda and I are making donations to Heifer International in honor of our family members this year.

Now there's a give worth giving...
***
What I wish I had said in the comments period of our time the other night is Rev. Billy gives us an answer to "How do we compete with the Disneys and Starbucks of the world?" when the constant messages we hear are "Consume".

The Bible gives us one shield as it were...

I believe it's commandment 4, Honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
(I may have blogged about this in the past, but it's worth repeating)

I tried this back a number of years ago and the results were surprising.
1) G-d gives us the ability to make something Holy.
2) I used the Law to set my priorities. How do I keep this day special?
Orthodox Jews have created rules to make this happen.
Do not work, nor allow anyone else to do work for you.
Do not watch TV.
Do not shop.
Spend the time with family and church.

What I came to find out as I did this was, Sunday became the center of my week.
I have to get milk today, Saturday, or I'll have to squeeze it in Monday.
Friends wanting to go shopping after church, or out to lunch, I can spend time with them (the intent of the law), but I won't be buying anything.

It's a great discipline.
But not many of my Christian friends were willing to even consider trying it.
(I only had one friend out of hundreds who told me they'd tried it)

It occurs to me that I miss it and will work (I am married now) to en corporate it back into my life.

Watching TV with the family is not the same thing as Being with family.

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas