Weather in the Tries:
What is Freedom, Part 3?
Continuation of the Rant, but hopefully a bit quieter.
If the Supremes want to know why they are losing, or have lost, our respect, they have nothing more to do than look in a mirror! At least the six who want a Theocracy.
One of the prime tenets of our country as proposed and envisioned by the Founding Fathers, was the strongly worded first clause in the Bill of Rights, known as the Establishment Clause (Separation of Church and State). Obviously, 2/3 of the Supremes think it’s time to change that part. We are now supporting not just public schools, but church schools with our tax dollars. It is now permissible to pray on the field before and after a game. Obviously, these good Christians have never read Matthew 6:6 NIV, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” [italics mine] You can say all the prayers you desire to say quietly, in your mind, or go into your room.
If my tax dollar is going to go for all that religion, then I want all churches/religious property taxed like all businesses are taxed in their town, county, etc., with NO exceptions. I don’t care what religion you belong to, that’s your business, but I don’t want to pay for it unless it’s going to contribute to the fiscal welfare of the country. That’s my business. I ‘m a Vet and I pay taxes.
The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Presented by the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies has an excellent article about the First Amendment. Remember this is NOT a Christian nation, but a nation founded by a disparate bunch of Christians, and even they couldn’t agree on any one church. And if you get your knickers in a knot over that remember, if you allow one religion in, you must allow all religions in—Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Satanist, all the Native American ones which have a better right than all the others, Jew, Muslim, Rastafarian, Pastafarian, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
Most definitely is this a slippery slope, and what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If you’re going to put the ten commandments up on public land, then you must also put the equivalent of all other religions that request the same consideration. The same for Solstice celebrations, especially the winter one. And why anyone wants to worship a God of War, is beyond me. Especially when his alleged son allegedly said, (Matthew 5:17 NIV), “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” [italics mine]
These idiots aren’t Pro-Life (they are Forced-Birth), if they were Pro-Life, they would vote in some of the strictest gun laws ever. They would happily give up their automatic weapons. They would care for the baby not just in utero but also once born, instead of tossing it back on the woman who was forced to have it. Nicholas Kristof has a good column titled, “How Can this Be ‘Pro-Life’?” Theresa M. Hanafin, Globe Staff columnist writing Fast Forward has some words to say in her column on 14 Jun 22, and Alexendra Petri of the Washington Post (and the primary reason I pay for my subscription to same) writes with her usual wit, snark, and intelligence, “We must protect life from conception until the moment of birth! Once you have been born, you are a nuisance, and, possibly, a woman.” And Ja’han Jones writes that, “We need to call abortion bans what they are: Slavery” All this time you thought it was just me being snarky!
You have the freedom to worship any god you so choose. You have the freedom to raise your children in that manner. And when they reach majority, they will have the freedom to change if they so desire. Your place of worship has the freedom to pay taxes, and if they are going to use my tax dollars to spread their mythology, then they should pay taxes like all other businesses. They’ve gotten a free ride long enough. You also have the freedom to NOT have an abortion unless you want one.
And on a somewhat happier note, at least for me and the women in uniform, Limited Abortions Will Continue On DOD Bases Despite Roe v. Wade Reversal. Could be iffy in some states such as Texas where they have joint jurisdiction, but they can always send the patient to another state on Temporary Duty (TDY) for a few days of training.
I have known women who had abortions, and not one of them entered into the procedure without a great deal of soul searching. All were performed after discussing with their doctor, and all were deemed necessary. And, because they were legal, the women survived, and later became happy mothers of healthy children. I’ve also known some who had back-alley abortions and though they survived, with complications, they were not able to have children later, healthy or otherwise. And I love that so many of the men are rushing to get vasectomies! Bet the Supremes didn’t think there were enough real men out there to do that. (And I bet none of them would even consider it.)
And for the (sick) joke of the week, this is a quote from Mike Pence, as told to Breitbart, “Having been given this second chance for life, we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land.” I say it’s sick humor because these are the same people who, when the baby they forced the female to carry is born, they no longer want anything to do it, ‘Not my problem, little lady, I didn’t have the kid’ and the highest number of government sanctioned killings go on in their states. Where is the sanctity of life there? Huh? Huh???
“Right-wingers like Pence do not believe that abortion should be a state’s issue, but a universal rights issue — for the fetus. A national abortion ban would invert the legal architecture of abortion rights so that a fetus, rather than the person carrying it, is seen as the protected individual in the eyes of federal law.” [I read this on Tuesday last, copied it, got sidetracked and deleted the article from whence it came. I apologize profusely to the author and if you can let me know who s/he is, I’ll give credit where it’s due.]
What a bunch of hypocrites! They want the baby born, and then don’t want any responsibility to see that it has proper food, medical care, dental care, education, clothing, love. I think they want them to grow up so they can use them as target practice or put them to death in their prisons. These people are NOT pro-life, they are forced-birth haters of women. Damn! They’re really trying to send me off on another rant. But I shall persevere. They shan’t win. For now.
Phew! I think I got it all out of my system. At least until the next time the Supremes kick me in the nether regions. I considered not publishing this, but then I re-read it, made a couple changes, and here it is. The last rant for a while. I hope.
Photos of the Week:
Because you were so king to let me rant for 3 weeks straight, I promise I won’t do it again until the next time. Honest. Trust me. Also, instead of still shots, I’m giving you videos. I hope. If I can figure all this out.
c
Books: Remember, if I finish a book, I review and post it to http://lenoragood.blogspot.com
I dearly love Isabel Allende’s books—fiction, nonfiction, recipes. So when I saw a new one by her had come out, or at least new to my eyeballs, I grabbed it, Island Beneath the Sea. I am 37% through with the book, and I need to take a break. It’s very well written, but I’m finding it somewhat depressing. Have any of you read it? What did you think? Do I want to pick it up and finish it, or let it sit? I have the strangest feeling there is not going to be a Happy Ever After when I finish it.
Earworms: Since most of you are probably somewhat familiar with the Christian songs/hymns, I thought I’d stretch your idea of Holy Music just a tad. I hope you enjoy these. They are all relatively short.
Chief Dan George: Great Spirit Prayer – (Me’Geswanouth Slahoot) w/sub-titles – 1978
Quotes on Religion from Brainy Quote:
“Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.” —Napoleon Bonaparte
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.” —Richard Burton
Sammy is loving the warmer weather. Says it’s not quite like where he came from, we do have a bunch more humidity, but at least it’s warm. And we now have the back patio more or less fenced off, and he loves it when one of us are out there and he can come sleep in the sun. It’s quite delightful to have the window open at night for a bit of the cool to come in.;-) Have a marvelous week wherever you live. Remember, the sun is always shining. Sometimes you need a really, really, REALLY tall extension ladder to get above the clouds…