Very well expressed and I feel, also very on point.
Many things are weighing on my mind, it is nearly impossible to turn on the television, open a newspaper or even look at social media without being bombarded by the most recent human tragedy. The problem I have is the magnitude of those tragedies; our response, as a nation and frankly as human beings saddens me. I am not a Christian, I do though subscribe to some basic tenets of the Christian system, this is my favorite:
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life”.
Matthew 25:31-46 parables of the…
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We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 
Xena, All I can say after reading her article is simply “WOW”! What an inspirational message to be found in her words, unless one is simply possessed by an evil spirit, those words will move you to see where this nation has fallen to… Perhaps there is hope for our nation after all… If only our collective eyes are opened wide enough to see the evil that has overtaken many of our citizens and we ourselves are willing to accept our responsibility for the well being of our nation and our neighbors.
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Yes, crustyolemothman, we and our children CAN be the hope. We DO need to keep our eyes open and to recognize signs EARLY ON that threaten our Ship of State.
1. We need to teach our children and grandchildren to have emergency kits on hand at ALL TIMES in order to be prepared if/when (along with us) we/they see signs of a coming storm that threaten our Ship of State.
What should be in this emergency kit you might ask? For starters:
A. Knowledge of our country’s history. History repeats itself. For instance, the “enslaver” type of people reuse the same gimmicks today that were used by their like-minded “comrades” from the past. If we recognize early signs of their attempts, we can nip their attempts in the bud and we won’t be caught off guard when they try to eat away at advances from the past that have bettered our country.
B. Critical thinking skills
C. Awareness of organizations that are successful in challenging wrongs
……..(1) so that we strengthen them by lending our financial support, lending our voices to add to their “speaking-out” volume, and by joining them to increase their numbers.
……..(2) so that we can go to them if we personally are being directly hit by a wrong or an injustice.
D. Ability to preserve what is good in the construction of our ship of state
…… Mopping the decks, painting the rails, scrapping off the threatening barnacles, maintaining the engines, checking the anchor regularly for any weak links, maintaining the communication and navigation equipment on board, checking that the docking lines remain strong, and seeing to it that the radar is always in good repair.
E. Voting consistently and responsibly in order to have the right ship personnel onboard at all times who can navigate carefully to avoid threatening storms and also maintain the ship’s balance to keep the passengers safe.
2. We need to guide our children and grandchildren to understand and to USE their potential power to question the actions of our leaders, to understand and to USE their vote to stand up and be heard; to understand, develop and to USE their individual strengths (whether they are gifted with innate leadership skill , gifted with an innate “communications” skill…literary, musical, artistic, speaking, etc….. gifted with a caring, compassionate heart, gifted with social morality, gifted with reasoning skills, gifted with common sense and “mother wit”, etc.) in order to actively participate as citizens for the betterment of our society.
3. We need to understand that there is strength in unity… strength in the “fusion” politics that Rev. Barber talks about and that is represented in the “Moral Monday” movement that he leads.
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Love it Yahtzeebutterfly. Great points
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Perfectly stated!
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I swear there was this guy was yelling “Send them home. No one wants them here.” What a moron… These are your tea party members in their full glory.
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Party of Family Values and the Christian Right, what a joke.
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Yes and those fake organizations the media always go to for commentary, The Organization for Better Living In America… Some guy who is anti- whatever…. Oh please stop
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Ms. Logar, I am so grateful to Xena for reposting your OUTSTANDING article!
You present us with an eagle-eye view from overhead showing us so many areas in which our country is in distress.
I so agree with you when you write:
” How do we change this trajectory of the United States becoming a feudalistic state? We stand up, get up off our apathetic asses and demand change. We engage locally, we stop whining and we start doing something, including Voting. We write letters. We go to City Council meetings. We hook up with local organizations and throw our name out there to volunteer.
I feel the call and have been responding to it this last year.
Your posting of “Teach Your Children Well” is timely and on point!
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This pretty much sums it up, the state of where we are today. If we’re being tested as to our humanity, as a Nation, we’re failing.
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I am most honored by the reblog, thank you. I often focus on the state of the union, our complete disregard for our own problems.
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Valentine Logar,
You are right on point when, in your article, you state
We are a nation full of individuals who presume to call themselves Christian, who gather together and stand on their Bibles demanding their Rights and Privileges using their Christianity as a justification for what I consider mean, ugly and nasty behavior toward those in need.
It seems we are a nation that has forgotten the basics of compassion, empathy and humanity toward our fellow man, while standing on a shaky platform of Christianity.
Rev. William J. Barber, who leads Moral Monday rallies made up of people standing up against the wrongs that we are witnessing, agrees with you that so many who call themselves “Christians” are behaving in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ.”
Rev. Barber in the video I am posting here asserts that
“Faith is not some flimsy thing…We’re the REAL ‘conservative’ Christians, ’cause we want to conserve LOVE; we want to conserve JUSTICE; we want to conserve Righteousness; and we want to conserve the kind of HOPE that believes every crucifixion must be followed by a resurrection.
So that’s where we are headed. We are the beginning of the resurrection and the renewal of fusion movements and the righteous coalition in North Carolina and the South.
And you change the South, you change the nation.”
Rev. Barber explains in this video that the new fusion politics is a future that the extremists cannot stop. He points out that the electorate that elected President Obama was a representation of fusion politics. He thinks it “signaled” the beginning of a third Reconstruction.
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Rev. Barber believes that the coalition of so many groups that came together to elect President Obama is what has scared the extremists.
He believes that this new electorate
is one of the reasons you saw a massive attack on voting rights after his election because in every time that this country has attempted to reconstruct itself, whether in the 1800’s or the 1960’s, the first attack to stop it has been an attack on voting rights…..
The fusion movement, the reality is that the reason these extremists are doing what they’re doing is not because we’re weak. It is their reaction to our strength. They are doing what they are doing because we HAVE been successful. They are doing what they’re doing because they know if you open up elections and everybody votes, their narrow-minded agenda CANNOT win.
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I have always felt a strong foundation starts at home, yet I fail to see a lot of solid structures today.
Seldom do I see stable, loving, nurturing families anymore. (I see houses with latch key kids, and parents that feel affection is measured by the almighty buck.)
Seldom do I see families take vacations together. (I see everyone with their own computer, and little involvement with their family, at all, unless it’s a quick text to verify where Waldo is today.)
Sit down and have dinner together? Talk about school? World events? The news? Have a general discussion? (Really?????? Meet me on Facebook….I’ll post my reply on my wall. DUHHHHH)
Considering the shape of our government, courts, legal system, foreign affairs, crime, poverty…etc..etc…is it any wonder the world consists of so many narcissistic, psychotic, mentally confused people today?
Now, by all means, let’s look at a real good example. With all of the problems we have in the United States alone, (much less the downed plane in Ukraine, Israel/Gaza, Libya, the spread of Ebola, Iran….) what is OUR Government going to do? Congress is going to take the next 5 days submitting the paperwork to “Sue” the President of the United States, accusing him of using his Executive powers when he should have consulted Congress. (They ARE NOT going to debate the border issue. They ARE NOT going to work on the infrastructure budget. They ARE NOT going to put anything up for a vote, except, after we “Sue” President Obama, should we try to impeach him also?)
And what are they going to do with the rest of their time? Well….take 5 weeks vacation of course. It’s estimated that between this vacation, the holidays and other breaks, Congress will only be in DC for approximately 12 weeks from now until the beginning of 2015! (But…..they demand to be consulted…..so they can refuse to put anything up for a vote, enjoy their vacations, collect their paychecks, and run for re-election all over again.)
I shutter to think of our children being taught about our government in school. At best they will learn how to manipulate the system and point fingers, hurriedly packing their bags and collecting their paychecks, while leaving the fate of many important issues behind, unresolved, sitting on their unused desks in DC.
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Hi Kindheart! 🙂 So good to see you here!
Your observations are excellent! Thank you so much!
Families DO need to start having “together” time. Parents need to discuss the news, U.S./World events, check in with their children about their day in school, be involved and supplement their children’s education, and nurture their children’s abilities and self esteem.
Midterm elections are extremely important. Voters need to turn out to begin the process of electing members to Congress and State Legislatures who WILL roll up their sleeves and address and act on bills that will correct and solve the many problems within our country.
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Hey you! Love the new name 🙂
My Mother used to always say “It’s hard to row a boat with one oar.”
This tossing of dooky from one side of the isle to the other isn’t doing anything but burying us all in crap, and getting nothing done! (Can you tell I’m very fed up with our government in my old age?)
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Thanks, kindheart. It’s fun having “butterfly” in my handle now. Did you know that Dreamer is now “ButterflyDreamer2” and crazy1946 is now “crustyolemothman”?
There is a lot of fluttering of wings going on here now. 🙂
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kindheart101,
You are right on with your thoughts on Congress. First of all, take a look at the following list, probably a little outdated, but I think you will get the drift.
http://www.rollcall.com/50richest/the-50-richest-members-of-congress-112th-2012.html
Who do we have here running the show? Who is and has been making the decisions that are suppose to be in the best interest of the American People?
How the Richest Members of Congress Made Their Fortunes …
http://moneymorning.com/2013/03/12/how-the-richest-members-of-congress-made-their-fortunes/
The names may change, but the game remains the same.
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Here is link to pix of state’s voting rights laws. Volunteer to drive 3 people to obtain what they need to vote.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/09/27/voter-id-laws-in-all-50-states-in-1-map/
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This is better. Defines what various colors mean. For state voting right’s laws. Try and take 3 people to obtain what your state requires.
http://www.propublica.org/article/everything-youve-ever-wanted-to-know-about-voter-id-laws
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Thank you, 2dogsonly for providing us with this article link.
From the article:
“Aside from Rhode Island, all voter ID legislation has been introduced by Republican-majority legislatures.”
Well, this fact should convince every one that ID legislation is to suppress the vote of Democrats.
More proof that it is to suppress the Democratic vote… read this other quote from the article:
“Voting law opponents contend these laws disproportionately affect elderly, minority and low-income groups that tend to vote Democratic. Obtaining photo ID can be costly and burdensome, with even free state ID requiring documents like a birth certificate that can cost up to $25 in some places.
According to a study from NYU’s Brennan Center, 11 percent of voting-age citizens lack necessary photo ID while many people in rural areas have trouble accessing ID offices.
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As, yahtzeebutterfly, it’s always nice to be thanked. And my personal feeling is the corruption and switch from what we think of as America, is too overwhelming. But if we each do a small thing like volunteer to take a few people for their id, that’s a positive step.
There are people who step in and stop corruption. In the 2012 Presidential election, Karl Rove had rigged it but this group interrupted it for a few seconds, I think it was around 7:15, it’s on you tube and that stopped the rigging. I got a anonymous tweet just saying “watch around 7:00” from a group just named “anonymous”. No other information provided but bingo there it was.
Karl Rove went white! 😉
Also, the new Michael Lewis book, Flash Boys, where it is a tiny Canadian stock co. that understands the new tech lines laid where buying and selling just disappears for a millisecond, has the FBI looking into this. His latest book is mostly over my head, very technical but because of whom Michael Lewis is and his dedication, along with the tiny Canadian brokagerage , it’s now been 60 minutes and mainstream; FBI is investigating, at least it is reported they are investigating.
Anyway, thank you. Links make it so much easier.
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YW, 2dogsonly….but my appreciation goes to you for providing such a great link.
Did you happen to click on the link to the 2011 study by the nonpartisan Brennan group at NYU that was referred to in your linked article before the 2012 presidential election? This one? —>
Click to access 92635ddafbc09e8d88_i3m6bjdeh.pdf
Here is the summary they posted at its beginning:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Over the past century, our nation expanded the franchise and knocked down myriad barriers to full electoral participation. In 2011, however, that momentum abruptly shifted.
State governments across the country enacted an array of new laws making it harder to register or to vote. Some states require voters to show government-issued photo identification, often of a type that as many as one in ten voters do not have. Other states have cut back on early voting, a hugely popular innovation used by millions of Americans. Two states reversed earlier reforms and once again disenfranchised millions who have past criminal convictions but who are now taxpaying members of the community. Still others made it much more difficult for citizens to register to vote, a prerequisite for voting.
These new restrictions fall most heavily on young, minority, and low-income voters, as well as on voters with disabilities. This wave of changes may sharply tilt the political terrain for the 2012 election. Based on the Brennan Center’s analysis of the 19 laws and two executive actions that passed in 14 states, it is clear that:
• These new laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.
• The states that have already cut back on voting rights will provide 171 electoral votes in 2012– 63 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency.
• Of the 12 likely battleground states, as assessed by an August Los Angeles Times analysis of Gallup polling, five have already cut back on voting rights (and may pass additional restrictive legislation), and two more are currently considering new restrictions.
States have changed their laws so rapidly that no single analysis has assessed the overall impact of such moves. Although it is too early to quantify how the changes will impact voter turnout, they will be a hindrance to many voters at a time when the United States continues to turn out less than two thirds of its eligible citizens in presidential elections and less than half in midterm elections.
I remember some of those states were taken to task over their new voting policies or attempts to redistrict through fed lawsuits, but now with the gutting of Sec. 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court in June of 2013, who knows what will really be sneaked in at the last moment to restrict voting.
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Their pockets run deep. That’s why I posted see what each state requires and take 3 people to obtain what your state requires. Then, you have done something and hopefully there are people like Michael Lewis who can get attention on how the stock market is further manipulated and the ” anonymous” hackers who interrupted the Republican machine from rigging the voting computers and threw it back into alignment , who can do the big stuff.
God, I’m terrible at expressing myself but I think you understand what I’m so awkwardly trying to say.
POTUS did it in 2008 with a lot of help from the Republicans who just seemed to be on a race to the bottom, loved the “I’m not a witch lady” ;-). He didn’t in 2012. Washington changes people.
So, take 3 people who otherwise couldn’t vote to get what they need.;-)
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Will do!
You express yourself very well, 2dogsonly.
I remember about a news story about that claim by the “anonymous” guy. I don’t really understand computer technology, though.
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Together, we can make a difference.
“Healing the Hearts of Humanity”
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That turned out to be a “play all” posting.
Let me start over:
Together, we can make a difference.
“Healing the Hearts of Humanity”
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Actually this Icarus Paradigm (which I did not intend to post) is great!
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Yes, it is !
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Yes, I am now glad that I accidentally posted the Icarus video before the one I meant to or I never would have viewed it. 🙂
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Kudos to Yahtzeebutterfly and 2DogsOnly.
Thank you both for such great links.
(Tappin fingers…………..maybe I’ll change my name to MellowMonarch. LOL)
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Oh, “MellowMonarch” I love that, kindheart. We could flutter around together.
(or you could just change your gravatar picture because nothing beats the name you have now! Take a look at these heart pictures that have butterflies 🙂 – – ->
https://www.google.com/search?q=butterfly+heart&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=14vVU-fJBMGeyATjnYGABw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1136&bih=584
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Oh Yahtzee, I posted your video to my twitter and you tube. It is beautiful.
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Wonderful! Now more people will see it!
That “Humanity Healing” youtube site really produces some nice videos 🙂
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I wasn’t sure where to put this!
http://www.afro.com/marlene-pinnock-files-civil-rights-lawsuit-following-pummeling-by-la-highway-patrolman/
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