Saturday, November 30, 2013

Google Goes Evil


I just heard a very troubling thing -- Google has joined ALEC, an organization that tries to pass bills that would oppose fracking disclosure, require public schools to teach climate denial, make reporting animal abuse a crime, and attack our voting rights.
 
Google should know better! I signed a petition demanding they quit ALEC at once. Will you join me?
 
 
 
In February, a Utah slaughterhouse was caught painfully pushing a cow with a forklift. But when the police showed up, they weren't there to shut things down -- they were there to press charges against the citizen filming the cruelty, even though she never left public land. [1]

Many would call Amy Meyer a hero, but Utah called her a criminal. This is due to a new crop of state bills that ban the filming of industrial animal abuse without permission -- and even place whistleblowers on a "terrorism registry." [2]

Shockingly, Google is funding this madness.

Google recently joined ALEC, a shadowy organization that works with state lawmakers to ram through legislation for corporations like Exxon and Philip Morris. [3, 4] Google -- a major investor in clean energy -- should know better than to fund bills that would also require climate denial education in public schools and oppose fracking disclosure.

Thanks to public pressure, 50 corporations have already quit ALEC -- now it's Google's turn.

As an Internet user, Google needs to hear from you. Raise your voice and tell the tech giant: Stop funding climate deniers. Quit ALEC now!

Sign the petition today, and we'll deliver it to Google during ALEC's giant conference next week, which features speakers like Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan. 75,000 names will put Google on the spot!

Funded almost exclusively by major corporations like Koch Industries, ALEC -- or the American Legislative Exchange Council -- writes "model bills" for right-wing lawmakers to introduce as "grassroots" legislation. From Utah's "ag-gag" bill to "Stand Your Ground" laws and attacks on our voting rights, about 200 of these corporate scams pass every year.

One of ALEC's efforts pretends to disclose the chemicals used in fracking. But in reality, the Exxon-backed bill is pure deception, creating new loopholes that would make it even easier to hide the most toxic fracking chemicals. [5]

This agenda is so extreme that, thanks to grassroots pressure, many big-name corporations have already quit ALEC -- including McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson, and Wal-Mart. [6] Even Big Oil's own ConocoPhillips has had enough -- but not Google.

Google's supposed to be one of the good guys. It's up to us to remind them of their old "Don't be evil" motto, and bring the same public pressure that led all those other corporations to see the light.

Tell Google to stop funding climate denial today, and then tell your friends -- that way we can deliver a petition with 75,000 names during the ALEC conference!

Today's petition is just the beginning. SierraRise is teaming up with organizations like Forecast the Facts and the Center for Media and Democracy. We'll use people pressure and digital organizing -- much of it with Google's own tools -- to demand the tech giant do the right thing and leave ALEC behind.

It all starts with this show of force -- sign your name today.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

A Hypothetical Question Regarding Jesus

An important question that any true Christian should ask themselves is:
If you were living in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus, would you have accepted or rejected him?

Most Christians will automatically respond: "Of course I would accept the Savior!"

And I would say them: "Are you sure about that? Because many Christian zealots themselves also cling to similar rigid and dogmatic assumptions - with no inclination whatsoever that some of these assumptions might be mistaken. The fact is that if you are narrow-minded, hard-hearted, and obsessively cling to dogmatic assumptions, you would most likely be in league with the horde who honestly thought that they were obeying the will of the Lord when they rejected Jesus.


Friday, August 9, 2013

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Dealing with Injustice

Up until now we have been focusing on the issue of political injustice. However, for this months entry, the subject will be personal injustice, and how to deal with it.

Today I had an encounter with an angry hateful person who sought to transfer his own personal negative emotions onto me. Perhaps what was most difficult to deal with is that the altercation was unprovoked and undeserved.
I believe that I handled the matter in a Christian way - meaning that I "turned the other cheek," and in so doing, maintained the moral high ground. As a result, I was able to walk away feeling good that I did not give in to what was essentially a trap.
As I think about the incident, I realize that it is the idea of injustice that continues to trouble me. I call it injustice because not only was the attack was undeserved, but the antagonist essentially got away with his bad behavior. As I write this I am dealing with the process of not just letting go, but rising above it. I realize that if I do not, I will be pulled down into the dark angry world that the antagonist dwells in. I must realize that the offender was acting out because of troubles in his own life. For him to expel that negative energy was cathartic for him. In that sense, (and I say this not in a condescending tone) I must look at him as Christ looked upon the sinners of his time. That is: not with bitter contempt, but with pity. And perhaps, in the future, it will occur to the offender that what he did was wrong, and he will feel remorseful and learn from it, and attempt to be a better human-being. And if he doesn't, I must remember that my reward for not giving in to anger and hate will be in Heaven.


Friday, July 5, 2013

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Occupy the Bible!

New Progressive Christian website:
http://occupythebible.org/about/

Republican Congressman quotes the Bible to support his case that poor people should not be helped.

 

Congressman Stephen Fincher (R-TN) rants from the House floor that foodstamps should be cut, which would mean that the poor should starve. Meanwhile, Fincher himself is also a farmer, who gets $3.5 million in subsidies from the federal government. And the Farm Bill that House Republicans—including Fincher—support would increase farm subsidies by $9 billion while cutting food stamps by $21 billion over the next ten years.

On the other hand: Representative Juan C. Vargas, Democrat of California , who opposes cuts to the food stamp program, quoted from Matthew 25 to argue against the cuts to food stamps.
Great commentary from Occupy the Bible: http://occupythebible.org/2013/05/18/gop-cuts-food-stamps-quotes-jesus/

Please join with Daily Kos and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee by signing the petition shaming Rep. Steve Fincher for his hypocritical vote to cut food stamps, while personally taking millions in federal farm subsidies
http://campaigns.dailykos.com/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=418

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Yes. We Want to Live in a "Great Society"!


New Cover for The Genesis of Revelation



This was created by an artist/graphic designer friend of mine. I am very happy with the new design. He just put up a website at http://trenorart.webs.com/

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Book Update part II

The ebook version of The Genesis Of Revelation is now available in not only Amazon Kindle (Mobi) format, and not only for the Barnes and Noble NOOK, but in Sony (LRF and EPUB) as well as PalmDoc for Palm Pilot and all others that are affiliated with Smashwords: (Kobo, Diesel, Page Foundry, Aldiko, B&N, Stanza, Baker and Taylor, Blio, etc.),  the Apple version should also be up shortly.

In related news: the softcover version is still on the way as well.

Faith Hope Love.

Not All People Down On Their Luck Are "Bums" (Great Video!)

Please click this link; then watch and be amazed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-3pVhfm_F8

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The GOP's War on the Meek and the Mild

Interesting article about how Republicans are wanting to cut back on programs that help the most vulnerable among us. This is coming from the same group that refuses to get rid of tax loop holes for the super rich, even when tax rates are at historic lows and profits for the wealthy elite are at record highs. Which leaves me to wonder if they still have the audacity to call themselves "God's Own Party"?

http://www.politicususa.com/republicans-deficit-excuse-cut-food-health-care-children.html

Friday, March 29, 2013

Learning From Suffering



Through our own suffering we learn compassion for others.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Book Update

Please Note: Because of technical formatting issues, my book The Genesis of Revelation has been taken off of the Barnes and Noble NOOK site until repairs can be made.

UPDATE: OK, Back up!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Satan Is Not A Talking Snake.

The idea of a "talking snake" in the garden of Eden story, has been a point of contention for non believers, (and perhaps even some believers as well.)

However, what is not commonly known, is that the adversary of God was not actually a talking snake.

In the following Biblical verses for example, the adversary of God is not described as a serpentine creature, but rather, as one of the individuals who was at times in the company of the Lord God himself:

And he proceeded to show me Joshua the high priest standing
before the angel of God, and Satan standing at his right hand in
order to resist him.
—Zecheria 3.1

Here we are told that Satan stood, not slithered, amongst the assembly of God, as opposed to crawling on its belly in the wilderness or in the depths of Hell. This same situation appears again in the following Biblical passage:
.
Again it came to pass when the sons of God came to present
themselves before Yahweh, that Satan came also among them to
present himself before the Lord.
—Job 2.1

In the ancient world, the serpent was the symbol of wisdom. In fact, this is how it is even refered to in the Biblical version as well.

Be ye wise as serpents.
—Jesus,
Matthew 10.16

The image of the serpent was not only used to convey a sly mind, but it was intended to convey a dangerous image as well. What right-wing old world conservative Judeo-Christians are not taking into account, is that the initial passages in the Book of Genesis were symbolic. For instance, God did not literally create the world in 7 days. But rather, each day was intended to represent stages that world went through.
The author of Genesis was not there during the formation of the universe, nor was he there during the creation of humankind; and therefore used symbolic language instead. Likewise, the image of the snake is symbolic as well.