The Religious Factor - Salem-News.Com

(PASO ROBLES, Calif.) - Evangelists who presume to speak for God, fervently believe Christianity is the wave of the future; that Jesus can do no wrong, even though Christians amount to only about 30 % of the world’s population, making Jesus less than a Universal Lord.

Geo. W. Bush is a disciple of this philosophy, and his faith prevents him from recognizing danger or reversals that should not be neglected. He invaded Iraq confident that Jesus would not let him down, and, with the aid of K. Rove, et al., Bush believes Christianity [God’s plan] is to achieve worldwide dominance on the American model.

Sarah Palin expresses a similar belief when she says “the Iraq War is God’s War,” while confessing it would be presumptuous to believe “we” can know God’s will. Quoting Abe Lincoln she says, “better to pray God is on our side.” But what is the difference? How can she justify “God’s War” [as she does] unless she presumes to know His will? Her rhetoric is illogical and hypocritical-hyperbole pure and simple.

It is commonly believed “God helps those who help themselves.” Its true, but a problem arises when, in Domestic Policy, “trickle-down economics” fails to live up to the meaning of noblesse oblige; when CEOs and selfish opportunists with insatiable appetites for money, obtain extreme wealth at the expense of the less fortunate, and ignores their obligation “to behave in an honorable and generous way toward those less privileged.”

Good management anticipates crises so as to avoid them. Following the Great Depression banks were audited twice a year. and the audits worked. But Republicans rejected the audit-restraints meant to prevent economic crises, and look where it got us! Wise management might have avoided much of the Katrina crises too, but by assuming God was in control [Thy will be done] the Bush Administration failed it its duty. When Religious faith interferes with Political decisions, as it has under Geo. W. Bush, and could continue if McCain and Palin are elected, it [religion] should be a subject for serious discussion based on historical fact as follows:

Christianity is no more than 100 generations old [2000 divided by 20 years], and closer to 80 if divided by 25 years.

Christianity became prominent in 312 AD [1700 years, or 70 generations ago] when Emperor Constantine incorporated Christianity into his Holy Roman Empire.

The Nicene Creed [recited in Churches to this day] was imposed on Christians by Emperor Constantine when Christians could not agree on the meaning of the Trinity. Emperor Constantine was a Pagan who believed in witches, Christians did not. But to counter the Reformation movement the Church changed its policy and insisted, by it’s Edict of Faith, that “witches” [defined as both heretic and apostate ] are real.

The Inquisition was established in the 14th Century to eliminate defectors from Catholicism, and its tyranny has affected the thinking of generations ever since.

The Malleus Maleficarum [Witches Hammer], sanctioned by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484, was used by Catholics and adopted by Protestants to try and sentence millions of Christian-defectors [either way] to awful deaths [c.1500-1800].

Pilgrim-Christians landed at Plymouth on December 21st 1620, and burned their last so-called witch in Salem, MA one-hundred years later, 12 generations ago.

America proclaimed its Independence as a Secular State separate from Religion in 1776, just 10 generations ago. [should we wonder why?]

My recollection is of six-generations [persons I knew or know] beginning with my grandfather born in 1870, and three great-grand-children, the last born this year.

Today, Evangelists want to return us to a time, prior to the separation of Church and State, when religion made life and death decisions for us.

The Republican Party thrives on enemies. The Axis of Evil of Bush’s imagination, No. Korea, Iran, and Iraq, he accused of hating America and of aiding terrorists who might attack us.

Yet Bush invaded Iraq, overthrew Saddam, set himself up as dictator [Commander in Chief] squandered America’s wealth in dollars, lives-lost and seriously-wounded, and robbed us of Constitutional Rights. America’s prestige has been damaged by Bush’s misguided sense of religious righteousness that approves of Inquisitorial methods in America’s defense that he alone feels qualified to render. Nonsense!

North Korea agreed to destroy its nuclear facility, and did, but Bush reneged on his promise to remove N. Korea from his list of terrorist states, so work on its nuclear program has resumed.

Iraq says it is ready to go it alone, and wants the United States out as soon as possible, but Bush resists [see below]. Iran says it is willing to negotiate to resolve its perceived nuclear threat, but Bush won't do it.

There is reason to believe these “problems” can be resolved peacefully, so why should it be necessary to have an anti-ballistic-missile-system in Europe, as a defense against whom? Russia’s anxiety seems perfectly natural under the circumstances. Russia is not our enemy, “the cold-war is over.” Bush says so, but Russia it beginning to play it’s Western Hemisphere cards.

Why Georgia suddenly attacked Ossetia, an autonomous and peaceful region within its boundaries, is anyone’s guess. Ossetians are known to prefer Russian rule to Georgia’s. But Georgia broke the peace knowing Russian Peace-keeping troops would respond as reasonably they might be expected to do. The unnecessary conflict was over in a matter of days, with human and property casualty.

Bush and John McCain say Russia’s reaction was intemperate and excessive, which seems appropriate so near to an American election when another “enemy” would favor the Republican candidate.

Bush sent Georgia a Billion dollars for aid-and-recovery, and Dick Chaney went there to show the U.S. stands with Georgia in its dispute, and Condoleezza Rice says the time is not right for the U.S. to conclude a planned nuclear agreement with Russia, adding stimulus to what hopefully will amount to a political charade.

An ephemeral internet report on 9/5/08 implied Iraq is thinking of buying F-16 fighter jets from the U.S., and Gen. Patraeus recommended a reduction of no more than 8000 ground troops from Iraq. It all has the earmarks of another Bush-maneuver to remain in Iraq to fulfill his objective of establishing autonomous bases there not subject to Iraq sovereignty or authority. And Secretary Gates of DOD says America should expect to be in Iraq for “many years.” Seems Monopoly is the name of the game.

The Far Right is still calling the shots. McCain said he would rather lose his presidential nomination than lose the war [a political ploy] that, in light of the above educated guess, helps us understand the obscure references to “winning the war,“ and what victory in Iraq really means; namely, submitting to the will of America [and Jesus?].

If Obama is elected, withdrawal from, and peace with Iraq, could save billions-of-dollars for use on domestic-work-projects where jobs are needed to restore the economy, and restore America’s International credibility. Why keep the enemy-pot boiling when a peaceful simmer and common sense will suffice and be more effective?

Kenneth G. Ramey was a 79-year old "writer without a Website" who is generating excellent, provocative articles on the subject of religion and world affairs. We are pleased that Ken's "lone wolf" presence as a writer in the world has been replaced by a spot on our team of writers at Salem-News.com. Raised in Minnesota and California during the dark years of the Great American Depression, Ken is well suited to talk about the powerful forces in the world that give all of us hope and tragedy and everything in between. You can write to Ken at: kennethramey@yahoo.com

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Anonymous September 21, 2008 8:30 am (Pacific time)

People all have their religous or non-religous views, and some like the below Jerimiah Wright, Obama's pastor for over 20 years gets real personal. "G-damn America. The chickens are coming home to roost. Jesus was a poor black child. Whitey invented aids to wipe out blacks..." So who is morfe scary?

Henry Ruark September 15, 2008 7:52 pm (Pacific time)

Ken: Thanks for continuing, intriguing background from Bible times. My own deficiency-level far too high precisely there, so helpful and informative, and well appreciated, too.

Henry Ruark September 15, 2008 1:52 pm (Pacific time)

sts et al: Your structural image of the current party architectue not far off-the-mark. Needs only the obvious extra illumination of rapidly growing public awareness of the extreme contempt --almost to the point of hatred-- now becoming clear characteristic not only of the elite you name, but also of neocon fragment still desperately ruddering the remnant of what was once the Grand Old Party. That may be where continuing wildly exotic irrelevancies posted here keep coming from. Thank you for your continuing participation here, surely helpful to some and, we can hope, hurtful for others.

ken ramey September 15, 2008 1:45 pm (Pacific time)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT "Christ" according to the dictionary, comes from the Greek word Christos meaning anointed, and is defined as: The Messiah who's coming was prophesied by the Jews (Isaiah); and 2. Jesus as fulfilling the prophecy. 3. "Anoint" means to smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous substance, and/or to pour oil upon, as a sacred rite, especially for consecration. 4. "Consecrate" is from the Latin [Consecratus] meaning, To make or declare sacred or holy, to set apart or to devote to the service of God, and To dedicate, or devote, to some particular purpose, as a life dedicated to art, and; to render sacred; hallow; sanctify. Jesus was selected to perform a particular function. His initial anointing was by the Spirit that was at the core of Christian Philosophy. His actual anointing came later when he committed himself capable and willing to die for the cause. Jesus was the vehicle by which the Coterie [a small exclusive group of people who share the same interests] planned to replace Judaism and legitimize its claim to act in God's behalf. If Jesus performed according to plan, even unto death, then they would call him Christ, the symbol of their movement, and acknowledge him as the Messiah who Isaiah prophesied.

Anon. September 15, 2008 1:10 pm (Pacific time)

Sin, check the dictionary under Christian and zealot. Put 'em together and see what you get.

sts September 15, 2008 11:39 am (Pacific time)

take a 2 x 4 and stand it on end. It will fall easily. Take two 2 x 4's, stand them on end, then lean them together holding each other up. Much more sturdy, cant fall under pressure. This is the republican and democratic parties. Pressure from one side, fighting with the other side, makes it even stronger. Now, draw a circle around the 2 x 4's. THat is where most people live, inside that circle, giving each side pressure against each other. They are so distracted with the soap opera and bickering amonsgt themselves, they cant see outside the circle, and what the truth is. This is exactly the plan of the eilte, who sits above the circle. Seems as tho its working quite well too, because people keep voting these untruthful people to office. We now have a one party system

Sinbad September 14, 2008 5:57 pm (Pacific time)

Anon. could you define "Christian zealot" for me? Sorry about the "tangent" anon., I was making comments to some below posts. It seems to me that when people of radical ideologies preface and/or act out on their Christianity no feedback generally presents itself from other like-minded. Why do you think that is?

Henry Ruark September 14, 2008 4:10 pm (Pacific time)

S-bad: You wrote:"He dedicated one of his books to Lucifer, you cannot make this stuff up." SO ? Lucifer has many very diverse meanings; see W/Pedia re Lucifer disingenuation. Yours reeks of religious feeling, to which you are surely welcome. But to belittle Alinsky for book dedication is special treatment more revealing for you than for him, many may conclude, esp. if they check out W/Pedia. Feels familiar from some previous refs, too;you sailing under same name, then ? Re Obama continuing impact on Chicago area, if you indeed lived and studied there you must know impossibilities involved for any one person over many years with help from thousands of others to have doine anything re trends which made Chicago what it has become now. That's part/parcel of what the neocon policy-impacts ever since Reagan have brought on for those of us who must now clear away the bodies and the bulls... and the other bloody carnage so caused. The we may be able to proceed to whatever positive change we can create...to offset those who have broken the system in the first instance, and now seek to conceal their damages so they can squeeze out that many millions/billions more from apathetic, misled minions managed by corporate concerns and interests, pathetically unaware of their slave status but feeling the pain of the deprivals in growing intensities.

Henry Ruark September 14, 2008 3:51 pm (Pacific time)

A-bad et al: You confuse "dissent" with "belabor", friend S. Here's def.:dissent (as in "disagreement") n. : a difference of opinion." My dissent may often be "intense", for which I offer no apology: that's part of the Op Ed pattern, fully explained in my precis available with ID to Editor, reflecting original assignment as agreed with Tim/ Bon. Mine are intended to upset the equilibrium, cause some impertinent and inescapable cogitation, even, often, anger --all part of peculiar very- personal persuasive/affective style, pattern known to those who study such stuff -- recently including cognitive scientists like Lakoff, Chomsky. et al. Must be doing something write (NOT mis-spelled !) to exact running flow of such pointed responses we now scoring here, some of which even lead to the objective of open, honest, and democratic dialog --which is often enhanced and encouraged via still-further incentive-aimed invective, in case you failed to recognize the technique demonstrated. For some that's what it takes to shock Americans out of apathy and acceptance of silky-smooth slide into fascistic traps, neatly if not nicely set now by some who stand to gain greatly by that malignly-intended action. Re affect and/or effects, that remains to be seen in future remedial behaviour on the part of many who may feel "targeted", but allasame also find themselves seeking a bit of counter-cogitation re the role they playing, why and how.--which is also part of objectives first laid out for Tim/Bon when we started this situation. Tim's rsponse to first one he provoked was: "Awesome"; appreciated even if not sure it was positive note! Give them credit for letting it continue to play out as it will and can...and for their patience in some of the silly stuff we also elicit on the way, at their considerable cost in time, patience and dollars, too. "You pays your nickel and then should pay attention" to paraphrase familiar line here. But that's part of the game too, as they well know... Thank you all for your patience with old geek doing the damndest he knows how, and unsurprised at retorts and reactions as well as responses adding to impacts for all. That's allasame as many similar over past 50 years, and somehow satisying since, if we disturbing some and silencing others, while at the same time perturbing a few, and providing support for some few, too, we doing what the assignment calls for. Hope that helps for some, and do not give a tinker's you-know-what for the others, since that's my privilege at 90, still producing...

anonymous September 14, 2008 1:08 pm (Pacific time)

Sinbad: what has Mr. Ramey taken out of context and failed to explain to your satisfaction? Once said, you got off on a tangent, and failed to say how you know Palin isn't a Christian Zealot. Can you explain?

Sinbad September 14, 2008 11:53 am (Pacific time)

I am originally from Chicago, had my home base there till I graduated from Northwestern then job related moves since. The area where Obama did his southside Chicago community work is a pretty dangerous place today so as far as him having any positive impact, there is no evidence. In fact the murder rate in that area is horrendous. This summer more people were murdered in Chicago than in both Iraq and Afghanistan combined during the same time period. When it comes to Saul Alinsky, I did a graduate research project on him years ago, he is not the kind of person you want hanging around your community. He dedicated one of his books to Lucifer, you cannot make this stuff up. I saw one posters definition of "cheapshot", mine is anytime you belabor someone's opinion that differs from yours should also be included in that def. .

Henry Ruark September 14, 2008 11:38 am (Pacific time)

S-bad et al: Polls, like bread, stale up very fast --that'w built/in by poll-makers, sells more versions fabulously, esp. if ferocious differences develop among varying poll-takers. Most experienced political observers now mostly ignore most such polls, and those who interpret make sure to point out deficiencies surfacing in most polls sooner or later, due to absolute lack of sufficient poll-size, skill on questioner-level, and similar cogent points. Have fun with the figures, but don't bet your paycheck on any one or on all-summarized. Wit, wisdom, will of American solid-citizen core will tell the true tale, despite heavy-funded msmedia distortions/perversions now highly evident.

Henry Ruark September 14, 2008 10:56 am (Pacific time)

Tyson et al: SO, what does one find when one Googles for Tyson record ? Anyone with open mind can compare neatly with what one doth find re Alinsky. Happens I had contact with both dark-and-light kids living in Alinsky-created Chicago housing, they working for college dough at T/L Books. He created huge difference for them. What has average person seeking Ten Points you mention created for anyone ? That's unavoidable evaluation re yours, which for me shows effort to undermine achievements on record via implacable political belief. For 21st Century, we either rise above allathat or will suffer implacable consequences. And, per standing offer here, your views in full detail invited in your own Op Ed...which is honest, open, democratic dialog way-to-go.

Henry Ruark September 14, 2008 10:03 am (Pacific time)

C-son: "Cheap shot": Easy comment from b/b/feeling without ref. to any respectable source. ("B/b" from famous quote by Charles Sprague, Oregon Gov. and famed Editor of S-J when family-owned daily.) Cheap since costs nothing but off-cuff words without any accountability or responsible ref. to reliable source. As in any conversation, any dialog here worth much more when one knows originator, and thus can judge motives. Never, ever, backed by Op Ed from hosw ishing to manipulate and manage public views, with detailed cogent stance open to public evaluation, and with sources-given; which is why we offer that opportunity here as full evidence of our open, honest, democratic S-N channel operation. When Op Ed refused, honest suspicion surely justified. If one fears to come out from the curtain of concealment, there must be reason for the action.

Henry Ruark September 14, 2008 9:00 am (Pacific time)

To all: Someimes cartoons can tell the story better than any words. SO, today, seek out the Charlie Brown encounter with girfriend holding football, for him to kick. Place yourself with C/B if it happens to fit !!

Sinbad September 14, 2008 7:35 am (Pacific time)

Polls can be a religous experience for some, especially political junkies. As much as I enjoy reading Mr. Ramey's articles, this one needed more explanation, for Governor Palin certainly is not some Christian zealot, and much is being taken out of context. Though that is being done to all candidates. I guess we'll have to slog through this till November. Here are today's poll numbers, which are pretty surprising stats. Unless there is a major scandel it is trending away from Obama. Big mistake when they were evaluating Palin's experience, made people look at Obama's dearth of experience. I believe that is what changed everything. "Voters are evenly divided as to who they think will win, but McCain voters are now more excited about the election than Obama’s. Rasmussen Markets data gives McCain a 52.9% chance of victory while expectations for Obama are at 46.0%. These figures are updated on a 24/7 basis by market participants. McCain is viewed favorably by 57% of the nation’s voters while Obama earns positive reviews from 53% (see trends). McCain is supported by 90% of Republicans and has a six-point edge among unaffiliated voters. Eighty-two percent (82%) of Democrats say they’ll vote for Obama."

sts September 14, 2008 7:18 am (Pacific time)

I browsed the internet in regards to obama's and mccain's reaction to the fighting in Georgia. They are both gonna get us all killed..and for nothing. they are either stupid, or they are owned by psychopaths. here is the story from russia today.. :President Medvedev revealed in a frank and close to public discussion with the members of the Valdai Discussion club how news of war in South Ossetia came to him, why Russia will not deal with the Georgian president, what George W. Bush said in his latest phone call, and why he won’t see Russia turn into a state behind an iron curtain. ‘I’ll never forget that night’ “I was on vacation. They say, Russia was preparing for war – that’s a lie! The Defence Minister called me at 1 a.m. and said, the Georgians have told the Ossetians that they were starting a war. And while all those troops were moving towards South Ossetia, I took no decision and hoped those dimwits would have enough brains to stop. They didn’t! We held ourselves until they started firing rockets, shelling residential blocks, and shooting at peacekeepers. Even then we didn’t respond.” “I’ll never forget that night. It was very hard to order the use of force, while knowing the consequences. We did everything right. And I’m proud of it. Our response was symmetrical and proportional.” “For me the events in August put an end to any illusion that the world is just. For me personally it was the loss of my last illusions. For Russia, August 8 is like 9/11 for America.” “The war took the whole last month of my life, and there were more productive ways to spend it. We didn’t want it, didn’t want it at all! For 17 years we’ve being mending what had broken apart a long time ago. And they didn’t thank us for that – rather they started shooting at us.” “Russia was not expected to react like that. Georgia got the idea: do whatever you want, Russians won’t meddle. That’s a diplomatic mistake that belongs to textbooks for diplomats. It’s a mistake – and for Georgia it’s also a crime.” George Bush would do the same “I have spent so much time speaking to world leaders on the phone over the last month, my ear wouldn’t work. You know – after an hour’s conversation…” “When I talked to Bush on the phone last time I told him: you’d have done the same in a situation like this, just in a more harsh way. He didn’t argue.” “Bush asked me: ‘Why do you need it? You’re a young president with liberal background!’ I don’t need it at all. But there are situations where image is nothing and real actions are everything.” ‘I don’t want to live behind an iron curtain’ “We discussed the rearmament of the Russian armed forces yesterday. We’ll have to change some priorities, but all the rest remains the same. We don’t need a closed, militarised country behind an iron curtain. I don’t want to live in a country like that. I used to. It was boring and dull.” “They should have invited Russia into NATO a long time ago. Were they afraid? Now we’d certainly have fewer problems. That was a serious mistake. And the second mistake is that any country prepared to get rude with Russia gets the right to be in NATO.” “If Georgia had a NATO membership action plan by August 8, I would have done the same without a second thought. And what would the consequences have been? They would have been way more complicated.” “The situation was humiliating for Russia some time ago, and we can’t take it any more. It’s a difficult choice for us, but we can’t take it.” “I don’t think the confrontation phase would last long. We don’t want to create new alliances to tease Europe and America. Foreign policy should be pragmatic. The concept that the U.S. State Department embraced is pure ideology. We all need to take effort and drive ideology away from foreign policy. The current U.S. administration’s problem is that they have too many sovietologists and to few experts on Russia.” “I’m not an advocate of creating alliances to spite anyone. There’s no sense in creating new alliances. If you think that Russia has decided to change its vector of development, that’s not true. At least as long as I’m the head of state. There’s no cold war now.” Saakashvili is a drug abuser “When I first met Saakashvili as a president I told him our policy regarding the territorial integrity of Georgia remained the same. He was fussing around like a pooch, saying: let’s meet and discuss. I said: OK, let’s do it. We decided he would come to Moscow and we’ll sign an agreement on non-use of force. “Then our close partner Condoleezza Rice arrived, and the boy became like a changeling. He stopped calling. Well – that’s your choice. “Our position developed. And I, understand, take the responsibility for it, I, alone, as the head of state. The decision was taken after Georgia started military action. We understood: once he tasted blood he won’t stop.” “The Georgian head of state is not just a man we won’t do business with. He’s an unpredictable pathological and mentally unstable drug abuser. Western journalists know it! A two-hour-long interview on the high – that’s over the edge for a head of state. Does NATO need such a leader?”

Tyson September 13, 2008 6:09 pm (Pacific time)

I have documented that since July 27th Sen. Obama has stated that he is fed up and is going to take his gloves off. Maybe we should call this Obama's Isotoner Campaign? I have a friend who is a media producer an has seen some scripts for upcoming October 527 political commercials. I have heard about the new William Ayers spots. The Wright one will be a KO punch. That sermon will be a gift. And the denial by BO to O’Reilly that he never heard language like that from Wright in over twenty years of friendship will be laughable. They appear to have the goods and they are the kind of spots you won't show till later so as to have maximum impact. Bottom line, they reflect the facts, now isn't that refreshing. Also those of you who are interested, try looking up Saul Alinsky's ten+ rules for the community organizer. Just google Saul Alinsky's rules for radicals. You may recognize some other peoples tactics.

Carlson September 13, 2008 12:29 pm (Pacific time)

Henry et al. It appears that this piece of "literature" brought to me by an 18 year old college Freshman (below post) made an impact on this very bright individual (and according to her, many of her classmates, voters by the way) who comes from a family of professionals who also provide free medical services to people all over the world, but believe in conservative values as ironically the best way to insure their ability to help the less fortunate (think about that for a while and maybe you'll get it?). I would also suggest that the content of the "literature" you critiqued plays quite well all over America. It is unfortunate that by sharing a viewpoint you label it as a cheapshot. Could you enlighten me as to your definition of what a cheapshot is? Could it be anything that has to do with an opinion contrary to yours? Even some that are backed up with primary sources? Thanks

Henry Ruark September 13, 2008 11:21 am (Pacific time)

C-son: Thank you, sir, for the very revealing literary-effort. But unfortunately too many of our cogently-inclined readers have lived too long --and recently too hard, too-- to be either impressed or persuaded by fantasy spun so finely for college/childish consumption. Questions re reality demand realistic, timely, relevant and reasonable responses --the usual claptrap class-distorted fallacies and economically perverted pretenses simply no longer work, even when assiduously wrapped as here. SO still offer you opportunity for Op Ed with rational, reasonable 1000-wd shot at sensible, systematic, solid-sources/supplemented detailed statement. Otherwise we can clearly see why you prefer childish-level stuff...credibility be damned! You might start with your own rebuttal to MOTHER JONES special-issue report titled "December Surprise: Is the GOP Cooking the Books to Avoid Recession till after Election Day ?" --nicely foreshadowed by your small-myth here. That's by James K. Galbraith, world/famed economist, so you surely can consider him desirable opponent, right ? Also in M/J current issue is six-page very/detailed breakdown of "Where Credit is Due" surveying significant events since 1913 to 2008 --sure to give you plenty of data to rebut --if you can ! You see why cheap-shot make-believe meant very contemptuously to impress, while avoiding any possible real confrontation with reality, fails to make it, in this channel...we seek honest, open, democratic dialog, to share reality and learn from each other. IF you can tell child's tales, surely you can also commit to comprehensive and cogent dialog here. OR can you ? Just ID-to-Editor and take your shot...I can hardly wait but will work at it, while you contemplate and cogitate. No confusion here, sir --only honest invitation to dialog in depth and detail rather than tell stories with confused morality and meaning.

Carlson September 13, 2008 10:37 am (Pacific time)

Ken et al. The following was provided to me this AM by an 18 year old neighbor who is a freshman at Willamette University (bless her heart): This is about a student who feels that income redistribution is the way to deal with poverty and to make the world right--"Her father listened and then asked, ‘How is your friend Audrey doing?’ She replied, ‘Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She’s always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn’t even show up for classes because she’s too hung over.’ Her wise father asked his daughter, ‘Why don’t you go to the Dean’s office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.’ The daughter, visibly shocked by her father’s suggestion, angrily fired back, ‘That’s a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I’ve worked really hard for my grades! I’ve invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!’ The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, ‘Welcome to the Republican party.’ Or may I add, the "conservative" value system.

Henry Ruark September 13, 2008 10:23 am (Pacific time)

C-son: You attack AP without real reason to do so, sir. On what basis ? How many hundreds of pages of their stuff have you ever edited ? Ever worked in an Ap bureau or reported for them ? OR any other professonal position-similar ? On what dailies ? Where ? When ? How long ? On what major stories ? Ever covered a Legislature or City Council ? If NO such experience, on what basis do you thus smear world's largest professional news-agency ? Any factual answers, sir ? If NOT --why should we put any confidence in your cheap shot short-form comments ? YOU are invited to place any and all relevant remarks in an Op Ed, 1000-wd. detailed and documented statement, with ID to Editor. This is fifth invitation but you continue to ignore, which places incredible strain on your credibilities, sir. Not surprised at evasion; that's characteristic of what shill does when cornered, as demonstrated here already. To prove you are NOT, all you gotta do is simple Op Ed !

Henry Ruark September 13, 2008 10:13 am (Pacific time)

C-son: Your explicit explanation re Palin comments just emphasizes her lack of clarity and loss of sense via claptrap words. Great aphorism for all communication is that "The real danger is the belief it has been achieved." ONLY remedy for that is trust in source, proven by performance; and further dialog as demanded. Palin's short success falls away rapidly in confrontation such as on ABC today, when she publicly committed continuous consensual confusions. Reminds one of multimillion, many-houses candidate unable to keep count of homes-owned. See Op Ed near bottom of pages-here for full detail on Palin posturing --and stay tuned for further deflating disarray, echoed in forty-two Comments-to-ABC available on that link,to show true public opinion

sts September 13, 2008 10:10 am (Pacific time)

henry: yes, obama had the stance to leave Iraq. But voted to extend it. Doesnt matter anyway, with something like 130,000 mercenaries in Iraq, the building of the largest military embassy in the world, I dont think the Iraqi's will notice much of a difference. Besides, obama says he will send the troops to afghanistan. playing chess with soldiers. And, even if he transfers 100,000 soldiers from iraq to afghanistan, there will still not be enough boots on the ground there. Meanwhile, things in Iraq will change dramatically, and it wont be long until they have to go back to Iraq. This scenario is now happening in Pakistan. We need to pack up ALL the soldiers in the middle east, and bring them home. This is the only answer. Obama's plan will only end us up in the same place we started. screwed... And I dont fall for this war on terror stuff. The southern border is wide open. I researched, there are 500,000 muslims in Mexico. Very little documentation on their backgrounds. More muslims further south. They could walk right across the border. will obama close the borders? dont think so, he is a U.N. kinda guy. My instincts say he will be better than mccain, but who knows?

Carlson September 13, 2008 9:48 am (Pacific time)

People who know war, hate war, but the time comes when you must realize that evil gives you no other choices as the below clearly states: "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. John Stuart Mill"

Carlson September 13, 2008 8:43 am (Pacific time)

Ken et al. The below is not paraphrased so I hope this helps clear up any confusion: PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln’s words when he said — first, he suggested never presume to know what God’s will is, and I would never presume to know God’s will or to speak God’s words. But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that’s a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God’s side. That’s what that comment was all about, Charlie. GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln’s words, but you went on and said, “There is a plan and it is God’s plan.” Actually, Charlie, that is totally untrue. Here is what she actually said: “Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God,” she exhorted the congregants. “That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.” Here is a tip for the future . Try not to rely on the AP for your "exact quotes". When there is a video record, it makes for a better source.

Henry Ruark September 13, 2008 7:40 am (Pacific time)

ELP et al: Obama plan for Iraq now guides the Iraq demands for withdrawal time-line. NO flip-flop; leadership proven by events. Even Bush now settling for time-line, delayed as way to manipulate Iraq leaders for no-bid Big Oil deal.

Henry Ruark September 12, 2008 7:12 pm (Pacific time)

To all: I abree with Ken R. re paraphrase. With usual writer/editorial care, it is standard pattern. I use it allatime re quotes to save space demanded to ID speaker, unless that is necessary to understand the statement.(See my R-Ns.) But claiming distortion and purposely-done is standard neocon technique often used to perpetrate real change in meaning demanded for their own purposes, despite whatever truth may be. Examples abound, and have heavy file-full, since have written on that and am now preparing another article on combination of such techniques demonstrated deeply in this election, some from S-N.

ELP September 12, 2008 5:09 pm (Pacific time)

Didn't our lord's savior.... Obama first campaign on getting us out of Iraq? Funny that he has flip-flopped on that now. It's all about change you know.... Both parties of course carry water for AIPAC.

ken ramey September 12, 2008 3:25 pm (Pacific time)

Paraphrasing another's exact words does not alter their meaning. You know this as well as I do.

Henry Ruark September 12, 2008 1:44 pm (Pacific time)

"Anon" et al: Your key phrase is:"you can no longer influence anyone beyond those who share your own shortsightedness. Prove me wrong. you cannot." Success of spin, and in fact whole PR industry, proves how mistaken you are, sir. IF one took yours as truth there would be absolutely no reason for their effort beyond known groups. Since political-spin now used by all,one has no choice but to attack it for proof. Misquote is small part of many distortion/perversion techniques used by all, as you must know. But some of those come about by inadvertence, despite your charge of purpose here, unproven in any way and reflecting no credibility on you since so obvious to all. Saving-grace, if there be any, comes only from citizen's own probing cogitation aided by reliable-source information offsetting malign attacks on foundation of democracy, the responsible conduct of those participating. Re yours here, it reflects ONLY your own feelings; I see no indication of informed opinion, and even ID to place you as source carefully avoided, I note. Honest, open dialog as in S-N demands some knowledge of source, as in any conversation in society; when avoided, one starts out rightly suspicious. SO bushwa to you, too, sir ! You complain of precisely the same symptomatic behavior you then perpetrate,nicely proving need for that suspicion.

Anonymous September 12, 2008 10:20 am (Pacific time)

Distortion of facts re: Palin saying it was "The Iraq war was God's War." That has been completely reworded and there are plenty of sources that if one wants to view the actual video of the speech to see and hear for themselves. I can only wonder why one would want to mislead people from actual facts. How sad. I realize you Obama supporters will "cling to your distortions and show antipathy to actual facts", but in the end with todays vast communication system where at least 50%+ of the population is going to be demanding factual accountings, but also to correct falsehoods, you can no longer influence anyone beyond those who share your own shortsightedness. Prove me wrong. you cannot. The video of her comments are out there. As far as using religion (word of God) go look at rhe Declaration Of Independence, and speeches, prayers and other references to God by literally all past presidents. Lincoln was a reference Palin was making, i.e. , praying that we were "on Gods side." I guess some pray for the ignorance of others so as not to challenge them , then when they are challenged, what have you got, insults but no facts.

Sterling September 12, 2008 9:39 am (Pacific time)

The bible says that no man has seen God and that it is the Holy SPirit who searches the deep things of God. A lot of Wars have been waged in the name of GOd. The bible says my sheep knows my voice.. Sometimes you wonder if they are real sheep, you catch my drift? Enough of the Politics... Would you agree that Roman Catholism became prominent in 312 AD Not Christianity?

Vic September 12, 2008 8:08 am (Pacific time)

There is absolutely no such creature as a warmongering Christian. There are warmongers who claim to be Christians for whatever reason, but it is impossible to be both. The Old Testament is full of wars (supposedly ordained by God),infanticide, genocide, incest, rape, racism, etc..but the term Christian is supposed to define followers of Christ. Jesus specifically said that warmongers will in no way enter into Heaven. War-supporting "Christians" are like carnivorous vegans, there arent any.

sts September 12, 2008 7:15 am (Pacific time)

keep in mind also. It seems to me the bush/mccain stance has used Jesus/God about 10% of the time, while using fear 90% of the time. Fear has been used to control many times in past history. Fear, war on terror, etc. And, the birth of this fear came from the 911 attacks, which are being viewed by most of the world, and about 40% of the people in the U.S. as a false flag attack used to gain more control and invade Iraq. And to take our civil liberties away. HR1955, Patriot Act, end of habeus corpus (sp?), etc.

sts September 12, 2008 6:27 am (Pacific time)

As a believer in Christ, I do not believe Christ should be used as a pawn in politics. Christ stayed away from politics. His main message was to help the needy. Not invade other countries. And, if you look at our own country, the poverty level, the neglect, prison terms for non-violent substance abuse, etc etc. Therefore, I have to disagree with the author in regards to bush being a Christian. Does he (and palin, and mccain) use Chrisitanity to further their own agenda as so many have done before him over the past centuries? Of course. In regards to Obama. Obama has stated that if any troops are taken from Iraq, they will just go to Afghanistan. Moving pieces around on a chessboard will not save money. And, with the largest military embassy in the world being built in Iraq, you can bet, not too many soldiers will be coming home soon. Obama voted yes to extend the Iraq war. The war machine is now progressing its way into Pakistan. The elite, have managed to put the perfect one party system in place. Using minor differences in the two parties, keeps people bickering, putting down the other candidates, and completely distracting them from the reality that there is something beyond this one party system. Whether democrat, or republican, you can safely bet yourself, the Constitution will continue to deteriorate at the same fast pace it is now. When the rule of the Constitution is gone, WHO, will then, make the rules? scary thought yes? hint: it has the initials U.N. :-)

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