Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Re-Created in the Image of Man

"Increase" is a *gift* from God [the "land" shall yield her increase]; profit/usury is a taking of men [profit taking (earning)]; PROFIT MAKES EVIL PAY; profit is a denial of God's increase !! - "increase" is a blessing from God, a stewardship gift [reciprocal] from knowing and following God's Way of Life [of Christ(-systemic)] !! -- the Iraq/Afghanistan War is a "war of maintenance" [of the SAGE systemic]; MAMMON FEEDING ITSELF, TAKING FOR ITSELF !! - any form of "taking", any aspect of it, in *no* way reflects the character of God(-ing) [10C], it is theft: CHRIST IS A *GIFT* !! -- our "environment" [what we are surrounded in-and-by; physically/spiritually] is most important, our BEING and DOING determinant [esp., mental environment]; the "Kingdom of God" is the environment we must achieve, an environment of truth and peace, of righteousness, of agape gifting !! - politico-media inducement into an attitude [self-group think NOT God think] - double-speak [minded], not outright lying but avoiding the truth; sound "bites" measured in seconds, not a whole "meal" of conversation; rhetoric and verbal abuse, misleading metaphors, simple personifications [ie., Bush good, Saddam bad], over-simplification of complex issues for masking intentions; stigmatizing opposition [visuals; prejudiced imagery] - language on a "lower level" to stir the "base instincts" on which politico-business thrives !! - ** WE ARE INCLINED TO BE DECEIVED BY OUR SELFISHNESS [environ] ** !! - we should be ashamed to have been re-created in the "image of man".

Inundation by the unattainable [media message, advertising, etc.]; economic oppression and abuse - GOD *IS* ATTAINABLE !! -- the "limiting of life" vs. the ** RIGHT OF EXISTENCE ** GIVEN BY GOD !! - corporate money is of itself an evil [instrumentality]; we should abhor its use by us, and its (ab)use of us !! -- OUR LIFE [in all of its complexity], OUR LIVES, IS/ARE THE MOST PRECIOUS GIFT(S) WE HAVE; WE MUST DO ALL WE CAN TO *ENHANCE* EACH OTHER, BY GIFTING EACH OTHER; THIS IS THE WAY OF GOD, OF AGAPE LOVE !! -- exploring righteous aspects of ourselves that are hidden, undeveloped - life by-and-through the corporate Nation-State [systemic claim] is opposed [enemy of] to life by-and-through Christ(-systemic) !! - the deep psychosis(-sys), the psychological lock must be opened; the pure author-ity of the Word of God [authority *not* authoritarian; God is not the author(-ity) of confusion (Babylon); GOD IS SERVANT EXAMPLE] supersedes the imposed, polluted [vested interest; claim] author-ity of man [incl., the COG Inc.] !! - OUR INTELLIGENCE MUST BE DEEPENED [individual/collective vs. our surface interpretations, surface/sub-surface intelligence] !! - THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD, HEALING OF MIND !! - many walk in faith [yet, in error], but few walk in Spirit and in Truth [Being and Doing] !!

Monday, June 28, 2010

We Must Become Mercy and Truth

Events have dragged/pushed us beyond the threshold of sanity, the "event horizon" [of mind]; *ONLY* OUR GOD(-ing) CAN SAVE US !! -- suppression of civil rights by an "undeclared" war [declared use of force vs. specific targets, ie., Saddam, Taliban, notwithstanding] against terrorism could last a long time, and become permanent, with NO opposition !! - RESISTANCE [Christ-ian] IS A MATTER OF CONSCIENCE !! - the claim that "peace activists" encourage war, by creating an exploitable environment [for those who would use war], is false [strength of character (God's) vs. imposition of another's character (of war)]; WAGING WAR REQUIRES MANY TO BE INVOLVED, AN EMOTIVE CATALYST [ie., nationalist religion]; ** WAR REQUIRES SUPPORT !! ** - WAR WILL BE *DEFEATED* BY MERCY [repentance and forgiveness] AND TRUTH !! - the infliction of war, for whatever reason, is a crime against our humanity, a crime against our God(-ing): THERE IS *NO* EXCUSE FOR INFLICTION OF WAR, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THE EVIL REASONS OF WAR !!

Dismissal/negation by [selfish] (ab)use [of Christ]; Christ(-ian-ity) is a GIFT - CHRIST IS NOT USED, ONLY GIFTED !! - fraudulent *use* of Christ is the most prevalent form of Christ-expression, [incl., the COG Inc.], CHRIST AS SELFISH IDOL, AND WORSHIPPED AS SUCH, IN VAIN [IN VANITY; PREJUDICE] !! - THE TRUTH [*OF* CHRIST] IS DAMNED AS ANATHEMA [non-redemption; doomed to destruction] BY *OUR* "CHRIST-IAN-ITY" RECONCILED TO THE WORLD [kosmos/Mammon] !! - WE DO *NOT* KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING, YET GOD WILL FORGIVE US, BECAUSE GOD *IS* MERCY AND TRUTH !! - we must *become* mercy and truth as Christ-ians, we must heal this evil world together with God; WE MUST REVENGE [*of* God; vindicate(-tion) of God's Way and Truth: to defend; to justify; to support or maintain as true or correct, against ** denial, censure or objections **; to assert; TO PROVE GOD (to be; as) JUST AND VALID] ALL DISOBEDIENCE - WE MUST BE, EXIST, *AS* CHRIST !!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

A Place of Refuge

Political Parties are encased selfish doctrines/policies [vested claim], all variations of the one actual/overriding "party": the BUSINESS PARTY [corporate money(-ies) as sole means/instrumentality; the common denominator (denomination; corporate-domination/dominion)] !! - "democracy" [the people, to rule (rule of the ruled)] as a learned process, utilizing imposed corporate means, is a contradiction; democratic-fascism is the resultant/norm [accountable only to the means] - demon-ocracy [daemon: the dark wisdom, FAITH OF THE FALLEN, application of; a guardian spirit, inspiring or inner spirit (lesser; of evil); demiurge(-ic) (one who works for the people; creator, the material world): as ruling force, creative power (of evil; works *of* the world/kosmos)] -- demimonde n. [Fr demi (half; less than usual in size, power; DEMIGOD(-ing): a lesser god(-ing); offspring (of man and god) knowledge of good and evil) + monde (world; society), L mundus (world); any group whose activities are ethically questionable].

We must provide for (prepare the Gospel; preparing/survivalism ethos) and/or ask/demand/take "right of *sacred* asylum" [L. from Gr., safe from (the) spoil, and spoil (to plunder); a sanctuary (a sacred place; consecrated to the worship of God and family life; sanctuary-man); a place of refuge; a place of retreat and security; shelter from the "justice" of man (the *reality* of our Christ-ian-ity (ekklesian community) makes us criminals according to the corporate-systemic, held in its service)], asylum *with* God away from man's systemic claim(s): AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD !! - public justice as private vengeance -- asylum/sanctuary begins in our minds at Baptism: the COG is congenital [congenite; of the same birth; born with another; begotten together]; our symbiotic relationship with God begins our healing, our Christ-ian community, in symbiosis with the world, heals the world !! - the demon-ocracies of this world, the demigods(-ing), the demiurgic means must be destroyed [our means must be spiritual: the gift(-ing)]: WE CANNOT BE PART OF, COMPLICIT IN, THE LESSENING [systemic-being] !!

We Must Forgive But Never Forget !!

The fact that the "public mind" is seemingly of no consequence to the SAGE speaks volumes - these men/women are-and-will-be vilified on the level of Hitler and Stalin in the common perception, their very mention will be hated in the coming years - we must preserve the books, magazines, electronic media (web pages, blogs, articles etc.) that chronicle our era, what is happening to us right now and those deemed responsible - in the time coming, the probable societal breakdown, censorship and confiscation of materials deemed threatening to the Fascist-State under the guise of social stability will attempt to erase the public-record and the public-mind - we must archive these materials now on a continuing basis, we must stow them away and preserve them for a future accounting, they must be part of our preparing/survival ethos - WE MUST FORGIVE BUT NEVER FORGET !!

Friday, June 25, 2010

We Must Bear The Image Of God

Col 1:21 ... ALIENATED [estranged] AND ENEMIES ** IN YOUR MIND ** BY WICKED [hurtful; evil] WORKS [kosmos] ... RECONCILED BY CHRIST, SANCTIFIED [set apart; separated] BY TRUTH !! ... 2 Cor 10:5-6 Casting down imaginations, and ** every high thing ** that exalteth itself *against* the knowledge [G1108 Gnosis; knowing; understanding] of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a *readiness* [G2092 prepared; made ready; opportune] to revenge [G1556 to vindicate one's right; do one justice; to protect, defend; to avenge a thing] *all* disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled - WE ARE CALLED TO CHANGE THE WORLD (kosmos), TO REVENGE *ALL* DISOBEDIENCE BY-AND-THROUGH OUR OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST [*all* iniquity purged by GOD'S MERCY and TRUTH] !! - psychological adjustment: growing in grace and knowledge, overcoming, fine-tuning [symbiosis(sys)]; OUR SHARING OF GOD'S VERY MIND !!

War is the hallmark of the uncivilized mind [a lack of God, of civil realization]; a disconnect in thinking; alleging a set of beliefs but NOT acting on them, preaching but NOT living, secularized in all things [FAITH OF THE FALLEN]; calling for national service in pursuit of "common purpose" is a lie - a sense of strategy is lacking for those opposed to the systemic, yet still bound to it [by *its* instrumentality]; our belief system tells us NOT to believe [incl., the COG Inc., EXALTED AGAINST GOD] !! - OUR WORLD IS A THOUGHT *NOT* IN OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST, WE DO NOT AGREE WITH GOD !! - character obedience vs. following imposed orders, command structures [authority claim], obedience *imposed by fear* [even of God] !! - intolerance, the transfer [imposition] of prejudiced religion, reactionary change, punitive war, all in the Name of God [A GOD OF VENGEANCE]; partially following Christ [selective application] when it is convenient [seven-day absentists]; secular-humanist's "God-ing" more than the claimed fundamentalist's [God at a price] !! -- we must understand and be cognizant of the *impact* each one of us, individually and collectively, has on those around us, and on their and our world: FAITH, HOPE, and especially LOVE [as impact], we must bear the image of God [as He is, so are we in the world]; unleavened bread of SINCERITY and TRUTH *not* leavened bread of MALICE and WICKEDNESS !!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

God Is The Surpassing Power

GOD IS THE SURPASSING POWER, not just a circumscribing power, of abusive relations, of authoritarianism; GOD IS EQUITY IN *ALL* THINGS !! - "rankism is an abuse" - rank is NOT necessary; those who would have rank must be the greater servant, they must give dignity and their respect as gift to those not considered ranked [unleavened bread]; RANK MUST BE TURNED INTO A SERVANT GIFT, AN ENGAGEMENT TO ELIMINATE ANY/ALL CONSIDERATION OF RANK(-ism) !! -- an assault on another's dignity [rank is an insult] is an assault on our God(-ing) [humiliating God]; our prevalent systemic is rankism dependent [capitalism; democratic-fascism], ie., the chronic indignity of the working-poor under constant monetary threat vs. voting their [selfish] economic interest in order to deconstruct a selfish systemic [ie., the working-poor voting populist, or socialist]; a dignitarian [dignity] movement is needed, an egalitarian societal ideal [this is what Christ(-ian systemic) advocated] !! - one social group subordinating another social group is evil, a woven cloak, a societal construct that needs to be unwoven by Mercy and Truth - CIVILIZING RANK IS NOT THE ANSWER, OUR COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF RANK IS: A NEW ATTITUDE, A NEW MIND !! - we must throw off the burden of the "somebody mystique" - WE MUST BE COGNIZANT OF THE IMPOSITION OF [selfish] WILL THROUGH RANK(-ism) !! - GOD IS *NOT* SUB-ORDINATION TO THE ORDINATED !! - rankism [ordination to privilege] is prejudice and abuse, the tyranny of structure, demanding humility [for reward]; WE ARE HUMBLE *ONLY* BEFORE OUR GOD !! - NOBODY IS A NOBODY, everyone *is* a somebody !!

Our family relationship is our co-genitor [environment]; the "family" form is our *only* form of relationship(s), in *all* things -- anger is the reaction to our emptiness and fear [causation]; we must eliminate the cause; there is no such thing as "healthy" anger - we must NOT react to another's anger and we must recognize our own - REAL LOVE, CONCERN IS THE CURE [anger is the result of a lacking, a lessening, of love (of God)]; our "expectations" of another's behaviour [esp., our marriages/family], our frustrations at their perceived lacking, results in our anger [hurt] - vested-interest [esp., media-induced] perceived injury emotive, a leading cause of collective anger [an evil, empty systemic using the emptiness to produce more; a vicious cycle in its service] -- OUR ANGER IS A "SELFISH" EMOTION; GOD IS *NOT* ANGER OR ANGRY WITH US [we don't feel His love; we are detracted by "our" anger (anger is always wrong)] - we must overcome our anger: 1 be quiet [shut-up] 2 be wrong [we are here to be happy (reciprocal love)] 3 feel love [remember] 4 get love [open to] 5 be loving [gift(-ing)] - ANGER IS DESTROYING US [venting anger does NOT get rid of it, only love(-ing) does (unconditional acceptance upon repentance, our being and doing cognition; realizing God is cognoscible (capable of being known): KNOWING, PERCEIVING GOD)] !! - we are adept at transferring our negative, destructive emotions on others [because we cannot deal with them ourselves], unwillingly on their part [selfish transference of selfish emotions]; we must become adept at transferring our love [gifted by God], gifting the essence of ourselves unselfishly and openly; others will accept love willingly.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Paul Wapner: Is New Environmentalism the Answer or the Problem?

Is New Environmentalism the Answer or the Problem?
By Paul Wapner article link
June 15, 2010 | Tikkun | AlterNet

Take your well-disciplined strengths
and stretch them between two opposing poles.
Because inside human beings
is where God learns.

—Rainer Maria Rilke

There is a battle going on for the soul of environmentalism. How it plays out will determine our ability to respond to a whole host of environmental dilemmas, especially climate change. All of us are partners in this struggle, since battle lines are being drawn not simply on the street or in policy debates but also inside each of us. We are torn between two visions of how to relate to the earth. Much depends on how we negotiate our way through the conflict.

One vision sees Homo sapiens as merely one of many species, and thus subject to the same biophysical constraints as other creatures: Like the rest of life, we evolved over millennia, and depend fundamentally on the biophysical gifts of the earth. From an environmental perspective, this means that we should try to harmonize ourselves with the natural world—we should use only so many resources and produce only so much waste, and generally strive to fit ourselves into the web of ecological interdependence.

The other vision sees humans as the exceptional species: Yes, we are subject to nature's laws, but these are not inviolate. We can outsmart, work around, or otherwise rise above them by employing our reason and technological abilities. From an environmental perspective, our exceptionalism calls on us not to harmonize ourselves with nature but to rework the natural world in the service of human betterment.

The first view can be called the urge toward naturalism whereas the second can be called the urge toward mastery.

For decades, environmentalists have primarily expressed the first view in their political orientation and campaigns. They have tended to confront their critics along the naturalism-mastery divide, offering a counter-narrative to the predominant, hubristic attitude of lording over nature and trying to instill a sense of species-humility in the face of growing environmental challenges.

Environmentalism is changing, however, especially in light of the climate crisis. Many are now toning down or outright abandoning a naturalist sensibility for one leaning toward mastery. We see this in the attraction to technological fixes as evident in the resurgence of support for nuclear power, the popularity of carbon sequestration, and the embrace of "green" consumption. Today, some staunch environmentalists are even proposing earth-altering actions to protect ourselves from the dangerous buildup of greenhouse gases, seeking to change the atmosphere itself to accept more carbon dioxide or at least deflect climate change dangers. Proposals include putting up orbiting sunshades to block sunlight, fertilizing the oceans with iron to grow more phytoplankton to absorb carbon dioxide, and pumping sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to impede solar radiation. Many environmentalists have come reluctantly to recognize that there is simply no way that societies are going to cut back, restrict their imprint on the earth, and otherwise live lightly on the planet enough to mitigate climate change. Too many people need energy and are unwilling to deny themselves the pleasures of material consumption for an orientation of naturalism to take hold widely enough to make a difference. At this stage, they reason, we should ramp up our abilities to outsmart and manipulate nature in the service of protecting ourselves from climate catastrophe. Put differently, many environmentalists are now admitting that global capitalism, incessant technological innovation, endless consumption, and pervasive anthropocentrism are here to stay. Rather than continue to battle against these dynamics in the service of living more harmoniously with the natural world, many argue that it is time to embrace them and align ourselves with their power.

There is much promise to the "new environmentalism." In the shadow of Copenhagen's failed negotiations, we are all grasping at straws for insight, and the notion that technological fixes could enable us to surmount climate change dangers within the existing world order (and with our lifestyles intact) appears particularly attractive, especially to the privileged among us.

And yet, for all its promise, the new environmentalism raises significant questions. Is it really forward-looking, or will it simply reinforce and accelerate the forces that got us into the climate crisis in the first place? That is, can it usher in a new energy future or will its promise of technical solutions distract us from the difficult work of realigning our lives? Is it so compatible with current economic and social systems that it will merely diversify our energy choices without fashioning a genuinely different orientation to our energy lives? More generally, we need to ask where the new environmentalism will lead us. Will it take us into a technocratic future animated by the type of design and technological optimism associated with Promethean thought that has long animated environmental skeptics, or will it prefigure a more naturalized world, more in line with the precautionary sensibility that has long guided the environmental movement?

There are no easy—and certainly no definitive—answers to such questions. We cannot evaluate the new environmentalism in either/or terms, as if it were either helpful or not in ushering in a sane climate future. Rather, the effects of the new environmentalism turn on how we translate it into practice. Key to such translation is recognizing that the impulse behind the new environmentalism needs to be in productive tension with conventional environmentalism and the urge to naturalism. As we move deeper into the climate age, we need to revive and embolden the impulse toward naturalism to rein in our hubristic tendencies. Our humanity depends on it.

Traditional environmentalism taught us to live humbly within nature’s limits. A new environmentalism, which assumes we can’t learn fast enough to live humbly, embraces geo-engineering ideas as our main hope for cooling the planet.

Traditional environmentalism taught us to live humbly within nature’s limits. A new environmentalism, which assumes we can’t learn fast enough to live humbly, embraces geo-engineering ideas as our main hope for cooling the planet.

The Moral Character of the Two Environmentalisms

Environmentalism is many things. At its core, however, it is an ethical movement. As political theorist Leslie Thiele reminds us, it is about extending moral consideration across space, time, and species. It involves caring about the needs and well-being of our fellow human beings, future generations, and the more-than-human world. Addressing climate change is a moral act to the degree that it involves protecting each other and other creatures from climate catastrophe, and ensuring that future human beings will inherit a livable planet. In many ways, the new environmentalism does represent this moral sentiment. Its embrace of technological capability, economic growth, and instrumental rationality represents a commitment to addressing the climate crisis and thus making the world a better place for all living creatures, including future generations.

There is, nonetheless, something unsettling about the moral character of the new environmentalism, especially to the degree that it ignores naturalism. Its promise to deliver a world in which we may continue to indulge all our appetites, desires, and customary practices simply by altering material structures seems morally thin. Such a vision involves technologically engineering the world so individual, environmental decision-making becomes irrelevant. It strives to ensure that we conduct ourselves in an environmentally sound fashion through designed systems of social life. This raises ethical concerns to the degree that it relieves individuals of having to clarify their moral commitments or take deliberate actions to limit themselves in the service of others' well-being.

Ethical action involves deliberation and the conscious choice to restrict acting on one's desires in deference to the welfare of others. The new environmentalism promises gadgets and systems that will absolve us of the need for such reflection and consideration. Most ethical action also entails a sense of humility about oneself and, by extension, the human species. At least since Aristotle, ethicists have considered humility a virtue whose practice deepens the human character and heightens one's moral sensitivity. The new environmentalism dispenses with this to the degree that it calls on us not to respect nature's limits and adjust ourselves to them, but to outsmart and plow through nature's biophysical character with the aim of crafting sustainable lives without requiring, or indeed permitting, the exercise of choice. Humility is thus a casualty of the new environmentalism.

This is not to say, of course, that the new environmentalism is immoral or even amoral. As mentioned, its proponents care deeply about protecting the environment and ensuring that humanity survives and flourishes in the face of grave environmental challenges. Rather, it is to suggest that the new environmentalism is incompletely moral. The new environmentalism needs the ethical bearings that sensitivity to naturalism can provide. It needs the sense of humility and the appreciation for the more-than-human world that conventional environmentalism has long valued and championed. This is especially the case at this point in history.

Since the dawn of modernity, the balance between naturalism and mastery has been increasingly weighted toward mastery. Our attempt to decipher nature's ways and manipulate them in the service of human betterment has been accelerating for centuries and shows few signs of abatement. Indeed, we seem continually committed to run roughshod over the nonhuman world. Given this imbalance, this is simply not the time for fully embracing the new environmentalism but rather reviving naturalism, which at its core expresses diffidence concerning human frailty, and the human condition more generally. Naturalism conveys the understanding that we—as individuals and as a species—are not at the center of the universe but simply occupy a distinct place in the order of things.

In many ways, it has been our self-centeredness—our placing ourselves at the core of existence and our willingness to do whatever it takes to advance our interests—that has been the cause of our environmental dilemmas. It is time to regenerate a cautionary attitude toward this sensibility and put it in its proper place. If checked by humility, the new environmentalism can offer wonders without veering off in dangerous and ethically troubling directions. Couched within an effort to balance naturalism and mastery, the new environmentalism can take its rightful place in the evolution of the movement. It can offer promise toward addressing climate change by urging us to explore our technological, scientific, and "economistic" tendencies and capabilities. It will fail us, however, if we don't balance these proclivities and capacities with the moral compass of knowing that, while we may be unique as a species, we are not exempt from nature's laws and imperatives, and we live less than full lives when we forget this. This recognition, paired with the realization that there is more to the cosmos than humans, provides the antidote to the hubris of the mastery narrative—and to our collective ability to address climate change.

The tension between naturalism and mastery is as important to environmentalism as the paradoxes that wrack human life are to human experience. We live best when we refuse to collapse such paradoxes. Likewise, we will live most humanely through the climate age by keeping alive the long environmentalist tradition of harmonizing with the natural world rather than lording over it.

Paul Wapner is associate professor and director of the Global Environmental Politics program at American University. His most recent book is Living Through the End of Nature: The Future of American Environmentalism (MIT Press 2010).

© 2010 Tikkun All rights reserved.

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Monday, June 21, 2010

Rudiments of the World

God and His truth are not the exclusive property of any group or person [reactionary and/or elitist spirituality]; the common Family and God's truth are open and free for all to accept and be accepted of; the group or person has the honor of worship and representation, but only God places you within His Family -- God's truth is not proprietary; there is no copyright on His truth - no man can put his name on God's truth, he is NOT the author of it - God's truth is to be shared freely as it was freely shared with us - the merit of the words themselves lend the authority; any copyright is of God !! -- the COG community, the Family, is wholly *self-sufficient (self-Existent)*, receiving *all* from God [there is no utilization of oppression, usury, artificial scarcity, slavery, etc., ie., the world's money and means]; we are not to *touch, taste, or handle* the rudiments [the primary and fundamental principles; to proceed in a row, go in order; to go on prosperously, to turn out well; to walk; to direct one's life, to live] of the world, we are not to use or be subject to its ordinances [doctrines; of public decrees; of (Roman) government; of rulers (carnal rulership); hierarchy] -- we are to be separate from the world, we must withdraw, cease to exist systemically -- an *emancipatory spirituality* [Tikkun] that encourages people to work together in community [the social and political movement] filled with a powerful spiritual practise includes a genuine recognition that its goals cannot be achieved by means that are not as holy as its ends.

Colossians 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the *rudiments* of the world, why, *as though living* in the world, are ye *subject* to *ordinances*, [some were employing, utilizing its means] 21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22 Which all are to *perish* with the *using*;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh [carnally minded].

God will open our minds to the wonderful possibilities of His, *OUR* community, and to His abilities and intelligence(s), to accomplish the same -- we are NOT to *touch* [fasten ourselves to, by any means], *taste* [to partake of, in any way], or *handle* [to touch, handle; to do violence to, injury (the corporate means; money based on oppression, usury, etc.)] the SAGE systemic; and certainly NOT employ its means to propagate the Gospel [a message (and way of life) wholly opposed to, and one that demands our complete and total separation from, these same means; darkness is not the source of light]; a tainted message is the result, one lacking in power [the application of God's word], a message caught between two worlds -- true, open and free Christian community is the proper *preaching and witness* that God and His family require to deliver the Good News, the social [communitarian] Gospel, the *way of separation*, to the world [the people, the underlying foundations, the systemic psychology], to lay the foundation and build the Kingdom of God [restoration, the social reconstruction] for the inheritors.

The way of gain [means; as instrumentality] - a *shameful* situation in the COG; the COG today is NOT a manifestation of God's truth !! - we are not honoring God our Father, and our Mother the Church; we are committing SIN; it should be a period of weeping and mourning as we stand before the Promised Land; God's household is wasted, a desert, sterile; NO RIGHTEOUS GROWTH; we must REBUILD *IN STRENGTH* -- contentions, divisions, making merchandise of the brethren, men committing fornication with their "mother" (their father's wife), the church, filling their own bellies [CLAIMING OWNERSHIP; AN *EMPTY* BUSINESS; COG SPOILED] -- our following of men [I am of...]; there is NO preeminence of any within the COG community, NO reputation; this carnal situation has to end !! - we follow Christ, and Him only !! -- the puffed up corporate church must cease; the high mindedness - where is the *servant authority*, the elders, the mature example, to gently lead in all humility ?? - why haven't we truly gone to our brethren [in love, in prayer, trusting in God] to resolve any differences [instead of accusing, marking, calling our judgment "tough love"]; we have more in common than in difference; we have to get man out of the way of God [the evil, carnal, wall of division and strife is *money, position, and personality*] !!

1 Corinthians 5:1. It is reported commonly [that there is] *fornication* among you [AS INSTRUMENTALITY], and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have *[OWN; POSSESS]* his father's wife [MOTHER; COG]. 2 And ye are *puffed up*, and *have not rather mourned*, that he that hath done this *deed* [WORK] might be taken away from among you.

Whose [and what] interests are being represented here ?? - it is time that we mark [to watch; recognize] and avoid [not shun, but withdraw from, reject the teachings of] the hierarchy, the hierarchical government form, the self-appointed "ministry of the hierarchy," a ministry filling their own bellies -- we must ask for forgiveness, we are all responsible; we must admonish, teach the truth as brethren [not in authority over]; the hierarchy are our brothers, BUT THEY ARE OPPOSING GOD IN MIND, and they are opposing, silencing God in form [they assume what rightfully belongs to the brethren], in the received and applied tradition of men !! - we must implement *God's pure design*, uncorrupted by man and return to being good stewards of the faith [a ministry of the brethren] in true community [the implementation of God's consciousness] !! - we must walk *as God* in *full* consciousness !! - the "work" of the COG is NOT in the running of a Corporate entity; it is establishing and creating community; a *living* faith, where we worship in spirit and in truth !!

Colossians 2:18 Let no man *beguile* you of your reward in a *voluntary* humility and *worshipping* of angels [FALLEN ANGELS; THEIR SYSTEMIC], intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Evil Is Seemingly Boundless In Extent And Reward

Without Money, Without Price

EVIL IS SEEMINGLY BOUNDLESS IN EXTENT AND REWARD !! - the harm done to people's lives by corporate CEO's [their corporate policies; the public icons (incl. Board of Directors)] is *beyond* measure and recognition, this includes our government - consulting the public good is a formality necessary to preserve the image of plurality, but sovereign power and interest is now corporate not public - democratic reason is lost and vested interest takes precedence !! -- real, expressed, violent civil-disobedience is the corporate-government overriding the public concern and will [not obeying the people, the rightful owners] and imposing and maintaining the SAGE-Systemic with armed force - our laws and media point us in other directions, ie., the poor, welfare, immigration, health care, etc., privilege and its evil are protected [as essential], its victims are blamed [further victimization of the victimized]; the psychosis(sys) of Mammon has spread its roots deep into humanity, negating humanity -- man is NOT getting better, WE ARE GROWING *MORE* SELFISH EVERYDAY: the world [natural and kosmos(systemic)] is degenerating [we are more and more degenerate] physically and spiritually !!

HOW DO WE PERCEIVE OURSELVES [individually and collectively; our groupings] ?? - what do we see, how do we look ?? - we are de-meaning ourselves by our "nature of interaction" [business, its money] !! -- we must think *beyond* the moment !! - WE ARE ALL "PASSING THE BUCK" [refusing our complicity, our responsibility, while utilizing the systemic, "the buck"] !! -- the corporate "suit" is a filthy rag [clothed in sin: FILTHY LUCRE/RAGS] - we either experience God or the Devil *by* the nature of our interactions with each other [we "define" God] !! -- LORD as "loaf-keeper", companion as "bread-fellow", CHRIST IS THE BREAD OF LIFE, the SPIRITUAL MANNA, the *wisdom* from above [*as* Christ; application of the the Word, the Gospel] !! - the 12 loaves of shewbread, the ** "bread of the presence" **, were unleavened [the 12 "Tribes" (name characteristics) of Israel], and *renewed* every Sabbath day; we must *become* de-leavened as the COG [WE ARE THE SHEWBREAD], in *all* aspects of our lives, physically and spiritually [sincerity and truth], as companions of Christ and of each other !! - ALL MUST BE GIFTED AND PLACED ON THE *ONE* COMMON TABLE OF GOD(-ing) [the community], FOR ALL TO SHARE, WITHOUT MONEY [commodification], WITHOUT PRICE [systemic claim] [Isa 55:1] !!

What is the Cause of Our Pause?

The manipulators and managers of power, using the various -ism's [ie., socialism, terrorism, etc.], religion, democracy, globalization, etc., as justification [media: manufactured consent (Chomsky), compliance and complicity] for their [selfish] actions !! - the "commanding heights" of power [Prince(s) of Tyre (ref: Mammon or Messiah Addendum 1)] are *NOT* the Mountain of God [Zion]; the *terrible* mechanism(s) of globalization in a global climate of turmoil is a liability, corporate oppression stirring the storm [convective emotions] - cooperative reaction amongst selfish entities [the Nation-States] to fight/combat terrorism, etc., [a *product* of their selfishness] will fail, resulting in a deep rift, a breach between the US(UK) and the EU; EVIL WILL *CONSUME* ITSELF [destructive prosperity, wealth, is a contradiction, an oxymoronic systemic of evil works] !!

Many plan to "live" before they die, to be a devil before they're an angel [source: unknown song] !! -- the volume of human cruelty is loud, reaching up to God [the cry of fear and despair]; systemic "privation" [private means/profits (demanding/causing privation)] enabling prejudiced gain is evil [personal gain at the expense (life; need; penury) of another] !! - the [systemic] CLAIM OF MONEY and those who control [prejudice] it, and the usury imposed, must be rejected and abhorred [evil works: being and doing; weaponization] !! -- the "dust of empire" [emotions stirred up; choking winds; stomping boots] will become the "ashes of civilization" [Ezek., 28:18; devour; ashes upon the earth]; the Revelation/Revealing, the consuming/purifying "truth" will reduce our world [kosmos(systemic)] to ashes !!

The love "threat", people hate the love [of God; the world hated/hates Christ, His Way of Life]; Christ was killed by the "people of God", by their utilization of the "Roman" systemic and we are doing the same !! - WE ARE PRIESTS OF MAMMON [by definition] !! - WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF OUR PAUSE ?? - where is thought if it never leaves the thinker ?? - we must bring every thought to Christ; we have to examine, reason with [God], and then "re-define" our existence [common purpose; in terms of "the other" rather than in terms of (our)self] !! - WE MUST WALK *TOGETHER* WITH GOD, AS GOD FAMILY !! -- in the war "within" man's soul, only God's love can heal the wounds: our physical existence is a reflection of our spiritual [illness; injury(-ies)]; GOD'S LOVE AND PEACE DWELLS FROM WITHIN !! - we are writing ourselves *into* "being" [the Book of Life] !!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A Developing Community

** True Intelligence ** is God's Way, utilizing the "creation imprint" designed and intended for man; intelligence beyond thought; God-made sense of self vs. conditioned/manufactured/social mythic "mind-made" sense of self [the imprisoned mind] - the mind seeks to control the situation; fear future or desire future; the mind will fuel the impulse/situation; it will project into "the now" to shape the reality -- God's mind, His very consciousness, can be, and is, ours !! -- we must acknowledge what we feel, not what we deny, in our existence; a spaciousness around what we feel, our environment [emotional; state of grace, capacity for service]; MAKING SENSE, A DEEPENING OF MIND; INNER STILLNESS, A LACK OF FEAR; SERENITY, PEACE = the whole structure of "mind-made" sense of self dies | DEPTH, SACREDNESS !!

Media culture = representable interference with reality: accommodating the camera - torrent of images and sound = numbing the mind; we collaborate with our own dumbing down: we plug-in willingly - we are part of a long running desire to find a low risk, low demand release from the problems of life ... the promise that the next "one" will provide the solution ... the "CNN effect" to produce a public opinion result, that results in government intervention; so-called "experts" recycled ad-nauseum - corporate journalists using the "we" in their questions, the collective pronoun used in questioning government officials: there is a carefully managed "news agenda" to produce a carefully managed and manufactured public opinion - the "appearance" of reporting is exposed by the "guest list", the pre-defined framework of corporate experts ... very seldom are NGO's and alternative views presented by their own; limited views are presented mostly by the corporate - a vast spectrum of diversity must be realized, a vital presentation and exchange of ideas and opinions: AN OPEN COMMONS NEEDED !! - [experts based on NPR, Talk of the Nation]

Corporate enforcement of systemic lies vs. any opposition; we must respond only by education and persuasion by example - the COG Inc.'s, "enforcement" of their defined Truth is also a falsehood, a misapplication -- God wants us to be pure and whole; He does not want us to be automatons and just obey Him, He wants us to connect with Him from the *wholeness* of ourselves [in union with God, begotten as Family] - the COG is a developing community, a community that is *loving* towards everyone and everything, a community that is "in community" with everyone and everything: ONE WITH GOD, IN WHOLENESS - IF WE EXPRESS GOD, IF WE ARE *IN* AGAPE LOVE, EXPRESSING LOVE, PURITY, AND TRUTH, ANYWHERE CAN BE, AND IS, OUR COMMUNITY - we can't change anything but ourselves, and it takes God's help to renew our minds, to override and rid ourselves of selfishness, to look after the care of someone else - every failure [or sin (our violation of God's character, the 10C)] or difficulty [or contradiction in our lives, our conduct] is an opportunity to learn and change our ways - [wholeness based on Touched By Nature, Dorothy MacLean, Shared Vision] -- we are BONDED to God by love, His love, freely given as gift.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Gregory Paul: Libertarian America

Libertarian America: What the Ayn-Rand-Paulian Wing of the Tea Party Really Wants the USA to Become
By Gregory Paul article link
June 5, 2010 | OpEdNews

There is a strong libertarian streak to the Tea Party crowd. In some recent elections where they have had an impact, such as the election of Ron Brown to the late Ted Kennedy's seat, the TPs held their noses as they voted for a nonlibertarian, moderate Republican in order to bump off one of them socialist Democrats. But TPs scored a big coup when they shot down the establishment Republican primary candidate for a Kentucky Senate seat and elected a full blown libertarian, Rand Paul, son of the equally fervent liberty ideologue Ron Paul. And a couple of days later Rachel Maddow put a great big Type-93 super torpedo into the ship that is libertarianism, the Tea Party, and Paul's candidacy by simply and repeatedly asking the latter whether or not he thinks it should be illegal for businesses to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex and so forth Paul had announced his candidacy on her show awhile back and had no idea tht he was sailing into such dangerous waters. It was fun in that cringy, squirmy way to watch the supposedly principled Paul devolve into the run of the mill politician who can taste the power if only he can get elected weave and dodge Maddow's question like he was a ship chasing salvos without actually answering with the plain truth.

Libertarianism manages to be both extremely conservative, extremely liberal, and solidly centrist all at the same time. This is achieved by running a single principle -- individual liberty -- into the ground of real world practicality. Actually libertarians are not really for total liberty, that's called anarchy in which government does not exist. But libertarians think that although government and regulations called laws are a necessary evil mainly to prevent basic criminal activities and slavery, as well as provide the basis for property rights and title recording -- they should and must be very, very minimalist. Socialism is -- with the exception of the military an intolerable moral evil. Also beyond the pale are government regulations of individual and mercantile activity. Taking a person's wealth via taxes upon penalty of the law beyond the very lowest amount needed to run a civilization is another ethical evil. It is all about personal responsibility, backed by private charity. In Libertarian World the main determinant of societal results is Darwinian selection of the free market as determined by the profit motive. Many libertarians are religious, usually in the Christian context which is rather odd in that the New Testament goes to lengths to describe the ideal Christian society as so socialist that a married couple that fails to turn over their property to the church is executed by God (it's in Acts). It is also ironic and rather inconsistent that the main opponents to Darwinian science are socioeconomic Darwinists. (And it is a major public education failure of progressives to better expose and exploit the hypocrisy of these amazing contradictions.) However a substantial portion of libertarians are god skeptics. Most of all the uberlibertarian Ayn Rand who has become an economic goddess to many theocons including Glen Beck, she was as hard core atheist as one can get.

By the way, lots of people call themselves libertarians including I see Muslim apostate and atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Real Time With Bill Maher as I write part of this -- who are not even close to meeting the definition of the term. If you think it is a good thing for government to intervene in a major way in personal or business affairs in a few regards -- such as preventing abortions, or regulating Wall Street, or preventing bigotry in private enterprise -- but not in most others, then you are not the libertarian you think you are. You are cherry picking your issues. Anybody can do that. It's like someone who endorses a degree of capitalism calling themselves a communist. Here are the labeling rules. If you are against the government interfering in personal and cultural affairs in any manner but think that state involvement in economic matters should be extensive then you can call yourself a SOCIAL libertarian. If on the other hand you think the government should keep hands off our financial liberties but want it to crack down on the culture then you qualify as an ECONOMIC libertarian. But only if you want the state pretty much entirely out of both spheres are you a real LIBERTARIAN.

The intention of this entertaining to write piece is to give those who oppose the Tea Party movement a whole lot information they can deploy against the cause. In the process those who do not know all that much about the ideology can get a much better sense of what America would be like if full blown libertarianism becomes the American paradigm which it won't as I explain later. Please note I am not selecting items in order to show libertarians in a consistently bad light. Heck, I as a semi-social libertarian and economic progressive favor some of the below ideas. But only some. So here we go.

In libertarian America all drugs will be openly legal, and you would be free to put anything into your sovereign body you like. This would effectively undermine the criminal drug industry the same way the repeal of prohibition damaged organized bootlegging. And the massive American prison gulag, which is large than that of China's, would be largely emptied.

Restrictions on sales of alcohol will be eliminated.

Receiving payment for sex would be legal across the country, making those Nevada counties the national norm.

There will be no restrictions on adult oriented porn.

Any form of sex between consenting adults of any sex will remain legal.

Abortion on demand (at least early term) would remain safe and legal.

The national day of prayer is an iffy proposition according to some libertarians.

On the grounds of free speech and free private association it would be legal for the owner of a restaurant to post a sign saying "Whites Only Niggers, Kikes, Wetbacks, and Redskins Not Allowed." Or, "Blacks Only Honkies, Kikes, Wetbacks, Redskins and Atheists Not Allowed." Restrooms in privately operated enterprises could be segregated. A major corporation could hire only one race, or one sex. Renters may be denied housing by a landlord on the basis of his or her bigotry. Real estate covenants banning "those people" could make a come back. You get the idea. It would remain acceptable for governmental discrimination to be banned, and most libertarians do back flips denying that they are racists, sexist and the like. They usually, and in many if not most cases sincerely, decry bigotry. A good number are pro-gay. They just think that others should be free to express their bigotry in ways that impact upon real people. Libertarians contend that the age of segregation is past, and few institutions would dare be so business foolish to exclude a portion of the population. It is plausible that wide spread business bigotry would not return, but there is every reason to expect that some proprietors would hang out exclusionary signs. Especially in the southeast. That would mean we would live in a country where walking down mainstreet on a nice sunny day to do a little shopping could result in coming across one or more grotesquely obscene signs. Children will see the bigot boards and have to be told what they mean. Good and decent people will fight back by reviving the civil rights movement, organizing sit down strikes in bigoted businesses. The police will have to evict the trespassers. The strife will be permanent. If a growing portion of the population decides a segregated society is a good idea, then there will be no legal means to prevent a return to a new Jim Crow. But the bigots will be free to pursue their liberty to be bigots.

No governmental budget deficits would be allowed.

Income and estate taxes will be eliminated. Maybe property taxes too. Libertarians debate exactly what types of taxes will be left over. But what you can count on is that what few taxes remain will be as little as is needed to run a bare bones government that runs the executive, legislative and court branches, plus the small military needed to directly defend American territory.

The United States will not engage in any wars on foreign soil. Overseas naval actions will be at best limited to fighting piracy, but regular payments to pirates may be used as an alternative. Whether the USN will oppose other nations trying to limit freedom of the seas is also up for grabs.

Israel will be on its own.

There will be no foreign alliances.

There would be no foreign aid.

The United States will withdraw from the United Nations which according to some is scheming to impose one world government (and will have to move its headquarters elsewhere if it still exists).

Disabled person would enjoy no governmental aid and protection when it comes to access to private facilities and workplace protection. They can take their business to those enterprises business savvy enough to satisfy their needs. If most don't that's a shame.

All roads that can be supported by tolls will be privatized. Those that cannot will be paid for by tax fees on those who travel on them, perhaps on fuel, or mileage. There will be no government support for passenger rail, or urban subways, trolleys and the like.

The FAA will be disbanded as the airlines are allowed to run their own affairs. Economic self-interest will ensure that the airlines keep their passenger safe while providing the best economically viable service. That's the theory.

NASA will not exist. If people want to go up to space then they can raise the capital needed for commercial extraterrestrial enterprises. The sending of probes to other planets, moons, asteroids comets etc will presumably cease due to their lack of commercial viability better than forcing unwilling citizens to pay for them via taxes.

No public works dams, canals, irrigation complexes, powerplants, airports, etc would be paid for by taxpayers, they would all be built and maintained by private interests. There would be no regulation of the process on environmental grounds.

They will be no minimum wage. Or government enforced maximum hours worked or over time. There will be no maximum limit on wages and bonuses.

A lender will be able to charge any interest rate on any terms that they find saleable and profitable.

There will be no Social Security.

All government funding for medical research will cease. The CDC is not likely to survive.

The government will have no role in providing health care to any American of any age. If you lack the resources to produce the massive funds for the procedure/s needed to save your life and cannot garner sufficient familial of charitable support then its your own failure of personal responsibility for not accumulating the wealth needed to ensure your well being. Don't expect the government to force others to cough up the money. You got a problem with that? Then move to France or Canada.

Governmental welfare of all types will be eliminated, so the governmental safety net will be entirely absent. Any person in need of any financial assistance at any age will have to rely entirely upon family or private charity. Note that faith-based charities shall receive no government assistance.

Governmental housing assistance will not exist. This includes the tax subsidies for middle and upper income mortgages.

No more government run and enforced do not call list. That's an outrageous violation of the right of telemarketers to their right to conduct commerce. Citizens may be able to sign up for voluntary do not call lists that telemarketers are not obliged to honor. If you don't like all the operator and robocalls then use caller ID to screen them or hang up.

All environmental laws will be repealed as the EPA is dismantled. Oil companies drilling off shore, for instance, will not be hampered by any government regulations. This should not concern Americans because for reasons of self-interest corporations will naturally strive to do everything possible to prevent major spills. BP, for example, will not wish to lose money if one their rigs is destroyed by explosions and fire. The ensuring loss of enormous quantities of oil is another monetary loss, as are lawsuits by those adversely impacted by the spill. Loss of sales due to bad publicity is another reason for the oil giants to run tight ships. However, as Rand Paul has noted, folks should not be unrealistic because -- as Elvis Costello noted -- accidents will happen. And as Paul is contending, those who dare criticize the corporations who are working hard to make our lives better for the occasional inevitable slip up are as un-American as the progressive socialist Obama. Likewise, competent ranchers will not overgraze their land in order to maintain its long term earning potential, and those foolish enough to ruin their property will pay the consequences.

There will be no farm subsidies.

All corporate welfare will cease to exist.

Don't even begin to think of stimulus programs, job programs, Wall Street bailouts, bank bailouts, FDIC bank deposit insurance or bank takeovers or anything along those lines.

There will be no subsidies or tax breaks for nuclear power or clean alternative energy sources. Nor for energy conservation. If clean alternative energy sources can prove themselves in the free market then great. If not them's the breaks.

The energy industry will be free to extract and burn all the fossil fuels they deem profitable in any manner they desire.

The national park system is pure socialism. Same for all government held lands. So they must all be sold to private interests. Consider the Grand Canyon. The progressive imperialist Republican Theodore Roosevelt objected to the construction of a hotel overhanging the Canyon Rim, so it is merely on the edge. In Libertarian America developers would be free to build high rise hotels and condos lining the rim of the canyon, as well as theme parks, the only factor determining their extent being their ability to generate profits for their capitalist investors. Similar facilities will crowd the floor of Yosemite Valley, visitors may enjoy the thrill of riding trams up the soaring face of El Capitan, and an extensive tollroad network can allow folks to experience the entire park by car. Yosemite and Yellowstone can be clear-cut, forests no longer being protected by the government. Some suggest such events can be prevented by land use restricting title covenants before the first sale to private owners. But true libertarians recognize that this is a form of never ending government regulation that grossly limits free enterprise. Private conservation organizations like Nature Conservancy who are highly dependent upon corporations for financial support -- can save those properties that they can scrape up the funds for.

Free speech will remain free. Go ahead and argue for progressive socioeconomic policies or a ban on prostitution and abortion all you want. The libertarians will be similarly free to denounce their critics as un-American. Bonus liberty -- you can use any profanity you prefer in any public space.

With the FCC liquidated the late George Carlin will finally win the broadcast radio and television profanity wars as networks become free to run any language, sexual and violent content at any time they wish. If you don't like what you are seeing and/or hearing then change channels or stations to those who internally ban such content to attract the priggish crowd if any do so. And no one is forcing you to own a radio or TV.

No limitations on campaign contributions by individuals or corporations.

There will be no laws or regulations preventing the formation of trusts and monopolies. In libertarian theory this will not be a problem because lower cost competition will always arise to bring down the trusts.

Except for outright fraudulent ponzi type pyramids, financers will be able to devise and promote any sort of investment scheme they wish. This is workable because economists have long assumed that humans as rational and well informed entities that normally make wise financial decisions that serve their best interests, not as emotion driven beings that tend to act on a combination of base greed and fears that cause them to act like herd animals following the latest financial fad or panicking when things go south. The market will sort it all out. Any severe boom-bust fluctuations in the economy that may periodically devastate lives are normal expressions of the "business cycle" and should be accepted without un-American complaint as the price of liberty.

Rent controls and constraints will be verboten. Nor will there be regulation of leases.

Public grade schools. Nyet. That'll get rid of the Department of Education and all state and local school boards. You got kids then pay out of pocket to send them to school, or find a charitable educational institution. Don't expect citizens to be forced to pay for the education of someone else's' tykes.

There shall be no government assistance for attending college.

Aside from military related subjects, all government support for science will be eliminated, and the NSF shut down.

After the Smithsonian is privatized the former "nation's attic" will charge admission.

No public funding for the arts. Either make money via sales of your work, and/or find a private patron. NPR and PBS shall rely on their corporate and listener/viewer donations.

No extra sin taxes on alcohol and cigarettes.

No restrictions on gambling aside from fraud.

No workers comp. No need because freed of government restraint the economy will soar so high that there will be a worker shortage. That's the theory.

No business will have to accept union workers. Management will be able to hire strike breakers at will. The police will have to support management against labor. This social brew has the potential to revive the labor versus management violence common in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This could prove interesting because"..

Any adult can carry any firearms he can carry anywhere anytime, without license or back ground checks, as long as he is on the few public lands that exist, or has the approval of the owner of the property owner whose land he is on. The right to bear arms extends to airliners, where law abiding citizens bearing pistols shall ensure no plane will again be converted into a cruise missile. This actually leads to a conflict of the principle of liberty. Can't the owners of an airliner or an airport exclude guns from their planes and facilities? If a private corporation owns a toll highway, can't they entity ban those using their road from carrying weapons in the same manner as the operator or a road side bar? The result may be a patchwork nation where gun toters have can bear their arms on some roads and planes and not on others. Others propose that the 2nd Amendment trumps the right of those who don't want guns in their businesses. There is no need for undue concern, a Supreme Court packed with libertarians will justly and wisely settle this libertarian conundrum.

There will be no zoning laws and regulations. If you have the money to build a residence or business on your land then go right ahead and do it wherever it may be. If you own neighboring property and don't like the unregulated coal burning facility or landfill going in or up next door then move. If your property lost so much value because of the unpleasant new facility that you lost your retirement funds, or can't move, that's unfortunate. Capitalism is not a tea party well, actually it is these days.

There will be no workplace safety laws so bye-bye OSHA. The need to retain workers, fear of lawsuits and so forth will compel businesses to do what they can to protect their employees. If a worker is still not content with their safety then they can leave. If this is not practical for some reason or another, we do not live in a perfect world you know.

Consumer protection laws will be nonexistent. It's buyer beware. The pressure to maximize sales by offering safe and effective products will minimize the sale of substandard products. If you do not want to endanger your children then do not use, or move into a dwelling with, lead paint. If you prefer the vibrant colors offered by lead paints then who is to challenge your liberty to do so? The company that sells toxic meat with be in danger of losing business, so don't be overly concerned about you safety. Citizens can rely on investigative journalism rather than the defunct FDA to steer a safe course through life.

The socialist public fire department system will be replaced by privatized fire companies. If you wish to enjoy protection for your residence or place of business you will need to contract with a private operation. If you do not wish to do so you cannot be compelled to do so. If you cannot afford fire protection that is you (and perhaps your neighbor's) problem. This system was in effect a hundred years ago that's why many fire stations are called companies. It was abandoned because it proved impractical.

Despite being government socialism par excellence, many libertarians accept governmental police forces for legal reasons. But others wish to see a return to the more privatized security systems in place in the 1800s. The FBI is unlikely to survive Libertarian America.

A reminder that if you do not favor the developments outlined above as a whole, then you are at best libertarian light.

Some will quibble with some points, and numerous items could be added I never did get to the return of the gold standard -- but the above gives a pretty good overview of what true blue (or is it red) libertarianism involves. It is not my intent to get you all sacred and frightened that if we do not all join together to fight the evil that is wholesale libertarianism that our great nation will sink into a full blown libertarian hell. That's because it is as likely to happen as it is for American to go commie. Libertarianism and communism are both extreme ideologies occupying opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. Of the two the latter is less moral because of its suppression of democracy, but in pragmatic terms they are similarly impractical because neither allows for the compromises and fudging inherent to human affairs. Americans like the more about libertarianism than they do communism, and the US is the most libertarian 1st world country, but real libertarians make up a wee portion of the population. As much as Americans complain and whine about big government, the not so big secret is that most of the lower and middle class like a lot of what the state provides. Most support an active foreign policy backed by at least some degree of military power and action when deemed necessary, and they want to protect Israel. Social Security and Medicare remain the third rails of American politics, the majority want them fixed not eliminated -- all the more so after the latest financial debacle demonstrated the downside of libertarian economics. The communist turned libertarian Whitaker Chambers enjoyed how the conservative farmers he lived amidst denounced the growing government; until he realized that they not only happily cashed their subsidy checks, they denounced any who rude enough to point out the gross contradiction. Most think its great that the government makes sure blacks et al. can be served in any eatery. Americans especially like the do not call list. To put it another way, the mainstream does not really desire to live in the no hold barred cowboy, Wild West style nation the libertarians seem to think all good Americans should and do long for. Your typical Yank loves the national parks, does not want condos lining the rim of the Grand Canyon, or logging in Yellowstone. Many don't want to hear f*ck, sh*t and c-word on CBS and Fox in primetime, or daytime. The right also wants Big Brother to keep women from controlling their reproduction and promote abstinence only sex ed. Republican politicians love to decry government pork, but most of the same pols are skilled at bellying up to the federal trough that makes the voters back home happy, and the red states garner greater federal assistance than the liberal blue (voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/04/the_red_state_ripoff.html, and here Pulling-Our-Legs-When-They-Say-Big-Government-is-Bad-for-America-and-Bad-for-Them). The left is openly for extensive government assistance for the population, and intrusion in economic affairs.

Nor do long-term trends favor a large segment of the libertarian cause. At the cultural end they are doing well, with the exception of the anti-choice movement that has gained some ground in law and popularity. The libertarian view on gun rights is thriving as gun adorers carry their heaters into Starbucks. Social conservatives like that. What the latter do not like is how societal liberty has enjoyed even greater success regarding issues that enrage SCs as the culture becomes increasingly less pious and socially liberal to the extent that gays are becoming mainstream (http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/paul07/paul07_index.html). For a few decades America also seemed to be on the path of libertarian economics as Reagan and the Bushes reigned aside from the awkward Clinton interruption. But with the recent reminders that libertarian economics repeatedly devolve into enormous and unstable pyramid schemes, the nation has tacked in the progressive economic direction the new reforms of Wall Street and the American health complex and are not at all where liberts wish to go, and once the latter variety of reforms are put in place they have proven hard to reverse. The enthusiasm with which the TPs used to chant "drill baby, drill" now look like clueless corporate lackeys, as does Paul when he chides Obama for being outside the American norm for criticizing BP. The Repub Louisiana Governor who enjoyed getting after Obama for socialist tendencies is on his knees begging to President for central government assistance. When all is said and done the reason the federal budget is in the area of 2.5 trillion is because of two centuries worth of pressure from the voters for bigger government, and any who thinks that is going to fundamentally change is a darn fool. All the more so because the population demographics look good for the Tea Partiers who represent the reactionary wing of the Baby Boomers, the millennials are not particularly interested. That helps explain why the right is going ballistic over what have actually been mild reforms that have left the left disappointed. As let down as liberals may feel, the right that not so long ago seemed to be winning the economic end of the cultural war is in danger of losing the nation as America becomes yet a little more like progressive western Europe.

That's a good thing. A successful modern libertarian nation has never existed. Libertarians contend that's because it has never been tried. They've got a point. It is often said that the Tea Partiers and the libertarians wish to repeal the New Deal, and return the country to the system it had before that. Actually that does not go back nearly far enough. Libertarianism will repeal the income taxes first begun to fund the Great War, as well as the trust busting and worker-consumer protections initiated by the first Roosevelt. The national parks date back to the post Civil War era, as do massive government subsidies as per the federal sponsoring of the transcontinental railroad. Come to think of it, that federal effort to prevent the succession of the southern states was against libertarian theory, as was the war against Mexico, the wars on AmerIndians, and the purchases of the Alaska and the LouisianaTerritories. We are talking about going back to 1800 here.

So basically what we are supposed to do is rewind the economic governance of these United States back to what it was before that taxpayer abusing progressive President Jefferson misappropriated the citizens hard earned dollars and bought a lot of land that Napoleon claimed to own. And then hope for the best. Fortunately we can get an idea of whether that's likely to turn out to be a good idea by comparing the performance of the advanced democracies. Those on the right often try to distort the debate by portraying the decision that America must make as a black and white choice between either full blown American free enterprise or wholesale Eurosocialism. The reality is that all 1st world nations have hybrid economies that combine extensive capitalism with considerable socialism there are lots of small businesses and big corporations in Sweden and Denmark -- with American Exceptionalism stemming from its emphasis on capital over socialism even thought the latter involves a few trillion dollars per annum. If the thesis that libertarian economics produce superior results are correct then the most liberty-based example should enjoy the greatest societal success while the progressive countries wallow in chaos and failure. For your convenience I have constructed the Successful Societies Scale, the most comprehensive comparison of socioeconomic conditions in the 1st world to date (http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP07398441_c.pdf). The results show that although America performs well in some regards, in most respects the most progressive countries enjoy the best societal conditions in history. One reason for the pattern is that truly universal health care systems (which do not need to be single payer) have proven far most cost effective than free market health care (saving each citizen a quarter of a million over a lifespan) while reducing adult and juvenile mortality below the American level (click here). So the data shows that the progressive mix of approximately equal doses of capitalism and socialism, not the extreme socioeconomic Darwinism of libertarianism, is the way to go.

Which returns us to the practical point of this essay. In their Quixotic attempt to rule the nation libertarians have to get elected to office. And there's their problem. Not only are the bulk of Americans not libertarian, the TP movement is itself divided. A good many are all for the ideology across the board. But another big segment is the social conservatives who favor only the economic side of liberty. So when an ardent libertarian runs for office they are in a bad bind. Libertarians proudly proclaim themselves to be people of principle who disdain pragmatists who carefully adjust their views to suite the popular mood. So they should openly and proudly proclaim their libertarianism when they up for election. But they know if they do that they are electoral dead meat in nearly all the country. Outright libertarianism is not a barrier to office only in parts of the west, New Hampshire and Maine where the locals are conservative but tolerant of cultural free choice. That's a few percent of the national population, not nearly enough to take over the country. Even in most conservative districts the social conservatives will nail them. So they usually have to be stealth candidates, revealing only enough of their economic libertarianism to attract the conservative base, hoping the voters do not catch on to the rest of their agenda before the vote is tallied. When cornered they often try to avoid directly answering by posing "interesting" intellectual points, such as if liberals really think restaurateurs must by law accommodate all comers regardless of race and so forth don't they have to allow law abiding patrons to carry firearms, followed by a denouncement of bigotry, while not acknowledging that of course such laws violate individual liberty, duh. That is exactly what Rand Paul was hoping to pull off until Rachael Maddow launched her spread of verbal torpedoes and scored a direct hit.

So the mission for those opposed to the liberts and the TPs is to Maddow them. To expose them by asking the pertinent questions. One reason the right has been as successful as they have been since Obama took over is because of a failure of the mainstream press, and of liberal commentators, to better reveal what these good folks actually think. So ask the strategic questions and do the expository investigations. Make sure that the Tea Partiers know that the libertarian candidate they are supporting is pro-choice, favors access to contraceptives, the right to be a prostitute and use hard drugs, thinks networks should have the liberty to broadcast profanity and show people having sex and the like. That should peel off some of his TP and other conservative base. Also let the mainstream electorate know that the libertarian thinks Yosemite should be turned over the private interests, that there should be no minimum wage, that the part of the Civil Rights Act pertaining to private businesses ought to be repealed, that Wall Street needs to be free to do whatever they want and his access to the centrist vote is degraded. If the libertarian candidate openly admits to the more peculiar side of his beliefs then he shoots himself in the electoral foot. If he obfuscates like Paul did then he shoots himself in the other foot because he is now exposed as more calculating than principled, yet does not entirely manage to deny the oddity of his views. It's a lose-lose situation for the Tea Party crowd.

The Republican elite is smart enough to comprehend that the TP movement is a double-edged sword that for all its short term positives has the potential to do the party a lot of long term harm. That's why they did all they could to defeat Rand Paul and are diving for cover as the nation begins to learn more about his deep libertarianism. But it's too late, matters have gotten so out of hand that the GOP elite has actually lost control of their organization. It used to be said that FoxNews was an organ of the Republican Party but this has never been precisely accurate, and in the search for ratings based revenue the libertarian Murdoch's cable network and talk radio are setting the agenda for the Republican Party by persistently egging the GOP base further to the right, leaving the party's leaders increasingly lacking control. And it is hard to see how they can control back. Forced to resort to damage control, Republican pols and pundits are urgently trying to portray Tea Partiers as nothing more than run-of-the-mill patriots who merely desire smaller government and elimination of the deficits and their constitutional right to proudly bear their automatic weapons in coffee shops. The left has a golden opportunity to exploit this right wing weakness by merely informing everyone how wild, wacky and radical many of the views of a movement that has the support of about a fifth of the country and is largely limited to older folk really are.

Gregory Paul is an independent researcher interested in informing the public about little known yet important aspects of the complex interactions between religion, secularism, culture, economics, politics and societal conditions. His scholarly work has appeared in Evolutionary Psychology, Journal of Religion and Society, The Journal of Medical Ethics, Philosophy and Theology. Popular essays are at Wall Street Journal, Washington Post/On Faith and Edge. Coverage of Paul's research has appeared in Newsweek, USA Today, The Guardian, London Times, LA Times, MSNBC, FoxNews.

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Thursday, June 3, 2010

We Must Refuse The Imposed Consumption

The augmentative oppression of humanity by technology; the cutting-edge [the real cutting-edge is the two-edged sword of God's truth (preaching and witness); REDEFINING OURSELVES AND HUMANITY] -- ANY CHOICE IS BEING REMOVED; WE ARE BEING FORCED !! - THERE IS NO CONSIDERATION GIVEN, OR PROVISION MADE, FOR NATURE OR PEOPLE TO REMAIN UNAFFECTED - ALL IS CLAIMED, TAKEN !! - THE COG MUST BE THE UNAFFECTED, THE UNINFECTED !! -- SOCIETY MUST REBEL !! - Christian non-participation, active resistance [intentional, deliberate obstruction BY REFUSAL TO PARTICIPATE (not destruction, demolition; but destructive to the cause or means; withdrawal) to any SAGE-Corporate cause, movement, activity, effort, etc.], not "corporate" doomsaying [as an art form; media; mainstream and the COG Inc.]; *complete detachment*, BEYOND DETERRENCE !! - as Christians we cannot in good-conscience participate in the world's imposed systemic, to any degree [CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS] - we cannot improve peoples lives, empower them as individuals, if we destroy who we are as human beings by our technological gods [gods without the guiding maturity, the (God-given) wisdom necessary]; OUR TRUE GOD-GIVEN HUMANITY HAS NEVER BEEN EXPRESSED; ONLY THE CONTRIVED HAS BEEN EXPRESSED, AND CONTINUES TO BE SO; THE COG HAS FAILED IN ITS PURPOSE !! - the virtualization of humanity, a new type of life-form [transhumanism] looming - the complexity [the intelligent design] of a human cell is beyond man's scope at this time; we must stand back in amazement at who, and what we are, and will be !! [WE MUST RECOGNIZE AND HONOR OUR CREATOR, AND HIS DESIGN] -- societal meltdown and large-scale mass murder [HOLOCAUST] is a future possibility; the neural net of society must be understood, employed for technological advance - special-interest groups [determining choice], individualists [cancer like choices] threaten humanity more than technology.

Commercial culture is seen as a benefit - positive externalities taken; association of the positive aspects of humanity, society, by the corporate - advertising [the imposed; the curriculum of society (the ability to imagine an alternative future diminished; a loss of our humanity !!)] paid for by the consumer [within the retail price, and our collective conscience], corporate income-tax deductions; "advertising" seen as the power to propel humanity, the technological society -- we must counter advertising by education, we must understand the science [psychological warfare] of persuasion, coersion; WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF OUR IDENTITY !! -- measuring up to someones elses reflection of ourselves, a constructed image; we have grown up corporate, especially the youth of today - the images take on a reality of their own; the visual medium is real, socially constructed images !! - URGED TO BUY, TRY, COMPLY !! - citizenry media literacy is critically important; the innoculation of our minds [vs. women as bodies, men as minds]; we must deconstruct the images, the messages [the implications], the means used !! - we are socialized to rely on the images; success is linked [the corporate promises]; reinforcement by others -- we must avoid the corporate, the false logo's [THE TRUE LOGOS IS CHRIST; THE WORD OF GOD]; intrusive visual pollution is flooding our minds; we must develop a mental barrier; WE MUST DAM THE MESSAGE OF THE DAMNED !! - the media must reflect society NOT society reflecting the media - our identity is wrapped up in our history, but our history is manufactured !! -- a paradigm shift within culture or outside of culture ?? - the shift is from without, EXPATRIATION INTO GOD'S COMMUNITY, A SEPARATE CULTURE [GOD'S TABLE] !! - we must refuse the imposed consumption [the proliferation; the cancer]; OUR OWN COGNITION MUST BE OF PRIMARY CONCERN - WE ARE BEING MOULDED AND *NOT* BY THE MASTER POTTER !! - our intellect is being *bypassed* by the visual (and the music (the social tune)) -- private-corporate interest and benefit are NOT in the public interest, or for public benefit !! -- [multiple sources, including NPR All Things Considered and Talk of the Nation, concerning the commercialization of culture]

Cross-Post from Mammon or Messiah research, February 25, 2010
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