Posts Tagged ‘liberalism’

Mitt Romney wins the Nevada caucus by a wide margin

Feb 5th, 12 / 0 Comments

Logos57: a Caring Community
February 5, 2012

 

Mitt Romney wins the Nevada caucus by a wide margin

Mitt Romney wins the Nevada caucus by a wide margin, The Raw Story, February 4, 2012, by Megan Carpentier, copied verbatim: Logos57: A Caring Community is pleased to partner with The Raw Story to bring you cutting edge news, Image via Gage Skidmore on Flickr, Creative Commons licensed:

Former governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) scored his most decisive win to date in the Nevada Republican caucus tonight, winning the race by more than 15 percent and leaving former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) to battle for second place again with former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) again a distant fourth.

Creative Commons photograph of Mitt Romney on the campaign trail in Nevada by Gage Skidmore

But despite Paul’s expectation that the caucus format would benefit his campaign, Paul looked to place a significant distance behind Gingrich.

Romney took the stage just before 10:40 ET, introduced again by his wife, Ann, to thank supporters and slam Obama, reminding voters that Obama encouraged people to avoid coming to Nevada for conventions and meetings. Romney then took aim at Friday’s encouraging unemployment statistics, suggesting that the “real” unemployment rate was closer to 15 percent, a nod to the underemployment rate, which is down from 17.2 percent in January 2010.

In what is now a frequent refrain, Romney told his audience, “This president began his presidency by apologizing for America, now he should apologize to America” adding that the president should stop making excuses for the ongoing economic crisis. “Our vision for the future could not be more different from his,” Romney said, promising to cut government, reduce the government’s share of the total economy and balance the federal budget without raising taxes. In another statement common to his speeches, Romney said that Obama “demonizes and denigrates” entrepreneurs that his Administration would promote. And, of course, he promised to repeal “Obamacare” and rescind the recent Obama Administration ruling that forces employer insurance to provide coverage for birth control, which has been under fire from religious employers and religious groups — a point Romney made in his Tuesday night speech after the Florida primary. He then asked people to remember that their ancestors came to American “for the pursuit of happiness, not the pursuit of hand-outs,” and asked them to vote for him in November, making this one of his shortest speeches to date.

Gingrich took his small, press conference stage at the Venetian alone at 11:17 ET, promising the assembled reporters to go to Republican National Convention in Tampa in August as a candidate for President to honor his donors. He then slammed Romney for his comments earlier this week about the poor, saying that he wanted to “turn the social safety net into a trampoline.” He then followed it by saying that he thought indexing the minimum wage to inflation was a terrible idea which would “kill jobs and stop access for young people.” Following that, he called Romney a “Massachusetts moderate” that didn’t represent the views of the GOP.

He then said, “Tonight he will probably do reasonably well, this is a heaving Mormon state,” ignoring the fact that the race had already been called for Romney and indicating that he didn’t yet know whether he or Paul had taken second place. He said he expected to be “at parity” with Romney after the Texas primary on April 4, almost a month after Super Tuesday.

In more odd answers, Gingrich called Romney a “Soros-backed” candidate and dismissed reports that his largest backer, Sheldon Adelson — whose money reportedly paid for the anti-Romney documentary that solidified his win in South Carolina — would eventually back Romney after Gingrich backed out. Adelson, Romney said, was solely interested in a nuclear Iran and its existential threat to Israel and Adelson’s statements about Romney as unimportant.

“I’m not going to defend the outcome in a state where I was outspent 5-to-1,” Gingrich told another reporter when he was asked whether it was possible that voters just weren’t “buying what you’re selling.” Gingrich stated that “I don’t think the American people will support a campaign that suppresses turn-out,” he said, and stated that he expected to be atop Gallup polls again by April. But despite saying that he didn’t like negative campaigning and felt he did better while the campaign was positive, Gingrich refused to “unilaterally disarm” and stop his negative campaigning against Romney. Instead, he promised to bring “new tactics” to the next debate with Romney to counter what Gingrich termed his blatant lies.

[This post was updated after results came in.]

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Megan Carpentier is the executive editor of Raw Story. She previously served as an associate editor at Talking Points Memo; the editor of news and politics at Air America; an editor at Jezebel.com; and an associate editor at Wonkette. Her published works include pieces for the Washington Post, the Washington Independent, Ms Magazine, RH Reality Check, the Women’s Media Center, On the Issues, the New York Press, Bitch and Women’s eNews.

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Newt Gingrich: Down in Florida and On the Way Out

Jan 31st, 12 / 0 Comments

Logos57: A Caring Community

 

Newt Gingrich: Down in Florida
and On the Way Out


If (or When) Gingrich is Eliminated
From this race, it won’t be for lack of funding

Logos57: A Caring Community, January 31, 2012, news on the Florida primary compiled and with commentary by Paul Evans:

NEW! Election Results: FL Primary Results: Mitt Romney Scores Huge Florida Win, But Primary Looks Far From Finished, The Huffington Post, January 31, 2011, by Jon Ward:

…Romney’s overwhelming win here Tuesday night was a big moment for the former Massachusetts governor that fully restored him to frontrunner status, and dealt a major blow to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Romney won convincingly, with 47.5 percent to Gingrich’s 31.2 percent, with 51 percent of the vote counted. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) trailed behind, with 13.1 and 6.9 percent, respectively.

NEW! See Bolstered by Latino Vote, Romney Poised to Regain Momentum With Florida Victory, ABC News on Yahoo News, January 31, 2012, by Matthew Jaffe.

NEW! See Mitt Romney leads exit polls in Florida, KSDK, January 30, 2011, by NBC:

(NBC) – Mitt Romney’s sounding like he’s already won Florida and the GOP presidential nomination. … A half million Floridians have voted early, and Romney leads two-to-one in exit polls.

>
Commentary by Paul Evans: In the Florida primary, in my opinion, the contest will end most of the opportunity for Gingrich to get the nomination. There is plenty of news around the web that is pointing that way. We’ll start off with the NPR and The Huffington Post and then move along to Mother Jones and then Politico. (Everything you need to know from four sources!) Even if we left it at that, it appears likely that Newt’s chances are fading. The more I read about this guy, the more I can’t understand exactly how he got to be a serious candidate for the Republican nomination. So put on your thinking caps and hold on: it’s not hard to find articles from the last day or so which underline my contention:

For starters, see Logos57: A Caring Community’s own article Accused of ‘Grandiosity,’ Gingrich steps back and …proposes a moon base (Updated). This contains news coverage on the Florida election from yesterday and the day before. Pay special attention to our excerpt from Obama Vs. Gingrich? More Reasons GOP Fears The Matchup, NPR, January 30, 2012, by Liz Halloran. This article offers compelling evidence about the general election, specifically, match-ups of either Romney or Gingrich vs. Obama. Romney is in an electoral college dead heat with Obama, while Gingrich probably would get “clobbered:”

Rothenberg’s latest presidential race calculations show that Gingrich would get clobbered by Obama in the tally of all-important state Electoral College votes, 328-180, with only 30 votes seen as tossups. Those estimates are unchanged since Rothenberg’s similar analysis a month ago.

There are a total of 538 electoral votes; 270 are needed to secure the presidency.

Paul Evans: And, it turns out, the whole moon colony proposal of Gingrich isn’t the only news item which really gives you pause. You have to ask yourself, “Should this man really get the Republican nomination, or wouldn’t he (and the Republican Party) be a lot better off with Newt quietly professing these weird ideas of his in some well funded think tank somewhere?” Here is what we mean:

See Newt’s New-Age Love Gurus: This article reports on some really strong aspects of Gingrich’s past which social conservatives would really be appalled by, if they knews the facts. The article’s introductions states that “Gingrich’s intellectual mentors are former Marxist organizers who envisioned a future full of serial marriages and open relationships.” Amazing. Of course, Gingrich is on his third wife now, with some proven …indiscretions, shall we say.


If (or When) Newt’s Campaign “Goes Down,” It Won’t Be for Lack of Funding

Remember when Gingrich’s billionaire friend pumped $5 million into his campaign as the election in South Carolina entered its final week? Well, here we gio again. This will be truly last minute funding, but at a level of $10 million. You can buy quite a bit of TV airtime with $10 million, if South Carolina is any example:

See ‘Joe Kennedy helped his son,’ Gingrich funder says, Catholic Online, January 27, 2012, by Catholic Online (News Consortium):

Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson who is bankrolling Newt Gingrich’s super PAC to the tune of $10 million, says he isn’t trying to “buy” a presidency. Adelson says he’s just following in the footsteps of another powerful business tycoon, Joseph Kennedy, father of President John F. Kennedy.

…

The 78-year-old Adelson has a personal fortune estimated at $21 billion, according to Rogich, “plays to win” and “puts his money where his mouth is.”

Adelson and his Israeli-born wife Miriam have pumped $10 million in the last three weeks into the Winning Our Future Super PAC. The cash has provided crucial cash infusion that helped revive Gingrich’s candidacy, bankrolling attack ads against Mitt Romney in South Carolina and now Florida.

Paul Evans: OK, 1.) How do socially conservative Republicans feel about Gingrich getting his funding via a billionaire casino owner and 2.) as a Democrat and a liberal, I find the comparison between Joe Kennedy’s funding JFK’s campaign and this billionaire casino type offensive, don’t you?

Watch a video on Gingrich’s unethical behavior when he was Speaker of the House, here. This is a devastating attack ad that Romney is saturating Florida with currently.

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Here’s a side note Here’s an article you may want to pay attention to, especially if you are a Latino. See Gingrich and Romney Want to Say Adios to Bilingual Ballots, Mother Jones, January 30, 2012, by Adam Serwer. So, both these guys including the more socially reasonable Romney want to disenfranchise maybe a million or so Latinos? Liberals have been trying to tell the Hispanic community that this is the basic way all Republicans feel about voters rights. Some time ago the Tea Party types were actually proposing that voting should be a privilege that only those Americans who own property should have. It’s simple. The more you cut poor and underprivileged citizens out of the voting picture, the better the Republicans do in elections everywhere. Florida Pay Attention?

Also See The Newt I Know, Politico, January 27, 2012, by Joe Scarborough:

Yeah, yeah. I know. Newt Gingrich had a lousy week and will probably lose the Florida primary on Tuesday. But for those tempted to once again predict the speedy collapse of his campaign, consider yourselves forewarned. I’ve known this guy long enough to realize that the only three species destined to survive a nuclear holocaust will be cockroaches, Cher and Newton Leroy Gingrich.

Important: See Final PPP poll: Romney 39, Gingrich 31 in Florida, Politico, January 30, 2012, by Burns and Haberman.

Finally, See The Daisy Commercial of 2012, Huffington Post, January 30, 2012, by Adam Hanft:

As Romney’s lead in Florida solidifies, and an unfocused Gingrich rages in all directions — he’s his own attack dog — I want to come right out and say it. Romney’s Brokaw commercial is one of the most devastatingly effective negative spots I’ve seen in years. I believe it will go down with the LBJ “Daisy” spot in the annals of fatal, thunderbolt blows.

…By contrast (to LBJ’s commercial), the Brokaw spot’s strength – it’s called, in deadpan fashion, “History Lesson — springs from its unconstructed simplicity. It opens on a television screen with a super that reads “NBC Nightly News, January 21st, 1997.”

Brokaw intones the following, in a voice that if not dripping with irony, is certainly maximally saturated:

“Newt Gingrich, who came to power, after all, preaching a higher standard in American politics, a man who brought down another Speaker on ethics accusations, tonight he has on his own record, the judgment of his peers Democrats and Republicans alike, by an overwhelming vote they found him guilty of ethics violations, they charged him a very large financial penalty, and several of them raised serious questions about his future effectiveness.”

That’s it. It doesn’t parse perfectly, but it wounds deeply. Every word Brokaw utters is deadly for Gingrich; the devastating indictment hurtles from the past into the mental decision box that has been in such Floridian turmoil for the last two weeks.

Paul Evans: Well, that’s a sampling of some of the “dirt” on Gingrich, in fact just from four websites, with commentary — NPR, Huffington Post, Mother Jones and Politico. I’m sure you can find lots of live reporting on the election results later today. We’ll try to provide a link one here, later today.

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Romney Stays On the Offense With Gingrich (with Commentary)

Jan 27th, 12 / 0 Comments

Logos57: a Caring Community

 

Romney Stays On the Offense With Gingrich

Romney Turns Gingrich Attacks
Relentlessly Back Against Newt
(with Commentary)

Romney Stays On the Offense With Gingrich, The NY Times, January 26, 2012, by Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zelany, excerpts quoted verbatim:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mitt Romney, facing his greatest challenge of the campaign so far, relentlessly pressed Newt Gingrich on Thursday night in their final debate before the Florida primary, seeking to regain the offensive against an insurgent challenge that has shaken his claim to inevitability.

On immigration, personal finances and the grand ideas that have been the trademark of Mr. Gingrich’s candidacy, Mr. Romney gave his rival no quarter, giving prime time voice to his campaign’s all-out, round-the-clock assault on Mr. Gingrich here.

In a debate in which Mr. Romney could ill afford to allow Mr. Gingrich another triumphant night, he delivered sharp lines that gave him an advantage usually held by Mr. Gingrich: applause from the audience.

graphic link to a page with a petition to put unscrupulous Wall Street bankers in jail

…

Mr. Gingrich started the week with all the momentum here after his victory in South Carolina. But he has subsequently come under relentless pounding from the Romney campaign and its supporters, a battering that appears to have had some impact….

Romney Packed Debate Hall
With Supporters, Gingrich Aide Says

WASHINGTON — Members of Newt Gingrich’s campaign accused Mitt Romney’s campaign of packing the audience for the Republican presidential candidate debate on Thursday night in Jacksonville, Fla., with its own supporters to ensure that the dynamics would be favorable to Romney….

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich
square off in Republican debate

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich sparred here Thursday night over immigration, taxes and wealth, lobbying, and colonizing the moon in a debate that underscored the potential consequences of a loss for either of the leading Republican presidential candidates in Tuesday’s high-stakes Florida primary.

Romney went on the offensive, as he had in a forum on Monday. The former Massachusetts governor said it was “repulsive” for the former House speaker to label him “the most anti-immigrant” candidate in the field. He blasted Gingrich’s moon proposal, saying that if someone had brought it to him, his response would have been “You’re fired.” He goaded his rival into a discussion of his taxes.

Mitt & Newt Spar Over
Who Is *More* Pro-Immigrant

A few debates ago, when the Republican candidates for president gathered in Florida, the then-frontrunner Rick Perry expressed compassion for illegal immigrants on stage ended up publicly apologizing and never recovering.

Lesson learned: stick to the hardline when it comes to immigration. Well, that was then. At the Thursday night’s debate — the last before Florida’s primary on Jan. 31 — Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney got into a very spirited debate about who would be nicer to grandmothers who happen to be in the United States illegally.

Mitt Romney Goes After
Newt Gingrich’s Mental State

Mitt Romney is making the homestretch of the Florida primary race in part a battle over Newt Gingrich’s mental state.

Greg Sargent snagged a copy of a Romney mailing going out in Florida that paints this in stark terms: Gingrich is “Unethical. Erratic. Reckless.” the mailer reads.

But this is just the latest in a string of less-than-veiled hits on Gingrich’s mental condition coming from Romney surrogates and Romney himself.

At a press conference in Tampa, FL Monday before the NBC News debate, Romney described Gingrich this way:

“I think as you look at the speaker’s record over time, it’s been highly erratic…You know, he voted in favor of establishing the Department of Education, and yet he gets in a debate and says we should get rid of the Department of Education and send all the education issues back to the states. He’s opposed vehemently to the Massachusetts health care system, and yet just a couple years ago wrote about what a superb system it was.

He’s gone from pillar to post almost like a pinball machine, from item to item in a way which is highly erratic…It does not suggest a stable, thoughtful course, which is normally associated with leadership.”

Commentary by Paul Evans: You know, I can’t quite decide whether or not the attacks on Gingrich’s “erratic” proposals are a brilliant tactic by Romney’s people or not. In any case I hope Obama’s people are paying close attention to these somewhat factual accusations, as it seems to me that using Gingrich’s state of mind and mental inconsistencies over the years, would be an effective line of attack in the general election. If you are a Democrat, you really have to hope that Gingrich might win the nomination. There are plenty of lines of attack there open for Obama.

Gingrich might get away with rhetorical tricks now, or for the time being have some success with his ability to use the English language, with which he has some facility, to twist the facts around, but he is open to attacks and problems from his personal life….I can see Obama’s people “licking their chops” in anticipation. And he won’t get away with B.S. accusations such as those he’s tried to pin on Romney, nor these weird ideational flights that he sometimes comes out with, such as a base on the moon. It does seem that Gingrich comes up with these high flown ideas and doesn’t vet them, he just puts them straight out there, without proper evaluation. I suppose it has something to do with his intellectual egoism. Overall, his record strikes me as raw meat that Obama and his people would chew up and spit out in the event of his nomination.

It’s not that Gingrich isn’t intelligent, it just seems to me that he belongs in some well-funded think tank, and not really on the national stage or as the GOP nominee. Unless you are a strong Democrat, in which case you would probably be hoping for Gingrich’s success (until the general election).

Also See Newt + Tea Party = Obama Landslide, Daily Kos, January 26, 2012, by yngindpt.

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Romney leads Paul in Iowa poll, Santorum surges

Jan 1st, 12 / 1 Comment

Logos57: A Caring Community
January 1, 2012

 

A Caring Place Where People
May Help Each Other
and Talk Politics or Religion

Romney leads Paul
in Iowa poll, Santorum surges

Romney leads Paul in Iowa poll, Santorum surges, Reuters, January 1, 2012, by John Whitesides and Steve Holland:

(Reuters) – Republican Mitt Romney narrowly leads rival Ron Paul in Iowa three days before the state kicks off the party’s presidential nominating race, according to a Des Moines Register poll released on Saturday.

The closely watched poll, which has a strong track record in Iowa races, showed Rick Santorum surging past Newt Gingrich into third place in a fluid race where 41 percent of likely caucus-goers said they could still change their minds.

The newspaper’s poll, conducted Tuesday through Friday, showed Romney with 24 percent support, Paul with 22 percent, Santorum with 15 percent and Gingrich 12 percent. In fifth place was Rick Perry with 11 percent while Michele Bachmann was sixth with 7 percent.

Read the full article here.

See Also With 48 hours left, Romney close to Iowa breakthrough, Reuters on Yahoo News, January 1, 2012, by John Whitesides, excerpt quoted verbatim:

Romney, who spent millions in Iowa in 2008 only to lose, has not campaigned hard here until recent days.

He picked up the endorsement on Sunday of Iowa’s Quad-City Times newspaper, which praised his business background as a former head of a private equity firm and said he had the best chance of beating Obama.

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Two Inspirational Videos to Watch and Think About

Dec 27th, 11 / 5 Comments

Evans Community of Caring
December 28, 2011, 2011

 

Two Inspirational Videos
to Watch and Think About

Evans Community of Caring, December 28, 2011, revised commentary by Paul Evans: This one is a repeat from February 17, 2011 and January of 2010.

I really wanted you to see these videos and think about them. (I wouldn’t have republished this post twice if the videos did not strongly resonate with me.) Partly, it just comes from my own worry about the future of mankind and his increasing capacity for destruction.

O’ Caritas
by Cat Stevens – 1976

The first video is about the fear of apocalypse and the end of the world. The second video, on the other hand, is a strong example of a society starting from a traditional viewpoint and adapting (or evolving) in a way which is progressive and healthy, as should be obvious if you watch it. The common thread is caring and love, in the first case from a fear of the end of our society, and the second an inspirational example of a society’s successfully adapting when a change seemed needed.

O’Caritas: What an apocalyptic vision, set to music! This deeply affected me a few decades ago, about 1987 and at times since. “Caritas” is Latin, as are most of the words sung by Cat Stevens, but the video provides English subtitles. The word means spiritual love or compassion. From the album, Catch Bull at Four. If by some unlikely chance you don’t already know this, THIS (the end of the world) is what some people believe neocons are actively trying to MAKE happen. In their idiotic, simple view, because the Book of Revelation is in the Bible, and that says the end of the world will come on judgement day after a final, consuming battle, these militaristic fools are actively seeking to bring about the battle of Armageddon. I have read that the Book of Revelation is the second most influential written influence on our history, culture and society. Well, you know, in Genesis, God created light and dark on the first day, and yet the sun and moon were not created until the fourth day. So how does that work, can anyone tell me? No, Virginian, the Bible is not literally true, although certainly the truth is in it.

If, God forbid, the world might end somehow, let it be God’s decision in God’s own time. We don’t need people advocating the projection of American force in any manner which might by the furtherest stretch of the imagination let loose some devastation on earth. Pray that God’s love might yet save this old world.

Something to think about.

Be sure and watch both videos.

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The Dance
Robert Miribal – Navaho

You are going to be surprised by this video, based on how it starts and how it “gets going” a little way into it. Think about how the Navajo culture has adapted here, away from its static tradition, as all healthy cultures must over time. If a culture does not adapt and change, it dies, like the Maya.

“He who has ears, let him hear”

Change or perish.

Will western culture change enough, soon enough?

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US Fed Reserve Audit Reveals 16 TRILLION in Secret 0% Interest Bailouts

Nov 11th, 11 / 1 Comment

Evans Liberal Christian Politics
November 11, 2011


Why Is the Mainstream Media Ignoring This???
Our Featured Article

Wake Up World: US Fed Reserve
Audit Reveals 16 TRILLION
in Secret 0% Interest Bailouts

LinkShare_120x600SkyscprV1

"What was revealed in the audit was startling: $16,000,000,000,000.00 had been secretly given out to US banks and corporations and foreign banks everywhere from France to Scotland. From the period between December 2007 and June 2010, the Federal Reserve had secretly bailed out many of the world’s banks, corporations, and governments. The Federal Reserve likes to refer to these secret bailouts as an all-inclusive loan program, but virtually none of the money has been returned and it was loaned out at 0% interest. Why the Federal Reserve had never been public about this or even informed the United States Congress about the $16 trillion dollar bailout is obvious — the American public would have been outraged to find out that the Federal Reserve bailed out foreign banks while Americans were struggling to find jobs.

"To place $16 trillion into perspective, remember that GDP of the United States is only $14.12 trillion. The entire national debt of the United States government spanning its 200+ year history is “only” $14.5 trillion. The budget that is being debated so heavily in Congress and the Senate is “only” $3.5 trillion. Take all of the outrage and debate over the $1.5 trillion deficit into consideration, and swallow this Red pill: There was no debate about whether $16,000,000,000,000 would be given to failing banks and failing corporations around the world."

Note by Evans Liberal Christian Politics owner Paul Evans: What could this huge monetary transfer also be about, besides bailing out banks and corporations? What must be in the mind of conspiracy theorists, is certain to be something very sinister. However, what this also may be about is preparation for times ahead (on the time scale of decades), which may very well make this last "Great Recession" look almost like a walk in the park.

The stronger democracies in western Europe and of course the U.S. may very well need this kind of money as the world’s economies teeter and labor under huge burdens. There are simply too few resources and too many people clamoring after them. This sort of monetary transfer may make some effective response by the strong western Nations possible, in the event of a crisis. The implementation is something along the lines of the New World Order which George H.W. Bush first brought up as a real necessity, and if that is true, what we are seeing here is that Order coming to pass into reality.

We have stated here on this website before that, while this New World Order has the potential for some very substantial misuse and abuse, it may be very necessary to keep the world from still worse economic pain.

This is my own view, and I am not stupid so I do realize that there is already abuse of the kind of cash and power that these sorts of funds represent. I am simply trying to look under the hood of a world financial movement which may have something at least a little more hopeful to it than what it seems like at face value. Let us hope and also pray. The next 50 years or more, say the scientists and even the CIA, are going to be rough.

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Christian Theology, The Bible’s Literal Truth and How This Affects One Liberal’s Political Views

Nov 10th, 11 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
April 29, 2011

 

Christian Theology, The Bible’s Literal Truth
and How This Affects One Liberal’s Political Views

How My Conscience as a Committed Christian
Has Led Me to Strong Liberal Political Beliefs

Evans Liberal Politics, republication date November 10, 2011, rewritten and edited April 29, 2011, originally published January 3, 2011, by Paul Evans: (This one is kind of important to me.

I’ve been writing for perhaps most of my 54 years. And I have had a lot of friends who aren’t Christian and even more who aren’t spiritual, as I am. I have to say: I do realize that perhaps most of you won’t like what I am trying to say here. There will be those who are Biblical literalists who won’t like it, and those of a skeptical bent who won’t like it, and I am afraid Republicans in general won’t like it. So be it. I’m simply trying to explain how my own faith has led me to my liberal political persuasion, and making a few arguments for that position.

While now I am a strong Christian, and I try to live my life as I believe a Christian should, I do not believe in the strict and universal literal truth of all passages in the Bible. It is a document written down by men, and the wonderful spiritual inspiration which caused it to be written down is no less flawed than were the very flawed and human men who first wrote it down. At the same time, as a committed Christian, I do believe the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and some of the arguments I make below are derived from Bible passages that are important to me, particularly from the New Testament.

However, my emphasis is on the centrality of the CARING that Jesus’ life represents, as shown to us in the Gospels and through my own personal experiences of Jesus and spiritual interactions with Him.

To some extent I truly feel the Old Testament was written, yes, for all humanity, and forever, yet the rules in it were meant to apply to the pastoral Hebrew people of those times. I also think that the Gospels show that, to Jesus, the “rules” were never that important. Jesus disliked the Pharisees,the ruling Hebrew authorities of that day, whose emphasis was on strict observance of the Old Testament laws. He found them ostentatiously scrupulous as to the Laws’ observance, to the point of falseness. In terms of the ostentatious observance of one’s faith, Jesus said that “you should pray in a closet,” and that “those who pray in public have their reward already.

One should also keep in mind, as to the Old Testament, that this was handed down orally for some 800 years, scholars believe, before it was ever written down. I really think that quite a bit of the Old Testament is more about the customs and to a lesser extent the history of the ancient Hebrew people than it is a reflection of the direct Word of God. Certainly I feel that way about certain passages of the Old Testament.

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The literal truth of the New Testament seems less questionable to me, taken as a whole. Yet I realize at the same time that it is by our own fallible human minds that various translations of the Bible in fact become available, and that Scripture is written down in the first place. In fact different translations have some different content, and if you study the Bible’s content historically, it becomes apparent that to a lesser degree, the content of Bible passages has evolved over time, for example originally there were 12 spiritual gifts but since the Catholic Bible of 1909, there have only been 9 gifts. Finally, it should be understood that no person gets any meaning from the Bible except through the interpretations of a flawed and very human mind.

God gave us a mind, a fragment of the divine spark, and we need to realize that it is only by the limited powers of our humanly fallible minds that we understand anything. And the Bible is certainly not an easy document to understand fully!

As to the Old Testament, my favorite passage from the New Testament about all that is from Luke 10:27, where it is said that the sum of all the Law and the Prophets is to “love God and love your neighbor as yourself,” (paraphrase), to which Jesus replied “Yes! Do this and you will live!”. Yet if you try, you will see that living a truly caring life is not such an easy thing, either.

The Reverend Candace Chellew-Hodge speaks about the Bible as literal truth, with an interpretation that one should never argue scripture. She says:

Those who see the Bible as “God’s literal word” only know one way to read any passage, and it’s usually to back up their current beliefs about God, homosexuality or any other issue…. We have to remember that this is an ancient book. It was written at a time when people believed the world was flat and that the earth was in the middle of a three-tiered world with heaven above and hell below.

It was written at a time when people believed that the whole of human reproduction was held in the sperm of a man and a woman was merely an incubator. Speaking of women, this was a time when they were seen as chattel — property to be passed along from father to husband, from husband to brother and so on. It was written at a time when slavery was seen as God-ordained and animal sacrifice was the way to cleanse sins.

As for myself, I know that many conservative Christians have “problems” about those who are spiritually gifted, and say that the Old Testament power of prophecy (basically, mediumship) is in some way evil or wrong to practice. I have a very close interpersonal relationship with the Lord. I have a wonderful relationship with Jesus, who had me under his protection while I went through a dark, difficult period in my life. If you will judge me for my liberal beliefs and the sinners I associate with, that is on your head. Here I would cite a truly wonderful passage, Romans Chapter 3, particularly verses 21 through 24: (New Living Translation):

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard (some versions read, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"). 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

It was Jesus himself who warned us, in Matthew 7:1-2, "1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." And I, Paul Evans swear to you, Jesus has let me know (during spiritual prayer and that communion with Him) that we are to love one another, and never judge anyone.

For loving one another pleases God and removes the penalties of the Law that hold from the Old Testament. It is by CARING for one another that we please God while here on earth. So far as I can see, God is a God of love, who shows and communicate with us by the immaterial Spirit. He is not the angry God of the Old Testament, but the God who came to earth and showed us God’s will by his life of a caring ministry and sacrifice in the person of Jesus

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The Book of Revelation particularly within the New Testament, besides being controversial, is the least credible to me of New Testament writings as to it’s literal truth. I find it an allegorical work and one that I hope might be very edifying at some time in the future, when I know more, so I admit that I really don’t know all that much about The Book of Revelation, although I have “read at it.” Right now, I have a hard time believing that God, in his totally loving nature, would subject mankind to that sort of ordeal. Did he not promise, in the Old Testament (if you believe in the literal truth of the Bible), after the Flood, never to again destroy the world? The Book of Revelation has always troubled me, and I believe that thinking it literally true has caused a great deal of trouble in the world, as it inspires neocons (right wing militaristic Republicans) to work towards it’s fulfillment, which I find rather evil. These people are actually working to bring about the Battle of Armageddon. I believe in full co-existence with other world religions, while personally having strong yet liberal Christian beliefs, a strong spirituality, and a strong faith in God. Call me a very faithful and spiritual Christian liberal.

Passages in the Bible which strain my credulity as to their literal truth are all too easy to find. One need look no further then the wonderful and poetic Genesis Chapter 1, the story of Creation (New International Version). Here each day of creation ends with something like “morning came and evening came, an ‘nth’ day,” there being seven days of creation. Notice the sequence of creation (and here it does not matter if you interpret the “day” as literally 24 hours or as in the original Hebrew, “a period of time.” Look at the very first day. Here God created light and darkness and called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And here and for each of the remaining days of creation, that day’s creation ends with something like “And there was evening, and there was morning — the (first) day.”

Yet the sun and the moon were not created until the fourth day. I’m sorry: we are rational, thinking human beings. By what stretch of the imagination is the creation illuminated and does morning come and evening come on days one through three without a sun even existing (until day four)? If words and logic mean anything, the Creation story CANNOT be literally true. That does not mean it is not moving, and it does not mean it is not poetic and important. But if you believe that is literally true, you have not thought the matter through, or else words and logic mean nothing to you, in which case, why bother with reading? God Bless us all, anyway.

What is important to me is mainly the New Testament, although the Old Testament is a wonderful chronicle of the history of the Jewish people, God’s people at that. And what is important to me in the New Testament is the example of strong CARING that Jesus showed for us to follow, by his whole life. Jesus showed us that God desires that we CARE for one another, and he also showed us how high the cost of true caring can be. But a life lived in caring for others is a happy, joyous life, and that is how God meant for our lives to be.

Another line of evidence of the nature of God and his will for us can be found in the pre-Socratic philosophical concept known as “Logos.” If you investigate this term, you will see that there are many nouns and adjectives associated with it — the nature of God, examined philosophically, the logic or order of the universe — but that Logos has only one value associated with it, and that value is caring. In fact, the early Christian church came to associate this pagan philosophical concept (conceived of by the philosopher Heraclitus,) with the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, or Jesus. Thus, for me, Logos and Jesus are all about CARING and living caring lives, and I believe this is in harmony with the order of things, with the whole order of the universe. I also think the reason mankind suffers so much in the modern world and feels so alienated is because of how far we have got away from leading truly caring lives. To not be caring is thus outside of the whole natural order of things, and leads to pain and alienation. God meant for us to be caring people.

Comment by Evans Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans: Even while I find the Bible to not be literally true throughout (and many Bible scholars will agree with me), certain Bible passages are very illuminating. One such is Matthew 17: 1-13: The Transfiguration. So far as Bible scholars can tell, the Gospel of Matthew was the earliest of the four Gospels, written about 50 A.D. The Gospels of Mark and Luke followed in about 70 A.D. and John is believed to have been written perhaps about 90 A.D. Some liberal Christian theologians have commented that John is the only Gospel which affirms that Jesus is really God, and remark that the earlier church did not claim such a thing. Whether or not you may believe that Jesus is God, such a passage as Matthew 17: 1-13 surely seems to affirm that Jesus is God’s Son, and not simply a prophet, and that this belief infused the earliest Christian church’s writings. In fact, the early Church existed as a sect within Judaism, and it was not, scholars believe, until about 170 A.D. that this faith actually called itself “Christian,” as distinct from a sect growing within Judaism. (You do realize, Jesus was a Jew, right?) The nature of the passage above, which is from Matthew and thus an early writing, is such as to make the fact that the early church believed in the divinity of Jesus clearly apparent.

However it is Christ’s very life here on earth, in particular the emphasis this shows on the centrality of CARING, a caring for each other, much as Martin Luther King, Jr., envisioned in his concept of the Blessed or "Beloved Community," which has caused me to devote so much effort to promoting liberalism. I highly recommend that you take a look at the collection of The Sermons and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Wikipedia.

I see a liberal political agenda for society as central to Jesus’ wish that we “feed his sheep,” and I find his last words to Peter very telling. Just before he ascended into heaven Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. Peter said, “Lord, you know I love you.” To which Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.” Jesus was no hypocrite. Jesus meant BOTH figurative AND literal feeding of his sheep. Surely he meant that we must be our brother’s keeper, and liberalism and a progressive vision fulfills that idea for me.

Leading caring lives may fit in well with liberalism, conceptually, for me, yet I am only a Democrat and not a Republican because, to a slight degree, they are more about “feeding Jesus sheep” and about society taking care of its less fortunate citizens than is the G.O.P. I want to see crack babies and crack mothers have a minimum standard of living, and not have to live in homeless shelters. I want to see elderly retires maintain their Social Security benefits and Medicare. We have recently seen what Paul Ryan and the House Republicans would do with these benefits. So yes, I am a Democrat, but for me, the Democratic Party does not even go far enough. I’d like to see universal health care for all, and guaranteed work, and in these bad economic times, I’d like to see something like the old W.P.A. brought back to help the unemployed help themselves. I also want to see a progressive tax structure where the fortunate help the less fortunate and where corporations pay their fair share and are not allowed to export jobs oversees and use foreign sweat shop labor. To me, all of this is involved in having a caring society. But NOT because they are Democratic ideas, rather, because they are the right thing to do. And I do believe that Jesus would like to see that sort of society. That’s why I am a liberal.

Also see In Defense of the Christian Liberal, Democratic Underground, October 12, 2002, by Frank Lovato.

A Bible Passage the Religious Right
Won’t Like or Acknowledge
(Could This Be Socialism?)
Acts 4:32-35 NIV

The Believers Share Their Possessions

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Here I want to make note of something many of you will find very controversial and dislike. I have always felt that Jesus whole life here on earth was one that only a basically liberal person could have lived. His strong emphasis on CARING, the way he loved everyone he met, regardless of what they believed, the way he lived for others and did not care about money, or power, just about helping one another, always struck me as a very liberal sort of life. So anyway, below is a symbol a friend of mine made describing Jesus as a liberal. I always thought that Jesus is, in fact, very much a liberal. What do you think about this?


Personally, I am convinced that we do not even KNOW the true nature of God, much less his plans. Why not try to make the world a better, more livable place instead of planning for its end (which has been done throughout history).

image of a brick wall with the words 'Jesus was a liberal' written on it in bold black block letters

custom cover art for The Waterboys performing their little-known song Spirit live in Glastonbury in 1986 "Spirit:" The Waterboys with Mike Scott perform their little-known song live in Glastonbury in 1986. — 7:22

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Rick Perry: Social Security is a ‘monstrous lie’

Aug 28th, 11 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
August 28, 2011

 

Rick Perry: Social Security
is a ‘monstrous lie’


Rick Perry: Social Security is a ‘Monstrous Lie”, The Raw Story, August 28, 2011, by David Edwards, used with permission, quoted verbatim:

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry isn’t backing off his claim that Social Security is unconstitutional. In fact, he is now calling the program a “monstrous lie.”

In his book “Fed Up!”, the Texas governor wrote that Social Security was put in place “at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government.”

Last week, Perry Communications Director Ray Sullivan tried to walk back those claims by saying the book was “not meant to reflect the governor’s current views on how to fix” Social Security.

But when confronted by ThinkProgress’ Scott Keyes Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, Perry said his views were still in line with the book.

“I haven’t backed off anything in my book,” Perry grumbled. “Read the book again, get it right.”

Earlier that day at the The Vine Coffeehouse, Perry told a voter that Social Security was “ponzi scheme for these young people.”

“The idea that they’re working and paying into Social Security today, that the current program is going to be there for them, is a lie,” he said. “It is a monstrous lie on this generation, and we can’t do that to them.”

Watch this video from ThinkProgress, uploaded Aug. 27, 2011.

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