Why the Pope should resign

"But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
-Matthew 18:6


A few years ago my brother came out of the spiritual closet and admitted that he was an atheist. He wrote a well-reasoned, thoughtful, sober and intelligent analysis of the factual inconsistencies that make-up the tenants of Christianity. His spiritual "coming out" kicked off the predictable intra-family firestorm and it made me focus on my own beliefs for the first time in years. In the past few years I have attended various Christian churches, meditated at an all day Buddhist retreat, attended a conversion ceremony at a Catholic church (where Garrett and I broke the rules and got in line for communion where awkwardness ensued) attended a lecture by the Dali Lama and have read countless books on Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Mormonism and atheism. The church can provide people with a sense of purpose and it provides connections in a community. The one thing that every decent human agrees on is the importance of protecting children. The church should be a shining example of good and righteous behavior. Sadly, the Catholic church has lied, denied, stonewalled and protected pedophiles from the authorities. The Pope had knowledge of these horrific crimes and he participated in the cover-up. For this, he should resign, effective immediately.

I will not go into the sordid details of the horrific crimes that were committed by numerous Catholic priests. The victims of these crimes were innocent children that were molested (sometimes for years) by these "men of God." The Catholic church, and the hierarchy, ignored the teachings of Christ and the laws of the land. If the Bible is true, these priests who covered-up for their fellow priests should place millstones around their necks and jump in the ocean.

It seems as if the Catholic bishops do not really believe in Hell. The Catholic church believes in their institution and their office with enough force that they routinely put children in harms way as the transfer pedophiles from one parish to another. All to keep their image in good standing so people will continue to attend and donate money.

When the Pope was the archbishop of Munich, he approved the transfer of a molesting priest to another church and he had knowledge of a Wisconsin case where the church failed to defrock a child-molesting priest who abused over 200 deaf boys.

Christians preach about sin and morality but they seem not to believe in the rule of law. These sick men were protected by the church and sent off to distant lands to committed more crimes. The Pope had knowledge of these crimes and he never contacted the authorities. When I was teaching we signed a slip every year that stated that we knew we could be prosecuted IF WE DID NOT REPORT CHILD ABUSE! In my role as a teacher, I took this very seriously and at one point a student confided in me about physical abuse and I reported this to the authorities. Why do we hold public school teachers more accountable than the leader of the Catholic church?

Richard Nixon......Secret Socialist?

On February 6, 1974 President Richard Nixon went in front of the American people to introduce the Comprehensive Health Insurance Act (CHIP). President Nixon put forth a proposal that called for universal health insurance for every American. This CHIP bill was much stronger than the bill that was signed today by President Obama.

"I shall propose a sweeping new program that will assure comprehensive health insurance to protect millions of Americans who cannot now obtain it or who cannot afford it."
-President Nixon in 1974

Nixon proposed that ALL employers, not just large companies, offer insurance. He also wanted to have the government regulate the insurance industry and to have the government "approve specific plans, oversee rates and ensure adequate disclosure."

Nixon was born into poverty and he saw firsthand the devastating effects on families that could not afford health care. He was witness to the suffering of families and wanted to solve this problem while he was in office.

So why are the Republicans and the tea party loons going off the rails at a proposal that a Republican President tried to enact in 1974? As always, it comes down to money.

In 1970 insurance premiums were 1.5% of the GDP. The insurance premiums jumped up to 5.5% of the GDP in 2007. The insurance companies were spending $1.4 million per day to lobby congress to defeat this bill. Let me repeat that, they were spending $1.4 million a day to keep things the same!

So where does all this money go? It goes to Republican members of congress to keep up the status quo and it goes towards their reelection campaigns and their pet projects. So once again, we gin up outrage, call people "baby killers" and claim that we will have death panels. It is almost laughable at how you can get "conservatives" to be so upset about a program that Nixon, a real conservative, wanted to put into law in 1974. Please check the record and read about where Nixon wanted to take the country. If you hate Obama because of health care reform than please have the intellectual honesty to also extend this vitriol towards Richard Nixon. At what point due to the facts influence how you stand on a legislation?

That damn liberal elite is making me spit out my Big Mac

I really hate it when the government tries to regulate giant corporations in the interest of the public's health. I am an American and I have a right to be as unhealthy as I want to be without some liberal sticking his big (wink wink) nose in my business! I don't need "big brother" telling me that smoking causes cancer or some sort of "socialist" government telling me how many calories are on my cheese fries. What's next, are they going to force me to wear a seat belt or regulate how fast I can drive my car? Well excuse me mister, this is the USA, not the U.S.S.R. This sort of regulation just makes me sick to my stomach. To think that our elected leaders can force restaurants to do something that they don't want to do is anti-American. I was at a real-estate restaurant conference last Thursday and the representatives from El Pollo Loco were positively giddy with the upcoming change in law as they had positioned themselves to benefit by offering lower calorie menus. It sounds like communism to me! The next thing you know we will have some sort of government program that has a phone number you can call in case of an emergency and they show up and help you. I am sick of it already. What happened to the rugged individualist in this country? I think we are all just a nation of nambie pambies calling up the government to help us when our house is on fire or we get robbed. Why should the government look out for the people and encourage them to lead healthy lives?
So today I open my paper and find out that the radical BHO (has anyone seen his birth certificate lately?) has FORCED chain restaurants across the nation to post calorie counts on their menus. Oh, the horror, the horror. They even went after the vending machines, buffett's, drive-throughs and alcoholic drink menus. It also requires restaurants to provide consumers with the amounts of sodium, carbohydrates, fiber and protein in each serving of their food. You know what, I bet this was all his wife's idea........since she really hates America. This health care bill will be the end of civilization as we know it!

Health Care Reform: Good, Bad, Who Knows?

"Who cares about common sense when you've got righteous indignation on your side?"
-Lee Iacocca

The health care reform bill that was passed last night may be good for America, it may be bad for America, but really, who knows? It will take years for all of the provisions of this legislative reform to be enacted and it may take some time before we see any real savings. All that we can do as Americans is be honest and truthful about what type of government we have and about why you are in favor or against a particular bill. For example, do you just reflectively oppose a bill because the President of the United States is a Democrat and you are a Republican? In 1993 the Republicans told us the Clinton's economic bill would ruin the country (see my previous blog on this) and we ended up with record prosperity. In 2001 I was in favor of the Iraq war and I thought it was a good idea and believed the VP when he said we would be greeted as liberators. (and we all know how that one turned out) The fact is that we do not have a crystal ball to tell us if this legislation will benefit the country. But first, a little background on why I am for health care reform.

1) During W's time in office we had massive increases in our health care cost. My costs went up, your cost went up, and we all agreed that we needed to fix the health care system.

2) The Republicans only health care legislation reform was to massively discount or cover the cost of prescription drugs for seniors. This was a good bill and I was in favor of it even though it is socialism.

3) When Obama took office citizens were denied health care due to pre-existing conditions. He promised to change this.

4) The Republicans never put out a plan that was different from Obama's. They just reflexively wanted to kill health care reform to deny him a legislative accomplishment. If that is how you want to play the game than I am fine with that. I just wish that people would be honest about it and admit that they do not want our President to succeed in office.

If you claim to be against this bill because it is "socialism" than please be intellectually honest and do not take any benefits from medicare or medicaid in your lifetime. This is like people who "hate unions" but have lifetime health care coverage due to you unions collective bargaining agreements. You cannot be against something that you are benefiting from.

If you are against it because the people don't want it I must have missed your outrage when 70% of the American people wanted to end the Iraq war.

If you are against it because it is "a massive government program" than you must really hate the "massive government programs going on in Iraq and Afghanistan." I for one love my country and the massive government program that is the United States Military.

So here is what I like in this bill:

1) Health Insures cannot DENY children health insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
2) In 2014 health insures cannot DENY adults coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
3) The so called "doughnut hole" for medicare will be fixed
4) Adults can cover their children up to age 26
5) Insurance companies must give benefits for preventative care
6) Insurers can no longer cut someone off when they get sick
7) Greater transparency in the insurance industry
8) 10% tax increase on the tanning industry
9) Chain restaurants will be required to list all nutritional and caloric contents on their menu, including the drive-thru

I encourage you to look at this bill and tell me what you like or do not like in this bill. If you will benefit from this bill in the future or will benefit immediately please be honest about it and give credit where credit is due.

"Pull the strings! Pull the strings!"

You know, one of these days we all should just sit back and take a look at how adept politicians are at manufacturing outrage. Heck, if we look hard enough at the facts we might even begin to suspect that we are all just puppets having our emotions pulled and tugged at in order to gin up outrage. Why would politicians and pundits on all sides prey upon our emotions and deliberately manipulate the issues?

Two reasons:

1) Money

2) Ratings

I know, I know, I sound like a crazy man talking because we all know one side is good and "loves America" and one side is bad and is secretly "Marxists." I have been fascinated with how the Republicans have been able to manufacture outrage over the Khalid Shaikh Mohammed trial in New York. This fake outrage is an excuse to attack our President. The Republicans are so desperate to make Obama look bad that they attack him for the exact same thing that W did in 2006. The sad thing is they know they can get away with it because people are not intellectual honest about it. It is a fact that Zacarias Moussaoui was tried and convicted in 2006 in Alexandria, Virgina. And guess what folks, the Republicans had no problem with Moussaoui being tried as a terrorist in Virginia. They also kept their mouths shut when Rudy Guillian put three terrorist on trial in 1993, in New York,and the men who bombed the World Trade Center were convicted. So, why has it become an issue?
It is a cynical ploy to raise money for the RNC and to boost the ratings of right-wing radio and television. In the Senate, legislation was introduced to deny all federal funding for a trial or security. A move that prompted Defense Secretary Gates ( a Bush appointee) to say to congress "it would be unwise and would set a dangerous precedent for congress to restrict terrorism prosecutions." The justice department was able to site 135 terrorism cases that have all been tried in civilian court in recent years and all have gone smoothly. Nancy looked at me with wild eye terror as she discussed putting a terrorist on trial in New York and said she was "outraged" at the very idea of it. I asked her is she was similarly "outraged" at President Bush in 2006 when he put a terrorist on trial in civil court. Nancy gave me the patented "dear in the headlights look." A look that is all too familiar these days from my friends on the right as they begin to see that fat, non-military serving men are able to pull the strings on their emotions.