Response to a conservative friend re an article about Anton Scalia’s son taking legal actions to protect Wall St. from regulators.

         The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Every move they make is about giving free, unregulated rein to Wall St.  This is coincident with trying to sabotage Social Security, limiting food stamps, impeding healthcare reform, etc.

        A central part of Republican strategy now is to engender personal hatred of Hilary Clinton.  When I talk to Republicans I know, I feel their enmity toward Hilary that’s separate from politics.  Check yourself out on your reactions towards her. The ongoing rhetoric against her is poisonous.

      It goes without saying how personal hatred against Obama has been created since he was first ran for President.  Elected Republicans vilify him regardless of issue or situation, or be labeled as ‘not being a true Conservative’.   If Obama says day, they’ll say night and it proves Obama is trying to push politically-correct night onto the country.  What’s wrong with Obama, though not directly said, but continually implied, is his race.  Misogyny and racism are stoked.  Just as Bush #1’s video (in the 88′) campaign about  Gov. Dukakis releasing the (black) felon Willie Horton was to bring out fear of the ‘other’.

     I have never felt you are a bigot or hate women – that doesn’t apply to you.  But we’ve all got pieces of these things in us, and they’re brilliantly interwoven against Hilary and Obama. If I didn’t like Hilary – and I mean this – the anti-woman tactics against her would disgust me.  And if I were against Obama, I’d still feel the fear of dark-skin that’s being appealed to with unrelenting cunning.

     On a personal level, each of the Republican candidates repel me.  That’s because what they stand for makes me see them as ugly – not because I’ve been set up to personally react.  The personal rhetoric by the Left against Republicans is negligible alongside the centrality of hate-mongering by the Right – now focused on Hilary & Obama.  I don’t hear the patriotism of Republicans being questioned – whereas that ethnocentric accusation is implied all the time against Obama.  The ‘birther’ issue was to create an image of a jungle-born n—er.  And you know it.  There are millions of people who say they believe Obama was born, half black, in Kenya.  That kind of imagery is not there about Cruz being born in Canada.

Different Views of Vision

1972meohmy 37 minutes ago

+Mark Weinstein You must be confused. This is America. Is my right to stand and be heard and work towards this country being my vision just like you have the right to the same. Your go home and let us run the show is the most Un-American view here.

Mark Weinstein 1 second ago

+1972meohmy Have whatever “visions” you have. That can include everybody believing & thinking just like you. I ask that the ATTAINING of your visions does not include taking away the rights of those who don’t share your visions. I have anger & aspirations, hatreds and hope, personal & societal values. In my work and in my personal life, I try to be the best person I can be, which includes not acting on occasional desires to denigrate or oppress others. A line from “Night of the Iguana” is my mantra: “Nothing human disgusts me, unless it is unkind or violent”. I check myself out to live up to that; I don’t always succeed. When I fail, self-righteousness had wormed its way into my thinking. That has frequently included manipulating others to encourage my ‘noble’ acts. It’s not easy to own-up to that. I’m human. And so are you.

The literal vs. the truth

This is  a back & forth I had with an individual who believes divine will is based on dictionary definitions:

Jerry Krause

As I stated elsewhere: Let us take a fact-filled look at this. The opening book of the Bible tells us: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24; cf. Matthew 19:4) Those are the first words; no others precede them, of marriage. According to the etymology (origin of words) dictionary the word “marriage” originated around 1300 meaning “action of marrying, entry into wedlock” the “state or condition of being husband and wife, matrimony, wedlock.” The Hebrew word “wife,” according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, “connotes one who is a female human being.” The etymology dictionary concurs with that definition. Thus, we have both the creation and the definition of the word marriage; that without therefore would there be a man and a woman union referred to as marriage. Other sacraments or rituals may bring together people and in modern societies such unions may be referred to as a joining contract, lifetime partnership (accord, or couple), state bond, civil union, etc. But marriage is God-given and therefore a religious consideration; one that has been aradition throughout America’s history.

Mark Weinstein

+Jerry Krause I’ve recently been reading the Torah – page by page – it’s not easy reading. There are many times when G-d gives page-long, specific instructions to various people (including Moses) about how to carry out His commands. Sometimes it has to do with how many goats one gives for a wife, other times deal with resolving disputes by apportioning cubits of cloth, etc etc. So as far as “fact-filled” interpretations of the bible go, it’s bunk to cherry-pick parts of scripture for literal interpretation. It would Christian to be less occupied with what the “etymology dictionary concurs with”, and instead use your heart to decipher divine will. Your heart.

Jerry Krause

+Mark Weinstein  – Can you explain to me what the “heart” has to do with gays wanting to change the long traditional (here is America) and God-given meaning of marriage and forcing it on everyone else; not anything to do with gays having a union of some sort but their corrupted use of the word marriage?

Mark Weinstein

+Jerry Krause The only ‘corruption’ is in your heart. Traditions – including long ones – can be good or bad. No person should be obligated to fashion his or her life to not offend those who hold different beliefs. Charlatans and tyrants have a “long tradition” of interpreting history and scripture to serve their own ends. Entymologically speaking, you are smack dab in the middle of that inhumanity. That is the real truth.

Jerry Krause

+Mark Weinstein – (FIRST of 2 PART REPLY) The “real truth” you say. Let us get to that in a moment. Your persistence that it is Christians verses LGBT (or gays) is noted; even thought my position has included both secular (thus my reason for mentioning the etymology dictionary, traditional, etc) and religious. With that said, let us also note that 41% of the LGBT community are religiously affiliated; 48% or just about half of those refer to themselves as Christians (cf. Pew Research Study, Religious & Public Life, may 12, 2015). Thus, when someone as you says or implies that Christians are oppressing the LGBT community, they are including lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals among the oppressors. Now, as for the “real truth” and as Mr. Happy Face said: “You can’t handle the truth!”

 The word “marriage” is being used in the most perverted, peculiar and ill-fitting, ways. Recently, in the Netherlands Jennifer Hoes married herself; as did Liu Ye in China and Chen Wei Yih in Taiwan. Elsewhere a British woman married a dolphin named Cindy. Bimbala Das in India married a snake; and Uwn Mitzcherlich in Germany married a cat. As with gays they justified their marriages as being love inspired. In Sudan, Charles Tombe was forced to marry the goat he was caught with in a sexual act. Eija-Riitta Berliner-Mauer in Germany married the Berlin Wall before it was torn down. In Japan, Sal9000 (his name) fell in love with the character he met playing “Love Plus” on his NintendoDS and married her; and in South Korea, Lee Jin-gyu married his bedroom pillow. Davecat, who is reportedly gay and now lives in Michigan, married his blow up doll. Without regard for its origin or true meaning, the word “marriage” is similarly being used by gays. However, marriage has always been a covenant between a man and a woman which is by its nature ordered toward the procreation and education of children and the unity and wellbeing of the spouses. Whether looking for it in oneself, an animal, tangible object, marrying their sibling or the same sex, it will always be for them something make-believe; they will never have what is a marriage between a man and a woman.

Mark Weinstein

 What is scary – and I mean SCARY – is that there are millions of mean-spirited, stone-throwing people like you who call themselves Christians. In my life I’ve met people who have – is there another way to say it? – the light of Jesus shining through them. They do not live in condemnation or proselytizing their belief onto others. They are easy, wonderful people to be around. They inspire and show love of Jesus, They are not scripture-wavers. They follow their faith by being giving and kind with no litmus test of who is a ‘true-believer.” To quote the Torah – “….and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened…..”. You give out self-righteousness in everything you say. That kind of angry, emotional surety is often a cover of someone who is trying to convince himself. You are not – to my perception – a true-believer in anything. You are a phony – and it doesn’t matter what quotes from dictionaries, scripture, or the Sunday funnies you cite to prove how wrong someone else is. It’s also my perception you know it, and like people who cannot have enough guns to make them feel safe, you cannot outrun the shadow of your emptiness. I am a hypocrite for engaging in this angry, condemning dialogue. I find it difficult to feel kindness toward you. That’s my problem.

Jerry Krause

Perhaps you prefer over knowledge instead “assuming” which is almost always accompanied with ignorance and incompatible with intelligence. Where did I say that I am a Christian (not saying that to be or not to be true)? You have assumed a few things about me. To say that because I simply disagree with gays wanting to change the long traditional and God-meaning of marriage and forcing it on everyone else, can be accurately seen as a hypocrite statement. Also, whenever one violates the natural moral order established by God, one sins and offends God. Same-sex “marriage” does just that. Accordingly, anyone who professes to love God must be opposed to it. Lastly, what truly angers you is not me but your troubles. Do not blame me for those, please.

Mark Weinstein

Whatever you say – you’re absolutely right. After all, to disagree with you is to offend G-d.

Jerry Krause

+Mark Weinstein – What the heck is “G-d” as you say?

Mark Weinstein

Whatever you say – you’re absolutely right. After all, to disagree with you is to offend G-d.

Jerry Krause 2 hours ago

What are you looking for?

Mark Weinstein

Whatever you say – you’re absolutely right. After all, to disagree with you is to offend G- d.

Jerry Krause

It is thought of as a nervous tic, constantly repeating yourself.  It is somewhat common among children and older adults with a mental disorder. Usually it comes and then fades away in the form of minor stutters; a sign of stress, even frustration.

Mark Weinstein

Whatever you say – you’re absolutely right. After all, to disagree with you is to offend G-d.

Guns, John Lennon, and why? (back & forth about gun control).

 

Peacemaker Jones 1 day ago

Most gun laws in the Nation – Chicago.   Among the highest gun murder rates in the country.  They have Gun Free zone.  Stupid is as stupid does. You want to protect America, then you conceal and carry.  If someone robs you – simple, shoot them, won’t have to worry about that pos robbing anyone ever again.

Mark Weinstein 1 day ago

+Peacemaker Jones As the Beatles said, “Happiness is a warm gun. Bang, bang, shoot, shoot.” You and people like you could have arsenals of hundreds of guns, but you still wouldn’t feel safe. If you want to find out what your’re really scared of, you don’t have to go out your own front door”.

Reply · 1

Peacemaker Jones 1 day ago

I am not scared of anything and if John had a gun he would still be here today.

Mark Weinstein 23 hours ago

+Peacemaker Jones: John Lennon autographed a photo handed to him by Mark David Chapman a few hours before Chapman shot him. At that point, Chapman could have pulled out his gun and shot Lennon. It was when Lennon got out of his car that Chapman shot him – a gun in Lennon’s pocket wouldn’t have saved him. Bearing a gun isn’t guaranteed salvation. Guns you own and walls you build across borders won’t make you feel safe. Like any addiction, the more you have, the more you will need – you’ll never feel safe until you have the guts to look within. That’s a human universal.

Reply · 1

The cat is out of the bag.

Eight-one years ago, Hitler became German Chancellor.  True to his word, he wasted no time and followed no rules to achieve absolute power.  Dissent was crushed – any disagreement or appeal to fairness or rationality was labeled as cowardice and being traitor to the superior German race.  It wasn’t Hitler who was the threat – it was something in the German psyche that exploded in fury and hate – a barely sleeping tiger that took only skillful prodding to awake.  The beast that awoke was without mercy or soul.  The German people failed the test of humanity.

And now America.  There is no camouflaging what Trump is about.  He is a megalomaniac with murderous – and I mean murderous – intent.  What is astounding and terrifying – though not truly surprising – is that the bigotry and brutality coming through Trump is finding fertile soil in the United States of America.  We’re marching towards totalitarianism while calling ourselves the greatest country – i.e. white Americans – in the world.  The fat is in the fire.

And we’re doing it to ourselves.

Donald Trump the clown.

Hitler was laughed at as a clown before he rose to power.  It is beyond foolishness to underestimate a clown.

Trump appeals to the worst instincts in people by offering them the opportunity to avoid depth of perception and thinking while enjoying his clown-persona.

John Wayne Gacy dressed as a clown to give himself an aura of harmlessness.  He lured young men into the dungeon cellar of his home.  He then tortured them, then  killed them, then buried them.

Don’t be fooled by someone wearing the mantle of a clown.  And for heaven’s sake don’t underestimate a clown.

To Gun or not to Gun?

Sane gun control is not the whole solution, but it has to be a part of the solution. For every instance where gun control wouldn’t have made a difference in a gun-related tragedy, there are dozens of times when it would. The Right is a combination of paranoids who cannot look at the situation rationally and/or those who are hacks for the NRA. The obviousness of that is radiant.

U.S.A.’s refusal to accept Syrian Refugees

The denial of providing safe-haven for the Syrian refugees will legitimatize racism per se in America.

The present xenophobia filling the air is like the science-fiction movie, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.  One by one, people are having their human essence literally sucked from them, and in their place are soulless replicants from outer space whose purpose is to eliminate humanity.

In plain language, anyone who buy’s what the Republicans are now putting forth in the refugee issue has begun the process of losing his or her humanity.  I’m not talking about the long-time ultra-Right – they’ve been posers in human form for a long time.  A successful poisoning of the hearts and minds of millions of heretofore compassionate, rational people is taking place.

The Republican Right is stirring-up the hatred of all Muslims that took place 74 years ago following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  All Japanese people went into concentration camps.

The fat is in the fire.

Assignment in a 2010 writing class: Describe a human trait. I chose “integrity”

Integrity

Many years ago, I was in an adversarial and (to those around me) very audible phone conversation with an irate client.  She ended the call by shouting an epithet and hanging up by slamming down her receiver.  After four or five seconds of roaring silence, I looked around the office at the dozen or so people who’d been subjected to my raised voice.  Speaking in a sheepish tone, I threw up my hands then said, “She had the nerve to question my integrity!”  The room exploded with laughter.  I’ve recreated similar scenarios citing my integrity; they’ve always gotten a hearty laugh.

What is integrity?  For me, it is practicing personal responsibility – meaning no unkindness or violence.  I struggle not to speak ill of others – whether from anger, trying to spice-up a conversation, or whatever.  It takes vigilance because the opportunity to slander often comes camouflaged and unexpectedly, and can be momentarily ego-boosting.

In my early twenties, a supervisor asked me if a co-worker had left the office early the day before.  I answered truthfully that he had.  Something – call it conscience, personal responsibility, integrity – caused me to disobey a visceral impulse to add an innocuous statement about that worker’s frequent ducking-out before quitting time.  In that split-second, I saw it would be a lapse of integrity to stab an innocent-looking knife in someone’s back.  I consider acting on that recognition was a step forward in my maturity.

Integrity is not, like the color of our eyes, a fixed characteristic.  Rather, it’s a life-long series of choice towards our better nature.

 

 

 

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marknw

Someone recently asked me which of the Republican Presidential candidates would you “most hate to be the nominee?”  I answered that my antipathy towards all of them isn’t compartmentalized.  They differ in style, but all have the same subservience to the military industrial complex.  Trump is an obnoxious clown, Jeb Bush should be in prison for treason because of his central role in the stealing of the 2000 election, Cruz is a backbiting snake, Scott is overtly hostile to the working man, etc.  I don’t prefer or disavow any of them more than the others.  The disease of fascism is rampant within each of them.

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