Interesting little article about some polling results. White Evangelical Tea Party Republicans (Religious Right) seems to be group that believes unregulated businesses will act ethically. This is also the group that prefers their preachers to speak out against abortion and homosexuality rather than economic issues. This also seems to be the group that beleives the free market is guided by the hand of God.
I also believe this is the group that will ultimately bring down the Grand Old Party. This group has already hijacked trure Christianity so the GOP is their next victim – IMHO
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/poll-americans-see-clash-_n_851712.html
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
Interesting letter to the editor in today’s local paper —
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/21/1816797/letters-to-the-editor-on-obama.html#ixzz1KAB5lYU4
I don’t know Mr. Thomas but I think I would find good and interesting communication if we ever met.
One more quote I found in this morning’s paper:
“Nothing is easier than solving a problem on the backs of people who are poor, people who are powerless and don’t have lobbyists or don’t have clout.” President Obama
I’ve been facing challenges from some mean people recently. Mean people who have made a bad situation almost unbearable for me. It’s been pretty difficult to get beyond a “Life is hard and then you die” attitude. Some minutes of some days I accept that challenges are what keep one going forward, and that is good when all one wants to do is stop. Other minutes I’m not that optimistic.
Remember, fnord, there are a lot of good money that offset the mean people.
I know that’s hard to hold onto when dealing with mean people because these are the folks that can never seem to be reasonable.
But know you’ve got friends that care and in these difficult times – we’ve got your back in prayers and positive energy being sent your way.
Also remember – at some point, the mean people will go on to their next victim (hopefully soon, huh?)
correction: alot of GOOD people that offset the mean people.
I need that third cup of coffee pretty badly – don’t I?
How does cutting funding help?
U.S. program for seniors loses nearly half its budget
More than 40 million work hours are provided to public and nonprofit agencies each year through the Department of Labor’s Senior Community Service Employment Program, or SCSEP. Participants must be 55 or older, be unemployed and have poor employment prospects.
They also must earn less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level — $13,600 annually. Only 75 percent of Social Security income is counted toward that amount, and none is counted from disability checks.
Those in the program average 20 hours a week, drawing the federal minimum wage.
With the 45 percent cut, senior citizen advocates say there could be as many as 58,000 fewer jobs nationally.
In Kansas, 598 slots were allocated for this fiscal year.
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/21/1816698/us-program-for-seniors-loses-nearly.html
Maybe the question should have been, WHO does cutting funding help? How is this creating jobs or building the economy?
The “true believers” would respond by stating that federal spending does not create jobs. The jobs being filled by the folks in SCEP were in fact created by the nonprofits or public agencies; that is, said jobs, if necessary, were so created. Thus, either these jobs are not necessary, and are merely make-work, or the agencies affected should go ahead and hire additional personnel as needed to fill the jobs without the program.
It seems to me that the “true believers” might not realize it, but if they are correct, they have argued against any number of jobs in the economy that only exist due to federal government spending, e.g., aircraft workers hired solely to build new fighters, tankers, etc. I am aware there would be a rush to tell me how these are “different”, but to my poor mind, this is just a distinction without a difference. Well, except to the shareholders of the publicly held corporations which are the recipients of these contracts, who see their dividends and stock values higher as a result thereof. Maybe that’s the real problem; nonprofits and public agencies don’t necessarily issue stock, and even if they do (which is legally possible under the corporation laws of many states), no dividends may be paid thereon.
Oops; forgot to add that this helps the economy by employing fewer folks full time which would give them more money to spend (of course, the nonprofits and public agencies might not be able to afford to hire anyone, although the works still needs to be done, or cannot afford to pay in excess of minimum wage regardless…).
But for all the yapping done by these true believers when ranting about government doest not create jobs – these are the folks first in line at the government trough to get theirs – either through their own job or a job for their mistress (or multiple wives if they still talk to him) and all those lovely subsidies which are really nothing more than corporate welfare.
I watch the History Channel quite alot and last night they were showing The Lost Gospels.
I wonder how many people actually know there are alot more gospels that were written (many years before the current ones in the current Bible) but yet they were banned or some reason or another? Of course, the political powers and the church hierarchy at the time had alot ot do with which gospels made it into the Bible and which ones were labeled heresy.
One statement that stood out in my mind as I was watching this show was that alot of these lost gospels paint an entirely different version of Jesus than we currently see painted today.
What if the current Bible is nothing like the true story of Jesus and his life’s work?
But what is even scarier is knowing that Conservatives are rewriting the Bible to suit their own agenda.
And why would I want anyone like that actively ruling one of the major political parties?
The truth of Jesus and the whole religion thing might just be something we have absolutely no proof of what is factual and what is not factual.
But the even scarier part is – the Conservatives rewriting the current Bible are the ones who have no problem going to a holy war to fulfill their agenda.
God help us all.
I’ve always suspected there was a battle between the Paulines and the Christians at that time. The Paulines won.