You Were Warned – Marriage Decline

Pew Research dated November 18, 2010 - “The Decline of Marriage and Rise of New Families”

Marriage rates are declining among those most attracted to (the solid base of) the Evangelical Right.  It is now being determined that there is a  new "marriage gap" in the United States, and it is increasingly aligned with a growing income gap.

While the marriage is still the norm among the educated – those least likely to align with the Christian Right and most likely to be pro-same sex marriage – marriage “is markedly less prevalent among those on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder.”

You were previously warned (in this and related blogs) that the anti-marriage stance of the Religious Right would devalue the importance of marriage among their constituency – those masses for whom religion is the traditional “opiate”.

If marriage is no important enough to support among those who want the right to marry, than it is not important enough for them to want.

Note that the evangelical does NOT support education – it is, after all, the promoter of Creationism and the literal interpretation of a Bible that is basically traditional mythology hung on a framework of astronomy.

That last part, along with the basis of both the Romulus Roman Calendar and our own Calendar, will be fully explained in my book, “Grandpa Was A Deity” – currently in the hands of its second draft editor.

For now, the Right-wing is, once again, learning the lesson of “The Monkey’s Paw” – your wish will be granted, so you had better concern yourself with what you ask for.  For the Right-wing, the request was to disavow the importance of a spiritual commitment to another person.  In days gone by, the Bible Belt disavowed the importance among interracial couples; now they are doing so among same sex ones.  In the process, they are violating the Pauline Doctrine of Faith and so disavowing the salvation of those who believe in such things.

Forced Conversion

A December 26th news story mentions that Egyptian Christians have accused Muslims of abducting the women and forcing them to convert.  Now this is something that Christian and Muslims have been engaged in for around fifteen centuries.  If we put aside the abducting of women – which is a direct violation of the Koran and therefore proves the Muslim’s are just criminals born to the Islamic religion - What’s the big deal?

Forced conversion is a bit of a joke.  You cannot force conversion – from a religious viewpoint it is irrational and therefore makes it clear that those engaged in the practice are themselves irrational.

Consider this: if two individuals, who wish to reach a common destination, are, by chance, walking down a road and come to a fork in that road … one looks to the left, one to the right, and both BELIEVE they are looking down the proper/correct fork … what is their proper action?

Should they argue over which road leads to the desired destination?  Should one force the other to take and travel THEIR fork?  Or should they each journey as they will with the one who was right achieving their goal of arriving to the destination?  What if the general destination is the same, but different specific locations are sought?  (Two Egyptians heading to the Americas – one to North, the other to South. Or to the United States and one to Maine the other Florida – same government, different state jurisdictions.)

What if both roads go to that destination – and neither has made the wrong choice?  What if neither road gets them there and both their beliefs were wrong?  But to keep it simple, let us assume one is right and the other wrong.  Will the one who is forced be grateful that they have been brought kicking and screaming to the destination?  And what if they have been brought, kicking and screaming, down the wrong road – what response are they entitled to, what punishment can they bestow upon their abductor? 

Now, what if that destination only admits those who came willingly, and what if it also bars admission to those who force others to come there?

In terms of theology – is it valid to bring someone where they do not wish to be?  If so, could not Satan grab souls off the street in the same way the Muslims grab Christian women?  Or the same way Mormons retroactively seal deceased ancestors into a religion which, during the ancestor’s life, the ancestor did not know, nor would have had any interest in knowing?

It is interesting that Al-Qaida in Iraq turned the desire of the women to revert to their faith into a cause celebre when it cited the women as the reason behind a Baghdad church siege.  NOTE that Al-Qaida murderers – those who violate the Koran by killing innocents – are championing the validity of forced conversion.  Those who, by their nature and base doctrine, violate every basic tenet of every known religion, are the ones who are at the forefront in the support of forced conversion.  Just goes to show what the true purpose and value of the underlying religion is … pure evil and mutually assured spiritual destruction.

MasterCard Attack Constitution

YAHOO NEWS reports: “MasterCard's website was shut down for much of the day on Wednesday as a group calling itself AnonOps organized a "Denial of Service" attack on the credit card giant, which had stopped processing donations for WikiLeaks after the United States criticized its release of sensitive diplomatic cables.”

Factually, MasterCard has attacked Freedom of Speech – it has effectively censored the rights of those who utilize there service … that is NOT one of their reserved rights within the service contract.  In effect, MasterCard has taken it upon itself to act as censor on behalf of subscribed financial institutions.

By rights, MASTERCARD should be sued by its users; it should be charged by a Federal  Regulatory Agency and its franchise suspended until such time as it pays restitution and putative damages … and those making the decision to deny payments are fired and, ideally, imprisoned.

Of course, it would require a just society and Federal employees who honor the United States Constitution – does anyone really believe they exist?

Most Harm to the Most People … chip away at the basic laws and foundation of the world’s leading democratic nation … it starts with institutions being allowed to censor free political speech.  (NOTE: Supreme Court has already ruled money/donations to represent protected speech).

Saudi+Bush=Al Qaeda

Opening line from “1. Wikileaks: Saudis, Gulf States Big Funders of Terror Groups by David Lev” Published by Arutz Sheva

Despite its ostensible position as one of the West's key allies in fighting Islamic terror, it turns out, via Wikileaks, that Saudi Arabia is the source of the lion's share of funding for the world's worst terror groups – including Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hamas, and others.

 

After first President Bush told Saddam it was OK to protect Iraq’s oil interests, the Saudi’s screamed, and Bush initiated the Gulf War.  After Bush left office, the Saudis funneled millions in no-show “consulting fees”, into Bush’s pockets, through a Canadian shell organization.  How many thousands of Americans died because Bush took “a bribe” from a terrorist financier?

Of course Saddam embarrassed Bus #1 and so Bush #2 (probably hoping to receive his own no-show income) used al Qaeda as an excuse to attack Iraq – more soldiers died through Bush’s actions that civilians died on 9/11.   More important, Bush #2 declared that Bin Laden was irrelevant to the war on terror … the leader of the Saudi funded terrorist attack on American and Europe is “irrelevant”.  The Saudi Terrorist Organization is “irrelevant”?

How much has Bush #2 made from Saudi related organizations?  How much has been funneled through his “oil business”?  How many millions have been paid “off-the-books”?  How many more Americans will die because the Saudis want us dead and our GOP leadership is on board with it?

To achieve “THE MOST HARM TO THE MOST PEOPLE” demands that the GOP oppose all medical coverage to an aging population; it demands that we reduce the disposable income available to those on Social Security (hence reduce the money in circulation and, through the effects of the “economic multiplier”, create a negative effect 7-10 times as large).  To create HARM requires a unity of action designed to achieve that end in a way that is “below the radar.”  Convince people that it is in their short term interest and the  will go out of their way to destroy themselves -- or their children.

In 1974, short term thinking demanded lower energy costs over conservation – to the extent that Reagan removed the symbolic (but practically effective) solar collectors from the White House.  We should have encouraged the same fuel efficiency demanded today by those nations that are NOT suffering from the economic bubble that we just witnessed bursting.  Look to the GOP and its supporters to oppose LNG ports, Wind Farms and anything else which offers long-term economic benefits.  Also look for their actions to be “backdoor” and “below the obvious, popular-media, radar.”  Anything which will HURT the Social Security recipient (approaching half the population), deny us workers for entry level positions (left vacant by the baby-bust), or reduce our competitiveness by reducing educational funding and opportunities (from kindergarten to grad-school), will be top on their agenda.  Also look for them to win win win … Americans must be proved stupid and nothing p[roves that better than voting against ones own children, or long-term interests … HENCE look to an increase in the deficits combined with, and amplified by, tax reductions.  Why not buy another Starbucks coffee today so that your grandchildren can live in poverty because they “owe-their-souls-to-(foreign)-company-stores”?   

Governor LePage ….

Does LePage want to be the Governor, the Governor who destroyed Maine, or the Governor who Moved Maine into 21st Century Leadership? Convictions will tell. What he said before election will destroy, what he says now is bland ... will he step up and actually make decisions that generate honest heat?

The name alone is enough to tell you this man will be a failure … but … as he has yet to take office, there is hope for him.

If he comes out forcefully for LNG in Calais – and if he moves to make the state self-sufficient in energy -- promoting wind, tide and LNG so that we will provide the rest of New England with power through the next century – Then he will become an historic figure in Maine history.

Otherwise, he will become a joke, an historic a-hole, another Republican bent on destroying America.

Ah the beauty of it.

Sit back and watch.  As is, Congress is now facing a debate & vote on an Energy tax.  If defeated – America will be defeated.  It is that significant.  It is framed (by the Manufacturers  Association as a jobs destruction plan … but job will be lost anyway.  They must be – demographics demand it.  The Baby-Bust demands that the number of jobs created will turn negative, as the workforce is reduced through retirement.  ONLY THE GOP are so stupid as to deny reality … only those jobs that are real – the ones that MUST be American – will continue … anything that can be outsourced shall be … we simply do not have the population to support job creation.

Moreover, the GOP is anti-immigration.  Thus there will be no workers to fill any jobs created – that’s a simple demographic reality for a shrinking population … only those jobs which are justified by the actual population are going to survive – all others shall vanish as the population shrinks.

But wait!  The average American is far too STUPID to grasp that simple reality … so politicians and the economic elite can continue to play the jobs card for at least a decade … and, in so doing, screw all those who are under 45.