Here are a few things that he once said:Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) was a Swedish diplomat, economist and author and was the second Secretary-General of the United Nations. He served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously. Hammarskjöld remains the only U.N. Secretary-General to die in office. U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century.”
I think that there is a concerted effort to categorize wealthy fat cats as the small business owners who provide jobs for people. Not sure that I agree. I am thankful for the small business owners that I personally know. Most of them do not drive expensive cars or live lavish lifestyles. So I guess I agree with Politifact and don't buy the idea that the richest folks in our country are small business owners.It's certainly more politically palatable to urge lower taxes for mom-and-pop business owners than for Wall Street fat cats. But is it true that most of the rich are small business owners?
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It's impossible to know how many of these high earners are what most people think of as small business owners. One indication, however, might be if these wealthy taxpayers reported that most of their income was from this business-type income. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center analyzed IRS data in March 2009, looking to see how many wealthy tax filers could say that half of their income or more came from business income. The center found that, among the wealthiest filers -- the top 1 percent -- only 25 percent earned more than half their income from business-type income. The percentages for non-wage income were even smaller among taxpayers earning less.
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There's one final point we want to clarify here for our readers, because we've been asked about this before: If you are a small business owner yourself, you would have to be a whiz running a very profitable small business to get hit with a tax increase under the plan Obama supports. You would have to report total income of more than $200,000 (or $250,000 for couples) after all your business expenses were deducted. You may remember this being a key point during the Joe the Plumber debate during the 2008 campaign when Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher said to then candidate Obama, "I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes 250 to 280 thousand dollars a year. Your new tax plan's going to tax me more, isn't it?" Back then, the Tax Policy Center analyzed all taxpayers, of any income level, who report these types of business income. They found only about 2 percent of them would see tax increases if the government increased the rates on the top earners. So the vast majority of possible small business owners would not see a tax increase if the Bush tax cuts expire for those in the top incomes.
Every once in a while something surprises you. So it was with this heartwarming story of a single gal caught up in her own world that had a life-changing event - her sister died and she now was the guardian of her niece. The story was an object lesson in what can happen when you are forced to give up control of your life and consequentially find a better one. The lead character Kate, played wonderfully by Catherine Zeta-Jones, seems to find herself pushed in each situation to give up control of her apartment, her job, her emotions and her life.. and eventually her heart.
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| People in wheelchairs form the letters ADA in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the passing of the Americans With Disabilities Act as Dodger Stadium sits in the background, Sunday, July 25, 2010, in Los Angeles. They later set a Guinness World Record for the highest number of people in wheelchairs moving in a line. |
I remember a few years ago sitting around the table with the church staff drinking coffee and the topic of driving behaviors came up - specifically what the right protocol was when a lane was closed and merging was required. Most of the crew said (pretty strongly) that the RULE was to merge as soon as you became aware of the merger.. a few others said that they did not see the big deal in merging at the last possible moment - that was the quicker way to go for them. 
I usually don't embellish my theological bents here and I tend to shy away from theological debate on this blog.. but today I am thinking about how we tend to make God in our own image. This photo shows how religious people sometimes portray an image of an angry God to the world.. even to children.“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.Now I understand that the bible and the gospel is more than just these three sentences spoken by Jesus so many years ago. Yet I believe that they help to condense my thinking down to the idea that God loves us so we should in return love Him and love the ones that he loves. In a sense these sentences solidify for me the image of God in my mind as a loving Father who has created children in His image with the ability to simply return His love to Him and to others.
Angry God: I think that this is the deity that many people, like my friend Brian, were taught in their childhood. In some strange theistic dichotomy God is presented as one who loves you so much that you need to be afraid of him.. especially if you "sin". Hell, sin and the wrath of God are front and center when this image is presented.Well I think that I have covered enough to make someone mad at me. Of course these ideas are faulted.. like me they are not perfect.. these images are, in a sense, the images that I have about those images.
Holy God: This image is a bit different than the previous one. God is still sometimes presented as angry but more of an "angry at sin" rather than "angry at you". The issue here is still the preoccupation with sin and judgment.
Exclusive God: This image is found in different forms in the religious world. Some theologies ascribe to the idea that God created some to be exclusively predestined to heaven and some to hell and torment. Some believe that if you are not one of us then your destiny is one filled with fire and brimstone. In these scenarios both God and His followers are exclusive entities.
Enabling God: This is the image that basically says that God is too nice to allow anyone to suffer.. of course this thinking always adds "after they die".. obviously most people are allowed to suffer before they die. This view presents God as a weak Father who in the end will do anything to ensure that His children do not suffer. The view of man in this scenario is one of the saddest. I have opined a bit on this previously in a post titled Divine Pets.
Absent God: This image is the closest thing to atheism or agnosticism that I can think of. It is the idea that God once created the world then took off into the vast regions of the universe and is no where to be found. Don't pray to this entity because He won't answer and is not interested in us.
The Man Upstairs: If ever there was a God made in our image it is this one. Basically this view says that God is one of us.. He thinks like us.. He judges like us.. His view of fairness is similar to mine.. or yours. This is the image that placates folks who rarely think about God and live lives devoid of anything spiritual.
Santa Clause God: This is the image embraced by many narcissistic leaning folks who believe that God exists to answer their prayers and to lavish them with good things. This thinking believes strongly in the promises of God when it is to their benefit to do so. I once wrote about this phenomenon with regard to healing here.
I am not sure where the above photo was taken or who believes that a burqa liberates a woman. This debate intrigues me but mostly I agree with the Western perspective that sees it as a form of repression hiding behind religion. In a more practical vein I think that a person should always show their face for things like drivers licenses.The issue is fascinating, and poses a true dilemma. On one hand the government should not be telling people what to wear. Dress is a potent expression of personal identity, it is very much like speech. To prohibit or restrict such expression is repugnant to anyone who values liberty.
Yet on the other hand it is hard to see covering of the face as anything but a tool of sexual repression hiding behind religion. Indeed, the burqa is a most obnoxious display of religious oppression, and it speaks to the ugly misogyny embedded in so much of middle eastern culture. Or so say the heart and mind of an American.
Is the repulsion and disgust with the veil merely Western prejudice? Or is it a rational response to the unacceptable dehumanization of the female? It is a question worth considering.
I think that this dialog from the movie gives you a sense of it:In this drama based on real-life events, director Clint Eastwood tells the story of what happened after the end of apartheid when newly elected president Nelson Mandela used the 1995 World Cup rugby matches to unite his people in South Africa.
Brenda Mazibuko: You're risking your political capital, you're risking your future as our leader.I found myself watching this movie and longing for such a leader as Nelson Mandela to arise in America. I got to wondering if law school might be an inferior path (to 27 years in prison) to national leadership. There were several awe-inspiring scenes in the movie that left me speechless. The actions and words of Nelson Mandela simply inspired me. The movie seemed to make me a believer in great leaders again.
Nelson Mandela: The day I am afraid to do that is the day I am no longer fit to lead.
Nelson Mandela: Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.
Etienne Feyder: When does he take a break?
Staff Member: He says he rested enough in prison.
Nelson Mandela: The Rainbow Nation starts here. Reconciliation starts here. Forgiveness starts here too.
I remember visiting Bell Labs in New Jersey in the late 80s.. before our organization was merged into theirs.. and what struck me was the many 8x12 framed photos of Distinguished Members of the Technical Staff that lined the halls.. being a tech-head.. especially the ilk that held a patent.. was an issue of honor in those hallowed halls.
That makes sense to me. It seems that such logic should be brought to bear once again to our modern day bureaucracies. Here are a few ideas about them and my thoughts:"It is hard to imagine today, but a hundred years ago bureaucracy meant something positive. It connoted a rational, efficient method of organization – something to take the place of the arbitrary exercise of power by authoritarian regimes. Bureaucracy brought the same logic to government work that the assembly line brought to the factory. With the hierarchical authority and functional a specialization, they made possible the efficient undertaking of large complex tasks."
“Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.” -Franz KafkaI think that.. as many Tea Partiers espouse.. a governmental revolution is needed again.. yet.. as Kafka indicates.. another bureaucracy would probably arise. Just think of the GOP's 1994 Contract with America and how, in less than a decade, Republicans became spendaholics far removed from those folks elected in 1994.
“Bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies.” -Honore de BalzacI think that this hits to the heart of the issue. A sense of hopelessness results when the system becomes bigger that the people who work in it. I feel that it is the way that many people view the government. And sadly many other entities, both secular and religious, reflect this sentiment of bureaucracy and pygmies.
“You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.” -Thomas SowellThis quote speaks to the sickness involved when the focus is taken off the objectives. I think that this might be the case in Haiti. Perhaps bureaucratic organizations have taken their eye off the suffering people of Haiti. Lets hope that, at least in this case, ways are found to bypass bureaucratic red tape and get aid to Haitians.
To honor him I thought that I would post a few of the things that this great man has said:In 1962 Nelson Mandela was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela served 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to multi-racial democracy in 1994. As president from 1994 to 1999, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation. In South Africa, Mandela is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan. Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.
I think that most folks think of assistance to the poor when they hear the word entitlement. According to this things that people pay into all of their life (i.e. Social Security and Medicare) and benefits that military veterans have earned are considered entitlements as well as things like Medicaid and unemployment benefits.If you add together mandatory programs and the net interest, then divide that by the amount spent on security programs, the ratio is 2.93 ... Here are some caveats. The appropriated security programs category includes the nuclear weapons portion of the Energy Department, the Department of Homeland Security, portions of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of State and other international programs. Defense programs account for about 80 percent of the total, but not the entire amount.
Meanwhile, if you total up the budget for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- the three big entitlements most familiar to Americans -- it accounts for about two-thirds of the budget for mandatory programs. The "other mandatory programs" category includes such things as veterans' benefits.
What do you think about when you hear the word debt? The national debt of the United States? Maybe something a bit more personal? Most people owe something to somebody. How often to do you get an invitation to consolidate your debt or to take avantage of low interest rates. I'd venture to say that most folks have debt on their car or house - most probably owe money to some kind of financial institution. Debt is a major issue."And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matthew 6:12)Interesting that Jesus uses the word "debt". These debts that we have been forgiven and which we forgive seem to be different than those we owe Mastercard. Here is the Greek word that is translated debts:
opheilēma ( ὀφείλημα) ... it means "that which is owed, a debt"So what is Jesus talking about? A few years ago I shared about forgiveness, and this verse in specific, with about twenty guys at our local jail. I asked them these questions:
What is the debt that we owe each other?I told them that the debt is love. We were created to love both God and man - it is our debt to our Creator and to each other. For many in that jail, and I imagine many of us, love is a difficult topic. When we think about our childhood we sometimes do not think about an environment of love. Our childhood years may have been difficult ones where we did not experience love from our parents or siblings. I think that love has always been an issue. Even at the proverbial dawn of humanity the issue of love came to bear.
What is the debt that we are told to forgive?
And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground. (Genesis 4:8-10)Cain did not understand his debt to his brother Abel. He did not understand that he was indeed "his brother's keeper" - he owed a debt of love to his brother ... he was created to care about Abel and be a blessing to him. So it is with us. In some sense, we become who we were created to be when we love. We are most like Jesus when we love. When we forgive our debtors we come to grips with those who should have loved us and did not. When we pray the Lord's prayer we acknowledge our debt to love God and to love each other. We also forgive (other's debt of love) in the same way that God has forgiven us our debt to love Him.
"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)Given this, how can we not forgive - how can we not pay this debt of love?
I opened my email spam folder this morning and found one of those messages from an ultra-conservative group that began with the words "Dear Patriot". Not sure what to make of that salutation.. do you think that they were referencing my three years of military service - a sure sign of patriotism.. or maybe they know that I have faithfully paid my taxes all of my life - hmmm.. maybe some would not consider that a qualification? So I have to wonder what kinds of things make a 21st century American a patriot? Here is what one person thinks:A patriot is a good citizen and one who cares for his or her country. One who says the pledge with pride and loves their country. A patriot is one who defends its country and regards their selves and defenders to the U.S. A patriot is the one you see around your neighborhood picking up trash and doing community service!Not a lot of help there.. wonder what they are thinking when they say "defends its country"? Could they mean that only soldiers are patriots? Here is a recent response from a soldier:
“To me, I personally feel that being a patriot is loving your country and being willing to make sacrifices to ensure it remains or becomes prosperous.”Loving your country enough to make sacrifices? Perhaps that is what the first response meant when they spoke of picking up trash in your neighborhood? Maybe being a patriot is all about making sacrifices for your country.. certainly military service would be included.. yet I am wondering what other things would be included as a sacrifice made for your country?
Are you, like me, a bit confused by this? Is there really a need for a dot-xxx suffix? Think about it? The new domain will simply be an extension of existing dot-com domains.. which by the way will still exist and still contain objectionable "material". The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is not a policing agency and will not force existing pornographic dot-com domains to convert to the new dot-xxx suffixes.The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers on Friday agreed to move forward on a long-standing proposal from a Florida company to create a specialized dot-xxx suffix for adult entertainment Web sites. But the plan upset much of the adult entertainment industry. It joined hands with religious groups in lobbying against it, arguing that the new domains would lead to regulation and marginalization.
For all the hand-wringing by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger about how there's almost nothing left to cut in the state budget except services to children, the aged and the destitute, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year on handouts to business. That's despite the lack of evidence that some of these programs keep employers in the state, lure employers from out of state or are cost-effective in any general way. The governor is asking the Legislature to take such draconian steps as eliminating CalWORKS, the state's principal family welfare program (serving 1.1 million children), and downsizing child care and mental health programsSeems that there are real choices to be made these days about what kind of welfare our governments will support. Consider this excerpt from a piece titled Imperium Watch: Are the Unemployed Pawns?:
And nobody has ever explained why Republicans who supported the outrageous levels of deficit the Bush administration ran up on off-budget wars and tax breaks for the rich now scream "Deficit" when people need extended benefits to keep from having to live on the street. Meanwhile, unemployment checks help the economy because they're spent quickly and close to home, in businesses that hire workers and pay taxes.The article speaks to the hesitancy of some, who once supported corporate bailouts, to now extend unemployment benefits for people struggling to find work. It reminds me that Main Street needs a lobbyist.. Wall Street has a lot of them.. those other industries shown in the cartoon have more than their share of bribers.. I mean lobbyists. It is sad that this need exists. It is sad that money talks so loudly in governments both state and federal. It is sad that our elected officials are not our most vocal advocates.
Disabled Marine Jake Sully travels to planet Pandora to become an avatar, ingratiate himself with the natives and help Americans mine lucrative unobtainium. But he finds himself in an interstellar conflict after falling for Na'vi warrior Neytiri.It will be no surprise for those of you who know me as "Bob the sci-fi guy" that I really liked the movie! I liked the CGI special effects but was surprised to find the story so engaging.. it reminded me a bit of "Dances with Wolves" - the Kevin Costner flick that told of a man who was changed as he lived amongst Native Americans. I liked the spiritual part of the story as well.. even though it was much different than my spiritual story I liked that the Na'vi (the native Pandorans) understood that there was something bigger than themselves.
“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Freedom has never been cheap. Those who face down tyranny have always been courageous people. This American Independence Day is a day to take a few moments and reflect on the sacrifices of those who have given all to secure freedom and for those who yet fight for freedom all over the world.“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forever more.”This American will celebrate the day with family. How will you celebrate your freedom today? If you are a free person you might want to celebrate even if you are not an American. And if you are not free today we stand with you praying for your freedom.
There is just nothing like jumping back into blogging after a few days off with a controversial topic like abortion. In May Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix declared that a nun had excommunicated herself by advising that a seriously ill woman could have an abortion - I have been thinking about that for a bit and wondering why a bishop would publicly criticize a nun that way.If it still hasn't got a functioning brain, it's not really a human life. It's life (but then again, a sperm is made of live cells too, and no one considers it a person), it may even be human life (your hair is too, and cutting it is not considered murder), but it's not A human life. It's not a person.I think that many hold similar views. To balance things out a bit, here is an excerpt from an old National Review article titled When Life Begins:
Your life began, as did the life of every other human being, when the fusion of egg and sperm produced a new, complete, living organism — an embryonic human being. You were never an ovum or a sperm cell, those were both functionally and genetically parts of other human beings — your parents. But you were once an embryo, just as you were once an adolescent, a child, an infant, and a fetus. By an internally directed process, you developed from the embryonic stage into and through the fetal, infant, child, and adolescent stages of development and ultimately into adulthood with your determinateness, unity, and identity fully intact. You are the same being — the same human being — who once was an embryo.The article goes on to speak to the real issues around when life begins.. I think that this goes to the heart of the abortion issue:
It is true that each of us, in the embryonic and fetal stages of development, were dependent on our mothers, but we were not maternal body parts. Though dependent, we were distinct individual human beings. That is why physicians who treat pregnant women know that they are caring not for one patient, but for two.
Why, then, do we seem so far from a consensus on questions of abortion and embryo-destructive research?Abortion is a very complex issue - my views on it have changed slightly over time.. but that phrase, "the value we ascribe to human beings", is a haunting one. Going back to the nun in Arizona - I do not know her but I imagine that she has a very high regard and value for human life.. and perhaps she made a prayerful decision to value the life of the mother over that of her baby?
Perhaps because the debate over when human life begins has never been about the biological facts. It has been about the value we ascribe to human beings at the dawn of their lives. When we debate questions of abortion, assisted reproductive technologies, human embryonic stem cell research and human cloning, we are not really disagreeing about whether human embryos are human beings. The scientific evidence is simply too overwhelming for there to be any real debate on this point. What is at issue in these debates is the question of whether we ought to respect and defend human beings in the earliest stages of their lives.
