United States of Jesus Christ

In this little experiment that we call America there is the freedom of religion as one of the many foundation blocks of our entire society. Added to that foundation is our freedom of speech. Toss in the Bill of Rights and you have a firm base to build your nation on. Then you add in all the decisions by the Supreme Court that becomes the support beams to hold up the roof.

When it comes to the Presidency in the Unites States it is not a bad thing for the President to have a strong sense of faith and belief that there is a higher power but you can not govern by it. Square peg, round hole. With such a diverse population we are not a society of one size fits all and when it comes to religion that little theory can or should implode a candidacy for President. We may be a nation under God but we are also one nation with many variations under God. Over at the Washington Post they have this interesting piece of Reverend Huckabee’s version of faith and the Presidency.

Huckabee Stands by 'Christ' Comment

By LIZ SIDOTI
The Associated Press
Sunday, December 30, 2007; 5:19 PM

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Mike Huckabee, a Republican relying on support from religious conservatives in Thursday's hard-fought presidential caucuses, on Sunday stood by a decade-old comment in which he said, "I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ."

In a television interview, the ordained Southern Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor made no apologies for the 1998 comment made at a Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Salt Lake City.

"It was a speech made to a Christian gathering, and, and certainly that would be appropriate to be said to a gathering of Southern Baptists," Huckabee said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

He gave the speech the same year he endorsed the Baptist convention's statement of beliefs on marriage that "a wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ." Huckabee and his wife, Janet, signed a full-page ad in USA Today in support of the statement with 129 other evangelical leaders.

Snip - Cut - Co-Pay

In the NBC interview, Huckabee, a longtime opponent of legalized abortion, said he does not believe that women should be punished for undergoing the procedure, but that doctors might need to face sanctions.

"I don't know that you'd put him in prison, but there's something to me untoward about a person who has committed himself to healing people and to making people alive who would take money to take an innocent life and to make that life dead," Huckabee said.

He also argued that his emphasis on his Christian beliefs does not mean he's alienating atheists. He said, if elected, he would have no problem appointing atheists to government posts. - Washington Post

Where do I start when it comes to Governor Reverend Huckabee? I’m just guessing that Mike Huckabee believes that God made women with smaller feet than men so they could get that much closer to the kitchen sink to do the dishes. For that matter all of you woman that were beaten or abused by an abusive testosterone bag of bones should have pulled a Tammy Wynette and stand by your man. Bruises heal, bones mend and you probably did something wrong anyway. In his mind or in his teaching woman are and will always be second class citizens and that is just simply wrong. Then there is the added point that if Hillary is elected then Bill is really the President. That hurts my head to even think how that would work.

Roe vs. Wade, under Huckabee, nope. Kiss it good bye under the cause of the Christian Right. All you pro choice people that think your body is your own will need to line up for womb inspections under Das Fuhrer Huckabee. You better start praying that your babies didn’t have sharp finger or toe nails. Any scratches on the sacred chalice and life building organ will be cause for lethal injection. He isn’t totally against the death penalty but I could be wrong.

Then he pulls a Paul Pot from Cambodia and locks up all of the OBGYN doctors that might have performed an abortion. Then they can focus on all of the Lawyers that fought for and defended Roe vs. Wade and lock their asses up too. He will pay for it first by the added tax on one bedroom trailer home sales for back alley locations that will skyrocket as Planned Parenthood and other such medical offices are shut down. Then he might just add a wire coat hanger tax but that is a little to graphic to explain.

Mike Huckabee is standing by his statements on bringing America back to Christ but he can’t see the difference between Americans and America. No two American’s are alike and where one person finds abortion totally disgusting and wants the law changed, that same person believes that the death penalty is appropriate for crimes against our citizens. Pick one but you can not have it both ways if you swear to God above to be righteous.

As for all you Atheists or other icky religious persona non grata, the Post Office will be plastered with Huckabee appointees. Don’t even think about SCOTUS. Those positions will be reserved for zealous religious proponents of bringing America back to Christ.

By the way, screw all you Jew’s too from the Huckabee campaign. Merry Christmas, Happy Easter and all of the other religious holy days we as Christians will stuff down your throat under a Huckabee administration.

Thomas Jefferson is rolling in his grave at about fifteen thousand RPM’s right now. Look up for yourself on Google why he wrote the separation of church and state. Then look up whom he wrote it for and against.

Voting for Mike Huckabee is voting against all that America was founded on. Your right to believe in the choice of faith you want or to ignore faith entirely. Huckabee is hoping that many people will take their faith to the poll and elect him as America’s beacon of light back to Christ but I personally do not believe Jesus ever wanted a political office that proposed hate or judgment on anyone he loved. All you non believers included.

Our nation and the foundation it was built on will stand strong when we have a President that believes that his or her faith can not come first when governing. We are a house built with many products called faith and the roof needs to be replaced. Mike Huckabee is not Jesus Christ, I know Jesus Christ Sir. And you Sir are no Jesus Christ.

I’ll probably go to hell for that last one but I could not resist.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Michael Linn Jones.com and Bring It ON!

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Beware Candidates Speaking On God's Behalf

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES

The Iowa Caucus is soon approaching, and it's getting ugly. Mind you, while Hillary and Barack are poking around for the jugular, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney seem involved in a religious war for the religious vote. Whatever that is. And they're not poking, but using Medievil battle gear.

I have to admit that God has never spoken to me directly. By my religious upbringing I hold firm to the belief that I can talk directly to God anytime I want. Governor Huckabee is a Baptist. So am I. Sort of.

Growing up we attended a small church regularly. One day my Old Man and the pastor got into it about a mutual acquantance who was Jewish. The pastor held to the belief that Jews were not white people (???) so that was the end of our attending church. The Old Man and my Mom made it quite clear that as we grew we would encounter people of many different faiths. That to condemn someone different from us was NOT what the Lord had in mind. Mom lost a brother fighting the nazis and held very strong feelings about Jews having had enough mud thrown at them.

So I evolved in the sense that is actually the most accurate description of the difference in faith and denomination:

Jews don't recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

Protestants don't recognize the Pope as Christ's representative on earth.

And Baptists don't recognize each other in a strip joint or a liquor store.

Now Governor Huckabee is going after Mormons just to drive a wedge into the candidacy of Mitt Romney. Something about Jesus and satan being brothers according to the Latter Day Saints. When I read that I thought "eww boy" here we go again.

Here's what I have to say about Mormonism; something that Mitt Romney should have said himself in his recent speech but dared not to. It is this: Mormonism is a legitimate faith. It addresses that which we cannot see here on earth; that greatest of mysteries as to what lies on the other side of earthly death.

Huckabee seems to be making it clear he will bring HIS faith into the White House, while Romney doing the same poses a dire threat to us all. Huckabee frightens me because to garner support from what is known as the "religious right" he must exclude those who are not.

With all due respect, we've had 7 years of that bullshit. As one who never had much desire to drink alcohol the liquor store issue never arose. As for the strip joints, well that's kind of pointless too since I couldn't see what was on display anyway. Nevertheless, in true Baptist fashion I believe I'm being punished just for WANTING to have all the fun I never did.

A President Huckabee assures voters that he is a pious man who would follow the Lord. I'm not doubting him personally, but as the saying goes, I've seen that movie already. In fact I'm still being forced to watch it.

For a man to swear on the Bible that he would preserve, protect, and defend something that he refers to later as "nothing but a goddamned piece of paper" goes beyond political rhetoric. It is a betrayal of an oath. What words can be used to describe a "compassionate conservative" who is blind to little things like wounded soldiers being charged for meals in a military hospital, or wounded soldiers living in conditions that would shame most decent people?

Preaching one's own piety poses challenges to reality sometimes. With Jim Bakker or Jimmy Swaggart we've had good examples of the preacher falling for the very sins they rail against on Sunday.

With President Bush we've had a man who professes a deep belief in God yet believes in expediency (and the advancement of his economic class) more. So be it. That's political reality, etc.

Just don't turn to Jesus or God at election time and claim that He is in your corner. If you want to preach about something, how about a plan to wean us off oil and finding alternative sources of clean energy? Or how about restoring some semblance of what Lincoln said about a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people?"

After 8 years of one "deeply religious" man the nation is in need of something beyond smoke and mirrors. We want the real McCoy, not some glad-handler walking into the White House, wrapped in the American flag and carrying a Cross.

Just get on with it, boys, and leave God out of this. I can speak for Him as well as you can, and I figure He's getting tired of being dragged into schoolyard brawls.

Oh yeah....and stop offering us goodies. Offer us challenges; it'd be a nice change. The challenges are there awaiting someone with the gumption to actually address them.

The people might be more ready to tackle them than you think.
***************************
Cross-posted at Michaellinnjones.com

Stuck in the Middle

In every person there is the ability to do what is right and what is wrong. In politics it is the same thing. When people claim to be a left leaning liberal but they believe in the death penalty then they are not really a true liberal. In the same breath, when people claim to be a right leaning conservative but do not back the death penalty it does not make them a true right side of the aisle persona. On many issues we as a people can agree upon but the last couple of elections have labeled moderate Democrats and Republicans as either with us or against us. Some of us square pegs will never fit in that round hole if you know what I mean.

Stuck in the middle is what we are. I am a died in the wool person of liberal thoughts and actions but not all of my actions or reactions to any issue is what a true liberal is. When I see a police officer killed in the line of duty, I want to see the animal that killed them face the same sentence. I believe that life is sacred but in the same sense I don’t believe that anyone other than the woman pregnant should have a say as to how she deals with her personal situation. Some people including many churches would call me to task on that but in most instances it would be a man telling me how a woman has no rights when it comes to her body.

Religion in America is part of our political process but not part of our laws. Brilliance in our founding fathers was not lacking when they wrote the Constitution. If our nation was founded on religious reasons then we would always be at war to defend our nations faith. Separation of religion from our form of government is necessary to ensure that all of our people across American have the opportunity to live free. You as a person may not care for a particular lifestyle or choice of religious belief or lack there of but in the same context, they may not care for your choices either.

Stuck in the middle. Could it be that we are not really stuck in the middle but more open minded to many sides of America? While you shop down at the corner market you pick the items you trust but every once in a while you buy a new item. Same thing goes with politics and picking a candidate. If the new detergent will take out the stains and pains of the last decade or two then I for one am willing to give it a try. Sitting in the middle or moderate voter seats gives you the better view for the movie that is Presidential elections. You are not blinded by hypocrisy or religious dogma on who should be President. You have the upper hand because you can make decisions based on what you feel and not what you are told to feel as a person.

Check out the positions of all of the candidates and give the guy or gal in the number four or five spot (according to the MSM) a look.

Joe Biden, John Mcain, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Ron Paul deserve to be looked at in the election of our next President.

Then again, so does Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney and Rudi Giuliani. The only difference is that some of them are claiming to have the election already locked up and in the bag with overflowing campaign war chests.

Have you voted yet? I haven’t!

Papamoka

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Religion and Politics is Not like Honey and Bees

Picture courtesy of the White House

No matter who you think you are backing for President of the United States of America you really never know whom the real person is. Running for the highest office in the land is supposed to be of high morals and even higher expectations. I’m beginning to think that that is the problem with the current process. Is it not ironic to think that a candidate for President should mirror the values of all of the people and all of our faiths?

In the upcoming election for President there has been placed an abundance of attention on the candidates religion or practice there of. We even have a Reverend running for President in this latest round of political showmanship and who’s who on the Marquee of politics today that we call a ballot. Who is going to question a Reverend’s faith in God and weekly participation in a religious service? You should and that is who!

Over at the Pew Forum they have an interesting little piece on politics and religion and this little paragraph has my noggin a rocking…

The United States has a long tradition of separating church from state, but an equally powerful inclination to mix religion and politics. Throughout our nation's history, great political and social movements – from abolition to women's suffrage to civil rights to today's struggles over abortion and gay marriage – have drawn upon religious institutions for moral authority, inspirational leadership and organizational muscle. But for the past generation, religion has been woven more deeply into the fabric of partisan politics than ever before. - The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

In politics and in the main stream media they keep bringing up the question of religion when it comes to our election process for President. It confuses me as to why they do that. If you were to walk up to anyone on the street and ask what that persons religion and practices are you better duck fast because either a shopping bag or a fist is coming your way. Why should it be any different for someone running for President?

We are a nation of many religions and many political factions and ideologies that would make a Suduko champion give up. In the cloth and puzzle that is America there is all of our religions and all of our political belief’s. Looking at any individual thread under a microscope only shows you the make up of that one strand that really isn’t America. Back away from the microscope and sit about twenty rows back on the fifty yard line and right in front of your eyes is the giant quilt that is America. All the faiths, belief, politics, ethnicity and personal choices are melded together to form something beautiful and a pleasure to the spirit of its people.

If our government is based on freedom of religion, freedom of speech and separation of Church and State, then why do people insist that religion should be a top priority for selecting our President today. If our Presidency is to govern to the Constitution as intended, but given the current religious litmus test to do so, then most of our past President’s would never have passed that test. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would have been just a blip in our nations history as just a General that won a war and Jefferson was just an innovative thinker that lived and dreamed beyond his years.

Religion and politics do not mix for a reason. In one venue the ultimate truth is the ultimate truth and in the other is the combined agreement of man choosing the lesser of two evils that becomes the law of man. It isn’t perfect but it is what we call democracy.

Big difference, HUGE!

We should not vote based on our faith but vote our continued experience that is the American experiment. Faith in change is part of the never ending cycle of politics in America and that you can count on.

Papamoka

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