Tis The Year For Two Christmases

Every four years, we have Christmas twice a year. In fact, every four years we have Christmas on consecutive months. For each of those Christmases, we are presented with a portrayal of mythical characters who are said to bring us great joy by the gifts they will give us. These mythical characters appeal to children regardless of their actual ages. And for those Christmases, the heightened expectations for the coming of each of those mythical characters lasts for around a few months at the most as the gifts they promise rarely meet our expectations.

When we think about how those running for office appeal to us, Election Day becomes another Christmas because the candidates talk to us as if we're children. They seem to believe that all they have to do is to promise us the stars while painting their opponents as  a real life Grinch using language that an elementary school student could understand. And the reason why they do that is because it works--and that is on each one of us. Even if there are individuals who dislike such appeals, it works to varying degrees on most of us. 

In addition, because we Americans have, for the most part, refused to show that we are the home of the brave by refusing to vote for third party candidates, we end up with a choice between voting for the them candidate or the not them candidate where the best qualification of each candidate is that they are not like their opponent. And since the candidates from each major political party only have to show that they are not like the other candidate, the standards met by our 2 major Presidential nominees have been consistently dropping with each election.

And so we are constantly bombarded by political ads that show the candidates from the 2 major political parties speaking before adoring crowds. These crowds are so amorous one would think that these candidates are real life, messianic figures. But in reality, the candidates from both major political parties are merely playing the role of Santa Clause. And because we don't want to pay any more attention to the politics of our democracy than we absolutely have to, that suits us fine. 

Of course there are additional reasons why we get the political candidates that we get. It is because our politicians reflect us, the people whom they seek to serve, exploit, and/or rule over. George Carlin said as much when he said that selfish, ignorant voters elect selfish, ignorant public officials. And so if we want better candidates, we, as a society, need to curb our selfishness and work at becoming more educated and informed. Or as Martin Luther King Jr said, that we need to change from caring more about gadgets, profit motives, and property rights to carrying more about people. But good luck with that in a Consumer Society where, as King warned us against, we look to gain too much personal significance from our salaries and material goods than by how much we have helped those in need and have, in positive ways, influenced society.

One other note should be sounded here. While the Democrats campaign as being vanguards for those in the Middle Class rather than empowering workers and those in the lower economic classes, the Trumpublicans campaign on narrow self-interests and celebrating the lack of self-restraint. Our choice continues to be how I have described it before in at least one other time, that the working, not necessarily campaign, agendas of both political parties are putting us on a track to self-destruction. The difference between the two major political parties is that the Dems are acting like a local train while the Repubs are acting like an express train. And so the real difference between the two major political parties is which one will cause us to self-destruct sooner than the other.

These Are Not Your Father's Political Parties

Oldsmobile use to have a commercial slogan that emphasized the changes made over time in their cars. The slogan: 'Not Your Father's Oldsmobile.' 

That slogan could be readapted to fit both of our major political parties because both parties have undergone significant changes over the past 160 years.

For example, the Democratic Party, as some conservatives are fond of pointing out, use to be the political party of slavery and then segregation. But, as those same conservatives are fond of overlooking, today's Democrats are far stronger promoters of equality than today's Republicans. In fact, the change started to occur around 1964 and 1965 with the passing of the Civil and Voting Rights Acts. In fact, out of the 42 Republican House of Representative congressmen who either voted against, voted present, or did not vote at all during the passage of the the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 29 were from states that could not be associated with the Confederacy. Out of the 100 Democrats who did not vote to pass the Civil Rights Act, only 7 were from non Confederate states. And, in fact, the 1964 Republican Presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater, voted against the Civil Rights Act in the Senate. Thus a Congressperson's region, rather than political party, served as the best predictor for those who voted on the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Both of our major political parties have changed significantly in my lifetime--I still remember the Kennedy-Nixon Presidential campaign. That was burnt into my memory because the mom, along with her twin sister, were very strong and loyal GOP supporters.

But we don't have to go that far back to see how both of our major political parties have changed. And over the past 20 to 30 years, while the Democrats became more business friendly under President Clinton, the Republicans have changed the most especially since the 2016 election. The Republican Party that existed when Mitt Romney ran as the Republican nominee for President is all but extinct now that Trump has become the leader of the party. And nothing could point out the dramatic changes in the Republican over the years than to compare how the Republicans reacted to the legal problems of Richard Nixon with how the are reacting now to the legal problems of Donald Trump.

For example, the most remembered question that occurred during the Senate Watergate hearings came from a Republican, Howard Baker, from Tennessee. His question: 'What did the president know and when did he know it?' During Watergate, there was a true bipartisan effort to get at the truth. Political tribalism did not rear its ugly, partisan head during those hearings. And because of that, there was good evidence that our government was functional, if not working, despite the failures of President Nixon.

It cannot be said that the same objectivity and lack of partisanship exists today. And that could be said both of those elected Republican officials in the House of Representatives nor of the voters who put them in office. And this is despite the fact that the crimes of President Nixon were much more obscured and took significantly more effort to find and reveal than the crimes of Trump. 

And so what has a been the response of the majority of Republicans elected to the House of Representatives to the criminal indictments of former President Trump by grand juries, not elected officials or political or judicial appointees? It has been to gaslight the public. Those Republicans who are remaining loyal to Trump are claiming that Trump is a vicim of political persecution and are also claiming that President Biden is the real guilty culprit  in this saga. And that is despite the fact that thus far, the Republicans have failed to produce any court worthy evidence that implicated Biden in any crimes while Trump has been indicted by a few grand juries.

So what we have in the House of Representatives, we are not speaking here to the situation in the Senate, is a highly contentious and partisan set of Republicans who are looking more to win elections and conquer their political rivals than to search for the truth over the allegations made about President Trump. And who do we have to blame for this mess? We need to look no farther than our closest non-magic mirror for the answer. At least that is what George Carlin has stated in some of his comedy routines. That because those officials were raised in American homes, received American educations, and were voted in by real Americans; it is the public's fault for this political dilemma.

And one of the driving factors in why the American voting public has voted in these Republicans in the House of Representatives is the widespread embracing of conspiracy theories that shed a negative light on the Dems or a positive light on the Repubs. And here, we should note that one of the factors that significantly contributes to the acceptance of conspiracy theories is the desire to show that one's own group, the Republican Party in this case, is superior to all of the other political parties (click here for the reference). Of course there are other factors involved such as the anxiety level of people and how confusing the times are. But I do want to focus  on how the desire to show that one's own group is superior to others makes us more vulnerable to accepting conspiracy theories. 

This desire to show that one's own group is superior to others shows that many of us are struggling to have or maintain an adequate personal sense of significance in today's world. In other words, one of  the real battles in encountering a person who has eagerly believed in conspiracy theories is in a person's battle for feeling significant. And so challenging  a person about a given conspiracy theory with the facts can be counterproductive. That is because we are using facts to tell a person who has serious doubts about themselves that not only are they wrong, but they have been fooled.

And so the Republican Party is messed up because many of its constituents are battling their own personal issues of feeling insignificant. And many of the leaders and influencers for the current Republican Party are not only well aware of that weakness, they are exploiting it. Also, we need to remember that the Democratic Party is not so hot either because it has its own sins. And all that points to is how we the public are vulnerable to being manipulated and thus exploited by those who perhaps understand things about us that we are unwilling to admit to ourselves.

Necessary Splits

 Should things hold as they are now, then the following separations are necessary.

First, should Trump retain control of the Republican Party after Biden is inaugurated, then regular Republicans must leave the party.  They must leave the Republican Party in the hands of the Trumpublicans and form their own party.

Why must they leave? It is for the sake of integrity. Under Trump and the Trumpublicans, reality has been under constant assault. And what the Trumpublicans consider to be real today depends on what serves the needs of the President. This assault on reality started early during Trump Administration with the resorting to 'alternative facts' by a Trump spokesperson. It has continued throughout his Administration down to what is true about the Covid-19 virus and the election. 

The attack on reality has been aided by cults. By cult, I am referring to any pro-Trump group that has its members believing that the only news sources they can go to are those that support Trump. Certainly Trump has his own cult. But there seems to be a multitude of Trump supporting religiously conservative Christian groups that operate as cults as well. As a result, we have a number of Trumpublicans, both rank-and-file members as well as office holders, who cannot accept any reality that does not favor Trump in some way shape or form. Such people easily and passionately latch onto conspiracy theories and false individual claims about a number of subjects especially the election.

Should Trump retain control over the Republican Party after Biden becomes President, Republicans with integrity must leave their party and form their own political party so that their conservatism can be heard by the public and be represented in government with integrity. I say that not as a fan of political conservatism, but as someone who wants people who hold to political conservatism to be well represented in government.

On the flip side, Biden's nomination to be the Democratic Party's Presidential candidate should tell the progressives of that Party that the Democratic Party establishment is far more interested in the votes provided by progressives than their ideas.

Like the Republican Party, the Democratic Party is controlled by the wealth of business interests, especially those of Wall Street. That reality should have become clear by now since Clinton was President with his repeal of Glass-Steagall and promotion of NAFTA. That should have been clear by now by Obama's refusal to criminally prosecute the Wall Street execs whose fraud significantly contributed to the economic collapse of 2008 and his attempt to fast track the TPP. And that should have been clear by the Democratic Party's treatment of Bernie Sanders's attempts to earn the Party's Presidential nominee.

Progressives in the Democratic Party cannot hope to fight the influence that money has over the Democratic Party. While progressives could easily protest and oppose Trump's appointments of corporate lobbyists and executives to important government positions, they should also be significantly riled by Biden's corporate appointments. After all, wasn't it credibly reported that Biden told Wall Street supporters that 'nothing would change' should he be elected?

Certainly there will be some cosmetic changes in policies with the Biden Presidency. And we will be relieved from Trump's attempts at strongman rule over the nation once Biden is inaugurated. But what won't change is the general direction of the nation under a Biden Presidency. That general direction's destination is that of furthering corporate rule over the nation. With a Biden Presidency, that general direction will undergo a major facelift. The new facade will be more appealing, more attractive to look at. But the direction will not be any different than that of direction pursued by President Trump.

Again, should Trump retain control of the Republican Party, we need splits in both parties. We need exoduses of those who are more purist in their ideologies from our two major political parties. Without those separations from the two major parties, we will can only be assured of worse and worse major party candidates for President.

Another Malware Trait Of Our Democracy

Though America prides itself on being a democracy, it shouldn't. Its democracy is weak if it exists at all. And it is plagued with at least 3 malware operating traits that we seem too arrogantly stubborn to even acknowledge let alone address.

The first malware trait of our democracy is that we employ a lazy democracy. Democracy for us is voting every x number of years for officials whom we hope to be able to ignore until the next election. If what these officials do does not negatively interfere with our pursuit of happiness and wealth, we are content. If not, generally speaking, we store up our anger for the next election. 

The second malware trait of our democracy is that it is bipolar. That is we keep switching between the leadership of one of two political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. This puts these two parties in a co-dependent, job security relationship where their failures ensure future work for the other party. The so-called independent voter is a bipolar voter, while those who vote for one party or the other find themselves choosing between political tribalism and voter resignation.

Now if those two malware traits were not bad enough, we have another one that sabotages democracy by ensuring that only an elite-centered rule emerges despite, or perhaps because of, our democratic processes. This third malware trait has more to do with the behavior of our 2 major political parties. To different degrees, our two major political parties act as proxies dressed up in vanguard clothing.

So what does it mean for a political party to act as a proxy? It means that its actions and what it advocates are directed by others. And here, in particular, those directing our political parties are not the voters, but are one or a few small interest groups. This consolidates political power so that our government employs elite-centered rule that revolves around the interests and welfare of a few "exceptional" people who call the shots (click here for America's democratic status).

Both of our major political parties serve financial elites before they serve us. One party serves these elites more than the other, but both are pretty much under the control of the financial elites in our nation--here, we should note that sometimes there is a conflict of interest between different sets of elites.

So we have both political parties whose main purpose is follow the directives of our nation's financial elites when writing and passing legislation. Why would we voters support such political parties with our votes? It is because disguise their allegiances by putting on their vanguard clothing over their proxy clothing. 

What is a vanguard? The Meriam-Webster Dictionary defines a vanguard as 'the forefront of an action or movement' (click here for the reference). The vanguard of a political group is a small group that sets the pace for the larger group while claiming to represent the larger group. And it also markets itself as a vicarious leader in that how one reacts to the vanguard is interpreted how one reacts to the larger group.

A perfect historical example of a vanguard was seen in Lenin and the Bolsheviks as they led, or hijacked, the Russian Revolution. Those who opposed them, even if they were fellow Socialists,  were then portrayed and treated as if they opposed the Revolution and its people. This mentality caused a great number of purges among the Socialists in Russia.

Now it's not like we see purges in our political parties here. But both the Republican and Democratic Parties have portrayed themselves as vanguards of different movements. The Republicans claim to be the vanguard for the anti-abortion segment of the Pro-life movement as well as for American traditionalists. The Democrats claim to be the vanguard for minorities and human rights. However, both parties act more as proxies for the financial elites than as vanguards though being a vanguard can sometimes take a little away from being proxy. That last point helps explain the difference in how much more the Republicans act as a proxy for our nation's financial elites than how the Democrats act.

The problem with relying on the vanguard, however, is that it still  utilizes an elite-centered rule political structure. Vanguards rely on a few to represent/rule over many. And any elite-centered rule political structure allows for minimal input and participation by the masses.

I suppose that when the masses are so interested in or, by necessity, forced to focus on, making a living, they are prohibited from being more politically involved. As a result, depending on vanguards makes a certain amount of sense. The problem is that such a setup carries all of the baggage that the elite-centered rule of allowing vanguards involves. And since being proxies are these political parties' alter-egos, being vanguards enables these parties to pretend to care for the masses while they cater to the needs and even whims of the few. Certainly we don't see the kind of control over dissent exercised by the example of a vanguard which was mentioned earlier. We don't see the purges within either political party that Lenin instituted among the Socialists of his day. But we see half-hearted, if that much, representations of the masses by those claiming to be vanguards while at the same time our participation and voices are greatly reduced.

The Trump Presidency has moved more and more people to call for change. But the change begins with us. The change means that we must become more politically active than just voting every x number of years. The change includes a rejection of our bipolar democracy by investing in and voting for 3rd party candidates. And the change also involves refusing to let our political parties act as vanguards for the groups we belong to. If we make these changes, then perhaps our political parties will not just shed the vanguard apparel, it will forsake its proxy roles and look to represent the general public rather than some elite sector of the population.

The Pro-Life Hypocrisy Of The GOP

Being pressed for time because of a busy schedule, it is useful to write this review on an article that is a must read and needs little to no further explanation. John Pavlovitz (click here for his short self description) on how the GOP is political party that is not really interested in being pro-life. Rather, that political party's concern for human life outside of the womb shows the duplicity of its claim to be pro-life.

If the GOP is not pro-life, then what is it? Pavlovitz describes it perfectly in the following sentence (click here for the article):

The unborn are easy to advocate for because you can idealize them into something palatable to you, something benign and comfortable, something in your own image.

Pavlovitz concisely and correctly points out the inconsistencies between the GOP's pro-life claims, which, btw, are based solely on its stand against abortion, with its lack of concern for the lives of others, especially those of non-whites. This selective approach of choosing which victims to defend is an age-old undertaking. It consists of helping only those one can canonize as being guiltless. Perhaps that is one reason why groups from the poor to immigrants to Black Lives Matter to Palestinians and others do not merit any sympathy from the GOP. For faults can be found in each of those groups. And for as long as the GOP can be associated with protecting little angels, they have a lock on the votes of many a ignorant religiously conservative  Christian voter. 

Because faults can be found in most other groups of victims, there remains not compelling reason to do what requires the most energy of any human task: to change. Thus, doing something to save the lives of those other than unborn children is not necessary for many a religiously conservative Christian. That is because changing might mean abandoning materialistic riches or admitting sins. So being able to find faults in victims excuses many of these Christians from changing.

I won't say anything else about the article. There are a couple of minor points he makes with which I could disagree. But Pavlovitz's article is one of the best articles I've read and I prefer people reading his article instead reading whatever insights I could offer.


 

ONIM For August 7, 2017

If you are not sure about the validity of a news story linked to below, you can use  mediabiasfactcheck.com to check out the credibility of the source of most of the stories linked to here.

Christian News

• Anglican Priests Sacked For Being Gay Must Be Reinstated, Kenya Court Rules -- Christian Today (UK)
• British Churches Urged To 'Step Up' Response To Refugee Crisis -- Christian Today (UK)
• 'Diminishing America': Major Evangelical Group Attacks Trump-Based Immigration Act -- Christian Today (UK)
• Christians Against A Godless State? Another Evangelical Takes His Conscience To Court -- Christian Today (UK)
• How God Keeps It Together -- Christianity Today
• 1 In 10 Protestant Churches Experience Embezzlement -- Christianity Today
• The No. 1 Reason Churches End Up In Court Is No Longer Child Abuse -- Christianity Today
• Trump's Evangelical Advisors Discussed Transgender Ban At White House Meeting -- Religion News Service
• The Nightmare Of Sam Brownback -- Religion News Service
• 'They Kept Us As Slaves': AP Reveals Claims Against Church -- Religion News Service
• Joel Hunter To Step Down From Orlando Megachurch -- Religon News Service
• Serving God By Suing Others: Inside The Christian Conservative Legal Movement -- Religion News Service
• Why Jesus Says He Is The Only Way To Heaven -- Christian Crier
• How Much Should I Share With The Poor -- Plough
• Top Trump Administration Officials Flock To Bible Study Classes At White House -- Chicago Tribune
• Suffering, Lament, And The Grace Of God -- Mortification Of Spin
• The Fundamentalist Christian Chokehold On America -- Huffington Post
• How Some Evangelical Christians Are Complicit In The Cruelty Of Politics -- Dallas Morning News
• Pope Francis' Allies Accuses US Catholics Of Forming An 'Alliance of Hate' To Back Trump -- Independent

World News

• The Exploding DNC IT Scandal Is As Crazy As Fiction -- Forbes
• From The Englightenment To The Dark Ages: How New Atheism Slid Into The "Alt-Right" -- Salon
• Two Dead, Four Wounded In M-16 Shooting At German Nightclub -- Yahoo News
• Aid To Trump Says Military Exists To "Kill People And Blow Stuff Up," Not To Include Transgender Soldiers -- Yahoo News
• Scientists, Theologians Ponder If New Biological Findings Are More Compatible With Religion -- Religion News Service
• Jared Kushner's Company Embroiled In Yet Another NYC Real Estate Dispute -- Yahoo News
• My Party Is In Denial About Donald Trump -- Politico
• Trump Supporters Attack Republican Jeff Flake For Slamming President, Defending Obama -- Newsweek
• The Most Polluted Cities In The World, Ranked -- CBS News
• Judge Orders FBI To Probe Records Of 1950s Program That Purged Federal LGBT Workers -- Yahoo News
• This 1 Number Sums Up Why That Foxconn Deal Is Over-The-Top Bad For Wisconsin -- Market Watch
• NASA Offering Six-Figure Salary For New 'Planetory Protection Officer' To Defend Earth From Aliens -- Independent
• IMF Admits Disatrous Love Affair With The Euro And Apologizes For The Immolation Of Greece -- Telegraph
• Israeli Grandfather Who Thought Family Perished In Holocaust Discovers  500 New Relatives -- Haaretz
• The Future Of The Low-Wage Worker Movement May Depend On An Unheraled NYC Law -- Waging Nonviolence
• Repression Offers Opportunity For Hong Kong's Pro-Democracy Movement -- Waging Nonviolence
• A Manual For A New Era Of Direct Action -- Waging Nonviolence
• Police Chief Changes Tune: Former Cop Who Violently Punched Valet Should Be Arrested -- Miami Herald
• There Are Diseases Hidden In Ice, And They Are Waking Up -- BBC
• US Ignores Saudi Beheading Of 14 Activists, Labels Venezuela Dictatorship Despite Elections -- Ron Paul
• U.S. Citizen Who Was Held By ICE For 3 Years Denied Compensation By Appeals Court -- NPR
• When Progressives Embrace Hate -- New York Times
• Meat Industry Blamed For Largest-Ever 'Dead Zone' In Gulf Of Mexico -- Guardian
• Millennials And Gen Xers Outvoted Boomers And Older Generations In 2016 Election -- Pew Research Center
• U.S. Hispanic Population Growth Has Leveled Off -- Pew Research Center
• APNewsBreak: Flynn Details Tie To Data Firm, Transition Pay -- Miami Herald
• Majority Of Americans Have 'Unfavorable View' Of Black Lives Matter, Say Black Crime Is A Top Concern -- Newsweek
• Military Scrambles For Transgender Policy After Trump Tweets -- AP News
• Martin Shkreli Found Guilty On Several Counts Of Fraud -- Huffington Post
• Finish Citizens Given Universal Basic Income Report Lower Stress Levels And Greater Incentive To Work -- Independent
• McConnell To Consider Bipartisan Plan To Pay Health Insurers -- Yahoo News
• Trump Loyalist Mixes Business And Access At 'Advisory' Firm -- New York Times

Israel-Palestine News

• The Next War In Gaza Is Brewing. Here's How To Stop It -- New York TImes
• I'm A 90-Year-Old Woman Who Has Lived In Israel For 50 Years--Here's What I Think About Israeli Settlements -- Independent
• Video: Norman Finkelstein & 25 Others Arrested At Israeli U.N. Mission Protesting Gaza Assault -- Democracy Now
• 'The Worst It's Been': Children Continue To Swim As Raw Sewage Floods Gaza Beach -- Guardian
• Life Inside The Gaza Blockade -- Sojo.net
• 'Disappointed' AIPAC Targets Gillibrand From Removing Her Name From Boycott Bill -- Mondoweiss

Collusion News

• Trump's Role Is Crafting A Misleading Statement For His Son Could Spell More Legal Trouble For The White House -- Business Insider
• Video Shows Trump's Lawyer Previously Denied The President Was Involved With Trump Jr.'s Misleading Statement About Meeting WIth A Russian Lawyer -- Business Insider
• Trump 'Weighed In' On Son's Russia Statement, White House Confirms -- Guardian
• Special Counsel Robert Mueller Reportedly Assembles Grand Jury, Ramping Up Russia Probe -- Huffington Post
• Donald Trump Blocked By US Senate From Making Government Appointments During Summer Recess -- Independent

Donald Trump News

• Trump's Mar-A-Lago Trips Cost More Than Trans Soldiers' Health Care -- USA Today
• The Observe View Of Donald Trump's Unfitness For Office -- Guardian
• Trump Enlists Kelly To Enforce Order, But Can The 'Animals In The Zoo' Be Tamed? -- Chicago Tribune
• Donald Trump To Meet Rex Tillerson After Reports Of 'Chaos' And Resignation At The State Department -- Newsweek
• Trump On Tricky Legal Ground With 'Obamacare' Threat -- Yahoo News
• Trump Bulldozes Environmental Laws To Pave Way For 'Xenophobic' Border Wall -- Common Dreams
• Is Trump About To Declare A State Of Emergency? -- Yahoo News
• DEA Chief Slams Trump's Police Remarks -- Business Insider
• Trump's Call For Police Brutality Is No Joke -- Truthdig
• I've Overestimated Donald Trump -- New York Times
• Warnings Of 'Nuclear Nightmare' As Trump Escalates Tensions With World Powers -- Common Dreams
• Trump Can't Be Left Alone, So His Generals, So His Generals Created Plans To Keep Tabs On Him: Report -- Newsweek
• Exerpts From Trump's Conversation With Journalists On Air Force 1 -- New York Times
• Trump Is Doing Irreperable Harm To The White House's Credibility -- CNN
• Trump Blasts Report On Obstruction Of Justice Probe -- Reuters
• Read Trump's Full Statement On Why The Russian Sanctions Bill Is 'Seriously Flawed' -- PBS
• Democrats Join Republicans In Bill Criminalizing Speech Critical Of Israel -- Democracy Now
• Five Reasons Trump Is Wrong On Immigration -- Truthdig
• Those Calls To Trump? White House Admits They Didn't Happen -- New York Times
• 'Not Right Now': Republicans And The Art Of Not Talking About Trump -- New York Times
• Full Transcripts Of Trump's Calls With Mexico And Australia --- Washington Post
• Trump Asked Mexico To Stop Publicly Refusing To Pay For His Unimportant Border Wall -- Huffington Post
• Trump Tells Generals U.S. Should Plunder Afghan Minerals -- Truthdig 

Pick(s) Of The Litter

• For Some Saudi Women Facing Strict Male Authority And Even Abuse, There's Only One Answer: Run -- Los Angeles Times
• John Kelly, Asserting Authority, Fires Anthony Scaramucci -- New York Times
• Here's The Explosive Russia Testimony You Missed Whilst Distracted By 'The Mooch' -- Huffington Post
• The West's Anti-Liberal Backlash Can't Escape Its Racism -- Washington Post
• Deputies Tortured A Restrained Teenager By Using A Stun Gun On Him, Lawyers Say -- Washington Post
• Justice Dept.To Take On Affirmative Action In Colleges -- New York Times
• The Beckoning Of Nuclear War With Russia -- Truthdig
• Terror In Britain -- ZMagazine
• Destroying Democracy -- ZMagazine
• How Corporations Have Taken Over Government, Nonprofit And Regulatory Agencies -- Truthdig
• NAACP Issues First-Ever Travel Advisory For A State--And It's Missouri -- Miami Herald
• U.S. Deportation Raids Under Trump Lead To Huge Rise In Arrests Of Immigrants Without Criminal Records -- Independent
• Globally, People Point To ISIS and Climate Change As Leading Security Threats -- Pew Research Center
• U.S. Court Tosses Murder Conviction Of Ex-Blackwater Guard -- Reuters
• Bomb Explodes At Minnesota Mosque During Morning Prayers: FBI Terrorism Task Force Investigating -- Newsweek
  
  
  
  

ONIM For June 5, 2017

If you are not sure about the validity of a news story linked to below, you can use  mediabiasfactcheck.com to check out the credibility of the source of most of the stories linked to here.


Christian News

• How Churches, Politicians And The World Responded To London Attacks -- Christian Today (UK)
• Restored Church For Ancient Christian Community Lifts Hopes Of New Unity In Cyprus -- Christian Today (UK)
• Gay Marriage In Church In Scotland Threatens More Division For World Anglicans -- Christian Today (UK)
• Egypt's Christians Respond To ISIS -- Christianity Today
• A Local Preacher And A Jailhouse Jesus Freak Brought Me To Faith In Prison -- Christianity Today
• Thoughts On Rep. Karl Oliver's Comments -- Reformed African American Network
• Did Pope Francis Diss The President? -- Religion News Service
• As Major Cities Crackdown On Panhandling, People Of Faith Wrestle With Their Consciences -- Religion News Service 
• Strong Religious Reaction To Trump Climate Accord Decision -- Religion News Service
• GOP Congressman On Climate Change: God Will 'Take Care Of It' If It's Real -- Religion News Service
• Getting Your Needs Met -- Mortification Of Spin
• Seattle Reboot: Life After Mars Hill -- Gospel Coalition
• The Church In Ukraine: Crisis, Celebration, And Hope -- Gospel Coalition
• A Pulpit Is Not A Platform -- Heidelblog 
• GOP Lawmaker: The Bible Says 'If A Man Will Not Work, He Shall Not Eat' -- Washington Post

World News

• A Week That Reveals How Rotten Today's Republican Party Is -- Washington Post
• Prominent Feminist History Rejects Israeli Academic Award -- Haaretz
• Don' Say 'Thank You For Your Service' This Monday -- NPR
• Tillerson Declines To Host Ramadan Event At State Department -- Reuters
• Don't Thank Me -- The Twelve
• Noam Chomsky In Conversation With Amy Goodman On Climate Change, Nukes, Syria, Wikileaks & More -- Democracy Now
• Fareed Zakaria: Liberals Think They're Tolerant, But They're Not -- CNN
• White House: Feds Will Step Up Marijuana Law Enforcement -- CNN
• It's Time For Academics To Take Back Control Of Research Journals -- Guardian
• Jared Kushner's Other Real Estate Empire -- New York Times
• Trevor Noah Has A Hard Time With Confederate Memorial Day -- New York Times 
• This Billionaire Governor Taxed The Rich And Increased The Minimum Wage--Now, His State's Economy Is One Of The Best In The Nation -- Huffington Post
• Wave Of Cancellations Hits Tel Aviv LGBT Film Festival Due To BDS Pressure -- Haaretz
• Maya Angelou, Poet, Activist And Singular Storyteller Dies At 86 -- NPR
• The Men Investigating Ivanka Trump's Shoe Producer In China Are Missing Or Arrested -- Time
• The Democratic Party Still Thinks It Will Win By 'Not Being Trump' -- Guardian
• Amnesty International: Did $1 Billion Of Lost U.S. Weapons End Up In The Hands Of ISIS? -- Democracy Now
• "Horrific" Increase In World Displacement -- Popular Resistance
• The Judge Who Says He's Part Of The Gravest Injustice In America -- CNN
• Jared Kushner Still Has A Job Because Washington Only Fears Republicans -- Intercept 

Protest News

• The Artist As Prophet -- Truthdig
• The Intercept: Private Security Firm Used Counterterrorism Tactics Against DAPL Water Protectors -- Democracy Now
• Fearless Palestinian Village Of Nabi Saleh Defines Popular Protest -- Mondoweiss

Trump News

• We Already Know Trump Betrayed America -- Mother Jones
• Trump Administration Plans To Minimize Civil Rights Efforts In Agencies -- Washington Post
• Trump's Budget Proposal Includes Mandatory Paid Family Leave -- WFMZ News
• Source: Comey To Testify Publicly About Trump Confrontations -- CNN
• Trump Opens Carolina Coast To Seismic Blasting -- WUNC News
• Trump Dismays, Angers Allies By Abandoning Global Climate Pact -- Reuters
• Trump Just Said Some Truly Crazy Things During His Paris Exit Announcement -- IFL Science
• Trump's Budget: An Assault On The Most Vulnerable -- Liberation 
• Calling Earth A "Loser," Trump Vows To Make Better Deal With New Planet -- Borowitz Report
• Trump's "America First" Infrastructure Plan: Let Saudi Arabia And Blackstone Take Care Of It -- Intercept
• Trump Is Waving His Own Ethics Rules To Allow Lobbyists To Make Policy -- Mother Jones
• Donald Trump Berates London Mayor Over Response To Terror Attacks -- Guardian 

Pick(s) Of The Litter

• 25 Years Of Right-Wing Terrorism In The United States -- Anti-Defamation League
• As C.E.O. Packages Grow, Top Executives Have The President's Ear -- New York Times
• Non-Native Man Runs Over Two Tribal Members; One Died As A Result Of The Incident -- Native News Online
• Sister Of Manchester Bombers: He Wanted Revenge For Killing Of Muslim Children -- Democracy Now
• How Israel Jails Palestinians For Fitting The 'Terrorist Profile' -- Haaretz
• Israeli Doctor Treating Syrians Says Snipers Deliberately Shoot Snipers In The Spine -- Telegraph
• Memorial Day Ignores The Horrors Of Endless US Aggression -- Steve Lendman Blog
• White Nationalist Movement Growing Much Faster Than ISIS On Twitter, Study Finds -- Independent
• Memorial Day, Mayor Mitch Landrieu And The American Future -- Religion News Service
• Mayor Mitch Landrieu Speaks On Confederate Monuments -- YouTube
• Africa 'Subsidizes' The Rest Of The World By £32 Billion A Year, Campaigners Say -- Independent
• Israel Is Not A Democracy -- Haaretz
• The Republican Party's Sickness Of The Soul -- Common Dreams
• Grandmother Who Lost Her Home Because Her Son Sold Marijuana Wins Pennsylvania Supreme Court Case -- Forbes
• Massive Kabul Bombing Follows Reports Of U.S. Plan To Escalate Afghanistan Involvement In Year 16 -- Slate
• James Hansen, Father Of Climate Change Awareness, Calls Paris Talks "A Fraud" -- Guardian
• Noam Chomsky: Neoliberalism Is Destroying Our Democracy -- Nation
• London Attack: 12 Arrested In Barking After Van And Knife Attack -- BBC

 

A Very, Very Brief Summary Of This Year's Presidential Election

On the one hand, we have one major party presidential candidate singing the following to us:

Xenophobia here we come, right back where we started from.

On the other hand we have the other major party presidential candidate constantly saying the following to us:

Who's your momma? Who's your momma? Who's going to take care of you? Who's your momma? 

What we don't hear is the song they sing in unison:

There's no business like big business like no business we know.

However, there is a difference in how the major party political candidates sing that last song. While one candidate belts out that tune like Ethel Merman would, the other whispers it quietly while hiding in a closet lest they be discovered singing it.

What we miss here is that us voters will more often than not base our votes on the accessible fringe benefits that we believe a given candidate will bring to us through their modifications to our economic system as opposed to the real benefits that a inclusive democracy could bring. An inclusive democracy is one where the people press the demands of others, especially the most vulnerable, along with their own demands in an effort to share society as equals rather than as a ruling group.

Because we don't want an inclusive democracy and because we want our piece of the pie. Seeing futility in the system,  too many of us American voters have been singing:

Send in the clowns

And now that the Republican and Democratic Parties have granted our request, we are experiencing buyers remorse.

 

ONIM For July 25, 2016

Christian News

• Evangelizing Children: Gospel Imperative Or Just Manipulation -- Christian Today (UK)
• Sorry Republicans, You Do Not Have A Monopoly On Christian Faith -- Christian Today (UK)
• Ted Cruz "Not A Christian' After Refusing To Endorse Trump -- Christian Today (UK)
• My Encounter With Ken Ham's Giant Ark -- Christianity Today
• Dobson Endorses Trump, While Evangelical Leaders Advise Voting For Lesser Evil -- Christianity Today
• Russia's Ban On Evangelism Is Now In Effect -- Christianity Today
• The Number One Issue Christians Should Hear From Clinton And Trump -- The Christian Post
• Christians Of Color: Can You See The Stars? -- Reformed African American Network
• What Shootings And Racial Justice Mean For The Body Of Christ -- Reformed African American Network
• PTSD And Black Lives Matter -- Reformed African American Network 
• The RNC Commits Blasphemy First Thing -- Preventing Grace
• Trump, Evangelical, And The Democratic Party -- The Anxious Bench
• Does Complimentarity Just Boil Down To A Tiebreaker -- Mortification Of Spin

World News

•  Alton Sterling's Family 'Heartbroken' Over Attack On Baton Rouge Police -- Yahoo News
• What Is The World? Who Are We? And What Are We Going To Do About It? -- Medium
• Stephen Colbert Tells Us What He Really Thinks About Clinton In This Hilarious Rap -- Truthdig
• Would Turkey Be Justified In Kidnapping Or Drone-Killing This Cleric In Pennsylvania? -- The Intercept
• Watch What Happens When You Try To Unionize Some Truck Drivers In The South -- Huffington Post
• A GOP Congressman Just Made An Argument For White Supremacy On TV -- Huffington Post
• Dear Steve King: Here Are Some Things Not Invented By White People -- Quartz
• Thousands Of People Are Showing This Powerful Video Showing How Ridiculous Saudi Arabia's Laws Are For Women -- Business Insider
• Giant's Jake Peavy Continues To Give, Even After So Much Was Taken -- The Mercury News
• Judge Orders Anti-Obama Filmmaker D'Souza Receive Psychological Counseling -- Newsweek
• Republican Convention Review: Cable News Making America Dumb Again -- Yahoo News
• Dr. Paul Craig Roberts--Foreign Policy And Its Impact On The American Economy -- YouTube
• Israeli Parliament Passes Controversial Impeachment Law -- BBC
• Israeli Expulsion Law 'Violates All Rules Of Democracy' -- Aljazeera 
• Cop Shoots Caretaker Of Autistic Man Playing In The Street With Toy Truck --  Miami Herald
• Miami Police Union President: Cop Fired Weapon To Protect Unarmed Black Man But Missed -- Yahoo News
• Massachusetts Cops Want Black Lives Matter Sign Taken Down -- The Washington Post
• What's Next For The Democracy Movement -- Waging Nonviolence
• Zimbabwe Approaches Turning Point After Protests Sparked By Economic Collapse -- Waging Nonviolence
• For Journalists Covering Trump, A Murrow Moment -- Columbia Journalism Review
• More Minority Federal Judges Have Been Appointed Under Democratic Than Republican Presidents -- Pew Research Center
• Tim Kaine Calls To Deregulate Banks As He Campaigns To Be Clinton's VP -- Huffington Post
• So, Does Tim Kaine Oppose Bank Regulation Or Did HuffPost Fail To Get The Whole Story? -- Blue Virginia
• Giuliani Explains Trump's Comments On NATO: It's Just Business -- Yahoo News
• Rape Victim Sues After Texas Court Throws Her In Jail For A Month Over Fears She Wouldn't Testify -- Raw Story
• Obama Prioritizes War In Europe Over War On People Of Color -- Counterpunch
• In Latest Pander To Israeli Lobby, Clinton Smears Max Blumenthal's Criticism Of Wiesel As 'Hateful' -- Mondoweiss
• California Breaks Solar Record, Generates Enough Electricity For 6 Million Homes -- Eco Watch
• Violent Arrests And Injury At The RNC During Flag Burning -- YouTube
• Outcry From Sanders Supporters After Leaked DNC 'Atheism' Emails -- The Hill
• Richmond Cop Who Killed Unarmed Man To Receive Tax-Free Compensation For Life -- The Mercury News
• By Blocking UN Vote, Egypt Sticks Finger In Turkey's Eye -- The Hill
•  Israel's Lieberman Censored For Comparing Palestinian Poet To Adolf Hitler -- Newsweek
• NLRB Upholds Union's Right To Support Israel Boycott -- Mondoweiss
• Clinton Inflames Progressive Base With Choice Of Tim Kaine For Vice President -- Common Dreams
• Countries That Receive The Most Foreign Aid From The U.S. -- Inside Gov
• The Many Scandals Of Donald Trump: A Cheat Sheet -- The Atlantic
• Did Munich Killer Ali Sonboly Lure Children To Their Deaths On Facebook? -- Daily Mail
• The Fall Of Roger Ailes -- Yahoo News
• Judge Orders Trump To Pay Nearly $300,000 In Attourney's Fees In Doral Painter Lawsuit -- Miami Herald
• Wild Birds Communicate And Collaborate With Humans, Study Confirms -- Mother Nature Network
• Energized White Supremacists Cheer Trump's Convention Message -- Yahoo News
• Cop Shoots Dog With AR-15 During 5-Year-Old's Birthday Party -- Life With Dogs
•  As We've Been Saying, California's Minimum Wage Rises Increases Unemployment -- Forbes
• Turkey's Erdogan Shuts Schools, Charitees In First State Of Emergency Decree -- Yahoo News
• Hillary Clinton Gains Backing Of Neocon Megadonor Who Funds Islamophobic Groups -- Mondoweiss
• The Republican Party Is Nominating An Incompetent Candidate -- Chicago Tribune
• King: Tim Kaine Isn't Some Conservative Boogeyman, But He Does Show That Progressives Aren't Welcomed In The Democratic Party -- Daily News
• How Sympathetic Whites Are Helping To Fuel Racial Change -- Washington Post
• Nigeria's Kleptocracy Has Been Stealing Public Funds Forever -- Washington Post
• Former Dem Rep Appears To Link Israel To Terror Attacks -- The Hill
• Israel, The UN's Sixth Committee And International Law -- Aljazeera

Pick(s) Of The Litter

• 3 Baton Rouge Officers Killed In 'Ambush-Style Attack -- Huffington Post
•  In Europe And Russia, There's Talk Of War -- Newsweek
•  Turkey Targets Media And Schools In Escalating Post-Coup Purge -- Yahoo News
• US Air Strike In Syria Kills Nearly 60 Civilians 'Mistaken For ISIL Fighters' -- The Telegraph
• Video: Florida Deputies Pull Woman From Burning Car -- Fox News
• Leaked Docs Reveal DNC Determined To Undermine Sanders' Campaign -- Common Dreams
•  Police Officer Body Slams Black Teacher, Violent Arrest Caught On Camera -- Mashable
• Austin Police 'Sickened And Saddened' By Arrest Of Breaion King -- Yahoo News  
• Black Cop Blasts White Officers: 'They Are Looking For A Reason To Kill A Black Man' -- Washington Post
• Shooting Rampage In Munich Shopping Mall -- Yahoo News
• UF Linebacker From Miami Stops Sexual Assault, Police Say -- Miami Herald
• Demanding Racial Justice Through University Sit-ins -- Turthout
•  The Italian Region Where Co-Ops Produce A Third Of Its GDP -- Truthout
• Ten Years After Last Lebanon War, Israel Warns Next One Will Be Far Worse --  Washington Post
•  Here's Yet Another Reminder That Muslim Immigrants Can Be Heroes -- Huffington Post
• Iraq: Suicide Attack In Baghdad Kills At Least 14 People -- Yahoo News 
• Being Muslim In America -- The Week 
• Refugees Speak Out About Their Perilous Journey -- Christian Today (UK)