Fairness and Decency
Are In Short Supply
By Steve Rensberry
One side strives for peace, understanding, and unity; the other side calls their fellow citizens and opponents demonic, wants to punish them and restrict their most private sexual and reproductive rights.
One side vows to be a government for all Americans; the other side vows to dominate and impose one belief system onto everyone, behind the mantel of religion no less.
One side concedes an election with full faith in the system; the other side alleges serious fraud when they suspect they'll lose, but says nothing of it when they win, prepared at any moment to challenge and delay the results over the slightest concerns.
Does anything matter anymore? Honesty? Fairness and decency? The rule of law? I'm not sure.
Might makes right maybe, that seems to matter. -- 11/8/2024
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Leaders Who Violate Their Oath
Don't Deserve to Lead
By Steve Rensberry
During her presidential campaign VP Kamala Harris has vowed to be a president for all Americans, which I think
is what the Constitution requires and is a good and ethical thing to do. Wouldn't you agree?
I know her opponents don't trust or believe anything she says --
even if it's as simple as 2+2=4 --
but why has the Republican candidate never done the same? Be a president for all Americans. It's all hyper-politics all the time. All he talks
about is destroying other people who he perceives as enemies, even
legal citizens of the United States. Why would I want to elect somebody
who wants people like me to literally disappear?
Why have others who
support him, such as Rep. Mary Miller in Illinois, never honored their oath
of office to serve the Constitution and every citizen, apart from
political party? Former congressman John Shimkus was just as bad in my view, shamelessly partisan and doing his part to roll out the red carpet for the
new authoritarian fascist movement that is now trying take over the
country. He backed Trump the whole way, then left office before things got worse. Where is their honor?
One more thing. It is equally disturbing that our buddies on the hard-right so often use the phrase 'TAKE" as in "We need to TAKE our
country back." Was it theirs to begin with? Are legalities, the law, the will of the people even relevent? It would appear not. Using such terminology doesn't help the situation.
Such hyper-partisanship,
as practiced by Miller, Shimkus, and the guy they have enabled is
totally disqualifying in my view. Miller doesn't deserve to be a
legislator, Shimkus did not deserve to be a legislator, and a guy who
wants to control my life with religious-fascist fervor does not deserve
to be in a position of tremendous power, least of all president of the United States. -- 10/29/2024
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Bullies Can Bully Themselves
Right Out The Door
I don't like bullies and I don't like being bullied, which is one
reason I vehemently reject the character trying to get himself
elected a second time to the presidency in 2024. Every single ounce of
decency in me wants to fight back at the ugliness of it.
I don't care if the
person is a Democrat, Republican, evangelical or athiest. If a person
acts like a bully, talks like a bully, threatens vengeance against
people and his political opponents like a bully, then he can bully
himself right out the door and into oblivion.
Likewise, I
love my country and to hear someone portray it in the language he
does is just sickening and deeply un-American to me. I want a leader
who will inspire me, not beat me up or badmouth my fellow Americans, or
focus on everything that's negative or imperfect in the world, least
of all make the outlandish claim that he can solve it all.
I'm tired of being
lied to, and tired of people not being able to see the evil that's
right in front of their faces. He pretends to be on the side of
God when he is nothing of the sort. -- 10/19/2024
Further reading:
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The Properity Gospel's
Take on Poverty is Disgusting
By Steve Rensberry
Meeting and
interviewing literally hundreds of people in all walks of life over a
30-year journalism career pretty much makes me want to vomit every time I
hear people despising the poor, insinuating they are lazy or undisciplined, or justifying their impoverishment on religious grounds.
Those who do it with religious fervor -- prosperity gospel types -- are the absolute worst, often going after the poor with both barrels by falsely claiming that poverty is primarily the result of "laziness," and that poor people are "morally deficient" in some way. So those at the lower
end of the economic ladder are thus doubly despised, on both economic and
moral grounds.
Another despicable and hateful accusation from the haters of poor people (minorities in particular) is that 'those with less' contribute to their own plight by having too many babies and thus have too many mouths to feed. Meanwhile, out of the other side of their mouth
they argue that modern society is going to hell because people aren't
having enough babies. -- 7/26/2024
A good read: Help the Poor? Many Christians Prefer to Blame Them (Good Faith Media, by James L. Evans)
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In Science We Trust
By Steve Rensberry
I'm not prone to believe the sky is falling, but if we end up with leaders who don't trust science, expertise, or dedicated nonpartisan public servants sworn to uphold the Constitution, but instead favor "magical" or "intuitive" solutions to all our social problems, we could be in for a very rough ride the next time an outbreak occurs.
The first two years of the covid outbreak in 2020-2021 were horrendous and took the lives of at least a dozen customers of mine in Southern Illinois, along with several close friends. I narrowly escaped exposure myself several times, and seriousl fear another public health crisis or pandemic happening during an anti-science administration.
With so much left-over angst, and new rules in some states against protecting the public health, instead of 1 million American deaths we'll probably see 50 million -- since the official national government police in an authoritarian anti-science state will likely be DO NOTHING, just roll over and die. We can do better.
For the record, the coronavirus pandemic has taken the lives of more than 7,010,680 people. -- 7/26/2024
The data: Coronavirus Death Toll
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Freedom From Religion Foundation
Performs Worthwhile Public Service
By Steve Rensberry
If you are looking for an organization to represent you in the fight for religious freedom and freedom of thought, the Freedom from Religion Foundation is one that I can highly recommend.
The membership fee is modest and can be purchased on several levels, so I invite you to join me if you can. Link: FFRF. One of their most famous spokespersons is Ron Reagan Jr. and they have a significant presence on youtube and in the news media.
There will be tremendous pressures to conform in the coming years ahead, and the FFRF may prove to be a crucial watchdog. Don't be deceived by false promises and false prophets, of those who make outlandish claims with no reasonable or scientific proof. My guess is we'll be flooded with such claims for at least the next four years.
From the FFRF "about" section: "The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion. In modern times the first to speak out for prison reform, for humane treatment of the mentally ill, for abolition of capital punishment, for women’s right to vote, for death with dignity for the terminally ill, and for the right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion have been freethinkers, just as they were the first to call for an end to slavery. The Foundation works as an umbrella for those who are free from religion and are committed to the cherished principle of separation of state and church." -- 11/9/2024
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Age-Old Saga Rears
Its Ugly Head Once Again
By Steve Rensberry
Commentary
The age-old battle of brutish impulse vs compassionate intelligence has reared its ugly head once again in the American saga, like some kind of sadistic reality show where the fun thing to do is kick people out of the country, take away their civil rights, or tell them they can't do things they've had a right to do for decades. As a former evangelical, what has happened in the religous sphere of life is equally horrific. Do modern-day evangelicals want to save people's souls anymore, or are they merely participants in a sleeper cell, practicing religion and baking cookies in fellowship halls while plotting to overthrow a good, honest, secular democratic government?
As one Quora post regarding evangelicals noted: "Their embrace of Trump
shows they are a political group not a Christian group. They have
economic policies that hurt the poor and help the rich. They hate
programs that help the poor or sick. They are exactly the opposite of
what Christ taught. If he came back today he would hang out with the
atheists because they are MUCH better Christians. He would send the
evangelicals somewhere else."
