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    And Jesus Said Unto Paul of Ryan ...

    And Jesus Said Unto Paul of Ryan ...
    Nicholas Kristof
    The Failing New York Times
    MARCH 16, 2017

    A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came up behind Jesus and touched his clothes in hope of a cure. Jesus turned to her and said: “Fear not. Because of your faith, you are now healed.”

    Then spoke Pious Paul of Ryan: “But teacher, is that wise? When you cure her, she learns dependency. Then the poor won’t take care of themselves, knowing that you’ll always bail them out! You must teach them personal responsibility!”

    They were interrupted by 10 lepers who stood at a distance and shouted, “Jesus, have pity on us.”

    “NO!” shouted Pious Paul. “Jesus! You don’t have time. We have a cocktail party fund-raiser in the temple. And don’t worry about them — they’ve already got health care access.”

    Jesus turned to Pious Paul, puzzled.

    “Why, they can pray for a cure,” Pious Paul explained. “I call that universal health care access.”

    Jesus turned to the 10 lepers. “Rise and go,” he told them. “Your faith has made you well.” Then he turned back to Pious Paul, saying, “Let me tell you the story of the good Samaritan.

    “A man was attacked by robbers who stripped him of clothes, beat him and left him half dead. A minister passed down this same road, and when he saw the injured man, he crossed to the other side and hurried on. So did a rich man who claimed to serve God. But then a despised Samaritan came by and took pity on the injured man. He bandaged his wounds and put the man on his own donkey and paid an innkeeper to nurse him to health. So which of these three should we follow?”

    “Those who had mercy on him,” Pious Paul said promptly.

    Jesus nodded. “So go ——”

    “I mean the first two,” Pious Paul interjected. “For the Samaritan’s work is unsustainable and sends the wrong message. It teaches travelers to take dangerous roads, knowing that others will rescue them from self-destructive behaviors. This Samaritan also seems to think it right to redistribute money from those who are successful and give it to losers. That’s socialism! Meanwhile, if the rich man keeps his money, he can invest it and create jobs. So it’s an act of mercy for the rich man to hurry on and ignore the robbery victim.”

    “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus mused to himself. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven.”

    “Let me teach you about love, Jesus — tough love!” Pious Paul explained. “You need a sustainable pro-business model. And you need to give people freedom, Jesus, the freedom to suffer misery and poverty.”

    “The Lord God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor,” Jesus replied, emphasizing the last two words. Then he turned to a paralyzed beggar at his feet. “Stand up!” Jesus told the man. “Pick up your mat and go home.” As the man danced about joyfully, Pious Paul rolled his eyes dismissively.

    “Look, Jesus, you have rare talent, and it should be rewarded,” Pious Paul said. “I have a partner, The Donald, who would like to work with you: He’d set up a lovely hospital, and the rich would come and pay for you to heal them. You’d get a percentage, and it’d be a real money-spinner. Overhead would be minimal because every morning you could multiply some loaves and fishes. You could strike it rich!”

    “Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God,” Jesus said. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received comfort.”

    “Oh, come on, Jesus,” Pious Paul protested. “Don’t go socialist on me again. Please don’t encourage class warfare. The best way to help the needy is to give public money to the rich. That then inspires the poor to work harder, galvanizes the sick to become healthy, forces the lepers to solve their own problems rather than kick back and depend on others. That’s why any realistic health plan has to focus on providing less coverage for the poor, and big tax benefits for the rich. When millions of people lose health care, that’s when a country is great again!”

    “From everyone who has been given much,” Jesus told him, “much will be required.”

    “Well, sure, this hospital would have a foundation to do some charity work. Maybe commissioning portraits of The Donald to hang in the entrance. But let’s drop this bleeding heart nonsense about health care as a human right, and see it as a financial opportunity to reward investors. In this partnership, 62 percent of the benefits would go to the top 0.6 percent — perfect for a health care plan.”

    Jesus turned to Pious Paul on his left and said: “Be gone! For I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; and I was sick, and you did not help me.”

    “But, Lord,” protested Pious Paul of Ryan, “when did I see you hungry or thirsty or sick and refuse to help you? I drop your name everywhere. And I’m pro-life!”

    “Truly, I say to you,” Jesus responded, “as you did not help the homeless, the sick — as you did not help the least of these, you did not help me.”
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    And there you have it...... Eddie Munster is going to HELL!

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    Well, for years many Republicans of all shades (mainstream, center-right, far right, etc.) have said "America should be run like a business."

    When I say "Republicans" I'm not strictly referring to elected political representatives, or elitist donors funding the party, either.

    I've been hearing for 3 + decades from working class conservatives how "America should be run like a business."

    These same sentiments were bandied about when Ross Perot ran in 1992. They were also bandied about when Reagan took on the airline traffic controller lobbyists and fired the controllers, all in part of his delegitimization of unions in general terms.

    For a variety of reasons, not insubstantial numbers of working class people have bought into the notions that unionizing is anti-American and America should not only be run like a business, but should be run like a corporation. Not a municipal corporation, but a business corporation. Corporations being hierarchical in nature, and usually serving to enrich those at the top of the pyramid far more than those at the bottom.

    It's always puzzled me as to why so many working class people I've known feel this way, particularly since more than a few of those people had been subject to corporate layoffs (or "workforce downsizings" or whatever euphemism corporations now choose to apply to firings to infer the act means something less than what it actually is).

    I guess some people are more comfortable with social/economic Darwinism than others. Odd, in that so many can seem fine with this philosophy on a business level, but are uncomfortable with it on a biological level re: evolution of species.

    However, I digress.

    The effects of this latest round of healthcare legislation for me are best seen within the context of the long historical struggle on a global scale. It's the Golden Rule axiom: he who has the gold makes the rules.

    Those at the top, to a man, tend to believe they deserved to be where they are, they got to where they are without the help of anyone other than themselves, they deserve to keep everything they earn, everyone else who isn't on top is a loser and the function of their government that they have funded via lobbyists and large contributions (that they, in effect, have paid for) is to keep them on top via non-progressive tax codes, militarized local police forces, strict enforcement of laws on the lower classes (and lax enforcement for the elite) and the like.

    That mindset has been there forever, and while the times have changed the methods of this structural societal maintenance have remained remarkably consistent. Defunding federal healthcare programs for the less wealthy (old, middle aged, young, whatever) are just part of the old "survival of the fittest" mentality. Goes hand in hand with stratifying wages and diminishing political influence.

    Ryan, to his credit, actually seems to believe his economic notions are philosophically good for all people. His plans will weed out the less deserving in our society, and that in turn will make our country stronger over the long haul. Jesus, in Ryan's worldview, was weak because he believed the measure of a person's character can be seen in how he tends to the weak...with compassion, care, patience and wanting no greater reward for doing so other than the privilege of being able to serve his fellow man: that service in itself is the reward.

    It's plain weird how so many Christian Conservatives (not necessarily including Ryan in this, because he doesn't particularly strike me as a Pence-like kind of politician who sees the "Hand of God" in everything [Ryan] does) have such a charmless view of the poor. Like, the poor are basically a nuisance. I wonder what Jesus would make of how his teachings have been twisted and maligned by so many of those politicians who profess to love Him so much.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Terry View Post
    I wonder what Jesus would make of how his teachings have been twisted and maligned by so many of those politicians who profess to love Him so much.
    He pretty much spelled out in Matthew 25 that those who claimed to follow Him, but did not live by His teachings, would be spending eternity in a much warmer climate. The people who crack me up are the ones who think Jerry Falwell made it to Heaven, but Ghandi took the Highway to Hell.

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    Quote Originally Posted by FORD View Post
    He pretty much spelled out in Matthew 25 that those who claimed to follow Him, but did not live by His teachings, would be spending eternity in a much warmer climate. The people who crack me up are the ones who think Jerry Falwell made it to Heaven, but Ghandi took the Highway to Hell.
    I must admit I indulged in a perverse degree of schadenfreude when Christopher Hitchens made his own sentiments toward Falwell loudly and publicly known in the wake of [Falwell's] death, with particular reference made to Falwell's long history of intolerance bordering on malevolence. Sadly, in the wake of such high-profile religious frauds such as Falwell, Baker, Robertson and the like, far too many other self-proclaimed "agents of God" have started up their own faith-based ministries. Many of these claim to be non-denominational, but as Dennis Miller once quipped, "you can always see their eyes light up at the sign of tens and twenties."

    Honestly, if the likes of Falwell do in fact make it to Heaven, how omniscient can God be?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Terry View Post
    I must admit I indulged in a perverse degree of schadenfreude when Christopher Hitchens made his own sentiments toward Falwell loudly and publicly known in the wake of [Falwell's] death, with particular reference made to Falwell's long history of intolerance bordering on malevolence. Sadly, in the wake of such high-profile religious frauds such as Falwell, Baker, Robertson and the like, far too many other self-proclaimed "agents of God" have started up their own faith-based ministries. Many of these claim to be non-denominational, but as Dennis Miller once quipped, "you can always see their eyes light up at the sign of tens and twenties."

    Honestly, if the likes of Falwell do in fact make it to Heaven, how omniscient can God be?
    Yeah but there are many kinds of huxsters. Hell most governments are a fraud selling people false promises and money itself is as much of an illusion as any false religion. Just be glad so many continue to be duped because that's what keeps the roof from falling in. Be glad people still think that dollar you earn is worth something. Napoleon put it best. Religion gives people some hope and that keeps them out of trouble. Napoleon himself didn't believe in it but saw it as a useful pacifier. People will always find something to give them hope and huxsters will always invent some kind of con. Understand how it all works and exploit it. Learn how to surf the wave. Nobody is changing it. Just be glad you live where you have some choices.
    Last edited by Nitro Express; 03-16-2017 at 11:13 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Terry View Post
    Well, for years many Republicans of all shades (mainstream, center-right, far right, etc.) have said "America should be run like a business."

    When I say "Republicans" I'm not strictly referring to elected political representatives, or elitist donors funding the party, either.

    I've been hearing for 3 + decades from working class conservatives how "America should be run like a business."

    These same sentiments were bandied about when Ross Perot ran in 1992. They were also bandied about when Reagan took on the airline traffic controller lobbyists and fired the controllers, all in part of his delegitimization of unions in general terms.

    For a variety of reasons, not insubstantial numbers of working class people have bought into the notions that unionizing is anti-American and America should not only be run like a business, but should be run like a corporation. Not a municipal corporation, but a business corporation. Corporations being hierarchical in nature, and usually serving to enrich those at the top of the pyramid far more than those at the bottom.

    It's always puzzled me as to why so many working class people I've known feel this way, particularly since more than a few of those people had been subject to corporate layoffs (or "workforce downsizings" or whatever euphemism corporations now choose to apply to firings to infer the act means something less than what it actually is).

    I guess some people are more comfortable with social/economic Darwinism than others. Odd, in that so many can seem fine with this philosophy on a business level, but are uncomfortable with it on a biological level re: evolution of species.

    However, I digress.

    The effects of this latest round of healthcare legislation for me are best seen within the context of the long historical struggle on a global scale. It's the Golden Rule axiom: he who has the gold makes the rules.

    Those at the top, to a man, tend to believe they deserved to be where they are, they got to where they are without the help of anyone other than themselves, they deserve to keep everything they earn, everyone else who isn't on top is a loser and the function of their government that they have funded via lobbyists and large contributions (that they, in effect, have paid for) is to keep them on top via non-progressive tax codes, militarized local police forces, strict enforcement of laws on the lower classes (and lax enforcement for the elite) and the like.

    That mindset has been there forever, and while the times have changed the methods of this structural societal maintenance have remained remarkably consistent. Defunding federal healthcare programs for the less wealthy (old, middle aged, young, whatever) are just part of the old "survival of the fittest" mentality. Goes hand in hand with stratifying wages and diminishing political influence.

    Ryan, to his credit, actually seems to believe his economic notions are philosophically good for all people. His plans will weed out the less deserving in our society, and that in turn will make our country stronger over the long haul. Jesus, in Ryan's worldview, was weak because he believed the measure of a person's character can be seen in how he tends to the weak...with compassion, care, patience and wanting no greater reward for doing so other than the privilege of being able to serve his fellow man: that service in itself is the reward.

    It's plain weird how so many Christian Conservatives (not necessarily including Ryan in this, because he doesn't particularly strike me as a Pence-like kind of politician who sees the "Hand of God" in everything [Ryan] does) have such a charmless view of the poor. Like, the poor are basically a nuisance. I wonder what Jesus would make of how his teachings have been twisted and maligned by so many of those politicians who profess to love Him so much.
    Another interesting observation is Jesse Ventura a self proclaimed agnostic said when he was governor of Minnesota saw how much charity work the various churches in his state did. Jesse said if we got rid of the church's people would feel the loss. Interesting observation from a person who questions the existence of God. Now just be glad you live in a place where nobody is putting a sword to your neck and says, join our religion or die. it's not a perfect world. Never was and never will be. Religion is a great organizational node. It always will exist and if you are able to organize a successful religion and expand it, you can take over politically. That's never going to stop. The religion that gets the most converts and has the most babies wins.

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    It's also worth remembering that there have been many hundreds of religions over the last few thousand years and so the biggest ones we have now have been the most successful at spreading and wiping out the competition.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitro Express View Post
    Yeah but there are many kinds of huxsters. Hell most governments are a fraud selling people false promises and money itself is as much of an illusion as any false religion. Just be glad so many continue to be duped because that's what keeps the roof from falling in. Be glad people still think that dollar you earn is worth something. Napoleon put it best. Religion gives people some hope and that keeps them out of trouble. Napoleon himself didn't believe in it but saw it as a useful pacifier. People will always find something to give them hope and huxsters will always invent some kind of con. Understand how it all works and exploit it. Learn how to surf the wave. Nobody is changing it. Just be glad you live where you have some choices.
    Oh, to be sure hucksters, con artists, schemers and charlatans are to be found everywhere: organized religion doesn't hold a monopoly on those types.

    And I don't think every religious leader falls into those categories, or is a cynical non-believing imposter just in it for the money.

    Doubtless religion DOES give many people hope (the often-quoted Karl Marx paraphrase "religion is the opiate of the masses" certainly applies as much today as it ever did).

    To be sure, I AM glad to live in a country where religious choice is far more widely available than in many other places. That is to say, that principle is one I think is positive inasmuch as it applies to freedom of expression.

    Overall, I have no personal use for religion. I never have. I have never been a believer in it. Christopher Hitchens once made an interesting observation that religious people, for example, tend to cite various charity works as a positive aspect of organized religion. Hitchens went on to say that while virtually every one of those charities could have been undertaken by humanity without the prompting of religion, historically there are far more instances of murderous religious persecutions that could not have taken place BUT FOR the existence of religion.

    I often wonder what humanity would be like if people stopped believing that there was an afterlife (regardless of the form it took) and believed that THIS life was the only one we would have. I wonder if in that instance people would dedicate their lives to tasks other than frantically running around like hamsters on a wheel and expending their labors to make someone else wealthy; if they would conclude since this is the only life we'll have and only world we'll ever know, it'd be best not to waste time on essentially meaningless repetitive tasks. What people would actually do with their lives if the non-believer mindset took hold - if they would use their limited time for positive or negative activities/helpful vs. harmful - is something I can't say, and would be afraid to even make a guess at.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitro Express View Post
    Another interesting observation is Jesse Ventura a self proclaimed agnostic said when he was governor of Minnesota saw how much charity work the various churches in his state did. Jesse said if we got rid of the church's people would feel the loss. Interesting observation from a person who questions the existence of God. Now just be glad you live in a place where nobody is putting a sword to your neck and says, join our religion or die. it's not a perfect world. Never was and never will be. Religion is a great organizational node. It always will exist and if you are able to organize a successful religion and expand it, you can take over politically. That's never going to stop. The religion that gets the most converts and has the most babies wins.
    It's odd to think of religion as being an undertaking where the outcome of it is to "win".

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    Not "freedom of religion." I prefer "freedom FROM religion."
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    Indeed.

    There is a complete lie repeated forever about the Mayflower Pilgrims going to America to escape religious persecution.

    This is complete bullshit.

    They were fundamentalists going to America to be somewhere they didn't have to share with non crazies. No one was telling them to do something different they just didn't want to be around people that weren't fundamentalists.

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