Compassionate Conservative Christian Counseling

 According to the Tennessean, the Tennessee chapter of Christian group Family Action Council drafted a measure designed to “bar schools from disciplining students if they decline to treat clients with “goals, outcomes or behaviors that conflict with a sincerely held religious belief of the student.”
 Basically, the bill gives these counselors the right to deny help to any student they deem unworthy based on religious grounds.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/03/13/republicans-at-it-again-new-tennessee-bill-allows-religious-counselors-to-reject-lgbt-students/

If this country HAD been founded entirely on Christian Principles, as the Right would have us believe....we, as a nation, are to be ashamed of ourselves. The Republicans, who seem to claim they LOVE the Bible and it's teachings and who leave no stone unturned to make sure EVERYBODY in this country believes only as they do, apparently have skipped over parts of the New Testament.

Matthew 25:31-46

King James Version (KJV)

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Where does it mention that cutting social services, eliminating a safety net for those seniors who have worked all their lives, taking food out of the mouths of poor children, denigrating those whose jobs have been taken away but who are looking for ANY kind of work, seeing that only the wealthy have access to affordable health insurance or higher education, gutting our public school system, deciding that contraception is not necessary, making sure that the votes of nonwhite folks are not counted, and humiliating God's people who were born with a different sexual orientation than theirs?

“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion”

Steve Weinberg.

I Don't Even Know Where To Begin...

"What will religion look like in the year 2060?

Conservative Christians will be treated as second class citizens, much like African Americans were prior to civil rights legislation in the 1960s.

Family as we know it will be drastically changed with the state taking charge of the children beginning at birth.

Marriage will include two, three, four or any number of participants. Marriage will not be important, with individuals moving in and out of a “family” group at will.

Churchbuildings will be little used, with many sold to secular buyers and the money received going to the government.

Churches will not be allowed to discuss any political issues, even if it affects the church directly.

Tax credit given to churches and non-profit organizations will cease.

Christian broadcasting will be declared illegal based on the separation of church and state. The airwaves belong to the government, therefore they cannot be used for any religious purpose.

We will have, or have had, a Muslim president.

Cities with a name from the Bible such as St. Petersburg, Bethlehem, etc. will be forced to change their name due to separation of church and state.

Groups connected to any religious affiliation will be forced out of health care. Health centers get tax money from the state, making it a violation of church and state.

                             Get involved! Sign THE STATEMENT."

                                              Sincerely,

                                       Donald E. Wildmon

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/01/02/1386001/afa-christians-2060/ 

This little gem was mailed out recently by the AFA to it's members. Darn...I was SOOOOO looking forward to receiving mine in the mail. I needed more paper to go into the recycling bin.

And they wonder why people are distancing themselves from Conservatism and their brand of Christianity.......

" Forced To Use Universal Healthcare & Survived"

The story you are about to read is a harrowing one, according to all the pundits and politicians on the Right. A diehard believer was exposed, against her will, to the dreaded socialist form of MANDATED healthcare (known in this country as the menace of OBAMACARE, not to be confused with that excellent system they have in Massachusetts known as ROMNEYCARE....)


I'm sure you have all heard about the system: "free healthcare" for people who don't pay their own way, death panels, bankruptcy-causing forced premiums, coverage for non-citizens, no choice of doctors or hospitals, rationing of needed care, doctors fleeing their careers at every corner, hospitals and clinics shutting their doors, and Hitler at the reception desk with Nurse Ratchet assisting.


Let's not waste any time on this beleaguered tale:

"When I moved to Canada in 2008, I was a die-hard conservative Republican. So when I found out that we were going to be covered by Canada’s Universal Health Care, I was somewhat disgusted. "

http://ayoungmomsmusings.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/how-i-lost-my-fear-of-universal-health.html

Imagine this poor women's relief when at last she was asked to put forth her opinion on this statement: "When they asked me to clarify and I explained that many people in the States are not insured and they try to put off medical care unless absolutely needed, they literally could not comprehend such a thing."


She was also surprised that no pregnant women were automatically forced to have abortions. Contraception also was not given out at every exam. There were also doctors of all religious leanings, not practicing at gun point.......and they actually smiled.
"Since all of these benefits are available to everyone, I never heard Canadians talking about capping their incomes to remain lower income and not lose their government provided health coverage. Older people in Canada don’t have to clean out their assets to qualify for some Medicare or Social Security programs,."


Now......how can we get FOX NEWS to spread the word......?
(OK, I got carried away for the moment.)

"Pay For Your Own Birth Control....

vasectomies, eye surgeries, maternity care, flu shots, hernia operations, emergency room visits, knee surgeries, back surgeries, pediatric visits, tonsillectomies, torn ACL treatments, broken bones, allergy treatments, mental health visits, carpal tunnel surgery, Viagra, antibiotics, Cialis, Lyrica, Lipitor, Restasis, Vesicare.......anything advertised on television "you should ask your doctor about." After all, I have NO USE for these particular healthcare services, therefore I am under no social, moral, or "religious" obligation to pay any of MY hard-earned money to provide them for YOU. "

If you've heard as much of that lately as I have, you are about ready to scream!

What has happened to us as a compassionate, caring, understanding, sensible country? When has it become acceptable to demean and humiliate on national television or radio, a private citizen/student simply stating her views on a highly debated "political subject"........one that is being thrown about simply to stir the pot anyway? And THEN to keep on with this same denigrating tone for three days, just to get ratings I assume. When did it become OK for MEN, usually of the old white variety, to make decisions on a personal female reproductive matter, since this matter is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS, and settled years before anyway?

"Let everybody pay for their own healthcare needs or wants" seems to be the mantra these days. That's the ONE thing the Right seems to agree on as a "freedom" for everybody else. Sounds good in theory to them. EXCEPT for the fact that being in an insurance pool, whether through an employer or HEALTHCARE EXCHANGE brings the cost down for EVERYBODY. (I'm sure the insurance companies, drug companies, medical facilities, and third party administrators aren't happily anticipating this either.) If those with good comprehensive insurance had any idea of what the services for THEMSELVES really cost, they couldn't probably afford it either! NOBODY will TOTALLY pay for another's insurance....everyone will pay according to their ability/need...but by spreading the anticipated costs among a larger number of people, the costs are easier for everyone to bear. Especially if those before-mentioned companies have to play by the rules set up for them in the market place. (Well, hopefully, better than Wall Street.)

But back to the fake "religious controversy" being played out today...it's simply one more example of the Extreme Right's rhetoric that alienates one more of group......a very LARGE  group.....of today's voters. (But it does bother me that no Republican women have voiced any opinion on this...) The talking-in-circles about such matters tells me that the GOP has NO clue what they are doing, and really do not care what we think, either. It's all lies and bluster, a puffing of chests, finger pointing, behind the scenes maneuvering, and one-up-man-ship to practice for the BIG DAY: the presidential campaign this fall......when they can "get that guy out of OUR White House."
 UPDATE: In addition, the Republican party’s increasingly hostile stance towards contraception and women’s health drew a response from the National Federation of Republican Women, who urged Republicans to move the debate back into a “legitimate discussion” and reaffirmed, “The NFRW is not opposed to contraception.”

So, until then......plug your ears, take your BP meds, and make friends with the manager of your neighborhood wine and spirits store.

Religious Freedom, Republican Style

Darrell Issa and his fake GOP hearing on religious freedom is enough to make anyone vomit. Especially any woman. He's rounded up a bunch of elderly, white conservative men to push forth an agenda that has already been settled in previous decades. Other presidents (including Bush) and other politicians (Romney, who is making...clawing, scratching, reinventing....his way to the White House) have already made the same decision President Obama has done. http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-gop-contraceptives-20120216,0,3392996.story

Since the GOP has NO plans for creating jobs, NO plans for a reasonable budget in which there are sensible cuts and EVERYBODY takes some kind of hit (called "shared sacrifice"), NO intention of addressing the problems our global environment and economy faces,and can only push their outrage against "those leeching unemployed poor people and selfish seniors" so far......they do what they can: stir up a hornet's nest BOUND to rile and outrage their base (whatever that is). Not totally satisfied with the results with their Koch-fuelled agenda against abortion across the country, they are moving on to contraception.

HEY, FOOLS: BIRTH CONTROL PREVENTS THE NEED FOR ABORTIONS.

But, as my comment on a network news site earlier today:

The Repubs have NOTHING ELSE. They are on the wrong side of history. They do not care about women, children, the poor, gays, jobs, people without jobs, the environment, the economy (unless it affects their bottom line), healthcare (anybody else's), the rest of the world, seniors.............the ONLY thing that matters to them is GET THAT BLACK GUY OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE. and they are NOW using the Catholic church to hopefully achieve that end. (They will dump the bishops too, If and WHEN they accomplish this. But don't hold your breath on THAT outcome......)

I have to stop now..........I feel a migraine coming on.