Living Wages

A company sets it's prices based on what they paid to create the product and what they want as profit. A company will rarely charge less than the production cost. Even when they compete with other companies, they will still make a profit. Inflation and ridiculous markups ensure that companies make a profit.
Bartering is all but dead in this country. I can not go into a store and make them give me a product for less than what they paid to make it. They're always going to make some sort of profit. Even with discounts and coupons.
Here's what's fucked up. A company puts out a job notice. They're the ones who need the workers. Yet they're the one's who set the price of labor. Shouldn't it be the other way around? They're the customers and the product is labor. The laborer should be setting the price.
For more skilled workers this is the case. Sort of. The Employer sets a price and the prospective employee negotiates that price. If they're good, they get what they want.

I think that workers should be the lead in setting their wages and benefits, not businesses. Even with competition from other workers
Workers should look at their costs of living, look at the hours they are willing to work, look at the difficulty of the work they are willing to do, look at the costs of their education, look at their goals. They factor all this into to price they will set for their labor.
Unskilled laborers should not feel like they have no negotiating power. We found this out when Mexican labor dropped in agriculture.
In today's economy, most employers complain that the job applicants aren't qualified. This means more leverage for those who are qualified.
I hate the fact that unskilled laborers are made to think that their labor isn't valuable because some inflated sense of labor competition.

What sucks is that when businesses compete they still make a profit. When people compete, their wages drop or remain stagnant while inflation and costs of living goes up.
It leads me to believe (warning: conspiracy trip) that businesses have more solidarity than we think.
Companies do give away products for free; but not at the expense of their profits. They do it because they can afford to.

Where in the world are people taught how to put a real value on their labor?

Workers should not be settling for a minimum wage. They should be negotiating a living wage for themselves

A Note to the Wealthy

You don't have anything I want
There is nothing about you that I want to emulate.

I am disgusted that you could justify your abundance while people, especially children, are homeless or in danger of losing their homes
While people don't know where or how they'll get there next meal
while people can't afford health care
while people can't afford an education
while people can't find jobs that will give them a living wage.

I'm disgusted by the lies
You acknowledge that you have the power to make things better by calling yourself a 'job creator'
but you're not interested in creating jobs. You're interested in creating profit. And you know that jobs take away from your profit.

You lie about regulations and taxes. Knowing that you make more than enough to provide jobs that people can live off of.

I'm angered by your condescension. The idea that people want to take from others or want handouts instead of wanting to earn their living.

I'm most disturbed by the fact that you can call yourself Christians.

So I'm not jealous or envious.
I have a home
I can eat at any hour of the day
I have money to pursue further education
I have good health insurance.

The difference between you and I is that I give a fuck about other people
I care about people who can't do anything for me
I give to those who can not benefit me

A term for Sexuality

The one problem I have with giving women who only want to have sex with women another label is that 'bisexual' is a word describing one's sexuality. It's clearly a sexual term. Not one describing someone's romantic or love interests.

Bisexual is in the same family as homosexual or heterosexual. Strictly terms for one's sexuality

So technically, realistically, and honestly, a woman who likes having sex with men and women, regardless of her romantic leanings or who she falls in love with, is correct to call herself bisexual.

Maybe it's a woman's nature to be adverse to a term that only describes one's sexuality, but, bisexual is just that.

I think the we're hitting a wall because, in the QUILTBAG, Bisexual is one of two labels that is strictly about sexuality. The other being asexual.
asexualty

I don't know of any QUILTBAGs that identify as homosexual or heterosexual. They usually call themselves gay or lesbian. Even heterosexuals are called straight.

Gay, lesbian, and straight are terms that describe more than sexuality, those terms are about love and lifestyle and everything else.

So really, homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual are fair terms to describe one's sexual orientation or attraction.

They aren't very good at describing one's identity. Gay, lesbian, straight are more oft used for that. So this leaves out bisexuals.

Queer isn't a word everyone wants to use due to it's history, so I can see why women who are attracted to women and men would rather identify as gay or straight. Because those terms are about more than just sexuality.

I'm queer because it's the best description of me overall (sexuality excluded). I identify as indifferent or equal opportunity if people push.

Maybe it is all in a word. I'll make this assumption that is in line with the statistics. If you asked someone straight out, more people would confess to their sexual behavior. People would be honest if asked 'Have you had sex with men and women'. They would also be honest about their attractions; 'are you attracted to men and women'.
If you asked someone their identity, the answers are so subjective they don't completely match up with their behavior or attraction. This is true of straight, gay, and bisexual people. And they aren't being dishonest. Identity is not the same for everyone. Identity is about more than who you want to screw or who you have screwed. So you're not going to get the answer you want based on your understanding of identity. You're going to get the answer based on their understanding of identity

Queer

Word of the day

Adj

Strange
Odd

Homosexual
informal usu. offensive (esp. of a man)

differing from the normal or usual in a way regarded as odd or strange
suspicious, dubious, or shady
faint, giddy, or queasy
informal , taboo homosexual
informal odd or unbalanced mentally; eccentric or slightly mad
slang worthless or counterfeit

1508, "strange, peculiar, eccentric," from Scottish, perhaps from Low Ger. (Brunswick dialect) queer "oblique, off-center," related to Ger. quer "oblique, perverse, odd," from O.H.G. twerh "oblique," from PIE base *twerk- "to turn, twist, wind" (related to thwart). The verb

Synonyms
unconventional, curious, freakish, eccentric, weird. strange.

Originally pejorative for gay, now being reclaimed by some gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons as a self-affirming umbrella term. Caution: still extremely offensive when used as an epithet.


Queer has traditionally meant odd or unusual, though modern use often pertains to LGBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and non-normative heterosexual) people.

Its usage is considered controversial and underwent substantial changes over the course of the 20th century with some LGBT people reclaiming the term as a means of self-empowerment.

The term is still considered by some to be offensive and derisive, and by others as a re-appropriated term used to describe a sexual orientation and/or gender identity or gender expression that does not conform to heteronormative society.

In contemporary usage, some use queer as an inclusive, unifying sociopolitical, self-affirming umbrella term for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, transsexual, intersexual, genderqueer, or of any other non-heterosexual sexuality, sexual anatomy, or gender identity.

It can also include asexual and autosexual people, as well as gender normative heterosexuals whose sexual orientations or activities place them outside the heterosexual-defined mainstream (e.g. BDSM practitioners or polyamorous persons). Queer in this sense (depending on how broadly it is defined) is commonly used as a synonym for such terms as LGBT.



aglbical

urban dictionary

dictionary

I love sex

Or at least the idea of sex.
When I was my own kind of devout christian, I wanted to save myself for marriage
Now I'm a queer kid, I learned that marriage wasn't necessary.
Though I still think love is
I think that sex is sacred. It holds spiritual power
And if it isn't sacred then it is definitely something that should be taken more seriously than it is
More powerful (and often dangerous) than we give it credit for.
Fosters attachment and masks love

Like a drug. Addiction

I'm affectionate. I love intimacy
But I've found that sex isn't worth the crap I have to put up with in order to get it regularly.
Maybe if I felt fully connected I'd think differently. But I haven't
I really just want to cuddle...maybe a little kiss here and there.

I love sex. I don't like having sex with people I don't want to be attached to. I don't like the feeling after having sex with someone I'm not attached to. Or having sex and getting attached to someone before it's really prudent

Disease and drama have no place in my life
So, bottom line. I don't have a problem with sex. I have a problem with people.

Deep Horoscope

In Bill Moyers' DVD The Language of Life, poet Naomi Shihab Nye is shown giving advice to aspiring young poets. She urges them to keep an open mind about where their creative urges might take them. Sometimes when you start a poem, she says, you think you want to go to church, but where you end up is at the dog races. I'll make that same point to you, Gemini. As you tune in to the looming call to adventure, don't be too sure you know what destination it has in mind for you. You might be inclined to assume it'll lead you toward a local bar for drinks when in fact it's nudging you in the direction of a wild frontier for a divine brouhaha.

It's not too late to hear my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny in 2012. What new influences will be headed your way in the coming months?

*
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According to Jewish legend, there are in each generation 36 righteous humans who prevent the rest of us from being destroyed. Through their extraordinary good deeds and their love of the divine spark, they save the world over and over again. They're not famous saints, though. They go about their business anonymously, and no one knows how crucial they are to our well-being.

Might you be one of the 36? As a temporary experiment, act as if you are.

New System

Here's what bugs me (not about any one person in particular). When the government screws up, it's like there's a call for the apocalypse.
When businesses screw up, it's just a little mischief.
Businesses have run government since we were founded.
I really don't care about bailouts. I care about workers and consumers being exploited.
I care about people not having affordable housing, health care, education, and healthy food; and good jobs that provide those things.
Every American can have those things. This idea of scarce resources is bull. We have enough for everyone. It's either being hoarded or wasted.
Every economic system is better than the one before it. It's time for our economy to evolve into something better.
I don't care about any systems that are over 200 years old. Time has proven that they can't overcome human nature.
I think we are smart enough to come up with a new economic system that can provide what is needed for everyone without coercion.

Deep Horoscope

"It is respectable to have no illusions -- and safe -- and profitable and dull," said author Joseph Conrad. Taking our cue from his liberating derision, I propose that we protest the dullness of having no illusions. Let's decry the blah gray sterility that comes from entertaining no fantastic fantasies and unreasonable dreams. How boring it is to have such machine-like mental hygiene! For this one week, Gemini, I urge you to celebrate your crazy ideas. Treasure and adore your wacky beliefs. Study all those irrational and insane urges running around your mind to see what you can learn about your deep, dark unconsciousness. (P.S.: But I'm not saying you should act on any of those phantasms, at least not now. Simply be amused by them.)
What will be the story of your life in 2012?
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
The iconoclastic physicist Jack Sarfatti proposes that all "creative thought by artists, craftsmen, and scientists involves the subconscious reception of ideas from the future, which literally create themselves."

Beauty and Truth Lab researcher Vimala Blavatsky puts a different spin on it. "Our future selves are constantly transmitting great ideas to us back through time," she says, "but most of us don't believe that's possible and consequently are not alert for it."

What do you think is the most pressing communiqué your future self is currently beaming your way?
*
The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

Abuse

Word of the day

noun

1 the improper use of something:
alcohol abuse | an abuse of public funds.
• unjust or corrupt practice:
protection against fraud and abuse
| human rights abuses.
2 cruel and violent treatment of a person or animal:
a black eye and other signs of physical abuse.
• violent treatment involving sexual assault, esp. on a repeated basis:
young people who have suffered sexual abuse.
3 insulting and offensive language:
waving his fists and hurling abuse at the driver.


verb [ with obj. ]

1 use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse:
the judge abused his power by imposing the fines.
• make excessive and habitual use of (alcohol or drugs, esp. illegal ones).
2 treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, esp. regularly or repeatedly:
riders who abuse their horses should be prosecuted.
• assault (someone, esp. a woman or child) sexually:
he was a depraved man who had abused his two young daughters | (as adj. abused)
: abused children.
• use or treat in such a way as to cause damage or harm:
he had been abusing his body for years.
3 speak in an insulting and offensive way to or about (someone):
the referee was abused by players from both teams.



New Oxford American Dictionary

Class in America

What is class in America

Owners of businesses
Managers
Skilled workers
unskilled workers
unemployed

Is it between those who don't receive a wage and don't have income from private sources.
Those who work for a wage.
Those who control other people's wages.
Those who don't receive a wage but have income from private sources

should we distinguish between the poor and working poor?

I don't think a monetary divide could be set.

Right

Right
- that which is due every member... by virtue of just claim, fair principle and legal guarantee. A right can only be lost through due process of law.


Just Claim - A right each individual has to petition the organization on that which is not clear by law (written or practiced); i.e., request chit, formal written request, etc.


Fair Principle - A right each individual has to expect equal treatment by virtue of what others receive (i.e., pay, grade, position, etc.)


Legal Guarantee – That which is written and affirmed by higher authority (i.e., laws, contracts, policies, directives, position, etc.). Legal guarantee must be afforded all personnel under the principle of fairness, if not they have a just claim to petition the system.


18.
a just claim or title, whether legal, prescriptive, or moral
: You have a right to say what you please.
19.
Sometimes, rights. that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles, etc.: women's rights; Freedom of speech is a right of all Americans.

23.
Sometimes, rights. the interest or ownership a person, group, or business has in property: He has a 50-percent right in a silver mine. The author controls the screen rights for the book.


25.
Finance.
a.
the privilege, usually preemptive, that accrues to the owners of the stock of a corporation to subscribe to additional shares of stock or securities convertible into stock at an advantageous price.
b.
Often, rights. the privilege of subscribing to a specified amount of a stock or bond issue, or the document certifying this privilege.


Does due process include a popular vote?


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.


rights only for Americans or universal.
Constitutional rights, human rights, universal rights, civil rights.

It is important to note the difference between "civil rights" and "civil liberties." The legal area known as "civil rights" has traditionally revolved around the basic right to be free from unequal treatment based on certain protected characteristics (race, gender, disability, etc.) in settings such as employment and housing. "Civil liberties" concern basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed -- either explicitly identified in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, or interpreted through the years by courts and lawmakers. Civil liberties include:

* Freedom of speech
* The right to privacy
* The right to be free from unreasonable searches of your home
* The right to a fair court trial
* The right to marry
* The right to vote

One way to consider the difference between "civil rights" and "civil liberties" is to look at 1) what right is affected, and 2) whose right is affected. For example, as an employee, you do not have the legal right to a promotion, mainly because getting a promotion is not a guaranteed "civil liberty." But, as a female employee you do have the legal right to be free from discrimination in being considered for that promotion -- you cannot legally be denied the promotion based on your gender (or race, or disability, etc.). By choosing not to promote a female worker solely because of the employee's gender, the employer has committed a civil rights violation and has engaged in unlawful employment discrimination based on sex or gender.
Privilege
1.
a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most: the privileges of the very rich.
2.
a special right, immunity, or exemption granted to persons in authority or office to free them from certain obligations or liabilities: the privilege of a senator to speak in Congress without danger of a libel suit.
3.
a grant to an individual, corporation, etc., of a special right or immunity, under certain conditions.
4.
the principle or condition of enjoying special rights or immunities.
5.
any of the rights common to all citizens under a modern constitutional government: We enjoy the privileges of a free people.
6.
an advantage or source of pleasure granted to a person: It's my privilege to be here.


activist judges and the judicial process
the judicial process starts with the people
citizens have to initiate the process
judges just don't pick various laws and decide they are not worthy of following
though, in their rulings, they can go beyond the scope of the trial.

Here's an interesting article from Boston concerning the Rational Basis argument.
the same sex marriage argument that justice scalia fears. google it

Waste

Word of the day

verb

1 [ with obj. ] use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose:
we can't afford to waste electricity | I don't use the car, so why should I waste precious money on it?
• (usu. be wasted on) bestow or expend on an unappreciative recipient:
her small talk was wasted on this guest.
• (usu. be wasted) fail to make full or good use of:

New Oxford American Dictionary

Fundamental concepts

Love/compassion
honesty
freedom

Hitchens on King

“For years, I declined to fill in the form for my Senate press credential that asked me to state my 'race,' unless I was permitted to put 'human.' The form had to be completed under penalty of perjury, so I could not in conscience put 'white,' which is not even a color let alone a 'race,' and I sternly declined to put 'Caucasian,' which is an exploded term from a discredited ethnology. Surely the essential and unarguable core of King's campaign was the insistence that pigmentation was a false measure: a false measure of mankind (yes, mankind) and an inheritance from a time of great ignorance and stupidity and cruelty, when one drop of blood could make you 'black.”
― Christopher Hitchens

Fraud

Word of the day

n

wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain:

• a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities:

New Oxford American Dictionary

fraud
"criminal deception," early 14c., from O.Fr. fraude "deception, fraud" (13c.), from L. fraudem (nom. fraus) "deceit, injury." The noun meaning "impostor, humbug" is attested from 1850. Pious fraud "deception practiced for the sake of what is deemed a good purpose" is from 1560s.

Consent of the governed

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

The Purpose of Education

To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.

The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.

Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education.


Martin Luther King, Jr., The Purpose of Education

The Constitution on Rights

Section 8 - Powers of Congress

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases. Ratified 12/15/1791.

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868.

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870.

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 19 - Women's Suffrage. Ratified 8/18/1920.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 24 - Poll Tax Barred. Ratified 1/23/1964.

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Amendment 26 - Voting Age Set to 18 Years. Ratified 7/1/1971.

1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Human trafficking

word of the day

n

Trafficking in Persons

“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs...

The definition of trafficking continues to be the subject of debate, and there is no conclusive or even commonly agreed upon definition globally, regionally or even nationally. This in itself is indicative of the degree of ideological contention which marks the discourse on trafficking and related issues. Absence of consensus on the definition has crucial implications on strategic planning and programme development since some of the definitions which inform concrete practice may be contradictory to each other. However, there are some basic elements of trafficking that are widely agreed upon, such as violence, deception, coercion, deprivations of freedom of movement, abuse of authority, debt bondage, forced labour and slavery-like practices, and other forms of exploitation or use of force.

UN

save the children


fbi

human trafficking

not for sale

Even Jesus lost his shit with the money changers

John 2
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.
15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Heretic

Word of the day
n

1
a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.
2.
Roman Catholic Church . a baptized Roman Catholic who willfully and persistently rejects any article of faith.
3.
anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.


I have a different idea of who Christ was in relation to us
A brother
One who was willing to do what we are all called to do


New Oxford American Dictionary
Dictionary.com

heresy
"an opinion of private men different from that of the catholick and orthodox church" [Johnson], c.1200, from O.Fr. heresie (12c.), from L. hæresis, "school of thought, philosophical sect," used by Christian writers for "unorthodox sect or doctrine," from Gk. hairesis "a taking or choosing, a choice," from haireisthai "take, seize," middle voice of hairein "to choose," of unknown origin, perhaps from PIE *ser- "to seize" (cf. Hittite šaru "booty," Welsh herw "booty").

The Greek word was used in N.T. in reference to the Sadducees, Pharisees, and even the Christians, as sects of Judaism, but in English bibles it usually is translated sect. Meaning "religious belief opposed to the orthodox doctrines of the Church" evolved in Late Latin in the Dark Ages. Transferred (non-religious) use from late 14c.

I admit I'm a heretic and I don't put as much emphasis on Jesus' death as I do his life. I think that narrow focus misses a big point. I think his purpose was to answer Cain's question (that God didn't answer at the time). Christian's love to highlight the idea that he died for our sins; but don't put enough light on him asking us to be just like him.
Just like in the bible, people tend to be like Cain, killing their brother for gain. Then someone comes along like Jesus, dying for their brothers.

The Constitution on Privileges

Section 6 - Compensation

(The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.) (The preceding words in parentheses were modified by the 27th Amendment.) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

Section 9 - Limits on Congress

The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

Section 2 - State citizens, Extradition

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.


Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868.

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Emperor's Ideal Society

One where a person could engage in any activity they want that does not injure others

All interactions must be consensual and
Free of fraud or coercion
The interactions must be fully transparent

Every contract (any agreement, spoken or written) has an inherent
transparency clause
If one party withholds any information pertaining to that agreement
The contract is violated


If one infringes on anyone's life, liberty, or property
They must atone

Ornery

word of the day

adjective informal

bad-tempered and combative:
• stubborn:

Hereditary

New Oxford American Dictionary

Deep Thought

‎"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That's what it's all finally about, and that's what these clues help us to find within ourselves

"…Experience of life. The mind has to do with meaning. What's the meaning of a flower? … There's no meaning. What's the meaning of the universe? What's the meaning of a flea? It's just there. That's it. And your own meaning is that you're there. We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget that the inner value, the rapture associated with being alive, is what it's all about."

Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, with Bill Moyers, p. 4, 5

Deep Horoscope

Comedian Steven Wright says his nephew has HDADD, or High Definition Attention Deficit Disorder. "He can barely pay attention, but when he does it's unbelievably clear." I'm predicting something like that for you in the coming week, Gemini. You will encounter more things that are dull than are interesting, but those few that fascinate you will awaken an intense focus that allows you to see into the heart of reality.

What new influences will be headed your way in 2012? What fresh resources will you be able to draw on? How can you make best use of these influences and resources?

Economics

Word of the day

n

the branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth.

New Oxford American Dictionary

How to eradicate poverty

short answer
prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.


Ensure every citizen has a job with a living wage.

Ensure every citizen has lifetime access to:
Healthy foods,
Safe, affordable housing and utilities,
Affordable healthcare.
Affordable transportation,
Affordable childcare.

Ensure every citizen has access to:
Health education that promotes healthy eating, exercise,
how to prevent unwanted pregnancies,
prevention of disease and infection.

Financial education that includes budgeting, saving, investing,
how to live debt free.
If not debt free, then how to get and maintain good credit.

Primary Education that focuses on reading, writing, arithmetics, and research techniques.
Teach Critical thinking skills needed to recognize factual information and use it to make informed decisions. Show children how to gather information from their community (including internet).
Teach people how to effectively present and debate factual information.

Have employers take responsibility for Vocational education that will give workers the tools/leverage needed to negotiate for the wages they want.
More on the job training and apprenticeship programs.
More business funded certification/licensing programs.
More industries/businesses providing guidance to colleges/universities on what courses to take to be successful in the job market.

Most of all, education that focuses on individuals. Looks at a person's situation and goals and tailors learning to them.
This means getting rid of standardized tests
and getting away from classrooms

Businesses who made record profits, outsourced or automated jobs,
gave their executives million dollar severances,
gave their CEOs salaries that are over 200 times that of the average worker,
Got government subsidies,
Didn't pay income taxes,
Laid off workers,
Cut wages and benefits,
Need to be ashamed of themselves.
They need to be held accountable for their part in our poverty rates.
If they don't do more to help america, we need to boycott them.

We need to promote local businesses that are actively involved in improving the lives of the people in their communities. Especially financial institutions.

Every citizen needs to get involved in their community.
Go to city council meetings.
Volunteer for charities and non-profits. Exercise rights guaranteed in the first amendment daily.
If you aren't going to be represented by your elected officials, represent yourself.
Hold businesses accountable every day.

And they need to release all non-violent drug Offenders and end this ridiculous war on drugs.

Replace our collective sense of self worth that consumerism stole from us. Businesses can't convince us to buy their crap if we know we are capable of producing things, accomplishing tasks by ourselves. We also need to know that we are beautiful without their product.

Ensure that the people have the resources and skills and network to provide for themselves and their communities
Create Self sufficient communities

I love

I love everyone
so I don't have to be in love with anyone

SYMPATHETIC JOY

word of the day

n

mudita

The definition is: being happy with someone's fortune/happiness. Sympathetic joy here refers to the potential of bliss and happiness of all sentient beings, as they can all become Buddhas.
The near enemy is hypocrisy or affectation.
The opposite is jealousy, when one cannot accept the happiness of others.
A result which one needs to avoid is: spaced-out bliss, which can easily turn into laziness.
Note: sympathetic joy is a great antidote to depression for oneself as well, but this should not be the main goal.
By rejoicing in others' progress on the spiritual path, one can actually share in their positive karma.
Sympathetic joy is an unselfish, very positive mental attitude which is beneficial for oneself and others. In this case, it also refers specifically to rejoicing in the high rebirth and enlightenment of others.

view on buddhism

The third immeasurable is appreciative joy. It is the wholesome attitude of rejoicing in the happiness and virtues of all sentient beings. It counters jealousy and makes people less self-centred.

People in their daily lives may experience appreciative joy. It is like a mother's joy at her son's success and happiness in life. In the same way, almost everyone will have at one time or another experienced the feeling of joy at the good fortune of a friend. These are the commonly experienced forms of appreciative joy. When one meditates on appreciative joy and extends it to all sentient beings and not just to loved ones only, one then experiences appreciative joy as a sublime state of mind and as an immeasurable.

buddhanet

bodhicitta

buddhanet