Bias Religious Dogma Should Stay Out of Politics

This is what happens when you have religion dictating the lives of the people!  It’s always their way or no way because they are the supreme being, in most cases it’s like that depending on how the faith respects the differences of others or not.

If this were to happen in the US it would probably be Christian’s dictating similar dogma through a supreme leader that would end up attacking the diverse population and minority groups of America, claiming tradition!   This probably wouldn’t happen, but I see some fanatics trying to do it through petitions in favor of their own religion disregarding the faith of others or those that are non believers.  That’s what happens when people bring in religion.  America has long understood that religion should be kept out of politics, but we have these neo Christian’s who are trying to claim otherwise and push their religion on the rest of us.  Their claim of tradition is flawed because “traditions” in America have always evolved, but they don’t want to evolve when it comes to a particular group of people.  Heck, slavery was traditional, divorce was not traditional, women working is not traditional and so on those traditions change when you come to America.

So many other groups that came to America are told your American know, you don’t need those traditions, yet they claim tradition in the name of Christianity when it suits their particular cause, and disregard all the other traditions that they do not follow because were in America now, it’s all oxymoron.  They alleged marriage is traditional to the church, yet they divorce numerous times, have adulterous affairs and bastard children all over the place, and you can easily check family history for all that.

Were American now, we don’t need all those traditions they would say, but unless it’s their tradition and they allege it is then they expect every one to abide by those rules.  It’s a joke!

Sure you can have your views, but your religion shouldn’t interfere with the lives of other people, much lest their personal lives, and we shouldn’t be allowing votes based on religious views that target a minority group of people.  These are things we all need to be aware of.

Iran’s Clergy Step Up Anti-Government Protests

With Iran’s political opposition running out of legal avenues to fight what it sees as fraudulent presidential elections, members of Iran’s powerful clerical class are stepping up their own anti-government protests in defiance of the country’s Supreme Ruler.

An association of religious scholars seen as politically neutral in the dispute between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir Houssein Mousavi sharpened the debate, calling the country’s highest election arbiter, the Guardian Council, biased and the June 12 election results “invalid.”

The statement carries moral weight — especially after the security forces have quashed street protests and jailed hundreds of opposition supporters — but has little practical ability to change the certification of Mr. Ahmadinejad as the winner.

It does, however, highlight a growing unease among Iran’s scholarly ruling class about the direction of the country and questions about the theological underpinning of the Islamic Republic: the assumption that the supreme leader and the institutions under him are infallible.

Science Connects to Buddha Nature and Inner Consciousness

Everyone should learn the basic concepts of science and evolve with it. I’ve always loved science because it’s connected to everything around us, the trees, the birds, the insects to the foods we eat!  The world is an amazing place! Having a degree in science, and coming from a family of Buddhists for many generations, I can understand the Dalai Lama’s interest and excitement in science, I’m still evolving.   I agree, totally love Dhondup’s question, because my knowledge and understanding of science has helped me to understand Buddhism better, though I still have a lot more to learn about Buddhist teachings into consciousness, my inner being.

Wouldn’t mind taking the course myself, so I hope the scientists eventually bring the Buddhist science teaching model home to America, so we can educate ourselves here to.

Teaching the Dalai Lama’s Monks: Better Religion Through Science

Do bacteria require light?” Tashi, one of my best students, wants to know. He sits there in Dharamsala, India, like his Buddhist monk colleagues, cross-legged on the floor in maroon robes, six hours a day learning science from a tall white Jewish guy from North Carolina.

Religion often has a hard time of it, especially among academics, and especially among scientists. Of course academics have no problem studying religion and raising big money to establish endowed chairs, centers, and institutes devoted to just that. But when actually being religious or even discussing personal beliefs or spirituality at all, is rare and, if anything, discouraged. To me this is an odd and disturbing social conundrum: let’s take our best thinkers and idea-people, theorizers, and policy developers and eradicate any discussion of personal belief, religion, or spirituality from their official discourse. Brilliant.

So, it’s refreshing to be part of a project, an experiment really, in which academics are actively engaging religious tradition and belief. Even better, and ironically, this engagement is driven by scientists; the very folks many blame for hammering personal belief out of intellectual conversation in the West in the first place.

[read the full article on Better Religion Through Science]

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Hot Money [Broker Desposits] Continue to Grow at Tax Payer Expense

These companies, bankers, created the economic mess, right?  They get a bail out [stimulus package] and these people are saying “were paying the money back,” well, sure your paying the money back, but it was given to help prevent bankruptcy because they were already in default!

Many were are in default, so they received help from the Tax Payers [stimulus package]!

Okay, so they’re paying it back, but that Tax Payer money helped them out!

Right now, people are having a hard time because of the economic difficulties brought about by these bankers, yet people who are currently in default because of the economic hardships brought about are NOT getting a Stimulus Package to help them out!

They’re so quick to say they’re paying it back!

So, why can’t these bankers help others protect their credit by working with them, so they to do not go into default of their loans or credit? 

Why are these bankers so quick to destroy OUR credit as a result of economic hardship brought about from these bankers, when they get help to prevent bankruptcy after being in default, but they don’t want to help the People who helped them prevent bankruptcy, and are quick to report it to your credit rating when we go into default?

Ambitious Small Banks Get Wads of Cash and Loads of Trouble

H. Averett Walker used hot money to turn Security Bank from a sleepy Southern lender into a regional powerhouse. Darrell D. Pittard used hot money to jump-start his brand-new MagnetBank, allowing it to lend hundreds of millions of dollars even though it did not have a single drive-up window or even a customer with a checking account.

It is a formula being replicated at banks across the United States.

Rather than simply wooing local customers, they have turned to out-of-state brokers who deliver billions of dollars in bulk deposits, widely known as “hot money,” from investors nationwide. In fast-growing regions like this one in central Georgia, the money produced record bank profits and financed whole new communities, built at a phenomenal rate.

But the hot money also came with a high cost. To lure the money from brokers, banks typically had to offer unusually high rates. That, in turn, often led them to make ever riskier loans, leaving them vulnerable when the economy collapsed. Magnet failed early this year and Security Bank is barely hanging on.

Though few people have heard of it, hot money — or brokered deposits, as it is also known in the industry — is one of the primary factors in the accelerating wave of failures among small and regional banks nationwide. The estimated cost to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation over the last 18 months is $7.7 billion, and growing.

Pastor Concerned that Buddhism Coming to HIS City!

Wow!  Doesn’t America have “religious freedom” or does that only stand if your a Christian? 

One pastor even comes up with a question of “where is the money coming from, is it being funneled out of the US?”  WTF!!!

Christian’s send money out of state all the time!

It’s a blatant attack on religious freedom, and I can ask the same thing of that pastor!  What is that pastor doing with the money he’s getting from his followers?  Is he spending it on church issues or is he buying several homes and cars for him and his family, all while the church might be in dire need?  I’ve seen that happen before.

Buddhist monks are not allowed to handle money, the laypeople handle the business aspect.  The temples are the non profits, and everything else is a business, if they have a book store they charge tax on sales, etc.  It’s like any other church or temple suppose to be.

Just because they might be tax exempt doesn’t mean they won’t spend money in the community. Just by purchasing the materials alone would help the community, what about that Pastor, is his church benefiting the community since it has “tax exempt” status for it’s house, and do they pay tax on their other church busineses?

These kinds of people allege they have nothing against Buddhism, but what they are doing is a blatant attack on Buddhism, and the excuses don’t help cover that up because I’ve heard to many people say things that misrepresent the true teachings of Buddhism, to many times. 

Buddhists in the community and surrounding areas have a right to their temple and it’s teachings!

Pataskala Residents question plans for Buddhist temple

Some area residents and religious leaders are worried about a proposed Buddhist development setting up shop along Blacks Road on the city’s eastern edge.
Residents and pastors recently approached the Pataskala City Council to express their concerns.

“I question where the funding comes from, and what their real intentions are and the impact on the community long-term,” said Gale Road resident Glenn Graham, a pastor at a Kirkersville-area church.

Valley Road resident Andrea Adkins questioned the proposed development’s financial impact on the city, considering one element would possess tax-exempt status.

“There’s not tax money coming in,” Adkins said. “That’s not going to benefit the city at all.”

Pastor Gary Nelson, of One Purpose Community Church, added he has nothing against Buddhists, although they possess differing views. However, Nelson questioned how the development would incorporate a temple with a restaurant, market and spa.

“I see a businesses set up on a nonprofit status,” he said. “I don’t know really how that’s going to benefit the community that much if they use the religious status that me, as a pastor, I understand, but to come in and try to funnel money maybe out of this country, I have no idea. Those are questions I would like to have answered through this process.”

“Some people think of (Buddhism) as a new age religion, but it is a faith that has been around 2,500 years,” Wesley said.

Buddhism appeals to Wesley because the meditative aspects clear her mind. However, she cautioned Buddhism is not solely focused on looking inward.

“One of the decisions Buddhism teaches is love and compassion for everyone,” she said.

[see full story of Pastors concern on Buddhist Temple coming to his city]

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The Great Exodus of the GOP

A lot of people left the party because they focused to much on peoples personal lives!  Social issues don’t have a part in the political party, this is American, and everyone has a different opinion on their own “moral” issues.  My morals are different than your morals, and just because mine are different than yours doesn’t make your morals better than mine, it’s just ridiculous!

If you want to worry about morals then go to your own religious background and practice it there, it shouldn’t be brought into the political parties.  I’m sad to see the GOPers do this to the Republican party because it’s NOT the party Lincoln founded.

I agree, with McCain’s mother and many others; in that people like Rush don’t represent the Republican party views.  Republican’s started adopting religious views in the 80’s, from my experience, and that’s why a lot of people left the party.  This is America, you can’t have a Party favoring one religion and ignoring the others in it’s stead, and that’s why, we, America have a time honored tradition of “Separation of Church and State” which the neo GOPers totally ignored. 

When they say “conservatism” they are speaking about “fiscal” conservatism NOT your religious “conservatism.”  Keep your own religion to yourself, people shouldn’t be forced to abide by one religious doctrine, if other’s have an  interest in your particular brand, then they will ask you.

Caruso-Cabrera: Tweak Your Platform, GOP
More evidence of what’s wrong with the Republican party emerged this week with the Mark Sanford scandal. If you haven’t heard, the governor of South Carolina disappeared to who knows where this past week. (Now he says he was not on the Appalachian Trail but in Argentina.) He didn’t tell his wife or his staff, which has lead to all kinds of speculation that he is A: Having an affair; B: Having a nervous breakdown.

If the answer is A, you can add it to the long list of hypocritical actions by self-righteous Republicans. Insert here Senator John Ensign recently having to apologize for an affair.

The Republican Party insists that “American values” must be a core part of the platform. Their values of course; and yet values that many of them don’t adhere to. There are few crimes greater in America than hypocrisy.

[Read more about tweaking your platform]

56 Million Chinese Leaving the Chinese Communist Party; Sounds Familiar!

This sort of reminds of people leaving the RNC for their strange ideology and repressive dogmatic views.  Accept people seem to be taking longer to leave, over the past 20 years since adopting those ideological views.  The old RNC was just fine, but these neo-conservatives have gone dogmatic with social conservative views that target our families and our private lives.

All these regimes around the world are going to collapse because they persecute their own people for ridiculous things whether communist ideology or religious ideology.  Leave people alone and let them do their own thing and everything will be great!  Sure there will be problems, but free choice without doing harm is a better way of life.

This world doesn’t need dictators or regimes that repress the people or their paths in life.

Supporting 56 Million Chinese Leaving the CCP

The “Quit the CCP Center” in Tokyo hosted a parade to support 56 million Chinese withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on June 21. People from Tokyo and surrounding cities as far away as Kansai, have shown their support by joining the event despite the rain.

Led by the Celestial Marching Band, participants marched around downtown Tokyo with banners stating “Support 56 million Chinese’ withdrawal from CCP”, “Disintegrate the CCP, Stop the persecution”, “Stop persecuting Falun Gong” and so forth. Along the path, participants also announced through loudspeakers that the historical violence and lies of CCP are destined to collapse. [Read 56million Chinese Leave CCP]

Chinese Communist Kidnap Dutch Citizen for Practicing Falun Gong

Chinese communist agents had kidnapped a Dutch citizen because she practices Falun Gong!  The communists have been taking Falun Gong practictioners in China and imprisioning them because of their Falun Gong practice which is basically a peaceful practice of non violence and respect.  It amazes me how the communist can be so hateful toward a peace loving group of people.  Many of them over the years have been murdered for their body parts, and those body parts are sold, and I suppose the communist party people get the profits.  These people are still living when they take the parts from them, but of course they will die after those parts are taken from them.

You can learn  more about the immorality of the communists who destroyed Chinese culture and Tibetan Culture at the Laogai Research Foundation.

Chinese Agents Kidnap Dutch Tour Guide

A Chinese-Dutch citizen, Guo Ping, was twice kidnapped and interrogated by secret agents when she was conducting tourist groups in China this May. The agents questioned her and forced her to plead guilty for her belief in Falun Gong, a spiritual practice persecuted in China since 1999.

Guo was first kidnapped on May 8 from her hotel room in Beijing. Agents from the Bureau of State Security broke into her room at about 3:30 p.m. and took her by force to another hotel where five agents questioned her for 15 hours. There were no legal procedures.

Upon Guo’s protest, the agents said that she was detained because she was a Falun Gong practitioner. They refused Guo’s demand to contact the Dutch Embassy, and required her to “plead guilty” for her beliefs. The agents also required her to list other Falun Gong practitioners she knew in Holland and China.

…So far over 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed to be tortured to death for their belief, and tens of thousands have been jailed in prison, labor camps, secret detention facilities and mental houses.

Bush Feared Prosecution for War Crimes

As more pressure mounts on the Bush Administration’s War Crimes, new evidence keeps showing up that proves the guilt, and lies told to American’s during his service in office as President of the United States!    They don’t care about the Geneva Convention, the international law that also protects American soldiers from torture.  Tear that up, you open the door against Our Soldiers, so how can they really “Support Our Troops” by tearing up an important law against torture?

I’m sorry, he shouldn’t have been such a puppet to his advisers or anyone else that would have advised him to go against any laws or the basic principles of the Unites States constitution.  It would be hard to name names because he was the President and had the last word, so as he might say “the buck stops here” he’s the President and the one ultimately responsible for what happened in his watch at the White House.

It’s even the basic stuff that gets me!  Like, why would anyone in his White House expose the cover of a CIA operative, which to me is treason, then support those that did it or lied about it to cover for some one else?  They should have been sent to prison and put on trial for treason!

He’s afraid of “domestic criminal prosecution” probably because the US still has the death penalty, so his best bet would be put on trial by the international community rather than the US.

Bush Feared Prosecution for War Crimes

Bush Feared Prosecution for War Crimes
In 2002, Gonzales urged Bush to protect them against “domestic criminal prosecution”

Because of the immense pressure brought by the Indict Bush movement, new revelations continue to come forth.

The Bush administration lied about the reason it decided to deprive detainees of Geneva Convention rights and protections. The real reason was that Bush and his lawyer decided that it was the best way to protect the President and other officials from criminal prosecution.
[Read more on about The real reason Bush tore up the Geneva Conventions]

[Sign petition to Attorney General Eric Holder]

Torture Accountability Action Day in D.C.
11am-12noon: Rally in John Marshall Park
(501 Pennsylvania Ave. NW)
12 noon: March to U.S. Department of Justice

Revolution through People Power and Twitter!

I love this kind of democracy in action.  POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

It reminds me when people in California and across the state and the country protested Prop 8, but we had those prop 8 supporters calling us “Mobs.”  I just had to laugh because if that is a “mob” then they do not know what democracy is.  Demonstrations like this brink about change, and that change is brought about by the people, people power!

No one can stop that, but only a few created this kind of anger, and they all know who they are!

Power to the People!  We are NOT going away!

Revolution through People Power and Twitter!

Mock not. As the regime shut down other forms of communication, Twitter survived. With some remarkable results. Those rooftop chants that were becoming deafening in Tehran? A few hours ago, this concept of resistance was spread by a twitter message. Here’s the Twitter from a Moussavi supporter:

ALL internet & mobile networks are cut. We ask everyone in Tehran to go onto their rooftops and shout ALAHO AKBAR in protest #IranElection

That a new information technology could be improvised for this purpose so swiftly is a sign of the times. It reveals in Iran what the Obama campaign revealed in the United States. You cannot stop people any longer. You cannot control them any longer. They can bypass your established media; they can broadcast to one another; they can organize as never before.

Christian’s Vandalize Buddhist Temple

I thought it was only the Nazi’s,  “white” supremacists or communists that vandalized and destroyed other people’s temples, but I guess I’ve been wrong all these years of.

This is big wake up call for me.

Rochester Buddhist Temple Vandalized

A Buddhist temple in Rochester has been vandalized twice over two weeks.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incidents at the Buddhist Support Society.

Sgt. Scott Behrns says the second incident happened late Thursday or early Friday, when someone smashed spotlights and globe lights at the entrance to the property.

The weekend before, someone painted a cross on the driveway and the words “Jesus Saves” on the property.

Behrns says the person behind the incidents needs to “knock it off and grow up.”

Behrns says anyone who sees suspicious activity should call police.