Who Are You First?

 Are you an American first or a Black?

Are you an American first or a Hispanic/Latino?

Are you an American first or an Asian?

Are you an American first or a Caucasian?

Are you an American first or a Christian?

Are you an American first or a Muslim?

Are you an American first or an Atheist? 

____________________________________________

The only group of which I would not ask this question would be Native Americans...  as the answer would be obvious, even to those born in the USA after 1776.  But, the rest of us are undoubtedly sons and daughters of immigrants who came to this country for a new life.

.

As a Vietnam Veteran, I have a certain amount of loyalty to my country and I suppose to the government that governs my country, but I wonder if that loyalty would ever be put into a position to be viewed as subordinate to my faith.  And, I understand the phrase, "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and render unto God that which is God's."

But, what if I had to choose between my faith and my country?

For instance...  instead of enlisting in the Navy during the Vietnam War, I challenged the draft and/or the enlistment based upon my faith and my religious conviction against killing...  who would have won?

Suppose you are a black person and you have a choice to burn, riot, and loot cities on behalf of Black Lives Matter in the hopes that Americans will end the racial prejudice with which they have to contend on a regular basis OR, you can decided not to participate, support the country and its law enforcement efforts and change the country legally through the CONGRESS...

I hope that for whatever reason that you are never put into a position where you have to CHOOSE...

Global Poverty and Hunger

Around the world, more than 780 million people live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 per person per day, an amount which is impossible to support a healthy livelihood in any part of the world.

POVERTY LEADS TO HUNGER
One in three children in low- and middle-income countries suffers from chronic undernutrition. Without a sustainable source of income at a sufficient level, young children and their families do not have access to nutritious food, clean water or health care. And the deadly effects of undernutrition cannot be underestimated:

45% of all child deaths worldwide are from causes related to undernutrition (World Health Organization, 2018).

At Action Against Hunger, we believe that no child should die from hunger. We help over 21 million people every year gain access to sustainable sources of income, clean water, nutritious food, and health care, but there is still so much to be done.

GLOBAL POVERTY FACTS
Here are some statistics that show the scale of global poverty and its devastating effects.
780 million people, 11 percent of the world's population, live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 per day.

At least 17 million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition around the world. Severe acute malnutrition is the direct cause of death for 2 million children every year.

Every day, 1,000 children under 5 die from illnesses like diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera caused by contaminated water and inadequate sanitation.

Source: United Nations, UNICEF

QUESTION:  

WHY DON'T AMERICANS CARE ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD?

The Easy Part is Over

 

What Have You Got To Lose?

 Here's my thought...

If you have killed someone, not in self defense, then what have you got to lose by killing more people?  Killing more people might get you the death penalty in a court trial but again, THE HANGMAN can only kill you ONCE...

• One life for one life
• One life for 5 lives
• One life for 10 lives

With this type of mentality, politicians can explore all kinds of things to do to their opponents but if caught then they can only be punished ONCE.

DOES THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS?

Perhaps it does, but what does that do for the country in the process?

What have you got to lose if Biden wins the election in November?

1. You will get higher taxes
2. Business will get the restrictions that Trump took off
3. Democrats will want to limit the second amendment
4. Democrats will want to censor conservative viewpoints
5. The stock market will decline
6. Democrats will try to increase the number on the Supreme Court
7. Democrats want to make DC and Puerto Rico States increasing seats in House/Senate
8. Democrats will create open borders
9. Democrats will lose respect of global countries like Russia, China, North Korea
10. Democrats will allow Iran to become a nuclear power

Are you like the killer of one person who has NOTHING TO LOSE by killing more people or are you like the conservatives who want our country to grow economically and be the global deterrent of communism???

Did Mueller Lie???

 

What About Me...

 

NO DOUBTS AT ALL

Coronavirus pandemic likely 'could have been prevented' if China, WHO acted differently, report says

Republican lawmakers calling on WHO's leader to resign

as written By Greg Norman | Fox News

To read entire article, click here...

The GOP members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee released a 96 page document indicating that China and the WHO could have prevented the Global Pandemic if they had acted with transparency from the beginning...

ODD that this report was released by the GOP members of this House Committee when the House and this Committee are controlled by the Democrats...

Why are the DEMOCRATS not wanting to blame CHINA and the WHO (World Health Organization) for covering up the release of the Corona Virus Pandemic.

Seems irresponsible to me...

The Passing of Time

We all basically have the same amount of time each day...  24 hours, 7 days each week, 30/31 days each month, 12 months/52 weeks each year, and if we are lucky (and/or blessed depending upon one's beliefs) have an opportunity to live to 80/90+ years of age.  Our lives, does not really begin until we graduate from high school at 17/18 years of age and once that happens, we (as individuals) can build whatever life it is that we want to build with notable exceptions:  

• handicaps, 
• heredity,
• birth location, 
• birth parents, 
• birth wealth, 
• birth diseases,
• family influence, 
• community influence, 
• and our own individual personalities

Other milestones in our life in addition to graduation from high school, might include:

1. turning 21 years of age
2. entering/graduating college
3. entering/discharge from the military
4. getting married
5. having children
6. awards and recognitions
7. realizing our faith
8. having to wear eye glasses
9. major operations
10. turning 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100
11. having grandchildren
12. retiring from our careers

One issue that we never expected to have happen is the realization that time passes by all of us equally and once we realize that we are closer to our death than we are to our birth, we all unmistakably and painfully realize how fast time has passed.  And, the older we become the faster time seems to pass by.  It is not that we fear death as much as it is that we fear the end of life as we know it.  It is this end of life that terrifies us the most because we don't know what to expect...  it is from that uncertainty that we grasp out to our faith as some sort of justification for having the opportunity to live such a brief life...

SOCIAL SECURITY: Cost of Living Adjustments

Social Security is a hot topic heading into the November election – and the Social Security Administration is likely to announce a slight increase in monthly checks for beneficiaries next year shortly beforehand.

According to estimates put forth by The Senior Citizens League, the cost of living adjustment for next year is likely to be 1.3 %, which the group characterized as “extremely low.”

Benefits increased by 1.6 % in 2020, 2.8% in 2019, 2% in 2018, 0.3 percent in 2017 and 0% in 2016.

According to The Senior Citizens League, benefits have lost 30% of their purchasing power since the year 2000.

Quantum Physics Full Course | Quantum Mechanics Course

Words Spoken

 Sometimes I wonder why people say what they do and before I get too deep into that thought, I remind myself of all the shitty things that I have said to people over the years and realize that the words people say are typically not thought about first...  they just flow out of their mouths from anger, resentment, excitement, passion...  and, if they had of thought about the words they were going to use that they would have chosen different words to express themselves...

HOWEVER...  this is not the case with Politicians...  each of their words has been carefully selected to get across the meaning that they have intended from the getgo...

Politicians seldom tell the TRUTH...  they hint around at the truth...  or slide underneath the truth...  or withhold facts from the truth that would cause the understanding of their truths to change slightly or quite a bit depending upon the circumstances...

Politicians remind me of USED CAR SALESMEN who are trying to sell a LEMON to an unsuspecting buyer...  or, the Time Share Salesman who is hiding all the critical truths about buying a time share so that they can receive their commission...  the buyer is considered to be stupid and therefore should be taken advantaged of...

These following people share lies with people intentionally:

• Politicians
• Journalists/Reporters
• Military Generals 
• Religious Leaders
• Captains of Ships
• Sales People
• Presidents of Corporations
• Plant Managers
• Heads of Departments
• Deans of Colleges and Universities
• Parents

Major Global Religions

Photo Above:  Jerusalem is a holy city for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, whose adherents comprise >50% of the world's population.

The world's faithful account for 83% of the global population; the great majority of these fall under twelve classical religions—Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. These twelve religions are the most prominent spiritual traditions that still exist. 

Judaism
Judaism is a strictly monotheistic religion practiced by the Jewish people, an ethnic and religious nation descended from the historic peoples of Israel and Judah. Judaism as it would be recognized today originated in the Middle East in at least the 500s BCE, although certain religious traditions or beliefs can be traced back much further. Its adherents have long faced persecution from dominant religious groups around them. The Roman Empire destroyed the Second Temple, the center of Judaism, and the nation was scattered. Through to the modern day, Jews have been the victims of intense violence and discrimination. All the same, Judaism has persisted and remains one of the most visible and widely practiced religions in the world. Learn more»

Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered around the personage of Jesus of Nazareth, or Jesus Christ. Christianity arose in the 30s–50s CE as a religious offshoot of Judaism based on the teachings of Jesus, who was himself Jewish. Early Christianity rejected many of the social, cultural, and religious institutions of Judaism and pursued radically different strains of spiritual thought. Within a century a recognizable Church was founded. The texts of the faith and its most important creeds were codified in the 300s CE. Despite persecution, Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire and all of its inheritors, and in the time since the different Christian denominations have collectively become the largest faith in the world by a wide margin. Learn more»

Islam
Islam is a strictly monotheistic faith founded by the prophet Muhammad in the year 607 in present-day Saudi Arabia. His teachings, collected in the Quran, claim common descent with many Jewish and Christian beliefs. Muhammad preached his faith in the city of Mecca despite opposition from local polytheists, and quickly built a religious community of early Muslims. The community was forced to relocate to Medina in 622, after which the group codified and began their expansion across the Arabian peninsula. Nearly all of Arabia converted to Islam by 632, the year of Muhammad's death, and in the years since it has grown to become the world's second largest religion, mostly concentrated in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Learn more»

Baha'i
Baha'i is the youngest major world religion, founded in 1863 by the prophet Bahá'u'lláh. Baha'i grew out of the earlier religion of Babism, whose founder the Bab presaged the coming of another great prophet like the coming of Muhammad. Baha'i originated in Iran, although its current center is in Haifa, Israel. Baha'i is a monotheistic religion, but it teaches that religious truth is manifested and revealed by the founders of all the major world religions, including Jesus Christ and the Buddha. Baha'is believe that the different cultural interpretations of religion all have the same goal, and they strive for prosperity across faiths. There are around eight million Baha'is today, who indirectly vote for the leaders of their religion every few years. 

Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is perhaps the world's oldest monotheistic religion, founded by the Persian prophet Zoroaster. It is first recorded in the 500s BCE, but many historians believe it was founded as early as the 900s BCE. Zoroastrianism became the dominant religion of the vast Achaemenid Empire of Persia, and it continued to play an important part in the region until the ascent of Islam in the 700s CE. Many credit Zoroastrianism with affecting the development of other major religions. Zoroastrianism declined through the medieval era, and today there are fewer than 200,000 Zoroastrians as of the last reputable survey. However, there are some indications that many Kurds are converting to Zoroastrianism, which they see as an ancestral religion, which may reverse the long declining population. 

Shinto
Shinto is the traditional religion of Japan, which incorporates a vast array of local beliefs and customs across the nation. These traditions were collected and described as something like Shinto in the 800s CE, although the different beliefs predate this. Shinto is, for the most part, not an organized religion, and is instead the foundation of many cultural practices in Japan. Likewise, it's difficult to produce a number of people who follow Shinto; based off of membership in Shinto organizations, only 4% of Japan follows the religion. However, up to 80% of Japanese people (even ones who proclaim no religious belief) still keep shrines and make Shinto prayers. The intimately cultural quality of Shinto means that it is limited almost entirely to Japan. Learn more»

Hinduism
Hinduism is by many accounts the oldest religion in the world, due to its origins in Vedic beliefs dating as far back as the 1500s BCE. The religion has no founder, and is a synthesis of many different Indian religious traditions. The religion waxed and waned in competition with Jainism and Buddhism throughout Indian history, before seeing a huge resurgence after the medieval period. Thereafter it became the dominant religion on the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is one of the most geographically concentrated of the major world religions—of the world's 1.12 billion Hindus, 1.07 billion live in India and Nepal. The sheer number of practitioners, however, makes Hinduism the world's third largest religion. Learn more»

Buddhism
Buddhism is a religious tradition founded by Gautama Buddha in the early 400s BCE, drawing from (or opposing) many of the same Vedic traditions that inform Hinduism. Buddhists engaged Hindus and Jains in religious dialogues for centuries, developing mutual competing traditions and beliefs. Buddhism flourished in India, receiving support from several powerful leaders, before declining during the medieval period. Buddhism continued to grow and develop in East Asia, having a profound impact on the cultural landscape of the entire region. Buddhism is today the fourth largest religion in the world, being the majority religion of many countries in Southeast Asia, and with nearly 200 million practitioners in China.  Learn more»

Jainism
Jainism is an ancient religious tradition from India; per its practitioners Jainism is eternal, or at least older than Hinduism, but many historical estimates will place it contemporary with Buddhism as a Classical offshoot of old Vedic tradition. Like Buddhism, Jainism received varying degrees of support or opposition from powerful sponsors, and was in constant dialogue with India's other religious traditions. Unlike Buddhism, Jainism didn't spread far outside of its home in India, and today the vast majority of the world's 4-5 million Jains live in India. The Jain community enjoys a large profile, however, due to their high literacy rates and the esteem Mohandas Gandhi professed for Jain teachings and beliefs. 

Sikhism
Sikhism is a young religion founded in the early 1500s CE in Punjab (Northern India) by the Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak was raised as a Hindu in the Muslim-ruled Mughal Empire, but he rejected both dominant faiths and began preaching his own religion. A community formed around him. Over the next two centuries, the Sikhs would be led by nine more gurus. The last living guru named the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, as his successor, and there has since been no single leader of the Sikh community. Despite being a religious minority, the Sikhs overthrew the Mughals and founded a major empire in Northern India in the 1800s. By different definitions Sikhism is either the fifth or eighth largest religion in the world, mostly concentrated in their home region of Punjab. Learn more»

Confucianism
Confucianism, it must be said, is not a religion in a strict sense. It is a philosophy that draws on the folk religion of China. Confucianism as a school of thought was founded by the Chinese philosopher Kǒng Qiū (孔丘), better known as Master Kǒng or Kǒngzǐ (孔子), during China's Spring and Autumn period in the 500s BCE. It quickly became the preeminent of the "Hundred Schools of Thought" and became the foundation of the later imperial government of China. The Chinese folk religion that Confucianism draws on is still concentrated in China, but its teachings are widespread throughout East Asia. Note: Kǒngzǐ, or the more honorific Kǒng Fūzǐ (孔夫子) was latinized as Confucius by Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s. Learn more»

Taoism
Taoism is a philosophy and religion originating in China around the same time as Confucianism, and was the primary rival to Confucian thought out of the Hundred Schools. Taoism claims descent from the (perhaps mythical) figure Lǎozǐ (老子), which literally means "Old Master." Taoism shares some common elements with Chinese folk religion, but the core teachings differ (unlike Confucianism). Taoism has been immensely influential on Chinese and East Asian cultures, with Taoist thought influencing everything from literature to medicine to martial arts. Due to the syncretic interactions of Taoism with Chan Buddhism and Confucianism, it is hard to find a hard number of Taoists, but Chinese religions collectively are the fifth largest religion in the world. Learn more»

Komic Korner Kartoons

 

Filling the Vacancy on Our Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg DEAD at 87 from Pancreatic Cancer...

What now?

More than likely, the Republicans will attempt and quite possibly succeed in appointing a conservative justice to the Supreme Court before the November 3, 2020 Presidential Election.

If that happens, the Supreme Court will be out-of-balance between conservatives and liberals with a 5 to 3 conservative majority plus the Chief Justice who is conservative as well.

Is this imbalance appropriate for our country?

While I am no longer a full-fledged liberal, I think that our Founding Fathers always envisioned FAIRNESS in how they set up our Democratic Republic form of government and that FAIRNESS commands a balance-of-power platform.

And, while I am not supportive of Pelosi, Schiff, and Nadler in the House, I think that our country deserves this Democratic Party control there especially since the Senate is controlled by the Republicans.

Most every time that we have had a situation where one party controls both houses of Congress plus the Presidency, we have had movements in ONE DIRECTION that did not necessarily favor our country as a whole but favored the platforms of that POLITICAL PARTY whether it be liberal or conservative.

WE MUST MAINTAIN BALANCE...  whether we like it or not.

THIS and THAT

YOU DECIDE: The 1619 Project

The 1619 Project is an ongoing project developed by The New York Times Magazine in 2019 which "aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of [the United States'] national narrative." The project was timed for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the Virginia colony in 1619, and suggests that this date represents the "nation's birth year." It is an interactive project directed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, a reporter for The New York Times, with contributions by the newspaper's writers, including essays on the history of different aspects of contemporary American life which the authors believe have "roots in slavery and its aftermath." It also includes poems, short fiction, and a photo essay. Originally conceived as a special issue for August 20, 2019, it was soon turned into a full-fledged project, including a special broadsheet section in the newspaper, live events, and a multi-episode podcast series.

The project has sparked criticism and debate among prominent historians and political commentators. In a letter published in The New York Times in December 2019, historians Gordon S. Wood, James M. McPherson, Sean Wilentz, Victoria Bynum and James Oakes expressed "strong reservations" about the project and requested factual corrections, accusing the project of putting ideology before historical understanding. In response, Jake Silverstein, the editor of The New York Times Magazine, defended the accuracy of the 1619 Project and declined to issue corrections.  In March 2020, historian Leslie M. Harris, who served as a fact-checker for the 1619 Project, wrote that the authors had ignored her corrections, but that the project was a needed corrective to prevailing historical narratives.

Trump's Re-election

 

All Creatures Great and Small

Truth

 

Blacks Wage War Against Whites

The war against white people

By Jim Cegielski
Jun 26, 2020

I would hope by now that it is clear to everyone that the protesting, rioting, looting, vandalism and anarchy that has gripped this nation has nothing to do with justice for George Floyd. It doesn’t even have anything to do with ending racism. Actually, it is the complete opposite. It has everything to do with promoting racism, but this time it is racism against white people. It’s about the false narrative that white people are evil and must be punished for the crime of being born white.

Just look what has happened with NASCAR, a sport that has a fan base that is predominantly white. First, they banned Confederate flags while at the same time embracing Black Lives Matter, a group that is the equivalent of the KKK. This is a group that openly hates white people. Even their name is racist. Yes, black lives matter but no more than Chinese lives, Hispanic lives or white lives. But BLM is worse than just a group that hates white people. This is a group that openly and proudly calls for the murder of police officers. Yet NASCAR, The NFL and just about every other sport openly embrace them.   TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE...

SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER

NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY

The New Black Panther Party is a virulently racist and antisemitic organization whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law enforcement officers.

Founded in Dallas, the group portrays itself as a militant, modern-day expression of the black power movement. Although it frequently engages in armed protests of alleged police brutality, non-racist, left wing members of the original Black Panther Party of the 1960s and 1970s have rejected the new Panthers as a “black racist hate group” and contested their hijacking of the Panther name and symbol.
In Its Own Words

“Our lessons talk about the bloodsuckers of the poor. … It’s that old no-good Jew, that old imposter Jew, that old hooked-nose, bagel-eating, lox-eating, Johnny-come-lately, perpetrating-a-fraud, just-crawled-out-of-the-caves-and-hills-of-Europe, so-called damn Jew … and I feel everything I’m saying up here is kosher.”

— Khalid Abdul Muhammad, one of the party’s future leaders, Baltimore, Maryland, February 19, 1994.

“Kill every goddamn Zionist in Israel! Goddamn little babies, goddamn old ladies! Blow up Zionist supermarkets!”

— Malik Zulu Shabazz, the party’s former national chairman, protesting at B’nai B’rith International headquarters in Washington, D.C., April 20, 2002.

“I hate white people. All of them. Every last iota of a cracker, I hate it. We didn’t come out here to play today. There’s too much serious business going on in the black community to be out here sliding through South Street with white, dirty, cracker w---- b------ on our arms, and we call ourselves black men. … What the hell is wrong with you black man? You at a doomsday with a white girl on your damn arm. We keep begging white people for freedom! No wonder we not free! Your enemy cannot make you free, fool! You want freedom? You going to have to kill some crackers! You going to have to kill some of their babies!”

— King Samir Shabazz, former head of the party’s Philadelphia chapter, in a National Geographic documentary, January 2009.

“It’s the cracker doing that…our people have always fought against the cracker.”

— Krystal Muhammad speaking about Jim Crow laws in Soweto, South Africa, June 2016.   TO READ MORE, CLICK HERE...