An atheist’s view on life

as opposed to a Christian’s view on life.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen. 
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end. 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen. [Lutheran Book of Worship, Book of Common Prayer]

I love this creed.   In our worship, we don't use it as often as the Apostle's Creed, but it is the most common and frequently used in Christendom. ". . . and was made man" has probably been changed to "became truly human," but the LBW is from 1977.  And so far, we still have Father and Son.

"We look for the resurrection of the dead."  That's our hope.  And it's everyone, even unbelievers and those who hate God. John 5:28-29

 ²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Obama’s database will live longer than his presidency

“The President has put in place an organization with the kind of database that no one has ever seen before in life,” Representative Maxine Waters told Roland Martin, “That’s going to be very, very powerful,” Waters said. “That database will have information about everything on every individual on ways that it’s never been done before and whoever runs for President on the Democratic ticket has to deal with that. They’re going to go down with that database." Waters (D-CA) was ...explaining the 2014 and 2016 elections on Washington Watch, Feb. 2013, and apparently knew about the NSA spying, and the IRS mugging. Sometimes a blabber mouth is useful. Martin was suggesting that people had to get what they wanted now (that Obama was in his second term and OFA was a 501c4) but she stopped him and said there were much bigger plans afoot and that Organizing For America had a database. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=49a_1360284775

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/05/15/organizing-for-action-obamas-group-has-yet-to-apply-to-irs

Trans-Pacific Partnership

“There are many important lessons from ObamaCare that we should apply to another huge project that could have a similarly devastating impact on our nation. In November 2009, President Obama announced his intention to have the United States participate in a so-called trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I say so-called trade agreement because 80 percent of the proposed agreement deals with a great many issues besides trade.”

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/foreign-policy/item/17175-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-bigger-and-more-dangerous-than-obamacare

Friday family photo—dinner with the Tulamos

This is a “selfie” with 6 people at dinner on Friday.  The Tulamos of Helsinki, Finland, became our friends 35 years ago when she was getting her master’s degree in veterinary science and he worked with my husband at Feinknopf, Macioce and Schappa. She is nearing retirement as an equine surgeon and he has passed his architectural practice on to his son.  We had a great time reminiscing about old times  1979-1981.  I told my husband his sweater looks like it’s from the old Bill Cosby show wardrobe closet, and he thinks it might be that old. They recently bought an off season home in Spain (much cheaper cost of living and lower taxes than Finland) and we’re hoping to visit in a few years.

Oops.

I didn’t double check to see if this was really on Healthcare.gov.

From zygote to you

Human development is a continuous process that begins when an ovum from a female is fertilized by a sperm from a male. Growth and differentiation transform the zygote, a single cell formed by the union of the ovum and the sperm, into a multicellular adult human being. Most developmental changes occur during the embryonic and the fetal periods, but important changes also occur during the other periods of development: childhood, adolescence, and adulthood... Although it is customary to divide development into prenatal and postnatal periods, it is important to realize that birth is merely a dramatic event during development resulting in a distinct change in environment. Development does not stop at birth: important developmental changes, in addition to growth, occur after birth... Most developmental changes are completed by the age of 25. (Moore, Keith, The Developing Human, Clinically Oriented Embryology, 1982, p. 1)

What the President didn’t know. . . Mark Davidson

I didn't know Jeremiah Wright gave inflammatory and anti-American sermons…
I didn't know Bill Ayers…
I didn't know Tony Resko…
I didn't know Benghazi was a terrorist attack…
I didn't know my Justice Department was intimidating and investigating journalists… ...
I didn't know what the IRS was doing…
I didn't know what the NSA was doing…
I didn't know the web site wouldn't work…
I didn't know you would lose your insurance…
I didn't know we had a spending problem…
I didn't know the uncle I lived with…

I don't know why ANYONE would believe this President.

Kanye West—outdoes himself

Not your insurance, not your doctor, not your drugs

Look what his substandard non-compliant insurance covered: "In August 2013 I became very sick with a strep bacteria poisoning my blood stream. The bacteria blinded my left eye, ate a hole through my heart, caused five strokes on both sides of my brain and forced the removal of my prosthetic left knee." A 12 hour surgery saved his life--he only had a few days to live without it. Now he's been notified that the insurance company will no longer serve his state, so he's losing his insurance. He's hoping he can keep the excellent medical team that saved his life, if and when he finds insurance. http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/12/please-pray-for-me-i-am-losing-my-insurance/#!

It’s now coming out that many drugs won’t be covered, or the co-pays will be 40%. An MS drug on the bronze plan will cost about $2,000/month—and that’s actually covered! Out of pocket costs for drugs will not be part of the cap. http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottgottlieb/2013/12/09/no-you-cant-keep-your-drugs-either-under-obamacare/

That’s a pretty big trade off for free birth control and pediatric dental coverage.

We’d better watch out. . .

How HHS spreads racism myths

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are more severely affected by HIV than any other group in the United States. The government infantilizes black men by absolving them of their responsibility 30 years after AIDS was recognized as a problem and how it was spread.   “Social factors such as poverty, discrimination, and lack of access to health care put communities of color at increased risk. Nearly half of all new HIV infections occur in African-Americans, for example, even though they comprise only about 12% of the U.S. population.” OPA fact sheet

Raise your hand if you believe men having sex with men rather than social factors spread HIV/AIDS.  The government’s own research contradicts this statement.

“Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are at alarming risk for HIV acquisition, demonstrating the highest rates of incident infection of any age-risk group.” Cite.

“Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are more severely affected by HIV than any other group in the United States.” Cite

“By race/ethnicity, black/African American transgender women [formerly men]  have the highest percentage of new HIV-positive test results. . . A review of studies of HIV infection in countries with data available for transgender people estimated that HIV prevalence for transgender women was nearly 50 times as high as for other adults of reproductive age.” Cite

“. . . there is one population in which the epidemic continues to grow in countries of all incomes: men who have sex with men (MSM) Cite

"The recent rise of HIV/AIDS ... is huge and it's not talked about because 'Gay Inc.' says nothing about it," he says Cite

The people he loves to hate

The top 40% of U.S. households paid 106.2% of income taxes; bottom 40% paid -9.1%, and received an average of $18,950 in 'transfers.  But it’s never enough, is it? CBO reports on the 2010 year. See p. 13

And it will get worse for high earners. New taxes for high-income taxpayers, enacted with the Affordable Care Act, took effect in 2013.

I noticed on the chart that the low income pay more of the excise taxes (percentage of income, I assume) than the wealthiest.

How to save $42 billion without cutting poverty programs

Eliminate duplicative and unnecessary Government programs. None of these are poverty programs (close to $1 trillion).  Many of these hide in place as “capitalism” or private sector help being boosted by the government. If these are private sector, let them support them. It’s inefficient for the government to do it. Planned Parenthood certainly doesn’t need taxpayers support—there are enough crazies out there willing to send them their tax deductible donation as a Christmas gift.

International affairs

• The Overseas Private Investment Corporation
• The Export-Import Bank

Energy—Dept. of

• Commercial Deployment and Technology Development
• The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Energy Frontier Research Centers
• Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer

USDA

• The Market Access Program
• The Foreign Agricultural Service

Transportation

• Return power to the states
• Amtrak
• The New Starts Transit Program
• Intercity Rail Subsidies

Economic and Regional Development –yes, some developers, electricians and contractors would squeal

• Community Development Block Grants
• Economic Development Administration

Education

• Competitive Grants Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• Head Start (note: this would be political suicide, even though after 40 years it has never shown results)

Cultural Agencies

Labor

• Job Corps
• Corporation for National and Community Service

Health (or death as it turns out)

• Title X Family Planning Grants (a lot of this goes to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country)

Administration of Justice (these mostly go to state and local governments which then are weakened if the support is withdrawn—huge number of employees)

• Community-Oriented Policing Services (the federal gov’t is not supposed to be policing our local communities)
• The Legal Services Corporation

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/08/federal-spending-by-the-numbers-2013

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/08/federal-spending-by-the-numbers-2013

A selfie at a funeral?

This man is such an embarrassment to our country. We have a first class narcissist as our president. Michelle doesn’t look too happy—probably was taught some manners.

Government workers who are paid less than minimum wage

The 2014 budget requested $1.061 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service, an increase of $12.2 million over the 2012 funding level. This is our tax money used for "unpaid volunteers." That means they work below minimum wage, but all the government workers in the agency above them get paid nice salaries with benefits. In true government double speak it is supposed to expand ...opportunity and embrace competition. ???? This is not to say people haven't had wonderful experiences in AmeriCorp or benefitted from being farmed out to a church organization that helps immigrants, but somewhere we need to let these organizations stand on their own and actually hire people to take their place in the work force.

I was in Brethren Volunteer Service as were my sisters in the 1950s. It can be done without your tax dollars. This is me showing off a pair of shoes after we went shopping in downtown Fresno. The washing machine (wringer) was in the shed. It was a great experience—many churches now offer volunteer opportunities at no cost to the taxpayer, except from her own pocket.

The Job Corps is a “Great Society” program, which offers job-training services to disadvantaged youths age 16–24 in 125 sites across the nation. The Department of Labor Office of Inspector General estimates each Job Corps participant who is successfully placed into any job costs taxpayers $76,574 (I don't know what the unsuccessful cost us). They are less likely to finish high school than those disadvantaged who don't participate, and when employed, make 22 cents more per hour than a control group. I'll bet McDonald's or Wendy's could have trained them and at least taken them to assistant manager, beginning at minimum wage.

I'm fine with internships and volunteerism; I'm fine with the minimum wage for entry level jobs for people who need to learn job skills, team work, and dealing with the public. It's the Democrats who scream about minimum wage not being high enough, and then pay their political lackeys at the Obama campaign (OFA) or fancy non-profits nothing. They have options: full time for nothing, or half time for nothing. I wonder if they get Obamacare?

Three years ago the Labor Department said it was going to do something about this—but in the for-profit sector only. Non-profits like the President's campaign arm is free to abuse employees, I mean interns and unpaid volunteers, any way they choose.

Imus in the Morning

I don't think I've ever watched Imus in the Morning, but I am today. The non-stop Obama coverage (Mandela) is too much. Mandela could have left prison any time in those 27 years if he had renounced terrorism. He was a Communist who soon learned that in order to lead he had to put that aside to lead his country to prosperity. In fact, if you look at the Communist leaders in today's world, only North Korea and Cuba have not cozied up to capitalist investment, so they are totally failing and are violators of human rights. The 20th century Communist/socialist governments killed more of their own citizens (about 100 million) than all the old time cruel monarchs, Kaisers, petty princes, caliphs and czars of the previous centuries. And yet we still have Americans who think MORE government is the answer.

Obama offering below minimum wage—no wage at all

Organizing for Action (Obama's campaign arm which was fast tracked for its non-profit status while Tea Party groups waited years) is advertising for 14 unpaid interns. How's that for below minimum wage, way below? Full time below, and part time below.

"OFA is now accepting applications for full-time and part-time HQ Interns for the Spring 2014 and Summer 2014 HQ Internship Programs in Chicago, IL.... HQ Interns will have the unique opportunity to work closely with staff in advancing the President's agenda. Departmental placements available include Grassroots Organizing, Training, Issue Campaigns, Digital, Press and Finance. Please include your departmental placement preferences in your cover letter. Accepted HQ Interns will be paired with departments based on their stated interest, qualifications and availability. This is a 14-week, unpaid internship program." (from the OFA website)

Farmers line up to pay tribute to one of their own who died of cancer

http://modernfarmer.com/2013/10/breathtaking-tribute-fallen-farmer/

What is the collective noun for crooks and liars?

• squad
• bevy
• clutch
• murder
• team
• association
• stalk
• staff
• band
• crew
• ?? suggestion??