http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/reactionary-activism_b_57453.html

While the republicans are the loudest voices in recent times to cry out over "judicial activism", it is worth noting that this version of the Supreme Court is heavily loaded with republican appointments and the most active in passing down their own interpretations of law.

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Oh that wacky Glenn Beck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQcrM4HQQyg

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Is it even possible to go over the top with the insane rhetoric coming from the right?

Every time I think they can't plumb the depths of crazy any further, another one of them steps forward spouting such ideological madness that I become certain the American people's heads will collectively explode.

The mush minds that still tune this garbage in should do themselves, and the rest of us, a great service by performing a home self-lobotomy with a keyhole saw.

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

That is wrong on so many levels. First the church described it's self as a "progressive" church. That means they mix the political idea of progressivism with the teaching of the church. They are not teaching the bible, instead they are teaching a political idea. That's ok in this country if that's what you want but you should understand that you are not getting religon as it appears in the bible.

Social justice is a political idea where all people are equals and wealth should be equalized by the government so all people have equal income and charity is not required. Again there is nothing wrong with this idea if you are socialist or communist, but it's not the american way.

Charity is only charity if it is given by the individual of their own free will. If it is taxed by the government and given to someone else, it is no longer charity. Jesus would not have approved of Social Justice by the government because the money was not given freely and even then money didn't always go where it should. On the other hand he did strongly approve of charity where people freely give to help others.

Social Justice is one of those terms that is a code word for more government and it's used because people don't understand what it means. It's like buying a used car that has real problems but a nice paint job. It looks like you are getting a real deal but you are overpaying.

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That is wrong on so many levels. First the church described it's self as a "progressive" church. That means they mix the political idea of progressivism with the teaching of the church. They are not teaching the bible, instead they are teaching a political idea. That's ok in this country if that's what you want but you should understand that you are not getting religon as it appears in the bible.

Social justice is a political idea where all people are equals and wealth should be equalized by the government so all people have equal income and charity is not required. Again there is nothing wrong with this idea if you are socialist or communist, but it's not the american way.

Charity is only charity if it is given by the individual of their own free will. If it is taxed by the government and given to someone else, it is no longer charity. Jesus would not have approved of Social Justice by the government because the money was not given freely and even then money didn't always go where it should. On the other hand he did strongly approve of charity where people freely give to help others.

Social Justice is one of those terms that is a code word for more government and it's used because people don't understand what it means. It's like buying a used car that has real problems but a nice paint job. It looks like you are getting a real deal but you are overpaying.

Dena.
I see you are missing something in your interpretation of events.

Progressive is not a political concept.
It is a moral concept. Christ, whether he existed or not, is a fine historical example of a progressive.
I would challenge you to support your claim that Christ would not approve of social justice even in the form of governmental social justice. That seems just like such a bad reading of the message of Christ that even a heathen like myself can see it's wrong.

Social justice is not a code word for government, even though Faux Network says differently.
Social justice is simply a term used to describe the need for those with vast resources to help those without. period.

It doesn't have to come from government, although government is the greatest source of the people's revenues and most capable of equaly distributing those resources.
Social justice happens every time a citizen contributes to a foodbank with goods, cash or time.
It happens every time we give blood or donate to disaster relief.

I think you need to turn off the Faux Network for a while and start to receive your news and perspectives from other places in the world.

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Social justice is a political idea where all people are equals and wealth should be equalized by the government so all people have equal income and charity is not required. Again there is nothing wrong with this idea if you are socialist or communist, but it's not the american way.

Again, you are lead so far off the baseline by allowing yourself to be manipulated by the crazies.
No one ever said, besides Limbaugh, O'Reilly and Beck, that social justice means everyone will end up with equal incomes.
That is so damned stupid a statement that I can't believe I'm having to respond to it.

Social justice simply means that those with the priviledge of living as a rich person in the most stable, safe, clean and free place on Earth should pay a higher percentage of their wealth to aid in the upkeep and maintenance of that society. This includes contributing to the betterment of those without wealth.
A progressive tax system is one small piece of what social justice demands of those who have prospered while others have fallen.

How the hell does that go against the "American way"?
By the way, what is an "American way"? Does that mean anything that Beck thinks is good?
Doesn't Noam Chomsky have a right to include his thoughts on what the "American way" should be?

I'm going to go way out on a limb and state, even though I'm not American, that there are many Americans in these forums who do not agree with you.
Does that mean they are against the "American way"?
Are those in disagreement with Beck or yourself unAmerican?

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Charity is only charity if it is given by the individual of their own free will. If it is taxed by the government and given to someone else, it is no longer charity.

I see no mention of the source of monies when charity is being defined.
It actually covers off on public monies as being charitable giving.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charity

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

An American will notice that they can itemize charitable contributions and have that reduced from ones income. This seems to me to be an easier way for the gov't to get money to charities than collecting taxes then passing it out themselves. the money is sent directly to charities.

I do agree that a progressive tax is much more fair to the general population than a flat tax. OF course, strick constructionists will argue that the constitution only allows a flat tax. short sighted as it is I really dont think that the founders could have imagined one person making $1 billion in a year. this really does tilt the playing field when it comes to fairness when a minimum wage worker working 40 hours a week will only make $15K before taxes. so these numbers are $1,000,000,000 and $15,000 thats 66666% difference in wages. The funny thing is we can only speculate on the matter since they didnt think of it themselves

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

I find it almost beyond belief how funny it is that the teabaggers, who lay unfounded or unproven claim to their independence of thought, all start talking about the "code words" (that are supposed to be in use among the secret leftist sleeper cells) as soon as Beckboy starts mentioning it along with his discovery of secret symbols on public murals and various other sites.

When one allows another person to do the thinking for the entire group, perhaps it would be wise for one to be sure the guy doing the thinking isn't insane, a racist or just barking mad.

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

[quote}Progressive is not a political concept. It is a moral concept. Christ, whether he existed or not, is a fine historical example of a progressive.
I would challenge you to support your claim that Christ would not approve of social justice even in the form of governmental social justice. That seems just like such a bad reading of the message of Christ that even a heathen like myself can see it's wrong.[/quote]

I read somewhere....

"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

Ah, yes. Luke 12:48

Or, if you prefer a view from staunch capitalist, try Andrew Carnegie's "The Gospel of Wealth". I think you'll find his views of the Republican's dreaded "Death Tax" positively shocking. A copy of this should be given with every bonus check to every single bankster and Wall Street gambler... uh, trader.

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Join the PACK!

While I agree with much of what the Tea Parties talk about, I have not attended or talked with a Tea Party member.

You should put down your dictionary and pick up a history book when talking about the Progressive movement. As of two years ago the only usage of Progressive I knew about was an insurance company. I am shocked that our history classes tell us nothing about a political movement that controlled our country for the first half of the century and still has a very large influence on our country. Most of the leaders of our country have openly admitted that they are progressive.
John McCains own daughter called her self a progressive, Hilary Clinton called herself a progressive in the presidential debates and Obama called the all the democrats at the state of union speech Progressives. So much for a secrete code word.

As for the term Social Justice, that term is extracted from the american communist movement that existed in the great depression and is one of FDR's talking points. A number of Obama's own people and associates have been captured on film using the term in the same way I describe.

One of the reasons we don't didn't hear about progressives is because the changed their name from progressive to liberal. They have gone back to using progressive in the last few year so we are seeing something that has been with us all along.

Others have recorded this history but Beck and Rush are the only public figures to explain it to the public. Of the two, Beck seems to be going the real history of the movement. I don't fully trust Beck but when I check out his facts they tend to prove out true. Also there is far more history than Beck shows and I suspect this is because he is going after a political point and using history to support that point.

If a Church isn't associated with these far out groups, they should be more careful about the words they chose to describe them self. In this country we had and have progressive schools and parts of our public education system has been associated with the progressive movement. If you use that word you will be guilty till proven innocent because the main meaning of those words has been around for 50 to 100 years in the United States.

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[quote}Progressive is not a political concept. It is a moral concept. Christ, whether he existed or not, is a fine historical example of a progressive.
I would challenge you to support your claim that Christ would not approve of social justice even in the form of governmental social justice. That seems just like such a bad reading of the message of Christ that even a heathen like myself can see it's wrong.

I read somewhere....

"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

Ah, yes. Luke 12:48

Or, if you prefer a view from staunch capitalist, try Andrew Carnegie's "The Gospel of Wealth". I think you'll find his views of the Republican's dreaded "Death Tax" positively shocking. A copy of this should be given with every bonus check to every single bankster and Wall Street gambler... uh, trader.



[/quote]

I can think of two other things from the bible.

THE 8th COMMANDMENT
Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

THE 10th COMMANDMENT-(coveting)
Exodus 20:17 "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour's."

Just because you have the numbers and all agree, it is not right to take something from someone for any reason. To take money from the rich for your welfare is a clear violation of both of the above commandments. The progressive movement in this country has to invalidate both the constitution and the bible to make progress because both block their agenda. The end goal of the progressive movement is communism or something very much like it and I have yet to se a communistic country that allow religion to be practiced without restrictions and often religion is not allowed.

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it only becomes a demand(stealing?) for money when the so called wealthy don't do as was required of them.
I doubt that the poor are coveting a rich mans wealth. I know that a wealthy person can be sedate with their wealth but they know themselves it never makes them happy. Have you ever been to a poverty stricken area? probably not. To do so you'd see people that are generally happy to be right where they are.

I'm sure they dream of wealth but I really doubt that they want someone elses wealth. They want their own.

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Tell me what the difference is between a gang of 10 teenagers taking the wallet of a man on the street verses the population of a country taking the wealth of the rich.

Also consider that the wealth of a man tends to dissipate by the third generation of children. Often it is given to charities by the first generation or the subsequent generation are unable to hold on to it.

There is a large number of people in this country who want welfare, free medical care and a retirement program where they get far more out of than they put into, The only place this money can come from is the rich or the people who have done without so they could invest in companies to save for their future.
People on welfare often consider money given to them as their money or at the most government money. The truth is that it's money from every body who works hard to have a roof over their head and food on the table.

In the 19th and early part of the 20th century in the United States, these people were not with out options. Churches and private charities offered a hand to anyone who needed it and was willing to work toward a better life. The term Poor House was real and it was not a place you were expected to remain permanently. On the other hand government makes little effort to get people off the welfare roles. You tell me what is better for person.

Russia was big on Social justice and the result was every body had a job but nobody worked very hard at their job. Most of the products were junk and very costly. There was no point in working harder because you didn't make any more that the person who sat next to you drinking (yes alcohol) on the job. No country can survive with a work force like that and the only way of getting someone do a better job is to provide a reward for a good job.

Progressives forget the only way to motivate people to do better is greed. It is a basic part of our personality and has helped us survive hundreds of thousands of years. If people are rewarded for doing a bad job (such as politics) they will do a bad job. Progressive think we are beyond greed and can't be corrupted. See how well that is working in Washington.

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How's the weather in cliche world?

I went looking for some of what Christ had to say on the topic.


[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
A rich ruler asked what it would take to inherit eternal life, and Jesus told him that, along with keeping the commandments, he should sell his possessions and give to the poor. Only then would he have “treasure in Heaven” (see Matthew 19:21). Upon the man’s dejection at that comment, Jesus remarked, “It is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.… It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:23-24).

Jesus told parables that demonstrated how people’s obsession with earthly treasure prevented them from the relationship with God that would save them (see Luke 12:16-21, 16:19-31). He could find only one worthy purpose for wealth: to distribute it to the poor (see Luke 14:12-14). Apart from that, Jesus never mentions any benefit to be gained from materialism or fortune.

In Matthew 6:32-33, we are told that it is pagans who “run after” material things.
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Hmmmm
I suppose that this progressive thought should be banned at all cost.
Jesus Christ, just another damned liberal commie leftist progressive trying to undermine the American way.

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Holy cow (no pun intended)
This Jesus dude has lots to say on the topic.
Seems he was a real socialist progressive crazy man.

More things against the American way...

Wealth
Jesus had lots to say about wealth. He seemed to think weath is a dangerous thing – and in a society where wealth was generally seen as God’s reward to his favourites, this was controversial. Some of Jesus’ teaching…

God has a special concern for the poor – “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20).

Too much money does untold damage to the spiritual life – “No one can serve two masters. He will love one and hate the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24).

Those who have money have a duty to give to people in need – “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back” (Luke 6:30).

Following Jesus may sometimes require the deliberate renunciation of wealth – “You lack one thing. Sell what you have and distribute the money to the poor” (Mark 10:21).

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

lets not forget what the merchant did. He left Jesus and went back to his business. Money is a simple master. It only asks that you gather more of it

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Once the church started allowing wealthy patrons the opportunity to buy their way into grace, the foundation for this belief that God blesses His chosen favorites with wealth had a chance to work it's way into the belief system.

I wonder if the merchant made enough money to pay off the priest?
Then I wonder what God's reaction would be when the merchant came knocking at the gate after he died.


Of course, the accumulation of wealth by supposed pious believers tells me that they may not be as much a believer as they claim.
Sort of like George Bush claiming to be a believer in the will of God, while still retaining the aid of the Secret Service to protect himself from that will...LOL

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I do not fight fascists because I think I can win.
I fight them because they are fascists.
Chris Hedges

A riot is the language of the unheard. -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Big problem with the bible is that everybody seems to have had their hands in it. Jesus didn't have his words written down for years after he died and when the bible was assembled most of the written word was excluded from it. In middle ages, you could buy salvation and it modern times the Vatican bank is in question not to mention sex and the church. The Jewish were far better at preserving the word, but the origin of the material is in question.

In my case, I don't always agree with the bible but try to find the wisdom and live by those standards. People can learn moral lessons from a criminal and the bible is a far better source of moral lessons. Just don't blindly accept that the earth was created in 7 days because we do know better. I don't go quoting the bible unless forced to for that reason. It's not the best source of absolute truth.

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By the way, the eye of a needle should be the eye of the needle. It turns out that it is a real thing that is a hole in a wall intended to allow a man to walk through but will not allow live stock to pass through. It was used at night to allow people to enter the village at night but made sure they didn't bring noisy live stock in to the village that would disturb their sleep.

It appears it may not be as hard for a rich person to enter heaven as we thought.

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