Carter Downplays Castro Succession Rumors

[incanada1234 0]

It's a good thing you don't see what people say about you in PMs.

I know

Oh pookie, you know I'm kidding.

[chri'stina 190]

It's a good thing you don't see what people say about you in PMs.

I know

Oh pookie, you know I'm kidding.

pookie?

[Veiled Princess 1]

Explore the source site a little. You'll figure it out

Ok I'm with it

Every time I click a link from a VJ thread at work I get an error message that I'm trying to access porn and it's being reported

Thank God it didn't do that this time but I was scared

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It's a good thing you don't see what people say about you in PMs.

I know

Oh pookie, you know I'm kidding.

pookie?

I think she stole some of Steven's pot.

Explore the source site a little. You'll figure it out

Every time I click a link from a VJ thread at work I get an error message that I'm trying to access porn and it's being reported

Thank God it didn't do that this time but I was scared

VP,

Let me give you some sound advice. Do not click on links you are unfamiliar with from work. You should have waited till you got home to check it out

This is the same reason I have images disabled when I browse VJ from work too (you can do this from the Control Panel). Many images are sourced from domains that are 'blocked' by our filters.. which means the event gets logged somewhere and I don't want to show up on any logs.

[Veiled Princess 1]

It's a good thing you don't see what people say about you in PMs.

I know

Oh pookie, you know I'm kidding.

pookie?

I think she stole some of Steven's pot.

Explore the source site a little. You'll figure it out

Every time I click a link from a VJ thread at work I get an error message that I'm trying to access porn and it's being reported

Thank God it didn't do that this time but I was scared

VP,

Let me give you some sound advice. Do not click on links you are unfamiliar with from work. You should have waited till you got home to check it out

This is the same reason I have images disabled when I browse VJ from work too (you can do this from the Control Panel). Many images are sourced from domains that are 'blocked' by our filters.. which means the event gets logged somewhere and I don't want to show up on any logs.

I didn't understand a bit of that but it sounds really scary...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I didn't understand a bit of that but it sounds really scary...

Please never call our helpdesk, they hate callers like you

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I appreciate what you are saying, Stina. Don't you think though that the Christian Right DOES politicize Jesus? Or are you talking about the Left trying to label him as liberal? In my opinion, that has been out of a reaction to the Christian Right who have effectively made most Christian Americans believe that the Republican Party is the Party of Christ. Carter pointed out that it wasn't until about 25 years ago that we had a shift among Christians towards more divisive politics. I hope you would agree with his assertion that as Christians, we should find commonality and most of all respect each one another. I know people in this thread have trivialized the abortion issue - but that is one of the biggest issues that has divided Christians. Anyhow, I hope we can have more of these discussions in a respectful manner.

I guess some in the Christian right politicize Jesus, but in my experience it's more about comparing some bible principles to the policies of right/left. And those are some of the reasons I am a conservative. I do want to know what the bible says about issues, that does effect my stance. And I think many christians are the same way. I've personally never heard anyone call Jesus a Republican, but some show what his views would be on issues on both sides. In my opinion on certain issues he does fall more conservative. But I am sure you would have the opposite opinion.

I am conservative(whatever that really means anymore LOL, some may think I am a right-wing nut, whatev) and believe in helping the poor, giving to those who need, and loving people no matter who they are. That doesn't make me a liberal, it just makes me a human who wants to help others. People on both side have those feelings.And I know many others like me, who are helping others, adopting children, giving away money, but are Republicans. And yet I am sure you can find some liberals(whatever that means too LOL) who think nothing about helping the poor, and have other issues that are most important to them. And also you'll find conservatives who don't care. I don't think wanting to help the poor is enough to define an entire political stance, which is not just one view but many views on different subjects. I feel like I am rambling.

Well said. You are correct that to liberal Christians as myself, helping the less fortunate is central to our beliefs and in turn effect our political views. I agree that Christ is neither Republican or Democrat, but in fairness, the Republicans have hammered the idea that they represent Christian values and they have politicized Christianity like no other group before them. It's the exclusivity that bothers me the most because Jesus demonstrated example after example of him dining with the outcasts, reaching out to those who have been rejected by society.

[Ban Hammer 13,676]

I didn't understand a bit of that but it sounds really scary...

Please never call our helpdesk, they hate callers like you

[Veiled Princess 1]

I didn't understand a bit of that but it sounds really scary...

Please never call our helpdesk, they hate callers like you

Dialing now....

[chri'stina 190]

I appreciate what you are saying, Stina. Don't you think though that the Christian Right DOES politicize Jesus? Or are you talking about the Left trying to label him as liberal? In my opinion, that has been out of a reaction to the Christian Right who have effectively made most Christian Americans believe that the Republican Party is the Party of Christ. Carter pointed out that it wasn't until about 25 years ago that we had a shift among Christians towards more divisive politics. I hope you would agree with his assertion that as Christians, we should find commonality and most of all respect each one another. I know people in this thread have trivialized the abortion issue - but that is one of the biggest issues that has divided Christians. Anyhow, I hope we can have more of these discussions in a respectful manner.

I guess some in the Christian right politicize Jesus, but in my experience it's more about comparing some bible principles to the policies of right/left. And those are some of the reasons I am a conservative. I do want to know what the bible says about issues, that does effect my stance. And I think many christians are the same way. I've personally never heard anyone call Jesus a Republican, but some show what his views would be on issues on both sides. In my opinion on certain issues he does fall more conservative. But I am sure you would have the opposite opinion.

I am conservative(whatever that really means anymore LOL, some may think I am a right-wing nut, whatev) and believe in helping the poor, giving to those who need, and loving people no matter who they are. That doesn't make me a liberal, it just makes me a human who wants to help others. People on both side have those feelings.And I know many others like me, who are helping others, adopting children, giving away money, but are Republicans. And yet I am sure you can find some liberals(whatever that means too LOL) who think nothing about helping the poor, and have other issues that are most important to them. And also you'll find conservatives who don't care. I don't think wanting to help the poor is enough to define an entire political stance, which is not just one view but many views on different subjects. I feel like I am rambling.

Well said. You are correct that to liberal Christians as myself, helping the less fortunate is central to our beliefs and in turn effect our political views. I agree that Christ is neither Republican or Democrat, but in fairness, the Republicans have hammered the idea that they represent Christian values and they have politicized Christianity like no other group before them. It's the exclusivity that bothers me the most because Jesus demonstrated example after example of him dining with the outcasts, reaching out to those who have been rejected by society.

I understand where you are coming from. We don't agree on everything but thank you for respectfully discussing it with me. Oh, I wonder if you have heard of a book called "Under the Overpass", I have not read it yet but my mom has and I am going to borrow it. It's about 2 Christian guys who decided to live homeless for 5 months, as an expriment of sorts and test of character(think Black Like Me).

[VivaMexico 0]

Well said. You are correct that to liberal Christians as myself, helping the less fortunate is central to our beliefs and in turn effect our political views. I agree that Christ is neither Republican or Democrat, but in fairness, the Republicans have hammered the idea that they represent Christian values and they have politicized Christianity like no other group before them. It's the exclusivity that bothers me the most because Jesus demonstrated example after example of him dining with the outcasts, reaching out to those who have been rejected by society.

There are people on both sides who selfishly use Jesus' teaching to their benefit. The fact is that Jesus, in my opinion, would be neither a Republican nor a Democrat. What gets my goat is that liberals like Carter, like to claim that Jesus' teachings on social issues (feed the poor, clothe the hungry, etc.) validate a liberal government philosophy. While it is clear that Christians are obligated to care for their suffering brethren, Christ never said that they should use government to do it. Government is a horrible tool to fix social ills. Aside from the bureaucracy that wastes much of the money in the first place, it removes the human connection. Churches and small groups of individuals are much better-equipped to help the least among us. i would much rather give my money directly to Catholic Charities or the salvation army than to the government, which will waste 1/3 of it before doling it out in some wasteful program.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I understand where you are coming from. We don't agree on everything but thank you for respectfully discussing it with me. Oh, I wonder if you have heard of a book called "Under the Overpass", I have not read it yet but my mom has and I am going to borrow it. It's about 2 Christian guys who decided to live homeless for 5 months, as an expriment of sorts and test of character(think Black Like Me).

No, but I would be interested in reading it. BTW, my childhood best friend was a Conservative Baptist and I'm Catholic. He and his family used to affectionately call me a heathen catholic. Anyhow, we use to always clash over politics but never did it get in the way of our friendship. He left for college years later and when I met up with him he had gone through some Christian Ministry that helped the homeless. He told me he was no longer a Conservative. He ended up with a PhD. in Education and last time I heard he was principal in a poor school district.

Edited August 4, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Well said. You are correct that to liberal Christians as myself, helping the less fortunate is central to our beliefs and in turn effect our political views. I agree that Christ is neither Republican or Democrat, but in fairness, the Republicans have hammered the idea that they represent Christian values and they have politicized Christianity like no other group before them. It's the exclusivity that bothers me the most because Jesus demonstrated example after example of him dining with the outcasts, reaching out to those who have been rejected by society.

There are people on both sides who selfishly use Jesus' teaching to their benefit. The fact is that Jesus, in my opinion, would be neither a Republican nor a Democrat. What gets my goat is that liberals like Carter, like to claim that Jesus' teachings on social issues (feed the poor, clothe the hungry, etc.) validate a liberal government philosophy. While it is clear that Christians are obligated to care for their suffering brethren, Christ never said that they should use government to do it. Government is a horrible tool to fix social ills. Aside from the bureaucracy that wastes much of the money in the first place, it removes the human connection. Churches and small groups of individuals are much better-equipped to help the least among us. i would much rather give my money directly to Catholic Charities or the salvation army than to the government, which will waste 1/3 of it before doling it out in some wasteful program.

You may disagree with Carter's argument but it doesn't make it any less valid than the Christian Right who push for specific agendas they believe are within the reach of government. Helping the less fortunate can be realized in many ways so I don't think you can simply discount the idea of having publicly funded programs that help poor people. Public education, Social Security, public libraries, food stamps, child support programs. They have been effective and have helped many people in need. Where I see a hypocracy is that while you talk about beauracracy when it comes to welfare for the poor, you're silent about subsidies for business (corporate welfare). You can't have it both ways.

Edited August 4, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky

[chri'stina 190]

No, but I would be interested in reading it. BTW, my childhood best friend was a Conservative Baptist and I'm Catholic. He and his family used to affectionately call me a heathen catholic. Anyhow, we use to always clash over politics but never did it get in the way of our friendship. He left for college years later and when I met up with him he had gone through some Christian Ministry that helped the homeless. He told me he was no longer a Conservative. He ended up with a PhD. in Education and last time I heard he was principal in a poor school district.

That's cool. Well I'm a conservative non-denominational Christian, have had catholic friends (but we never discussed politics as kids). I do hope to open/or work at an orphanage in India one day in the future though (Sujeet's wish as well, since he is from there).

[VivaMexico 0]

Well said. You are correct that to liberal Christians as myself, helping the less fortunate is central to our beliefs and in turn effect our political views. I agree that Christ is neither Republican or Democrat, but in fairness, the Republicans have hammered the idea that they represent Christian values and they have politicized Christianity like no other group before them. It's the exclusivity that bothers me the most because Jesus demonstrated example after example of him dining with the outcasts, reaching out to those who have been rejected by society.

There are people on both sides who selfishly use Jesus' teaching to their benefit. The fact is that Jesus, in my opinion, would be neither a Republican nor a Democrat. What gets my goat is that liberals like Carter, like to claim that Jesus' teachings on social issues (feed the poor, clothe the hungry, etc.) validate a liberal government philosophy. While it is clear that Christians are obligated to care for their suffering brethren, Christ never said that they should use government to do it. Government is a horrible tool to fix social ills. Aside from the bureaucracy that wastes much of the money in the first place, it removes the human connection. Churches and small groups of individuals are much better-equipped to help the least among us. i would much rather give my money directly to Catholic Charities or the salvation army than to the government, which will waste 1/3 of it before doling it out in some wasteful program.

You may disagree with Carter's argument but it doesn't make it any less valid than the Christian Right who push for specific agendas they believe are within the reach of government. Helping the less fortunate can be realized in many ways so I don't think you can simply discount the idea of having publicly funded programs that help poor people. Public education, Social Security, public libraries, food stamps, child support programs. They have been effective and have helped many people in need. Where I see a hypocracy is that while you talk about beauracracy when it comes to welfare for the poor, you're silent about subsidies for business (corporate welfare). You can't have it both ways.

I agree that there are social programs that have had a positive impact. Food stamps and welfare are not good examples...they were ripe with abuse, fraud and waste until the incredibly successful reforms of 1996.

Also, please give an example of a government program that doles out money to business (tax breaks don't count...they are not subsidies).