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[Ohio]

Originally Posted by awareness

From healthcare to tax and immigration, Rev William Barber and the Poor People’s Campaign are driven by faith to focus on the disadvantaged

As one group of faith leaders celebrates the fruits of a decades-long alliance with the Republican party, another is mounting a multi-faith challenge to the dominance of the Christian right, in an attempt to recapture the moral agenda.

“There is no religious left and religious right,” Barber, a pastor and political leader in North Carolina, told the Guardian. “There is only a moral center. And the scripture is very clear about where you have to be to be in the moral center – you have to be on the side of the poor, the working, the sick, the immigrant.”

Barber, a co-chair of the campaign, says some conservative faith leaders have “cynically” interpreted the Bible’s teachings to demonize homosexuality, abortion, scientific facts and other religions. They are guilty, he says, of “theological malpractice” and “modern-day heresy”.

So he firstly defines the moral center as taking the side of "the poor, the working, the sick, the immigrant."

We all would agree with that.

Then he pulls a bait'n'switch, condemning others as guilty for opposing homosexuality, abortion, scientific facts, other religions.

What kind of Bible is he reading? His own imagination? Using that he now condemns them as heretics performing theological malpractice.

The Guardian writer here is behaving just like Putin, whose goal is to drive wedges. He cares little for the Bible, and he is really not choosing sides, but rather pitting both sides against each other. Nearly no one recognizes this.

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Ohio

So he firstly defines the moral center as taking the side of "the poor, the working, the sick, the immigrant."

We all would agree with that.

Then he pulls a bait'n'switch, condemning others as guilty for opposing homosexuality, abortion, scientific facts, other religions.

What kind of Bible is he reading? His own imagination? Using that he now condemns them as heretics performing theological malpractice.

The Guardian writer here is behaving just like Putin, whose goal is to drive wedges. He cares little for the Bible, and he is really not choosing sides, but rather pitting both sides against each other. Nearly no one recognizes this.

“There is no religious left and religious right,” Barber

"There is nothing I dread So much, as a Division of the Republick into two great Parties, each arranged under its Leader, and concerting Measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble Apprehension is to be dreaded as the greatest political Evil, under our Constitution."
-John Adams October 2, 1780

[awareness]

Way cool. Obama makes conservatives read their Bibles. Maybe they'll finally learn something.

CONSERVATIVES THREATEN NETFLIX BOYCOTT OVER OBAMA DEAL: 'I WILL READ THE BIBLE INSTEAD'
http://www.newsweek.com/boycott-netf...ew-show-939417

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by awareness

Way cool. Obama makes conservatives read their Bibles. Maybe they'll finally learn something.

CONSERVATIVES THREATEN NETFLIX BOYCOTT OVER OBAMA DEAL: 'I WILL READ THE BIBLE INSTEAD'
http://www.newsweek.com/boycott-netf...ew-show-939417

"Today the whole world takes Sunday not mainly for worship but for pleasures, for sports, and for all kinds of entertainment. This is more evil than idol worship" ~ W. Lee

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by awareness

“There is no religious left and religious right,” Barber

"There is nothing I dread So much, as a Division of the Republick into two great Parties, each arranged under its Leader, and concerting Measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble Apprehension is to be dreaded as the greatest political Evil, under our Constitution."
-John Adams October 2, 1780

More and more I am seeing the wisdom in a parliamentary system. One reason our elections are so expensive and out of reach for the ordinary citizen to be a candidate is that we have a 2 party system.

[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

More and more I am seeing the wisdom in a parliamentary system. One reason our elections are so expensive and out of reach for the ordinary citizen to be a candidate is that we have a 2 party system.

In theory yes, but in practice parliamentary systems usually revert to a two or three major party system anyway. So no real advantage there. But the interests of the citizens would be better represented, in theory. In practice, the interests of minor parties and those who voted for them are always overshadowed by the major parties unless the minor party finds itself in a situation where it holds the "balance of power". This is a rarity however and usually occurs when the country cannot decide between two or more major parties because it does not like any of them or through disillusionment. The unwanted side effect of this is that minor parties can hold more power than they should (such as the Communist Party for example). This in turn means citizens may choose to vote for a major party not because they support it but because they don't want an extreme minor party to hold any sort of control over government. So it ends up being a situation where minority parties and their supporters feel like they are being represented and heard, but they will never play a major role in government.

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

In theory yes, but in practice parliamentary systems usually revert to a two or three major party system anyway. So no real advantage there. But the interests of the citizens would be better represented, in theory. In practice, the interests of minor parties and those who voted for them are always overshadowed by the major parties unless the minor party finds itself in a situation where it holds the "balance of power". This is a rarity however and usually occurs when the country cannot decide between two or more major parties because it does not like any of them or through disillusionment. The unwanted side effect of this is that minor parties can hold more power than they should (such as the Communist Party for example). This in turn means citizens may choose to vote for a major party not because they support it but because they don't want an extreme minor party to hold any sort of control over government. So it ends up being a situation where minority parties and their supporters feel like they are being represented and heard, but they will never play a major role in government.

If a state has 10 congressmen, and each election you elect 5 of them, instead of having 5 districts you do statewide election and parcel out the seats based on vote count. If you get 20% of the vote you get a seat, if you get 40% you get two seats, etc. Although there may be two prevailing parties you will see many other parties popping up in different States around local issues.

Our last presidential election has shown that many countries are getting into the act to influence the outcome and make the candidates beholden to them. A parliamentary system could avoid these billion dollar elections.

Also the process for impeachment is absurd. Theoretically you have the most powerful man in the world who must be convicted of his crimes by an incredibly political and biased group. In this country it is extremely difficult to convict powerful men with every resource to thwart the process. Add a biased judge and jury to that and it is absurd. In a Parliamentary system you don't have to wait for all that, a simple vote of no confidence is sufficient. Although you generally get two primary parties it is very unusual for either of them to have over 50% of the representatives.

[Ohio]

Originally Posted by ZNPaaneah

Also the process for impeachment is absurd. Theoretically you have the most powerful man in the world who must be convicted of his crimes by an incredibly political and biased group. In this country it is extremely difficult to convict powerful men with every resource to thwart the process. Add a biased judge and jury to that and it is absurd. In a Parliamentary system you don't have to wait for all that, a simple vote of no confidence is sufficient. Although you generally get two primary parties it is very unusual for either of them to have over 50% of the representatives.

We discovered this all too true with the Clintonistas.

Multiple crimes spanning decades, yet they have never been brought to justice.

[zeek]

President Trump has canceled the June 12 summit meeting with Kim Jong-un after already taking a victory lap. When you elect a clown expect a circus.