Hamas is crying about all the civilian deaths in the Gaza strip and the fact is that they are much higher than Israel’s deaths but you must look at the facts before passing judgement. Hamas attacked Israel without warning and specifically targeted civilians with no military objectives. Israel had to defend themselves. The only way to do that was to take out the rocket launchers that are firing the missiles. Hamas deliberated put the launchers in population areas so there would be civilian casualties if Israel tried to destroy them. Israel announced they were going to attack the launchers and ordered the civilians to leave the area. They gave them plenty of time to leave. That cost them the element of surprise and allowed Hamas to move or protect their launchers, but Israel did not want to risk the lives of Arab civilians. However, Hamas blocked all the roads and would not allow the civilians to leave so they could use them as human shields. Israel had no choice but to attack the rocket launchers or face a lot more of their own civilians being killed. The high death toll is not Israel’s fault. They did everything they could to prevent civilian deaths, but Hamas deliberately put the civilians in harms way so they could use them to gain sympathy.
Politics-AB-AI
While Democrats claim that the American people support their programs, the vast majority do not. They vote consistently for programs that support unions, abortion, and Gay privileges because those are the programs that are promoted by the organizations that contribute to their political campaigns. One Senator claimed in his financial report that he got over one million dollars for his Senate campaign in one campaign. With the costs of political campaigns, it is hard to ignore that kind of money. When Obamacare was being debated, several Democrat candidates promised their constituents that they would oppose pro-abortion mandates. Just before the vote, President Obama called them into his office for a talk. Shortly afterward, all of them voted for abortion mandates. I can imagine that the President probably reminded them how much they would lose if they didn’t comply. Republicans have no such large donors. They rely primarily on small donations from a large number of people which means they have to be responsive to the will of the people to get support. Some of them have corporations which support their campaigns but Democrats usually raise three to ten times the money that Republicans do, and the majority is from labor unions and abortion and Gay rights organizations. That is why they consistently vote to support the wishes of those groups. That reason, plus their control of the media and social media, is why they are able to dominate the news with their message. It is known that if you say something long enough and often enough, and do not hear any opposing information, many people are led to believe it is true, however that doesn’t mean it is true. It is very important to get the facts and decide for yourself rather than allowing yourself to be talked into something that might not be wise. .
Special Free study course #8
One of the biggest problems today, second only to the loss of our value for life, stems from the loss of our God-given concept of justice for all and the rise of the man-centered concept of survival of the fittest.
We are offering our course on Christian Values-Rule of Law for free for a limited time. The coupon is good until October 26 to the first 100 who sign up at https://www.udemy.com/course/christian-values-rule-of-law/?couponCode=7019EA9
Seventh Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 15
Small group ministry-A-Ministering to Each Other The Bible says that in the days after Pentecost, believers ministered to each other like a family and shared their possessions with those in need. If members don’t know each other well, they are reluctant to reveal that they have needs. The church is hampered today by the fact that members no longer live close to the church and to each other. They live so far apart that they no longer shop in the same stores, work at the same jobs, and have children attending the same schools. As a result, many do not have any contact with each other outside of church, so it is hard for members to get to know each other. As a result, the church has very little influence on members outside an hour a week when the church gathers for worship. Because of the distance, it is also hard for members to support each other in time of need. A mother who has a child who is hurt is reluctant to call a stranger who lives across town to look after her other kids while she takes the injured child to the doctor or hospital, but is more able to call a close friend who lives nearby. A mother whose husband is in the army or in jail, or has deserted her may reach the breaking point but be reluctant to ask other church members, who she doesn’t know, to come watch the kids while she steps away and cools down, but may be more willing to get together with another mother she knows and take turns watching the kids so neither gets pushed over the edge. Therefore, small groups need to live close together as much as possible, to provide frequent contact and mutual assistance as needed.
Public Assistance-C
Programs for the disabled have caused just as many problems. Disabled benefits are taken out of Social Security funds for those who haven’t reached retirement age but paid into Social Security and are unable to work. That adds to the number of people drawing on the fund. However, the worst problem is the way it is administered. There are many people who are disabled who could work with help. I had Polio when I was young and have trouble with my legs. There are a lot of jobs I can’t do, but I have found jobs I could do. I have been able to work most of my life up to retirement and still take odd jobs. While many recipients of disability are limited in the work they can do, there are other jobs they can do. It may require training but it would be far cheaper to train them and return them to the work force than to continue to support them. In addition, many have disabilities that could be helped with assistance devices but the devices are too expensive for disabled people who cannot work without them. It would be far cheaper to get them the devices and return them to the workforce than to continue to support them. Most of the social programs developed by the Democrats are geared toward maintaining those in need and not to returning them to active employment. The programs make the people dependent on government support instead of helping them provide for themselves. The real problem is that Democrats having been using that dependency to pressure recipients to vote for them. They claim that if Republicans get in power they will end the programs and recipients will lose their benefits. Republicans have made no such threats and have pushed to redesign the programs to make them more geared toward making recipients better able to provide for their own needs. Republicans did it with welfare and can do it with other programs if given the chance.
Public Assistance-B
The programs for the elderly have been just as bad. Prior to Social Security, people worked until they could no longer work. Then they went in a nursing home or went to live with family. Social Security was meant for the few who could not work but were not in need of a nursing home. Now many people retire at 65 or even 62 so they can enjoy their retirement. As a result, a lot more people are drawing benefits and they are drawing them longer because many people live far longer than they used to. That would not have been a problem if Democrats had not drained the Social Security fund to develop other poverty programs. The money paid in would have drawn interest and continued to support the withdrawals. By draining the surplus, it forced the money paid in to fund current recipients and not sit drawing interest. That was not a problem at the time because there were more working than were drawing Social Security, however the signs pointed to trouble ahead, but they ignored them. The fact that people were living longer and drawing longer, is putting a bigger strain on Social Security than the designers planned on. In addition, abortion has eliminated one out of three babies. That, and the fact the more women are working and having fewer kids means that fewer kids are coming into the work force. That means that fewer workers are paying into the system while more are drawing out of it. That is putting an even bigger strain on the system which many predict will soon run out of money. In addition, Social Security has not kept up with inflation and many Seniors are struggling. Their solution is to increase the tax on the rich to provide extra benefits to the poorer recipients. They ignore the fact that there are very few very rich and the added income will not cover the added benefits to the lower income recipients that make up the bulk of recipients. Since Seniors are more healthy and many could work ten to twenty more years, It makes more sense to support Republican plans to raise the retirement age. That way more workers will work longer and draw for a shorter time. While they work, they will continue paying into the system while not drawing from it. That would provide far more benefits because the number contributing would be far greater. The number of people dying increases with age so the age group with the highest number is just after retirement. It addition, it would help if the Democrats just returned the funds they took out for other social programs, including the interest it would have made if invested. The workers paid that money in expecting it would be there for them when they retired but Democrats betrayed them by spending it on other programs. Those funds would support the program for many years to come. The Democrats cry about how Social Security is running out of funds even though those on Social Security paid that money into the fund but continue to add to the benefits that go to those on welfare who did not pay into it with no thought to the cost. If welfare benefits can be taken from the general fund, there is no reason that funds for Social Security can not be taken out. Seniors deserve it far more.
Public Assistance-A
Democrats say they are concerned about social causes and care about the poor, the elderly, and the disabled and they work to provide safety nets. While that sounds good, the programs they have developed have caused tremendous problems. While private agencies help the needy on the basis of need, the government programs are based on eligibility. When I worked for the welfare dept., we constantly checked to make sure they fell in the income guidelines, however income is not a very good gage of need. A family with no income that got $400 a month in assistance and paid $300-400 a month for rent had nothing left over for utilities. If the family owned their home, they could pocket anything left over, but would have to spend it so they didn’t accumulate more savings than allowed, so they spent it recklessly. Both families met the qualifications but only one really needed that much. The same with Food Stamps. The family with a garden got the same as the family without, but one needed it more than the other. While Public assistance required recipients to look for work, many jobs they could have got did not pay as much as they got on welfare so it was often better to go on welfare. They could still work and get partial benefits to make up the difference but the program punished recipients for working by holding their welfare checks until they got the pay stubs and refigured what they were eligible for so their checks would be late. I encouraged my clients to find work to enable them to move off welfare but the other Social Workers would get after me because it made more work for them when one of my clients moved into their area. I figured the extra work was worth it if the recipient was able to better themselves. While the recipients would look for work, it was easy to keep from getting a job by making a poor showing at job interviews. In addition, the husband had to leave the home before the family could get help. That caused a lot of broken marriages as husbands left the home so the rest of the family could get help. There was no limit on help and children would grow up and go on welfare, which was easier than working. The “Welfare Reform & Upward Mobility Act” restored the connection between work and assistance by establishing a 100 hour per month work requirement. There would be an exemption for single parents with children under age 6 but they would still have access to all vocational opportunities. It provides money to assist with vocational programs for those having trouble finding work. Married couples could split the work requirement enabling them to juggle family and work. In addition, it put a cap on benefits so people could not spend their whole life on assistance. However, they put in a loophole so they could shift a lot of people from welfare to disability once their benefits reached the limit. It did a lot to curb abuses but there is a long way to go. Many recipients are third generation welfare recipients and have never developed the work habits needed to get and keep a job. It will take a long time to retrain them to support themselves, but the benefits will far outweigh the cost of continuing to maintain them.
Sixth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 8
Nurture Members-The church needs to provide regular visitation and supervision of its members to ensure they are growing in faith and love. It also helps the church to recognize when they have needs so it can minister to their needs. Most pastors are occupied with administrative duties and don’t get to spend much time actually visiting and ministering to their members and even working full time, the pastor cannot adequately supervise and minister to a church of more than 100-150 members. He must train and supervise workers to assist him just as Jesus did. They in turn will have their own small group who they are responsible for under the supervision of the pastor. The workers can get to know members and work closely with them to guide them in growing in faith. The small groups should meet regularly and become almost like a family, who can nurture and minister to their members. Members learn by watching and interacting with older more experienced Christians and that requires regular meeting in a small group setting. Most churches have very little time together to help nurture younger Christians so many members grow very little even after years of membership. -(See “The Living Presence” in “Rebuilding the Kingdom” by Lulu Press)