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Fifth Sunday of Lent-Mar 17
13
Mar
Matt. 5:27-30 Thou shall not commit adultery-God commanded the children of Israel not to commit adultery because it destroys the marriage relationship by dividing the affection of the one committing adultery and destroys the trust of the other marriage partner. However, Jesus said You have heard it said, “You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” It is not the act of adultery that destroys the marriage relationship but the lust that precedes the act itself. When someone lusts after another, they have already set in motion the thoughts that lead to the act and even if they never commit the act itself, they have already violated their marriage vows to love only their spouse by fostering love for someone outside the marriage in their heart. See “The Value of Family and Gender” in Udemy at https://www.udemy.com/course/value-of-family-and-gender/?referralCode=B59AC09CACA5C0C97BDD
Economics-D-H
13
Mar
The liberal politicians are always talking about taxing the rich corporations more. They imply that the rich aren’t paying their fair share of the taxes. While that sounds reasonable, it ignores reality. A corporation takes money in and spends it on raw materials, wages, and returns to stock holders, in addition to taxes. If taxes increase, it must get the money from somewhere. The only source of funds that it has is the income from what it sells, so it must pay the increased taxes by raising the price of what it sells. As a result, the corporation doesn’t really pay the increased taxes, it passes the cost on to consumers. As a result, the increased taxes actually fall on consumers. The rich can afford to tighten their belt a little and reduce the luxuries they purchase, however, the working class and poor cannot. Those increased costs must come from cutting back on necessities like food and utilities. If those increased costs are too much, they may threaten the person’s ability to obtain food, utilities, and shelter. We are seeing this in California where excessive taxes and government spending have resulted in run-a-way inflation, which has resulted in the largest homeless population of any State and a large number of residents are leaving California to find somewhere else to live where taxes and the cost of necessities is lower. If our federal government continues to follow California’s example, it will spread the burden over the entire country and there won’t be anywhere else in the United States to go.
Economics-D-G
13
Mar
Liberal politicians are again screaming about how they need to increase taxes to pay for all the spending they tell you is necessary. Unfortunately few people today understand economics and accept what they say. It is easy to think that raising taxes will help reduce the debt but it is not simply a matter of receiving money and passing it out. Raising or lowering taxes has a great effect on the economy. Liberal politicians are spending money to buy votes with liberal give-a-ways to various groups. They give money to Blacks to get their vote, to Senior Citizens to get their vote, to labor unions to get their votes and contributions, to Planned Parenthood to get their contributions. They are always giving money to someone to further their political ambitions. People like free things but fail to realize that nothing is free and someone has to pay for it. Many of the things they give away, the people could get far cheaper purchasing them on their own if they didn’t have to pay so much in taxes. Everything the government buys is at an inflated price. In addition, that money has to be handled through government channels and government workers are paid for handling it. In the end, only about one dollar out of every four dollars that goes to the government ends up being returned to the people. People could buy four times as much if they had only one fourth of the taxes. In addition, while they say the taxes are needed to cover the cost of operating the government, they always increase spending when they get more taxes, rather than use it to pay off the present bills. As a result, we are going more and more in debt with each tax increase. In addition, the increased tax burden depresses the economy because people have less to spend. As a result, businesses lose sales and have to lay off workers. As a result, businesses pay less taxes and fewer people are paying taxes so raising taxes actually results in less taxes being received. On the other hand, if expenses are cut, it would leave more money for people to spend and it would increase business sales. As a result, the businesses would be paying more taxes and it would enable them to hire more people who will be paying taxes. As a result, the taxes received would increase, so they would get more taxes by lowering the tax rate. However, it also requires them to tighten their belt and reduce the reckless spending. They have continued to drag Donald Trump through the courts looking for irregularities in how he spends his money yet President Trump did not accept a salary while he was President, he donated it all to charity. Neither President Obama or President Biden have done that. While they continue to hound Donald Trump about how he spends HIS money, it is only to distract the people from the real problem, which is how they are spending OUR money.
Fourth Sunday of Lent-Mar 10
13
Mar
(Matt 5:21-26) Jesus said, “You have heard it said…., you shall not kill….., but I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.” It is not killing that creates division, it is the anger that precedes the killing that creates the division and God hates anything that creates divisions among His people. Therefore, Christ says that we should not be angry with our brethren. While few church people are guilty of murder, there are many who are angry with each other and won’t speak to each other. You can not regulate hate because it can be hidden and not easily observed, so the law must forbid killing. However love goes beyond the Law. He who loves his brother will not hate him and so will not desire to kill him so the law forbidding murder will never be applied to them, however the law must still exist to control those who do not love each other and are liable to kill someone in order to prevent them from doing so or to punish them if they do. Love is only learned as God changes our heart. See “The Value of Life” on Udemy at https://www.udemy.com/course/christian-values-life/?referralCode=5EA3B1D6ED6DAB183AD0
Employment-I-H
12
Mar
Bidens new rules defining who is a contractor and who is an employee will effect millions of workers. The rules are designed to tighten the rules about contracting and will hurt women and the elderly the most. Many small organizations cannot afford to hire someone full-time. They either don’t need that much work or they only need someone temporarily to handle a short-term project. It is necessary for those workers to contract with multiple companies to ensure adequate work. The new rules will force many agencies and companies to go without vitally needed workers because many workers have families to support and cannot commit to an undependable income. In addition. many women have families or are caregivers for family members and cannot work full time. Many elderly either cannot work full-time due to health or choose not to work full time so they can enjoy their retirement. Many companies and agencies want more hours than they can put in, but cannot find sufficient workers to work full-time. As a result, they must contract with multiple workers. The new rules will force many workers to give up working because they will no longer be able to do the work on a contract basis. Working arrangements should be worked out between workers and employers dictated by a free market in stead of forced by bureaucrats who have no understanding on the market. The new rules are being pushed by politicians who get large donations from labor unions who are seeking to extend their control over more of the market. Unions have achieved great power over companies and government agencies by organizing their workers, however manufacturing, which has formed the backbone of union control is declining as more manufacturing becomes automated or moves overseas where it is out of the union’s control. As a result, they are seeking to expand into new areas. While unions can force contracts where all workers must join the union, contract workers are outside the union’s control since they are not actually employees of the company.
Freedom of Religion-F-4
11
Mar
With God we have hope when our own resources fail us. My life is a perfect example. I did not grow up with a knowledge of God. Our family never attended church or talked about God. I had Polio and spent my early childhood on crutches. I was often told that I would never amount to anything because I was poor and crippled. I was failing in school because I saw no benefit in it. I never considered suicide, but after I was able to walk, I lived with reckless abandon, often engaging in activities that could have easily ended my life. In Junior high, I had a teacher that had Polio but had never been able to walk and was in a wheelchair. I realized that I could become a teacher if she could and sought to study hard, however I had lost so much schooling when I was younger that it seemed impossible. In high school, my grades were so bad I was told I would never graduate. However, when some students led me to Christ I got new hope. I went on to graduate from high school, college, and even graduate school. I was only able to with God’s help because I could never have done it on my own. Since they have taken the Bible out of school and many places no longer allow it to be taught, and many families no longer attend church, young people get very little exposure to the Word of God. They have nothing to fall back on when their own efforts seem inadequate. They won’t hear the love of God unless someone tells them. Therefore it is important to reach out to those who don’t know God.
Freedom of Religion-F-3
11
Mar
We are seeing an Increasing suicide rate which the media blames on more access to dangerous drugs and a reduced safety net. While those are contributing factors, the fact is that it is due to an increasing loss of hope. Without God, we have nothing to rely on except our own abilities and the help of those around us. When we meet circumstances which seem beyond our abilities, and we often do, we have nothing to fall back on, except the help of those around us. However, the help of those around us is undependable and the increasing isolation in our society is resulting in a lot of people who have no support from those around them. The result is depression and often suicide. Up until the 1970’s, Christian morals and beliefs dominated American society. Christian values were taught in the schools and were mandated on television, radio, and in the entertainment industry. As a result, most people, even those with no church connection accepted the values in theory, if not in practice. In the 1970’s, liberal producers began pushing their message and conservatives did not challenge them. Conservatives did not support conservative media and entertainment venues and have allowed liberals to dominate them. With the growth of social media, Christians have not utilized the media and liberal social media has taken control of the media. In addition, Christians have not been vigilant in watching what was being taught in the schools and they have been increasingly pushing liberal textbooks. In addition, an increasing number of people have left the church and the church has not been actively teaching Christian values in the church. As a result, many Americans, especially young ones, have acquired liberal views, including many in the church. As liberals have gained control of the social media, they have begun blocking conservative candidates from fundraising and from campaigning on social media. It has severely hurt fundraising among conservative candidates and made it difficult for them to counter the lies and slander put out by liberal candidates. Meanwhile, conservatives, especially Christians, have been slow to develop their own social media. Many Christians continue to get the majority of their news from liberal sites and do not support conservative social media.
Politics-AB-AO
11
Mar
The media continues to demonize Republicans for blocking people from voting which sounds terrible but ignores the fact that most of the ones they remove cannot vote anyway. Many have been dead for years, some for a decade or more. While laws vary, those who don’t vote for several years are notified by mail. If it comes back as undeliverable because they no longer live at that address or they fail to respond to repeated letters, they are removed. Voters must update their address if they move so if they do not live at the address and have not registered at any other address in the State, they are not eligible to vote until they register at their new address. Many have moved out of State. Some may register and vote in the State they now live in, or they may not, but they are no longer eligible to vote in the State where they no longer live. If they still live at the address that they registered at, but fail to respond to the notices, they apparently aren’t interested in voting, and their name is removed. If they decide sometime in the future to vote, they can simply register again. It is required in every State that drivers have legal driver’s licenses, and it is even more important for voters to have legal voter registrations. Leaving their names on the rolls when it is obvious that they will probably not vote leaves an open invitation to unscrupulous politicians to pull the names of those who haven’t voted for several years, create fake ID’s and have people vote using those names. Either one person votes different times under different names or people who aren’t eligible to vote, will vote under a name on the rolls who probably won’t vote. It is even easier to vote illegally in liberal States who do not require voters to produce identification or fail to check them. Both corrupt the elections and can result in candidates stealing an election by stuffing the ballot box with illegal votes. The only reason to fight allowing people to vote illegally is if someone intends to steal an election. Voters should not be swayed by such emotional appeals and should defend their right to fair elections by requiring that their State periodically clean their rolls by removing those who have died or moved out of State and are no longer eligible to vote, and requiring identification for those who vote.