In the interest of somewhat full disclosure we will tell you that we author another blog on national and international issues. Yes it is an anonymous blog and no we do not use the HG handle.
That endeavor requires a fair amount time. Although the issues facing our community are serious and affect all of our lives, events and trends in the world at large will in time have a greater effect on all of us living here in Mendon than our local issues.
We try to keep up with both of our blogs but with Riff Raff coming on line and Kevin Rudden going into his second year we feel that there is a lot of exposure to Mendon issues. We are not going away (apologies to Mendon Tao and the various anonymous crazies who dislike us) but we will be inserting some of the broader issues that we are passionate about.
If you have an issue with that we are sure you will let us know. In any event here are some of the hot buttons from HG’s other blog.
-----------------------------
Illegal Immigration: 17% of the population of Mexico now lives in the US; half of them are here illegally. They broke into our country and they intend to occupy it. There will be no melting pot with these people.
Government Corruption: It is rampant on the state and federal level and is working it’s way down to the local level. Neither political party is innocent; in fact there is very little difference between them. They are both on the take at your expense like never before.
Political Correctness: This social/legal movement is crippling the United States. It is used by those who would do us harm to keep us from making common sense decisions. For example, profiling. If it smells like a skunk, keep your eye on it.
Secular Nation: The manic legal obsession with separation of church and state only serves to create a government established “church of secularism”, exactly what the Founders were afraid of and what the First Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits.
-----------------------------
If anyone would like to discuss any of these issues and how they relate to Mendon, have at it. If you would like the dialog to stay Mendon only we will try to respect that but be warned, there are 800-pound gorillas in the countryside and they don’t care where you live.
Hanging Gardens
`
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
71 comments:
..."We try to keep up with both of our blogs"....
HG... Make sure you do a better job ansewring your own questions next time. I'm hungry.
..."Illegal Immigration: 17% of the population of Mexico now lives in the US; half of them are here illegally. They broke into our country and they intend to occupy it. There will be no melting pot with these people"...
I agree with this. ~ renzo
How about a link to your other blog.
Eric, We would rather not have the readers of the other blog know the geographical location of it's author.
We will direct you to Michelle Malkin's Blog. She is one of the most heads-up minds in the blogsphere and a very courageous person. Her blog links to many American Partiots.
HG
http://www.michellemalkin.com/
Gardens: Religion has done just a fine job throughout history of promoting peace and prosperity. Who can argue with the Crusades, ethnic/religious cleansing in Armenia and Bosnia. Ah, old school good times! And dear blog readers,please don't misunderstand, I am being sarcastic. No one is asking you to give up your faith, just don't impose your faith on me.
Oh I so wanted to be the first poster to say that, but alas, I shall be but an echo! HG...I am right there with you on the other issues but the whole Sep. Church and State issue is a real hot button with me. As a first grader I was uncomfortable with the daily bible reading, throughout my school days I resented being thought less patriotic if I left "God" out of the Pledge. I resent that a maniac like McCarthy should have so much influence that he could get a reference to his god on my money. I resent that the polititians are too afraid of correcting that gutless move. I resent that I am percieved to be less moral because I do not have to be threatened with everlasting hell to be a good person, that it is not enough to be a good person because it is just the right thing to do.I resent that Churches do not have to pay taxes yet reap the benifits when they sell property.I resent that religous people cannot seem to find the time to pray in the privacy of their own home to start their day and prefer to inflict such moments upon me and my children. I recognize the comfort that faith brings. The opiate effect it has on the masses. I recognize the difference between organized religion and ones belief in a god(s). I recognize that the seperation of church and state is the only fair way to allow me to be an equal partner with my religous brother and sister.
I remember the very day I became an athiest. I was 12 years old, in Sunday school. We were studying world religions and 2 points resonated loud and clear. All people of any given faith believe that theirs is the right and true faith and all others suffer some sort of everlasting punishment for choosing the wrong one. So here is where the Emperors nakedness was revealed. Only one, if any, can be right. I put my money on the vast odds that none were.
To the previous 3 posters:
Amen!
"I resent that I am percieved to be less moral because I do not have to be threatened with everlasting hell to be a good person, that it is not enough to be a good person because it is just the right thing to do."
I can respect the fact that you are an atheist. My main question in regards to your above quote is why do you seem to care so much about how other perceive you? If you are a good person, that should be all that matters. However you state you resent that people perceive you as less moral. Why do you care so much what they think? Isnt being a good person enough? I think it is.
I resent the fact that my children have the "big bang theory" shoved down their throat in public school. What's good for the goose...
at least it was presented as a "theory" and not a "rot in hell if you don't believe" fact. To eliminate all scientific theory that runs contrary to any religion would be pretty restrictive. A big difference in a religous person and a non religous person is that one needs to have an explanation for everything even if it defies logic and the other is ok with not knowing all the answers but has enough intellectual curiosity to study,think, conclude and restudy,rethink and reconclude as evidence presents itself.
it's funny how most people prescribe to the religion in which they were raised. They would be just as passionate about any other religion but for that twist of fate.
That "twist of fate" is exactly the reason we need to keep a separation of church and state.
Amen to Amen!
Oh, and by the way to the "17% of Mexicans are living in the United States" most of them are living in what used to be Mexico!
Hey Gardens, why don't you pray for those poor immigrants! I hear most of them are christians.
Profiling: That worked out well for the Jews in Germany.
Illegal Immigration:
I may be the only one that thinks the laws need to change to make immigrating to America easier.You have no criminal background,understand there will be no hand-outs,and have a clean bill of health. Welcome to America.
Government Corruption:
Totally on board on this one. Both parties are guilty. Usually the one in power that is most corrupt. We need more than this two party system that is paid for by Corporate America.
Political Correctness:
Yeah, it has gone way too far. Profiling is a different story. Nobody tailed white guys with crew cuts driving U-hauls after the Oklahoma City Bombing.Sounds prejudicial to me.
Secular Nation:
There should be seperation of church and state. They should not get tax breaks.Tax money should never go to religious schooling or to snow plow a church driveway.
Corruption at the local level-is any of that going on in Mendon?
You all miss the point of separation of church and state. The intent of the founding fathers was not to impose any particular religious beliefs on its people, not to negate the presence of God, no more telling than in the Declaration stating that God created all men equal. It's not whether to believe in any particular god or any god at all, it was simply guaranteeing the freedom to chose without penalty. But shouldn't the "God" theory have equal play with other theories? If you actually study religions, or carry your childhood training to adulthood and question what you were taught, you begin to realize that most organized religions are a power game. Don't be afraid to present children and adults with the entire panorama of thought. That's what helps them to make informed, reasoned decisions about their relationship to God, if any, and to the rest of the world and how they choose to live their lives. That is what we, and government should be striving for, giving others the power to choose for themselves. And as every Christian child is told, that is God's greatest gift to us, the freedom of choice.
It is interesting to see where things go when you post on a blog.
Religion seems to be the hot topic here so we will deal with that issue. For those of you who missed the point about the non-establishment clause of the first amendment to the US Constitution here it is restated.
The rabid purge by secularist of anything religious with regard to government establishes a de facto state religion of secularism. We feel that is in violation of the first amendment.
Just to clear the air here, this author has not set foot in any church for 40 years other than to respect others beliefs with regard to weddings and funerals. We personally have no use for organized religions of any stripe.
HG
Anonymous said...
Profiling: That worked out well for the Jews in Germany.
The Jews in Germany were not strapping explosive to their children and blowing up the local beer garden. Wake up! There is a group of people in the world who want to behead you and your children and bathe in your blood. Now who might that be?
HG
To Riff Raff... you live in a much nicer community than I, we have to plow our own parking lots.
Riff Raff Said… Profiling is a different story. Nobody tailed white guys with crew cuts driving U-hauls after the Oklahoma City Bombing. Sounds prejudicial to me.
How many white guys with crew cuts have done what Timothy McVeigh did? How many Muslim guys between the age of 20 and 40 have slaughtered innocent men women and children in the name of Allah and the 72 virgin payoff? We will remain prejudicial thank you.
HG
Anonymous said...
Oh, and by the way to the "17% of Mexicans are living in the United States" most of them are living in what used to be Mexico!
Ok big spender, unless you are a descendent of a local Indian tribe we will expect you to be packing it in for the digs of your ancestors. Where would that be? A slum in Europe no doubt. Unless you are ready to vacate this continent on moral grounds, sit down and be quiet.
We won this land in a war of liberation by the colonial Americans and we won that portion on old Mexico in a war as well. If the Mexicans want it back let them fight for it. The Republic that serves you so well is disintegrating as I type. I am not willing to be part of the end of America. How about you?
HG
"The older you become, the more conservative you get, because you have more to lose." This theory was touted to me as I grew up as a very idealistic youth. I find that they were right, I want to pass on a legacy to my children of what I enjoyed as I matured. We had the highest standard of living in the world, and the freedom to express ourselves and our visions of how the world should be. But we need to exist in a world as it is, and that means striking a balance between protecting our own interests and trying to elevate the global community to a common ground of tolerance and acceptance. Every human being should walk in dignity, that should be a basic human right. But unless the entire world and all of its factions are working on the same page, it is a continual struggle to achieve this. We now find ourselves the target of a particular group, whose fundamental problem with us is that we are prosperous. It is basic human nature to try to protect ourselves from this threat to our lifestyles and our well-being and that of our children.
How bout those Red Sox.
We are targets because of the actions of our leaders. We are spewing the same hatred we did during the Crusades.
Anonymous said...
We are targets because of the actions of our leaders. We are spewing the same hatred we did during the Crusades.
September 16, 2006 7:22 AM
We are ?? And what actions are you talking about. Let me guess , your from France and voted for John Kerry.
1.The nationalization of Israel on land they had previously lost.
2.Leaving the Afghani freedom fighters alone to deal with Russia when we said we would help them.
3.Putting Saddam into power in the first place because of our fear of communism.
How about those Patriots.
Anon @ 7:22 AM...we and the rest of the world have been a target of those Islamic Terrorist pieces of dung long before this current war. It says a lot about you that you mention our so called hatred but fail to mention theirs. A hatred that takes over a school in Russia and murders children. One that bombs a nightclub in Bali killing 200, mostly Australians. A hatred that goes into a pizza parlor in Isreal and blows itsself up killing a dozen or more customers. A hatred that allows them to enslave many non-believers in Sudan. Many more examples are out there...Munich Olympics kidnappings and murders for a not so recent one. I dont have to mention what that hatred has done in this country.
For you to focus on so called American hatred and not even recognize nor care to mention their deep deep hatred...shows what kind of sad individual you are.
Anonymous said...
We are targets because of the actions of our leaders. We are spewing the same hatred we did during the Crusades.
Am I reading that this is all George Bush’s fault? I wish it were that easy.
You have it backwards. We are targets because of the actions and rhetoric of THEIR leaders. WHO is spewing the hatred? HINT: “Death all non-believers” “Behead those who insult Islam” etc, etc, etc.
The position of the radical Muslims is untenable in the modern world. It is a simple case of either/or. There is no middle ground. I wish it were different but its not.
HG
RE: the 'big bang' comment
Anyone who has actually cracked a book on the subject understands that the theory does not seek to prove or discount the existence of God. It only seeks to explain the physical forces behind the observable universe.
Many theologians, in fact, actually embrace the theory.
Hey, anyone hear the story about the town in Georgia that cracked down on the immigrants and became a ghost town? I am sure all of the local enterprises that are going out of business think that this was a brilliant idea.
Did they crack down on immigrants or ILLEGAL immigrants down in Georgia? I dont care about the businesses going under who hired illegals. Now they have to compete on an even playing field with all businesses who dont break the law.
Patriots had better get more help at the wide receiver positions or they are in trouble.
Imagine what Milford would look like?
Anonymous said...
1.The nationalization of Israel on land they had previously lost.
2.Leaving the Afghani freedom fighters alone to deal with Russia when we said we would help them.
3.Putting Saddam into power in the first place because of our fear of communism.
September 16, 2006 8:02 AM
1. I get it you don't like jewish people
2. last time I checked it was us {cia} that gave the rebels SAM'S and had a very clever idea of breeding mules to transport weapons from pakistan to afganistan.
3. I believe he put himself into power
You are right, most theologians do not find the "big bang theory" and the creation according to the bible incompatable. Yet there can be no mention of God in our schools. Why can't all views be presented and discussed so that students can make up their own minds? We should be teaching our children how to think, not what to think.
Which religion should we teach them?
Judaism,Islam,Hinduism,Buddhism,
Confucianism,Jainism,Taoism,Sikhism,Bahai,Shinto,Wicca,Satanism,Vodun, or Christianity (Quaker,Jehovah's Witness,Baptist,Unitarian,ChristianScientist,Roman Catholic,Mormon,
Evangelical,Amish,Methodist,
Pentacostal)
I apologize to the people of the many religions I missed.
1.I have no problem with Jewish people. The problem got worse when UN tried to solve differences between Jewish people and Arabs by dividing the country into two parts with the 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine.
2. Then when USSR retreated and our interests were covered we left them hanging.
3.In 1959 Saddam attempted a U.S. backed assasination attempt on the Iraq PM Qassim.In 1968 Saddam and others overthrew Arif with the backing of the CIA.We along with the Soviet Union, and France gave Iraq cash and weapons during the Iran-Iraq war. This is not a defense of Saddam.
You let them know that all of these religions are out there, spend a period or two discussing different philosophies, then let them explore on their own, perhaps assigning a paper to focus on one religion of their choice. Again, the premise is to teach them to think and to make up their own minds. You are obviously narrow minded and reactionary.
Hey...the Red Sox beat the Yankees!
The problem isn't with teaching religion in schools, it's with teaching ONE religion in schools.
And what exactly would a class on creationism teach? Seems to me if every answer is "God did it." then it would be an awfully short, awfully dull class.
Schools need to teach people to think and make up their own minds?
I think your idea of teaching religion is fine.It would get complicated trying to define what to say about which religions.
I am not sure that is everyones intent. Some would want Psalm 23 or the Lord's Prayer starting the day.
History has shown when you give an inch they take a mile.
I would write more but I have to get ready for church.
Hey, the Red Sox lost to the Yankees also. Patriots today!
The irony of this is that the worst thing that could happen for those espousing creationism be taught in school science class is for them to get their wish. That is because there is no backbone to creationism or intelligent design, it only seeks to poke holes in the ever evolving (pardon the pun) disciplines of biology, astronomy, physics, etc. It offers no real proof of its premise, just conjecture. Taught side by side to eager, bright minds this would be exposed.
A world religion course is perfectly acceptable in a history or even literature department. Leave the science department to, you know, the actual sciences.
Amen to that.
Anonymous 9/16 6:09 -
Don't forget Scientology!
well you really shouldn't be encouraging kids to choose their own religion. Just imagine if they choose a different one than yours or each kid has a different religion. The whole weekend could be really screwed up, meals would be chaos and let's not even talk about the Holidays. Nope, no thank you, there is a reason why things are the way they are and it has nothing to do with who's right or who's wrong it is all about convenience. The kids will have plenty of time to think for themselves later.
Patriots win!
Bozos, bozos, bozos. You continue to espouse the notion that students should be taught ALL religions, one even suggesting that they would be encouraged to chose a particular religion. You are simply obtuse. The suggestion was to make them aware of the different religious theories and backgrounds and let them make up their own minds of what has validity for them. On not just this subject, but in all aspects of education, they should be presented with the entire panorama of discussion, and then make up their own minds. That is teaching them to think for themselves, not being channelled down a particular path. As far as I know, reading, writing and arithmetic are the subjects that are absolute. Some areas of science and physics can be proven and are also absolute, but others are still matters of theory and open to interpretation and further study. If you simply want to be obtuse, so be it.
And the upside of today is that the Red Sox won this afternoon, as did the Patriots, and we are holding our own with Graham Jarvis pitching agains Mike Mussina, in a two day, four game outing. Not bad for the weekend.
Bozos, bozos, bozos. You continue to espouse the notion that students should be taught ALL religions, one even suggesting that they would be encouraged to chose a particular religion. You are simply obtuse. The suggestion was to make them aware of the different religious theories and backgrounds and let them make up their own minds of what has validity for them. On not just this subject, but in all aspects of education, they should be presented with the entire panorama of discussion, and then make up their own minds. That is teaching them to think for themselves, not being channelled down a particular path. As far as I know, reading, writing and arithmetic are the subjects that are absolute. Some areas of science and physics can be proven and are also absolute, but others are still matters of theory and open to interpretation and further study. If you simply want to be obtuse, so be it.
And the upside of today is that the Red Sox won this afternoon, as did the Patriots, and we are holding our own with Graham Jarvis pitching agains Mike Mussina, in a two day, four game outing. Not bad for the weekend.
I find it interesting how when some prisoners are humiliated in an Irag military prison the world and our own people protest, riot and cry what bad people we are. When americans are killed in Iraq, tortured and their bodies burned and hung from a bridge, no body riots, and you don't hear are own people say how bad THEY are, and how we should have justice. In fact some people even said it was their own fault for being there. But we are always the evil ones, and all the bad in the world is the U.S. fault. The muslim extremist are not representing Islam, they just want power that they currently don't have. They thrive on the weak, sufferering and fear of others. Because we are a "free" nation we go agaisnt everything they desire, and that is complete control over as many people as possible. Unfourtuantly the U.S. is always expected to come to the rescue, and help those in need, or are suffering. When we do we are critizised for "interfering" if we don't we are critisized for not helping people in need. Maybe we should adopt an isolationsit attitude about the rest of the world and just let everyone blow themselves up.
The irony of a smug individual calling people bozos and then posting their message twice is...pretty funny. Disagree with people if you feel that way, but realize that the people commenting on this blog are no more or less a bozo than you are.
I was only joking, sorry it wasn't as obvious as the red nose on my face! Of course kids should be educated about all religions AND choose or not choose. I was simply offering the only plausible explanation as to why they are not.
Who do the Patriots have next week???
To anonymous at 9:29 pm. I agree with you completely. Where is the outrage when they behead a member of the media, or any of the other of the countless acts of brutality that these groups perpetuate? Isolationism and more importantly, cutting off funding to these countries would engender an interesting problem. These countries cannot survive without our financial beneficence, so let us see where they go without it.
It's Denver at Gillette stadium. Time for a little payback, boys.
it's sad that we will never ever win a war again. The whole idea that the world was a big boys club that had rules of war was always doomed to fail.As soon as one side decides to abandon those rules and the other side does not victory is assured for the rule breakers. Nuke them all and let God sort them out is the only way to win and in winning the war we lose ourselves.
What a great twist to Mendon blogging.
RE: church/state. I don't believe that religion, specifically, should be taught in school. That's college level specialty training for those who care enough. Religion comes from home, and I would prefer that the schools stay out of trying to teach my children what they think is moral or not, whether its the the existence of God as creator, birth control, homosexuality, or whether eating meat is unethical. Similarly, in High School Science, factual science should only be taught. However, and it's a big however, when introducing the subject of the beginning of the world, I also think it is necessary and fair to acknowledge the THEORIES of the beginning of the world as only that (theories, not yet fact) and a nod should be given to creationism and other theological explanations, briefly, but intelligently explaining that we're discussing the scientific aspects of the beginnings of life, but there are other theories out there that can be researched. That doesn't come anywhere near to breaching any seperation issues (bearing in mind that Separation of Church and State is not a constitutional requirement, but merely that a government will not impose one religion on its people).
As an addendum to the person who said that many theologians believe the Big Bang Theory, I would submit that there are many more scientists who believe that creationism is a much more likely answer than the big bang theory. Personally, as much as I've met a few people who seem to be stuck at the mud stage of evolution, I prefer to think of my being here as more purposeful than to perpetuate evolution. When the last question of "but where did THAT come from?" is answered, I end with a higher power, whatever you wish to call that.
The really fascinating aspect of this issue is that there is so many levels of opinion. Including the fact that two posters heartily supported three others with a "don't ram it down my throat" attitude with a resounding AMEN. Kind of odd, no, that that particular religiously-based word was used? As far as separating it absolutely, however, it will never happen. We enjoy a country that is based on non-specific religious values: our CREATOR (not God) created us equally. The intent, clearly, is that what you believe will not be held against you and not that the country as a whole will not adopt any religious principles.
LH
Right or Wrong, I enjoyed reading about our school vote a lot more than church v state. I can find that anywhere. Sorry to see you hang it up garden.
personally. I found it enlightening to see so many think like I do. Thanks HG.
The last 2 posts are why they make chocolate and vanilla. This thread received more response in less time than any before it.
We (I) will now go back to local issues for a while.
HG
Sorry LH - can't let that statement stand unanswered. Real scientists may question the theories of evolution or the big bang, due to the well known gaps in each theory which of course, can never be filled. However, using the same logic there is no evidence for or against an almighty creator. Thus any true scientist, when posed with the question of creationism, should only shrug and say 'I don't know'.
.........but he should add....There is no scientific basis for anything spiritual. It is a leap of faith. It's what helps you get thru the day when you cannot handle reality. So pass the Kool Aid, check your brain at the cave door and never, ever question anything again.
and similarly, when a scientist is asked the definitive answer to how we began, the answer is "we still don't know". National Geographic, hardly a bastion of right-wing-bible-thumpers, has had great pieces on the subject. I feel I'm being redundant, because in the end, no one knows. But that supports my contention that although science classes should only focus on scientifically provable material, a nod should be given to those theories that will never be proven with scientific fact, and are inappropriate to cover in a science class. What's happening now is that the three (if I remember correctly-big bang, mud soup and something else) hypotheses are the choices, and that's wrong. Not one of the theories is, at this time, any more provable than the other. Statistically, in fact, the chance of life springing from mud or a chemical reaction is so minute that it's almost unbelievable on its face.
The amount of common ground after that initial start, happily enough, is more abundant than anon 8:54 might indicate, however. If I read it correctly, belief in a higher power does not mean that you stop thinking or questioning. It merely means that you start from a different spot.
LH
Well Linda we could bore the readers with our redundancy forever. So I will end my part here with this. No one will ever prove or disprove the existence of a supreme power to either factions satisfaction. The evolution of religion is an entirely different matter and not a very flattering one to the faithful. The search for the begining of life on earth
will likely see many more theories with no definitve answer and that's ok with me. The journey is its own reward. If the bible has any place in your religion you absolutly stop thinking or questioning since that is the source of all knowledge for a true christian.Although most people these days are al-a-carte christians where they take what they like and leave the rest and I guess that's not a bad thing.
I guess the only place where we differ (and maybe its a fundamental difference) is that I believe the science classes should remain home only to those theories that can be tested by the scientific method, where a hypothesis can be questioned and confirmed or disproved. While its true that the gaps in the fossil record call into question some elements of natural selection and more is being learned about the nature of the universe daily through more and more advanced telescopes, these theories have some basis in that to some extent they are observed phenomena. In these cases we are limited only by the fossil record and what we can observe from our tiny corner of the universe. To date (and remember science is really only a couple hundred years old) science has filled the gaps admirably. We know there were dinosaurs and that they share many characteristics of birds and we know chimpanzees share 99% of the DNA of modern man. We know this because it is proven fact. Placing creationism in science class, which is not really a theory at all but early man's unproven hypothesis of genesis as stated in the Bible, at the same level of these other scientific theories diminishes real scientific education. I for one, if this path was ever chosen by our state's educators, would keep my child home from school that day in favor of a trip to the MOS.
then we don't differ at all. Maybe the whole subject is too complex for high school anyway.
Hey!!! I am post number 70!!! What do I win? Go Patriots!
Post a Comment