Water

Baptism of Jesus 2013

Others,

The baptism of Jesus represented the inclusion of non-Jews into the faith that justice can be achieved with the rule of law. God saves, so humanity will learn to live with justice for each other.

Nations will see the glory of your light; leaders will wonder at your dawn!
http://bible.cc/isaiah/60-3.htm

Harriet Bedell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Bedell
“Harriet Bedell (March 19, 1875 – January 8, 1969) was an Episcopal deaconess and missionary to the Seminole Indians of Florida and the Alaskan native peoples.”

Education
http://naples.floridaweekly.com/news/2012-06-28/Opinion/Deaconess_Harriet_Bedell_missionary_to_the_Seminol.html
"[Harriet Bedell] was instrumental in the [Seminole] Indian’s gaining tribal status and acquiring some 200,000 acres of the Everglades where they could have their own school."

Health Care, Education and Economic Development

http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/january-8-harriet-bedell-deaconess-and-missionary-1969/
"In 1932, hearing about the plight of the Seminoles in Florida, Bedell used her own salary to reopen a mission among the Mikasuki Indians. There, she worked to revive some of their traditional crafts: Doll-making, basket-weaving, and intricate patchwork designs. The arts and crafts store that they established to sell their handicrafts improved the economy of the Blades Cross Mission. Though forced to officially retire at age 63, Bedell continued her ministry of health care, education, and economic empowerment until 1960 when Hurricane Donna wiped out her mission."

Blessed are the peacemakers. They will be called the children of God.
http://bible.cc/matthew/5-9.htm

Blessed is the Birdwoman, Harriet Bedell! She promoted peace with reparation. Her mission with the Seminoles in Florida encouraged commerce, health and education for economic development starting in the Great Depression.

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Gabby Giffords & Mark Kelly Promote Responsible Solutions
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/08/16411165-gabby-giffords-launches-group-to-counter-gun-lobby?lite
"The couple [Giffords & her husband] last week visited Newtown, Conn., where a gunman opened fire in an elementary school, killing 20 children and six adults in December. They also met with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a gun control advocate."

Responsible Solutions
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/gabrielle-giffords_n_2430779.html
"Giffords and Mark Kelly wrote in an op-ed published in USA Today that their Americans for Responsible Solutions initiative would help raise money to support greater gun control efforts.

""Achieving reforms to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings will mean matching gun lobbyists in their reach and resources," they wrote in the column.
"They said that it will "raise funds necessary to balance the influence of the gun lobby.""

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Does it need to be written? Amend the Second Amendment. It is poorly written. It only addresses gun owners. It should address the right of the people to self-defense.

Guns are not the only recourse to self-defense; neither are weapons. Most people rely on the law to act in defense of human rights.

Advocates for gun rights often forget the Eighth Amendment with the provision against cruel and unusual punishment. The use of lethal force when it is not necessary is cruel.

Calling unnecessary lethal force "self-defense" does not make homicide justifiable. Lethal self-defense has to be defense of self, family, friends or others from lethal force in order to be legal.

Killing someone with iced tea and skittles, then making up a story for corroboration by a confederate does not qualify as a justification for killing in self-defense.

Argument Against Executive Order

http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2013/01/executive-action-not-way-to-go.html
""I don't think the gun owners of America and those who are in favor of our liberties and the Second Amendment are going to stand for the president taking away their rights," Staver contends. "They're not going to allow one individual through the signing of an executive order to literally nullify the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.""

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The president is not the only one who is for gun control. LaPierre's statement that only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy is false. Magazine size has to be restricted. The number of guns someone owns can constitute "probable cause" for surveillance.

If someone is purchasing more guns than are necessary to defend the home, then the castle defense is overextended. If someone is carrying a gun without a license, the self-defense provision of the SYG (Stand Your Ground) law does not apply. There has to be a requirement for licensing before someone can legally carry a gun outside of the household.

If the person owns an arsenal and defines the government as evil to defend the ownership of the arsenal, mental instability is in evidence.

Gun control limits use for responsible gun ownership.

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Egypt is your ransom.(Isa.43:3)

The Lives of Egyptians are Not the Ransom for Dictatorship
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/14/world/middleeast/egyptian-court-grants-hosni-mubarak-a-new-trial.html?_r=0
 "An Egyptian appeals court on Sunday overturned the life sentence of former President Hosni Mubarak for directing the killing of protesters, a ruling that could prolong a politically fraught legal battle over the fate of Egypt’s deposed autocrat two years after he was ousted."

Re-Trial for Mubarak
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egyptian-court-grants-hosni-mubaraks-appeal-of-his-life-sentence-orders-retrial/2013/01/13/5948195e-5d5f-11e2-b8b2-0d18a64c8dfa_story.html
"A new Mubarak trial would be popular, since many Egyptians were angered he was convicted for failing to stop the killings, rather than ordering the crackdown that killed nearly 900 people."

Isaiah prophesied as an apologist for kingdom alliance with empire. The passage that describes Egypt as ransom was written to suggest that paying tribute to the empire provided protection from another kingdom. Egypt had a history as a military power aspiring to empire. Constitutional constructs regarding the protection of rights had not been developed.

Who provides supplies for the Islamic Rebels in Mali?

Mali, Africa (former French colony)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324734904578239472166070626.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
"Responding to a call for help by the Malian president, France engaged its troops in central Mali on Friday and conducted more airstrikes over the weekend to block the southern progression of rebel groups that control the northern half of the African country."

Freedom of Religion in Mali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali#Religion
"The constitution establishes a secular state and provides for freedom of religion, and the government largely respects this right."

The new Egyptian constitution is deceptive insofar as it claims to have freedom of religion for the Abrahamic religions. It doesn't express recognition for other religions and it "stacks the deck" in favor of using state resources for Islam.

Constitutional democracy acknowledges the validity of religion that does not claim power over the state for the establishment of religion.

The world is a large place. History has seen the development of religion as a cultural forum for morality with civility. The Abrahamic religions are not the only advocates for civility.

The following song celebrates baptism for faith in the God of salvation.

Water
Ps.29, Isa.43, Luke 3

The Creator created conflict.
Competition celebrates formation.
Redemption rejoices in adaptation.
Being was born by bonding for improvement.

LORD, your voice is upon the waters.
It shimmers with the glimmers of waves.
Your frequency fills the skies.

Darkness moves upon the face of the deep.
Glory rumbles with the sound of thunder.
Turbulence raises the sea.
Creation sings with uncreated energy.

Your voice is powerful;
your face, resplendent.

The ground shakes
with groans of pain. 
The foundation breaks
where movement
is madness.

The wind roars insanity!
Lightning cracks; a tree is made black.
This is the death of vanity.

The volcano vomits fire.
Smoke fills the sky.

The quake shakes the wilderness.
Tidal surge supersedes the tide.
A tornado touches down.
This is the death of pride.

When you pass through water, I will be with you.
You will not be destroyed as you pass through time.
When you are tried by fire, you will not retire.

You will learn dignity.
Flames will not consume you;
only false pride

The LORD is your God.
The Leader of competition
is for salvation.

Households make community.
Communities shape state.
States produce nation.
Nations construct alliance for the world.

People are the wealth of nations.
Nature’s God created nature.
Nature makes you what you are.
You secure yourself
for posterity.

Labor is your heritage.
Promise is your prosperity.
Management plans for success
with provisions for failure.

Sight is submerged.
Water becomes atmosphere.
Breath is held to preserve
the ability to extract
oxygen from air
for blood and breath.

Light penetrates liquid.
Submergence reverberates
with muffled sound.
Incantations celebrate birth
with faith.

Emergence converges with renewal.
Light returns to sight in air.
Breathing is restored.

Sound resonates
all around.

The wetness of water
falls down.

We have been freed from slavery.
We have been re-born with Spirit.
We have been lifted to LEADERSHIP’s side.

Just as Moses lifted the serpent
in the wilderness;
Just as Mohammed  lifted his eyes
to the skies;
the Son of Man has lifted our life
for our lives.

Your light is precious in my sight.
Your sight honors me with love.
Your offspring are conceived
in the congress drawn
from debate.

Our sons will come from far away.
Our daughters will travel
from the ends of the earth.

Every one will be called by name;
was born for glory;
and is informed by change.

Glory to you LORD God of our ancestors!
Glory to you! You give strength to your people.

You shower us with the blessings of peace.
Our glory is by your side.

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St. John's College, Oxford University
William Laud
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Laud
"William Laud (7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. One of the High Church Caroline divines, he opposed radical forms of Puritanism. This, and his support for King Charles I, resulted in his beheading in the midst of the English Civil War."

Death Penalty by Beheading
http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/laud.htm
"Archbishop Laud was beheaded on Tower Hill on 10 January 1645 and buried at the church of All Hallows by the Tower. After the Restoration, his body was reburied in a vault under the altar at the chapel of St John's College, Oxford."

Divine Right of Kings
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Archbishop-William-Laud.htm
"Laud’s real political power started to develop when Charles came to the throne in 1625. Laud preached that Charles had the God-given right to rule by Divine Right – a view strongly held by Charles himself. The assassination of the favoured Buckingham in 1628 further extended the influence of Laud who stated that those who failed to support the king were simply bad Christians."

Sectarian Policy
http://www.nndb.com/people/435/000107114/
"On the accession of Charles I, Laud's ambitious activities were allowed free scope. A list of the clergy was immediately prepared by him for the king, in which each name was labelled with an "O" or a "P", distinguishing the Orthodox to be promoted from the Puritans to be suppressed..."

"The Puritan lecturers were suppressed. He showed great hostility to the Puritan sabbath and supported the reissue of the Book of Sports, especially odious to that party, and severely reprimanded Chief Justice Richardson for his interference with the Somerset wakes. He insisted on the use of the prayer-book among the English soldiers in the service of Holland, and forced strict conformity on the church of the merchant adventurers at Delft, endeavoring even to reach the colonists in New England."

Book of Common Prayer
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/76.html
"In 1637 an attempt was made to introduce the Book of Common Prayer into general use in Scotland, and it immediately caused rioting. In February of 1638, Scottish leaders signed the National Covenant, by which they pledged themselves to uphold the Puritan position by force, and by the end of the year they had voted to depose and excommunicate every bishop in Scotland.

“The unrest spread to England, and in 1640 Laud was arrested on a charge of high treason. He was kept in the Tower for four years, and tried in 1644, at the age of seventy-one. He was found guilty, not because there was any evidence of his guilt, but because the House of Commons was determined that he should die."

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Obscure or outdated biblical references don't constitute "Church Teaching." The Church is a body that lives in the present; not in the outdated standards of the past when the bible was recorded.

Gay Bishops
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20918806
"Some critics say it is undermining church teaching about homosexuality in the hope of winning public approval."

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Communism and Fascism are two extremes that lie outside the province of democratic leadership.  Communal ownership is a property of communism. Private ownership is a property of fascism.

The state controls industry by ownership in communism. Citizens that own industry control the state in fascism.

Internet Activism & Property Insurance
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21569041-can-internet-activism-turn-real-political-movement-everything-connected?fsrc=scn/gp/wl/pe/everythingisconnected
"Since Garrett Hardin’s 1968 essay “The Tragedy of the Commons”, environmental issues have increasingly come to be seen in terms of “negative externalities”. Hardin argued that common properties would be overexploited because the benefits of the exploitation would be appropriated by the people doing the exploiting, whereas the costs fall on all equally."

The 'tragedy of the commons' reads as an endorsement for privatization. It argues that no one benefits from commonwealth accept the government official as the exploiter.

Exploitation is necessary in this paradigm. Privatization is better as a lesser evil because a private citizen benefits from the exploitation; not a government official. The trouble with the argument is that it assumes exploitation is a necessary evil. People are left to choose between one extreme or the other.

Constitutional democracy is a preferable alternative. The balance of powers is aimed at eliminating exploitation in the promotion of equity.

The inequity in the economy has increased every time that the wealthiest have been given a tax break. The "elite" have turned the government of the country upside down. They put the money that was saved by the tax break into buying influence OVER political leadership.

This pushes the form of government toward fascism, the rule of the "strong" over people with the law. War became the banner for the elite, because more money is taken through the industry for war. Commerce and favorable international relations were subordinated to Big Money. Human rights have suffered violations from those who hide behind the champions for the importance of respect in utility for representation.

The power of the accumulated capital is used to push for even more advantage, so even more money can be taken and withheld from the wealth of the nation. The tax break needs to be eliminated. People with the most wealth need to pay their share in the cultivation of social responsibility.

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More than 2,500 people were killed by drones. They were categorized as "militants" by surveillance. They were killed without a trial.

This policy does not promote democracy in Islamic nations. It does not win the hearts and minds of the people. It gives Muslims ample motivation to oppose western ideals in government.

It is tyrannical in the aggressive use of lethal force.  Non-combatants are killed by proximity to the suspected terrorists. You will not kill with universal approval. This policy should never have seen the light of day. It is past time to stop, so end it. Brennan should be put in prison as a mass murderer, not afforded the post as director for the CIA.

Look at the numbers again. More than 2,500 people were put to death without a trial. They were convicted by an anti-Islamic foreign policy posing as "intelligence."

Targeted killing with drones is not counter-terrorism. It is genocide. It kills due process. It is not legal, ethical or wise. It is a reduction of the war on terror, but it is not acceptable foreign policy.

Brennan Recommends Drone Strikes
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/0107/With-John-Brennan-Obama-doubles-down-on-drone-strikes
"Under Obama, more than 300 drone strikes have reportedly killed more than 2,500 people – many of them Al Qaeda leaders or other dangerous terrorists, according to the US government."

Does It Matter?
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/01/does-it-matter-if-john-brennan-was-complicit-in-illegal-torture/266918/
"In nominating John Brennan to head the CIA, President Obama has made declassifying the report a more urgent priority. It is one of several sources that could help us to answer an important question: Are the American people being asked to entrust our clandestine spy agency and its killing and interrogation apparatuses to a man who was complicit in illegal torture?"

Yes. It matters that Brennan was complicit in promoting the use of torture. Yes. It matters that he was the advisor that recommended the use of drones in targeted killing. Yes. This is an opportunity to object to policies promoted by the man.

Please express your disapproval for the policies. Use the opportunity to oppose the appointment of a man who promoted illegal policies. We don't need another dictator as the Director of the CIA. He will only dictate policies to the US for the world based on his tortured view of national security.

Assad would not be president of Syria were it not for the use of targeted killing in the drone war of the Brennan "counter-terrorism" operation. The aggression of the "counter-terrorism" op supports the aggression of dictatorship.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2013/0107/Assad-speech-resoundingly-dismissed-by-opposition-and-allies-video
"Assad repeated the talk about a national unity government, a national dialogue, and a new constitution – which is an acknowledgement of the failure and illegitimacy of the constitution that was passed and prepared under the supervision of his regime- at the same time as his militias commit massacres against the residents across Syria."

"Israel" means "Against Ray [as] God," but the meaning doesn't qualify as an endorsement for war and oppression. It is an ancient reference to disagreement with Egypt. It was used to promote independence from empire, but it means that there will be disagreement in the formation of consensus. Debate is necessary to work through disagreement to find responsible solutions in state, national and international forums

We don't want another anti-Semitic swing in western civilization, but we can't promote violations of human and civil rights in making concern for Israel the only consideration in relations with the Middle East.

The most recent attack on Palestinians resulted in a greater than 20 to 1 kill ratio (20:1) of Palestinian compared to Israeli deaths. It was reported that over 100 Palestinians were killed as contrasted with the death of 5 Israelis (Pal.k’d>100: Is.k’d<6).

Where is the concern for the imperative against killing in that kill ratio? The timing of the assaults on Palestinian life and properties shows that killing and destruction are being used for political expediency in persuading the western coalition to support the “right for Israel to exist.” It is killing aimed at the oppression of another population.  The policy presents the definition for genocide.

The Hagel Appointment Stirs Controversy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/chuck-hagel-controversy_n_2431228.html
"Hagel, who says he's a strong supporter of Israel, stirred bad feelings by referring to pro-Israeli interests as "the Jewish lobby" and suggesting they wield undue power in Washington."

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Personal relationship forms the basis for social relations. Many personal relations are avoided in an economy where the wealthiest benefit so much that marriage cannot be afforded at lower economic levels. The song “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” sings about a relationship that could not be fulfilled due to adverse circumstances.

Willie Nelson – Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt-LZa9w0dc

In the twilight glow I seen her
Blue eyes crying in the rain
When we kissed goodbye and parted
I knew we'd never meet again

Love is like a dying ember
And only memories remain
And through the ages I'll remember
Blue eyes crying in the rain

Someday when we meet up yonder
We'll stroll hand in hand again
In the land that knows no parting
Blue eyes crying in the rain

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Be baptized by your love for others.
Show love with respect for rights.

Steve K.