The Colt

Palm Sunday 2013

Others,

There was a time when it was thought that if the ruler was Christian, society would be fair. This concept was the establishment of a state religion.  It is conceivable that some leaders were as fair as they could be given the perpetuation of historical precedents irrespective of respect for civil and human rights. 

The fact that establishment allows for people to be tortured or killed when they don’t belong to the state religion calls for a political principle that doesn’t require citizens to adopt the same religion as the political leader. Freedom of religion is a right that is not limited to the elite, the poor or any faction in society.

The kingdom of Armenia was situated between the Roman and Persian (Parthian) empires. The story of the conversion of the king by an advocate for Christianity follows:  

Gregory the Illuminator
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/114.html
"When he was still an infant, his father assassinated the King of Parthia, and friends of the family carried Gregory away for protection to Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he was reared as a Christian. About 280 he returned to Armenia, where he was at first treated severely, but eventually by his preaching and example brought both King Tiridates and a majority of his people to the Christian faith. About 300, Gregory was consecrated the first bishop of Armenia. He died about 332."

Christianity as the State Religion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_the_Illuminator#Declaration_of_Christianity_in_Armenia
"In 301 Gregory baptized Tiridates III along with members of the royal court and upper class as Christians. Tiridates III issued a decree by which he granted Gregory full rights to begin carrying out the conversion of the entire nation to the Christian faith. The same year Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion. The newly built cathedral, the Mother Church in Echmiadzin became and remains the spiritual and cultural center of Armenian Christianity and center of the Armenian Apostolic Church."

Kingdom of Armenia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#Antiquity
"King Tiridates III (AD 238–314) made Christianity the state religion in AD 301,[31][32] becoming the first officially Christian state, ten years before the Roman Empire granted Christianity an official toleration under Galerius, and 36 years before Constantine the Great was baptized."

================

Hate groups are fundamentally exclusionary. They don’t recognized rights for others unless they are subordinate to the rights of the “group”(anticipate “party”). When the focus for rights is shifted to those who won’t extend respect for others, the rights of the law abiding, the merciful, the friendly or those dedicated to building fairness in the diversity of society are trivialized. This exclusionary policy shows belief in aggression with cruelty as the design for leadership.

Establishment
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/18/lessons-in-how-to-hate-from-experts/
“School officials insist they do not endorse these hate groups, nor has any student ever been converted to their way of thinking. Instead, the classes are held so students can witness the extreme views such groups espouse and know how to avoid them.”

However low in income members of hate groups may be, there are those among the wealthy who claim elite status by virtue of belief in the power of laying claim to the will to power. They perpetuate social division in the lower reaches of the social status as based on income level.

When those who have less are fighting for that small amount that is presented as the prize in the contest, they are not thinking about how unfair the elite are or have been. They won’t consider how unfair policies lead to unacceptable conditions within society. This allows the elite to increase the amount that they take.

The Westboro Baptist Church is not that far removed from the KKK, neo-Nazis and other factions. Hitler, after all, claimed to be a Christian. He just laid claim to Aryan faith. The Aryans proposed that the leader was Christ, the demi-urge of God the Creator; that the demi-urge had to destroy what had been in order to create a new world order; that cruelty rules with deception for the will to power.

Factions don’t respect rights for others. They are seeking to establish themselves as the elite; the state religion; the new world order.  

Ride the Colt (Fm Ps.118)

We live with those
who believe that greed is God
or cruelty rules the world.

Experience without cruelty
or greed however
shows that love guides
intelligence with wisdom.

There are those who are wealthy
who do not believe in greed.
There are those with power
who do not believe that cruelty rules.

Blessed are those
who walk in the way.

Give thanks.
God is good.
Let your mercy rule.

Let the people say,
“Mercy endures forever.”

Ride the colt that has not been ridden.
Share the joy of faith. Celebrate
the glory of heaven.
Shine forth with love.

Open for me the gates of paradise.
I will enter. I will give thanks.

This is the gate to justice;
the portal for praise!
The righteous will enter
and be satisfied.

The stone that the builders had rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the LORD’s doing.
It is marvelous in our eyes.

The divine will has been fulfilled.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

The rule of law respects
civil and human rights.

Please save us from cruelty, God.
Protect us from greed.
Have mercy on us!

Blessed are those who come in the name of the LORD.
We will bless you in the assembly of holiness.
We will form a procession with palms that reach
to heaven.

We will shine forth as rays from the sun.
God is the LORD!

You are the LORD, God. We thank you.
You are Christ. We exalt you.

Give thanks.
The mercy of Christ
will endure forever.

================

Reagan's trickle down economy was marked by the push for an increase in CEO salaries. It wasn't a push for an increase in salaries for executives. The goal was to reduce middle level management and decrease cash flow because "personnel costs are highest" and CEO's make "the jobs."

Making the CEO salary higher didn't improve the economy. It just made the rich richer. The reduction in cash flow seriously damaged the middle class. The working class has been subjugated to the dictates of the CEO. The policy change did not improve organizational efficiency or effectiveness. It simply ensured that unfairness was to be regarded as the norm.

Abe's call for a small increase in salaries is more like Gerald Ford's WIN (Whip Inflation Now). The idea was to stimulate the economy by increasing the circulation of cash.

Lawson Inc., a convenience store chain, has been making profits. They increased salaries for their employees.

Not Reaganomics
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/business/japan-profits/"Mr Abe's big idea is that more companies should emulate Lawson so that Japan begins to generate expectations of steady growth in incomes."

The Republican party had been espousing statements that ascribed a status of worship to Reagan. The problem is that Reagonomics has done more to decrease representation in constitutional democracy than anything than the error in the “era of good feelings” when single party dominance was regarded as the basis for feeling good.

The future calls for us to ride the colt that had not been ridden, but we need to look to the past for policies that have worked for people. Obama-nomics has favored stimulus to keep the economy from collapse. It has used the stimulus idea from the “WIN” strategy, but companies have not been encouraged to raise salaries for employees.

Let some enterprising CEO’s in profitable enterprises take a chance. Take a cut in salary to increase employee salaries

There are those who have grown accustomed to the elitism promoted by the unfair advantage achieved by the use of loopholes on top of the tax breaks given to the wealthiest. Their rule needs to be taken down.

Linkin Park – Burn It Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxytyRy-O1k
I played soldier, you played king
And struck me down, when I kissed that ring
You lost that right, to hold that crown
I built you up, but you let me down

Close the loopholes. Take a stand against establishment.

Steve K.

 

 

Good Fortune

Others,

Independence had been declared. The Revolutionary War had been fought. It had ended with the treaty of Paris in 1783. The colonies had become states in a new nation governed by the articles of confederation.  The colonists had become citizens in the confederation. There was an interest in westward expansion.

The Continental Congress required a plan for expansion.  Jefferson proposed the plan for Land Ordinance in 1784. It was passed in 1785. It incorporated the use of a coordinate system on a map to divide land.  The Congress was willing to show that they had learned something about government during the conflict with Great Britain.
http://www.in.gov/history/2478.htm
http://www.stanford.edu/group/west/cgi-bin/pager.php?id=49

Land was to be purchased from the native Americans (Indians). It was to be surveyed for division into townships of six square miles (640 acres). The township was to be divided into 36 sections.  The sections were for private ownership, usually homesteading, except for one section. This section was to be reserved for a public school. The one room school house that was to become a cultural icon in American history showed that the funding for school was paid for by the town.

The Land Ordinance of 1785 was lacking some important considerations. How was the territory acquired in the westward expansion to be incorporated into the new nation? These concerns were addressed in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The territory could establish a legislature when there were 5000 free men in the area. A territory could apply to Congress to become a state when the population reached 60,000. The citizens of the new states were to have the same rights as other states.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/northwest.html
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=8   

Slavery was prohibited. The Ohio valley was the Northwest for the time. This plan established a “lever” by which slavery could be removed from the nation. Virginia had the largest population of people in the thirteen states, but more than 40% were enslaved.  The Northwest Ordinance was an extension of Jefferson’s Land Ordinance.

The Constitution was written as a collaborative product with the direction of James Madison. He had studied all that he could about political organization in order to lead the process of documenting the plan for government in the United States of America.

Jefferson and Madison were from Virginia.  The plan for constitutional democracy was crafted by those who abstracted the goodness that was developed in opposition to an oppressive system. They didn’t abstract it to a place outside of reality. They abstracted it for the formation of a perfect union. This was the vision for something in which people could believe.  There was to be no slavery, a school for every town and a say in the way things were to be governed.

Good Fortune
From Psalm 126

We were like those who dream
when our fortune was restored.

Laughter filled the air
with shouts of joy.

They said, “Great things
have been done for them.”

Great things had been done for us.
We were glad for our good fortune.

Restore our wealth, LORD.
It will be like an oasis in the desert.

Disappointment for each mirage
will fade into the forgotten.

Those who sowed tears
will reap songs of joy.

Those who were weeping without compensation,
will be rewarded with happiness; celebrating prosperity.

=======================

The corruption of capitalism for the industry of war has diminished the wealth of our nation.

Education Funding Drops in More Than Half the States
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/education-funding-drops-i_n_1855826.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States#Funding 

The implementation of this vision has suffered setbacks whenever funding has been diverted to war for the development of private industries. The US will be paying for the “invasion level events” (wars of aggression) for a long time to come.  The economy and public services suffer as a result. Education is a public service that is suffering from the hit. 

 Companies have reported record profits during this imposition of their will to acquire capital with the industry for war. Are we supposed to be happy that they attained their goals at the expense of the public?

The war on terror has been the biggest con job in the history of the nation. It started with a false flag operation; instituted two invasion level events and continues to seek funding from the public for targeted killing and indefinite detention (human rights violations).

What had started out as an exercise in local funding (one room school houses) has become a major regulator for the integrity of the nation. When education is sacrificed for corporate profit, constitutional democracy is made into a front for dictatorship.

Many of the states where funding has been cut have had the government taken over by Daley like political machinery. The political machinery in Florida has been reinforced by the electronic voting machines that don’t leave a paper trail for a recount.  A supermajority did not exist until this technique had been employed.

The supermajority in Florida instituted Citizen’s Property Insurance. It is a state run monopoly that doesn’t pay taxes. It currently has a surplus of over 61.2 billion dollars (even after Debby) and approval for another rate increase by the supermajority reduced to a majority.

Now there is another scandal associated with internet gambling.  We are not only having our money taken to pay for wars of aggression, targeted killing and indefinite detention. We are not only having to pay for the “Citizens Property Insurance” surplus when we pay for food at the supermarket or services elsewhere. It seems that those who have turned to gambling to seek some kind of compensation have been robbed with sanction by state leadership as well.

Lt. Gvr. Resigns
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2013/mar/14/resignation-could-inspire-gop-challenger-to-scott-ar-657866/
“The effects could depend on how involved Carroll was in dealings with Allied Veterans of the World, the alleged Internet cafe gambling, money-laundering and racketeering ring, said veteran Florida GOP political strategist David Johnson.”

The Republican party has driven the Democratic party into a subsistence state of existence; bringing us to a condition that is comparable to the error in the “Era of Good Feelings.” The Republicans have demonstrated that they believe that partisan disputes are extinguished with the rule of a single party…theirs.  Now the competition for leadership of the single party is predictably starting to show the factional division that awards leadership to the “top dog.”

Reality shows overstate the importance of competition at any level of society by making it about support for the individual who is willing to do whatever it takes to win. Survival is used to promote a survivalist ethic that limits societal value to plugging emotional support and work effort into the individual deemed most likely to succeed. This hyper-aggressive competitive mindset is promoted through the media to put those affected by the viewing audience into a confederation state of mind.

The confederation of states was a regression to the confederation of tribes during the period of the judges.  Chaos ruled the tribes. The tribes were fighting for survival as a separate nation until a judge rose up to lead the people out of oppression.

We are no longer allowed to see ourselves as part of the union in the “reality” of reality shows. We are factionalized under the presumption of a single party and forced to compete for prizes that don’t compensate for the social integrity that is lost in the competition.

Restore our wealth.
It will be like an oasis in the desert.

Those who sowed tears
will reap songs of joy.

Steve K.

Happiness

Others,

Cruelty was the norm in punishment when the story about the prodigal son was created. Cruelty was presented as a deterrent to criminal behavior, but people could be convicted of crime without being guilty.  Death was the norm in the code of Hammurabi, the legal document that served as a model for imperial government. 

Greeks and Romans could argue that they were better emperors than the Persians because they did not destroy their enemies. Byzantines could argue that they were better than the Romans because they did not persecute non-christians by throwing them to wild beasts in the coliseum or by killing convicts from the conquered on the cross. Nevertheless, the death penalty could be applied to non-elitists by the elitists.

The English bill of rights (1689) did not outlaw slavery. It did not propose freedom of religion. It specified the right to bear arms for Protestants.  The right to vote; to a criminal trial in a court of law before a jury of peers; and to not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment were limited to those who subscribed to the imperial religion.

Civil and human rights came to be regarded as uniquely limited to those who agreed to worship “God” with the monarch. This concession also amounted to agreement to absolute power. The monarch could declare war based on his or her assessment of what amounted to a suitable war in the contest for the wealth of nations. The monarch could have people put to death when it suited the authority of elitism in the competition.

The "elite" did not admit to error in leadership according to elitism.  Guilt was found in those who were not judged to be part of the elite-ness of the One. Cruelty was regarded as a necessary foil to the act of remembering to show compassion for the poor, the embodiments of economic weakness.  The story of the prodigal son shows that non-elitists favored prodigal behavior as a way to see that human nature suffers from error; as the antecedent to forgiving prodigality in others.

Happiness
from Psalm 32

Happy are those who are forgiven;
whose will to harm has been left behind.

Joyful are those who are not found guilty
because there was no offense;
whose spirit has no guile.

My bones withered when I was consumed with fear.
My groaning lasted throughout the trial
to test the charge in the accusation.

My ancestry was tested.
The moisture of my soul
dried up as in the heat of summer.

I acknowledged my flaws
to refute the claim to absolute power.
I did not seek the will to power
over others with cruel punishment.

I said, “I will confess limitation
to convert my weakness into strength.”
I was forgiven for the guilt of sin.

The faithful pray in times of trouble
and thanksgiving. They are not overcome
with consumption due to feelings of guilt.

You are my hiding place LORD.
You will preserve me from troubles in trial.
You will surround me with shouts of deliverance.

“I will instruct you in the way that you should go.
I will guide you with the light of insight.

“Do not be like the ignorant beast
that does not seek to increase understanding.

“Admit to ignorance when the confession is due
and you will not be subjected to continuous correction.”

Those who order or perform evil acts
deserve greater punishment
than the justice in human government
can provide.

Mercy embraces those who have faith.
Be glad, you faithful! Rejoice in the LORD!
Shout for joy, all who are true of heart!”

==========================

The western world has been showing those outside the NATO alliance that it does not respect civil or human rights for those who don’t support elitism in the capitalist enterprise for the industry of war. The Islamic world has little reason to respect the western contention that government should respect civil and human rights. The coalition has shown disrespect for the independence of foreign nations with two invasions, drone warfare, torture, cruelty in punishment and laxity in correction. Disrespect has been shown for the rights of non-elitists.

It is one thing to be among the elite by training and performance in service to others. It is another to be elite because things were set up for your advantage. The elitist advantage as instituted by Congress does not require effort for excellence. It reinforces the claim to absolute power over others. Excellence in performance has effort justification as a self-perpetuating benefit for society. Elitism by decree makes work seem like a joke.

Perfection in being requires improvement as needed. It is not holiness in being freed from responsibility.

The act of prayer is an acknowledgement that needed improvements require help for achievement. Prayer is like a note to God. The following song celebrates the ability to acknowledge the need for help in achieving improvement that is needed.

Charice – Note to God
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_A-T4ZjUo&feature=endscreen&NR=1
I’d say give us the strength to make it through.
Help us find love ‘cause love is overdue.
It seems like so much is going wrong
on this road we’re on.

I am what I am for who I am, but I respect others as respect for law in order to govern action for civil rights.

We are what we are for who we are, but we need to respect others as respect for the rule of law in order to extend alliance for human rights.

Steve K.

Fire from Heaven

Others,

The bible is a mixture of history, literature and religious doctrine.  The historical perspective seeks to extract history from the mix. Judaic scripture covers a broader expanse of time. Comparatively, that which is Christian does not have as much in the way of extra-biblical verification. Nevertheless, there are passages in the Christian scripture that call attention to certain events that can be viewed in relation to archaeological or textual discovery.

The following passage refers to Pontius Pilate, Galileans and an action that Pilate with which he was associated. While much historical investigation has been dedicated to showing the existence of Jesus, this statement allows us to examine imperial doctrine as it related to conquered people.

Luke 13:1
http://bible.cc/luke/13-1.htm

There were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

-----------------------------

It has been shown that stories about the emperor identified him as the son of the god of war; that he was also given the title, “high priest,” for his role in promoting human sacrifice for the peace of the imperial city through the call for war, the execution of those found to be guilty of crime and the extermination of people found to be troublesome to peace in the empire (genocide).

The next citations will show that there was an imperial religion (the religion of the emperor for the people of the empire). This religion was used to identify dissidents who could have their blood “mingled with their sacrifices” for the imperial city.

Pliny the Younger was the governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor. He had written a letter to the Emperor Trajan around 112 CE where he described the morality of Christian religious practices, but categorized the teaching of Jesus and his followers as “excessive and contagious superstition.”

Trajan wrote back: “No search should be made for these people; when they are denounced and found guilty they must be punished; with the restriction, however, that when the party denies himself to be a Christian and shall give proof that he is not (that is by adoring our gods) he shall be pardoned on the ground of repentance, even though he may have formerly incurred suspicion.”

Text
http://www.westarkchurchofchrist.org/library/extrabiblical.htm
History
http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/foxs-book-of-martyrs/the-third-persecution-under-trajan-a-d-108.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire#Under_Trajan 

It was stipulated that the name of the accuser must be admitted to avoid the establishment of a precedent that would encourage anonymous accusations. While it may sound as though Trajan was being compassionate, he was clarifying that he was not seeking to exterminate all Christians. He was using the accusations against them to limit the persecution to coerce conversion to the imperial religion.

The citation from Josephus specifically describes an incident that took place between Pontius Pilate and the Jews over his placement of images of Caesar in Jerusalem:

“Pilate…brought those images to Jerusalem, and set them up there; … when the Jews petitioned him again [to remove the effigies of Caesar from Jerusalem], he gave a signal to the soldiers to surround them, and threatened that their punishment should be no less than immediate death, unless they would leave off disturbing him, and go their ways home.”  (“Jewish Antiquities,” Ch. 3:55-59)
http://www.theistic-evolution.com/josephus.html 

The Jews were threatened with death, but they stated that they would not transgress their law. Pilate withdrew the effigies of Caesar from Jerusalem to Caesarea. Another incident that occurred while Pilate was in Judah saw 4,000 Jews banished to an island.

Biblical criticism places Luke after Mark and Matthew in the order in which they had been written. It is conceivable that the sacrifice of Galileans was a reference to an event that took place after the crucifixion of Jesus.  It is unique to Luke. It was placed in the context of the gospel to record an escalation in the persecution of Christians.

Galileans were residents of Galilee. They were associated with Samarians by Judeans and with the zealots by the Romans. Galileans are mentioned as residents of Galilee in John 4:45 and Acts 2:7. Judas the Galilean is named as the leader of an unsuccessful revolt in Acts 5:37.
http://www.about-jesus.org/galileans.htm

Julian the Apostate (331-363 CE) would come to call all Christians, Galileans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_the_Apostate

This association of a whole group with the violent acts of a small sect has taken place in our time as well. It was common to identify “Jihad” or “holy war” as an extremist doctrine prior to the invasion of Afghanistan. Afterwards, the opposition to Jihadist doctrine came to be used as a justification for the invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq. The invasions served to reinforce Islamic fears that western claims to government as representative of human rights were being used as a pretense for wars of aggression.

Spirit as Fire
From Exodus 3, Psalm 63, 1Corinth 10, Luke 13.

The bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
An angel appeared in the flame with the name
that cannot be expressed in word. It can only
be heard with faith in life:

“I am the God of your ancestors;
the one from many nations;
the laughter from unexpected events;
the champion who wins against expectations.
I AM what I AM for who I AM”

Our ancestors were under the cloud.
They passed through the sea.
They were baptized into the law
of liberty. They witnessed the flame
that burned without being consumed.
They consumed spiritual food and drink.
They drank from the Spirit
that led them to the Rock of Christ.

They were tested by trials
that called them to look beyond
the things that can be seen.
They were not tested beyond
the ability to endure the trial.
A way out was provided with the test,
so they could endure it.
They believed that the call to faith
in a better life needed to be recorded
for us in our time.

Do you think that all those
who were killed by cruelty
were worthy of punishment?
Do you believe that all those who died
in natural disaster deserved their fate?

If you should die believing that God
is cruel, you will not have experienced
what it was to live with faith in love.

Ancient Inspiration
for our ancestors,
you have become my God.
I will not be tested
beyond my strength.
I will seek you eagerly.

My soul thirsts for you.
My flesh longs for you
as in a barren land where
there is no water.

I have sought your face in a holy place
that I may give you praise for your power
and glory.

I will bless you as long as I live
and lift up my hands in your name.

You have been my helper.
I will rejoice in the shelter
that you provide for me.

==========================

When the government uses cruelty, violence or lethal force as power to establish religion, it is not good for the state or the religion. When Augustine wrote about his conversion to faith, he used the bible and classic literature from Greco-Roman civilization to guide his work. When he wrote the City of God, it was inspired but it was directed towards the establishment of Christianity as the imperial religion. Crucifixion was ended and the Coliseum was no longer used for human sacrifice after this design was instituted, but people could still be tortured, killed or over-taxed for not belonging to the imperial religion.

This practice continued beyond the boundaries of the Roman empire. While Pelagius was in error regarding the expression of belief in moral perfection, the work of Augustine was not declared as erroneous by a council because the councils were following the model for political organization that had been established within empire. There was widespread toleration for the proposition that empire had to entertain one legal religion because the emperor or a king could only adhere to one religion.

===================

The life of Chad had been lived in the English midlands during the seventh century. His humble lifestyle helped people to believe that bishops were not elevated in order to live at the expense of the people.

Take the lowest place when invited to the party.
http://bible.cc/luke/14-10.htm

Chad (Ceadda) died 672 CE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_of_Mercia
"In 669, a new Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore of Tarsus, sent by Pope Vitalian arrived in England. He immediately set off on a tour of the country, tackling abuses of which he had been forewarned. He instructed Chad to step down and Wilfrid to take over.

“According to Bede, Theodore was so impressed by Chad's show of humility that he confirmed his ordination as bishop, while insisting he step down from his position… (Chad had said that he always thought himself unworthy of the position, so he would gladly step down from it.)

"Archbishop Theodore refused to consecrate a new bishop. Instead, he recalled Chad out of his retirement at Lastingham. According to Bede, Theodore was greatly impressed by Chad's humility and holiness. This was displayed particularly in his refusal to use a horse: he insisted on walking everywhere. Despite his regard for Chad, Theodore ordered him to ride on long journeys and went so far as to lift him into the saddle on one occasion."

==================

While there were humble clergy during the time when christianity was the religion for the state as empire or kingdom, it did not significantly reduce the propensity for sectarian strife where there was only one legal religion.

Freedom of religion was added in the first amendment to the US Constitution by James Madison. It is quite possibly the most radical proposal regarding the relations between government and religion (let alone church and state) in the history of the world. It is a human right that acknowledges the value that religion holds for teaching morality as a means for achieving civility in representative government.

The English divine right of kings had been a re-statement of the Chinese mandate from heaven. Both were attempts to justify imperial legalism, a political doctrine that promoted the severe punishment of those found guilty of crime as religious belief.

Constitutional democracy had been designed to take apart the claim to absolute power in government with the separation of powers. The international oligarchy that promotes the industry for war has undermined the ability to take down the claim. This has been accomplished with tax loopholes, breaks and government decisions that benefit the wealthiest citizens at the expense of the rest of the population. 

This juncture of history shows us that it has been the accumulation of profit with war that has motivated the elite to override social and national security concerns for their advantage. Currently, money is being used to buy decisions through lobbies, campaign contributions and propaganda communications. While the wealthiest citizens and their corporations are not paying the same proportion in taxes, the elitist advantage is being used to discount the power of the people.

There is a heaven on earth not worth our support.

Adele – Skyfall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeumyOzKqgI

Let the sky fall.
When it crumbles,
we will stand tall
and face it all together
at skyfall.

Individual rights are relative to the respect shown for the rights of others. Elitist privilege cannot be allowed to rule out the right to provide for basic needs. Record profits shown during hard economic times show that too much support has been given to corporations. The sequester shows that national and social security are suffering from the advantage being given to the elite.

Stand tall. Face it all together at skyfall.

Steve K.