POLITICS :: What I discovered yesterday...

I opened up the email from EPOCH TIMES yesterday and looked to see what it had to share.  I think it may have been the title reference :: HOW THE SPECTER OF COMMUNISM IS RULING OUR WORLD.  What really struck me was the summary they offered :: 

"The devil chose Marx as its envoy among men. His Communist Manifesto of 1848 advocated the violent destruction of private enterprise, social classes, nations, religions, and the family."

That was a frightening statement to me.  I never studied Marx but knew he had something to do with coercive governments... and that some people in our age lift him up as their hero.  The idea that government needs to overcome all these very good entities in any society (except maybe social class distinctions) by any means necessary is quite hard to comprehend in my perspective in 2020.

How do people survive that kind of leadership?  I have no idea, and I don't want to find out in America!!

Our "elite" culture leaders use the John Lennon song "Imagine" as their Communist Manifesto.  I have said this before, but will say it again here, the idea sounds good but the reality is not.

As a Christian, one of the biggest issues attached to the Christian Community is that "we" don't live what we preach.  In reality, the application of GOD's Word by human beings is the reason this issue exists.  In Truth, the Body of Christ, the Christian Community, is filled with individual people who are at different levels of Faith.  Some have just been saved, some are learning what it means to be a Christian, some have lived for years as a devoted Christian always learning and changing, and some have been the same baby Christian their entire life.

The Bible teaches its believers to care for one another, to love the poor and the lost. It teaches that believers are to give ten percent of their profits to the church for its needs.  This giving is blessed by GOD.  The key to godly giving is that it is done voluntarily.  GOD blesses giving that is shared with a trusting Faith.  Other kinds of giving are not blessed.

The same is true with Communism, or the idea that the government will share the resources of the many to serve the needs of all.  The concept is similar to the BIBLE teachings about caring for one another, but in Communism the choice is forced, not voluntary.

In Communism, people look to the government as their provider.  

In Christianity, people look to GOD as their provider, protector, 

Healthcare is one example of how this plays out in our world.  The idea of some is to have the government the sole provider of care.  Mandates are now the rule of the land.  Once the government is the only provider, it will have the power to decide what gets provided, who gets care, and when your life is not worthy of sustaining.  

When healthcare is private, it may not be accessible by all citizens, but the choices are meant to be between the patient and the doctor, not the government.  

Healthcare is expensive. You cannot receive a million dollars of care in exchange for $6000 of premiums.  No matter who provides the payments, government or insurance providers or private income resources, the same principle applies.  There are limits on what can be provided if someone else is paying the bills.

It doesn't matter what candidates promise, the reality is still in effect.

It is hard for me to see the loss of Freedoms we are now encountering... one by one, in all aspects of our lives.

I hope this will not continue, and pray that GOD will allow me to fight the battle against this subtle, covert, relentless effort to destroy what made America a great nation in our world.

I hope you will fight this battle, too.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

POLITICS :: It's getting to be a lot like an election...

This is a year like no other in the history of the world.

We are seeing the effects of privately-owned sites on our ability to share conversations and information on the Internet. The ideology wars are showing us what the future will become.  

Where is the meaning of "Freedom" now?

How do we apply our FREEDOM to a global Internet?

I'm not sure any of us know.

What laws will govern the Internet?  Crimes seem to force us to make new laws.  The Internet will force us to make new laws governing what is acceptable and what is not.  Until that happens, we are left with all this confusion and chaos.

Personally, I really don't know what is happening in the rest of the world.  My only information source is usually the Yahoo feed after I check my email. I try to find internet options sometimes, but they are becoming hard to find for current access.  YouTube seems to offer options with the major news channels, but they are replays and not always something I remember to look for.

This is how we live.  Everyone is so busy with their own survival, all those "other" details get lost.  We suffer for it in the long run, but I haven't figured out how one person can keep up with EVERYTHING happening in the world, in our country, in our states, in my neighborhood.

The Bible tells us that the love of many will grow cold in the End Times... I think information overload is going to cause it.  It is the human brain's safety valve... it goes into a numb state and feelings get put into a kind of dormant state.

What can we do?

I am not sure.

I am sometimes happier and more productive not knowing what is happening to all the stars that seem to be the Yahoo feed when I access it by an automatic link after checking my emails.  Once in awhile I remember the list at the top of the page and try another category.  It isn't much different.

I keep realizing there won't be a choice soon.  The information ordinary people depend on is already filtered for "appropriate" content by the owners of the major media sources.  This is really the basis of "propaganda" in any war... we only are allowed to think the "approved" thoughts of the powers that be.  Freedom is quickly disappearing.

Today is the day to watch the American Family documentary, IN HIS IMAGE, for free.  ( https://inhisimage.movie/ ) 

I did that already, and posted my responses at Twitter and Facebook (Main page and my WT page).  It is a very hard topic to watch.  There are things in this documentary I had no idea were happening -- because of my lack of news access most of the time.  It is so difficult to see.

One thing that is obvious is the promotion of faith deceptions.  These are concepts that the opposition to all things GOD want you to believe.  The Enemy of our souls uses these ideas to try to discount GOD, to say they are included in all the Bible claims, and if they say it often enough, loud enough, clearly and as if it is true, then it will be true.

These are statements about being a "gay Christian," that there were gay lovers in the Bible - in the disciples, and close to Christ (maybe even Christ - I remember statements long ago about "the disciple that Jesus loved"), that GOD loves us just the way we are - including our sins - so there is no need to change, that we are born with a "gay gene" so it's out of our power to choose, and more.  I can't remember them all.  Well, one that is really strange is a person (male or female?) declaring that the story about Sodom is a good gay story.  Oh, yes, there was mention that the gay community has created their own version of the Bible. I think it was called the "Queen James Bible."  

I don't recall Christians doing these things to gay populations.  Is this their version of respect?

One thing they have against us is the church that use to protest the gay community with signs saying GOD HATES FAGS... this isn't true, but that is what they did.  Really, GOD hates sin... any kind of sin... gay relationships, adulterous relationships, fornication (sex outside of marriage), bestiality, sexual abuse, rape, pornography, and whatever other kind of sexual relationship you can think of that is outside the lifetime bond of marriage between one real man and one real woman.

Why you can't be a "gay Christian" -- because when you are truly saved, when you really believe that Jesus Christ sacrificed His Life for your sin offering, then you turn away from your sins... and the obvious ones go first.

This is the issue of our times because it is part of the End Time prophecies. It means we are nearing the end of our existence as a world.  It is often the LAST step before GOD destroys those who will not turn away from it... like Sodom.  I think it is a great sorrow to GOD to finally have to judge our sins... and that is why He takes so long to do it.

For us, this is a political battle.  I don't know what it means to live through a time like this.  I grew up in the area around Hollywood.  It has taken almost 70 years to reach this point.

Knowing what the Bible says about the end of our world, finding a way to get through it is every Christian's quest.  Like Noah and his family, I think we need to separate ourselves and try to build our own communities where we can care for each other. That is a hard goal in our day, too.  We are increasingly watched by so many sources... in our daily lives and as we do business via the Internet.  How separate can we become anymore?  That's a big question.

I guess that is enough sharing of my thoughts for today.  I hope your lives are good, that you are able to be free, and you are not suffering.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...

POLITICS :: Our country sure needs help !! See if these election tips will help!

It's hard not to want to post here in this election year.

I was going through some of my "piles" of papers and rediscovered an old PETA envelope I have had for years... it is titled, "How to Write a Lifesaving Letter to the Editor."  It doesn't have a clear date when it was created, but there is an 09 in the coding, so that might be the year.  It offers six steps for writing to your favorite media.  I will try to share the main steps and a few of their notes that would apply to this or any year.

1 - KEEP  IT  SHORT.

Sometimes, one short, pithy paragraph is enough.  Try to stay under 300 words (about one typed page).  Focus on a specific topic.

2 - TYPE YOUR LETTER IF POSSIBLE.

Otherwise, print legibly.  Be sure to use correct grammar and spelling.

3 - GIVE AN "EXPERT" OPINION.

Mention anything that makes you especially qualified to write on the topic.

4 - BE POLITE.

Avoid name-calling and personal attacks.  Stick to the facts.

5 - ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE.

Don't give lip service to....  Instead, focus on sharing important information and facts.

6 - BE INCLUSIVE.

Help your audience identify with your message by assuming that they agree with you....

I was so impressed with it that I kept it and shared it back then... somewhere.  I don't remember where, but I thought it was a great reminder and guide to writing letters to an editor.  I wrote a letter to an editor once, in a small Midwest town, very long ago, but it was meant to be a letter to the editor as a person, not for publication.  They published it anyway.  So, make sure that doesn't happen to you.

I don't like the mistreatment of animals, but I am not fond of PETA's tactics.  I don't follow them much anymore.  You can decide for yourself.   People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

The AFA Journal had some political helps back in May 2017 that I also found in that batch of papers.  I assume most of this is still current, but you may have to check... especially the phone numbers and links I will share from that resource.

FYI for your personal use ::

The White House

Washington  DC  20500

Comment line :: 202-456-1111

whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

U.S. Senate

The Honorable ___________________ (enter your Senator's name)

Washington  DC  20510

U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable ___________________ (enter your Representative's name)

Washington  DC  20515

Washington Switchboard  ::  1-877-762-8762

I have tried to contact legislators outside of my area about topics that were important to me  (through online paths), but they don't go through.  Letters would be the only way to send your thoughts to someone involved in making decisions beyond your voting district.  This also included committees and other groupings.  

I would like to see online options for comments, maybe limited in number of characters or words, with some kind of designation about whether they are registered, and maybe what state, or other check-off details that would say whether they were directly voting on that topic or just want to make a comment.

In my state, and probably every state, a printed book is made for each election.  To enter your comments in that statewide delivery system, you had to pay $500 a page when I last checked on it - a very long time ago.  It probably costs a lot more now.  To make the online version more worthwhile to the government, it could charge $5 a comment.  

With the printed version you have to submit your comments so far ahead that no ordinary person has the time or money or inclination to get involved... so, that means all those opinions are really from PAC's and other political activists.  Ordinary people don't have a say in the issues that matter to them.  An online version can be available to everyone all the way up to a cut-off date near the actual election.  

When I was younger, there was a media boundary line for reporting on the results of elections because of our time zones.  People might still be voting somewhere else even if your time zone has stopped.  This limitation doesn't exist anymore.  Why it mattered is some people didn't get to the polls until late in the day.  

Media influences votes when they "declare the winner" before the polls have closed.  People who haven't decided who they want to vote for, those without enough information to make their decision, and those who just want to be part of the "winning team" will vote for whoever the media says is winning.

I'm not sure what the rules are now, but these were the rules when I was younger, and going to the polls to vote made it a really great part of being an American.

With mail-in ballots instead of going-to-the-polls voting, the tallying window is really long.  It is one reason the process is tainted when big topics are at stake.  There is always a place for corruption in anything, including voting.  If we remember our history right, it's been going on for a lot of years already.  I assume it is just getting more sophisticated with technology.

Now we have the whole world watching the voting process.

I don't know if there will ever be a good solution to our problems with the voting process, but I also know that being able to vote is important.  It is really our only moment to share our view of a problem, or who we want in leadership.  

Life is so hard these days, we are all so busy, and no one can keep up with all the problems we have or the people who want to be our leaders.  I think my online access would be better for all those empty spots in the printed election guides.  A lot more information can be provided for each issue and each candidate.

I tend to use those printed guides, and others, as a way to decide who and what I will vote for.  The information they provide is important... and I love to read other opinions as part of my decision-making process...even when I know they are biased.  Everyone points out their own issues and arguments, and somewhere in all those words are the key points that need to be noticed.

Ihope you will find your way to share your opinion with others, through the Letters to the Editor or through contacting legislators.

In Christ,

Deborah Martin

work2gather.us

and more...