Christian Choice

While there are many issues to discuss I will try to keep this post to a single topic or at least not stray too far. This year, not unlike every election year, I find myself thinking about abortion. I consider this topic not only because I am asked about it but also because like many other issues my thoughts are in process. I used to be a single-issue voter admittedly because I didn’t take the time to educate myself enough to make an informed decision nor did I take the time to deeply consider more than just my adopted view. This is no longer the case.

Single-issue politics are used to divide, making the one issue a cornerstone on which all others rely manipulating Biblical text to suit a personal agenda. The Bible is neither a conservative nor a liberal collection of literature rather a widely scoped story of hope. To take passages out of context knowingly is spiritually abusive.

I used to be bothered when people would ask why I am pro-abortion, or how could I be a Christian and vote for a pro-abortion candidate. Firstly, I don’t think I know anyone who is pro-abortion. Many of my brothers and sisters who are pro-choice are deeply concerned for the well being of the mother as much as an anti-abortion advocate for the unborn child. My problem with pro-life politics is the definition of life is exclusive. Pro-life politics excludes the lives of the mother, those on death row, women children and non-combatants living in countries considered our enemy as well as billions struggling to stay alive faced with disease and a scarcity of food or clean water. Pro-life politics does not consider those in this first-world nation who lack proper healthcare without which life would not be sustainable. In fact, many pro-life politicians have fought vigorously for an elimination of initiatives aimed at reducing infant mortality and early childhood problems, initiatives essential to promote health of the most vulnerable citizens. No, I am not pro-abortion, in fact, I am more pro-life than most.

The choice to take any life, whether by abortion, capital punishment, war, the inability to pay for healthcare, or withholding life-giving resources is always a cause for careful and prayerful consideration.

A Few Facts

1. There are more Private Sector jobs today than there were the day Obama was elected president. In fact, corporate profits have been at or above pre-recession levels since the beginning of 2010.
2. Republican governors across the country have been laying off millions of our nation's most valuable human resources: teachers, firefighters, police officers, and many others. This is why, even with more Private Sector jobs today than when Obama took office, our nation's unemployment rate is at a shameful 8.2 percent.
3. Republican governors claim they had no choice but to fire those public employees because they were trying to fix their states' budgets. What they won't mention is this fact: Accepting an infusion from the federal government to tide them over while the private sector was shedding jobs by the millions and diminishing their revenue base would have helped their budgets get under control without having to sacrifice all those jobs.
4. While those same Republican Governors turned down federal help House Republicans fought tooth and nail to make the federal aid so small it wouldn't have had any impact at all.
5. Democrats have successfully led this country out of a near depression in spite of Republican obstructionism at every turn. The Obama administration did that in part by saving the American Auto Industry that Mitt Romney said he would have let go bankrupt.
6. Corporations have no patriotic incentive to use their profits to put Americans to work.They are currently sitting on over 1.9 trillion dollars instead of using it to pay their workers a living wage so they can afford to buy more things, creating more demand and by extension, creating a real need to hire more workers.
7. The country cannot enjoy a robust economy if the predominance of the nation's wealth is being hoarded in bank accounts by the Private Sector and not put back into circulation into the economy that allowed them to make it.
8. Public Sector hiring can return a troubled economy back to full stability, as history proves.

These facts are edited directly from Jill W. Klausen's blog and can be found in context and in original form at the link provided.

Q and A

I was posed some current event questions and chose to answer them here;

Q: Allen West (R- FL) said, “I believe there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. ... It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus." What do you think of this?

A: We’re talking about raising some pigs this year so I went to a local hog farm to look at some. I don’t chose normal pet names for my animals. I like to choose names for my animals which make it easier at harvest time. I wanted to name a pig John Boehner but the pigs each had a spine. Look, Speaker of the House, John Boehner is silent about Allan West’s outrageous communist claims. He is the Speaker, why isn’t he speaking? That makes me wonder if his silence is due to the amount of money West brings in to the GOP partly because of his ridiculous comments. Come to think of it, where is House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on this?
… I think I found names for two of our chickens.

Q: Ted Nugent said, “I will either be dead or in jail if Obama gets re-elected” Are you still a fan?

A: I think cat scratch fever is causing him to go stormtroopin’ and his comments should be taken within the context of this illness, which clearly has a stranglehold on him. Hopefully he can borrow his buddy Mitt’s etch-a-sketch, shake himself clean and start over again. I do support his freedom to speak however ill advised his comments may be. I love the Motor City Madman’s music … not so much his politics.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: Firstly I am always reading some biblical and extra-biblical texts. Currently I am working on a four part sermon series on Sin, Oneness, Love and Acceptance. Also, I like to read what my kids are reading so I just finished a couple books by Jordan Sonnenblick, “Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie,” “Zen and the Art of Faking It” and am starting “The Hunger Games,” by Suzanne Collins. As far as newspapers and magazines, I subscribe to and read the local papers, and some farm related magazines such as American Bee Journal. I do some online news reading from USA Today and The Washington Post as well as numerous other sources.

Q: What’s your prediction for the Yankees this year? How about the Giants, another playoff birth, another bowl appearance, ring?

A: The YANKEES are going to have a great year and will win their division, without a doubt. I believe they will do well in the playoffs. It’s a long season; we’ll see how it goes. I’m not ready or willing to claim another World Series Championship yet although I’d love to see it happen! The New York Football GIANTS are facing a tough schedule but should fair well and make the playoffs with at least ten regular season wins this year. They’ll make the playoffs and as much as I’d love to see them get another ring much depends on how healthy they stay. They have to play their way through the same teams they beat in the playoffs last year and that will be no easy task.

 If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email; revmotta@hotmail.com and maybe I’ll answer you via my blog.

A Post to Ann Romney

I am not being critical of you as a mother however, being a stay-at-home mom necessarily requires work!

If you were to live in a garage, with or without an elevator, it would not make you a car any more than staying at home made you a stay-at-home mom.

While you are clearly a mother, and stayed at home while your husband Mitt “I’ll-say-anything-to-get-elected" Romney brought home the bacon, you are by no means a stay-at-home mom. To list my wife Vickie’s responsibilities and duties as a manager, how she took care of our finances and raised our children without any volunteer or hired help while not necessarily defining motherhood does define her character as a woman, a mother and necessarily defines the work of a stay-at-home mom.

While I missed out on changing several dirty diapers, Vickie didn’t miss one. Vickie cleaned the house, cooked the meals and did the laundry. As they grew, she got the kids up for school, fed them breakfast, made their lunch and saw them to the bus. When they got home, Vickie made them a snack, helped with their homework and gave advice about relationships. She prepared and served dinner, gave them baths and saw them to bed each night. When they were sick Vickie stayed with them, took temperatures, read storybooks, made chicken soup, gave medicine and took accurate notes about temperatures, doses and times given. Were these the things you did for/with your children?

Vickie and I did most of the grocery shopping together. We did this because it was the only time we could get out of the house alone together. She called them, “grocery shopping dates.” We would hold hands as we walked down the isles and once a month take turns picking a half-gallon of Breyer’s. Did you do the shopping for your family’s meals?

This is not about your income, or our lack thereof rather on the quality and quantity of ‘work’ done as a stay-at-home mom. If you supervised the nanny(s) as they changed diapers/bathed/dressed your children; if you approved the weekly menu proposed by your chef, if you instructed the maid(s) about the acceptable amount of starch to add to your laundry while definitely work, does not quantify or qualify as the work of a stay-at-home mom.

Hillary Rosen wasn’t exactly right, I would bet however, she was most definitely not wrong.

NY Sports in Brief

I was reminded this past Sunday of a shortcoming when a friend of my son said, “Man Albert, you are brutally honest.” Yes, I try to tell the truth, and am trying even harder to do it in love. It is with this in mind that I am editing my next post regarding my family and friend’s complacency towards and acceptance of ignorance when today’s technology leaves absolutely no excuse. While you await the upcoming post, with great anticipation I am sure, here are a few quick thoughts about sporting news.

Pitching coach Dave Eiland will not be returning next season as pitching is scapegoated for the ALCS YANKEE loss. Girardi appears to be safe with Cashman saying both parties want to go forward together. I have respect for Cashman but regarding Eiland and Girardi I think he is dead wrong, and would have gone forward exactly the opposite direction.

My disappointment in the YANKEE loss to the Rangers in the ALCS was brief as I find solace in the 27 World Series Championships, and what is shaping up to be another New York Football GIANTS championship season.

The New York Football GIANTS manhandled the crygirls this past Monday night bringing their record to 5-2 as they go into their bye week. They have faced some tough opponents to date but the schedule really gets interesting after the bye as they face the crygirls at home and the Eagles and the Skins twice. These Division games are of paramount importance but the games at Seattle and Green Bay aren’t exactly unimportant or a surety either. Yes, that’s right … I didn’t even mention the Jaguars or the Vikings.

10-10-10 and Conflicted

Sunday, 10 / 10 / 10 finds me conflicted. Firstly, as a NY Football GIANTS fan I root against the Skins but they were playing the Pack and I am still plagued with the aftertaste from how they treated Favre. I know that is old news however, my memory is refreshed as now the Skins have McNabb who was treated similarly by the Eagles and I quietly root for McNabb’s success. Go Skins, beat the Pack … then go back to losing while McNabb has a record-breaking season. Secondly, and also as a NY Football GIANTS fan, I necessarily despise the crygirls. Today they play the dirtiest team in the NFL the Titans. I want everyone to beat the Titans because cheaters should not prosper however I can’t root for the crygirls. I am so conflicted.

Today will soon be over, and with a W in the result column of my GIANTS schedule the aforementioned conflicts may not be resolved but certainly put aside, as I look forward to Friday 10/15/10 and game one of the ALCS. GO YANKEES!

Get out and VOTE! Before you do, Become Informed.

I keep hearing the refrain, "...take our country back!" It is clear those candidates joining this chorus are serious. They want to take our country back; back to a time where restaurants could refuse to serve non-whites, back to a time when there was no social security, no medicare, no minimum wage, no unemployment insurance. These same would be national leaders claim to stand for small government saying things like, "We want the Government to stay out of our lives" and in the same breath talk about their plans to; keep sexually active single women out of the classroom, and force pregnant teenagers to carry and deliver babies fathered through incest and rape. How do they plan on doing these things without increasing the size of government? While Republican's claim Democrats are the party of big government, the fact is every Republican administration since and including that of Herbert Hoover has increased the federal government's size, scope, and/or power. Republican favorite Ronald Reagan more than DOUBLED the national debt.

Senate candidate Joe Miller (R-AK) says medicaid is unconstitutional while enjoying its benefits for his wife and children. Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV) says medicare is unconstitutional and the VA should be privatized yet complains some of her father's pharmaceuticals aren't covered by either. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell (R-DE) ... there are too many hypocritical positions to choose from.

I would laugh at Christine O'Donnell when she says, "I see Hillary for President commercials all the time," now, in the present. I would laugh when she puts out a commercial trying to situate herself as 'the same as us' by saying, "I didn't go to Yale" except for the fact that she lied on several documents claiming to have attended Princeton, Oxford and Clairmont. I would laugh when Sharron Angle proclaims Sharia law is taking over America and citing specific regions where this is happening even though it is a complete fabrication. I would laugh but it is not as funny as it is sad.

Former Governor and Presidential candidate (and Southern Baptist Pastor)Mike Huckabee (R-AR) while admitting what Sharron Angle said is not true told Sean Hannity, "Well that's not true, but it is good politics!" Excuse me Pastor, Since when is LYING good ANYTHING?

While I was growing up I learned the art of the half-truth. The ability to read another and then say what would prove to be expediential toward my preferred outcome was honed. I was so good at manipulating people and situations I no longer needed to think. The fiction was second nature to a point where I could no longer see the line between reality and the surreal I sold. Life on both sides of the lie is diminishing. Both the teller and the hearer are killed a bit more, moment by moment as the lie remains. It took many years of long hard staring into a mirror before I could admit this truth, first to myself then others. Truth may hurt, but only for a season. My advice to these would be national leaders ... tell the truth. My advice to you, Go Vote and before you do, listen with a critical ear and make an informed decision.