Tag: 2 cents

Zombie economy and depitalism

I read an article over CNBC that referenced the US economy is acting like a zombie economy or at best a sleepwalking one.

Why aren’t the talking heads and so-called experts thinking things through?

1. We know that the great drive of the economy in the past consisted of at least high consumer debt and confidence (depitalism).
2. Today there is very little confidence and the debt has come to roost.

This has resulted in consumers having to pay down debt and —- here is the good news —– make better spending choices. Ultimately this is good for the country but we are still in the taking the medicine phase which the medicine usually tastes horrible. The businesses, government and financial industry have to wake up and find the new normal and act from there. MSM and all the news makers need to quit comparing THIS economy to the past SO THAT CONFIDENCE can increase. We don’t want an economy supported by lies, high debt and worthless paper; what we want and DESPERATELY NEED is an economy based on fiscal responsibility (consumer and governments) and real value/worth.

 

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Taxmegeddon

In this The Week magazine is the Briefing article titled Countdown to Taxmegeddon. The gist is because the CES and our Congress can not and will not work together they have kept kicking the budget ball a little bit further so as not to actually deal with the issue. Now with the election strategies being in full force, the ball is being kicked out further still. Thing is this ball has an expiration date – and it is midnight December 31, 2012. Now barring a Mayan calendar, Nibiru cataclysm occurring – our government needs to address the matters involved with this ball that they keep kicking ahead. From the article – emphasis added:

…a combination of $8 trillion in tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled to begin taking effect Jan. 1, 2013. If the country goes off that cliff, economists say, we’ll plunge right back into recession. At midnight on Dec. 31, the Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire, raising income tax rates across the board to levels last seen in 2001. President Obama’s 2 percent payroll tax holiday will end, too, along with a host of other business and investment tax breaks. All told, four out of five U.S. households would face an average of $3,701 more in taxes next year, according to the Tax Policy Center; the federal government’s tax haul would increase by $399 billion….At the same time, the first $100 billion in automatic cuts to defense spending and domestic programs such as Medicare will kick in, under an agreement reached last summer by a congressional super-committee. Together, these measures would squeeze more than $600 billion out of the economy next year alone.

If Congress and the White House don’t act, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the massive tax hikes and spending cuts could knock 4 percent off the country’s projected economic growth. That would probably mean a 1.3 percent contraction in the first half of the year — a recession. “It’s two to three times bigger in negative terms than even the biggest year of the stimulus was in positive terms,” said Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers.

What this means is following the election the two parties will know who is victor and then the victor will push their agenda in the effort to deal with this ball in their own way. The REALITY is the so-called losing side of the election is not going to be ‘in the spirit” to cooperate (see Congress since the last election) so what is actually good for the citizens = the country will be kicked to the curb in the ongoing political warfare known as partisan politics. What is required is the citizens of the USA to revolt against the current mutated system and install a federal government that is acting for the best of the country. Sad truth is —– it won’t happen. The society in our country today is secular, narcissistic and immoral and the so-called founding fathers wrote the framework for our country with the mentality that the people of the nation would be moral, other-centered and God fearing. Today what we have as a nation of people is – individuals more infatuated with so-called reality TV, sports and entertainment . The haves and have-nots have a horrendous gap separating them and a mentality of us vs. them so that each side pushes the other side even further and further away.  Our country – my country – is on life-support  and I’m not sure the healthcare staff (government) is going to actually save the patient. We have huge problem that is going to come to its full maturity and when it does our nation will die. It is inevitable.

Proverbs 29:2 KJV  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

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Symptoms pointing to a diagnosis

Great article on the Amateur, the CES – our president.

2 cents: Hopefully many millions of USA citizens are wanting systemic change in our government on election day. Hopefully those many millions will be the majority.  Still the greatest resource the incumbent has this election is the Republican party’s candidate. I’m sure many voters are also quite leery of Romney and his Mormon background. I also think this election is yet more proof that the average Christian is only actually Christian on Sunday, major holidays and when death seems near. That is an abysmal Christianity which points at one large reason our society and culture has degenerated so swiftly over the last hundred years.  By definition according to the Bible’s definition of the word Christian (Acts 11:26) whom we label as Christians would not be called that. We would likely grouped with Demas (2Timothy 4:10) who Paul said had forsaken him because he loved this present world.  The other reason why Mormonism is not being seriously discussed during this election is because it would divide the Romney vote which would seal the victory for the incumbent. Hence our predicament. I guess that the hope is that Romney’s religion will actually be in name only and not impact his worldview and decisions he makes, like many who call themselves Christians.

The big elephant in the room that no one is addressing in MSM is the teachings of Mormonism. It is joked only on when referring to holy underwear and by making it a joke it is easily disregarded. Below is some information in a succinct way from the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry  (CARM)

So I and in reality – many – have a difficult choice on Election Day; which I am still mulling over how best to use my vote. Sad commentary on the state of each political party and our nation that these two gentlemen are the supposed cream of the crop.

These are Mormon beliefs

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, known as the Mormons, teaches that God the father used to be a man on another planet, that he became a God by following the laws and ordinances of that God on that planet and came to this world with his wife (she became a goddess), and that they produce a spirit offspring in heaven.  These spirit offspring, which includes Jesus, the devil, and you and me,  are all brothers and sisters born in the preexistence.  The preexistence spirits come down and inhabit babies at the time of birth and their memories of the preexistence are lost at the time.  Furthermore, faithful Mormons, who pay a full 10% tithe of their income to the Mormon church through Mormon temples, have the potential of becoming gods of their own planets and are then able to start the procedure over again.

Is it Christian?  No.

If you were to go to any Christian bookstore and look in the non-Christian cult section you will see numerous books on Mormonism that document Mormon beliefs as aberrant and un-Biblical. The Mormon Church is not considered a Christian church.

This is not simply an opinion that they are false; it is a fact that they teach abberant and unchristian theology.  In fact, Jesus warned us about such groups when he said in Matthew 24:24 that in the last days many false Christs and false prophets will arise and deceive many. Mormonism is exactly that, a manifestation of a false prophet: Joseph Smith, who taught all these things.

The Bible does not teach that God came from another planet, or that he has a goddess wife, or that we can become gods. In fact, the Bible clearly and definitely contradicts those teachings. But, the Mormon Church responds by saying that the Bible is not really trustworthy, that the true faith was lost, and that its leader, Joseph Smith, restored the so-called “true” Christian faith:  god from another world, becoming gods, goddess mother, etc. Of course, the Mormon Church’s claim is not true.

One question to ask the Mormon Church as a whole is why is it that it does not appoint a representative to publicly debate and answer the challenges of competent Christians who know not only the Bible, but what Mormonism teaches?  Why is it that the Mormon Church refuses to have open dialogue and appoint a representative who would attempt to defend the LDS teachings from the Bible? Why does it refuse to do this?  I believe it is because it doesn’t want to be made to look bad.

Mormon Beliefs documented

Please note that these teachings are documented from Mormon writers, not anti-Mormon writers:

  1. Book of Mormon
    1. The book of Mormon is more correct than the Bible, (History of the Church, vol. 4, p. 461.)
  2. Devil, the
    1. The Devil was born as a spirit after Jesus “in the morning of pre-existence,” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 192.)
    2. Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers and we were all born as siblings in heaven to them both, (Mormon Doctrine, p. 163.)
  3. God
    1. God used to be a man on another planet (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321; Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, vol. 5, p. 613-614; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 345; Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, p. 333).
    2. “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as mans…” (D&C 130:22).
  4. God, becoming a god
    1. After you become a good Mormon, you have the potential of becoming a god (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345-347, 354).
    2. “Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them,” (DC 132:20).
  5. God, many gods
    1. There are many gods (Mormon Doctrine, p. 163).
    2. “And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light: and there was light,” (Book of Abraham 4:3).
  6. God, mother goddess
    1. There is a mother god (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 443).
    2. God is married to his goddess wife and has spirit children (Mormon Doctrine, p. 516).
  7. God, Trinity
    1. The trinity is three separate Gods: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. “That these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from each other, is demonstrated by the accepted records of divine dealings with man,” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 35).
  8. Heaven
    1. There are three levels of heaven: telestial, terrestrial, and celestial (Mormon Doctrine, p. 348).
  9. Holy Ghost, the
    1. The Holy Ghost is a male personage (A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Le Grand Richards, Salt Lake City, 1956, p. 118; Journal of Discources, vol. 5, p. 179).
  10. Jesus
    1. “Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body . . . of flesh and bones,” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 38).
    2. “The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood – was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers,” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 115).
    3. “Elohim is literally the Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ and also of the body in which Jesus Christ performed His mission in the flesh …” (First Presidency and Council of the Twelve, 1916, God the Father, compiled by Gordon Allred, p. 150).
  11. Joseph Smith
    1. If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation.  There is no salvation [the context is the full gospel including exaltation to Godhood] outside the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Doctrine, p. 670).
  12. Pre-existence
    1. We were first begotten as spirit children in heaven and then born naturally on earth (Journal of Discourse, vol. 4, p. 218).
    2. The first spirit to be born in heaven was Jesus (Mormon Doctrine, p. 129).
    3. The Devil was born as a spirit after Jesus “in the morning of pre-existence,” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 192).
  13. Salvation
    1. “One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation,” (Miracle of Forgiveness, by Spencer W. Kimball, p. 206).
    2. A plan of salvation was needed for the people of earth so Jesus offered a plan to the Father and Satan offered a plan to the father but Jesus’ plan was accepted. In effect the Devil wanted to be the Savior of all Mankind and to “deny men their agency and to dethrone god,” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 193; Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 8).
    3. Jesus’ sacrifice was not able to cleanse us from all our sins, (murder and repeated adultery are exceptions), (Journal of Discourses, vol. 3, 1856, p. 247).
    4. Good works are necessary for salvation (Articles of Faith, p. 92).
    5. There is no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet of God (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p. 188).
    6. “The first effect [of the atonement] is to secure to all mankind alike, exemption from the penalty of the fall, thus providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure remission of personal sins (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 78-79).
    7. “As these sins are the result of individual acts it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements — ‘obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel,'” (Articles of Faith, p. 79).
    8. “This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts,” (LDS Bible Dictionary, p. 697).
    9. “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do,” (2 Nephi 25:23).
  14. Trinity, the
    1. The trinity is three separate Gods: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. “That these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from each other, is demonstrated by the accepted records of divine dealings with man,” (Articles of Faith, by James Talmage, p. 35).

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to block the rise of the Islamists

CAIRO — Even as they promised to hand authority to elected leaders, Egypt’s ruling generals were planning with one of the nation’s top judges to preserve their political power and block the rise of the Islamists, the judge said. (emphasis added)

…the generals “certainly” never intended to relinquish authority before supervising a new Constitution, Judge Gebali said.

The military council’s plan to cede authority was premised on first establishing the Constitution, the judge said, so the generals “knew who they were handing power to and on what basis. That was the point.”

The generals have again pledged to transfer power after a new Parliament is elected and a Constitution drafted.

Some argue that this is in Egypt’s best interest.

The generals “want to make sure before they leave that the Constitution is not monopolized by any group or direction,” said Anwar el-Sadat, nephew of the former president and a member of the Parliament that was dissolved. He was referring to the Islamists, who had won control of the Parliament and went on to win the presidency.

“They would like to make sure this is a civil state,” Mr. Sadat added, as opposed to a religious one. “That is all.”

Whole article here

2 cents: Reminder: this is a good thing for the citizens of Egypt and those in the region. This of course is contradictory to the CES’s desires for the nation. To have another nation similar to Iran in the region is not a stabilizing source for the region or the world. The ruling generals are acting predominantly in the best interest of the the citizens and the world.

 

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Night time in Egypt

2 cents: Below is an article on today’s Fox News website that articulates what I figure will happen with the Muslim Brotherhood and the real purpose of the military’s actions before the election and since. If a real democracy is to take root and grow in that country, it will require the threat of military trumping the government and holding them in place. As commented earlier I figure that the actions going on behind the scenes right now with the MB is figuring how best to create cabinet and committees that will be engaged with the military and – ultimately – to infect them and weaken them most probably my creating a schism. It is night time right now (symbolically) in Egypt and the evil always ply their trade in the night.

Again – don’t forget – the CES wanted the MB to win the presidential election in Egypt.

article:

After thousands of years as the land of the pharaohs and decades under dictators, Egypt could find its experiment with democracy brief, some analysts worry.

That concern follows the Muslim Brotherhood’s wild success at the polls in post-Mubarak Egypt, most recently with the election to the presidency of Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi. He was sworn in over the weekend.

Kori Schake, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, feels Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise owes much to Egyptians’ dislike of those candidates aligned with Hosni Mubarak and the Egyptian military. But the result is that the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid is now led by a party with past ties to terror group Hamas.

“With the Islamist parties, because they are revolutionary, that is — they seek to change the societies as they have been governed — the fear is that you will get one man, one vote, one time,” Schake said.

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Middle East and Propaganda

WASHINGTON — The United States has quietly moved significant military reinforcements into the Persian Gulf to deter the Iranian military from any possible attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz and to increase the number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iran if the standoff over its nuclear program escalates.

The deployments are part of a long-planned effort to bolster the American military presence in the gulf region, in part to reassure Israel that in dealing with Iran, as one senior administration official put it last week, “When the president says there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it.”

Whole NYT article here

2 cents: More of the same going on over there. This article’s purpose IMO is not for the Middle East folk but to attempt to sway voters here in the USA that the CES is tough and wise in his resolution and strategy toward Iran. In other words….propaganda.

 

CES=Chief Empty Suit=current USA president

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