No Smoking

The new Speaker of the House announced that there will be no more smoking in the Speaker's Lobby off the House floor.

Hooray for HER. I guess it takes a woman to make this sensible change. And I've never understood the mentality of those who think that they can do whatever they want to, ie smoke indoors, in somebody else's air space.

A Poetic and Biblical View of Immigrants

Papaloonspoetry tells it like it is.

Lutheran Wins Religious Discrimination Case

It is good to see that a Lutheran person stood up for her convictions. It does make me think about how much we all seem to cave in to the society and culture in large and small ways. What have you been taught that is "Biblical" that you don't follow in your daily life? Or things you know are commanded in the Bible that you don't do? I'm not talking about the obvious "big sins," but the smaller things that have slid away in the rush of our daily life.

War statistics, listed in a biased manner.

Do you blame her for her heated emotions?

Read the statistics here . Red is for blood.

How are Christians responding? How should Christians respond?

Dear Lord, please guide all leaders of the world with Your Wisdom. Please give them a desire to serve their people for the long term benefit of the whole world. Please give them the patience and wisdom to seek solutions that don't involve harming other people and countries.

Amen

Immigration policy and racism

….Is it related?

 

Much is in the news these days about illegal immigration.  The emphasis is always on the “illegal” part of the equation.  And much is in the news about our southern border. 

 

Illegal immigration from the south almost always implies people who are not white.  This may not be stated, but it is certainly the implication.  But statements are made about language, about having immigrants learning English, regardless of where they are from. 

 

One thing that “seems” to be true is that employers are hiring people, either not caring or not checking if they are illegal. 

 

I know that when a company is interviewing a person for a job, there are a number of personal questions that are not allowed to be asked.  This begs the question:  Can an employer ask where a person is born?  Can they ask if and when the person was naturalized (to be a citizen of the US?)?  Apparently they can ask for certain documentation.

 

What about people who fit the general superficial description of an immigrant, but are legal citizens, perhaps even born here?  Do they have to constantly carry their birth certificates?  Most of the rest of us don’t have to do that.

 

We became acquainted with a couple with Hispanic last names because our children were friends.  They told us that the reason they were self-employed is that they faced so much apparent racism when they were looking for work.  I found myself assuming that they had come from Mexico at some point, even though they spoke English with the same accent as the rest of us.  Well, my assumptions were wrong.  They told me that they had come from Colorado where their people had a strong Spanish influence, and their ancestors had been there for 400 years. 

 

Will there be a backlash against people who appear to be immigrants, appear to be non-white, or people have accents? 

 

A young man I know, who is an immigrant, naturalized citizen, who speaks with a middle-American accent, has been having problems finding work.  He is clean-cut, well-spoken, outgoing, hard working, and has excellent recommendations, etc.  He gets called to come and find out about a job, but when he gets to some of these interviews, they’ve sometimes taken one look at him and said that the job has been filled.  Or they say that they will call back, and they don’t.  He is beginning to suspect racism.  His last name sounds “white,” which is why, he suspects, that he gets called for the interviews.  We are not talking great jobs here, but rather, part time work to make ends meet. 

 

He says that when he talks to his white friends, they deny that racism could possibly be a part of the equation.  And, of course, he doesn’t really know the real reason why he isn’t finding work.  Are whites still in denial that racism still exists?  This young man has also noticed that “all” of the cleaning people he sees anywhere are not white. 

 

What should people of faith do to influence the current public policy and climate?  What would you say to this young man?

Liberal or Conservative

I'm not telling you how I came out on this simplistic quiz. Lets just say I don't like either/or questions and so, when I had to make the choice, I did tend to lean a bit.
How Liberal or Conservative are you?

Now wait a minute, shouldn't it be the Christians that are offended by the Easter Bunny?

I'm not saying that the Easter Bunny is offensive to Christians, but rather that it doesn't really represent the religious meaning of Easter, but it seems that these symbols have come to represent important religious events in the eyes of non-Christians.



St. Paul City Office Boots Easter Bunny

Thu Mar 23, 9:31 AM ET

The Easter Bunny has been sent packing at St. Paul City Hall.

A toy rabbit, pastel-colored eggs and a sign with the words "Happy Easter" were removed from the lobby of the City Council offices, because of concerns they might offend non-Christians.

A council secretary had put up the decorations. They were not bought with city money.

St. Paul's human rights director, Tyrone Terrill, asked that the decorations be removed, saying they could be offensive to non-Christians.

But City Council member Dave Thune says removing the decorations went too far, and he wonders why they can't celebrate spring with "bunnies and fake grass."


Internet article here

Who is watching us?

Out of the Middens posted some interesting and thought provoking thoughts about the balance between National Security and our privacy rights. And can the government track what we are looking at on the internet???