Charles Koch & High Rollers Who Bought Michissippi’s TeaPublican Legislature’s 2011 Anti-Public School Rampage

Top Individual Donors to Michigan's Republican Party Related PACs

• Snyder, Richard & Sue (Self-supporting for Campaign)    $5,943,702
• DeVos, Richard, Sr. & Helen (FL) (Rich)    $1,199,904
• Lynas, Robert & Joyce     $1,007,000
• Perry, Bob (TX)    $1,000,000
• KOCH, DAVID (NY)    $988,604
• Singer, Paul (NY)     $783,400
• Cohen, Steven (CT)     $482,604
• Jandernoa, Michael & Susan     $416,655
• Weiser, Ron & Eileen     $418,247
• Johnson, Ruth (Self-supporting SOS Campaign)     $354,834
• Mills, Ted     $339,500
• Meijer, Frederick & Lena    $339,000
• DeVos, Richard, Jr. & Elisabeth (Dick & Betsy)     $334,754
• Moroun, M.J. & Nora     $333,225
• Nicholson, James & Ann     $302,704

Source: Michigan Campaign Finance Network - Citizen's Guide (2010)


Original.

Michissippi Breaks Its Social Contract With the Public

"Class happens when some men, as a result of common experiences (inherited or shared), feel and articulate the identity of their interests as between themselves, and as against other men whose interests are different from (and usually opposed to) theirs."

-- E.P. Thompson, in "The Making of the English Working Class"


Original.

Michissippi Madness: Educational Apartheid on the Rise/GOP Monopoly Corporatocracy Replaces Local Democracy

Yesterday's late night vote (December 14, 2011) to uncap profit making charters culminates in defeat A MORE THAN 30 YEAR BATTLE to protect the grand heritage of the publicly-funded, publicly-controlled, publicly-loved neighborhood public schools.

Unlimited Charter loosey-goosey Legislation now replaces that school with a plethora of profit-for-profit-sake wildcat operations designed to siphon off hundreds of millions of your tax dollars into the hands of a wide variety of unsavory and anti-democratic corporations, con men, and swindlers.
WHAT MICHISSIPPIAN SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL BE THE FIRST TO BE CONVERTED TO ALL FOR-PROFIT CHARTERS? HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE? THEN WHAT?

Here in Michigan it all began with Dick & Betsy parading academics Chubb and Moe around the state utilizing the Brookings Institution's book: "Politics, Markets, and America's Schools".

Wrote Al Shanker concerning Chubb and Moe:

"...(I)t's too bad that THE ONLY SOLUTION THEY OFFER IS TO END DEMOCRATIC CONTROL AND PUT SCHOOLS IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS TOOTHPASTE --THAT IS, UNDER MARKET CONTROL. But with this important difference " the individual would choose the "product," but the public would still pay."

"Under the scheme that Chubb and Moe favor, schools would be virtually unregulated. THE STATE WOULD ALLOW JUST ABOUT ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE TO START A SCHOOL. THEY WOULD SET THEIR OWN CRITERIA FOR STUDENT ADMISSIONS AND TEACH PRETTY MUCH WHAT THEY WANTED. PARENTS WOULD BE FREE TO CHOOSE THE SCHOOLS THAT ATTRACTED THEM, EACH SCHOOL WOULD RECEIVE PUBLIC MONEY ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER AND KIND OF STUDENTS ENROLLED AND KIDS WHOM NO ONE WANTED WOULD SOMEHOW BE FOUND A PLACE. The idea is that a wide variety of schools filling particular tastes would grow up. The ones that were satisfactory to consumers would flourish; the others would fail."

Original.

The Free Fire Kill Zone: Snyder’s War on Michigan’s Real People

"Kill them all! Let God sort them out!" Kill as many of the programs and benefits and opportunities for the middle and working class, the poor, the mentally ill and the greatly disadvantaged as politically possible.

Select vets of Viet Nam wore black silk windbreakers emblazoned and embroidered with screaming eagles swooping down with sharpened claws out- stretched wide in fierce attack: Kill them all! Let God sort them out!

Teary Eyes & A Stone Cold Heart
What kind of man, nerd or not, snivels and cries on camera about being "bullied" all through elementary and high school, AND EVEN COLLEGE; while AT THE SAME time taking the big stick of the legislative and governmental police powers to devastate and eviscerate programs intended, and formerly legislated in good faith, laws and acts to protect and promote the "general welfare" and defend the "commonweal of Michigan." To do this during a time of deep trial and economic depression in the state is an abomination and a travesty of the legislative and democratic process. It is a monumental rebuke to the rights of the minority in the democratic process.

Rick Snyder Is at Total War with His Own State's People
Snyder is a Business Mercenary devoted to the good and promotion of profit and commercial competition; without bounds of prudence and good sense.

Snyder the NERD is a stick puppet for the aggressive Chamber of Commerce, Aggressive Richard D. McLellan: Super Lawyer & associated Insurance Concerns, the national Heritage Foundation, Charles and David Koch, the Amway Cabal, and corporations with deep and powerful control of major sections of manufacturing and commerce in the state (Dow, Consumers Energy) .

Snyder and his compliant Commercial Raiders are out to Kill -- let God sort out the carnage and the human misery and suffering Snyder and their greed is creating. Michissippi has come. Snyder is on the Kill.

The Snyder/Tea Party Kill Zone-State & National Hits:

• Kill Social Security
• Kill Medicare
• Kill National Health Care
• Kill Public Schools
• Kill Collective Bargaining
• Kill Unions
• Kill Women's Rights
• Kill Fraud Regulations
• Kill Environmental Controls: The EPA
• Kill Local Control 'Right of Self Determination'
• Kill Revenue
• Kill Civility
• Kill Bipartisanship
• Kill Science
• Kill the right to Vote/Decimate Minority Voting Rights
• Kill Compromise and Collaboration
• Kill Religious Tolerance
• Kill Immigration
• Kill the 'Jesus Spirit' and Caring in Public Life
• Kill All New Taxes
• Kill legitimate infrastructure projects
• Kill protection of the Great Lakes from invasive species and deadly pollutants
• Kill Affirmative Action
• Kill No-Fault Auto Insurance
• Kill Workers Comp
• Kill Rights and Privileges of Labor PAC's To Operate On Par With Business/Corporate/Party PAC's
• Kill the 6 Month Recovery Period Before Final Foreclosure
• Kill K-12 Funding by Suspect Conversion to K-16
• Kill Teacher Professionalism Via Destruction of Awarded Tenure & Pummeled Disrespect
• Kill Extended Unemployment In a Time of Ultimate Need
• Kill Welfare's Safety Net Via Arbitrary Cut-Offs
• Kill State Police Protection Via Downgrading to Lower Grade/Politically Run County Mounty Service
• Kill Economic Development
• Kill Manufacturing in Favor of Outsourcing-China and Other Third World Sweatshops and Centers of Child Labor
• Kill Local Public/Neighborhood Schools Via So-Called 'Conversion Schools'
• Kill Minimum Wage
• Kill State and Local Incentives for New Business Development
• Kill High Standards Certification for Educators
• Kill Four Year College Degrees
• Kill Domestic Partner Benefits
• Kill Medical Marijuana
• Kill Confidence in Government
• Kill Statesmanship
• Kill the Legislative Bill Introduction Process-Farm- Out Pro-Corporate Bills out to the Koch Bros. funded American Legislative Exchange Council

Rick "Nerd" Snyder has abused the process of responsible governance and created a killing zone, a dead zone, in Michigan which will haunt and oppress Michiganders for years to come.


Original.

LaPlante condemns a Democratic Congress member for the assertion that TeaPublican proposed “reforms” (gutting of Social Security) are “heartless and un-Christian”

In Response to John R. LaPlante in the Michigan View on Dec 9, 2011 in "God is on my side: Democratic Pols".

Reading the LaPlante lament :

"One member of the Democratic caucus in the U.S. House called proposed reforms to Social Security and other entitlements as "'heartless and un-Christian'" 

Let's take a deeper look at John's protest.

When we do, we see that LaPlante follows up that complaint against the Democratic defender of Social Security with his cute qualifier:

"To quote a reader of National Review Online, ' I'M STILL TRYING TO FIND THE PASSAGE WHERE JESUS TELLS HIS FOLLOWERS TO TAKE AS MUCH AS THEY CAN FROM OTHERS, SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE MORE TO GIVE TO THE POOR'"

In using this quote LaPlante opens the door to the New Testament passage concerning Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler. The National Review Maven cited by LaPlante uses hyperbole, as is common to his genre, and seeks to make an extreme interpretation into a truth by qualifying his recollection (or non-recollection) of the intent expressed by Christ in his ministry.

In this New Testiment account a rich young man asked specifically what God expected of him in light of his previous moral life and his accumulated riches, this is what occurred and what Jesus required:

Matthew 19:16-24:

"16 Then someone came to him and said, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20 The young man said to him, "I have kept all these; what do I still lack?" 21 JESUS SAID TO HIM, "IF YOU WISH TO BE PERFECT, GO, SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS, AND GIVE THE MONEY TO THE POOR, AND YOU WILL HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN; THEN COME, FOLLOW ME." 22 When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

There is the direct answer: Jesus required the young enquirer to give up wealth to achieve eternal life. LaPant's National Review Maven wants to frame the story thus: Did Christ ever tell his followers to "take as much as they can from others?" The Maven may or may not know his Bible.

Jesus set a test. If you want to have "eternal life" rich young person (whom Christ knew had many possessions) then you must sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor.

If the National Review Maven is going to hide behind his exaggerated assertion and miss the true impact of this scriptural account, then the Maven should not make a statement such as this one, where he made an attempt to postulate that Jesus had nothing applicable to say about wealth and poverty, thus coyly feeling himself of all obligations to such as in the lawful benevolence of the American Social Covenant with its citizens to operate and protect poor and others of retirement age via a system of contributions and taxation that require only a small fraction of what Christ demanded of the Rich Young Ruler.

LaPlant may want to refresh and edify himself as to the core of the American Creed by going to: Jim Wallis, "Praying for Peace and Looking for Jesus at #OccupyWallStreet."

And as a chaser John should perhaps contemplate the message of The Rev. J. Carl Gregg, of Broadview Church; Chesapeake Beach, Maryland:

"It is often said that the best way to preach a sermon is with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other hand. This past week, I found myself unable to read these hard sayings from Jesus without thinking about the Occupy Wall Street protests that are cropping up across our nation. As I have read and listened to various commentators and pundits in regard to the protests, two quotes, in particular, have stood out to me. Together these quotes serve as both an interesting juxtaposition and as commentary on one another.

"The first quote is from John Kenneth Galbraith, a well-known economist who died a few years ago. He says that we humans too often 'search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.' This quote is perhaps particularly relevant given the resurgence of interest of late in Ayn Rand's philosophy of selfishness among some prominent politicians. The most bizarre aspect from my perspective is that many of these Ayn Rand-toting politicians are regular church attenders who experience no cognitive dissonance between their politics of selfishness and the way of Jesus.

"The second quote is more ironic, as one would expect from comedic satirist Stephen Colbert, who quips, 'IF THIS IS GOING TO BE A CHRISTIAN NATION THAT DOESN'T HELP THE POOR, EITHER WE HAVE TO PRETEND THAT JESUS WAS JUST AS SELFISH AS WE ARE, OR WE'VE GOT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HE COMMANDED US TO LOVE THE POOR AND SERVE THE NEEDY WITHOUT CONDITION AND THEN ADMIT THAT WE JUST DON'T WANT TO DO IT.'

"Although evolutionary biologists and neuroscientists are increasingly finding genetic and evolutionary impulses toward compassion, it is also true that selfishness is, in a sense, "natural" and part of our evolutionary inheritance. We are all born as egocentric infants, but in the face of evolutionary impulses to protect ourselves and those who share the largest number of genes, the way of Jesus calls us to expand our love of selfbeyond merely our immediate tribe to include the love of God and all our neighbors. Indeed, Jesus teaches that The Second Greatest Commandment is to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18 / Matthew 22:39-40 and parallels)." 

(emphasis added)

Source: Rev Carl Gregg in his sermon “Jesus, #OccupyWallSt, and the Rich Young Ruler” October 2, 2011.

Original.

The President Joins Teddy’s Spirited Charge Up Greed Mt.

President Obama has joined the charge up the slopes of massive greed and elitist's gated power mountain.

Review these his towering speech, presented-via Robert Reich - as follows:

"The President's speech today in Osawatomie, Kansas (12/8/11) - where Teddy Roosevelt gave his "New Nationalism" speech in 1910 - is the most important economic speech of his presidency in terms of connecting the dots, laying out the reasons behind our economic and political crises, and asserting a willingness to take on the powerful and the privileged that have gamed the system to their advantage."

(break)

"Some background: In 1909, Herbert Croly, a young political philosopher and journalist, argued in his best-selling The Promise of American Life that the large American corporation should be regulated by the nation and directed toward national goals. "THE CONSTRUCTIVE IDEA BEHIND A POLICY OF THE RECOGNITION OF THE SEMI-MONOPOLISTIC CORPORATION IS, OF COURSE, THE IDEA THAT THEY CAN BE CONVERTED INTO ECONOMIC AGENTS...FOR THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEREST," Croly wrote. Teddy Roosevelt's New Nationalism embraced Croly's idea"

President Obama in his Speech to the Nation:

"For...(The New Deal), Roosevelt was called a radical, a socialist, even a communist. But today, we are a richer nation and a stronger democracy because of what he fought for in his last campaign: an eight hour work day and a minimum wage for women; insurance for the unemployed, the elderly, and those with disabilities; political reform and a progressive income tax.

"Today, over one hundred years later, our economy has gone through another transformation. Over the last few decades, huge advances in technology have allowed businesses to do more with less, and made it easier for them to set up shop and hire workers anywhere in the world. And many of you know firsthand the painful disruptions this has caused for a lot of Americans.

"Factories where people thought they would retire suddenly picked up and went overseas, where the workers were cheaper. Steel mills that needed 1,000 employees are now able to do the same work with 100, so that layoffs were too often permanent, not just a temporary part of the business cycle. These changes didn't just affect blue-collar workers. If you were a bank teller or a phone operator or a travel agent, you saw many in your profession replaced by ATMs or the internet. Today, even higher-skilled jobs like accountants and middle management can be outsourced to countries like China and India. And if you're someone whose job can be done cheaper by a computer or someone in another country, you don't have a lot of leverage with your employer when it comes to asking for better wages and benefits - especially since fewer Americans today are part of a union.

---

"Now, just as there was in Teddy Roosevelt's time, there's been a certain crowd in Washington for the last few decades who respond to this economic challenge with the same old tune. "The market will take care of everything," they tell us. If only we cut more regulations and cut more taxes - especially for the wealthy - our economy will grow stronger. Sure, there will be winners and losers. But if the winners do really well, jobs and prosperity will eventually trickle down to everyone else. And even if prosperity doesn't trickle down, they argue, that's the price of liberty."

---

"It's a simple theory - one that speaks to our rugged individualism and healthy skepticism of too much government. It fits well on a bumper sticker. HERE'S THE PROBLEM: IT DOESN'T WORK. IT'S NEVER WORKED. IT DIDN'T WORK WHEN IT WAS TRIED IN THE DECADE BEFORE THE GREAT DEPRESSION. IT'S NOT WHAT LED TO THE INCREDIBLE POST-WAR BOOM OF THE 50S AND 60S. AND IT DIDN'T WORK WHEN WE TRIED IT DURING THE LAST DECADE."

President Obama expands on this:

"...(T)his isn't just another political debate. This is the defining issue of our time. THIS IS A MAKE OR BREAK MOMENT FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS, AND ALL THOSE WHO ARE FIGHTING TO GET INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS. At stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, and secure their retirement."

This speech will occupy the minds of those who were/are privileged to hear or read it for a long time.

It's time to occupy our own courage and meet eye to eye the hoary mass of obstructionism and fawning deference to the imperial 1%ers - whose days of plunder will include sunset- a massive revolt-the very kind that scares rad-right word-monger Frank Lunz ; who says he's "SCARED TO DEATH" of the power and ability of the 99%ers who literally occupy every part of America.

Our President expands:

"Now, in the midst of this debate, there are some who seem to be suffering from a kind of COLLECTIVE AMNESIA. After all that's happened, after the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, they want to return to the same practices that got us into this mess. In fact, they want to go back to the same policies that have stacked the deck against middle-class Americans for too many years. Their philosophy is simple: we are better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules."

President Obama's memorable concluding summation:

"Well, I'm here to say they are wrong. I'm here to reaffirm my deep conviction that we are greater together than we are on our own. I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, and when everyone plays by the same rules. Those aren't Democratic or Republican values; 1% values or 99% values. They're American values, and we have to reclaim them."

"In 1910, Teddy Roosevelt came here, to Osawatomie, and laid out his vision for what he called a New Nationalism.

'Our country,' he said, '...means nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy...of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him.'"
(random emphasis added)

Well said, and Timely.


Original.

Michael Moore Stands with Teddy Roosevelt In Pursuit of A More Moral American Elite & Opposed to Rampant Greed

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy long ago went way out on a limb to justify and scrub the history of America's Robber Barons, attempting to make them our nation's entrepreneurial "saints."

A Wall Street Journal columnist Cites a Mackinac Center scholar's Book, Daniel Henninger, in his piece "Bring Back the Robber Barons" (1991)  highlighted in The Wall Street Journal a book entitled "The Myth of the Robber Barons: A New Look at the Rise of Big Business in America," by Dr. Burton Folsom Jr.

Folsom, a senior fellow in economic education for the Mackinac Center, attempts, as the Mackinac Center states, to dispel the "Myth of the Robber Barons explodes the misperception [SIC] that the great competitors of the 19th century made their gains unjustly..."

Father Bob Sirico (house priest for Erik Prince, and his mother, Father Bob's generous benefactor - Elsa Prince, Betsy (Prince) DeVos' mother, is a clever tartuffian, who now travels the country and the world with his message of divine blessing as expressed in the moral uprightness of massive wealth clothed in arcane Latin terms; often in league with Hillsdale's Dr. Gary Wolfram and the sub-basement writing staff at Mackinac's propaganda mill-all long encouraged and paid by millions from the mega-wealthy with an aggressive legislative list e.g. Right-to-Work (for Less) and all other manner of tax abatements and advantages for themselves.

There's an historical parallel, deja vu , in this moment of crisis, which has inspired the local, state, national, and international Occupy Movement:

"WE STAND AT ARMAGEDDON & BATTLE FOR THE LORD': Engage the fight against 'the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of plutocracy."

-- Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt

That quote and more history of America's founding principals come from "The American Creed: A Biography of the Declaration of Independence" written by Forrest Church:

"In the early twenty century, radicals on the Christian Left were as critical of society as were Christians on the Right. The liberal social gospel arose in response to another aspect of modernism, the impact of industrialization on American society. Vast new capital emerged, undisciplined by government regulation. Max Weber wrote, "In the United States, the pursuit of wealth stripped of its religious and ethical meaning, tends to become associated with purely mundane passions, which often actually give it a character of sport." In these games one side almost always won. With the overwhelming preponderance of new capital filling the endless pockets of a few robber barons, lacking any government gesture in the direction of equity, the proliferation of goods no longer appeared to serve the common good. BY 1900 THE RICHEST ONE PERCENT OF AMERICANS POSSESSED MORE PROPERTY THAN ALL OTHER CITIZENS COMBINED. OUTRAGE AT THIS INEQUITY PROVOKED A POWERFUL, AND IN MANY WAYS REDEMPTIVE, SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS RESPONSE.

"When Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed, 'WE STAND AT ARMAGEDDON AND BATTLE FOR THE LORD,' it was not inspire his troops to storm San Juan Hill but to launch his reform platform as a Bull Moose candidate for president in 1912. Roosevelt was morally more eloquent in exercising his missionary zeal at home than abroad . Wary of the dangers posed by monopoly capitalism, he pledged the nation's sacred honor to dash 'the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of plutocracy.' With his square deal anticipating his cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Theodore raised the platform of American social justice.

"Though a Republican, and by no means an enemy of American Business, Roosevelt developed a repugnance for amassing of great wealth. He was aware of overdevelopment, championing the conservation of natural resources...As personally upright as any American President, he described his political platform as fundamentally an ethical movement.

"At a time when American corporations were poised to take over the country-directing national policy with many fewer restrictions than they operate under today-Roosevelt systematically attacked 'the swollen fortunes' and 'entrenched privilege' of the 'malefactors of great wealth.'

"The Robber Barons threatened to hijack the nation's soul. Curbing monopolies alone was not enough, however. Spiraling inequities of wealth imperiled social peace as well as social justice...By 1912 he was advocating campaign reform and was among the first to propose both an income tax and an inheritance tax. For Roosevelt, a more equitable tax code had as much to with morals as with economics. Vast fortunes not only threatened the integrity of the social compact but also weakened the more fiber of families enthralled by their possession. AT A TIME WHEN THE AMERICAN CREED WAS IN DANGER OF BEING REPLACED BY THE GOD OF MAMMON, ROOSEVLET WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO MARSHAL THE FULL FORCE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO EMPOWER HIS MORAL VISION...."

(break)

" 'God gave me my money,' John D. Rockefeller once said. By him and others of his tiny class, massive charitable tithes were offered as a demonstration of this fact. But religious critics didn't view Rockefeller and his cohorts quite as generously. When the untrammeled power of wealth began to supplant (and subvert) government power and undermine social stability (as it does so well today), social prophets opened their Bibles and read a different message."
[emphasis added]

Source: This analysis is drawn from the book "The American Creed; A Biography of the Declaration of Independence" by Forrest Church. See also Church's address "The American Creed".

Michael Moore is but one voice, there are a host of writers and religious leaders who are again calling America back to the "HIGHER GROUND" so well embodied in our DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE and THE AMERICAN CREED that flows from it.


Original.

Occupy America: Finding a Way to Free Citizens of the 99% from the “Mastery of the Ignoble elite.”

The hand-cranked memographers failure at the mighty propaganda mill - Mackinac Center for Public Policy - to do "the right thing" has caused it to lose all claim to pro-active philosophy, a sustainable fairness and renewal direction for Michigan.

This is profoundly sad and frightening.

It is the Mackinac Center incessant pounding of the legislature with proto-lobbying and the hectoring of the public to achieve their privatization and for-profit goals (while destroying and undermining the necessary order of Michigan and the everyday lives of its working people) that is creating ugly Michissippi - a newly decimated state pushed to be run over by TeaPublicans "gone wild" under the tutelage and direction of the Koch Bros., Amway, big oil, American Legislative Exchange Council put-and-take legislation and other mega corporations. These have put their demands well before the needs of Michigan's struggling populace.

The Mackinac Center is not conservative. The Mackinac Center is not moral. The Mackinac Center has lost all sense of religious mores. The Mackinac Center is a blight on traditional conservatism as led by Michigan's own Dean of Conservatism, the late Russell Kirk. The 'ignoble' mega-wealthy who back and propel Mackinac Center are not worthy of statesmanship and honor. They and their goals are ignoble.

Read this assessment of Russell Kirk's impact as relates to TRUE CONSERVATISM:

"First among the concerns of modern conservatives is the regeneration of spirit and character, by which Kirk means the renewal of religious ideals, the one sure foundation for a life worth living.

"Kirk cautions that political Christianity, in which God is a means to an end, will not suffice. Rather, spiritual renewal must be done for its own sake.

"The conservative is also concerned, as Kirk has mentioned before, with the PROBLEM OF LEADERSHIP, which has two aspects: the preservation of reverence, order, discipline, and class and the cleansing of our system of education, so that it can become liberal in the best sense of that word.

Stated Kirk "ONLY JUST LEADERSHIP CAN REDEEM SOCIETY FROM THE MASTERY OF THE IGNOBLE ELITE."
(emphasis added)

Excerpted from "Russell Kirk: The Conservative Mind".

America Faces Coming Judgment for Its Unbridled Worship of Pagan Mammonism

The Mackinac Center stands squarely with the Godless paganism of Ayn Rand, Friedman, Greenspan and others who exult the individual above the community and the congregation of the righteous, and still too, the common good, must be seen for what it actually is, a pagan libertarianism: Mammon whose fixation on "freedom" has degenerated into a raid on the foundations of our Republic; its banking and investment services, and yes, upon the distinctly religious basis given American life by the Framers of the Constitution.

Occupy America with righteousness and restore probity to the government and its institutions; stand with those who demand that business abide by moral standards. Too many of the "smartest men in the room" would have us believe that in America, if something has the force of law - a proposal is made into legal statues it bears the impress of morality, not so. All that is called 'legal' is not all moral. Legal is not necessarily 'moral.'

Americans suffer under many laws and corporate designer regulations that are anything but moral and righteous; beneficial to the common welfare.

Join Kirk's fight against twisted ideology and the corruption of real conservatism by the greedy usurpers mentioned above. Be genuinely 'Conservative.'
________

It is said that mankind faces judgment by God in the afterlife. Nations, however, receive their judgment and punishment in this life. America stands to face harsh judgment from God in the here-and-now. Repent.

Will repentance now be too late to save our fair land?

For more on the 1% follow the "Mega-Wealthy" and "Wealthy Elites" tags on the Gazette.

Original.

Hank Payne’s Utter Failure to Occupy the Moral High Ground vs. Michael Moore’s Progress Thereunto

Henry Payne's gnawing away on Michael Moore with shabby grievances is very small on his part.

Payne's real arguments made on the Detroit/Mackinac News and Michigan View, center against Moore and the Occupy Movement and with the power and the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and several vicars of Christ - its popes.

Hank is on thin ice and at risk as a credible moral voice and/or guide.

Early in the anti-poor legislative blitz mounted by the Michigan TeaPublican super majorities in Lansing the Detroit News, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Mackinac Center (aided and abetted by the cynical Detroit News pinchpennies Nolan, Frank, Dr. Gary, Hank, and the peanut gallery of hand-cranked memographers of corporate pap and propaganda at the mighty Mackinac Center mischief mill) simply ignored the sharp criticism directed by the Michigan Conference of Catholic Bishops against Rick Snyder and crew as they took down and compounded the absolute plight of the poor in Michigan.

SEE: Letter from the Michigan Catholic Conference Calling for Greater Attention to Poor and Unemployed in the Michigan State Budget to Governor Rick Snyder and Michigan Legislative Leaders on April 11, 2011 begins:

"We, the Roman Catholic Bishops of the seven Dioceses in Michigan, take this opportunity as proposals are being advanced by our legislators to craft the state budget, to call on you, our executive and legislative leaders, to carry out your responsibilities with greater attention to the needs of the poor, the unemployed and other vulnerable persons who make up a large part of the citizens of Michigan."

Michael Moores' Rich Catholic Heritage Stands Opposed to Hank Payne & Cadre's Thinly Varnished Parsimony & Bitter, Ascorbic Civic Cynicism
_________

The American Conference of Catholic Bishops has enunciated a Set of Principles partially annotated from Wikipedia as below:

1.) Sanctity of human life and dignity of the person -

2.) Call to family, community, and participation - According to the Book of Genesis, the Lord God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone". The Catholic Church teaches that man is now not only a sacred but also a social animal and that families are the first and most basic units of a society. It advocates a complementarian view of marriage, and family life, religious leadership. FULL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT TAKES PLACE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS. The family-based on marriage(between a man and a woman)-is the first and fundamental unit of society and is a sanctuary for the creation and nurturing of children. Together families form communities, communities a state and together all across the world each human is part of the human family. HOW THESE COMMUNITIES ORGANIZE THEMSELVES POLITICALLY, ECONOMICALLY AND SOCIALLY IS THUS OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE. EACH INSTITUTION MUST BE JUDGED BY HOW MUCH IT ENHANCES, OR IS A DETRIMENT TO, THE LIFE AND DIGNITY OF HUMAN PERSONS.

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING OPPOSES COLLECTIVIST APPROACHES SUCH AS COMMUNISM BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT ALSO REJECTS UNRESTRICTED LAISSEZ-FAIRE POLICIES AND THE NOTION THAT A FREE MARKET AUTOMATICALLY PRODUCES SOCIAL JUSTICE. THE STATE HAS A POSITIVE MORAL ROLE TO PLAY AS NO SOCIETY WILL ACHIEVE A JUST AND EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES WITH A TOTALLY FREE MARKET. ALL PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL LIFE OF SOCIETY and, under the principle of subsidiarity, state functions should be carried out at the lowest level that is practical.

3.) Rights and responsibilities -

4.) Preferential Option for the poor and vulnerable - Jesus taught that on the Day of Judgement God will ask what each of us did to help the poor and needy: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." This is reflected in the Church's canon law, which states, "THE CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL ARE ALSO OBLIGED TO PROMOTE SOCIAL JUSTICE and, mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor from their own resources."

Through our words, prayers and deeds we must show solidarity with, and compassion for, the poor. WHEN INSTITUTING PUBLIC POLICY WE MUST ALWAYS KEEP THE "PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR" AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR MINDS.

The moral test of any society is "how it treats its most vulnerable members. THE POOR HAVE THE MOST URGENT MORAL CLAIM ON THE CONSCIENCE OF THE NATION. WE ARE CALLED TO LOOK AT PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS IN TERMS OF HOW THEY AFFECT THE POOR."

Pope Benedict XVI has taught that "love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel". THIS PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR AND VULNERABLE INCLUDES ALL WHO ARE MARGINALIZED IN OUR NATION AND BEYOND-UNBORN CHILDREN, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, THE ELDERLY AND TERMINALLY ILL, AND VICTIMS OF INJUSTICE AND OPPRESSION.

5.) Dignity of work - Society must pursue economic justice and the economy must serve people, not the other way around. Employers must not "look upon their work people as their bondsmen, but ... respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character." Employers contribute to the common good through the services or products they provide and by creating jobs that uphold the dignity and rights of workers.

Workers have a right to work, to earn a living wage, and to form trade unions to protect their interests. All workers have a right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, and to safe working conditions. Workers also have responsibilities-to provide a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, to treat employers and co-workers with respect, and to carry out their work in ways that contribute to the common good. Workers must "fully and faithfully" perform the work they have agreed to do.

In 1933, the Catholic Worker Movement was founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. It was committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for the marginalized and poorest in Society. Today over 185 Catholic Worker communities continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms.

6.) Solidarity - "Solidarity is undoubtedly a Christian virtue. It seeks to go beyond itself to total gratuity, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It leads to a new vision of the unity of humankind, a reflection of God's triune intimate life...." It is a unity that binds members of a group together.

All the peoples of the world belong to one human family. We must be our brother's keeper, though we may be separated by distance, language or culture. Jesus teaches that we must each love our neighbors as ourselves and in the parable of the Good Samaritan we see that our compassion should extend to all people.[ SOLIDARITY INCLUDES THE SCRIPTURAL CALL TO WELCOME THE STRANGER AMONG US-INCLUDING IMMIGRANTS SEEKING WORK, A SAFE HOME, EDUCATION FOR THEIR CHILDREN, AND A DECENT LIFE FOR THEIR FAMILIES.

7.) Complementarianism - "God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity" but also that the harmony of society "depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual support between the sexes are lived out."

8.) Charity - "In a culture without truth, there is a fatal risk of losing love. It falls prey to contingent subjective emotions and opinions, the word "love" is abused and distorted, to the point where it comes to mean the opposite. Truth frees charity from the constraints of an emotionalism that deprives it of relational and social content, and of a fideism that deprives it of human and universal breathing-space. In the truth, charity reflects the personal yet public dimension of faith in God and the Bible.

9.) Subsidiarity -

10.) Distributism - DISTRIBUTISM HOLDS THAT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURES SHOULD PROMOTE WIDE OWNERSHIP OF CORPORATIONS AND IS THE BASIS FOR ANTI-TRUST LAWS AND ECONOMIC COOPERATIVES INCLUDING CREDIT UNIONS. Rerum Novarum, Quadragesimo Anno and Centesimus Annus are Catholic Social Teaching documents which advocate economic distributism.


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What progress for good and the public commons have you to offer, Hank?

Have you new material that can substitute or supersede those of Michael Moore's Catholic Church's goals and principles?  If you do have advanced revelation and superior moral proposals for the future, please share them with us all.

See Also: "Is Michael Moore God’s Man for This Hour of National Crisis? " , "Henry Payne IV v. Mike Moore: Contrasting 2 Lives" and "Occupy Payne: Bloomfield Hills"

Original.

Is Michael Moore God’s Man for This Hour of National Crisis?

Michael Moore's Focus on "Social Justice" Arises Directly out of His Catholic Education: Praise God!

"Progress has brought us both unbounded opportunities and unbridled difficulties. Thus, the measure of our civilization will not be that we have done much, but what we have done with that much. I believe that the next half century will determine if we will advance the cause of Christian civilization or revert to the horrors of brutal paganism. The thought of modern industry in the hands of Christian charity is a dream worth dreaming. The thought of industry in the hands of paganism is a nightmare beyond imagining. The choice is between the two."
-- Theodore Roosevelt

Michael Moore was schooled a Catholic. His sense of social justice is derived from his religious training and beliefs as a Catholic.

"Is there anyone here who, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone?"
-- Matthew 7:9

Let's look at Moore's Roman Catholic Catechism for some insight:

"Here is a quotation from the official Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church which illustrated the Church's position regarding the economics of poverty. This is to be found in Article 7 "The Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal," paragraphs 2401 through 2463. Notice that the seventh commandment establishes the right of private property, for without some recognition of private property there could be no such thing as stealing for everything would belong to everyone. Hence one cannot accuse Catholic doctrine of supporting views expressed by French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in his book 'Property is Theft.'

"Article 2402 of The Catechism states that 'The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence.'

"Article 2403 of The Catechism states that 'The right to private property, acquired by work or received from others by inheritance or gift, does not do away with the original gift of the earth to the whole of mankind. The universal destination of goods remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to private property and its exercise.'

"Article 2406 of The Catechism states 'Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good.'

"Consider the exercise of 'eminent domain' when highways must be constructed. Consider the anti-trust laws which prevent any single Corporation from becoming so powerful that it would exercise unfairness in the competitive market place..."

Thus concludes William Buell, blogger.

America Has Been Too Long Under the Sway of a Cult of Mammon and Unrelenting Greed: Our Present Day Paganism

The ongoing press of libertarians and malcontents in defense of rampant greed rides in large part on the atheism and anti-humanitarian dementia of Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, et al. These powerful influences have co-opted and sanctified the financial barbarism which is the basis of many of their fortunes (not all) and the power-lust of the top 1%; who find little shame in their dominance and suppression of the 99% - including the working poor, the disadvantaged, the handicapped, the mentally addled; nor do they recant their shortcuts which took them to this haughty pinnacle.

"In what other land or age does one find selfishness enshrined as a virtue and a whole population of individuals drinking their self-worship neat, unadulterated by any idolatry of tribe or class? Where, but here, and when, but now; could "I DID IT MY WAY" be the music most often played at funerals?" 

-- Commenter from FirstThings.

The Detroit News/Mackinac Center charges against Michael Moore's motives lie squarely askew God's Plan.

Note the brilliant summation of Roman Catholic Archbishop Dom Helder:

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint, But when I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist."

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