Hekate
Hekate's JournalWell, my Goddess says human beings have free will and brains, and that there are consequences...
...for the decisions we make, both as individuals and as a society.
In other words, their god is not the only deity, and I find their interpretation lacks a lot.
However, I've read the Bible, in more than one translation. The Old Testament makes it clear that humans have been given free will. The New Testament has quite a lot in it about loving your neighbor as yourself, taking care of the vulnerable, forgiving others as you hope to be forgiven yourself. Jesus goes on and on in that vein. I like that, and find that philosophy very admirable. Whenevef I find a Christian living by those precepts, it makes me glad to know them.
Moving on, though -- you can try to "abolish religion," but that implies a totalitarian regime that only increases human suffering and denies people freedom of thought. In the 20th century both the Soviet Union and Communist China outlawed religion, and the results were disastrous. It was just one more form of oppression.
This is America. The Constitution gives us many freedoms, including freedom of thought and worship. As Thomas Jefferson wrote (paraphrasing here) "How does it harm me if my neighbor believes in 20 gods -- or no god at all?"
Every right has limitations. First Amendment is hedged about with them
I daresay fewer people have died from libel than from firearms, yet libel is one of those limitations on the right to free speech.
Once again, it's just money, and SO EASY for the Russians to supply that. A literal sell-out...
These traitors don't even hate America, land of their birth. America is simply irrelevant to their thinking and way of life, which is all about money. They have no ideology to pursue -- we have not even been betrayed by ideological fervor. They sold us out for money without a trace of guilt or shame.
The story of Judas Iscariot and his 30 pieces of silver doesn't even apply here, because Judas' betrayal was about ideology, and the money was completely incidental. He felt horrified and ashamed for what he had done, and committed suicide.
What on Earth do Trump and his ilk even feel? It was only ever money. (Except General Kelly -- that was rage. )
Well, DoctorPepper, the DU community has been here a long time. "Some of us"--even "a lot of us"...
...have studied the issue of electronic hacking very closely. It's not a new subject, and not 
repeat, not, a tin foil hat conspiracy theory. When Senator Max Cleland of Georgia, a war hero who lost two legs and an arm in Vietnam, lost his Senate re-election bid, the vote totals in a bunch of counties were as follows 18181818. On electronic voting machines.
So in the 2016 election, all the shit that went down and all that is being revealed this week -- let's just say that "most of us" old time DUers are shocked and sickened -- but NOT surprised.
Why should they pay for what was given to them for FREE? Who was paying the "volunteers"?
Who had been paid in the past by the Russians, for one thing and another? Who owed the Russians for favors?
Not the Clintons. Not the DNC. Not the Clinton campaign.
The Russians promised "dirt" on Hillary, and what did they deliver? To this day, a gigantic nothingburger of weaponized stolen emails.
What do the Russians have on Trump and associates? According to Steele, enough Kompromat to sink a battleship. So far, nothing provided by Steele has been disproven, and a great deal of it has been solidly proven.
Are you for real? The Dems NEVER worked with or paid any Russian entity.
Christopher Steele, a BRITISH citizen and retired BRITISH secret agent, was hired by a REPUBLICAN candidate to do OPPO RESEARCH on Donald Trump. He found plenty.
The REPUBLICAN who hired him dropped out of the race. At some point Steele, very concerned with what he had uncovered, gave or offered his files to the FBI, which freaking ignored it.
The campaign progressed. Apparently Steele, a BRITISH citizen, offered his information to the Clinton campaign and/or DNC. They gave him under $200,000 for it -- not $12 million.
THIS WAS OPPO RESEARCH. NOBODY ON OUR SIDE COLLUDED WITH THE FUCKING RUSSIANS.
So Articles of Impeachment have a chance without a single GOP vote? Talk about a fantasy.
Possibly you've noticed that several GOP Senators have broken ranks over the past months, enough to make a difference on the attempted repeal of Obamacare. Now two that are leaving and one that is dying are talking about Trump's crimes -- but still voting with their Party.
The House is a lot tougher because so many Repubs are actually radicals. And the Dems are in the MINORITY. The ONLY votes Nancy Pelosi commands are DEMS.
Wait for Mueller's case to continue to unfold, and public anger continue to mount. Pressure your local Republican Representative. GOTV next year and vote for Dems and against Repubs. Stop trying to get rid of Democrats who can't afford to give you a pony for Christmas.
Both Pelosi and Schumer hold the line against the GOP on vote after vote, so GOP gets nothing...
...from us. That is an important part of leadership in the current circumstances. In other words, when the Trumpists want to achieve something nasty, they have to do it without a single Dem vote to assist them.
What Pelosi and Schumer do not do is throw away votes on creating symbolic bills that have zero chance of success -- such as, for instance, impeachment. As long as Republicans vote as a bloc to sustain Trump, as long as Republicans fail to see the light, it is worse than a stalemate. A million tweets will be generated: "I am so great I survived impeachment!"
Our best hope is to peel Republicans away from the GOP bloc -- not "coax" Democrats. Dems are already with Pelosi and Schumer.
But how are they going to peel away GOPers? How do you think? By letting Mueller continue to do his job.
Watch Mueller's progress, and watch individual Repub politicians' reactions, and use that as a wedge.
Stop trying to get rid of Nancy Pelosi. She's the best weapon we have.
And send her a Democratic majority. She'll certainly know how to use it.
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Gender: FemaleHometown: Central Coast, California
Home country: USA
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 90,658
