Synagogues

Attacks On Mosques Reminiscent Of Attacks On Synagogues And Black Churches: All Are Domestic Terrorism!

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Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to ban all Muslim immigration to the United States has unleashed a crime wave against mosques, and attacks on Muslim Americans in the past week, with occurrences taking place every day all over the country, and by one count, 19 such events in the first week after his utterances!

The promotion of Islamophobia is no different than the the anti Semitism which has led to attacks on Jewish synagogues, and the racism which has led to attacks on African American churches, going back to the Civil Rights era.

All of this is domestic terrorism, and Trump is inciting this violence, and should be held accountable for such incitement!

A small sliver of the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world are engaged in jihad and terrorism, just as a small percentage of other faiths have engaged in bloodshed and violence historically and today.

Has anyone noticed how most terrorism in America is by white Christian men, not by Muslims?  Has anyone noticed that there are Jewish terrorists who kill Palestinians who are not terrorists but live in Israel alongside Israelis?  Has anyone noticed that there are Hindus who commit violence against the minority Muslims in India?

Religious extremism has always existed, and will always exist, and of course, it is something to work against with all possible efforts!

But to label the vast, overwhelming majority of Muslims as terrorists only helps the despicable group that controls portions of Syria and Iraq, ISIL (ISIS), to gain supporters.

So the anti Muslim violence and propaganda that Donald Trump and other Islamophobes are promoting is actually the best recruitment tool for this horrific group to gain more supporters and present a long term threat to America and the Western world!

A Day To Celebrate: 77th Anniversary Of Social Security Act Signed Into Law By Franklin D. Roosevelt!

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Today is indeed a day to celebrate, the 77th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act into law, in 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, his signature domestic accomplishment among many of his New Deal programs.

Social Security gave dignity to the elderly, to widows, to children and orphans of a deceased worker, and to the disabled and handicapped!

It gave a sense of security to people at vulnerable times in their lives, and it came decades after similar actions in Germany, Great Britain, and France, the other major industrialized nations!

It has worked very well, and is only seen as in trouble because the Social Security fund has been raided constantly by reckless Congresses!

The future of Social Security long term could be guaranteed by raising the limit of $110,000 income being taxed to be what Medicare is, an unlimited income being taxed!

Also, if unearned income was taxed as earned income is, it would have no problems for an eternity of time.

But the Republican Party, most members opposed at the time to the legislation,; then having Barry Goldwater in the 1960s wanting to destroy it; and now Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan continuing the assault, makes this election a battle to preserve this key to the social safety net, and to promote common decency toward those who depend on it, and have contributed to it over their work lives!

Franklin D. Roosevelt should be saluted for his great leadership in guaranteeing a dignified life to those who, at different times and situations in their lives, need protection from government. This is not something that churches and synagogues and charities could possibly provide on an adequate level!

Health Care, Women’s Health Rights, And Churches And Synagogues

Ronald 2 Comments

The Obama Health Care legislation has come under attack on a new front: that hospitals and universities and other institutions connected to religious groups, other than actual church or synagogue properties, are being required to provide contraceptive and abortion services to women who work for those institutions, outraging the Catholic Church, Orthodox Jews, Mormons, and Evangelical Christian groups that oppose such practices.

An exemption for churches and synagogues has not been enough to appease these religious groups, and it threatens the support of these groups for the Obama re-election campaign, but if the Obama Administration abandons the rights of women of all religious persuasions and denies them such services, they could also lose support among women who want these services covered.

It is clear that a majority of Catholic women ignore the teachings of their own church, while it is not clear that the same is true for Orthodox Jews, Mormons, and Evangelical Christians.

So this presents a quandary for Obama, and is being called an attack on religion, rather than an issue of an attack on women’s health and basic human rights to control their own bodies. Rather than have to follow the teachings of groups that are dominated by men, many millions of women want to determine their own futures, and not be controlled by their employers as to what health coverage they have.

The likelihood is that Obama will cave in on this to the religious groups, but a true profile in courage would be to make it clear there is religious freedom in this country, but it should not dictate health services available to women in the name of religious liberty.

One does not have to accept contraceptives or pursue abortion, but women should have the freedom, no matter what their religion or no religion, to pursue their own freedom, separate from organized religious institutions trying to control their destiny. They should not be required to quit their employment to have freedom of choice.