Sound Off!: August 2005

Monday, August 22, 2005

teen mental health screening

Dear Rutherford Institute staff:

Cheers for your fine report on the menace of mental health "teen screening." It pinpoints the new drug-based Inquisition which is being perpetrated by our new state religion, mental health. One of religion's key roles is, after all, to define right and wrong, shoulds and should-nots -- a task which "mental health" has largely taken over.

It may also be of interest that in the Septuagint, the first Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (which I believe the Orthodox Church still uses), the key word in the Exodus 22:17 statement, "thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live," is "pharmacos" -- usually translated as "poisoner."

Nathaniel S. Lehrman, M.D.
Roslyn, NY

"Teen Screen...."

Subject: TeenScreen: One Family’s Story

One thing we have to remember about this whole charade is that George Bush basically betrayed all his conservative base by letting Teddy "the Hut" Kennedy write the education legislation where this was all included. So now we have the worst of both worlds--a Democrat education bill and a RINO in the white house.

Keith Gardner
Locust Grove, GA

Excellent and illuminating article!

Subject: Maintaining Power in the Bush Administration and Avoiding War Crimes

Bravo!!! This is an excellent and illuminating article! During the Clinton Administration and as a Democrat, I assumed that your organization was an ultra-conservative group which represented the rich and conservative populace. I was wrong. After reading this and other articles on your website, I learned that you are fair across the board when it pertains to protecting the human, civil, and constitutional rights of all Americans and internationally. Futhermore and thanks to the multitude of news channel available in the post-Clinton years, viewers can observe not only both sides but discern information using legal eyes and as issues relate to the Constitution.

Respectfully,

Rosa D. Espinosa
McAllen, Texas 78501

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Democratic protests with Crosses

I do not often watch television so I have been mercifully spared much of the Cindy Sheehan circus, but I have read about it and seen still pictures of her 500 crosses placed on what looks to be a public road's soft shoulder. That shoulder might possibly be on ajoining private land.

If the left has the legal right to put up Christian religious symbols on roadside land as a protest, than maybe next Christmas, religious Christians can put up a Nativity scene as a political protest on a roadside. How about also putting up a Ten Commandments replica as a PERMANENT roadside political protest against the banning of prayer in schools? Or how about three crosses put up around Easter time as a protest against bans to carrying a Bible to public school or starting a Christian religious club or bans on Boy Scout meetings?

More than a century ago, presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan made a sturring speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention, advocating a silver rather than a gold standard for US currency. This was the famous "Cross of Gold" Speech. It included some lines not likely to be heard again, such as:
"With a zeal approaching the zeal which inspired the crusaders who followed Peter the hermit, our silver Democrats went forth." And the final line:
"You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."

Standard high school history books in the 1960s referred to this speech and may have included the final line quote. It was probably more memorable than even Mario Cuomo's speech at a much later convention. I think this empassioned Democratic speech could, with a few embellishments, be quoted from again as an oratory protest vehicle against intolerance of mainstream Christian religion. I'm sure the Democrats would love to see the original historic quoted phrases repeated and the association with their party. After they finish retching.

Jack Kemp
(not the politician)

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Maintaining Power in the Bush Administration and Avoiding War Crimes

I am truly sickened, and angered every time I see, or hear Bush speak, or anyone that he has appointed. And I am truly dumbfounded anytime I hear someone defend his actions.

I was brought up believing that all men were created equal, and that nobody was above the law. That the rights of the Constitution of the United States were for every American citizen. That taking a pledge, or an oath bound you to your agreement, or you should stand down and accept the consequences of your actions. That laws should be respected, and the laws should respect you. That the Declaration of Independence were the greatest words ever written by man outside of the Bible. But this past Fourth of July I found little to celebrate. I am consumed in concern about our democracy, and the state of our nation. I am concerned about an administration that has used deception and religion to divide and conquer us. An administration that puts our tax dollars into the hands of the rich, and takes away our services and policies we put in place to protect us, and our environment. Democracy is a privilege, and there are many entities that will exploit it, and our society by any means if we become too complacent in our resolve to defend ourselves from them. In twenty-one score and nine years we are right back where we started from. You can see the apathy in their countenance, almost laughing as they lied to the US about the reasons we were invading Iraq, and in their reactions to the press, and news media about the medical ethics and abuses of the interrogations at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and beyond. Defying international, and moral law.

Recently I was appalled by an interview I saw on Democracy Now with John Perkins the author of, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. He had answered the uncertainties that I had about the corruption in our Government’s affinity with corporate America that I kind of always knew was there, especially during the 80's. Now I can see the fuel for the fire of terrorism against America. And our policies have not changed to correct this corruption. In fact they have only been embodied by the Bush agenda, and the appointments of Wolfowitz to the World Bank. The recess appointment of John Bolton to the United Nations, and the appointments of John Negroponte and Elliott Abrams who were involved in the Iran Contra scandal in clear defiance of the 14th amendment, sec. 3. The appointment of Gonzales, who didn't care about the inmates on death row in Texas. The appointment of Condeleeza Rice who used to work for Exxon, Dick Cheney who used to be a CEO of a pharmaceutical company, Richard Perle, Richard Amitage, Zalmay Khalitzad, Robert Earl, and so on and so on and so on. I am, and I think most Americans, and the rest of the world are sick and tired of seeing people getting away with murder, spitting on human rights to turn a profit, and never being prosecuted. Never being held accountable. If democracy is to flourish, these trends must come to an end now.

This demagogue, and administration that has been running (destroying) our country, in my opinion, and many other American's opinion was never voted into office. My girlfriend and I witnessed the voters’ fraud personally. When we inquired and informed people in authority of this we were met with apathy, and indifference. They told me not to get excited. I'm not excited, I'm mad! I'm mad that the very fabric of democracy, the right to vote, was corrupted by deception and manipulation. By the very fact that my vote may have went to him!

The Bush administration has conspired with the oil industry, news corporations, and private enterprises to overthrow and abuse the powers of the White House. Their agenda is obvious, to put every tax dollar, and all of the world's resources into their, and their Allies pockets insuring their families’ future survival at our, our children's, and our country's monetary and moral expense. I am truly sickened every time I hear Bush speak about democracy.

The Downing Street Memos confirm that the war was premeditated and not preemptive. Also an article that appeared in the International Observer on 12-02-01 reported that Bush had ordered Tommy Franks, and James Woolsey to draw up war plans to invade Iraq, and to grow support for that war, while the proponents of the war looked for ways to exploit the UN’s own resolutions. Regime change was necessary for companies like Exxon, BP, Halburton, the Carlyle group and so on to rape Iraq of it's resources and money. There were also plans for world domination drawn up by Paul Wolfowitz, and Lewis Libby in 1992 after the collapse of the USSR, and they can be found in their Defense Planning Guidance documents. These documents call for preemptive strikes in the Middle-East to secure their oil supplies in order to control the industrialization of Europe and Asia, and thus make us the soul super power. Also Richard Perle was the lead writer for an Israeli advisory document, "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm" advocating the removal of Saddam Hussein by any means necessary to promote Zionism. Douglas Feith, and David Wurmser were co-authors. The writers of "The Project for the New American Century" who also advocated regime change would finish Bush's appointed circle. These documents all needed something to set them into action, to make them accepted by normally reasonable people, an exacerbation, another "Pearl Harbor". And if you believe that this was all just coincidence then, I feel sorry for you. George Bush said when he was questioned about the Downing Street memos, "And somebody said, well, you know, we had made up our mind to go to use military force to deal with Saddam. There is nothing farther from the truth." And again he lied!

Both in 2000 and 2004 our representatives have let our democracy be sold out to the corporate will. They stood by and watched as lie after lie was used to sway American votes, without contesting their validity, or proving that they were lies, but if you went to FactCheck.org you could see the lies, and the facts, and links proving they were lies. Our representatives gave up without a fight the rights of Americans to vote, and in turn they have rewarded the incompetence of this administration, such as 9-11-01, and the invasion of Iraq with power and money, instead of jail.

This administration has sided with big business in every policy, and has failed to protect the lives, liberties, safety and welfare of most of the American population. This administration does absolutely nothing to project my interest, or to protect, or promote America's democracy, or America's image in the world. They have defiled our constitution, our democracy, our name, and our God. This administration should be immediately impeached, and they and the corporations they represent should be tried for treason, and crimes against humanity in a court opened to the world. Humanity demands this! And I don't care what John Bolton says! Nobody is above the law! We, as American citizens, have to make this happen. We need to take our country back, or the rest of the world may become fed up with us and take it from us.

Sincerely,

Kurt Helman

Monday, August 15, 2005

Power

Subject: Maintaining Power in the Bush Administration and Avoiding War Crimes

I believe that power has gone to your head. What the President has done is take the war to the warriors in a foreign country and I for one would have done whatever it took to avoid another 911. Is the one worth more than the masses? These people have no value for human life and would as soon die and take out hundreds of us along with them. When bombs come to your home town because liberals like you would take the power from our leaders, military, and criticize one of the best presidents this Country has ever had, then I ask, would your opinion change if your home is the site of the next 911?

Jon
Nixa, MO 65714

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Having prayer before meetings

Dear Rutherford Staff,

Hurrah for you! May GOD BLESS you for standing up for what is right. We need more organizations like you in our country today.

I hope you are setting a precedent for Americans to live by. It is time we Christians got up off our handkerchiefs and went to work.

We have slumbered way to long, while the enemy has crept in behind our backs.

I say a big "THANK YOU" to you and may your example be followed by others.

In Christ,

Katherine M. Fry

Thursday, August 04, 2005

student at University of Memphis

Hello,

I am a 41 year old sophomore attending the University of Memphis. I am usually the only Christian in any of my classes. It has never been a big deal for me to be with non-Christians...I have 4 children, widow and was also on the mission field in Zimbabwe.

Now, really, who cares? Well, I have stopped writing a paper that is due at the end of this week to jot you a line...so I guess I care...My paper is called "Hate or history: The Confederate flag in 2005." Maybe you can guess where I am going...I was a bit shocked to find the Institute's name coming up as I was studying some hate groups, such as The Sons of the Confederacy.

Again, who cares, right....The Word teaches us to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." As the facts line up with the Word, no matter what the law of the land is, there will be no waving of any symbol that does not bring a kingdom together. So if we are to be praying "on earth as it is in heaven" are we not also supposed to be teaching this?..."go to all the earth and making disciple," how do you make disciples unless you teach them to see other humans as Christ does..."no Jew, no gentile, no man no woman."

Sometimes laws of man are terribly incorrect, do we still stand for them? I am a respected student and Deans list member...I am afraid however that there are many Christian groups that fight against the unity through the forgiveness of sins, that Christ sacrificed himself for, when the world sees them line up with overtly racist groups.

Thank you for your time,

Livia Carboni-Jackson