Thank The Republicans for the High Gas

I might be going out on a limb here because I have no hard evidence to back up what I am about to say. This is purely conjecture and probably not totally correct. But I am willing to think that I have hit the target, not the bulls-eye, with this. Republicans are to blame for the higher gas prices.

Okay, I know that they do not control gas prices and the reasons given is the uncertainty over Iran. Have you ever noticed that is always the reason? Uncertainty over Iran or unrest in the Middle East is always the reason. But this makes little sense to me. We are producing more domestic crude now than we have in very long time. Demand is down. So, according to the economic principles that I learned, prices should also be dropping. But prices are based on futures, so "they" say that the future in the Middle East looks grim. It has always looked grim, and prices dropped so, what has changed?

I think the change is because the Republicans are concerned about their chances in the fall. The economy is strengthening. Companies are actually bringing jobs back to our country. The President has pushed through some of his economic agenda and it seems to be working. The Republicans are losing ground in the approval ratings and most people blame the Congress for holding our government hostage. So what can they do? They have tried to create trouble with various reforms, like the squawk over the contraception and abortion legislation last week, but he is diffusing it soundly. The only thing they have left is to put the economy in a tailspin. And what better way to do that than to raise gas prices. Now, you may remind me that the Republicans do not set gas prices and I agree. But I do know that many Republicans are in the pockets of the big oil lobbyists and I would not put it past a few of them to ask for a few favors. Now, this is just a theory and I have no proof. But I have watched the Republicans risk our entire financial system before for their own gain and I would not put it past them to risk it again to gain the White House.

Consider this as you complain about the gas prices and listen to the talking heads tell you what to think. I might be a crazy conspiracy theorist, but we will never know what is really occurring in Washington and desperate people do desperate things.

Time to Finally Get Christianity Out of Politics

I have been listening to the Republican campaign speeches, to my dismay. I keep hearing about topics like abortion and gay marriage and Muslims and I wonder what is happening to the ideals on which our country was founded. Many Republicans would agree with that statement but that is where the agreement ends. I thought I lived in a country which was founded on individual freedoms, not a theocracy.

I'll give you an example of my confusion. The thirteen colonies did not have a single religion. The Roman Catholics landed in Maryland, the Puritans landed in Massachusetts, and the Shakers lived where they wanted. Although each denomination had differences with each other, they fundamentally understood what is was like to be persecuted for their religious beliefs, which drove them to our great land. As our government was founded, no one said that we all had to abide by one religion; I doubt anyone would have been able on which religion to agree. So why is it now a problem that we have people in our government who might or might not be Muslim? Our country, founded on religious freedom, used to embrace everyone. Shouldn't we still? Who cares what religion our President, Vice President or Speaker of the House might be? We have had Roman Catholic presidents and the Pope did not come to invade us, although many feared he would. We have had Evangelical presidents and the Rev. Billy Graham did not raise an army against us. Why do we make this an issue?

Another source of confusion is abortion. Many believe that it is the killing of a child and I can understand from where they are coming. But choice is another principle on which our country was founded. This is not a dictatorial country that determines who can procreate and who can't. Our government does not limit the number of children we can have or decide that boy babies are superior to girl babies. Communist China does that. Our country gives us a choice. But many want to restrict that choice because choice means that a murder has occurred. A few religions have come out against abortion for moral reasons. Others, my own faith included, has determined that there is not specific text in the Bible that speaks expressly to abortion but advocate respect for the woman and child. If a person, after prayerfully considering all their options, chooses to have an abortion and God is displeased with that choice, God offers forgiveness. But some people on the campaign trail are for the elimination of abortion on moral grounds. To me, that sounds like a religion taking over the government and not the principles on which our country was founded. It also is narrow-minded and not representative of the people of this country.

Finally, I hear a lot about gay marriage, especially with the California Supreme court decision yesterday. Many people advocate strongly that marriage is between a man and a woman and there is biblical support for that. In fact, yesterday, some pundit went so far as to say the reason for marriage is for procreation. If that is the case, people who marry later in life would not be covered by the Constitution. But there is also biblical support for loving your neighbors as you love yourself and not judging others. More and more, there is evidence that gays and lesbians are created that way and, no matter what, are a creation of the same God who offers forgiveness. But again, our country is not founded on religion, and all people are protected under the same Constitution. No where in the Constitution does it stipulate that gays are not covered by the laws of this country. The Supreme Court will eventually decide what the Constitution says about gay marriage. But the important point here is that we, as a country, were not founded on the principle of excluding people because of their sexual orientation. We were not founded on any exclusionary principles, unless you were a slave, but we have corrected that issue supposedly.

So the question I ask is this. Why do we continue to allow people with exclusionary, religious agendas preach to us about returning to the founding principles of our country when they are no where close to what the founding principles are? Isn't it time to get the religion out of our politics and stick to the issues that "belong to Caesar?" Shouldn't we allow people their individual freedoms instead of allowing someone's religion to dictate our rights?

Did you know that the Pledge of Allegiance did not include the words "under God" until after World War 2?