August 27, 2022

New Appreciation for Garth Brooks - We Shall Be Free

Some little story online about "controversial music lyrics" brought up this song and I think I have heard it but haven't been a major fan of country music because the stations tend to ban people, like the Dixie Chicks and songs like this one. So unlike some songs I can't hear the whole thing in my brain as I read the lyrics.

But THE LYRICS are perfect for NOW. An Anthem for DUers and everyone who wants an America and a World that lives in the mindset of loving others as they are and keeping your own self in line is not only Patriotic but deeply Christian as Jesus never spent time outing gays or worshiping all the rich folk for their blessed selves.


https://www.facebook.com/GarthBrooks/videos/we-shall-be-free/1314014632011300/


https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/garthbrooks/weshallbefree.html


Garth Brooks Lyrics
"We Shall Be Free"

This ain't comin' from no prophet
Just an ordinary man
When I close my eyes I see
The way this world shall be
When we all walk hand in hand

When the last child cries for a crust of bread
When the last man dies for just words that he said
When there's a shelter over the poorest head
We shall be free

When the last thing we notice is the color of skin
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
When the skies and the oceans are clean again
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud
'Cause we shall be free
When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free
We shall be free

We shall be free
Have a little faith
Hold out
'Cause we shall be free

And when money talks for the very last time
And nobody walks a step behind
When there's only one race and that's mankind
Then we shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith, hold out
We shall be free

We shall be free
We shall be free
Stand straight, have a little faith

We shall be free




Garth Brooks wrote this song in response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots when the six-day disturbance spread through the city including the beating of Rodney King, an African American taxi driver, by the police.

Many radio stations refused to play this track because of the line "When we're free to love anyone we choose". This message was seen as a call to defend gay rights. That's why Garth Brooks missed the country chart's top 10 for the first time.

The singer recalled the controversy in a 1993 Rolling Stone interview, "I feel bad any time somebody brings up the Christian aspect against 'We Shall Be Free'. Because it was meant to be a gospel song. It was meant to be the truth as I saw it. And being called Brutus and Judas, all kinds of things, really hurts. I do believe that God exists. I do believe in the Bible. But I can't see that loving somebody is a sin."

For his second compilation album, "The Hits", Garth Brooks wrote, "I never thought there would be any problems with this song. Sometimes the roads we take do not turn out to be the roads we envisioned them to be. All I can say about 'We Shall Be Free' is that I will stand by every line of this song as long as I live."

August 21, 2022

Did anyone hear this back at the time? Arizona PARTISAN AUDIT found Joe 360 MORE votes?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/24/republican-audit-arizona-bigger-lead-biden

Arizona Republican ‘audit’ finds even bigger lead for Biden in 2020 election
This article is more than 10 months old

Hand count of the 2.1m ballots cast in Maricopa county found that Biden actually won 360 more votes over Trump than was reported

August 21, 2022

EVEN some Republicans are idealists. They WANT their party to be GOOD and have honest values.

We see their lack of support for taxes that address inequality and/or assisting the poor as killing off children.

They see our support of abortion rights as killing off children.


FROM those vantage points BOTH SIDES can see anything "THEY" do as coming from a bad or wicked impulse.


There ARE so many whackos on the Reich Wing side that want WHITE PEOPLE to tell everyone HOW they SHOULD LIVE and they are LOUD.

BUT we have a lot of people that want to live however they choose no matter what anyone thinks about it too.


For devout Christians who believe in Religious law vs personal faith and not judging others, supporting (as in not only condoning but celebrating) someone else in their hedonism (whatever flavor) is appalling.



LEGALLY, we can probably expect a compromise that keeps the law out of our bedrooms and decisions, BUT the whole pronoun stuff and supporting people's choices by mandate may appear to them as invasive as banning abortion is to US.


We see "them" bowing and scraping to the rich and doing their bidding, but a lot of that is structural and "they" as a populace may not realize how they are manipulated.

They see US as promoting hedonism, which is maybe overstated. We figure if someone else wants to live in freedom and make choices we wouldn't, it's on them, not US.


As a moderate DEM, I think without a Civil War we get back these portions of ROE:

Allow abortion to protect the life of the mother.
Allow abortion in case of an nonviable fetus, miscarriage is natural and does the same thing.
AND give US ALL FORMS of birth control that can be done in advance or within the first month:
Birth Control Pill
IUD
Manual Contraceptives that block or stop pregnancy
Morning After Pill
AND D&C in case of rape or incest.

Then we turn abortion into more of a last option remedy and expect our population to make their birth control decisions in advance and not lean on abortion as a simple option for unwanted pregnancy.

In some ways it isn't "fair" BUT it acknowledges their desire to protect the unborn AND still allows people to make choices about pregnancy which keeps women free.

July 29, 2022

If God, Himself, gave US free will, why does the Reich Wing feel THEY know better what HE wants?

As a Christian, I truly believe that God will help anyone who wants to have a child and even if it's a surprise or a rape, God can help turn it around. Miracles happen.

As a woman, I don't think it's my call to decide about who anyone should love or if they use birth control or keep a child or give it up or have an abortion. Personal choice is why God put US here.

So WHY if GOD Himself is not interfering with people's free will in these areas and He didn't put it in the 10 Commandments does the Reich Wing feel it is THEIR job to enforce what God leaves up to individual choice?

I am sure God would love to see every child loved and welcomed into this world with open arms and parents who are ready, willing and able or at least game enough to get prepared in the 9 months it takes for a little one to arrive (as much as one can manage) to be responsible for a new life.

But if I can understand that circumstances vary all around the world and person to person, I am pretty sure God gets it and takes these matters on a case by case basis and tries to help people through it one way or another if He is asked for help.

It just seems REALLY POWER HUNGRY to put oneself in the place of GOD and DECIDE ON HIS BEHALF what should/should not be done.


Any one else think that way?

July 3, 2022

tRump is officially the SECOND WORST pRez in history.

SORRY EVERYONE, there were several links from different sources. Here is the 2021 link to the survey that once finished rounded out the numbers.

https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2021/?page=overall



https://www.usnews.com/news/special-reports/the-worst-presidents/articles/how-historians-rate-presidents

The 1948 Schlesinger poll ranked Warren G. Harding, Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Zachary Taylor as the five worst presidents in American history. In the 1982 Siena poll, the list was the same, save for Andrew Johnson taking Taylor's spot in the bottom five. Future iterations of the poll saw little turnover among the worst of the bunch, with Johnson, Buchanan, Harding and Pierce perennial presences.

"The presidents at the bottom were the ones who failed to safeguard us and adequately lead us during periods of crisis, or tainted the office through scandal and incompetence," Levy says. "Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding – they earned their spots at the bottom."

In a bid to determine which presidents are viewed as the least successful in American history, U.S. News averaged the results of three recent scholarly surveys – the latest rankings from Siena College and C-SPAN, as well as a Presidential Greatness poll conducted by researchers at the University of Houston and Boise State.

After extensive debate by historians and experts throughout his presidency about where he might land upon a list of the oval office's worst, Donald Trump is the second-worst president in the U.S. News Worst Presidents rankings.

June 11, 2022

The ELEPHANT in the room. OPTICS - MAGA dog whistle alert

SO because tRump ABUSED the National Guard by sicking them on peaceful protestors and wanting to send the Army in for BLM protests, NOW they are worried about "optics".

BULLSHIT. They don't want people seeing National Guard dealing with WHITE vigilantes.





https://www.npr.org/2021/01/11/955548910/ex-capitol-police-chief-rebuffs-claims-national-guard-was-never-called-during-ri

Sund told the Post that House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving was concerned with the "optics" of declaring an emergency ahead of the protests and rejected a National Guard presence. He says Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger recommended that he informally request the Guard to be ready in case it was needed to maintain security.

June 9, 2022

Over 80 feared dead in attack on Catholic church in Nigeria

https://abcnews.go.com/International/80-feared-dead-attack-catholic-church-nigeria-sources/story?id=85262564

June 8, 2022

12 Year Old HOLDS UP GAS STATION with a GUN. Michigan

June 6, 2022

Reading "If God Is Love, Don't Be A Jerk" by John Pavlovitz

I've been out of "box church" for a long time.

I still respect people who go and find the new Pope refreshing in his sincerity.

Because so much of the politics seem entangled in the Church, it's hard for me to get reattached.

In the past, I've gone back to listen to what God has for me and done my best to ignore the rest.

This book is challenging me to think exactly what my view of God is.

My hope is by the end of it, I will figure out where I belong in the Church world.

Anyone else read this book?

If so, did you get any good insights?

June 2, 2022

List of the schools where there have been shootings since 1997 (490 of them)

Bethel Regional High School.
Thurston High School.
Columbine High School.
Heritage High School.
Deming Middle School.
Fort Gibson Middle School.
Buell Elementary School.
Lake Worth Middle School.
University of Arkansas.
Junipero Serra High School.
Santana High School.
Bishop Neumann High School.
Pacific Lutheran University.
Granite Hills High School.
Lew Wallace High School.
Martin Luther King, Jr. High School.
Appalachian School of Law.
Washington High School.
Conception Abbey.
Benjamin Tasker Middle School.
University of Arizona.
Lincoln High School.
John McDonogh High School.
Red Lion Area Junior High School.
Case Western Reserve University.
Rocori High School.
Ballou High School.
Randallstown High School.
Bowen High School.
Red Lake Senior High School.
Harlan Community Academy High School.
Campbell County High School.
Milwee Middle School.
Roseburg High School.
Pine Middle School.
Essex Elementary School.
Duquesne University.
Platte Canyon High School.
Weston High School.
West Nickel Mines School.
Joplin Memorial Middle School.
Henry Foss High School.
Compton Centennial High School.
Virginia Tech.
Success Tech Academy.
Miami Carol City Senior High School.
Hamilton High School.
Louisiana Technical College.
Mitchell High School.
E.O. Green Junior High School.
Northern Illinois University.
Lakota Middle School.
Knoxville Central High School.
Willoughby South High School.
Henry Ford High School.
University of Central Arkansas.
Dillard High School.
Dunbar High School.
Hampton University.
Harvard College.
Larose-Cut Off Middle School.
International Studies Academy.
Skyline College.
Discovery Middle School.
University of Alabama.
DeKalb School.
Deer Creek Middle School.
Ohio State University.
Mumford High School.
University of Texas.
Kelly Elementary School.
Marinette High School.
Aurora Central High School.
Millard South High School.
Martinsville West Middle School.
Worthing High School.
Millard South High School.
Highlands Intermediate School.
Cape Fear High School.
Chardon High School.
Episcopal School of Jacksonville.
Oikos University.
Hamilton High School.
Perry Hall School.
Normal Community High School.
University of South Alabama.
Banner Academy South.
University of Southern California.
Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Apostolic Revival Center Christian School.
Taft Union High School.
Osborn High School.
Stevens Institute of Business and Arts.
Hazard Community and Technical College.
Chicago State University.
Lone Star College-North.
Cesar Chavez High School.
Price Middle School.
University of Central Florida.
New River Community College.
Grambling State University.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School.
Ronald E. McNair Discovery Academy.
North Panola High School.
Carver High School.
Agape Christian Academy.
Sparks Middle School.
North Carolina A&T State University.
Stephenson High School.
Brashear High School.
West Orange High School.
Arapahoe High School.
Edison High School.
Liberty Technology Magnet High School.
Hillhouse High School.
Berrendo Middle School.
Purdue University.
South Carolina State University.
Los Angeles Valley College.
Charles F. Brush High School.
University of Southern California.
Georgia Regents University.
Academy of Knowledge Preschool.
Benjamin Banneker High School.
D. H. Conley High School.
East English Village Preparatory Academy.
Paine College.
Georgia Gwinnett College.
John F. Kennedy High School.
Seattle Pacific University.
Reynolds High School.
Indiana State University.
Albemarle High School.
Fern Creek Traditional High School.
Langston Hughes High School.
Marysville Pilchuck High School.
Florida State University.
Miami Carol City High School.
Rogers State University.
Rosemary Anderson High School.
Wisconsin Lutheran High School.
Frederick High School.
Tenaya Middle School.
Bethune-Cookman University.
Pershing Elementary School.
Wayne Community College.
J.B. Martin Middle School.
Southwestern Classical Academy.
Savannah State University.
Harrisburg High School.
Umpqua Community College.
Northern Arizona University.
Texas Southern University.
Tennessee State University.
Winston-Salem State University.
Mojave High School.
Lawrence Central High School.
Franklin High School.
Muskegon Heights High School.
Independence High School.
Madison High School.
Antigo High School.
University of California-Los Angeles.
Jeremiah Burke High School.
Alpine High School.
Townville Elementary School.
Vigor High School.
Linden McKinley STEM Academy.
June Jordan High School for Equity.
Union Middle School.
Mueller Park Junior High School.
West Liberty-Salem High School.
University of Washington.
King City High School.
North Park Elementary School.
North Lake College.
Freeman High School.
Mattoon High School.
Rancho Tehama Elementary School.
Aztec High School.
Wake Forest University.
Italy High School.
NET Charter High School.
Marshall County High School.
Sal Castro Middle School.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Great Mills High School
Central Michigan University
Huffman High School
Frederick Douglass High School
Forest High School
Highland High School
Dixon High School
Santa Fe High School
Noblesville West Middle School
University of North Carolina Charlotte
STEM School Highlands Ranch
Edgewood High School
Palm Beach Central High School
Providence Career & Technical Academy
Fairley High School (school bus)
Canyon Springs High School
Dennis Intermediate School
Florida International University
Central Elementary School
Cascade Middle School
Davidson High School
Prairie View A & M University
Altascocita High School
Central Academy of Excellence
Cleveland High School
Robert E. Lee High School
Cheyenne South High School
Grambling State University
Blountsville Elementary School
Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)
Prescott High School
College of the Mainland
Wynbrooke Elementary School
UNC Charlotte
Riverview Florida (school bus)
Second Chance High School
Carman-Ainsworth High School
Williwaw Elementary School
Monroe Clark Middle School
Central Catholic High School
Jeanette High School
Eastern Hills High School
DeAnza High School
Ridgway High School
Reginald F. Lewis High School
Saugus High School
Pleasantville High School
Waukesha South High School
Oshkosh High School
Catholic Academy of New Haven
Bellaire High School
North Crowley High School
McAuliffe Elementary School
South Oak Cliff High School
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Sonora High School
Western Illinois University
Oxford High School
Robb Elementary SchoolThurston High School.
Columbine High School.
Heritage High School.
Deming Middle School.
Fort Gibson Middle School.
Buell Elementary School.
Lake Worth Middle School.
University of Arkansas.
Junipero Serra High School.
Santana High School.
Bishop Neumann High School.
Pacific Lutheran University.
Granite Hills High School.
Lew Wallace High School.
Martin Luther King, Jr. High School.
Appalachian School of Law.
Washington High School.
Conception Abbey.
Benjamin Tasker Middle School.
University of Arizona.
Lincoln High School.
John McDonogh High School.
Red Lion Area Junior High School.
Case Western Reserve University.
Rocori High School.
Ballou High School.
Randallstown High School.
Bowen High School.
Red Lake Senior High School.
Harlan Community Academy High School.
Campbell County High School.
Milwee Middle School.
Roseburg High School.
Pine Middle School.
Essex Elementary School.
Duquesne University.
Platte Canyon High School.
Weston High School.
West Nickel Mines School.
Joplin Memorial Middle School.
Henry Foss High School.
Compton Centennial High School.
Virginia Tech.
Success Tech Academy.
Miami Carol City Senior High School.
Hamilton High School.
Louisiana Technical College.
Mitchell High School.
E.O. Green Junior High School.
Northern Illinois University.
Lakota Middle School.
Knoxville Central High School.
Willoughby South High School.
Henry Ford High School.
University of Central Arkansas.
Dillard High School.
Dunbar High School.
Hampton University.
Harvard College.
Larose-Cut Off Middle School.
International Studies Academy.
Skyline College.
Discovery Middle School.
University of Alabama.
DeKalb School.
Deer Creek Middle School.
Ohio State University.
Mumford High School.
University of Texas.
Kelly Elementary School.
Marinette High School.
Aurora Central High School.
Millard South High School.
Martinsville West Middle School.
Worthing High School.
Millard South High School.
Highlands Intermediate School.
Cape Fear High School.
Chardon High School.
Episcopal School of Jacksonville.
Oikos University.
Hamilton High School.
Perry Hall School.
Normal Community High School.
University of South Alabama.
Banner Academy South.
University of Southern California.
Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Apostolic Revival Center Christian School.
Taft Union High School.
Osborn High School.
Stevens Institute of Business and Arts.
Hazard Community and Technical College.
Chicago State University.
Lone Star College-North.
Cesar Chavez High School.
Price Middle School.
University of Central Florida.
New River Community College.
Grambling State University.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School.
Ronald E. McNair Discovery Academy.
North Panola High School.
Carver High School.
Agape Christian Academy.
Sparks Middle School.
North Carolina A&T State University.
Stephenson High School.
Brashear High School.
West Orange High School.
Arapahoe High School.
Edison High School.
Liberty Technology Magnet High School.
Hillhouse High School.
Berrendo Middle School.
Purdue University.
South Carolina State University.
Los Angeles Valley College.
Charles F. Brush High School.
University of Southern California.
Georgia Regents University.
Academy of Knowledge Preschool.
Benjamin Banneker High School.
D. H. Conley High School.
East English Village Preparatory Academy.
Paine College.
Georgia Gwinnett College.
John F. Kennedy High School.
Seattle Pacific University.
Reynolds High School.
Indiana State University.
Albemarle High School.
Fern Creek Traditional High School.
Langston Hughes High School.
Marysville Pilchuck High School.
Florida State University.
Miami Carol City High School.
Rogers State University.
Rosemary Anderson High School.
Wisconsin Lutheran High School.
Frederick High School.
Tenaya Middle School.
Bethune-Cookman University.
Pershing Elementary School.
Wayne Community College.
J.B. Martin Middle School.
Southwestern Classical Academy.
Savannah State University.
Harrisburg High School.
Umpqua Community College.
Northern Arizona University.
Texas Southern University.
Tennessee State University.
Winston-Salem State University.
Mojave High School.
Lawrence Central High School.
Franklin High School.
Muskegon Heights High School.
Independence High School.
Madison High School.
Antigo High School.
University of California-Los Angeles.
Jeremiah Burke High School.
Alpine High School.
Townville Elementary School.
Vigor High School.
Linden McKinley STEM Academy.
June Jordan High School for Equity.
Union Middle School.
Mueller Park Junior High School.
West Liberty-Salem High School.
University of Washington.
King City High School.
North Park Elementary School.
North Lake College.
Freeman High School.
Mattoon High School.
Rancho Tehama Elementary School.
Aztec High School.
Wake Forest University.
Italy High School.
NET Charter High School.
Marshall County High School.
Sal Castro Middle School.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Great Mills High School
Central Michigan University
Huffman High School
Frederick Douglass High School
Forest High School
Highland High School
Dixon High School
Santa Fe High School
Noblesville West Middle School
University of North Carolina Charlotte
STEM School Highlands Ranch
Edgewood High School
Palm Beach Central High School
Providence Career & Technical Academy
Fairley High School (school bus)
Canyon Springs High School
Dennis Intermediate School
Florida International University
Central Elementary School
Cascade Middle School
Davidson High School
Prairie View A & M University
Altascocita High School
Central Academy of Excellence
Cleveland High School
Robert E. Lee High School
Cheyenne South High School
Grambling State University
Blountsville Elementary School
Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)
Prescott High School
College of the Mainland
Wynbrooke Elementary School
UNC Charlotte
Riverview Florida (school bus)
Second Chance High School
Carman-Ainsworth High School
Williwaw Elementary School
Monroe Clark Middle School
Central Catholic High School
Jeanette High School
Eastern Hills High School
DeAnza High School
Ridgway High School
Reginald F. Lewis High School
Saugus High School
Pleasantville High School
Waukesha South High School
Oshkosh High School
Catholic Academy of New Haven
Bellaire High School
North Crowley High School
McAuliffe Elementary School
South Oak Cliff High School
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Sonora High School
Western Illinois University
Oxford High School
Robb Elementary School