The earth is shaking, there are GIANTS in the land!

 Dear LiveJournal,
I just wanted to stop by and assure you that I AM ALIVE!
I am indeed alive.  Alivex2.
And today, in the midst of being alive, I was wondering where I stand politically.
1) I don't like when people just throw around the term "independent".  I think kids try to convince others (and maybe themselves) that they are independent so that they seem all open-minded.  I don't think I am an independent.
2) Although I would never consider myself liberal either, I thought I held a lot of liberal views.  I wouldn't vote against abortion or same-sex marriage.  I'm not a huge fan of George W. or the Iraq war.  I am against the death penalty.  yadda yadda.  yadda yadda.
3) But the more I think about it, I think my REASONS for being for or against such things are very right-winged reasons.  Republicans believe in very limited Federal government power, right?  Well, the reason I would never vote for outlawing same-sex marriage or abortion is because I think those issues are personal issues of the heart and the gov. should butt out.  I also don't think our judicial system is flawless enough to decide who lives and who dies.  I believe in the freedom to homeschool or unschool or to be educated however the heck you wanna be and I think they should butt out of that, too.  I think our healthcare system has some major kinks, but I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT a Universal Healthcare system and the thought of one actually really freaks me out.  [My mom's friend's father just passed away from cancer in Canada, and the quality of the care he received there was very poor compared to here.  You get what you pay for, but I DO agree that there is a group of people who really fall through the cracks (make too much to get Medicaid, don't make enough to buy insurance, etc) and I think healthcare should be more accessible to them.]  Well, AnyHways, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if maybe I am just completely, totally OFF THE CHARTS right-winged.  SO radically right that I don't really trust the FedGov. to make ANY decisions for me.  I don't want them to regulate any part of my life.  Maybe this is also why I am a Southern sympathizer when it comes to the Civil War-- MORE POWER TO THE STATES, man!  And to the mom and pop stores that get crushed by corporations.  Maybe it's because I am so radically right that I haven't liked a single presidential candidate enough to vote for them since I've been old enough to vote.

Well, I better be going now.  There are very important things to do, you know.
LoveJess

Oh, and PS:  If you'd like a glimpse into the mind of T Matt Sanderz, who once said "well of corse i know ur saying 'you t-matt sanders, of corse it went well, ur like.... amazing' and i understand how it seems that way to most, there have been a few here and there that have sneered in my direction or made rude obscene gestures on my behalf. but to those people i say, get so therapy and forgive your father for touching you in ur 'no no places'", then check out his blog at  http://acgloserpunk.blogspot.com/.  That kid makes me laugh, so maybe you'll get a kick out of him :-).

CHRISTMAS

I wondered about something lately...
And so I did what I always do when I wonder about something: I research, ask other people's opinions, put all my gathered information together, think about it...  and I have come to my conclusion!

Christmas: Christ's mass

Why do people who do not confess to believe in Jesus Christ celebrate Christmas, what does Christmas mean to them, and does the secular commercialism and political correctness of Christmas deminish what the holiday means to Christians?

Why "Christmas" is not just "Christian":The truth is, Christmas is a big jumble of both Christian and secular traditions including Germanic Pagan Solstice festivals , The Roman celebration of the birth of Saturn, and other winter festivals.  December 25th is the tradtitional date of the birth of Jesus Christ (not his actual birthdate), and has been since about AD 221, but was not celebrated as Jesus's birthday until 354.  Though set aside as the day to remember and celebrate Christ's birth, Christmas, from the beginning, incoorperated the pagan traditions and was a public festival.

Commercialism: My brother made me sad one day when he said, "Christmas doesn't mean that much to me because it's not about Christ anymore."  I think a lot of Christians feel that way- they feel robbed.  They feel that Christmas is theirs, and it has turned into such a commercial holiday that Christ is no longer the center or the meaning... the secular world has taken their holiday and attached its own meaning to it.  However, I believe that the commercialism of the season does NOT deminish what Christmas means to me because I don't allow it to.  I, along with millions of other Christians, set aside the Christmas season to remember, reflect on, and celebrate my belief that Jesus is the good news, the fulfillment of God's word, and that through a relationship with Him I know God.  Anyways, most Christians are guilty of celebrating their Christian holiday using secular traditions (gift giving, Santa Claus, evergreen trees...) and the secular world has every right to their winter festivities without including Christ in the mix.  I think that Christmas can only be Christian when Christians set it aside and make it that way.

Political Correctness:  This does bother me to a certain extent.  I don't like it when people purposely try to take "Christ" away from MY "Christmas"- (they can take Christ away from their Christmas, but not mine).  And NO, I'm not talking about "Xmas" seeing as how in Greek (the new Testament language), "X" is the first letter of "Christ", so "Xmas" is actually a Christian abbreviation for "CHRISTmas".  But I'm not about to tip-toe around the subject of Christ, cautious about what I say, because for me, He is what Chistmas is all about.  You can tell me, "Happy Holidays", that's fine, I won't be offended if that's what it is to you- a nameless holiday...  But I'm gunna turn around and say "MERRY FREAKIN' CHRISTMAS" and I hope YOU won't be offended, either :-).

You know how I LOVE A Charlie Brown Christmas! :-)

This is why I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE DEATH PENALTY IS JUST:

 Damien Echols, 19 years old                                             Damien Echols, 30 years old

Damien Echols was convicted of the murders of three eight year old boys in 1994, and sentenced to death.  There has been no evidence found to directly link him to the crime, other than the testimonials of two people, who both recanted their testimonies claiming they were coerced by police investigators.  One of them, Vicki Hutchinson, said that  "the police had insinuated if she did not cooperate with them they would take away her child, and that she implicated Echols to avoid facing criminal charges, and to gain a reward for the discovery of the murders."

John Mark Byers, adoptive father of one of the eight year old victims, gave a knife to a camera man filming a documentary of the murder case.  The camera man discovered blood on the knife and turned it into the West Memphis police, who found that the blood matched both John Mark Byers' and his adopted son's blood type.

Bite marks were discovered on the victims.  Echols submitted imprints of his teeth, but a match was not made.  John Mark Byers had his teeth removed after the first trial, never offering a consistant reason for their removal.

In 2007, "a hair from Terry Hobbs, stepfather to Stevie Branch, one of the eight year old victims, was found tied into the knots used to bind the victims."   Pamela Hobbs, Stevie Branch's mother, "has come out in favor of a retrial and says she believes her ex-husband may have committed the crime."

John  Mark Byers also claims he now believes Damien Echols is innocent, and is in favor of further investigation and a retrial.




OTHER FACTS ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY

It costs far more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life.

States without the death penalty have much lower murder rates. The South accounts for 80% of US executions and has the highest regional murder rate.

One in twenty death row inmates is later found not guilty.

Newly-available DNA evidence has allowed the exoneration of more than one person per year since 1992 in the U.S., but DNA evidence is only available in a fraction of capital cases.


A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

It seems that it is a pretty common Christian belief that the death penalty is just.  I didn't research statistics (although I should for curiosity's sake), but I figure it's common knowledge that a vast majority of Christians consider themselves conservatives (republicans), and another vast majority of republicans are for the death penalty.

However, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I do NOT believe he advocated the death penalty.  As a matter of fact, Jesus himself was executed UNJUSTLY, was he not?

In Jesus's day, adultery was punishable by death according to the Jewish law.  When an adultress was caught IN THE ACT and brought to Jesus, he told the people that only those without sin could cast the first stone.  He actually put a stop to a lawful execution!

Jesus, in his serman on the mount, said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” [Mt. 5:38-41]  According to biblical, historical scholars, the old testament "eye for an eye" principle was not meant to be taken literally.  It simply meant that the law was to provide equitable retaliation for an offended party, and is often interpretted to mean equivalent monetary compensation.  Scholars believe that Jesus was not critisizing the Jewish law, but he was calling his followers to seek forgiveness and love, even when they had a just claim to vengeance. 

Jesus also said, “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.” [Mt. 5:21-f.]




........I just found out that DNA evidence was found that could set Damien Echols in the clear, so I thought I'd throw all that out there.  I can't imagine innocently living on death row for 13 years!  wow.  My mind just can't wrap around how people can think that in our corrupt society the death penalty is just.  OH, and also- the other boy who testified against Damian Echols had such a low IQ he was considered mentally retarded.  I researched several cases in which mentally retarded people were interrogated, and they confessed to comitting crimes they were later found to be innocent of.  I watched a video of a mentally retarded man who was convicted of murdering a woman when he was 16, and died by lethal injection when he was 35.  That was 19 years of our tax dollars paying for appeal after appeal.  It would have been cheaper for us (tax paying citizens) had he just spent the rest of his life in prison.