A thought before election day(long)

Heaven or Hell
While walking down the street one day a female head of state was hit by a truck and died. Her soul arrived at Heaven and was met by St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.

"Welcome to Heaven," said St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," said the lady.

"Well, I'd like to but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in Hell and one in Heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind; I want to be in Heaven," said the head of state.

"I'm sorry but we have our rules." And with that, St. Peter escorted her to
the elevator. The elevator went down, down, down... to Hell.

The elevator doors opened and she found herself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance was a country club, and standing in front of it were all her friends and other politicians who had worked with her. Everyone was very happy and dressed in evening dress. They all ran to greet her, hugged her, and reminisced about the good times they had had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They played a friendly game of golf, then dined on lobster and caviar later. Also present was the Devil, who really was a very friendly guy who had a good time dancing and telling jokes.

They were having such a good time that, before she realized it, it was time to go. Everyone gave her a big hug and waved while the elevator rose.

The elevator went up, up, up... to Heaven.
When the door reopened on Heaven, St. Peter was waiting for her. "Now it's
time to visit Heaven," he said.

So the head of state joined a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They had a good time, and, before she realized it, the 24 hours had gone by and St. Peter had returned.

"Well, then, you've now spent a day in Hell and another day in Heaven. Now it's
time to choose your eternity."

The head of state reflected for a minute, then answered: "Well, I never thought I would have said it, I mean, Heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in Hell."

So Saint Peter escorted her to the elevator, and she rode down, to Hell. When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. She saw all her friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags. The Devil came over to her and laid an arm on her neck.

"I don't understand," stammered the head of state. Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and country club here... and we ate lobster and caviar... and we danced... and we had a great time. Now all that's here is a wasteland full of garbage, -- and my friends look miserable!

The Devil looked at her, smiled and said, "yesterday we were campaigning, --
today you voted for us!"

 

Whoa! Tony, its too early in the morning to make me think that hard......wink

 

There was an interesting segment on 60 Minutes last night concerning religion in politics. It seemed a bit slanted but still revealing.

 

I thought there was supposed to be a separation from church and state; I believe Bush is doing everything in his power to blur the line.

Bush's policy on faith based charities, gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research these are all policies championed by the religious right.

I believe that one a high ranking official of Pat Robertson’s church is the director of the faith based charities for the Bush administration. Guess who gets the most money?? I have a big problem with this, this could lead to discrimination based on faith and churches could use the money for other things, other than charities. Such as, that big addition to the church, and claim it was set as a soup kitchen, all paid for by the government.
I thought there was supposed to be a seperation from church and state, I believe Bush is doing everything in his power to blur the line.

http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/churchandstate2.html

Search through this document

http://www.pbs.org/now/printable/transcript237_full_print.html

 

That's pretty much the basis for the 60 Minutes piece last night. However, Bush was only profiled due to his position. The piece was more centered on the Republicans and Religion. They also showcased some horribly misguided quotes from our military leadership with overtones of a religious basis for our recent operations in the middle east. Propagandist (if that's even a word) would have a field day with this stuff. That's why I say it was slanted because you really can't showcase a moderate Republican with moderate religious beliefs to offset the extremes.

These issues were also discussed. But as I mentioned above the story was about the Republican party and a perceived religious agenda (uniting church and state) rather than a bashing of Bush.

 

well, if it didn't bash bush...... chicky chuck wouldn't have liked it.

 

ok remove the language bush and replace with republican party...

Why are we politicking secular interests?

and unity?? what's that?? I believe separation is clearly defined in the constitution

 

sadly (for you chuck) there's a whole lot of christianity in that there constitution. sadly (for you chuck) the founders of this great country were all very stooped in christianity. as much as your ilk try to interpret god out of it, god is all in it.

 

Your kidding right!?

This country was founded by people escaping religious persecution. Any references to "God" are in a non-demoninational sense.

 

they weren't exactly escaping persecution. they were escaping strict catholic rule, and wished to worship as they chose.

surely you don't think our forefathers were aetheistic trash like you and chuck?

 

I perfer Nihilist.

No, there certainly had their roots in Christianity but there is no restrictive language in the Constitution. Any reference to "God" can be interpreted to mean "your God". The only exception I can think of is placing your hand on a Christian Bible while swearing an oath before God in court. There maybe others but I think the working of the Constitution, etc is non-denominational.

 

so as an elected official, can i not use politcs to further the agenda of "my god". and if you want buddha's interest taken seriously, get your ass in office?

 

Brad, Brad, Brad,......that's funny!

So, does Buddha become my defacto VP? Since Buddha is my co-pilot it seems wrong to give him a position below my own. Should I simply be the candidate endorsed by Buddha? He talks to me you know. Or am I simply the candidate who most resembles Buddha? Carter Brothers for lunch just went a long way toward that goal.

 

they weren't exactly escaping persecution. they were escaping strict catholic rule, and wished to worship as they chose.

If you're referring to the Pilgrim Fathers, they came here from England, which by that time was not a Catholic country and I think that this group of people had previously lived in Holland as well which again was not a Catholic country. I think that they were looking for somewhere to live because their form of 'protestant' religion didn't fit in with other peoples form of 'protestant' religion....you could say that they were persecuted.

 

beside the point, thanks for the lesson. now fill us all in on the stark differences between the two.

anywho, this country (much to liberal twat's chagrin) is deeply rooted with religion as the foundation.

and it ain't buddhism.

 

Can I offer you a flower? Maybe a pamplet?

 

can i offer you a greent shot of liquor?

 

Ugh, its all coming back to me......

 

why is it such a stretch for a faith-based organization to get involved with the secular world in soup kitchens

but the the secular world may.....
not be able to admit competition makes for better service

or just can't do better than the competition

and is not the withholding of funding because of faith OR lack thereof the discrimination that is protected against

but i thought this was about campaigning and the outcomes........maybe it's just me

 

They weren't burnt at the stake as heretics in England or Holland as they would have been in a Catholic country, but they weren't exactly liked either.

It was because of this history of religious persecution that the separation of church and state came to be so that one was free to choose how one worshipped without interference from the state...........