rambot said:

Sorry. You say this as if the 3$ minimum wage MAGICALLY Started this kind of shopping sprees and also, as if they were the cause.

The issue with that kind of theft cannot be simplified to say "not tough enough on crime". It's too expensive to live there so people choose that way to supplement their income. No it's not right.

But maybe the artificially inflated house market prices due to massive housing corporations buying up disproportionately huge swaths of the market has something to do with it. There are a litany of reasons and the "hard on crime' folk beat to one drum. But sadly, it's not always gonna work.

Click to expand...

No, I'm not saying the wage increase was the cause, I'm saying that the wage increase doesn't offset the other stuff in the minds of some folks.

It's two separate sets of policy lanes.


It'd be like if a particular party
A) Pushed for firemen to get 15% raises
but also
B) Pushed to relax fire codes and restrictions that ended up making the firemen's jobs much more hectic and stressful than it already was.


Some would probably prefer to forego A, in order to not have to deal with the negative effects of B.

rambot said:

Recidivism with youth in "tough on crime" approach:
This data really shouldn't be a surprise.

This is a very interesting read that gives the "Broken windows" theory some merit but limited. It also provided several other possible reasons for New York's success through the 90s; including its' economic success.

Some people seem to think that "some people are just gonna steal"...and that's true. But a LOT of people really would rather not. I'd actually argue most people would rather not steal if they had access to jobs and salaries that supported them (though yes, I can accept that can also be a complicating factor).

Tough on crime fulfills the human need to seek justice. But it doesn't necessarily improve a society. Now, I also say that with having been to Singapore; the place where it's 1000$ fine to stick gum onto something or whatever. And my goodness, the place is orderly, clean...immaculate.

Click to expand...

Firstly, from the footage I've seen of some of these mass lootings other things that are happening, it's not juveniles responsible for most of it, its opportunistic adults.

And while I can accept the fact that there are some down on their luck folks who probably feel like they have no choice, that sympathy is limited to people stealing necessities. If you look at some of the footage that local news outlets release of some of the "looting flash mob" occurrences that were happening, they weren't stealing bread and food staples, they were stealing non-essentials. There's no sympathetic tone warranted for a group of 6 people sprinting into a Sephora or Bath & Body words to steal body spray and lotions...or like the Best Buy incident in Cali where a group of a dozen people sprinted in, busted open the PS5 game case, and ran back out holding as many video games as they could carry.



There's a difference between what's pejoratively referred to as the "tough on crime" vs. being too soft on crime. While I would agree that someone shouldn't be getting 15 years in prison for stealing a blu ray player... at that same time, reducing it to a slap on the wrist "catch & release" misdemeanor with the rationale of "it's not that big a deal, the store owners have insurance, they can just file a claim". There was that story out of Philly where a Footlocker was looted twice in the same day, and there were some of the same people involved in both incidents. Which means they were caught, arrested, processed, and released back out into the wild and literally went back and hit the same store again that same day.

That indicates the pendulum swinging too far in the other direction.


To use an analogy. If a person gets caught drunk driving but didn't hurt anyone, a life sentence is obviously way too harsh...however, a slap on the wrist $50 fine and no further consequences beyond that would be way too soft.

Tempura said:

Will do. How are you now sister?

Click to expand...

Thank you. I'm doing okay, but not great. I've gone through a divorce since I last posted, and I have no income of my own since I still don't have my SSI. Thankfully, I am getting child support so that does help, but my Mom is also having to help me with a lot of stuff. I had to move to a new city, which I didn't want to do because I only had a short time to find a new place to live. Thankfully, I'm living in a subsidized apartment where I don't currently pay any rent, so I have no income. I just got approved for Medicaid again, so that's a blessing. I'm trying to get approved for food stamps as well, but I've been having a bit of difficulty getting the papers they need. I also lost my wallet which had my ID in it and my social security card. It also had my Medicaid cards and Colton's stuff in it too. Thankfully, I still have my passport which I can use for identification. Please continue to keep me in your prayers.

KCfromNC said:

I guess it opens up the discussion to what other candidate's daughters think about them, for one thing.

Click to expand...

Or nieces...

Thank you all for the insights. I appreciate it.

Luis Armando Albino was 6 when a woman abducted him in 1951 while he was playing at a park in California with his older brother, only reuniting with his family seven decades later thanks to the determination of his 63-year-old niece.

Albino, now a retired firefighter, grandfather and Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, was missing for over 70 years but his family never forgot him. The man's relatives kept photos of him, and while his mother passed away in 2005 before she could see him again, she never lost hope that her son was still alive.

As The Mercury News reported Friday, Alida Alequin is the retired firefighter's 63-year-old niece. Alequin started to suspect that her uncle was alive in 2020 after she took an online DNA test "just for fun." The test showed that she had a 22% match with the man who turned out to be her uncle.

Continued below.

In an address to the United Nations’ “Summit of the Future” in New York, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, emphasized the need for promoting the dignity of the human person and voiced the Vatican’s disapproval of the assembly’s promotion of abortion and gender ideology.

Parolin addressed U.N. members gathered for the summit on Monday. Though praising summit attendees for engaging in dialogue, Parolin commented that there is a “need to rethink actions in a number of areas.”

The cardinal voiced the Vatican’s concerns with a document titled “Pact for the Future,” which was passed by summit attendees on Sunday. He said that “in conformity with its nature and particular mission, [the Holy See] wishes to express its reservations” regarding the assembly’s promotion of abortion and gender ideology.

Continued below.

Pope Francis at his general audience on Wednesday called pornography a work of the devil, and warned Christians to reject this and other temptations accessed through the internet.

“Any cell phone has access to this brutality, this language of the devil,” the pope said at the weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square Sept. 25.

While modern technology has many positive resources to appreciate, he noted, it also gives the devil an opportunity to tempt us, “and many people fall for it.”

“Think of internet pornography, which there is a thriving market behind,” he continued. “We all know the devil works there.”

Pope Francis spoke about pornography and how to avoid the temptation to sin during the 500th general audience of his pontificate.

Addressing thousands at the Vatican, he said pornography “is a very widespread phenomenon, but one that Christians must be very careful to guard against and strongly reject.”

Continued below.

Some Australian women have been waiting over a year for rather small individual payouts following a class action againts Johnson and Johnson for mesh implants.

But Shine Justice has done very well thank you.

The costs summary which Shine submitted to the Federal Court for approval in June 2020 shows that one of Shine's senior counsel was charging $17,000 a day.

His fees alone equalled more than $3.5 million.

Under "miscellaneous", Shine claimed almost $2 million.

Click to expand...

A similar system applies to Workers Compenstation payouts.

Although personal injury lawyers do not charge on a percentage basis, they cannot charge more than 50% of the net settlement amount.

Click to expand...

Great for the lawyers!

stevevw said:

Ok thanks. Yes Christ is the image of God in that He was God on earth and not made in Gods image like humans which I think reflects God rather than is God. Being God He never sinned and can have no evil in Him. But we humans do.

Christ also said He is God, that He is immanuel God made flesh among us. That is different to being made in Gods image which has qualities of God created in us as created beings we have fallen and sin. Christ was not created, He always has been and will be. So in that sense He is what created our image.

Click to expand...

Hi Stevevw
Thank you for your reply yes Christ is the son of God he also said he was the son of man which man was he the son of it was not Joseph God was his Father so that leaves Israel the man in Gods image Christs elder brother this to fulfil the scriptures the elder brother will kill the younger the story of Cain and Able history repeating itself.

Love and Peace
Dave

PRAY FOR


CHINAS UNREACHED PEOPLES


LISU


Lisu in China


A CHE

A Che in China



YANG ZHUANG


Zhuang, Yang in China

I really liked what the military guy says at 4:50 and what Dr Phil says after.

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LISTEN TO

A Husband's Treatment & a Wife's Respect

Scott LaPierre | Marriage

Cornerstone Bible Church

A Husband's Treatment & a Wife's Respect


A Wife's Submission - Session #3

Scott LaPierre | Marriage

Cornerstone Bible Church

A Wife's Submission - Session #3

Never take your eyes off Jesus

Gerard Hemmings | Colossians

Amyand Park Chapel

Never take your eyes off Jesus

Welcome back to Battle Stations

We are back after our twelve week trip to the UK and Europe, thanks especially to those who hosted us, you know who you are and we also had the privilege of fellowshipping at several churches including my home church and meeting new fellowships and friends, we even had church in the forest in Norway. We visited not only the UK, but Norway, Prague, Austria, Rome, Florence and Pisa, we give thanks for a safe trip.

Please pray for my dear cousin Elaine, who was our main host, she needs fervent prayer as she has trouble walking and has two autistic children, who are so loving, but can be a real handful at times. She needs real help and deep prayer for salvation.

Continue to pray for my wife and daughter, re sleep issues.

Continue to pray for Pastor Z as he leads eight churches including ours and for deep and powerful wisdom on his decisions.

Please pray for Sister X, who runs a dance group, this is her outreach and many ladies have been touched with the gospel through this.

Please pray for the few men in the church, again they need deep prayer. Pray that more men would come, many of the sisters have unsaved husbands and they need teaching on how to reach them, many husbands have closed hearts, because the wives are constantly at meetings and throw their faith down the husbands throats.


We have a few young people, continue ask God to bring more into the church.

Praise God, I have two more online students, continue to pray for two more online students.

Cover us with prayer, China need much prayer, please go to chinapartnership.org to learn how to pray for China

Please click and read the links

THE BOTTOM LINE


TBL China – The Bottom Line, Ministries

FameBright said:

If faith/belief came before baptism then I'd probably start questioning the legitimacy of my own baptism and I assume many other Christians would too. So if I didn't have enough faith at the time i was baptized, would I need to be baptized again?

Click to expand...

Well, the examples we have in the New Testament include the Ethiopian, who was told that if he believed with all his heart he could be baptized. So it certainly should be a definite belief. So it's not the amount of faith, but how definite the faith is that we have in Jesus Christ.

FameBright said:

Also, If this were also the case, shouldn't Pastors make this a requirement for those waiting to be baptized?

Click to expand...

Yes, although in my experience, it is not the pastor alone who would check this. As far as possible, churches should ensure that candidates for baptism do indeed believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

FameBright said:

As far as the jailer at Philippi and his family, what I got from that was baptism was still a requirement even after you believe.

In Acts 19:1-6 it sure does seem to say that repentance and baptism comes first then you go on on to believing in Jesus and be baptized by the fire and Holy Spirit.

Click to expand...

No, those verses are talking about people who had already believed in Jesus. Verse 1 talks about them as disciples, and verse 2 refers to them as those who believed.

FameBright said:

Also, why would Catholics baptize babies?

Click to expand...

I'm not a Roman Catholic, but I think it's because they believe baptism makes the baby a Christian.

FameBright said:

Paul talks about baptism being an initiation in to the Christ family and the new "circumcision". Did babies have to believe before they were circumcised?

Click to expand...

Yes he does, but he also writes about this new circumcision like this:

“28 For he is not a Jew who [is one] outwardly, nor [is] circumcision that which [is] outward in the flesh; 29 but [he is] a Jew who [is one] inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise [is] not from men but from God.” (Ro 2:28-29 NKJV)

Circumcision of the heart happens as somebody is converted, i.e. at the time they come to faith.

FameBright said:

As far as becoming Christians first:
To convert to Judaism in OT days, did they convert to Judaism first before they proclaimed the faith, did the water immersion (mikvah), and then circumcised?

Click to expand...

I don't think converts to Judaism in OT times had to be baptized, but I am not absolutely certain.

FameBright said:

I hear people a lot including Pastors that say that you have to be saved first or your heart has to be in a certain condition before being baptized and I can't seem to really find anything that definitively supports that.

Click to expand...

I can only repeat what Philip said to the Ethiopian about believing with all his heart.

To be honest I get a bit cynical about "God is love" sometimes.

Even my old pastor had his doubts. I mentioned the "God is love" phrase and he said "I sometimes wonder if it is true. He seems to write people off pretty easily".

I'll admit I was in an irritated mood this morning and started to express my anger verbally in the confines of my car (by myself).

There's been a certain amount of frustration on a personal basis, but I started thinking about North Korea and the LONG suffering people there.

The Kim family started ruling North Korea in 1948 and they've had an iron clad grasp on the nation and people ever since. That's 76 years.

Christians have been persecuted the whole time, and the people are slaves in their own country.

Now, if God is love, why is this allowed to continue? As far as I know God has the power - we're always singing about it, praising His name etc.

How often do we see it used for justice?

HARK! said:

Did you miss the fact that that the statement was not a meme?

Did you miss the fact that the statement was about the perpetrators, not the victims?

Click to expand...

I'm acknowledging the fact that a gruesome crime was referenced in jest for a political point and some christians thought it was funny.

~bella

Lets say the Islamist continued their attacks on the west like they have on Isreal. How long before we act to stop them. Do we just sit there, do we try and reason with them. No we've done that and know it doesn't work.

This has been going on for years now. Islamist extremists have grown not reduced. Its like having a gang in your neighbourhood who are going around attacking locals. The more you ignore them or even worse treat them like they are not criminals with weak laws and concequences and they grow and the problem gets worse.

You know sooner or later you have to confront the problem as its not going away. Thats what has happened with the Islamist. We seen their horror years ago with 9/11 but even before that. We seen the many acts they have committed on the west. Covid stopped most of that but it just went somewhere else and the Islamist will inevitably turn their attention to the west again.

So we know its a festering problem that we have ignored to our peril. Isreal are more in the firing line so are well ahead of where we are at. I think this was inevitable. It was always going to come to a head in the free world and dealing with these radicals front on as they will not stop.

Maybe this will lead to a major war. But whats the alternative. We tried to reason, we tried diplomacy, we compromised but still they come. Thats because its not about rationality but fanatical belief. Its about a clash of worldviews, one that believes in freedoms and one that believes in a holy caliphate where everyone is forced to go along or else.

So as the conflict evolves into a clash of how we should order ourselves as people the radicals within the west, the Woke, the Queers for Palestine, the student ideologues and radical politicians and corporations have to think carefully about which hill they want to die on. Whether to side with these extremists are defend our way of life. To equate the two is incoherent and dangerous.

Michie said:

Hillary Clinton, in an MSNBC interview the day after another assassination attempt against former President Trump, called him a threat to the country and the world.

Video below.

Hillary Clinton calls Trump a dangerous threat to the world | Fox News Video

Hillary Clinton, in an MSNBC interview the day after another assassination attempt against former President Trump, called him a threat to the country and the world.

www.foxnews.com

Click to expand...

Funny that. Right now the Left is causing a dangerous threat to the US and the free world by dilly dallying around the Middle east issue and sending messages to radicals that the US will not stand in their way.

Right now world peace is being undermined and things are becoming unstable. Right now the US has division and internal conflicts where identity groups are being pitted against each other due to the Lefts ideological over reach. Right now the Left are manipulating and abusing power with partisan politics and lawfare.

Never mind some deranged ideology creating conspiracy theories that have not happened. Lets look at the actual reality that is happening right now before our eyes with the chaotic world the Leftist radicals have created. .

Yes, i am a male victim of a wife who in just recentl years began resorting to violence.
Prior to the physical brutality I was subjected to a community wide smear campaign and also psycological abuse for several decades.
We have 3 adult children and she has successfully managed to turn one of them completely against me and she is frantically trying to drive wedges between me and the other 2.
I urge all you men out there to speak up if this sounds like your life.
Men are victims of physical abuse just like women and we ought not to be ashamed to speak out.

Michie said:

He was. I enjoyed it.

Click to expand...

I missed it.

Are you hurting, feeling lonely,
Feeling sometimes it’s you only,
Not sure others feel what you do,
Not sure they know what you’ve been through?

Do you have those who berate you?
Do they mock you, trick you, hate you?
Try to make you think you’re crazy,
Try convince you mem’ry’s hazy?

Many do this. It’s their habit
To suppress the truth, to hide it.
So they cast the blame on others –
Sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers.

Try convince them that it’s their fault,
They’re the ones who brought things to halt.
If they’d only done things that way,
Things be different, not be this way.

You are not alone, I tell you.
Many people feel what you do.
Many folk live with abusers
Who are haters and they’re users.

Take advantage: weak and helpless,
Those who’re trusting, those who’re selfless,
Those who’re loving and who are kind,
Those who have good will in their minds.

Be encouraged, you’re not alone,
Others have traveled where you’ve gone.
Some survived it, some left behind,
Some, in Christ, true hope they did find.

Best solution: Trust Jesus Christ.
Give Him ev’ry part of your life.
Let Him lead you where you should go,
Then true hope in Christ you will know.

An Original Work / June 10, 2022

Psalms 62:3-4 ESV


This passage of Scripture is somewhat open to interpretation, so it can be applied in different ways. But the main gist of it appears to follow the subjects of abuse and persecution. And the abusers and the persecutors appear to be liars and those who are manipulative, who are also two-faced hypocrites, saying one thing outwardly but the opposite in secret. This would be like someone who will profess one thing with his lips (out loud) and then turn right around and journal or tell someone else the exact opposite.

And this could be about a lying cheating spouse, who declares with the mouth faithfulness, purity, love, and truthfulness, while in private is committing adultery via the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life. Or this person may say kind things to the spouse in person but then blast the spouse to someone else or in writing. Or this person may be giving a false impression of something outwardly while something else is really what is going on, which is being kept hidden from the spouse.

But this subject is not just about marriage relationships. It is about all relationships, or it is specifically about the relationships God’s people have with other humans who are mistreating them in some way or another. And when I say “all relationships” I do not mean that this is an example of all relationships but that this isn’t just about Christians and marriage relationships, but it is about non-Christians, too, and any relationships. It is just that Christians have the Lord as their rock, and so they lean on him.

For there are a lot of nasty and hateful and abusive people out there in the world, and some or many of them may also be professers of faith in Jesus Christ. And some of them could be pastors of churches, too, or priests, or parents or spouses or children or actors or government heads or teachers, and the list goes on. But the thing about these abusers is that they appear one way outwardly, and they may be very winsome and charming, and so you may be drawn to them, but they can have a nasty bite in private.

And because they are liars, and they are two-faced, and they are charming and manipulative, they can gain many supporters, and they may lie to these supporters about who they really are, and they may even try to gain their sympathies, and they may even lie to these supporters about the person they are attacking and battering. So, if the ones being abused try to speak up and to say they are being abused, others believe the abuser over the abused and so the abused get no help and they may even get more abuse.

And this happens more often than most people probably realize or are willing to accept. But the abusers do often get away with the abuse while the abused end up being treated as though they are the ones in the wrong, instead, which only just adds more abuse on top of what they are already experiencing. For the abusers take pleasure in falsehood, and they will claim one thing while the opposite is true, and since they are abusers, they have no problem at all letting the abused take the fall and to be more abused.

Psalms 62:5-8 ESV


But the encouragement for Christians is that our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is our rock and our salvation, and not just salvation from sin, but salvation from the impact of our circumstances on our lives. Even if we are being abused by anyone, and not all abuse is physical, and so not all abuse leaves physical scars, and so a lot of abuse goes unreported because it is not physical and so it can’t be proven, God is still our refuge and our strength and help. Yet, it may just end up in a “he said she said” situation.

But our Lord did not promise any of us that life was going to be easy, or that we would not have to suffer. In fact, he said we would be hated and persecuted as he was, and he was continually hounded and falsely accused and harassed and verbally attacked by his adversaries. So, we are to rejoice in the Lord in our sufferings, and we are to trust the Lord with our life situations, and pray for wisdom and for guidance and direction, and not let other people’s treatments of us shake us. But we must rest in our Lord.

Hated and Persecuted: [Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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I know this is a subject that not many people want to talk about, but this is a huge problem in the church today in America. It is the “elephant in the room” that no one wants to mention, and so it is not dealt with. But childhood and spousal abuse and sexual addiction and adultery are real problems that are not adequately and biblically being dealt with today.

And so that leaves many children and spouses in abusive situations. And the answer is not always for them to go someplace else. Sometimes “someplace else” is actually worse. And that doesn’t actually solve the problem or help the addict to be free. So, we the church need to step up and deal with these issues, and give support to the hurting, and exercise godly correction to the unrepentant. For this is happening in Christian households a lot!

Her Story

Lost and all alone, and feeling so unloved,
Father was abuser, not felt mother’s love.
Felt so utterly hopeless, no way out it seemed,
Not the fairy-tale childhood that of many dream.

Frightened of her father, terrified it seemed.
Tried she to escape him. Life not so serene.
Never knew what hit her. All came by so fast.
So many abuses, numerous and so vast.

She believed in Jesus. Trusted in his love.
Sought him out for comfort. Looked to him above.
Trusted in his promises. Believed in his Word.
Best words coming from his love that she ever heard.

Met the man she’d marry, life with him to share.
Not the perfect romance. Loved him everywhere.
Not turned out like magic. Not a fairy tale.
Didn’t turn out like she’d hoped. Marriage for her failed.

Turned out he’s an addict, much like was her dad,
And he would not change for her, which did make her sad.
Then she remained with him as a faithful wife
For she did still love him, to stay with him for life.

Through it all she learned to not put trust in man,
To put her hope solely in God, to follow His life’s plan.
She learned to trust Him with her life, always, ever now,
And when life kicks her in the gut, to Him her life she vows.

An Original Work / September 10, 2022

NevaehStetson said:

It’s the KJV Bible, but I might also get another Bible that’s ESV! And I love Ponyo, I watched it more than five times! I basically was born off Miyazaki Hayao’s films as there was so many DVDs my mother had! So I was basically born off Anime!

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I recommend the NKJV and ESV also, a more modern version of the KJV for Gen Z folks such as us.

Heck yeah, anime is good. I am gonna watch The Boy & The Heron (2023) some time this week, maybe tomorrow. If you ever want any classic anime recommendations, just PM me, or ask in the anime section.