Souledoutlife Weblog

Call the rep of your state and either thank them for voting against the junk or to tell them of your disappointment. The Democrats who voted against this deserve special recognition.

ALABAMA

Democrats — Bright, N; Davis, Y; Griffith, N.

Republicans— Aderholt, N; Bachus, N; Bonner, N; Rogers, N.

 

ALASKA

Republicans — Young, N.

 

ARIZONA

Democrats— Giffords, Y; Grijalva, Y; Kirkpatrick, Y; Mitchell, Y; Pastor, Y.

Republicans— Flake, N; Franks, N; Shadegg, N.

 

ARKANSAS

Democrats — Berry, Y; Ross, Y; Snyder, Y.

Republicans— Boozman, N.

 

CALIFORNIA

Democrats— Baca, Y; Becerra, Y; Berman, Y; Capps, Y; Cardoza, Y; Costa, Y; Davis, Y; Eshoo, Y; Farr, Y; Filner, Y; Harman, Y; Honda, Y; Lee, Y; Lofgren, Zoe, Y; Matsui, Y; McNerney, Y; Miller, George, Y; Napolitano, Y; Pelosi, Y; Richardson, Y; Roybal-Allard, Y; Sanchez, Linda T., Y; Sanchez, Loretta, Y; Schiff, Y; Sherman, Y; Solis, Y; Speier, Y; Stark, Y; Tauscher, Y; Thompson, Y; Waters, Y; Watson, Y; Waxman, Y; Woolsey, Y.

Republicans— Bilbray, N; Bono Mack, N; Calvert, N; Campbell, N; Dreier, N; Gallegly, N; Herger, N; Hunter, N; Issa, N; Lewis, N; Lungren, Daniel E., N; McCarthy, N; McClintock, N; McKeon, N; Miller, Gary, N; Nunes, N; Radanovich, N; Rohrabacher, N; Royce, N.

 

COLORADO

Democrats— DeGette, Y; Markey, Y; Perlmutter, Y; Polis, Y; Salazar, Y.

Republicans— Coffman, N; Lamborn, N.

 

CONNECTICUT

Democrats— Courtney, Y; DeLauro, Y; Himes, Y; Larson, Y; Murphy, Y.

 

DELAWARE

Republicans — Castle, N.

 

FLORIDA

Democrats— Boyd, N; Brown, Corrine, Y; Castor, Y; Grayson, Y; Hastings, Y; Klein, Y; Kosmas, Y; Meek, Y; Wasserman Schultz, Y; Wexler, Y.

Republicans— Bilirakis, N; Brown-Waite, Ginny, X; Buchanan, N; Crenshaw, N; Diaz-Balart, L., N; Diaz-Balart, M., N; Mack, N; Mica, N; Miller, N; Posey, N; Putnam, N; Rooney, N; Ros-Lehtinen, N; Stearns, N; Young, N.

 

GEORGIA

Democrats — Barrow, Y; Bishop, Y; Johnson, Y; Lewis, Y; Marshall, Y; Scott, Y.

Republicans— Broun, N; Deal, N; Gingrey, N; Kingston, N; Linder, N; Price, N; Westmoreland, N

 

HAWAII

Democrats— Abercrombie, Y; Hirono, Y.

 

IDAHO

Democrats— Minnick, N.

Republicans — Simpson, N.

 

ILLINOIS

Democrats— Bean, Y; Costello, Y; Davis, Y; Foster, Y; Gutierrez, Y; Halvorson, Y; Hare, Y; Jackson, Y; Lipinski, Y; Rush, Y; Schakowsky, Y.

Republicans— Biggert, N; Johnson, N; Kirk, N; Manzullo, N; Roskam, N; Schock, N; Shimkus, N.

 

INDIANA

Democrats— Carson, Y; Donnelly, Y; Ellsworth, N; Hill, Y; Visclosky, Y.

Republicans — Burton, N; Buyer, N; Pence, N; Souder, N.

 

IOWA

Democrats— Boswell, Y; Braley, Y; Loebsack, Y.

Republicans— King, N; Latham, N.

 

KANSAS

Democrats — Moore, Y.

Republicans— Jenkins, N; Moran, N; Tiahrt, N.

 

KENTUCKY

Democrats — Chandler, Y; Yarmuth, Y.

Republicans — Davis, N; Guthrie, N; Rogers, N; Whitfield, N.

 

LOUISIANA

Democrats— Melancon, Y.

Republicans— Alexander, N; Boustany, N; Cao, N; Cassidy, N; Fleming, N; Scalise, N.

 

MAINE

Democrats— Michaud, Y; Pingree, Y.

 

MARYLAND

Democrats— Cummings, Y; Edwards, Y; Hoyer, Y; Kratovil, N; Ruppersberger, Y; Sarbanes, Y; Van Hollen, Y.

Republicans — Bartlett, N.

 

MASSACHUSETTS

Democrats— Capuano, Y; Delahunt, Y; Frank, Y; Lynch, Y; Markey, Y; McGovern, Y; Neal, Y; Olver, Y; Tierney, Y; Tsongas, Y.

 

MICHIGAN

Democrats— Conyers, Y; Dingell, Y; Kildee, Y; Kilpatrick, Y; Levin, Y; Peters, Y; Schauer, Y; Stupak, Y.

Republicans— Camp, N; Ehlers, N; Hoekstra, N; McCotter, N; Miller, N; Rogers, N; Upton, N.

 

MINNESOTA

Democrats— Ellison, Y; McCollum, Y; Oberstar, Y; Peterson, N; Walz, Y.

Republicans— Bachmann, N; Kline, N; Paulsen, N.

 

MISSISSIPPI

Democrats— Childers, Y; Taylor, N; Thompson, Y.

Republicans — Harper, N.

 

MISSOURI

Democrats— Carnahan, Y; Clay, Y; Cleaver, Y; Skelton, Y.

Republicans — Akin, N; Blunt, N; Emerson, N; Graves, N; Luetkemeyer, N.

 

MONTANA

Republicans— Rehberg, N.

 

NEBRASKA

Republicans— Fortenberry, N; Smith, N; Terry, N.

 

NEVADA

Democrats — Berkley, Y; Titus, Y.

Republicans — Heller, N.

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Democrats— Hodes, Y; Shea-Porter, Y.

 

NEW JERSEY

Democrats— Adler, Y; Andrews, Y; Holt, Y; Pallone, Y; Pascrell, Y; Payne, Y; Rothman, Y; Sires, Y

Republicans— Frelinghuysen, N; Garrett, N; Lance, N; LoBiondo, N; Smith, N.

 

NEW MEXICO

Democrats— Heinrich, Y; Lujan, Y; Teague, Y.

 

NEW YORK

Democrats— Ackerman, Y; Arcuri, Y; Bishop, Y; Clarke, Y; Crowley, Y; Engel, Y; Hall, Y; Higgins, Y; Hinchey, Y; Israel, Y; Lowey, Y; Maffei, Y; Maloney, Y; Massa, Y; McCarthy, Y; McMahon, Y; Meeks, Y; Nadler, Y; Rangel, Y; Serrano, Y; Slaughter, Y; Tonko, Y; Towns, Y; Velazquez, Y; Weiner, Y.

Republicans— King, N; Lee, N; McHugh, N.

 

NORTH CAROLINA

Democrats— Butterfield, Y; Etheridge, Y; Kissell, Y; McIntyre, Y; Miller, Y; Price, Y; Shuler, N; Watt, Y.

Republicans— Coble, N; Foxx, N; Jones, N; McHenry, N; Myrick, N.

 

NORTH DAKOTA

Democrats— Pomeroy, Y.

 

OHIO

Democrats— Boccieri, Y; Driehaus, Y; Fudge, Y; Kaptur, Y; Kilroy, Y; Kucinich, Y; Ryan, Y; Space, Y; Sutton, Y; Wilson, Y.

Republicans— Austria, N; Boehner, N; Jordan, N; LaTourette, N; Latta, N; Schmidt, N; Tiberi, N; Turner, N.

 

OKLAHOMA

Democrats— Boren, Y.

Republicans— Cole, N; Fallin, N; Lucas, N; Sullivan, N.

 

OREGON

Democrats— Blumenauer, Y; DeFazio, Y; Schrader, Y; Wu, Y.

Republicans — Walden, N.

 

PENNSYLVANIA

Democrats— Altmire, Y; Brady, Y; Carney, Y; Dahlkemper, Y; Doyle, Y; Fattah, Y; Holden, Y; Kanjorski, N; Murphy, Patrick, Y; Murtha, Y; Schwartz, Y; Sestak, Y.

Republicans— Dent, N; Gerlach, N; Murphy, Tim, N; Pitts, N; Platts, N; Shuster, N; Thompson, N.

 

RHODE ISLAND

Democrats— Kennedy, Y; Langevin, Y.

 

SOUTH CAROLINA

Democrats— Clyburn, Y; Spratt, Y.

Republicans — Barrett, N; Brown, N; Inglis, N; Wilson, N.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA

Democrats— Herseth Sandlin, Y.

 

TENNESSEE

Democrats — Cohen, Y; Cooper, N; Davis, Y; Gordon, Y; Tanner, Y.

Republicans — Blackburn, N; Duncan, N; Roe, N; Wamp, N.

 

TEXAS

Democrats— Cuellar, Y; Doggett, Y; Edwards, Y; Gonzalez, Y; Green, Al, Y; Green, Gene, Y; Hinojosa, Y; Jackson-Lee, Y; Johnson, E. B., Y; Ortiz, Y; Reyes, Y; Rodriguez, Y.

Republicans— Barton, N; Brady, N; Burgess, N; Carter, N; Conaway, N; Culberson, N; Gohmert, N; Granger, N; Hall, N; Hensarling, N; Johnson, Sam, N; Marchant, N; McCaul, N; Neugebauer, N; Olson, N; Paul, N; Poe, N; Sessions, N; Smith, N; Thornberry, N.

 

UTAH

Democrats— Matheson, Y.

Republicans— Bishop, N; Chaffetz, N.

 

VERMONT

Democrats— Welch, Y.

 

VIRGINIA

Democrats— Boucher, Y; Connolly, Y; Moran, Y; Nye, Y; Perriello, Y; Scott, Y.

Republicans— Cantor, N; Forbes, N; Goodlatte, N; Wittman, N; Wolf, N.

 

WASHINGTON

Democrats— Baird, Y; Dicks, Y; Inslee, Y; Larsen, Y; McDermott, Y; Smith, Y.

Republicans— Hastings, N; McMorris Rodgers, N; Reichert, N.

 

WEST VIRGINIA

Democrats— Mollohan, Y; Rahall, Y.

Republicans— Capito, N.

 

WISCONSIN

Democrats— Baldwin, Y; Kagen, Y; Kind, Y; Moore, Y; Obey, Y.

Republicans— Petri, N; Ryan, N; Sensenbrenner, N.

 

WYOMING

Republicans— Lummis, N.

 

 

This is just too strange, why would seemingly intelligent people behave like this.  This makes me think this world has gone completely crazy.

A few weeks ago I was reading “the atheist with whom I sometimes agree” Allahpundit over at hotair.com. I think it was a post about some liberal Christian who thinks that government is the solution to all of our problems.  Allah stated that he thought that the Christian faith was more in line with the liberal politics of our day.  This is unfortunately a fundamental misunderstanding of what Christianity is all about and it is the mistake that liberal politicians like President Obama make.  It is the same mistake that advocates of the liberal social gospel make in the foundation of the theology.  They interpret the care that Jesus mandated for others as a function of the government.  This is the last thing that Jesus meant when he spoke of feeding the poor and looking after the oppressed.  While I have not studied the theology in depth it seems to come down to a passage in Matthew 25 which reads.

34.Then  shall the King  say  unto them on  his  right hand,  Come  , ye blessed  of my  Father,  inherit  the kingdom  prepared  for you  from  the foundation  of the world:

 35.For  I was an hungred  , and  ye gave  me  meat  : I was thirsty  , and  ye gave  me  drink  : I was  a stranger,  and  ye took  me  in  :

36.Naked,  and  ye clothed  me:  I was sick  , and  ye visited  me:  I was  in  prison,  and  ye came  unto  me.

37.Then  shall the righteous  answer  him,  saying  , Lord,  when  saw we  thee  an hungred  , and  fed  thee? or  thirsty  , and  gave thee drink?

38.When  saw we  thee  a stranger,  and  took thee in  ? or  naked,  and  clothed  thee?

39.Or  when  saw we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee?

40.And  the King  shall answer  and say  unto them,  Verily  I say  unto you,  Inasmuch  as  ye have done  it unto one  of the least  of these  my  brethren,  ye have done  it unto me.

41.Then  shall he say  also  unto them on  the left hand,  Depart  from  me,  ye cursed  , into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for the devil  and  his  angels:

42.For  I was an hungred  , and  ye gave  me  no  meat  : I was thirsty  , and  ye gave  me  no  drink  :

43.I was  a stranger,  and  ye took  me  not  in  : naked,  and  ye clothed  me  not:  sick,  and  in  prison,  and  ye visited  me  not.

44.Then  shall they  also  answer  him,  saying  , Lord,  when  saw we  thee  an hungred  , or  athirst  , or  a stranger,  or  naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  unto thee?

45.Then  shall he answer  them,  saying  , Verily  I say  unto you,  Inasmuch  as  ye did  it not  to one  of the least  of these,  ye did  it not  to me.

This appears to be the main crux of the social theology that I have been exposed too over the years and many social gospel practitioners have quoted this as the basis as well.  But if you examine the text it clearly is directed at me as an individual and not at an entire government.  Indeed Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world and His aim was not to start a political movement whether it is a left wing or right wing.  His aim was to save men from their sins and in turn would lead them to individual works such as the ones he calls for in Matthew 25.

So he calls us to be kind of personal liberals but not collective/government liberals.   What do I mean by this, well in the passage above and any where else you read Jesus advocating for the oppressed he keeps saying YOU. He does not say we or you guys or for that matter Uncle Sam. He says YOU.  There are no implications that he wanted the Roman government to give meat to the hungry or drink to the thirsty, he said YOU.  He was interested in the personal redemption of the people he was surrounded by and not the structure of the government and its institutions. He is still interested in our personal redemption today and not if Medicaid will last until 2050.

When we allow the social gospel and its application to politics, to rule the day we lead others to think that the solution can be found in the structure of the government.  If all we needed was another social program to save us we indeed would have made it to the Promised Land by now and we would have no need of a savior.  The overabundant list of failed government social programs should prove to us that this approach fails to solve the root causes.  It treats the symptoms but is not the cure, and the symptoms keep coming back.

Now there is an institution that is called not explicitly but implicitly to get at the root cause of our social ills and that is the Church.  It is because the Church is uniquely endowed with the answers to what ails society, in a word sin.  It is neither lack of funding nor lack of education that causes poverty, crime and wars; it is the sin of man.  The church has the solution and the solution is Jesus Christ himself.  Now don’t get this twisted we as Christians understand that the Church is not the building or the governing structure of the institution but is the collection of individuals who are called into new life in Christ. We are called to individually and through our community of faith to feed the hungry and cloth the naked.  Indeed this is not a coerced call to help our fellow man but should be borne out of our commitment to Christ because after all faith without works is dead.

So what about where we stand as far as the government is concerned should we abandon it. No we should strive toward a government in which it is possible to let the Church thrive in its roll of pointing the way to Christ. We point the way to Christ often times by meeting the needs of and caring for the oppressed as the Church.  The church now has to compete with governments that ask nothing be done to get at the root causes of our social ills. It is human nature to go the easy route.  Jesus, through the Church ask us to put away our sin receive forgiveness and walk after him.   We should also strive for the government which does not violate God’s law.  If the government begins to advocate for sin, then it is our duty to call our government into account for this violation.

New Orleans Residents bid a farewell to President Bush!!!!!!!!!!! Click to watch.

Juan Williams makes the case to stop the medias brand of affirmative actions when it come to President Obama.

Judge Obama on Performance Alone
Let’s not celebrate more ordinary speeches.

This is going to happen and is as Williams points out already happened.  The inevitable result of the media’s constant help will be that people think he can do no right without that help. This is the reverse of what has happened to George W Bush, the media has done such a through job of making him into a dunce that the inauguration crowd was willing to throw decorum out the window and shout the “goodbye” song at him on his way out. If Obama is an abject failure as president the media will ignore it and the only person willing to say he was a failure will be Rush Limbaugh.  That will be fitting because the media has told us what a racist he is any way.