thinkonthis

Frank Cordaro <frank.cordaro@gmail.com>

Attachments9:59 PM (21 minutes ago)

to National
Previous posting: Casa Cry, July 2015 issue of Casa Maria CW,
Milwaukee news letter ........ message from Don and Roberta Thurstin


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Roberta Thurstin <don2roberta@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 28, 2015


CASA CRY
AUGUST, 2015

Recently there was a picture in the local newspaper showing soldiers
putting up a huge cross in memory of the 5 Marines killed at   a
military recruiting center  I am struck by the hypocrisy of such an
action.  Certainly these deaths are tragic, and we mourn for their
families and friends.  However, it is not appropriate to put up a
cross in their memory as if they were following the teachings of
Christ.

They were living lives that are not Christian and trying to get young
people to join them.  Christians do not do violence to their
neighbors.

Richard B. Hays, Professor of New Testament at Duke University
Divinity School wrote in his book, The Moral Vision of the New
Testament,  “There is no basis in Matthew’s Gospel for restricting the
prohibition of violence merely to a prohibition of self-defense.
Jesus’ own conduct in Matthew’s Gospel indicates a deliberate
renunciation of violence as an instrument of God’s will. Armed defense
is not the way of Jesus. There is no foundation whatever in the Gospel
of Matthew for the notion that violence in defense of a third party is
justifiable. The suggestion that the teaching of the Sermon on the
Mount with its nonviolent enemy-love is merely an evangelical counsel
intended only for a special class of supersanctified Christians is
discredited by the Great Commission (Mt 28:16-20) at the conclusion of
the Gospel. All baptized believers are to be taught to observe all
that Jesus commanded.  When we use the cross of Christ to justify our
killing and harming of our “enemy”, who are Children of God, we are
doing a great injustice to all people and killing the same Christ we
Christians are called to follow both in word and deed.  For too long
we  have killed and maimed people in the name of Christ. Gov. John
Kasich  of Ohio and Gov. Jeb Bush of Texas, both self-proclaimed
Christians, have executed the most prisoners in the last couple of
years. Real Christians do not kill others for any reason.  Society
still falsely believes that people will do what we want if we do
enough violence to them.  The military and the prison system all have
this same philosophy that violence will bring about good results.
Anyone who had taken studies in Psychology know that it  is total
nonsense to believe that violence results in good behavior. If you
want someone to do what you want you do not insult, disrespect and
threaten them.  You do good to them, just as Christ taught. He was no
dummy. When you put up a cross, know what it represents..----Don
Timmerman

“It cannot be stressed too much: love of enemies has, for our time,
become the litmus test of authentic Christian faith.  Love without
courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church
member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the
ordinary soldier. Wisdom without love and courage is cowardice, as
with the ordinary intellectual. But the one who has love courage and
wisdom moves the world.” ---- Ammon Hennacy

“He who has conquered 10,000 others has only created 10,000 enemies.”
–Buddha     “ Love is the only power capable of transforming an enemy
into a friend.”------Dr.-Martin Luther King, Jr.

“In the coming years, the U.S. plans to spend over $1 trillion to
“modernize” its nuclear weapons. You read that right, A TRILLION
DOLLARS on NUKES!”   The U.S. is the only nation to have used an
atomic weapon.  --- Peace Action Wisconsin

“For the Christian, the atomic bomb was a Christ-killer. Indeed all
weapons are either Christ-killers or intended Christ-killers.” We
killed Jesus by not following the teachings of Christ and chose,
instead, the teachings of Constantine and the U.S. military.--- Who
Killed Jesus? By Margaret Del Debbio

JOKES

Steering Committee: Two backseat drivers.    Why did the ocean liner
sign up for an aerobics class?  It needed to get in shipshape.

Dentist:  “You have the biggest cavity I’ve ever seen! “ The biggest
cavity I’ve ever seen!  Patient: “Well, you didn’t have to repeat
yourself!”  Dentist:  “I didn’t.  That was the echo!”

Many of us are at the “metallic age”-----gold in our teeth, silver in
our hair, and lead in our pants.       What is God’s favorite cheese?
Swiss, be cause it is hol(ey)!

Clem is walking down the road with a  bag of chickens over his
shoulder when he meets Jethro. “Ifn Ah kin guess how many chickens you
got in yer bag, will you give me one?  Asks Jethro.  “If you can guess
that,  Ah’ss give you both of ‘em, replies Clem.  Jethro thinks a
moment, then he says, “Okay, 5”.

Why don’t the Amish water Ski?  ‘Because  the horses would drown.
An older guy was dying, and he said to his wife, “Honey, call for a
priest.”  And she said, “But Sam, we’re Jewish.”  And he said, “What?
I should make the rabbi sick?”

So the voter says to the politician, “I wouldn’t vote for you even if
you were St. Peter himself.”  “If I were St. Peter himself, you
wouldn’t be in my district.

INTERESTING FACTS

Percentage change since 1993 in the suicide rate among black U.S.
children aged 5 to 11: +87.  Among white U.S. children: -32
.
Number of  government officials executed so far this year in N. Korea:
15.  Estimated percentage change in the past year in the number of
beheadings performed in Saudi Arabia: +267.

Percentage change since 2009 in the number of federal prison inmates
aged 65 and older: +42.    In inmate health-care expenses : +29
Estimated average number of names added to the FBI’s criminal registry
each day : 11,000 ----Harpers Index

According to the Forbes 2015 list of America’s richest families, the
Sackler family  comes in tenth with  $14 billion.  The family in
Stanford, Conn. Owns Purdue Pharma which makes OcyCotin, one of the
most used drugs these days.  The drug generated more than $35 billion
since introduced in  1995. -----Forbes Magazine

Some 800 bases with hundreds of thousands of troops in some 70
nations, plus all kinds of other "trainers" and "non-permanent"
exercises that last indefinitely, maintain an ongoing U.S. military
presence around the world for a price tag of at least $100 billion a
year.- Many U.S. bases are hosted by brutal dictatorships. An academic
study has identified a strong U.S. tendency to defend dictatorships
where the United States has bases.----Portside, 7/13/15

In all of America’s 239 years of existence, only roughly 20 of them
have been without warfare of some kind, meaning we spend more on the
Pentagon’s budget than 175 nations’ total economic activity We’re
living in the middle of the longest (endless) most expensive global
struggle ever.—AlterNet,  5/17/15

Almost 40% of edible food produced in the U.S. is thrown away.  This
costs us $165 billion a year.  The  thrown out food could fill 730
football fields while 50 million Americans and 2/3rds of the world are
in need of food. The trashed food produces methane which leads to an
increase of the ozone layer causing global warming. -----Oxfam

Shell Oil company has received final permission to drill in the Arctic
Ocean.  ---EarthJustice    Every minute the fossil fuel industry gets
$10 million in subsidies from U.S. taxpayers. The Guardian reports
that the US$5.3 trillion subsidy estimated for 2015 is greater than
the total health spending of all the world’s governments ---IMF

 A Senate bill proposes kicking off 200,000 people off of Social
Security  if they have an Arrest Warrant.  Most affected would be
those who missed fines or don’t know a warrant on them exists. A
significant number of these will become homeless.  ---AlterNet,
7/22/15

The U.S. sold to Iraq a number of 36F-16 fighter jets.  The planes are
made by military contractor Lockheed Martin, which recently bought
Sikorsky Aircraft, the company that makes Black Hawk  helicopters, for
$9 billion. ----Democracy Now, 7/22/15
Many of the weapons given to Iraq by U.S. taxpayers ended up in the
hands of ISIS.

NOTE

EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 7 P.M.  AT CASA MARIA WE HAVE LITURGY .  WE
ENCOURAGE  YOU TO JOIN US FOR SONG, PRAYER, SCRIPTURE READINGS AND
SHARED HOMILIES .

Tuesday, Aug 4th 8am------ Vigil at Maximus 4201 N. 27th Street, This
W-2 agency has committed medicaid and welfare fraud and has ties to
weapons contractors

THURSDAY, AUG. 6 ----- STOP DEPORTATIONS AND SEPARATION OF FAMILIES
PRAYER VIGIL at ICE Office Bldg., Broadway & Knapp Sts. Starting at
noon.

Tuesday, Aug 11th 4:45pm----- Children's Hospital Child Welfare Office
620 S. 76th St.  Children's hospital CPS takes newborns from birth
from poor, black families without proof of abuse or neglect

MONDAY, AUGUEST 17 to 25---PEACE WALK FROM MADISON WI TO VOLK FIELD IN
MAUSTIN WI.  TO OPPOSE THE TRAINING IN THE USE OF WEAPONIZED DRONES.
CONTACT;  Joy First at 608-239-4327 or joyfirst5@gmail.com.

SAT., AUGUEST 8, 2TO 6 P.M.----LANTERNS FOR PEACE BENEFIT CONCERT AT
URBAN ECOLOGY CENTER IN WASHINGTON PARK, 4145 W. LISBON AVE.  FOLLOWED
BY REMEMBRANCE OF BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI.

MONDAY, AUG. 24 ------BE FAITHFUL TO THE GOSPEL VIGIL AT ROTC ON
MARQUETTE U. CAMPUS FROM NOON TO 1 P.M. ON 12TH & WISCONSIN AVE.,
MILWAUKEE.  NO  CHRISTIAN INSTITUTION CAN BE FOLLOWING CHRIST BY
HAVING A MILITARY SCHOOL ON ITS CAMPUS.

Aug 25th 4pm -----Protest at Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare to stop
their privatized subcontracting to 170 different agencies that profit
when children are taken from their homes, 635 N 26th St\

THURSDAY, AUG.  27 ----STAND FOR NONVIOLENCE AT NOON TO 1 P.M. AT BREW
CITY SHOOTERS SUPPLY, 43 & LINCOLN, MILWAUKEE.  More Americans were
killed by gun violence in 2013 alone (33,636) than all the Americans
killed on U.S. soil by terrorists in the last 14 years, and that’s
including 9/11. (2,977 Americans were killed on 9/11 and only 48 have
been killed since by terrorism on U.S. soil.)  Another 20,000
Americans use guns to commit suicide each year. ----The Daily Beast,
7/15/15   Cabella’s Sporting Goods stores are selling guns without
background checks, just as the gun shows at various locations.

Sept 1st 8am-----Ross, Milwaukee's newest corrupt W-2 agency,  6550 N 76th

 HOIUSE NEEDS:   we need sugar, butter, toilet paper dish soap,
bananas,  and women's deodorant.   Thanks so much!

Don and I have a book given to us called  All Saints.  It has daily
reflections on saints, prophets, and witnesses for our time.  Ammon
Hennacy was our July 24th prophet.  He was born in July 24 in 1893 and
died in 1970.  In his deep religious conversion, he concluded that
Jesus Christ, who sought to transform the human person from within,
represented the greatest revolutionary of all time.  Ammon refused to
register for the draft for WWI  and was sentenced  to 5 years in the
Atlanta Penitentiary.  He served 2 years.  He described himself as a
Christian anarchist, which to him meant the gospel call to personal
responsibility, the insistence on returning good for evil and a
respect for the sovereignty of free conscience.  He said, “An
anarchist is someone who doesn’t need a cop to tell him what to do.”
He joined Dorothy Day at the New York Catholic Worker.  He organized
protests and was jailed with other Catholic Workers for refusing to
participate in the annual civil defense drills to prepare for a
nuclear attack, stating the folly of such preparations.  The drills
were  finally abolished.  He could not abide the priests and bishops
who gave their blessings to war, and he dropped out of the Church.  He
always was a devout “non-church Christian”.  He moved to Salt Lake
City and opened the Joe Hill House, a house of hospitality for the
indigent and homeless. Dorothy Day said of Ammon that he was “the most
ascetic, the most hardworking, the most devoted to the poor and
oppressed and that his life and his articles put us on the spot.  He
was an inspiration and a reproach.”  We are all called by the Gospel
to personal responsibility, to return good for ev il and to allow for
a free  conscience.  May we, like Ammon, continue to struggle to
become transformed from within by Jesus Christ, the greatest
revolutionary of all time.  Peace, Roberta