Do you believe that the end of the world is upon us? Well, if your primary source of income is the Stock Market, then 2008 might very well be the Apocalypse!
Just imagine if you had been living off of the return on your investment, and suddenly that investment not only does not produce wealth, but now even the initial investment is rapidly vanishing before your/our collective eyes! Right . . . let's blame Bush, let's blame Cheney, let's blame former Federal Reserve Chair Greenspan.
But, in each case of the economy heading south, can we not blame ourselves?
How many times have we each desired to have tons of cash without actually putting in the sweat, time, resourcefulness, etc. to achieve the status that results in wealth?
Tiger Woods diligently practices his golf swing, and thus earns millions! Michael Jordan relentlessly pursued perfection in the intra-team and individual skill sets to make him the single most successful pro athlete in history! These men and women (e.g. Sec. of State Condoleeza Rice, former Provost at Stanford) deserve their income, status, etc.
But what of the rest of us?
We really do want something for nothing. I like receiving perks, accolades, and to be frank, well, just not putting in quite the effort necessary. But, and this I owe to my staunch Catholic upbringing, from the time I was five and starting kindergarten, I worked hard, and thus through such hard work was a three year starting offensive lineman for Davidson College, boasted G.P.A.'s of 3.6, 3.6, 3.9 and 3.7 at Davidson, Duke, Duke and Notre Dame resp.
Not to boast, and in all that I do, my only boasting is in Christ, but hard work does succeed in the end.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity basketball team as a sophomore. I had to overcome the death of my own mother to cancer, yet in the end, the Grace of God as it empowered me, did, indeed lead to success!
So, perhaps, like chicken little, the Sky really is falling! But in the wake of such financial disaster (and like the Fall of Rome!) the end result could be beautiful. Like the book How the Irish Saved Civilization, perhaps the New Era is to be marked by societal decline for the lazy, the selfish, the corrupt, but societal regeneration for the Just.
Blessings in Christ! Rob J. King
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Why the U.S.A. Will Now Collapse!
The other day I received an invitation to participate in (possibly present a paper at!) an Academic Conference at Oxford.
Sadly, when I read the cost of attending ($2,940 + Air Fare), I was utterly amazed at how 'dirt-poor' the U.S.A. is becoming, at least when compared to the European Union!
I will diligently try to save my own, hard-earned dollars to actually attend this conference (e.g. with degrees from places like Davidson College and Duke University, this is where I should be . . . :-), but sadly, as an Instructor at a publicly-funded college in St. Petersburg, Florida (U.S.A.), the people who 'run the show' are pernicious in excluding the best & brightest (Yale, Duke, etc.) and politically "rewarding" each other for their own lack of academic achievement . . . So, Oxford University comes calling and sadly, the poor, run-down public school system (St. Petersburg College!) is left to wallow in its own misery! After all, as The St. Petersburg Times newspaper has been diligently reporting, when people with only bachelor's degrees (and from agricultural institutes no less!) are "rewarded" for their political loyalty (i.e. by the President of the College!) and paid $60,000+ for their mediocre academic level (and again, over institutions of higher learning such as Duke, Yale, Notre Dame, etc.!), then the end result is a disloyalty, distrust even of the entire publicly-funded higher educational system!
The St. Petersburg Times alerted the public to this malfeasance, but in the wake of a Trustee's audit of its own hiring practices, sadly, the damage is already done. I must now apply outside of my hometown, work every alumni connection that I know, and possibly simply take a job outside of Higher Education.
But, Oxford University is still there!
Notre Dame, Duke and Davidson are all top-tier colleges and universities (i.e. Top 20!), and thus, the WORLD FINANCIAL ELITE will now capitalize on the illegal, discriminatory hiring practices of St. Petersburg College and other institutions built on cronyism, insider status, etc.
So, if anyone wants to help "fund my way" to Oxford, please remit any checks or money orders as follows: Rob J. King, c/o Jesus the Messiah-Christ, 12 Apostolic Drive, New Heavens and New Earth, 219 7th Ave., N. Apt. 2, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. (the second part of the address is my real mailing address!)
Blessings & Love in Jesus Christ,
Rob
Sadly, when I read the cost of attending ($2,940 + Air Fare), I was utterly amazed at how 'dirt-poor' the U.S.A. is becoming, at least when compared to the European Union!
I will diligently try to save my own, hard-earned dollars to actually attend this conference (e.g. with degrees from places like Davidson College and Duke University, this is where I should be . . . :-), but sadly, as an Instructor at a publicly-funded college in St. Petersburg, Florida (U.S.A.), the people who 'run the show' are pernicious in excluding the best & brightest (Yale, Duke, etc.) and politically "rewarding" each other for their own lack of academic achievement . . . So, Oxford University comes calling and sadly, the poor, run-down public school system (St. Petersburg College!) is left to wallow in its own misery! After all, as The St. Petersburg Times newspaper has been diligently reporting, when people with only bachelor's degrees (and from agricultural institutes no less!) are "rewarded" for their political loyalty (i.e. by the President of the College!) and paid $60,000+ for their mediocre academic level (and again, over institutions of higher learning such as Duke, Yale, Notre Dame, etc.!), then the end result is a disloyalty, distrust even of the entire publicly-funded higher educational system!
The St. Petersburg Times alerted the public to this malfeasance, but in the wake of a Trustee's audit of its own hiring practices, sadly, the damage is already done. I must now apply outside of my hometown, work every alumni connection that I know, and possibly simply take a job outside of Higher Education.
But, Oxford University is still there!
Notre Dame, Duke and Davidson are all top-tier colleges and universities (i.e. Top 20!), and thus, the WORLD FINANCIAL ELITE will now capitalize on the illegal, discriminatory hiring practices of St. Petersburg College and other institutions built on cronyism, insider status, etc.
So, if anyone wants to help "fund my way" to Oxford, please remit any checks or money orders as follows: Rob J. King, c/o Jesus the Messiah-Christ, 12 Apostolic Drive, New Heavens and New Earth, 219 7th Ave., N. Apt. 2, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. (the second part of the address is my real mailing address!)
Blessings & Love in Jesus Christ,
Rob
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Economic Justice!
While studying in the Ph.D. program at the University of Notre Dame, one of the seminars I was blessed to have taken was a course called "Christianity and the Living Wage." This course outlined the Catholic Church's recent social teaching on economic justice.
Yes, the Catholic Church is firmly Pro-Life. And yes, the "liberal" side of the Political Spectrum is not too fond of Catholic Teaching.
But, the Church is also the primary voice for true and lasting economic reform!
Secular thought usually drifts between socialism (Marxism even!) on the Left and unbridled laissez-faire capitalism on the Right!
But, the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ founded by the Apostles, teaches that both private property is to be affirmed, but also that workers (which are all of us!) deserve fair and just economic compensation for our labor!
In fact, John Ryan was an early 20th century reforming priest who helped the U.S. rise out of its quagmire of economic degradation through petitioning the government for a fair wage (minimum wage legislation), anti-child labor laws, and the 40 hour work week.
But, whether it is the corporate elite who siphon millions, even billions of dollars off of us, while we hard-working Americans struggle living "paycheck to paycheck," or whether it is the socialist governmental dynamics of local, state and federal bureaucracies that shield what little tax revenue that comes in for the hiring of their cronies, the Catholic Church offers an alternative!
So, fellow Catholics (and Protestants!) let us join together and hold Wall Street accountable for its financial malfeasance! Hold them, and not we the tax-paying public, responsible for the debt-machine called capitalism! Also, although laissez-faire capitalism is unethical, let us also hold the Political Left accountable! Welfare really does produce squalor, not urban redevelopment. Communism and Marxism really are idealistic in theory, yet pernicious in practice leading to human rights abuse after human rights abuse.
In the end, Jesus Christ will return, and His People will Reign! Wall Street will be a greased slide to hell itself. The federal government will be no more (replaced by Jesus' bodily REIGN on earth!). Finally, every tear will be wiped away, and no pain will exist. This final "City of God" (to quote St. Augustine) is what we as Christians live for, but as we await Christ Jesus' physical return, let us at least make sure that the billionaire boys club and the nanny-socialist state called the Democratic Party are held accountable to CHRISTIAN LAW!
Amen and amen! Come LORD JESUS, come.
Love in Jesus the Messiah-Christ, Rob
Yes, the Catholic Church is firmly Pro-Life. And yes, the "liberal" side of the Political Spectrum is not too fond of Catholic Teaching.
But, the Church is also the primary voice for true and lasting economic reform!
Secular thought usually drifts between socialism (Marxism even!) on the Left and unbridled laissez-faire capitalism on the Right!
But, the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ founded by the Apostles, teaches that both private property is to be affirmed, but also that workers (which are all of us!) deserve fair and just economic compensation for our labor!
In fact, John Ryan was an early 20th century reforming priest who helped the U.S. rise out of its quagmire of economic degradation through petitioning the government for a fair wage (minimum wage legislation), anti-child labor laws, and the 40 hour work week.
But, whether it is the corporate elite who siphon millions, even billions of dollars off of us, while we hard-working Americans struggle living "paycheck to paycheck," or whether it is the socialist governmental dynamics of local, state and federal bureaucracies that shield what little tax revenue that comes in for the hiring of their cronies, the Catholic Church offers an alternative!
So, fellow Catholics (and Protestants!) let us join together and hold Wall Street accountable for its financial malfeasance! Hold them, and not we the tax-paying public, responsible for the debt-machine called capitalism! Also, although laissez-faire capitalism is unethical, let us also hold the Political Left accountable! Welfare really does produce squalor, not urban redevelopment. Communism and Marxism really are idealistic in theory, yet pernicious in practice leading to human rights abuse after human rights abuse.
In the end, Jesus Christ will return, and His People will Reign! Wall Street will be a greased slide to hell itself. The federal government will be no more (replaced by Jesus' bodily REIGN on earth!). Finally, every tear will be wiped away, and no pain will exist. This final "City of God" (to quote St. Augustine) is what we as Christians live for, but as we await Christ Jesus' physical return, let us at least make sure that the billionaire boys club and the nanny-socialist state called the Democratic Party are held accountable to CHRISTIAN LAW!
Amen and amen! Come LORD JESUS, come.
Love in Jesus the Messiah-Christ, Rob
Monday, October 6, 2008
Fidelity, Abortion, and Why the West can now move ahead!
Barack Obama is starting to get annoying! Here is a man who claims to be a Christian, yet his voting record on the abortion issue has been almost genocidal. That's right, abortion, the intentional killing of a baby in the mother's womb is a barbaric act that had been successfully outlawed in the Western world since Emperor Constantine all of the way through the twentieth century.
1600 years of Pro-Life legislation and judicial enforcement, ALL gone in the twentieth century. That vile era that produced nazi racist paranoia, anti-semitism, euthanasia of the "unfit" and the birth and proliferation of "mental illness" as a category (Carl Jung, noted psychological theorist was also a white, Aryan anti-semitic bigot who postulated that the "Aryan" psyche, whatever that is, was 'superior' to the Jewish!) is now drawing to a close.
So, now we have Barack Obama, supposedly a born-again Christian, and his running mate, Joe Biden, supposedly Catholic, supporting infant-killing!
And so, the Catholic Church, the true Church of Jesus Christ (i.e. that which is loyal to the Bible and the episcopacy established by Christ!) is picketing abortion clinics.
I myself stood bravely in front of one for 40 minutes one Wednesday afternoon. No, contrary to media stereotypes we do not "harass" people. We, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were simply peacefully protesting with signs, rosaries and a picket line!
So, Barack, since you will likely be the next President of the United States, get ready for the picket lines!
We will march, like the black community from which you are siphoning off cheap support, and engage in Civil rights for the unborn! Those who are the most defenseless, the children, have been brutalized by people like you Barack Obama! It will now end. The Catholic Church has declared it so. Bishop Lynch of St. Petersburg, FL is the "villain" who started the PROTEST against all murder! Pope Benedict XVI, friend of George W. Bush, is also the "culprit!"
So, when you see thousands upon thousands of Latino, Anglo, and oh yes, AFRICAN CATHOLICS and PROTESTANTS descend upon Washington, D.C., you will know what happened! You are "Bull Conner" (racist police-chief of the Civil Rights era . . .) and WE are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
IN CHRIST, PAX CHRISTI, EX CORDE ECCLESIA, Rob J. King, Gandi-M.L. King promoter of a non-violent ethic in support of the defenseless babies murdered by mommies
1600 years of Pro-Life legislation and judicial enforcement, ALL gone in the twentieth century. That vile era that produced nazi racist paranoia, anti-semitism, euthanasia of the "unfit" and the birth and proliferation of "mental illness" as a category (Carl Jung, noted psychological theorist was also a white, Aryan anti-semitic bigot who postulated that the "Aryan" psyche, whatever that is, was 'superior' to the Jewish!) is now drawing to a close.
So, now we have Barack Obama, supposedly a born-again Christian, and his running mate, Joe Biden, supposedly Catholic, supporting infant-killing!
And so, the Catholic Church, the true Church of Jesus Christ (i.e. that which is loyal to the Bible and the episcopacy established by Christ!) is picketing abortion clinics.
I myself stood bravely in front of one for 40 minutes one Wednesday afternoon. No, contrary to media stereotypes we do not "harass" people. We, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were simply peacefully protesting with signs, rosaries and a picket line!
So, Barack, since you will likely be the next President of the United States, get ready for the picket lines!
We will march, like the black community from which you are siphoning off cheap support, and engage in Civil rights for the unborn! Those who are the most defenseless, the children, have been brutalized by people like you Barack Obama! It will now end. The Catholic Church has declared it so. Bishop Lynch of St. Petersburg, FL is the "villain" who started the PROTEST against all murder! Pope Benedict XVI, friend of George W. Bush, is also the "culprit!"
So, when you see thousands upon thousands of Latino, Anglo, and oh yes, AFRICAN CATHOLICS and PROTESTANTS descend upon Washington, D.C., you will know what happened! You are "Bull Conner" (racist police-chief of the Civil Rights era . . .) and WE are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
IN CHRIST, PAX CHRISTI, EX CORDE ECCLESIA, Rob J. King, Gandi-M.L. King promoter of a non-violent ethic in support of the defenseless babies murdered by mommies
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