Christianity - Inter-Faith Relationships - Barack Obama - U.S. Government

The World right now continues to be focused on Haiti. The focus is so right in light of the utter devastation going on. The desparation is evident and the scenes are heart breaking. I cannot even comprehend what Kerry Sanders, the NBC News Correpodent is reporting right now:

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What I worry about is California. As a member of my local City's Public Safety and Emergency Prepardness Committee, I wonder whether we can deal with the big one. What I know is that the big one will happen in California in light of the tremendous resource challenges it has right now. As I wrote about Haiti, though, all of us will do our part. The recovery will take a long time. The whole country has to be literally built from scratch. It is great to see that this massive moblization effort is across ideological lines.

As I continued to survey the devastation, I thought about France. Despite the ugly colonial history, I commend France for stepping up as they have. For Haitians, the world will insure that there continues to be hope and the will to live has to be brought back ever more. I also commend President Obama has done in asking President Clinton and President George W. Bush to get involved as President Clinton and President George H.W. Bush did after the tragedy in Indonesia.

This tragedy needs to be a wakeup call for us all to come together as humans to realize how fragile life is. We need to overcome the prejudices in order to be able to come together. I wonder if the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan understand that. I wonder if the ubber-rich in India understand that as the untouchables in India continue to suffer. All of us must remember this admontion from Joseph Addison as quoted by Dr. Stephen Covey in his Book, the Seven Habits:

"When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies in me; when I read the epitaphs of the beautiful, every inordinate desire goes out; when I meet with the grief of parents upon a tombstone, my heart melts with compassion; when I see the tomb of the parents themselves, I consider the vanity of grieving for those who we must quickly follow; when I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when I consider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind. When I read the several dates of the tombs, of some that died yesterday, and some six hundred years ago, I consider that great Day when we shall all of us be Contemporaries, and make our appearance together." (Covey, The Seven Habits, p. 97)

When will we all learn?

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January 15th 2010 @ 06:38

Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: Christianity, Inter-Faith Relationships, Islam, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Congress

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A Day In the Life of The Media: The Good, The Not-So-Good and the Ridiculous

: Although Funny...it may well be scary.....

I find the recent spat between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer and Meghan McCain and Ann Coulter hillarious to say the least. Bill O'Reilly talked about it in his Factor show on Monday on Fox News. He talked the Cramer vs. Stewart feud with Stewart Varney of Fox Business and on Meghan McCain vs. Ann Coulter with a reporter for the Washington Times.

I saw Jon Stewart's show, I saw Jim Cramer's "response when he appeared on MSNBC and NBC and then Jon Stewart's rebuttal. Jon Stewart nailed Jim Cramer. There was no question about it. But, O'Reilly's way of lambasting Stewart for going after him for being "liberal" and "mainstream" is a bit far-fetched. What O'Reilly and the folks at fox forget to tell the rest of the world is that they were the "mainstream" during the 8 years of the Bush Adminstration. They pushed this fiction that markets work and self-regulate and had to be left alone. Well, this so-called conservative philosophy (as they call it) was in fact the cause of the economic winter we are faced with today. Bernie Maddoff and Allan Stafford are but the most extreme of examples. But, the entertainment nature of CNBC was also just as much to blame in my view. Jon Stewart called Jim Cramer on it. I do commend Jim Cramer for agreeing to appear on The Daily Show later on tonight. That should be quite interesting. But, this fiction of a liberal bias that Bill O'Reilly continues to push gets to be old. It is entertaining and funny, though. Cramer made some bad calls and he has to own up to it.

There is of course, Meghan McCain. Bill O'Reilly had a segment "analyzing" Meghan McCain by having a reporter for the Washington Times on. Bill O'Reilly's view was that Meghan McCain's main intention was vying for attention because the younger McCain works for the Daily Beast, which is a Tina Brown "Project". Tina Brown's sin is that she is a committed liberal. But, I have also seen a number of other centrists and middle of the road folks and yes conservatives like Tucker Carlson who have also been active in the Daily Beast. It seems to me that there has to be a better way to discuss substance vs. simply dismissing a rational argument because Mr. O'Reilly seems to disagree with them.

As I have written before, I think Ann Coulter is an interesting character. She makes a great living by being rude, obnoxious, arrogant and mean. But, she has to understand that simply being rude and obnoxious will not get the message across. She did feel "unloved" when she had a chat with Hannity. What I also find quite stunning is how President Obama is being now blamed for the foreclosure crisis, the stock market and the loss of retirement savings. Seriously, though, the Republican Party has to get away from this us vs. them attitude and realizes that the country is actually changing. I yearn for a constructive opposition. I view listening and reading about Coulter, Hannity, limbaugh, savage and the rest of thee conservative crowd as simply fun and interesting. Ms. McCain's views should not be taken lightly. She does represent a potential way forward for the Republicans to begin the process of renewal. The challenge is whether the Republicans will listen or not. I wondered whether Abraham Linclon will recognize today's Republican Party and the people who speak for it.

Moving on to CNN, today The Situation Room had James Carville and Nicole Wallace on. James Carville was asked by Wolf Blitzer about a comment he made in 2001 wishing George W. Bush to fail. This was based on a Drudge Report on a conversation James Carville had with a Fox Reporter right on September 11. James Carville noted that he wanted George W. Bush to fail. But, he also noted that as soon as he realized the calamity we faced on that terrible day, he asked that all politically-motivated comments be taken back because he realized the country was at war. Carville noted that the Fox Reporter complied. The implication I noted was the comparision with Rush Limbaugh's wish that the President fail while the country was fighting two wars abroad and an economic war at home. Rush was repudiated by many in the Republican political establishment--and rightly so.

Rush, Jon Stewart, Bill O'Reilly and the rest of the characters on our media are entertainers. At least Jon Stewart made an effort to inform, while he entertained--and was not shy about it.

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March 12th 2009 @ 05:35

Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: Christianity, Inter-Faith Relationships, Solar, Wind, Barack Obama, U.S. Economy, Big Media, Big Oil, Lehman Brothers, U.S. Government, Congress, The Judiciary, Executive

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The Middle East: A New Dawn......

: I hope so....

America's New Top Diplomat

Mrs. Clinton has now been confirmed as Secretary of State. I am anxiously some truly earth-shattering annoucements on the foreign policy front over the ensuingd days. I am very, very excited about George Mitchell being appointed Middle East Envoy. The man helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. Although his record on the Middle East was not as effective, I still think he can do wonders. I also do fondly remember how he put Baseball on a solid footing after the scandals that has engulfed Roger Clemens, Mark McGuire and many others. I view it as a sign of things to come

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January 21st 2009 @ 23:36

Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: Christianity, Inter-Faith Relationships, Islam, Iran, Economics, Politics, Ahmadinejad, Khameini, Barack Obama, U.S. Government, Executive

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As The First Day of The Obama Adminstration Begins....

: I am not surprised at the Republicans...

The President Arrives For His First Day....A Busy One too!!!

The first day of the Obama Adminstration has begun. The President began his day by attending the National Prayer Service and got down to work. I saw him when he met with the White House and signed off on the new Ethics Rules. He has also been meeting with the Economics and National Security Teams. They have hit the ground running. Unfortunately, the Senate has not done the job by confirming the nominees. At least three key members are yet to be confirmed. A new Era has truly begun

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January 21st 2009 @ 20:51

Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: Hamid Karzai, Taliban, Al Qaeda, NATO, Christianity, Inter-Faith Relationships, Islam, Hydro, Nuclear, Egypt, Iran, Economics, Politics, Ahmadinejad, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, U.S. Government, Congress, The Judiciary, Executive

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The Saddleback Civil Forum w/John McCain & Barack Obama (The Second Hour....Cont'd)

: An Interesting Discourse

The wide ranging discussions Pastor Warren and Senator McCain had continued on. One of the questions I felt was poignant. Pastor Warren noted that leaders are not stubborn and do change their minds. He then asked Senator McCain about a decision he had made and then changed his mind. He was quick to respond: Off Shore Drilling. He went on to note that we must attack the problem of energy on all fronts now. He reminded all of us that the United States is sending out 700 billion dollars a year to folks who are not at times that friendly and cooperative. Senator McCain's plan is dubbed the "Lexington Plan" and is available on his website. Leaders should be flexible and change their mind, while not forgetting their principles. George W. Bush seems to have understood that during the last months of his Presidency.

His response to the question of Abortion was to the point and without any reservations. His view is that abortion begins at the moment of conception. He told the world that he was going to be a Pro-Life President. As for marriage, Senator McCain was also adamant that it was a union between a man and a woman. Although an avowed Federalist, Senator McCain noted that he would back a marriage amendment if the States moved to force other states to accept their marriages. Evil must be defeated and the Senator brought up Osama Bin Laden. He committed to hunting him down. Osama is evil and evil indeed must be eradicated. I think his commitment is a bit over the top due to the realities on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan

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