Rob's Blob » Liberty http://robertcoss.com/blog The Best of My Brain Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:54:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Confirmed: Apostle Paul Spotted at OCW http://robertcoss.com/blog/2012/01/09/my-gconfirmed-apostle-paul-spotted-at-ocw/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2012/01/09/my-gconfirmed-apostle-paul-spotted-at-ocw/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:35:08 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/?p=4213 Continue reading →]]> Photo is conclusive proof.  St. Paul taking advantage of free speech.

Would you be a Christian if he didn’t?
Will your children’s children be Christian if you don’t?

History records that Paul’s message cut across the business of the 1%-ers of his day who cared more about profits than truth.

Acts 19:23-27 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. 26 “You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.  27 “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.” NASU

Rome provided Paul a space to speak and he used it.

What is becoming of America?
Does the old adage regarding free speech in America apply here; use it or lose it?

 Rob/

 

 

Share on Facebook ]]> http://robertcoss.com/blog/2012/01/09/my-gconfirmed-apostle-paul-spotted-at-ocw/feed/ 0 The Internet is Shrinking Fast http://robertcoss.com/blog/2011/01/20/the-internet-is-shrinking-fast/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2011/01/20/the-internet-is-shrinking-fast/#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:21:14 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/?p=2504 Continue reading →]]>

“A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to Farce, or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” ~ James Madison

It is the people’s responsibility, not corporations, to control the flow of information. Soon these corporations will have a London Bridge for each of us to buy and we will feel that we need one based on the information provided.

What cause are you involved in that doesn’t depend on accurate information? Will that cause even be a cause when the flow of information is outside your control?

clipped from blogs.citypages.com
Thumbnail image for al franken2.jpg
Al Franken loses the Comcast-NBC merger fight.

The Comcast-NBC Universal merger got an official green light today from the Federal Communications Commission, paving the way on a 4-1 vote for another major consolidation in the telecom industry.

It’s a merger that Al Franken has battled from the get-go in the Senate, and he ripped into commissioners supporting the merger as corporate lackeys who’ve forgotten their responsibilities.

“The Commission is supposed to protect the public interest, not corporate interests,” Franken said. “But what we see today is an effort by the FCC to appease the very companies it’s charged with regulating. With approval of this merger, the FCC has given a single media conglomerate unprecedented control over the flow of information in America.”

Statements from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and the lone dissenter, Democratic Commissioner Michael J. Copps, make clear how differently the two sides view the issue of media consolidation. Genachowski first:

After a thorough review, we have adopted strong and fair merger conditions to ensure this transaction serves the public interest.

The conditions include carefully considered steps to ensure that competition drives innovation in the emerging online video marketplace.

Our approval is also structured to spur broadband adoption among underserved communities; to increase broadband access to schools and libraries; and to increase news coverage, children’s television, and Spanish-language programming.

I commend the excellent work of the FCC staff; this was an endeavor that involved almost every Bureau and Office. I also want to thank Assistant Attorney General Varney and her staff for their close collaboration throughout this review.

Copps’s dissent is far lengthier. Some highlights:

It reaches into virtually every corner of our media and digital landscapes and will affect every citizen in the land. It is new media as well as old; it is news and information as well as sports and entertainment; it is distribution as well as content. And it confers too much power in one company’s hands.

The Comcast-NBCU joint venture opens the door to the cable-ization of the open Internet. The potential for walled gardens, toll booths, content prioritization, access fees to reach end users, and a stake in the heart of independent content production is now very real.

As for the future of America’s news and journalism, I see nothing in this deal to address the fundamental damage that has been inflicted by years of outrageous consolidation and newsroom cuts. Investigative journalism is not even a shell of its former self. All of this means it’s more difficult for citizens to hold the powerful accountable.

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Share on Facebook ]]> http://robertcoss.com/blog/2011/01/20/the-internet-is-shrinking-fast/feed/ 0 The People Speak – great readings from history http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-people-speak-great-readings-from-history/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-people-speak-great-readings-from-history/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:35:59 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-people-speak-great-readings-from-history/ I wish this spirit of the past would visit us today.
clipped from www.history.com

Share on Facebook ]]> http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/12/15/the-people-speak-great-readings-from-history/feed/ 0 Happy Bill of Rights Day http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/12/15/happy-bill-of-rights-day/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/12/15/happy-bill-of-rights-day/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:19:53 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/12/15/happy-bill-of-rights-day/ Continue reading →]]>
clipped from www.holidayorigins.com

Which day? December 15
Earliest Observance? December 15, 1941
Demographic Practice? National
This day was signed into practice by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on December 15, 1941, one hundred and fifty years after the actual signing of the Bill of Rights by our forefathers.
Share on Facebook ]]> http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/12/15/happy-bill-of-rights-day/feed/ 0 Thomas Jefferson on Counteracting Selfishness http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/21/thomas-jefferson-on-counteracting-selfishness/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/21/thomas-jefferson-on-counteracting-selfishness/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:44:12 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/21/thomas-jefferson-on-counteracting-selfishness/ Continue reading →]]>
clipped from etext.virginia.edu

“Self-love… is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others. Accordingly, it is against this enemy that are erected the batteries of moralists and religionists, as the only obstacle to the practice of morality. Take from man his selfish propensities, and he can have nothing to seduce him from the practice of virtue. Or subdue those propensities by education, instruction or restraint, and virtue remains without a competitor.” –Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Law, 1814. ME 14:140
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Share on Facebook ]]> http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/21/thomas-jefferson-on-counteracting-selfishness/feed/ 0 Formation of a National Grand Jury http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/09/formation-of-a-national-grand-jury/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/09/formation-of-a-national-grand-jury/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:34:23 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/09/formation-of-a-national-grand-jury/ Continue reading →]]> It looks like we are pursuing all peaceful means of reigning in our federal government.
clipped from www.therightsideoflife.com

  • To examine all aspects of the federal government by initiating its own investigations.
    		•

  • To serve as ombudsmen for the citizens of the country in respect to constitutional rights. and privileges established under the organic documents of the United States of America, as properly amended from time to time.
    		•

  • To conduct criminal investigations of members of the federal government, and, if the evidence is sufficient, issue criminal indictments.
    		•
    The National Grand Jury is empowered to:

  • Inquire into the condition and management of branches of the federal government and its agencies.
    •
    		•
    Share on Facebook ]]>     http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/09/formation-of-a-national-grand-jury/feed/ 0     Thomas Jefferson on Moral Degeneracy http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/09/thomas-jefferson-on-moral-degeneracy/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/09/thomas-jefferson-on-moral-degeneracy/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:04:06 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/09/thomas-jefferson-on-moral-degeneracy/ Continue reading →]]> From this I would deduce that control of the education system is imperative to overthrow a free people.
    clipped from etext.virginia.edu
    “When [the moral sense] is wanting, we endeavor to supply the defect by education, by appeals to reason and calculation, by presenting to the being so unhappily conformed, other motives to do good and to eschew evil, such as the love, or the hatred, or the rejection of those among whom he lives, and whose society is necessary to his happiness and even existence; demonstrations by sound calculation that honesty promotes interest in the long run; the rewards and penalties established by the laws; and ultimately the prospects of a future state of retribution for the evil as well as the good done while here.
    These are the correctives which are supplied by education, and which exercise the functions of the moralist, the preacher, and legislator; and they lead into a course of correct action all those whose depravity is not too profound to be eradicated.” –Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Law, 1814. ME 14:142
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    Share on Facebook ]]>     http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/09/thomas-jefferson-on-moral-degeneracy/feed/ 0     Thomas Jefferson on Morality in Government Administration http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/04/thomas-jefferson-on-morality-in-government-administration/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/04/thomas-jefferson-on-morality-in-government-administration/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:11:02 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/04/thomas-jefferson-on-morality-in-government-administration/ Continue reading →]]> Thomas also has another good quote (at the site) on what religions have in common that benefit us all. When the church loses sight of its uniqueness as an institution we all suffer for it. The church needs to see itself and the state as two separate God created institutions with two separate roles. They are interdependent, but separate entities. When they do what they were made to do the world receives a blessing. When they don’t – we have what is happening today in the world.
    clipped from etext.virginia.edu

    “When we come to the moral principles on which the government is to be administered, we come to what is proper for all conditions of society… Liberty, truth, probity, honor, are declared to be the four cardinal principles of society. I believe… that morality, compassion, generosity, are innate elements of the human constitution; that there exists a right independent of force.” –Thomas Jefferson to Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours, 1816. ME 14:490

    “[I consider] ethics, as well as religion, as supplements to law in the government of man.” –Thomas Jefferson to Augustus B. Woodward, 1824. ME 16:19

    “Is it the less dishonest to do what is wrong, because not expressly prohibited by written law? Let us hope our moral principles are not yet in that stage of degeneracy.” –Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 1813. ME 13:360
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    Share on Facebook ]]>     http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/04/thomas-jefferson-on-morality-in-government-administration/feed/ 0     New Mexico Calls on Fed to “Cease and Desist” http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/03/new-mexico-calls-on-fed-to-cease-and-desist/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/03/new-mexico-calls-on-fed-to-cease-and-desist/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:04:04 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/03/new-mexico-calls-on-fed-to-cease-and-desist/ Continue reading →]]>
    clipped from www.tenthamendmentcenter.com
    New Mexico state representative Dennis Roch has introduced House Joint Resolution 27 to call on the Federal Government to “cease and desist” actions that go beyond the scope of powers authorized to it by the Constitution – and reserved to the States and the People by the 10th Amendment.
    “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”; and
    WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States says, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government”, and the ninth amendment states that, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”; and
    WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from congress may further violate the constitution of the United States;
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    Share on Facebook ]]>     http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/03/03/new-mexico-calls-on-fed-to-cease-and-desist/feed/ 0     Thomas Jefferson on National Moral Responsibility http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/02/27/thomas-jefferson-on-national-moral-responsibility/ http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/02/27/thomas-jefferson-on-national-moral-responsibility/#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:38:41 +0000 Robert Coss http://robertcoss.com/blog/2009/02/27/thomas-jefferson-on-national-moral-responsibility/ Continue reading →]]>
    We have been free for so long that we have forgotten our moral responsibility as a group (nation). I think we all have a responsibility to help raise the consciousness of our nation. We have to talk and speak up.

    Oddly enough, my conscience was awoken to this when I was reading the Lord’s Prayer and noted Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. He said “forgive US our debts”. I was accustom to praying in the singular, for myself, “Father forgive ME for my debts”. Jesus was about 30 years old at the time and about 40 years removed from the collapse of his nation. It goes without question He saw the destructive path his nation was on.

    clipped from etext.virginia.edu

    “A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.” –Thomas Jefferson to George Hammond, 1792. ME 16:263

    “It is strangely absurd to suppose that a million of human beings, collected together, are not under the same moral laws which bind each of them separately.” –Thomas Jefferson to George Logan, 1816. FE 10:68

    “If the morality of one man produces a just line of conduct in him acting individually, why should not the morality of one hundred men produce a just line of conduct in them acting together?” –Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:450, Papers 15:367

    “The laws of humanity make it a duty for nations, as well as individuals, to succor those whom accident and distress have thrown upon them.” –Thomas Jefferson to Albert Gallatin, 1807. ME 11:144

    “Moral duties [are] as obligatory on nations as on individuals.” –Thomas Jefferson: The Anas, 1808. ME 1:480
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