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Editorials/Columns
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Hell Can Have Him Later
ext month Dylan
Roof, the man respon- sible for the church massacre in Columbia, S.C., may or may not receive the death penalty. And, personally, I'm hoping that they let him live.
This is mainly because I come from a school of thought that believes executing an in- dividual, at least in some cases, is too easy of a punish- ment. When someone com- mits an act that is extraordinarily egregious or horrific, I'm a firm believer in that person being forced to en- dure the same amount of physical, mental and emo- tional suffering that he or she placed onto others.
To me, Roof is the perfect example of the kind of miscre- ant who deserves to spend the remainder of his, hopefully, long life inside of an environ- ment where he'll live every minute surrounded by people who'll see it as their mission to make his existence as miser-
able as possible. As far as I'm concerned that's a much better option than killing him. An ex- ercise that would, not only, free him from the crippling ef- fects that come with long term exposure to stress and anguish but, could also turn him into a martyr for those who may have viewed his actions as jus- tifiable.
To people who may disagree or believe that taking a mur- derer's life is the ultimate form of justice, the truth is, com- pared to life in the worse state prison imaginable or living 23 hours of the day confined to an underground cell at the Fed- eral ADX in Florence, Col- orado, being put to death could, arguably, be considered an act of mercy. And that's one thing Roof has no business receiving.
This is a man who laughed during court proceedings while describing how he shot and killed church parishioners during a prayer service, a per-
son who admitted to allowing certain people to survive the rampage just so that they could tell the story of what happened and who has yet to show an ounce of remorse for his unfathomable cruelty. Where in the book does it say that humanity should be shown to an individual this in- humane?
This is why it pains me to no end when I hear the families of the victims constantly offering Roof forgiveness. I mean, how do you forgive a person who, not only, doesn't care about being forgiven but, who's equally happy that he's the reason your loved ones are dead?
If I were the sentencing judge the only thing that I'd sentence Dylan Roof to would be 120-minute beat downs every day for the next 85 years, with an extra serving of torture on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. That is because the only thing worse than having your life taken is waking up every morning wishing someone would kill you.
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Old Men And War: The American Way
aybe, if we gave some old male politicians doses of es-
trogen, they would be less likely to draw lines in the sand and less likely to declare war and send young men and women off to fight their ridiculous wars,” said one local ac- tivist in response to a bet.
The “bet” was that within a year of Trump’s becoming president, America would be embroiled in war with any number of countries that we are currently building strained relations with. Pick any nation of choice except Russia, and the other 20 nations where Trump has business interests.
According to one source, America has been at war or in- volved in a military conflict for 222 years out of 239 years since our nation was founded in 1776.
Indeed, America has only one time period when we were not involved in a war for five years. Indeed, wars have proven to be unbelievably profitable for a number of businesses – military arms, defense contractors, drone, helicopters and airplane makers, electronics firms, engine makers commu- nications, artillery, vehicles, ship makers, missiles, and sup- plies.
Among the biggest weapons companies doing business with our government are Thales, United Technologies, L- 3Communications, Finmeccanica, European Aeronautic De- fense and Space Company (EADS), Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. Indeed, America has the largest military budget in the world at nearly $600 billion.
According to another source, America’s defense budget was greater than all other countries defense budgets com- bined.
Therefore, we are convinced that America should enter a war or conflict only as a last resort. However, based upon our history, we are slated to get involved in a new conflict very shortly. As someone once said, “It the American way.”
The Power Of One
mpowered Greet-
ings. In the world of business and networking when you hear the phrase the power of one, it generally refers to notion that you are one person, one opportunity, one deal, one decision, one day or just one thing (you name it) away from acquiring what you’ve been seeking.
I want to share with you another significance of the power of one as it relates to the Christmas Season. For Chris- tians the celebration revolves around the power of one child, born as the only begotten son of God who is called Won- derfu,l Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.
This season I want to en- courage you to allow the power of the Spirit of the One Christ to be greater than spirit of the Christmas season. For the Spirit of Christ is eternal while the spirit of Christmas is
annual.
Everything about the
Christmas season has signs of significance that point to the power of the one Christ. The Christmas tree is in the shape of a triangle and points toward heaven. This is a sign of significance because the tri- angle represents the trinity, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is the Light of the World, thus giving us the sig- nificance of the lights on the tree. The tree is topped with a star, which is significant as it was a star that guided the wise men to the Christ child.
The gifts that are given are a sign of charity and love. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The wreath is significant for a couple of reasons. The circular shape represents the
divinity of God. Like God, it has no beginning and no end. Wreaths made with Ever- greens are a sign of growth and everlasting life.
While wreaths that are made using Holly branches, which have thorns, are signifi- cant because they represent the crown that was placed on Jesus’ head. The red holly berries symbolize the blood of Jesus that was shed on Cal- vary.
The shape of the candy cane is a sign that symbolizes a Shepherd’s crook. This is sig- nificant because it reminds us that the Lord is our Shepherd. The white strips on the candy cane signify the purity of Christ and the red represent the His healing stripes and His red blood that cleanses us of our sins.
These are just a few signs of significance for you to re- member this holiday season. Keep the power of the one Christ in Christmas and have a Blessed holiday.
For those reading this col- umn I want to give you the gift of a free success coaching call session. Book before Decem- ber 31, 2016.
Call 813-603-0088.
The United States Of What If?
t’s called “False Facts,” and every school child is used to
sickness as to how it works. Ask them and they’ll explain, “You just think up the silliest, most outlandish lie you can come up with that might be true, then get a handful of bored people, constant complainers, or people who’ll go along with anything, then put it on the wire (nowadays social media), and you have what Adolf Hitler called “THE BIG LIE.”
It almost worked awhile for Nazi Germany, but could it really take hold here in America? So, given the introduction of Breitbart News Online, the resumption of popularity for People’s Magazine, the midnight Tweets of our “Mad-Hat- ter” president-elect as well as members of his Alice-in-Won- derland cabinet who seem to get their news from Sponge Bob, let’s see how we’d look in a suit of, “You’re Putting Me On.”
What if we wake up tomorrow, to be informed (via Breit- bart) that a covert plot to overthrow the new government has been uncovered that included top-level Black and Latino ac- tivists who intended to start a people’s protest in every major city in America?
Would it matter if the accusation was a bald-faced lie? Given the speed of social media in America these days, by the time the liars were apprehended, how close would America
be to becoming a lock-down nation of martial law facing the same horrors Japanese Ameri- cans endured during World War II when thousands of them were placed in internment camps? Who would stand on our side?
Could America see such s train wreck down the road if we do not stop the onslaught of cre- ative lies that seem to be strangling legitimate journalism and common sense like weeds choke a rose garden? Is there anything we can do to keep our Democracy from becoming another rise and fall of history?
One thing we can do is be careful not only what we believe, but what our children are sub- jected to.
If not, “WHAT IF?” too quickly become “HOW SOON?”
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5
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