Kevin Annett + Common Law = The End of Goliath?

[Ritafee]

Thanks John, Inannawhimsey, & George ...
PLAN, Hobbits & Crucifixions it is then ... perhaps we shall yet meet in Rome ... eyes open ... Rita

 

[revjohn]

Jesus looks on those who conspired to accomplish his murder as being ignorant (unexamined/unconscious) and therefore not to be held accountable. I will not quarrel with Jesus on this point. I will do all that I am able to provoke awakening to the responsibility by which freedom is energized and validated.

Semantics. Asking for forgiveness is not not holding accountable. Those guilty are found guilty. Mercy is preferred over justice.

Jesus as the victim has the right to be merciful and forgiving.

You and I do not stand as victim in the Residential Schools history, forgiveness is not ours to give. To offer it would be to offer cheap grace because such forgiveness would cost you and I nothing.

[FONT=Open Sans, sans-serif]If guilt by association is going to be applied then you and I by virtue of our offices stand as the accused.

It remains to see whether or not we shall be accused falsely (and exacerbate injustice) or whether we shall be set free for lack of evidence.

We may not be guilty of the sins of yesterday. We aren't yesterday's victims either.

It is not our place to forgive Peter for his sins against Paul. That is a decision Paul makes for himself.

At best we can model what we believe is the most faithful option bearing in mind unmerciful servants are dealt with in kind.
[/FONT]

 

[GeoFee]

Face to face with the limitations of my vocabulary, my semantics.

We agree, as a start point, that a travesty has been visited on a people by a power. Not only a people, also the living place occupied by that people.

I will not be drawn into the tangles of right and wrong, blame and guilt. Just as you say it is not mine to either accuse or forgive. It is mine to remember, understand and express, in and through all my relations, a free responsible posture and tone.

Here is a voice I affirm:

"Some Christians might believe that they live in a post-Christian world, but the United States and Canada are still Christian nation-states. More than 77 percent of the population continue to claim some affiliation with Christianity, and more importantly, the systems and institutions of these countries are clearly rooted in Christian traditions - as represented by the Doctrine of Discovery (the fifteenth century papal bull that gave Christian nations the right to dispossess Native peoples of their lands) and the ideology of Manifest Destiny, both of which are embedded in law and practice (that is, they impact present day realities). The occupying powers of Turtle Island are firmly founded on these unjust church traditions, which assert that 'civilized' peoples had (and have) the right to dispossess and/or rule over "savage" Native peoples. In the last few years, some denominations have repudiated such traditions, like the Anglicans and United churches, but it is largely a rhetorical move, lacking deeds to match words."

From: "A Serpent in the Garden", by Waziyatawin (Dakota), in "Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry".
​

You well put the matter into perspective:

At best we can model what we believe is the most faithful option bearing in mind unmerciful servants are dealt with in kind.

We will choose freedom, responsibility, creativity and courage or we will perish. First each and then all.

George

​

​

 

[Ritafee]

We will choose freedom, responsibility, creativity and courage or we will perish. First each and then all ... George

OR ...

"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" is a short story by Kurt Vonnegut written in 1953

Set in 2158 A.D., after the invention of a medicine called Anti-Gerasone, which is made from mud and dandelions and is thus inexpensive and widely available. Anti-Gerasone halts the aging process and prevents people from dying of old age as long as they keep taking it; as a result, America now suffers from severe overpopulation and shortages of food and resources. With the exception of the very wealthy, most of the population appears to survive on a diet of foods made from processed seaweed and sawdust.

Plot
The Schwartz family, headed by 172-year-old Harold ("Gramps"), lives in a three-room New York City apartment located in what once was southern Connecticut. Gramps' grandson Louis, his wife Emerald, and 22 other descendants are crowded into the space, perpetually jockeying for Gramps' favor. Gramps gets the best food and the only private bedroom, and controls everyone's life by constantly revising his will to disinherit anyone who earns his dislike.

Emerald thinks about killing Gramps by diluting his Anti-Gerasone, but Louis talks her out of it. An offhand remark by him prompts Gramps to disinherit the couple and exile them to the worst sleeping space in the apartment. Louis then catches another family member diluting Gramps' Anti-Gerasone; fearing Gramps' reaction to such a scheme, he tries to empty the bottle and refill it with the full-strength mixture. He breaks the bottle and is caught by Gramps, who only tells him to clean up the mess. The next day, the family finds Gramps' bed empty, with a note informing them that he is dead and a newly rewritten will that bequeaths his estate to his descendants without dividing it.

A riot breaks out as the family members start fighting over who gets the bedroom, leading to everyone being arrested and jailed at the police station. Louis and Emerald find the cells to be comfortable and spacious compared to the apartment, and hope that they will be sentenced to prison so they can keep these living arrangements. Meanwhile, Gramps has returned to the apartment, having spent the day at a nearby tavern, and hired a lawyer to get everyone convicted. He sees a television commercial for the new product (Which he had already been taking) Super-Anti-Gerasone, which can reverse the aging process instead of just halting it, and starts thinking about being able to enjoy life again.

 

[MySaskCan]

It is ironic that Rev. Annett has used this interview with Dr. Jennifer Wade as part of his 'evidence' at the non-existent tribunal. Since he first recorded her 'testimonial', he called her a liar, but chose to use the footage anyways because he hoped that no one would know he'd called her that. The following is an email sent to the producer of his (then) radio program asking her to get rid of Dr. Wade who was scheduled as a guest of his. This is his usual tactic of compartmentalizing and discrediting those he works with. Dr. Wade is just one on a long list.

From: hiddenfromhistory@yahoo.ca
To: RedTownRadio@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 3/13/2010 9:29:13 P.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Re: Fwd: rescheduling show

Thanks (name redacted). Jennifer is lying again. I knew Lori when I was still with Pam, but Pam was leaving me for the Maritimes anyway, after family pressure made her want to go home, and she actually thanked me for giving her the excuse to leave me.
But there's more to it. Pam's dad is a United Church minister who was always wary about me, and he exploded after Pam asked him about the sterilization doctor, George Darby, whom her dad knew. Then he started urging Pam to leave me because frankly he was scared of what might come out about his links to Darby. Pam admitted al this to me and I told Jennifer.
Jennifer knows all this so for her to make it look like I;m just an adulterer shows how once again she's just trying to malign me, and is misleading you (and others) about me and my situation.
Thanks for cancelling the interview with her. More soon!
Kev

 

[MySaskCan]

Hello... with a cheery emphasis on a rainy day in Steinbach...

Kevin dropped in for coffee and conversation during the year I Occupied the student lounge, in the Iona Building of the Vancouver School of Theology. I was an early listener as he struggled to bring his insight into general view. This cost him much, including a broken relationship with his wife.

Kevin is an interesting case. His notice of travesty is not far from the mark. He might have fared better had those with pastoral oversight been at least a little more diligent than they were. Rather than investigate his findings, those with stewardship of institutional well being called his person into question. As if an unbalanced emotional state trumps evidence.

Kevin has attracted the attention, and occasionally the endorsement, of persons such as Shirley MacClaine and Noam Chomsky. He also aligned himself with indigenous persons struggling for notice in the public square. All as something of a loner who, the last time I met him in Vancouver, continued to live with his ailing mother as her primary support.

Kevin is a person caught up with an important insight. We may dismiss, on various pertinent points, Kevin, but this does not diminish the indictment he has championed.

Kevin was one of many persons who shared experience with me in the Occupied student lounge. David Milgaard was another. He remembered his life in my hearing and I had opportunity for gleaning substantial insight.

As one who sees and says,

George

I wrote Chomsky about the quote Kevin used for many years to add legitimacy to his actions... Chomsky couldn't recall ever having endorsed Kevin and has a very derogatory view of the prize. He said that it wasn't a glowing endorsement of anyone to be called worthy of receiving it.

 

[MySaskCan]

M where does the idea that one can be guilty by association. Is it a concept like original sin, or does it derive itself from some sort or alternative law?

Remember too that Kevin has been the primary (and only) litigant in the bogus trial, that lists most of the people he felt were responsible for his de-listing (not firing as he admits he resigned - see his own work Hidden From History for that admission).

 

[blackbelt1961]

how can anyone trust such a dishonest person as Annette

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/International_Tribunal_into_Crimes_of_Church_and_State

hes getting way to much attention in my opinion

 

[Ritafee]

I am in agreement with this statement from GeoFee ...

• "Kevin is a person caught up with an important insight. We may dismiss, on various pertinent points, Kevin, but this does not diminish the indictment he has championed."

and this quote from Thomas Paine ...“Tis the business of little minds to shrink;

• but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”

I continue to take note of Kevin Annett's 'one man stand' with moral convictions strong enough to compel him to follow his mandate:

• To lawfully prosecute those people and institutions responsible for the exploitation, trafficking, torture and murder of children, past and present, and
• To stop these and other criminal actions by church and state, including by disestablishing those same institutions.

The ones chomping at the bit ready to condemn him and discount everything he says and does, I suspect, are just afraid of confronting the reality of the the issues he raises.

and there is this from a blogger whose name I have lost ...

• what happened in the residential schools throughout Canada is scandalous but it is only a fraction, a terrible, poignant, heart-breaking fraction of what still goes on.

• the value of a man like Kevin is that he makes the rest of us look at things we’d rather not see. He brings attention to the hidden festering places in our own souls. He reminds us of the very real suffering of others and the culpability of our society and our institutions which have both created and allowed such misery.

• they remind us of the cruelty and criminality that we have fostered and institutionalized. They call upon us to wake up, own our share of the problem, and take action in the only time and space that is real — this blessed moment called, “Now”.

 

[GeoFee]

[I posted prematurely and have been editing on the fly. Done now]

Hi UnDefinitive...! Happy New Year to you and Yours...!

It was interesting to notice the resurfacing of this thread. I was pleased to review the assorted posts. I chuckled aloud when reading again John characterizing me as a "false witness". It used to happen once in a while earlier in the history of this meeting place.

How easy a target Kevin presents for sharpshooters on all sides. How obviously he falls short of the high ideals of a justice seeking church and a liberty loving government. I used to be a little envious. How come folk were so uninterested in calling me on my perspective, relative to religion and politics in partnership to exploit and oppress; to the benefit of the loyal and the subservient.

I very much appreciate how you have picked up the conversation and brought it forward.

"Some Christians might believe that they live in a post-Christian world, but the United States and Canada are still Christian nation-states. More than 77 percent of the population continue to claim some affiliation with Christianity, and more importantly, the systems and institutions of these countries are clearly rooted in Christian traditions - as represented by the Doctrine of Discovery (the fifteenth century papal bull that gave Christian nations the right to dispossess Native peoples of their lands) and the ideology of Manifest Destiny, both of which are embedded in law and practice (that is, they impact present day realities). The occupying powers of Turtle Island are firmly founded on these unjust church traditions, which assert that 'civilized' peoples had (and have) the right to dispossess and/or rule over "savage" Native peoples. In the last few years, some denominations have repudiated such traditions, like the Anglicans and United churches, but it is largely a rhetorical move, lacking deeds to match words." From: "A Serpent in the Garden", by Waziyatawin (Dakota), in "Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry".

I have rarely argued with a person, preferring always to engage with persons in the hope of discovering reliable common ground. My argument is with ideas. In particular the strange hybrid of ideas by which this continent was occupied and expropriated in the service of profit and power. My favourite identification of this hybrid is Herman Melville.

Melville, in 1853, wrote his magnificent "Moby Dick". A masterful literary and philosophic achievement which identifies hubris as the operative spiritual ground in which the roots of Calvinist theology and Capitalist ideology were deeply sunk. For me, Melville saw the future of America and expressed it metaphorically as the fate of the Pequod under Ahab.

Kevin strikes me as something of a boy who cried wolf and was one day consumed by that wolf.

I too cry wolf. I have seen its approach for many a year. At all opportunity and by all means I have tried to warn of the approach. But I will not be devoured. Having seen the approach early, I have developed ways and means of preparation against the day.

The blessing of far seeing and faithful response has been distributed through all the earth, in and among all peoples. By this blessing the wolf is avoided and escaped.

For the biblically minded:

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

A human being, nothing more; or less.

George