In 2012 Will Oremus asked if Jesus was a homophobe and concluded he wasn't" "While it’s reasonable to assume that Jesus and his fellow Jews in first-century Palestine would have disapproved of gay sex, there is no record of his ever having mentioned homosexuality, let alone expressed particular revulsion about it... Never in the Bible does Jesus himself offer an explicit prohibition of homosexuality." Nor does Jesus ever mention abortion. But you know what Jesus did talk about in the Bible? Banksters.Do you recall Jesus ever becoming angry and violent, succumbing to hatred instead of love? I do; when he threw the money lenders out of the Temple. On his blog, Biblical Perspective On Money , Bob Lotich, dealt with the topic of why Jesus drove the money changers out of the Temple.
Why Did Jesus Drive Them Out?1. They were taking advantage of those who had traveled long distances to celebrate Passover.Two things were essential for these foreign worshipers: an animal to sacrifice and Temple coins which local merchants would accept. There was probably nothing wrong with selling animals or operating a legitimate money exchange, but, according to Jesus, these particular vendors were a “den of robbers” who undoubtedly charged exorbitant rates, thus taking advantage of those who seemingly had no other options.2. They were doing so in the Temple.Evidently, these shysters set up shop in the Court of the Gentiles, effectively crowding out those who had traveled to worship. Furthermore, they were perverting the purpose of the Temple itself; Jesus exclaimed that they were turning the house of prayer into a den of robbers. Not good!In summary, these “businessmen” were guilty of a double whammy: they took advantage of others and they blocked God’s purposes in doing so. No wonder Jesus was angry!The Rest of the StoryWhat happened after Jesus threw those moneychangers from the Temple? I imagine there was a shocked silence as people awkwardly waited to see what would happen next. The Bible tells us that the blind and the lame came to him, and children recognized him as “Hosanna, son of David.”Think about it: Immediately after Jesus dealt with the opportunists, he became a magnet for the very ones whom others so often take advantage of. It may be that when we take a courageous stand for righteousness, some will recognize and appreciate that stand. The world is full of downtrodden people who are looking for someone to stand up for them. If we don’t do it, who will?
On Tuesday, the new Congress is sworn in. Who to trust and who to be wary of? These are the incumbents who have been reelected to the House who have "special relationships" with the banksters, along with the amount of money that have taken-- clearly bribes, although not defined as bribes in the statutes which are written by Congress specifically to exclude their own criminal behavior from prosecution.This first list are the House's 30... most successful members-- at least when it comes to taking bribes from the money lenders:
Finance Sector• Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)- Minority Leader- $7,891,492• Steny Hoyer (D-MD)- Majority Leader- $6,838,814• Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)- Financial Service's subcommittee on Capital Markets chair- $6,327,421• Jim Himes (New Dem-CT)- Financial Services Committee- $6,279,357• Steve Stivers (R-OH)- House Financial Services Committee- $5,598,776• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- Financial Services Committee- $5,586,542• Richard Neal (D-MA)- chair, Ways and Means Committee- $5,504,510• Nita Lowey (D-NY)- chair, Appropriations Committee- $5,244,643• Kevin Brady (R-TX)- ranking member, Ways and Means Committee- $4,182,735• Ed Perlmutter (New Dem-CO)- Financial Services Committee- $4,111,253• Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)- Speaker- $3,985,976• John Larson (D-CT)- Ways and Means Committee- $3,969,459• Brad Sherman (New Dem-CA)- Financial Services Committee- $3,823,403• Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)- Financial Services Committee- $3,772,203• Sean Duffy (R-WI)- Financial Service's oversight subcomiittee chair- $3,679,647• Gregory Meeks (New Dem-NY)- Financial Services Committee- $3,661,288• Andy Barr (R-KY)- Financial Services Committee- $3,568,176• Ron Kind (New Dem-WI)- Ways and Means Committee- $3,308,271• Joe Kennedy III (D-MA)- Energy and Commerce Committee- $3,304,400• David Scott (New Dem-GA)- Financial Services Committee- $3,260,344• Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)- Energy and Commerce Committee- $3,258,220• Charlie Crist (New Dem-FL)-Financial Services Committee- $3,165,972• Steve Scalise (R-LA)- Energy and Commerce Committee- $3,100,326• Vern Buchanon (R-FL)- Ways and Means Committee- $3,092,743• Peter King (R-NY)- Financial Services Committee- $3,092,721• Ann Wagner (R-MO)- Financial Services Committee- $3,041,599• Josh Gottheimer (New Dem-NJ)- Financial Services Committee- $2,967,427• Jim Clyburn (D-SC)- Majority Whip- $2,906,566• Sean Patrick Maloney (New Dem-NY)- formerly on Financial Services Committee- $2,873,140• Tom Reed (R-NY)- Ways and Means Committee- $2,854,464Stock Brokers/Investment Industry• Jim Himes (New Dem-CT)- Financial Services Committee- $2,919,307• Nita Lowey (D-NY)- chair, Appropriations Committee- $2,503,191• Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)- Minority Leader- $2,342,302• Ro Khanna (D-CA)- Budget Committee- $2,126,244• Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)- Financial Service's subcommittee on Capital Markets chair- $1,918,498• Joe Kennedy III (D-MA)- Energy and Commerce Committee- $1,673,683• Steny Hoyer (D-MD)- Majority Leader- $1,669,332• Josh Gottheimer (New Dem-NJ)- Financial Services Committee- $1,568,898• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- Financial Services Committee- $1,278,356• Richard Neal (D-MA)- chair, Ways and Means Committee- $1,227,619Hedge Funds• Elisse Stefanik (R-NY)- $359,832• Jim Himes (New Dem-CT)- Financial Services Committee- $331,225• Nita Lowey (D-NY)- chair, Appropriations Committee- $279,300• Chellie Pingree (D-ME)- Appropriations Committee- $264,550• Tom Reed (R-NY)- Ways and Means Committee- $226,116• Joe Kennedy III (D-MA)- Energy and Commerce Committee- $220,599Josh Gottheimer (New Dem-NJ)- Financial Services Committee- $202,065• Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)- Financial Service's subcommittee on Capital Markets chair- $150,656• Ann Kirkpatrick (New Dem-AZ)- freshman- $147,972• ikie Sherrill (New Dem-NJ)- freshman- $147,333Mortgage Banking• Brad Sherman (New Dem-CA)- Financial Services Committee- $250,365• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- Financial Services Committee- $189,487• Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)- Financial Service's subcommittee on Capital Markets chair- $153,690• Gregory Meeks (New Dem-NY)- Financial Services Committee- $145,905• Ed Perlmutter (New Dem-CO)- Financial Services Committee- $142,950• Steny Hoyer (D-MD)- Majority Leader- $142,400• Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)- Minority Leader- $138,900• Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker- $134,792• Sean Duffy (R-WI)- Financial Service's oversight subcomiittee chair- $132,700• Bill Huizenga (R-MI)- Financial Services Committee- $131,550Payday Lenders• Alcee Hastings (D-FL)- $182,950• Steve Stivers (R-OH)- House Financial Services Committee- $169,225• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- Financial Services Committee- $139,599• Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)- Financial Services Committee- $135,100• Gregory Meeks (New Dem-NY)- Financial Services Committee- $132,000• Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)- Financial Service's subcommittee on Capital Markets chair- $130,050• Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)- Minority Leader- $105,300• David Scott (New Dem-GA)- Financial Services Committee- $95,130• Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)- Energy and Commerce Committee- $90,200• Henry Cuellar (New Dem-TX)- Appropriations Committee- $82,900Student Loan Companies• Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)- Appropriations Committee- $62,800• Ed Perlmutter (New Dem-CO)- Financial Services Committee- $62,750• Virginia Foxx (R-NC)- ranking member Education Committee- $60,450• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- Financial Services Committee- $51,200• Bobby Scott (D-VA)- Education Committee- $42,000Commercial Banking• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- Financial Services Committee- $963,694• Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)- Financial Services Committee- $901,988• Steve Stivers (R-OH)- House Financial Services Committee- $901,772• Steny Hoyer (D-MD)- Majority Leader- $827,730• Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)- Minority Leader- $693,302• Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)- Financial Service's subcommittee on Capital Markets chair- $677,795• Jim Himes (New Dem-CT)- Financial Services Committee- $626,975• Andy Barr (R-KY)- Financial Services Committee- $608,518• David Scott (New Dem-GA)- Financial Services Committee- $607,201• Ed Perlmutter (New Dem-CO)- Financial Services Committee- $591,200
Should people writing banking and investment legislation on their committees be taking money-- particularly very large sums of money-- from banksters and from PACs financed by investment and finance industries? I don't think so. I think the practice absolutely degrades Congress, degrades American politics and surely drives a wedge between voters and the members of the political class. Congress will never pass a law prohibiting members of Congress from taking bribes until voters go crazy on their asses and really make them feel the heat. Many members are really pissed off at AOC because of this kind of thing:
