Welcome to Street Prophets Coffee Hour! Thermal for the warmth of a good cup of coffee or your preferred beverage, as well as the warmth of a more progressive religion and community.
Or it’s still warm enough that you may want to pull up a comfy chair with a cold drink. Whatever perks you up for your afternoon without causing sleepless nights! Feel free to share in the Comments, if you’re so inclined. This is also an Open Thread for you to connect.
Today is the first official day of Autumn!
Get ready for coffee and autumn leaves!
Here’s a bunch of autumn coffee recipes (and not pumpkin spice)! Mexican mocha latte, anyone?
WHAT INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED
- Strong Coffee – or two shots espresso will work as well
- Powdered Sugar
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – dutch cocoa is best
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cayenne Pepper
- Heavy Cream – half & half is a good substitute, as well as cashew cream
(You can make that cashew cream yourself with just cashews, water, and a pinch of salt! Or just riff off whatever you have available — as a diabetic, I always pour chocolate Glucerna into my coffee, with cinnamon, etc!)
But now onto our title topic. A few DKos commenters often complain that progressive Christians don’t make enough noise, which I think is sometimes a valid complaint. So I’ll use this space to discuss progressive Christianity’s views on the issues. These are not my views alone. Note that there are and have long been progressive Christian religio-political groups, some of whom are trying to become more vocal and get more noticed.
We are familiar with the right-wing evangelical of $Rump and pretty much all things GOP. They may seek to enable more tax cuts for the rich and cutting of services for the poor. All of this is worsened by the “Prosperity Gospel”:
With a convoluted history that dates to the economic inequality of the first Gilded Age in the late 19th century, one modern strain of the prosperity gospel asserts that material wealth is a sign of divine favor, and that material poverty indicates moral or personal failings.
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Donald Trump won the presidency by appealing to the material longings of evangelical Protestants, a group that once mocked prosperity preachers but who now increasingly embrace their message, perhaps because the message implies control in an out-of-control world.
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Beyond its questionable theological premise — was Jesus really into capitalism? — the prosperity gospel rests on a hollow definition of prosperity. The corporate honchos who drove the U.S. economy into the ground a decade ago should not be viewed as morally superior to the cancer researcher, nurse, teacher, firefighter or any worker serving a cause greater than themselves but who might earn less in a lifetime than some ineffective CEOs earn in a month.
Fortunately, many religious organisations including the Catholic church disagree with this emphasis on prosperity. From Taxing the rich to help the poor? Here’s what the Bible says (author Mathew Schmalz, religion professor):
Tax reform in general raises critical issues about whether the government should redistribute income and promote equality in the first place.
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While human fulfillment is not just about material comfort, the Catholic Church has always maintained that citizens should have access to food, housing and health care. As the Catholic Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church makes clear, taxation is necessary because government should “harmonize” society in a just way.
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In other words, believing that helping the poor is simply an individual or private responsibility ignores the scope and complexity of the world we live in.
The first blockquote may be longer than the second blockquote, but personally I agree with the second (both links provide more detailed explanations). How about you? Please feel free to discuss below.
Taxes? Donations? Both?
And finally, let’s elevate our Community Cred and repost The Needs List! From Aashirs nani (with permission) on Helping Humpday, with some variations on bolding for variety’s sake.
Please note:
When sending via PayPal, be sure to select “Send to family/friend” to avoid fees on either end. Be aware, both donor and recipient, that GFM not only charges fees, but also money received through that platform is treated as taxable income. If you are requesting help through GFM, also be aware that there can be delays in accessing the money.
Community Needs List as of 9/21/22. Fundraisers who want a diary to be or stay on the list: PLEASE kosmail requests and donations received to njm5000 by Tuesday evening to be included on the Wednesday morning updated list.
Living on the financial edge—need help? Check out the Helping Directories before your next emergency.
Housing and Living Expenses Fundraisers and Other Links
morgansmom—needs help towards major car repairs and moving to a better environment. $8000 7950 7900 7850 7750 7725 7615 7605 7565 7465 7415 7375 7275 7175 7025 6920 6820 Turns out the car needs a front end rebuild, so repairs are on hold. :-) • Visit the KoFi page to see some cool artwork & donate! • PayPal: wingednag at gmail dot com.
DHfromKY—is looking to raise $2450 1950 1830 1720 1685 1585 1385 1285 1180 1170 960 for rent and other necessities. Against the wall, again...• PayPal is dharden40219 at yahoo dot com—select “Send to a friend”, and PayPal doesn’t charge a fee.
J Graham—"Your child has mental health issues." But you're a fighter. "It's cancer." But you're a fighter... • She’s sleeping in a tent! (Cats, music, and a chance to help a deserving Daily Kos member). The goal is $14,000 9944 9534 8884 8859 8709 8684 4448 4348 4323 4223 to cover first and last month rent, security deposit, some medical expenses, utility bills, and moving costs. She has a Mighty Cause fundraiser, and PayPal at: jgraham4healthcare at gmail dot com
HarpPlayer posted a diary—I Really Need Some Help asking for help with various expenses that have accumulated. HarpPlayer is a retired RN with health problems, but this help can provide a fresh reset. Total needed is adjusted to $2395 990 PayPal bluessingerrn at aol dot com.
michelewln—needs help for September for food, cat food. PayPal: michelewilson327 at gmail dot com.
Wired Wolf—needs about $3000 2960. Helping support Mom “…on one fulltime retail wage…and living on credit cards through Covid have suddenly caught up with us bigtime--I'm in way over my head right now. I need about $3000 to get my credit cards to a safe level that I can maintain… we're still waiting for our utility-assistance appeal and my student loan servicer never paused IBR payments.” Paypal is paypal dot me/WiredWolf
The Kos Katalogue 2021 is here. Updated by CathyM
Also: From yesterday’s comments:
Michelewln is in trouble. The phone company wants her to pay $124 now or lose her phone. She only has $43. I don’t remember how to add the screenshot. She’s really depressed and currently tweeting she’s out of options.
I’m in for a mickle. I hope you’ll join me. Always glad to see the needed amounts gradually decreasing!
Oh yay, from the Peeps comments today:
I messaged Michele this morning. She received enough from our DK peeps that she was able to pay the phone bill and buy some groceries. She said to tell everyone she misses you and that Pixie sends purrs.
Thank you to everyone for helping, either sending something, reading and reccing, or holding good thoughts.
If helping financially isn’t the right choice for you at this time, you can still help. Tip and rec the diary so it stays visible. Share on social media: Twitter, Facebook, whatever platform you use, to bring the attention of others outside our daily readers. And offer words of encouragement to people who are struggling. It can be scary to be struggling, and it can feel lonely. Let them know we understand and are here to help.
If you have time, please visit the diaries above and leave comments for their authors. Those words of encouragement are vital!
If you don’t like fundraisers, please just move along. They are a longstanding tradition at DKos — Until we vote in enough progressives to create a much stronger social safety net!
Please note: I take care of my 90ish-year-old Mom and something could come up, so I am scheduling this to auto-publish. If possible, I’ll be here to engage in Comments. However, if I’m not here, please chat amongst yourselves, take a coffee break, post aminal photos and tunes, spread the word and invite your friends, etc.! Thanks to all!
