Birther movement regarding Jesus

This Tumblr website has launched a Birther movement regarding Jesus. It's actually a challenge.

Please provide ONE single person, along with their authentic writing, that can prove the simple living-human, historical existence of the claimed, christian New Testament jesus the christ of Nazareth, that meets both (A & B) of our 2 simple requirements listed below: A.) A contemporary 1st century person that lived between the years of 1-36 CE, who was a first-hand eye-witness, who actually saw, met, spoke to, and knew jesus personally. B.) Provide this person’s original and authentic: secular, non-christian, non-religious, unbiased, non-bible, non-gospel, and non-scripture writing, that is directly about jesus (with references/citations to prove that this person actually wrote the work in question), officially dated by science, between the years of 1-53 CE. Additional religious or christian writings that can’t be used: papyri, uncials, minuscules, lectionaries, didache, apocrypha, gnostic, catechism, and pseudepigrapha.
In case some folks are tempted to reach for some of the classic "proofs," the site offers this scorecard: Jesus Chart   The site also offers links to many other sites that challenge the existence (not merely the divinity) of Jesus, including:

Bible Scholar: Robert M Price - Extrabiblical evidence for Jesus ► 8:44

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3zuMeNPgDQ

Debunking the Fraudulent christian Apologist List of Extra-biblical but non-contemporary, claimed “sources” used as jesus “evidence.” (Jewish, “Pagan,” Non-christian, “Secular”)

http://tmblr.co/ZkpfQtmt2ygH

The jesus Birther Movement (jBM) Research Database Directory

http://tmblr.co/ZkpfQtaKiFCa

Research Articles, Evidence and Videos that Prove a Historical jesus, NEVER Existed

http://tmblr.co/ZkpfQtmSTwHN

66 Famous Historians and Writers From The 1st and 2nd Century, Who Never Mentioned Fictional jesus – The Screaming Silence of Real History http://tmblr.co/ZkpfQtnCiu1a

 

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Lee Camp: Our political system has cancer

A new study demonstrates that the United states is not a democracy, but an oligarchy. Lee Camp comments on this study: Common Dreams has also commented on the study, entitled "Testing Theories of American Politics."

A study, to appear in the Fall 2014 issue of the academic journal Perspectives on Politics, finds that the U.S. is no democracy, but instead an oligarchy, meaning profoundly corrupt, so that the answer to the study’s opening question, "Who governs? Who really rules?" in this country, is: "Despite the seemingly strong empirical support in previous studies for theories of majoritarian democracy, our analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts. Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But, ..." and then they go on to say, it's not true, and that, "America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened" by the findings in this, the first-ever comprehensive scientific study of the subject, which shows that there is instead "the nearly total failure of 'median voter' and other Majoritarian Electoral Democracy theories [of America]. When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy." To put it short: The United States is no democracy, but actually an oligarchy.
You can find the study here. The following is the bottom line:
The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence. Our results provide substantial support for theories of Economic Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism.

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More quotes

I've gathered many quotes for DI. This is another batch of my favorite quotes, gathered from a wide variety of sources: Libertarian: "(noun) One who believes that oppression is best handled by the Private Sector." (seen on Facebook) "Maybe this world is another planet’s hell." Aldous Huxley "Music makes one feel so romantic - at least it always gets on one's nerves - which is the same thing nowadays." Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." H. P. Lovecraft (1890 - 1937), "The Call of Cthulhu", first line “We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think.” ― Rod Serling "If Satan is God’s enemy . . . why does he punish those who disobey God?" - From Facebook “My pain may be the reason for somebody's laugh. But my laugh must never be the reason for somebody's pain.” ― Charles Chaplin "The point of public relations slogans like “Support our troops” is that they don’t mean anything… That’s the whole point of good propaganda.You want to create a slogan that nobody’s going to be against, and everybody’s going to be for.Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn’t mean anything.Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? That’s the one you’re not allowed to talk about." - Noam Chomsky "All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptable. Such people have a tendency to become drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted." - Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse Dune, Missionaria Protectiva, US science fiction novelist (1920 - 1986) "Deregulation: Yes that's a licence for Corporate Monopoly Rule aided and abetted by Sociopaths in key positions: Government, Law, Security both Police and Military, the Media and in Business." - Anon comment on Glenn Greenwald’s website "If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you’re misinformed.” - Mark Twain. "Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." - Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983) "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain. “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.” - Ernest Hemingway The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them. - Patrick Henry

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Some Context for my Concern with Government Corruption

I realize that I probably look obsessed due to my many posts about government corruption. Perhaps that is because I saw it first-hand when I worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Missouri. That was back in the late '80s, when William Webster served as Missouri Attorney General. My job required me to prosecute consumer fraud. That's not quite how it worked, however. If the target was a significant contributor, I would be given lots of excuses that good cases were "not good cases." I resisted for many months, documenting my cases as best I could and refusing to close good files--this behavior confused me at first, but then it became all too clear. Ultimately, several substantial cases against major contributors convinced Webster to transfer me out of of the Trade Offense Division. Because I refused his transfer, Webster fired me. Little did I know that my experiences would become a focus for the 1992 Missouri Governor's debate. The debate featured Mel Carnahan (the Democrat) versus William Webster (the Republican). Prior to this debate Webster had held a 20-point lead. The election occurred two weeks after this debate, and Webster conceded by 7:30 pm on election night. During the debate Carnahan blistered Webster with accusations much of the night. You'll get a flavor for this well-deserved barrage if you watch the first 5 minutes--I was discussed beginning at the 3-minute mark. One other Assistant Attorney General also took a bold stand. After it became clear to him that the office was corrupt, Tom Glassberg resigned, immediately driving to Jefferson City to file ethics charges against Webster. Tom wrote a letter defending my reputation and his letter was published by the Post-Dispatch. It was letter I will never forget. A few sentences were read at the Governor's Debate. Those were intense times for me, of course. You can't solve problems like this in a day. It requires immense patience and diplomacy, and bucking the system is risky. When you start resisting, you quickly see who has both a conscience and a backbone. When I see the constant stream of money for political favors stories, I'm disheartened but resolute. Corrupt money and power are formidable, but they can't prevail where good people organize. I'm sure that my time as an AAG was formative, and it continues to drive me forward. One last thought is a sad one for me, however. During the Webster scandal, the St. Louis Post Dispatch was an aggressive newspaper that did real investigative journalism thanks to excellent reporting by several reporters, including Terry Ganey. The Post-Dispatch no longer does significant investigative journalism, as is the case with most newspapers. Reporters across the country are being laid off by the hundreds, and this has led to a huge news vacuum. These days, we simply don't know what is going on in most corners of our government. Many stories don't see the light of day, and the mass media offer no local alternatives (local TV "news" tends to be a joke). Hence my non-stop interest in media reform through organization such as Free Press. Media Reform and Election Reform need to be fixed before we can meaningfully address any other issues. That has so sadly become apparent.

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