Today I had the pleasure of being asked to take part in a political "survey". I sometimes wonder where these numbers come from. Now I have a little better insight. Taking this survey was actually kind of fun. I was tempted to lecture the pollster on how leading the questions were (and how misleading the results would be). But, I realized he was just a guy doing his job.
Bill Moyers interviewed Reverend Jeremiah Wright on PBS. It was aired on Friday night. Frankly, I was a little worried because I had seen a clip of Reverend Wright being interviewed by a right-wing personality before and it didn't go well.
Bill Moyers was the perfect man to do this interview. He asked the right questions, he allowed the Reverend to give his story. Basically, he acted like a professional journalist (rare). Reverend Wright came across as articulate, passionate, hopeful and you could tell the man knows his Bible and history.
This was posted on a message board I frequent. I found it sickening and sad and just had to respond.
Please read and go to this church's web site and read what is written there. It is very alarming. Barack Obama is a member of this church and is running for President of the U.S. If you look at the first page of their web site, you will learn that this congregation has a non-negotiable commitment to Africa. No where is AMERICA even mentioned. Notice too, what color you will need to be if you should want to join Obama's church... B-L-A-C-K!!! Doesn't look like his choice of religion has improved much over his (former?) Muslim upbringing. Strip away his nice looks, the big smile and smooth talk and what do you get? Certainly a racist, as plainly defined by the stated position of his church! And possibly a covert worshiper of the Muslim faith, even today. This guy desires to rule over America while his loyalty is totally vested in a Black Africa! I cannot believe this has not been all over the TV and newspapers.
This is why it is so important to pass this message along to all of our family & friends. To think that Obama has even the slightest chance in the run for the presidency, is really scary. Cut and paste the link below into your browser:
This is the web page for the church Barack Obama belongs to: www.tucc.org/about.htm
What I find "really scary" is that this message would even be forwarded to the "Universalist" board I participate in. But, it just goes to show how deeply seated racism and ignorance remains in our society. Here is my response:
Recently 4 Congressmen took the challenge to find out what it's like to live on $21/week, the average amount received per person in food stamp subsidies. One of them was Congressman Tim Ryan, of Ohio (unfortunately I'm not in his district). What the congressmen discovered is $21 per person per week is woefully short of what people need to have decent food. Most, if not all of them lost weight during the week and were hungry constantly. Tim Ryan blogged about his experience. What I found as fascinating as his blogging about the experience were the comments he received from people who had actually had to live like that for more than week. I can't imagine being a mother having to send her children to bed with a "There's nothing to eat. The check is coming tomorrow and then we can go get some food."
My last post on homosexuality drew more comments than any in the history of my blog. Interesting... Some of the comments and a couple of articles I've read recently have prompted me to feel the need to post a little more about this. I was taken to task by a couple of commenters about my lack of understanding of the lack of choice that homosexuals have. Of course, I think they're wrong about my lack of understanding. I'd like to expand on my thoughts concerning what choices and lack of choices we all have. I think partially in an effort to be sensitive and politically correct, I may have overstated my feelings about this saying homosexuals have less choice than I think they do. I'd like to clarify where I am on this issue. But, more importantly, I'd like to talk about why I don't think the "choice" in the matter is all that important. In fact, the attempt by gays and lesbians and their supporters to find a biological cause for homosexual orientation can even backfire, as I will show below. Once again, I want to say for the record, I think homosexuals should be afforded full civil rights and be accepted for who and what they are; regardless of how much choice or lack of choice there is in their orientation and in their actions. I want to thank Carrie for sending me the link to the OrthodoxyToday.Org article "Judaism's Sexual Revolution: Why Judaism (and then Christianity) Rejected Homosexuality" I found a lot in that article that I agree with and I suggest that Christians and Jews wrestling with this issue add it to your reading list. But, I also found a significant amount of the article that I take exception with. As you read my post, keep in mind I am trying to address this issue not only from the point of view of a citizen, but as a Christian. Christianity is deeply rooted in Judaism. As a Christian, I am obligated to strongly consider the traditions of my faith- but not to blindly agree with them.
I really did not want to write about this incident. There are no words that can express the senselessness, the tragedy and the unmitigated evil of such an event as we all had to witness just a couple of days ago. I'm not very good with words of condolence. Most of them ring empty, trite and unconsoling to me. While we all wonder what's in the mind of a person who not only wants to commit suicide but he wants to take random strangers with him, I'm beyond wondering why things like this happen in our world. I accept that they just do. I mourn when they happen. I grieve for the families of the victims and for our nation and for Cho Seun-Hi. As a self described Zen Christian Universalist, I've found myself alternately wishing for a hell for the shooter (temporary but something where he could appreciate the pain he has caused) and praying for peace for his obviously tortured soul. But, I really wanted to leave this to others to dissect. I've seen this incident written about on every blog I've been on in the last couple of days. They all expressed their ideas much better than I can. I was determined not to write about this unless I had something different to say. So, I guess I think I do have something different to say.
Continue reading "Why I am Not Going to Write About Virginia Tech" »
Something good almost always arises from something evil. I'm becoming more and more convinced of that. Don Imus' remarks on his program last week have afforded us an excellent opportunity for some much needed dialog. I was feeling a little remorse about my post calling for his firing when I heard that major sponsors were pulling their ads and that MSNBC had canceled his show. When I actually saw that I was getting what I asked for, I felt a little guilt. But, a couple of conversations I've had since then have convinced me that this is a good thing because it presents us with a teaching moment. I often hear the phrase "If you don't know, you better ask somebody." So, although you didn't ask, please allow me to share a few things with you concerning this incident. And, more importantly, the larger lessons that can be taught from it.
Continue reading "If You Don't Know, You Better Ask Somebody" »
If you know me at all, you know I'm not normally one to call for punishment. I also think I have a pretty good sense of humor. I love all kinds of humor. Things that many others find offensive, I can find the humor in. But, in the case of Don Imus, I'm going to make an exception to both my rules. I'm more than happy to tell you why, just in case you don't understand why I think this man should lose his job over his "nappy headed hos" remark.
In case you don't subscribe to the Speaking of Faith Podcast, I wanted to make you aware of a particularly good episode that aired recently. Krista Tippett speaks with Douglas Johnston, who makes a compelling case for why when it comes to dealing with Islamic terrorism and other problems of the Middle East not only should we stop avoiding talking about religion, it's imperative that we address things from a religious perspective. Our Western idea of separation of church and state makes no sense in places where they see politics and religion as completely integrated. Mr. Johnston has already had some successes using this manner of diplomacy. Hopefully, someone who can do something about this is listening. The Podcast is about an hour long and you can find this episode here:
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/diplomacyandreligion/index.shtml
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