Religious right watch

So, have any of the "usual suspects" from the so-called religious right spoken out about sexual predator Mark Foley? Or against the members of the Republican leadership who enabled him by placing party interests above the safety of the adolescents in the Congressional page program? As is noted in this diary by jjhalpin, the silence has been deafening.

A couple quick links before I turn in. First, an informative piece from Mother Jones about the origins of the Christian Coalition. Also, there is a lot of great information at Theocracy Watch, a site which has been charting the rise of the religious right in the Republican party.

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St. Pete Times gives kudos to Dean for being outspoken.

Thank you, thank you, Bill Maxwell of the St. Pete Times. Sounds like you have been saving up those words for a while. I thank you for saying them this week, they are much needed. Since you are not much for compliments, I consider them high praise.

Democrats Need to Grow a Spine

But first let us get back to Dean. As far as I am concerned, he has told the truth about the GOP and Bush. If he has erred, it has been on the side of harshness, not dishonesty or hypocrisy.

And now more from the beginning of the article.

When Howard Dean took over as the Democratic national chairman, I hoped that other Democrats would study the straightness of his backbone and grow one just like it. Dean came into the job showing his utter contempt for right-wing Republicans.

I was convinced that he was the man for the job, that if Democrats were to regain any semblance of respectability and real authority, they would have to face reality and start playing the GOP's brand of smash-mouth personal politics.

...." Here is sampling of Dean's GOP truths:

Dean: "All we ask is that we not turn into a country like Iran where the president can do anything he wants."

Dean: "Mean. They're not nice people. They want to run nearly every aspect of your life."

Dean: "This is a struggle of good and evil. And we're good."

Dean: "Lord knows this administration is beginning to erode the core of our democracy."

And a last paragraph from a blunt speaking columnist at the St Pete Times.

Some final words from Howard Dean as he responds to a challenge to one of his attacks on Republicans: "This is one of those flaps that comes up once in awhile when I get tough. We have to be tough on the Republicans. Republicans don't represent ordinary Americans and they don't have any understanding of what it is to go out and try to make ends meet."

Nasty and mean, yes, but acceptably so.

One of those inspiring op eds that catches one'e eye and lets one see someone is noticing.

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An open letter to: Rahm Emmanuel, Chuck Schumer and Howard Dean.

Would you quit your bickering! See the Oct 1st NY Times article The Inside Agitator By Matt Bai. To use one of your campaign slogans, I've "had enough!" If Democrats had a strong message you wouldn’t' need to spend so many millions of dollars on commercials trying to say what we stand for.

I spent the past week in Washington D. C. attending an intensive training for aspiring female politicians. During the training, our small group of women met with politicians (Sen. Durbin, Sen. Reid), political think tanks (Economic Policy Institute, Center for Political Alternatives, DSCC) web masters (DNC) and journalists (Helen Thomas). At each meeting, I would ask, “"In one sentence, what is the Democratic Message?" I am sorry to say the best they could come up with was, "Time for a new direction". Sorry ----boring, and personally even though I consider myself a liberal, I certainly don't want to go in just any direction. Where do they want to take me? It was a bit unnerving when liberal journalist such as Helen Thomas asked our group. "What do Democrats stand for?"

One of the sessions by a pollster group, Lake Research Partners, presented research about people"s opinions and messages that work. The highest concerns of interviewees was the feeling that their children may be the first generation to be worse off than their parents. They felt there children had decreased opportunity for education, jobs and buying a first home. These were disappearing dreams. There was one statement that universally struck a chord with both conservatives and liberals. It was, "I think the people of our country are losing the ability to live the American Dream."

That’s it! Democratic values stated in two words, American Dream. People, Republicans and Democrats alike, fear we are losing the opportunity to live the American Dream. The American Dream of providing our children with the opportunity to live a healthy life, to make a living wage, to have a clean world and to live in a world in peace.

Here's your part now Democratic party. On Oct. 19th do a massive media blitz. Put our slogan everywhere. Have politicians say it on the Sunday morning talk shows, rent billboards, pass out bumper stickers, have every candidates running for office use it and put out TV commercials.

Democrat:: bringing back the American Dream.

Simple but everyone knows what it means.

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Happy birthday, Jimmy Carter

Former president Jimmy Carter, pictured above receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, was born this day in 1924.

At JayDean's suggestion, in honor of Carter's birthday, I have added his son Jack Carter, who is running for Senate in Nevada, to the Howard-Empowered Act Blue page.

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Shake It Off

Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Acts 28:1-6

One thing that I have learned is that before you can apply the Word to others you must first apply it to yourself. This piece particularly spoke to me where I am right now so I thought I'd repost it today.

There are precious few people on the planet who actually like snakes. Snakes are universally reviled and with good reason - they're treacherous and they're often deadly. Snakes are hated in such a way that in our common vernacular one of the worse things that you can call someone is a snake. A snake is someone who has no character, someone who has no scruples, someone who has no problem with smiling in your face and patting you on the back for the sole purpose of finding out where to thrust the knife. Have you ever had to deal with a snake?

The Apostle Paul had been snake-bitten throughout his ministry in Asia Minor. Five times he received 39 lashes. Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, three times he was shipwrecked, he spent a night and a day in the open sea, and he was constantly on the move. He had been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from his own countrymen and in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and, above all, in danger from false brothers. Paul was well acquainted with snakes.

So Paul must have chuckled the last time that he was shipwrecked - on Malta - when a snake bit him as he was helping to gather firewood. Everyone thought that he was a dead man walking, but what did Paul do? Paul shook it off. Paul didn't sit around and cry about his fate. Paul didn't kvetch about his perpetual misfortune. Paul shook that snake off before the venom could get into his system. That is exactly how we have to face adversity:

Folks hating on you? Shake it off!

Spouse acting a fool? Shake it off!

Kids acting like Chucky? Shake it off!

Boss treating you like Toby? Shake it off!

Politicians lying to your face? Shake it off!

Player haters trying to take your place? Shake it off!

Snakes refusing to pay you? Shake it off!

We cannot sit around and complain about what has happened to us - we have to shake that stuff off and move forward with what God has for us to do. If you look at the text, Paul didn't just shake the snake off of him - he shook it into the fire. You see, not only do we have to get past the problem, we have to solve the problem. Paul eliminated the source of his problem - he didn't just sit around and whine about it, he did something about it. There's an old saying that God helps those who help themselves, and there's some truth to that. We have to get past our helplessness and take care of our own responsibilities. We have to shake off adversity and squash whatever problems hinder us so that we can achieve all of our objectives. That is what Paul did on his way to Nero's chopping block, and that is what we have to do in our every-day living.

May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who implores you to Shake It Off,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

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Open Thread

If you check out pyzch, puddle has been posting a lot of memories of Edwin, including pictures from the plays he was in. And just generally a lovely, bittersweet collections of quotes, memories, and poems. I rarely can come up with a comment to add, but want puddle to know that I'm reading, appreciate that she is sharing these things with us. The loss of Edwin, who I never had the opportunity to meet, felt like such a senseless tragedy. Now, along with the sadness, I appreciate the chance to appreciate the gift of Edwin's life, and the gift that Edwin and puddle were able to find in each other.

Thank you, puddle, for sharing these things with us--the tough parts as well as the joy of discovering and sharing your life with your soulmate.
....
But I really did intend to post an *open* thread. So, as a way of giving people "permission" to post things that are *not* especially deep or reflective if they don't feel so inclined at the moment, here's a picture of a wet kitten.

(Via Cute Overload, natch.)

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Moments of "rightness"

Every now and then I experience these moments where I sense that things really *are* right with the world, and unfolding in a positive direction--even though much of what we see and experience seems to suggest otherwise. I am fully aware that what I perceive as "God's clues", while they are meaningful to me personally, can easily be explained as ordinary coincidences. But I am thankful when the Universe provides them.

At different points in my faith journey, when I was feeling tenative about my move away from the Catholic church of my youth--more importantly the church of my grandmother, a tiny little something that would happen that would reassure me. Typically, it involved hearing one of Grandma's favorite hymns at the church I was attending. I know those are small, easily dismissed coincidences, but they have something important to say to me at a given moment, and for that I have been grateful.

Today, as my daughter practiced with the church youth choir, I waited, as usual, downstairs in the church library. Having exhausted, for the moment, their selection of books, I turned to the stand where various church newsletters and Episcopal periodicals were displayed. There, I spotted the most recent copy of Episcopal Life.

In it was an in-depth article about Presiding Bishop Elect Katharine Jefferts Schori (as well as an interesting piece about her husband) entitled A Confident Reconciler. Of course, in the past couple days I've written about both Thich Nhat Hanh and Desmond Tutu and their shared recognition that we are all part of a human family. Reading the Jefferts Schori article, I was struck yet again with the feeling that the Spirit truly was in the room when she was being elected. (Her election, came as a surprise to many, as she was not considered a frontrunner.) But the more I learn about her, the more I feel that she really is the right person at the right time. I really encourage everyone to read the piece, or at least part of it, just to get the sense of her style of leadership. It's a style I think we need more of at this point in history.

And then, as I was thinking this, I heard the girls upstairs starting to sing a hymn that I hadn't heard for some time. It wasn't one of the modern Dan Schutte style hymns that had been my favorites, but it's one that I came to appreciate because it was one of Grandma's favorites...

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

I know this isn't the stuff of miracles to most people, but for me that moment combined a sense of hope for the future and connectedness to the past--and reassurance that my beloved spiritual role model is still with me today.

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Saturday Comics

Border Fencing
Papal Authority
Freedom And Justice For All
Duly Noted
Maccaca Business
In Kind Campaign Contribution
True Torture
Rape, Pillage, and Burn
Truth In Advertising
Come On
Compromised
Due Reward
Sulfuric Standing
Naw Lense

And my favorite for today: Details, Details

Note from Renee--I had to edit the image so it wouldn't blow the margins. While I'm here, jc's latest fits nicely into a comics thread...

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Lun Lun's cub---its a girl!

I totally didn't know that we didn't know this yet...

ATLANTA – Sept. 25, 2006 - On Sept. 6 at 4:51 p.m., an extremely rare giant panda cub was born at Zoo Atlanta. Born to 9-year-old giant panda Lun Lun, the cub received its first veterinary exam today. During the exam, veterinary staff were able to confirm that the cub is a female, weighs approximately 1.4 lbs and is a little over one foot long. The exam on the 19-day-old cub indicated the cub is healthy and average size.

Videos here, and panda updates here.

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Thich Nhat Hanh's Letter to President Bush

I just discovered a Buddhist blog called Windmoor Village Zendo, and one of the recent posts there is the text of a letter Thich Nhat Hanh recently sent to George Bush...

Dear Mr. President 8.8.06

Last night, I saw my brother (who died two weeks ago in the U.S.A.) coming back to me in a dream. He was with all his children. He told me, “let’s go home together.” After a millisecond of hesitation, I told him joyfully, “Ok, let’s go.”

Waking up from that dream at 5 am this morning, I thought of the situation in the Middle East; and for the first time, I was able to cry. I cried for a long time, and I felt much better after about one hour. Then I went to the kitchen and made some tea. While making tea, I realized that what my brother had said is true: our home is large enough for all of us. Let us go home as brothers and sisters.

Mr. President, I think that if you could allow yourself to cry like I did this morning, you will also feel much better. It is our brothers that we kill over there. They are our brothers, God tells us so, and we also know it. They may not see us as brothers because of their anger, their misunderstanding, and their discrimination. But with some awakening, we can see things in a different way, and this will allow us to respond differently to the situation. I trust God in you; I trust Buddha nature in you.

Thank you for reading.

In gratitude and with brotherhood,
Thich Nhat Hanh
Plum Village

The stunning thing is that I just finished listening to a recent sermon by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in which he spoke the same truth.

We are all family, Tutu said. He repeated the word many times, all, all, all all! It really is that simple. No, it's *not* easy. And people hoping for an "ultimate answer" that would be less work or more in line with our lower natures keep trying to find one. Not going to happen. We already have our answer--we just need to get to work on applying it.

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Vermont - Political Pioneers

Vermont is well know for its unique and progressive politics. We were the first state to outlaw slavery. The first to provide for a public education system. The first to give non-property owners the right to vote. The first to elect an African American to it's legislature. The first to pass Civil Unions.

And we do crazy things like vote for a Presidential candidate who is technically no longer running, and elect Independant representatives to our Federal Governement. So it should come as no suprise that we have the strongest third party in the country.

The Progressive Party was started in 1981 when Bernie Sanders' campaign for Mayor of Burlington (an election he won by 10 votes!), inspired his supporters to form a third party that they felt represented their progressive values. Although Bernie has never been a member, he is widely considered the "father" of the Progressive Party...Kind of like if supporters of a certain Presidential Candidate had formed a 3rd party...

Since 1981, the Progressive Party has held the Burlington Mayor's seat, a majority of the Burlington City Council, and various positions on City/Town Select Boards and School Boards. There are 6 Progressive State House Representatives in our legislature.

The Progressive Party pulls the entire political spectrum in Vermont to the left, brings issues that might not otherwise be discussed into the spotlight, and just generally makes politics in Vermont more intersting. We're happy to have them, as we continue to lead the nation in progressive politics.

The following endorsement was released this morning.

Democracy For Vermont is proud to announce it’s endorsement of David Zuckerman and Christopher Pearson for State House. Both are Progressives running for re-election in Chittenden 3-4, a 2 seat district.

Rep. Zuckerman has served as a State Representative for the past ten years . He has fought hard for equal rights, a livable wage, strong environmental standards, sound agricultural policy, affordable housing, reproductive rights, medical marijuana, death with dignity, fair taxation, and instant run-off voting (IRV). Contributions may be sent to Zuckerman for House, 14 Germain St., Burlington, VT 05401.

Rep. Pearson was appointed to the Legislature in April 2006 to fill the vacancy left after Rep. Bob Kiss took over as mayor of Burlington. He is committed to giving people a stronger voice in the political process, a universal single-payer health care system, election reform, campaign finance reform and tax reform. Contributions may be sent to 39 Greene Street, Burlington, VT, 05401.

Both gentlemen have voluntarily agreed to abide by contribution limits of $200 per individual. For more information about Rep. Zuckerman and Rep. Pearson please visit http://www.progressiveparty.org/

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And the ninja cats shall show us the way

It's been a long day. In addition to teaching the three classes, I ended up being personally invconvenienced by George Bush. I knew he was doing a big ticket fundraiser for Deb Pryce. (You can donate to her Democratic opponent, Mary Jo Kilroy, through our Act Blue page.) But I had no idear that I was going to be blocked from exiting the freeway onto the road I needed to take to my class. But as I came up to my exit, I was met with police cars and road flares.

I'd forgotten about Bush being in town, so I just figured that there was construction or something. I slowed down to see if all of the exit was blocked, or if, as is sometimes the case, they were narrowing it to one lane or something. Or, if the exit was completely blocked, I should think there would be a "detour" sign or something. I tried to ask. Mr. Police Officer immediately went into authoritarian, gruff mode and told me I needed to move on. Yes but--where? How do I get back to *this street* which is where I need to go. He said a couple more unhelpful thing in his Mr. Angry Bossy Police Officer voice while I just tried to ask, "How do I get *there*, to that street, where I need to get to *work*?" It was at this point that he yelled at me, "The president's in town! We have to keep that street clear."

This is pretty much emblematic of Bush and what he stands for, isn't it? Benefitting the select few while screwing things up for the teeming masses.

Coming home to read about the Democrats voting for torture, as well as the latest from the religious right, well, no thanks. Don't feel like dealing with it. I've had enough of politics at this moment. I'm full up.

I don't have anything deep, or inspirational, or calming, or hopeful to offer at the moment. So I thought I'd go with bizarre...

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Ich bin ein Vermonter

So, our "great progressive" Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown made a calculated decision to vote for torture. Maybe the juvenile "Far Out Brown" attack site got to him and he felt the need to prove he wasn't "soft on terror". Who knows.

On the other hand, we have Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont...

Today we are belatedly addressing the single most consequential provision of this much-discussed bill, a provision that can be found buried on page 81 of the proposed bill. This provision would perpetuate the indefinite detention of hundreds of individuals against whom the government has brought no charges and presented no evidence, without any recourse to justice whatsoever. That is un-American, and it is contrary to American interests.

Read the full text of his remarks here.

P.S. Kip Hawley is an idiot.
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Two Visions for Ohio

This evening I attended an event that was co-sponsored by the ACLU of Ohio and Equality Ohio. I missed the first part of it due to some of the worst traffic I've ever experienced in this area, but fortunately arrived in time to hear both Adam Leddy and Lynne Bowman speak. Lynne is the Executive Director of Equality Ohio and appears at the end of this video that the group released today: Two Visions for Ohio.

Adam spoke first, and talked about the key players in Ohio's theocracy movement, Phil Burress of Citizens for Community Values, Rod Parsley of the Center for Moral Clarity and Reformation Ohio, and Russell Johnson of the Ohio Restoration Project. He also described his own visit to Rod Parsley's World Harvest Church. It gave me a sense of how captivating Parsley's performance is to the people in attendance, and how he is able to hold such sway over so many people. Pretty frightening, actually. He also mentioned that Rod Parsley one of a group of ministers that is pushing the White House to take military action against Iran. Apparently that will help make Jesus come back sooner. (Shudder.)

Adam blogs at happyagenda, which tracks "how religious extremists are influencing Ohio public policy".

One of the things Lynne mentioned that was quite striking was that Equality Ohio has analyzed the voting trends on Issue 1, the so-called "same sex marriage ban". They compared precincts where people voted against Issue 1 by at least 60/40 to those that passed it by at least 60/40. She said that, if we were 50/50 going into election day, Issue 1 would have passed by 13%, because their side had higher turnout. She emphasized the important of door to door canvassing and talking to our neighbors plays in "changing hearts and minds".

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"This is what the bloggers are so shrill about"

On September 24, on Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington wrote:

I'm glad the Chris Wallace interview is flying all over the internet, but I really hope that one person who will watch it over and over again is Bill Clinton. And that on the fifth or sixth viewing it might occur to him that the more cover he gives Bush and his cronies, the more they're able to increase and entrench their power. Power they use to destroy everything that Clinton purports to stand for.

Taking the "high-road" has a nice sound to it, but Clinton shouldn't fool himself -- and insult the rest of us -- by thinking that the time he's spent traveling that elevated path has made the world a better place. Or made the gang at Fox News hate him any less than they did the day he left office.

Click here for the rest. And then see the follow-up by Dave Johnson, Authoritarianism and Theocracy -- Bloggers Are Sounding A Warning.

There is a fundamental point here. I, and many others, think that the Democratic leadership has profoundly misjudged the nature and intentions of the conservative movement. John Dean, in his book Conservatives Without Conscience, warns that we are witnessing the rise of an authoritarian government, and Kevin Phillips, in American Theocracy, warns that the current Republican leadership is intent on bringing about a theocracy. This is not politics-as-usual. THIS is what the bloggers are so shrill about.

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Open thread (now with baby bunnies!)

Not sure I've ever done back-to-back open threads before, but it was a busy day. And I just logged into my e-mail to find this link that Corinne sent to me. Those is some cute baby bunnies, don'tcha think?

Good night, everyone. Sweet (soft, snuggly) dreams. ;)

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Open Thread

I know most people have signed off for the night, but I thought I should put up the new thread now, as I probably won't have time in the morning. Or at any point during the day, for that matter. :)

The image above is from a page called Cat Town.

I bet Daughter in Ohio's cat Stevie appreciates that we only dress him up in Photoshop.

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Keith Olbermann on Bush's cowardice

Unfortunately I missed seeing this, but it's bound to show up on YouTube or something. Here I will post the end of Keith Olbermann's remarks, but you can read the whole transcript here.

Update: Crooks and Liars has the video.

But, Mr. Bush, if you are now trying to convince us by proxy that it’s all about the distractions of 1998 and 1999, then you will have to face a startling fact that your minions may have hidden from you.

The distractions of 1998 and 1999, Mr. Bush, were carefully manufactured, and lovingly executed, not by Bill Clinton, but by the same people who got you elected President.

Thus, instead of some commendable acknowledgment that you were even in office on 9/11 and the lost months before it, we have your sleazy and sloppy rewriting of history, designed by somebody who evidently read the Orwell playbook too quickly.

Thus, instead of some explanation for the inertia of your first eight months in office, we are told that you have kept us "safe" ever since—a statement that might range anywhere from zero, to 100 percent, true.

We have nothing but your word, and your word has long since ceased to mean anything.

And, of course, the one time you have ever given us specifics about what you have kept us safe from, Mr. Bush, you got the name of the supposedly targeted Tower in Los Angeles wrong.

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Urgent church/state separation action item

I just received the following action alert from the local chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Please share this with others. I am *so* freaking sick and tired of these people and their unrelenting efforts to do sneaky stuff like this when they think no one is looking.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to debate legislation which would undermine a critical enforcement mechanism that has safeguarded rights and liberties of Americans for more than a century. The Public Expression of Religion Act (H.R. 2679) would gut the longstanding availability of plaintiffs in Establishment Clause cases – and only those cases – to gain their attorneys fees and costs when they prevail in court.

You can read the rest here, and then take action.



Also, for anyone who didn't see this earlier, click here for the transcript of Rob Boston's recent talk in Columbus on the issue of church/state separation.

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Play The Bernie Arcade Game!

OK, so on a scale of 1-10 of productively working to take our country back, this rates about a negative 5. But hey, we all deserve a break once in a while, and you can win Bernie sweatshirts and t-shirts!

http://www.bernie.org/media/game/

Insider tip: Back Bernie's plane up so you have more reaction time, and continuously hold down the space bar!

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