Open Thread

You know the drill...

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Desmond Tutu addresses G8 Leaders

From Ecumenical News International

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has joined other religious leaders and globalization critics in sending an anti-poverty message to leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations who are meeting in Germany.

"We can survive only together, we can be free only together, we can be prosperous only together, we can be human only together," said the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town to lively applause at a rally during the Kirchentag, the once-every-two-years German Protestant convention, meeting this year in Cologne.

The June 7 rally, outside the city's cathedral, took place the day before the heads of six African nations were due to join the leaders of the G8 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, German, Russia and the United States -- for the final day of their northern German summit.

"I want to say to the leaders of the G8, 'I am an African, I am a man, I am a human being ... I am not an object of pity, I am not an object of charity'," said Tutu. "I am an African, I am your brother."

The open-air gathering had a live video link to an anti-poverty concert in Rostock where rock stars were trying to put pressure on the G8 leaders meeting nearby in Heiligendamm, behind a 12-kilometer-long fence topped with razor-wire.

"The message of the Kirchentag is clear; we say: Pull down the barriers between those who decide and those who are affected by the decisions," the president of the Protestant convention, Reinhard Höppner, told the Cologne rally. "We say: Do not put your efforts into growth that violates the dignity of people."

More here.

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Greetings from DeanFest

Update: Monica checks in at the BFA blog.

Charlie Grapski checks in from DeanFest

Hey everyone. Here in New Hampshire. Arrived yesterday and it was quiet - till Jessica arrived. :)

Charlene got in a bit later. And I ran into TTT in the hall about midnight.

Denise and I just picked up Subway from the bus station.

Settling in and getting ready for a good weekend.

I'm sorry to hear about many of you who are not going to be able to make it this year. Hope you guys are well - sending a hello from NH and letting you know you guys are missed. Hey Renee and Demetrius wish you were here. If anyone hears from Donna tell her I am also sad to hear she can't make it this year. Who is going to be my assistant in my talk?

Its always good to be around this crowd. It makes the rest of the year bearable knowing who else is out there fighting to take back our country.
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Oh and listner wish you were here.
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Cat and puddle (just getting through the messages to see who has been on) - good to see you too. Jessica said you were coming Puddle but I learned a bit ago that you too will be absent this year.

To all of you - we wish you were here and I'll try and get on and give some updates during the weekend.

Charlie

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Bonus Open Thread

I couldn't pick just one of these, so you're getting two pics in tonight's open thread.



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Team Hillary is push-polling

Swopa at Firedoglake points us to this report in the Iowa Independent.

Then, Eness-Potter got a glimpse of what may become the positive side of Clinton’s message: “During Bill Clinton’s administration, the Clintons helped to create 100,000 jobs in Iowa. After hearing this, is your opinion of Sen. Clinton higher or lower?” The caller went on to ask a few questions about Clinton’s campaign platform, asking whether specific campaign promises, as worded by the campaign’s pollster, make Jason more or less likely to support her.

But the survey didn’t end there. As Eness-Potter’s patience continued to wane, the caller started into the negative questions about Clinton’s opponents. Although he cut the caller off fairly quickly after he saw where the caller was headed, he recalled two questions -- one about Sen. Barack Obama and the other about former Sen. John Edwards -- that were particularly memorable.

On Sen. Obama, the caller’s question had to do with the war: Paraphrased, it was “Sen. Obama boasts of his consistent opposition to the war, but he has contradicted himself by voting for appropriation bills to fund it. Does this make you approve of Sen. Obama more or less?”

And on Edwards, the subject was, predictably, about his $400 haircut a month or so ago.

It was roughly at that point in the call that Eness-Potter excused himself and hung up –- after the caller admitted to him that the survey was commissioned by the Clinton campaign.

He hung up forty minutes into the call, by the way.

danl318 at My Left Wing posts about similar tactics in New Hampshire.

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Yet another open thread

Time for a new thread, I guess. Here you go.

adopt your own virtual pet!

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How Scooter saved Halloween

One of the letters to the judge who was going to sentence Scooter Libby was sent by Mary Matalin, but also signed by her husband Skeletor. I mean Gollum. Oh, you know the one--the Democratic "pundit" who wanted Howard Dean ousted as chair of the DNC as punishment for the 2006 midterm elections. Anyway, Matalin and her main ghoul wanted the judge to know what a swell guy Scooter is. By way of illustration, she told the touching story of one time when the Scooter saved Halloween for the Cheney grandchildren at an "undisclosed location".

In a truly nausea-inducing segment of the letter, Matalin makes this case for the convicted felon who outed a CIA agent:

My lifelong view, which has only been validated in adulthood, is that kids are the most honest and true evaluators of people. Watching my children with Scooter, and all children with him, you'd think he hung the moon. He is gentle and caring. He is genuinely interested in others well being and still inspires me to this day. He is a compelling teacher and extraordinary role model for integrity and humility.

I have seen what this trial has done to my own kids, just their reading about it. I cannot imagine the toll on Scooter and Harriet's young ones. Setting aside the pain of the Libby family, my girls just don't understand. They are old enough to intellectually comprehend the facts of the case but associating these "facts" with "Mr. Scooter" remains a complete disconnect to them.

My family is praying the wisdom and mercy you bring to bear in determining Scooter's future will include a consideration of his family, the price they have already paid and what further justice would be served by additional devastation to them and the many other children who love Scooter.

I was going to comment on that, but at the moment I'm speechless. But I'm sure some of you can think of something to say, so I'll just open up the floor for comment on all of this.

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Open Thread

Decided to post an open thread before work, just so I could post this kitty.

Talk amongst yourselves.

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There has to be a better way

Last night, on my way to my last EfM seminar meeting of the year, I decided that I should put up a thread about the Democratic debate before heading out. Given that this is at least partly a political blog, I guess I thought I should. But my heart wasn't in it, because, frankly, I just don't care about the debates at this stage of the game.

Blogs are often seen by presidential campaigns as ATMs. If you are the proprietor of a high-traffic Democratic (liberal, progressive, whatever) blog, the upshot is that those who are running for office will treat you with some respect--because you are now Somebody That Matters. Your voice and influence could mean money in their campaign coffers and ballots in the box for them, so--goodness--you might even be deemed as deserving of the time of day as some of those high stakes corporate donors!

Almost a month ago, I wrote about "prophets and kingmakers", concluding that, while there's more money in the kingmaking gig, that role is not a very good fit for people who are mainly concerned about bringing about positive social change. A couple weeks later, in response to a diary about "the real gatecrashers", it struck me that the big problem with the whole "crashing the gates" model is, in fact, those damn gates.

I never consented to gates.

And it's become really clear to me over the past few years that we're not going to make anything better simply by installing a different group of people inside the castle. Trusting that they will "remember who got them there"--when the truth is, everything changes once they get inside those gates.

So I really take issue with the whole set-up where few are on the inside and many are on the outside. Similarly, one of the main drawbacks to being a "kingmaker" is that somebody is being made king.

I know these are metaphors, but there's something I think we forget too often. When we elect a president, we're not choosing someone to be our boss. We're hiring an employee for an important job.

Also, *we* need to be setting the agenda, as I noted here

I remember when Jim Wallis came to Columbus last spring, he said something about Martin Luther King. I don't have the exact quote, but it was something like, "he never endorsed a candidate, but he was able to get politicians to endore *his* agenda.

When I attended that B.R.E.A.D. assembly, I was impressed that so many people were willing to come out on a Monday night to demand fair treatment for a segment of the population that politicians may feel that they can safely ignore. These people showed up not for a political party or candidate, but in support of a shared value. WE were taking the lead, and telling the politicians and elected officials that *they* need to get on board.

So, no, I'm not interested in being the Democratic Party's ATM. I want to be--*we* need to be--the party's conscience instead.

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Debate in New Hampshire

FYI, there's a debate tonight among the contenders for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president.

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Open Thread

I got a chuckle out of this picture

A few new posts in the shared items, by the way.

Talk amongst yourselves.


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My God does not fear science

I struggled for a title for this post--indeed, I struggled with what to post about the Creation Museum, or even if I should post about it. It does seem ripe for mockery--anything so utterly filled with animatronic creatures is probably going to get a lot of that. The thing is, I *don't* want to make fun of what these people believe. But it does make me sad...

A photo from the official Grand Canyon web site.

During some down time at work, I read an article from last week's Columbus Dispatch about the opening of the Creation Museum. It's not available for linking any more, so I looked for another article and found this one at Salon. The teachings about the Grand Canyon are fairly new to me...

In Ham's view, the great flood explains not only where scientists find fossils today but also the topography of the modern world. The Grand Canyon, he informs me, was made in a matter of days or weeks as the waters of the flood rushed away and the land was reclaimed. In the exhibit, you walk through a winding canyonlike corridor with spinning, dizzying lights into a wide-open room with videos, exhibits and diagrams explaining the hydrology of instant canyon-making. Ham says that instant canyon-making is based on the fact that volcanoes, such as Mount St. Helens, created reservoirs of water for a time in their altered topography. When those reservoirs breached, deep grooves were cut by the flowing water, leading to the fast formation of canyons.
...
Inside the Confusion exhibit, I strike up a conversation with Tim Shaw, a high school student visiting from Florida. "I don't care how long it took to make the Grand Canyon," he tells me. "It's not how old it is that matters to me. What matters is being right with God. Darwin's theory has no God. It can't be right. I don't know if this story is truer than Darwin's theory, but I do know it's better."

I do empathize. When I first started to tenatively question some of the things I'd grown up believing, it was kind of anxiety-inducing. Sort of like I was tugging at a loose thread and could end up unraveling *everything* if I wasn't careful.

I suppose I should point out, though, that it wasn't creationism versus evolution that I was struggling with. *That* was never presented as problematic, and I was taught the theory of evolution in science class at the Catholic elementary school I attended. In the Dispatch article, Ham is quoted as saying that there is a "cultural war" going on between secular humanism and the Christian worldview. I disagree. Maybe evolution is threatening to *his* version of Christianity, but it has never been anything but compatible with mine.

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Write to the Archbishop of Canterbury

I just saw this on the web site of Integrity, and thought it was worth front-paging.

On May 22, the Archbishop of Canterbury announced (through a spokesperson) that the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, would not be invited to attend the Lambeth Conference in the summer of 2008. Integrity responded with a strongly worded press release.

The Lambeth Conference is still over a year away. It may yet be possible to persuade Rowan Williams to change his mind about inviting Bishop Robinson to Lambeth. Integrity encourages all of its members and friends to write the Archbishop of Canterbury about this issue... (Click)

Susan Russell, President of Integrity, discussed the Lambeth invitations with Welton Gaddy on State of Belief last week. Click here for a transcript of that segment.

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From the annals of unhelpful advice

This past Monday, I spent my day off from work trying to help my son salvage a project for his science class. I explained the course of events that led to this emergency data collection here and elsewhere. The basics--Son in Ohio is almost 14, has a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, and is taking 8th grade science and math as a 7th grader. Demetrius was told on Friday that Son's grade was in jeopardy because he didn't have the data collected for a major project that was due this week. I put out an appeal for help, and the response was amazing. Son ended up with about 50 subjects for the study he was doing, when he was only trying for 32. Since I asked for help publicly, it seemed right to offer a public update of how the project went.

I wish I had a happy ending to report, but at the moment there isn't one. At least not for this project, but we continue to press forward in our efforts toward positive academic outcomes for our gifted, special needs son. We don't expect the job to be easy, or to have any magical "happily ever afters", but after all these years, it's kind of disappointing that we still need to butt heads like this with people who are supposed to be helping.

From a very unhappy e-mail I received from Demetrius when I was at work on Tuesday:

Apparently, after (teacher) told us on Friday that (son) might be failing science and math, we were supposed to spend our weekend consoling him to that fact instead of trying to help him. She keeps going on that (son) needs to take responsibility for his procrastinating.

Son's grade may still be salvagable, but the bigger issue is that his teacher is still saying stuff like this. "He has to take responsibility", he "has to learn" to do X, Y, or Z. Thank you for that headline from the esteemed research journal, Duh. Yes, of course he has to learn those things. When is someone going to start teaching him those things? Or even talking seriously with us about putting together a plan for how we are going to work together to teach him those skills?

I mean, what kind of social Darwinian attitude is it to say of an individual with any deficit, whether it be physical, cognitive, or emotional, "you're just going to have to learn"? How about tossing a non-swimmer into the deep water, and then "helpfully" shouting "You'd better start swimming or you'll drown!"

Shocking as it may seem, I really expect better than that from the people who are charged with providing my son with that Free Appropriate Public Education to which he is legally entitled. I'm even so bold as to expect that his teachers remember that Asperger's Syndrome is, by definition, a pervasive developmental disability--meaning that it affects many areas of his life. It's not just a social deficit. Yes, my son is classified as gifted, but that pervasive disability of his still has a cognitive component. He has trouble with something called "executive function", a set of skills involving

1. Working memory and recall (holding facts in mind while manipulating information; accessing facts stored in long-term memory.)

2. Activation, arousal, and effort (getting started; paying attention; finishing work)

3. Controlling emotions (ability to tolerate frustration; thinking before acting or speaking)

4. Internalizing language (using "self-talk" to control one's behavior and direct future actions)

5. Taking an issue apart, analyzing the pieces, reconstituting and organizing it into new ideas (complex problem solving).

And since that is a deficit our son has, it's something he needs help with. More effective help than urging him to "get organized" or "stop procrastinating". As far as helpfulness goes, those suggestions are right up there with "You'd better start swimming or you'll drown!"

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New thread

Thank you to Cat for this link to Al Gore's appearance on the PBS Online News Hour. MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann has video of Gore's segment on that program posted online as well.

I took down the Cafe Press topic ads, because they won't work after today. Need to make our own ads to replace them, but in the meantime, here's the link to our store.

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Open Thread

Just a couple of links and a picture tonight...

The Rev. Susan Russell, President of Integrity (a coalition of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Episcopalians) was a guest on Air America's State of Belief this past weekend. I've posted a transcript here.

I've got a new post up at My Left Wing: Becoming a butterfly (and other "uplifting" thoughts). Some of you may have seen at least part of that before when I posted the butterfly metaphor here last October. But it seemed like time to pull that one out again, along with some other things.

Finally, if I go with a baby moo-cow for tonight's moment of cuteness, ya think Phil might mosey his way over here and comment in person? Just a thought...



And one more thing--which I know won't work for everyone, but I figured those of you who can watch videos might appreciate it...



P.S. Happy birthday to Bishop Gene Robinson.

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Caregiving

I'm not the only person who cares for a disabled loved one at home, but sometimes it feels that way. As I read about the wounded veterens returning from two failing wars, my heart breaks for those family members who were just getting by and now have lifetime responsibilities dealing former soldiers with brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorder, or other conditions that will prevent them from having a normal life themselves with those who love them.

Folks here know that I'm rarely away from for more than a few hours at a time. In fact, if my wife's daughter hadn't agreed to spend the weekend at our place, I'd never be able to do something like DemFest. I also have a unique form of therapy for myself for when the stresses of caregiving overwhelm me. I can take my guitar into the subway and scream at the world for a couple of hours, and this has kept me balanced through the years.

I've heard about the ways that our veterens are being screwed nine ways to Sunday by the greedy cowards that sent them off to fight their war crime. Men and women who have sacrificed so much are being screwed out of their rightful benefits. They return home and for many, their middle class existence is a thing of the past and wife or husband, parent or sibling is now faced with the double hardship of caring for a severely disabled person at home and trying to keep the roof over their heads, or their children in school.

If only this great nation could provide for these caregivers with the same benefits we afford to foster parents, we could lift some of the burdens that they bear, and even help to keep these families in tact. The cost to the system for home care by a family member is far less than care in a nursing facility, and far less than that of sending someone from an agency. A way should be found to share the cost saving with the overstressed, burned out and forgotten people who are in fact on the frontlines for those who cannot otherwise help themselves.

Subway


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Cindy Sheehan resigns as "face" of the anti-war movement

In a Memorial Day essay, Cindy Sheehan wrote, in part:

This is my resignation letter as the “face” of the American anti-war movement. This is not my “Checkers” moment, because I will never give up trying to help people in the world who are harmed by the empire of the good old US of A, but I am finished working in, or outside of this system. This system forcefully resists being helped and eats up the people who try to help it. I am getting out before it totally consumes me or anymore people that I love and the rest of my resources.

From the comments here at HEP:

True prophets always run ahead of their time.

It takes time for the words of a prophet to come true.

In my experience, visionaries are enough ahead of their time that they are resisted every step of the way by the people in power. For reasons I do not understand, however, once the prophet stops speaking, something frees up and changes. I have lived this over and over, and I too needed to step back. Any of us is only called to speak out for a time.

You did it, Cindy. You were heard and what you have done has changed the situation. We may not see the true results of this for awhile.

But consider that most mystics and visionaries -- all through history and cross culturally -- were persecuted by their own people in their day. John of the Cross and Martin Luther King, Jr., for example, were both thrown into prison and wrote golden things from there. Now John of the Cross is considered a "doctor of the church" and King has a national holiday.

You have definitely not failed your son, or us, or failed at all, Cindy (and the spirit of your son knows this). It is the greedy and the arrogant (in any of us) that has failed. But the opera ain't over.

If you do not feel you have the words and energy anymore, then this calling is no longer on your shoulders. {Hallelujah, eh?} Thank you for carrying the torch for us, lighting up some wrongs, and for passing the torch when the time came.

Just go ahead and continue to be authentic. That's what got you into this and that's what got you out of this. Authenticity is good stuff. May you know in your own day the peace of seeing the fruit of some of your heroic efforts.

With Gratitude and Hope, listener in Vermont

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Open Thread

From Cute Overload.

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Gore: Drive for domination has put us in greater danger

For anyone who hasn't seen this, Al Gore has a commentary in a recent edition of The Guardian:

A drive for global domination has put us in greater danger

The pursuit of "dominance" in foreign policy led the Bush administration to ignore the UN, to do serious damage to our most important alliances, to violate international law, and to cultivate the hatred and contempt of many in the rest of the world. The seductive appeal of exercising unconstrained unilateral power led this president to interpret his powers under the constitution in a way that brought to life the worst nightmare of the founders. Any policy based on domination of the rest of the world not only creates enemies for the US and recruits for al-Qaida, but also undermines the international cooperation that is essential to defeating terrorists who wish to harm and intimidate America. Instead of "dominance", we should be seeking pre-eminence in a world where nations respect us and seek to follow our leadership and adopt our values.

Click here for the rest. I found this via a front page post by gottlieb at My Left Wing. The picture is from gottlieb's essay.

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