I got a bit sidetracked by working on Cafe Press stuff, and forgot that I meant to put up a post about Al Gore's Live Earth Concert.
Please use this thread to add any links you find that refer to today's events.
Here's a link Holly posted in the comments to a streaming video from one of the events.
Haloscan comment thread
Diane W posted this as the question of the day over at My Left Wing--asking how do we go about taking back our media from the likes of Rupert Murdoch. She then crossposted at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance, which I appreciate. Most posts over there get no comments, which I realize is typical of a lot of blogs. But sometimes I think the lack of any comment makes people less motivated to keep posting their material there. So, if you have the time, please go check out some of the posts there, and comment if you feel so inspired.
Read the Murdoch post here, and add your thoughts, if you have any. If you can't post via Blogger, you're welcome to add your comment here, or you can comment at the My Left Wing version.
And/or, as usual, "talk amongst yourselves".
Update: There's an announcement from Jessica here.
Haloscan comment thread
This warning sign appears on the inside of both front doors of our minivan.
Looked like enough comments that we needed a new thread. Here's a link to some time wasters on the web.
And here's some video of the other night's "Red, White, and Boom".
Haloscan comment thread
Taking advantage of a window of opportunity when Haloscan is working for me on my computer rather than just on my phone, I've made a new comment link.
And this picture from MacroCats.
Special comment by Keith Olbermann tonight.
Here's an excerpt:
Click here for the rest
We enveloped our President in 2001.And those who did not believe he should have been elected—indeed those who did not believe he had been elected—willingly lowered their voices and assented to the sacred oath of non-partisanship.
And George W. Bush took our assent, and re-configured it, and honed it, and shaped it to a razor-sharp point and stabbed this nation in the back with it.
Were there any remaining lingering doubt otherwise, or any remaining lingering hope, it ended yesterday when Mr. Bush commuted the prison sentence of one of his own staffers.
Did so even before the appeals process was complete; did so without as much as a courtesy consultation with the Department of Justice; did so despite what James Madison—at the Constitutional Convention—said about impeaching any president who pardoned or sheltered those who had committed crimes “advised by” that president; did so without the slightest concern that even the most detached of citizens must look at the chain of events and wonder: To what degree was Mr. Libby told: break the law however you wish—the President will keep you out of prison?
In that moment, Mr. Bush, you broke that fundamental com-pact between yourself and the majority of this nation’s citizens—the ones who did not cast votes for you. In that moment, Mr. Bush, you ceased to be the President of the United States. In that moment, Mr. Bush, you became merely the President of a rabid and irresponsible corner of the Republican Party. And this is too important a time, Sir, to have a commander-in-chief who puts party over nation.
Haloscan is still spotty. I couldn't get into any Haloscan comments last night, on this blog or any other. Or onto the Haloscan main site. So I don't know when that is going to be operational again. But I wanted to post some links
Jackson: Put impeachment back on table
Congressman Jesse Jackson Junior wants his fellow Democrats to reconsider impeaching President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.He spoke at DeanFest a couple years ago, by the way.
The Illinois Democrat today reacted to Bush's decision yesterday to commute the sentence of former vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Representative Hank Johnson has joined nine other Democrats in supporting a resolution calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney ouster over allegations that he intentionally manipulated intelligence to justify the Iraq war
Surprised? Of course not.
The fines will stand, but Scooter only gets two years probation instead of the "excessive" 30 month prison sentence.
"The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged," Bush said. "His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant and private citizen will be long-lasting."Cry me a river...
The dirty unwashed masses who populate our juries are fit to judge each other, but evidently not the ruling class. David Broder can breathe a sigh of relief that People Like Him are safe from those overly zealous US Attorneys who might want to hold them accountable to the same absurd standards that the little people must live by.Update: Howard Dean's statement:
How quaint.
The White House has turned off their phone lines. Evidently they don’t want to hear what you think. There will still be phones tomorrow, and I don’t imagine anyone who cared enough to drop Dubya a line is going to forget.
“Once again President Bush and the GOP have undermined a core American value: equal justice under the law for every American. By commuting this sentence, President Bush is sending a clear message that the rules don’t apply to the Bush White House or loyal Republican cronies. After promising that anyone who violated the law would be 'taken care of,' President Bush instead handed Scooter Libby a get out of jail free card. Though Libby was convicted by a jury of lying about a matter of national security, President Bush is sparing him the consequences ordinary Americans would face. This conviction was the first moment of justice in a Bush Administration void of accountability. It’s a sad day for America when the President once again puts protecting his friends ahead of equal justice under the law.”Haloscan comment thread
Did you know today is Canada Day?
It's also my dad's birthday. Happy birthday, Dad!
Haloscan comment thread
Al Gore has an op-ed in today's edition of the New York Times...
WE — the human species — have arrived at a moment of decision. It is unprecedented and even laughable for us to imagine that we could actually make a conscious choice as a species, but that is nevertheless the challenge that is before us.
Our home — Earth — is in danger. What is at risk of being destroyed is not the planet itself, but the conditions that have made it hospitable for human beings.
Without realizing the consequences of our actions, we have begun to put so much carbon dioxide into the thin shell of air surrounding our world that we have literally changed the heat balance between Earth and the Sun. If we don’t stop doing this pretty quickly, the average temperature will increase to levels humans have never known and put an end to the favorable climate balance on which our civilization depends.
An exchange in the previous thread prompted me to point out that Oscar wasn't the only one who found gratuitous digs against organized religion objectionable. Some of us just don't object openly. But it gnaws at me from time to time, that, by my silence, I consent to the standard that there are some groups it's okay to stereotype. I remain silent because I am not fond of debate. That's a cowardly, lazy reason, I suppose, but there you go.
Well, here's *my* "Word for the Week... I don't think my faith makes me "better" than anyone else, but it is an important part of why I care about issues of social justice. Saying that my faith isn't relevant to my politics, or shouldn't matter, frankly doesn't cut it. The fact that people "out there" decide that it is important to keep religion and politics completely separate has no bearing on what happens inside me. I can't compartmentalize myself that easily. A lot of people can't.
Funny thing--the jabs against religion (and I *did* see them as broad-stroke, not just anti-religious right) motivated me to get out of bed and go to church this morning. I didn't *have* to--I don't go out of "guilt" or "obligation". I go because I like to spend part of Sunday morning in a church that says things like this in its newsletter...
Also this liturgy will emphasize something that most summer worship ignores - the season of the Spirit. As the church year unfolds, Advent leads to the birth of Jesus. Epiphany announces a new vision of the graciousness of God. Lent prepares us for the central event of Easter. The Easter season celebrates life-changing resurrection and leads to the gift of the Spirit - the inspiration that leads us out into the world to proclaim God in new ways and to welcome the least, the last, and the lost into a new realm of God - the church. This season of the Spirit is often called The Sundays after Pentecost. Or, in some churches, it is called Ordinary time. Both seem to miss the point. The Holy Spirit did not come and leave but stays to empower the church; there is nothing about this that is ordinary or after.. Pentecost did not happen and then the disciples went on with their work. The Spirit created the Christian community and remains present to sustain us.. The Spirit is our counselor, reminding us of the words of Jesus. The Spirit is our inspiration, sending us in witness for Jesus - advocates for justice and compassion and truth. The season of the Spirit is THE season of the year. It is where we live and move and have our being now. It is the part of the Biblical story that is still unfolding.
So the words you will hear in the liturgy this summer will reflect a season of the Spirit, not after the Spirit. The focus of the liturgy will be on its final element - Sending. At the dismissal we could say, “Whew! That’s done. It’s over. Dismissed.”
Instead you will hear Pam, our deacon, sending us forth to do what we have rehearsed in the liturgy - love one another, care for the stranger, stand up for what is just.
