The Rev. Chuck Currie

Save KPOJ

Talk radio around the nation long been the domain of strident conservative voices.  Many of those voices have used racism, homophobia and overt sexism to draw in listeners.  In Portland, KPOJ has been the alternative.  KPOJ has been opinionated and passionate but in ways meant to draw our community together instead of tearing it apart -particularly with their local talent, people like Carl Wolfson and Thom Hartmann.  I've enjoyed many times over the years being a guest on the station to talk about religion and public issues (as recently as Election Day).  KPOJ is one of the only stations willing to air religious viewpoints that are moderate or progressive. What you get on the other stations is the Religious Right 24/7. Portlanders responded by listening and making the station profitable.  All that changed right after Barack Obama was re-elected.  The station, owned by Clear Channel, changed formats.  Gone was progressive talk and there was FOX Sports (in a city that already has two other radio stations devoted full time to sports).  Now Portlanders are crying foul and I'm one of them.  Visit savekpoj.com and tell Clear Channel that you want progressive talk back on the air.  A great community like the City of Roses deserves a great radio station like KPOJ.

MSNBC: Take this hate group off the air Via @FaithfulAmerica (Pls RT)

MSNBC: Take this hate group off the air via Faithful America

Ending Homelessness

The Oregonian had a good editorial this week on how churches and other faith communities are working to fight homelessness in our community.  I deeply appreciate that the paper's editorial board shared my view in their piece that "this work cannot be outsourced to churches. Far from it. The faith community can only do its share. Every level of government has a role to play. Making the best use of churches and other volunteers requires the city and county to be smart and strategic."  Click here to read the full editorial.  

I Love Salem, K-Falls, Medford, Bend, Coos Bay, Portland - All Our Oregon

When voters in Oregon's First Congressional district decided to keep the seat in Democratic hands on Tuesday during a special election the vote prompted mid-Willamette Valley talk show host Bill Post to tweet: 

"I HATE Portland and everything about it."

Well, I suppose someone should first tell Mr. Post that the district only includes part of Portland, and also the northern Oregon coast along with communities such as Forest Grove, Hillsboro and Beaverton.

But my real response back to Mr. Post is that I love every part of this state - whether or not they vote for Democrats or Republicans.  The people in Greg Walden's conservative district are just as good and decent as anyone in Salem, where I've worked before, or Portland, where I live.

This is a great state with tremendous natural diversity.  We have mountains, and deserts, farmland, forests, rivers and the great Pacific.  We've produced great Republican leaders like Tom McCall and Mark Hatfield and great Democratic leaders like Les AuCoin and Gretchen Kafoury.

In Oregon, progressive Portlanders like Jefferson Smith can still team up with conservative leaders from Pendleton like Bob Jenson to tackle tough issues.

Some of our rural communities might produce politicans more conservative than my liking - more in line with the Tea Party views of Mr. Post - but in all my travels across Oregon (having spent most my life here) I've found the people to be good and kind regardless of politics.  There is something special to love in every part of Oregon and that is one reason I'm so proud to be an Oregonian...even when elections don't go my way (which happens quite a bit, I'm afraid).   

The Role Of The Religious Right In The GOP Presidential Nominating Process

Is the Religious Right trying to stage a coup of sorts and name the GOP nominee? Listen to my interview this morning with KPOJ here:

Related Post: Will Conservative Church Leaders Pick GOP Nominee?

In @washingtonpost: "Churches help Occupy movement survive crackdowns, winter"

The Washington Post has a story up tonight via Religion News Services about church involvement in the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  You'll read mention of Portland's First Congregational United Church Church of Christ and First Unitarian Church.  There are also a couple of quotes from me.  Click here.

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! In Portland @waitwait

We just got back from watching the taping of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! The NPR News Quiz.  Normally the show is broadcast from Chicago but they travel from time to time and this week made their way back to Portland.  Wait Wait is the best program on radio bar none.  I listen every week (mostly from the free podcast) and have always wanted to see the show live.  Tonight was my chance thanks to Liz, my wife.  The tickets were a birthday gift this past winter.

What's The Matter With Victoria Taft? @VictoriaTaft

I don't follow Victoria Taft on Twitter.  She's a minor league right-wing radio talk show personality here in Portland.  But she follows me religiously and tweets about me with devotion.  Tonight I'm all she can talk about.  Which makes me wonder: is she just another internet stalker (I've got a few of those) or is there something seriously wrong with this woman who spends her Saturday nights accusing clergy of palling around with socialists?

Victoria Taft Is Mad At Me @VictoriaTaft #portland #hatecrimes

Victoria Taft is mad at me. 

The right-wing talk show host started re-tweeting my Twitter posts and following me on Twitter yesterday.  Good news, I tweeted back.  Maybe my tweets highlighting the teachings of Jesus and pronouncements from a wide variety of church bodies on issues that promote the common good would led the Holy Spirit to soften her heart and stop her from preaching hate on the radio.

But Taft made clear this morning there is no chance of that happening in a blog posting:

Chuck Currie is a pastor in the church of the left...if you're keeping book: political speech is now "hate" speech. Being conservative in this town automatically makes you a 'hater' in Pastor Currie's world.

(I've been told her website is now down...perhaps a sign from above? :)  I expect she'll be back.)

Not at all, Victoria.  I've even voted for Republicans (Oregon used to produce some pretty darn good Republicans, after all.  Remember Mark Hatfield?).  And most conservatives I know are not hateful people.  Do you think they are?  

Haters are people like you, Victoria, who use the airways to make money by beating up on gays and lesbians - demanding that their civil rights be taken away or denied - and other vulnerable people.  You belittle an anti-bullying campaign to protect gay and lesbian students by calling it "Prayer In School...For Gays."

As I wrote recently for The Huffington Post:

Holy Scripture has been misused to dehumanize gay and lesbian people and that sinful behavior has helped to create a climate where violence against one who is "other" is acceptable. Even today those in the far Religious Right -- in groups like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council -- promote active discrimination against the LGBT community nationwide by fighting for the reversal of federal hate crimes laws and other civil rights protections using language that is comparable to language the Nazi Party used to dehumanize Jews. That same message is repeated day after day on talk radio. These different groups do share responsibility for the increase in hate crimes against gays and lesbians over the years.

Hey, I notice you're a fan of the Family Research Council.  Didn't even have to look it up.  You quote them on the front page of your web site.  

It's worth noting that hate crimes against gays and lesbians are up 13% nationally.  If that is your goal you are doing a super job.

And you remember, Victoria, when you made up that entire story about Muslim students being given special rights at Portland Public Schools denied to Christians and other people of faith...I know you do.

PolitiFact said you weren't just lying but that your "pants were on fire."  It must take a lot of hate, or fear, or both, to attack children trying to pray.

Accepting the radical love that Jesus taught and working toward building up the Kingdom of God - the Beloved Community - would save you from the hate that consumes you now.  You might make some money off what you do but making money off harming others and preaching hate is what God calls sin.

You wrote on Twitter:

Keep preaching "tolerance," Chuck!

I will, Victoria, just like most Christians, progressive, moderate or conservative. Jesus taught us:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. - Matthew 22 (NRSV)

No one will hear that message from you, I'm sad to say. They will from me. And I do pray that God softens your heart. Living off hate isn't really living. It's hell.

For The Love Of All Creation: A Sermon On Genesis 1:1-2:4a for Pride Month 2011 from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Does Murdoch's FOX News Use Same Tactics As UK Publications?

From over on this side of the pond we're watching the news of Rupert Murdoch's British media empire as it envelopes in the flames of scandal.  It turns out that Murdoch's "journalists" have engaged in theft, hacking of phones and voice-mail accounts, and even stolen information on major political figures and victims of crimes and acts of terrorism.

Murdoch owns FOX News here in the United States.  Everything we're learning from the UK begs the question:  if Murdoch's English outlets engaged in such outlandish criminal behavior - if his companies operated in an atmosphere that allowed such crimes to occur freely - is the same true of his media outlets in the United States?

Already is seems clear that FOX News is trying to bury the Murdoch story.

What Do Religion, Talk Radio And Hate Crimes Have In Common?

A lot.  Read my latest op-ed on The Huffington Post.

Lars Larson Thinks Of Them As "Fags" But They Are Children Of God @LarsLarsonShow

KXL News reports tonight that two men holding hands were attacked and beaten on Sunday night in Portland - apparently because of their sexual orientation.  The assault is being investigated as a hate crime.

KXL is the home of The Lars Larson Show.  Larson, who once called a gay congressman a "fag" on-air, is a strong opponent of civil rights for gay and lesbian Americans.  Hateful rhetoric like Larson's helps to set an atmosphere where violence against gays and lesbians is permissible.

We are called to see within one another the face of God.  When we follow this commandment we stop being simply gay or straight, black or white, male or female, Christian, Jew or Muslim.  We simply become the children of God.  

Larson, who claims to be a Christian, could live out his faith in new and faithful ways by using this occasion to apologize for his anti-civil rights work, much as George Wallace and other opponents of racial integration finally did, and seek God's forgiveness by engaging in reconciliation work that advances the common good of our community by promoting equality and justice.

Related Link: It Is Good: Family & Community In The Tradition Of Jesus (A Sermon For Pride Sunday)

Did Lars Larson Call Me A Nut? @LarsLarsonShow

A friend called today to say that Lars Larson called me a "nut" on-air yesterday. Is this true? Who knows why he would say it but we disagree on most issues and I find it ironic that this Washington State resident drives into Oregon every day where he uses the public airs ways (for free - a massive form of corporate welfare) to bash people living in poverty - along with just about everyone else in the great state of Oregon. Most responsible Oregonians refuse to go on his show. I've known Larson for nearly 25 years and tried to give him every benefit of the doubt as he made the transition from journalist to right-wing radio talk show host. But I finally had to say enough is enough and decline requests to appear on his program as his voice became more shrill and hateful. As we begin the 2012 election cycle, however, I'll make this offer to Lars: I'll debate you on the issues of the day - the issues you talk about on your show and that I talk about in my sermons, blog posts and op-ed pieces for The Huffington Post - in a neutral forum, such as one of Oregon's fine public universities. I know, I know. You won't have control of the mute button and a moderator might actually require that you answer questions instead of simply shouting out sound bites but serious times call for serious conversations, Lars. Can you engage in a real debate or is being stuck behind a microphone making disparaging remarks all that is left of Lars Larson?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Union Struggle: An Editorial From The Christian Century

From the editors of The Christian Century:

Labor unions, wrote Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Laborem Exercens, are "an indispensable element in social life . . . indeed a mouthpiece for the struggle for social justice." Having seen how Poland's workers fared under capitalism and communism, John Paul knew firsthand that neither the market nor the state can be counted on to automatically deliver justice for workers.

Labor unions in the U.S. played a huge role in improving workers' salaries, benefits and working conditions and thereby in helping to build a strong middle class. Since the 1940s, however, unions have fallen on hard times. In the face of global economic competition and increased corporate resistance to unions (and some laws that support that resistance), the number of unionized workers in the private sector has fallen from 33 percent to 7 percent.

The current economic crisis has prompted state officials in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere to try to further undermine the power of unions in the one arena in which they remain relatively strong—among public employees. In Wisconsin, for example, Governor Scott Walker, citing the state's budget problems, has pressed for passage of a bill that would not only require state workers to contribute more toward their pensions and heath care but would strip them of the right to negotiate benefits and working conditions. The unions have accepted the need for increased contributions but have defied the effort to take away the right to collective bargaining, since to allow that step would be to accept the dismantling of the unions.

Whatever one thinks about public employee unions, it's inaccurate to blame them for the fiscal crisis in the states and misguided to use the crisis as the occasion to dismantle them. Budget woes are afflicting states that don't deal with public employee unions as well as those that do. And it was not public unions that caused the wild speculation on housing prices, the Wall Street meltdown, the recession, the double-digit unemployment and the subsequent drop in tax revenues.

Full editoral.

The Oregon Journal: A Historical Receipt

We're in the midst of a remodel at our house (with only one burner on the stove working and the kitchen ceiling falling in we felt it was time).  Our house was built in 1926.  When the demolition occurred this historical gem was discovered within the walls.  It is a receipt for The Oregon Journal dated June 1926 (we're unable to make out the exact date...maybe June 11, 1926... but the receipt is marked paid on July 1, 1926).  The Oregon Journal folded in 1982.  In 1981, I was a paperboy for the publication.

A 1950 copy of something called The American Weekly was also found (which seems like a National Enquirer-type paper). 

What I Told KPOJ About The GOP's Proposed Budget Cuts

This morning I was on KPOJ talking about the GOP's budget proposal in the U.S. House and my op-ed this week in The Huffington Post regarding the proposed cuts.  You can download the podcast below:

Download 2-23-11 hr 2 POJ-cast

(some browsers - like Firefox or Google Chrome - will allow you to simply click on the link and listen...otherwise click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here. 

Neil Goldschmidt's Final Act Of Rape

When Willamette Week first published a story detailing that Neil Goldschmidt had raped a young girl I didn't want to believe it.  On my blog, I cautioned people not to not rush to judgement without hearing all the facts.  Willamette Week had gotten stories wrong before, I warned (which led WW editor Mark Zusman to track me down in St. Louis where I was attending seminary in 2004 with a series of e-mails and phone calls expressing, well, I'll politely call it dismay).

But Willamette Week got this story right.  It turned out that the man so many admired - the man whose campaign for governor I volunteered on as a high school student, who wrote me letters of recommendation to college - was a sexual predator.  Willamette Week did the public a great service by breaking the silence and bringing Goldschmidt down.  

Now, as has been widely reported, Goldschmidt's victim has died.  The Oregonian has a story today which tells her side of the story (a story they waited to publish until she died after a life of hell set in motion after Goldschmidt began abusing her) and she included a final request:  don't disclose my name.  The Oregonian honored that request.  

WW, on the other hand, published her name online last night.  In doing so, they dishonored her memory and subjected her to one in a last line of indignities.  WW defends their decision by saying Goldschmidt shouldn't be allowed in the end to steal her "identity."  That choice should have belonged to her and not WW.  Abuse victims will think twice before coming forward if they believe they will be identified in the paper against their wishes.  I don't question their motives in naming this woman but do question their judgement.     

The final indignity, of course, came from Goldschmidt himself.  He offered The Oregonian a statement for their story in which he claimed that the allegations of abuse against him "vary substantially from the truth."  The former mayor and governor expressed remorse but then went on to accuse the dead woman whose life he left in tatters of lying about their relationship.  At one time, he called that relationship an "affair."  It was rape.  A 35-year old man raping a 13-year year old girl.  That is the truth no matter how Goldschmidt tries to spin it.  In his statement this week, he raped her again.  

His is the name that should rightfully be erased from history.  If only wishing made it so.        

Rabbis To FOX News: Enough!

When a House democrat compared GOP opponents of health care reform to "Nazis" I called him on it. We need to tone down the rhetoric.  That's true on both the left and the right and wherever else you might reside.  At FOX News, the center of inflammatory rhetoric, things are so bad that Jewish rabbis have banded together to say "Enough!"

We are rabbis of diverse political views. As part of our work we are devoted to preserving the memory of the Shoah, and to passing its lessons on to our future generations and to all humankind. All of us have vigorously defended the Holocaust's legacy. We have worked to encourage the responsible invocation of its symbols as a powerful lesson for the future.

We were therefore deeply offended by Roger Ailes' recent statement attributing the outrage over Glenn Beck's use of Holocaust and Nazi images to "left-wing rabbis who basically don't think that anybody can ever use the word, Holocaust, on the air."
 
In the charged political climate in the current civic debate, much is tolerated, and much is ignored or dismissed. But you diminish the memory and meaning of the Holocaust when you use it to discredit any individual or organization you disagree with. That is what Fox News has done in recent weeks, and it is not only "left-wing rabbis" who think so.
 
Abe Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, a child survivor of the Holocaust, described Beck's attack on George Soros as "not only offensive, but horrific, over-the-top, and out-of-line." Commentary magazine said that "Beck's denunciation of him [Soros] is marred by ignorance and offensive innuendo." Elan Steinberg, vice president of The American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, called Mr. Beck's accusations "monstrous." Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, called them "beyond repugnant." And Deborah Lipstadt, professor of Holocaust Studies at Emory University, says Beck is using traditional anti-Semitic imagery.
 
"I haven't heard anything like this on television or radio -- and I've been following this kind of stuff," Lipstadt said. "I've been in the sewers of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial more often than I've wanted."
 
We share a belief that the Holocaust, of course, can and should be discussed appropriately in the media. But that is not what we have seen at Fox News. It is not appropriate to accuse a 14-year old Jew hiding with a Christian family in Nazi-occupied Hungary of sending his people to death camps. It is not appropriate to call executives of another news agency "Nazis." And it is not appropriate to make literally hundreds of on-air references to the Holocaust and Nazis when characterizing people with whom you disagree.
 
It is because this issue has a profound impact on each of us, our families and our communities that we are calling on Fox News to meet the standard it has set for itself: "to exercise the ultimate sensitivity when referencing the Holocaust."
 
We respectfully request that Glenn Beck be sanctioned by Fox News for his completely unacceptable attacks on a survivor of the Holocaust and Roger Ailes apologize for his dismissive remarks about rabbis' sensitivity to how the Holocaust is used on the air.  

Fox declined to apology.  For what, they asked?  Oh, maybe for some of this: 

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Why Are Portland Radio Stations Banning Progressive Christian Advertising?

Press Release from Living The Questions

Contact:  David M. Felten at david@livingthequestions.com  

PORTLAND, OREGON – What is media giant Entercom Communications afraid of? Curriculum publisher “Living the Questions” recently contracted with three of Entercom’s Portland area stations, KGON-FM (Classic Rock), KWJJ-FM (Country), KYCH-FM (Classic Hits) to run professionally produced ads as part of their online streaming radio services. Without an explanation beyond “due to listener complaint,” the ads were pulled after only one day.

Living the Questions is a respected resource of video curriculum for progressive Christian communities around the world. The Portland radio spots advertised a new series called “Saving Jesus” with the seemingly balanced introduction:

“Ever feel like Jesus has been kidnapped and taken hostage by the Christian Right? Or maybe even worse, simply cast aside as irrelevant by those on the secular left?”

Portland was chosen specifically because of its established reputation as a liberal leaning market. However, there seems to be very well organized opposition to any message other than that deemed acceptable to the Christian Right. That or it doesn’t take much for Entercom to be threatened into compliance with the expectations and prejudices of a fraction of their listening community.

And now, after moving the ads to “substitute” Portland radio stations, Alpha Broadcasting’s KINK has pulled the ad because, according to KINK’s Amanda Quillen, programming is “getting flooded with calls & emails” “from angry listeners ‘bothered’ by the message.” Are these angry conservative Christians calling? Angry liberals? If it is angry Christians defensive about their narrow interpretation of Jesus, how are they any different from Muslim Extremists who react so negatively to representations of the prophet that they deem offensive?What’s going on in Portland?

"I've used the Saving Jesus curriculum and other programs from the Living the Questions series at three Portland-area churches," said The Rev. Chuck Currie, a minister in the United Church of Christ (www.chuckcurrie.com). "It is deeply concerning to me that Portland radio stations would refuse to air commercials for a Christian education program when they have no qualms about running negative political advertising. Either these stations are caving to voices from the Religious Right or from those who wrongly assume that all religion is bad. Banning advertising from progressive Christians is not at all dissimilar to how media in some parts of the country tried to keep The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other religious voices fighting for civil rights off the air in the 1960s."

In a similar development, a print version of the banned radio ad is scheduled to run in the same region in Time, Newsweek, and The Week at the end of January 2011. Although the ad is a simple picture of Jesus along with the questions above, the legal department at Sports Illustrated rejected the ad as too “jarring.” No further explanation was available.

“Saving Jesus” co-author, Jeff Procter-Murphy, has run into similar challenges in the past. He recalls trying to rent a billboard promoting the work of a pro-LGBT clergy group in Phoenix. Clear Channel refused to release available billboards for the ad. As Clear Channel had the monopoly on the market, the group had no other options. Listen to the radio ad below (along with a longer promo for "Saving Jesus") and see the “Saving Jesus” magazine ad at the Living the Questions blog: www.livingthequestionsonline.wordpress.com

Watch the promo:

Related Post: CBS, NBC refuse to air church's television advertisement

Glenn Beck's Death Panel?

Apparently Glenn Beck doesn't agree that civility is important (is anyone surprised?):

On his daily radio and television shows, Glenn Beck has elevated once-obscure conservative thinkers onto best-seller lists. Recently, he has elevated a 78-year-old liberal academic to celebrity of a different sort, in a way that some say is endangering her life.

Frances Fox Piven, a City University of New York professor, has been a primary character in Mr. Beck’s warnings about a progressive take-down of America. Ms. Piven, Mr. Beck says, is responsible for a plan to “intentionally collapse our economic system.”

Her name has become a kind of shorthand for “enemy” on Mr. Beck’s Fox News Channel program, which is watched by more than 2 million people, and on one of his Web sites,The Blaze. This week, Mr. Beck suggested on television that she was an enemy of the Constitution.

Never mind that Ms. Piven’s radical plan to help poor people was published 45 years ago, when Mr. Beck was a toddler. Anonymous visitors to his Web site have called for her death, and some, she said, have contacted her directly via e-mail.

In response, a liberal nonprofit group, the Center for Constitutional Rights, wrote to the chairman of Fox News, Roger Ailes, on Thursday to ask him to put a stop to Mr. Beck’s “false accusations” about Ms. Piven.

“Mr. Beck is putting Professor Piven in actual physical danger of a violent response,” the group wrote...

Ms. Piven said in an interview that she had informed local law enforcement authorities of the anonymous electronic threats. But she added, “I don’t want to give anybody the satisfaction of thinking they’ve got me trembling.”

The interest in Ms. Piven is rooted in an article she wrote with her husband, Richard Cloward, in 1966. The article, “The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty,” proposed that if people overwhelmed the welfare rolls, fiscal and political stress on the system could force reform and give rise to changes like a guaranteed income. By drawing attention to the topic, the proposal “had a big impact” even though it was not enacted, Ms. Piven said. “A lot of people got the money that they desperately needed to survive,” she said.

In Mr. Beck’s telling on a Fox broadcast on Jan. 5, 2010, Ms. Piven and Mr. Cloward (who died in 2001) planned “to overwhelm the system and bring about the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with impossible demands and bring on economic collapse.” Mr. Beck observed that the number of welfare recipients soared in the years after the article, and said the article was like “economic sabotage.”

He linked what he termed the Cloward-Piven Strategy to President Obama’s statement late in the 2008 presidential campaign that “we are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

Full story.

Related Link:  A Sermon On 1 Corinthians 12:16-26: Unity In The Midst Of Division (A Post-Election Reflection)  

What Could Make Rush Limbaugh A Moral Person?

What would help?  Diversity training?  A class in manners?  Anti-racism work?  A conversion experience?  What could make Rush Limbaugh a moral person? 

Happy X-Mas (Revisited)

This year, more than most, it isn't "Joy to the World" ringing in my ears but John Lennon's "Happy X-mas (War is Over)."

Happy X-Mas (Revisited) - my Christmas op-ed - was published  on the website of the United Church of Christ earlier this week.  It was also published (somewhat surprisingly) in the Christmas Eve edition of The Oregonian.

Update: Read the very kind Letter to the Editor in The Oregonian from Derek Welch concerning my op-ed (scroll down once you click on the link).   I deeply appreciate the kind words. 

Article On Homelessness Failed To Tell The Real Story

Dr. Russ Dondero and Eric Cannon, two Washington County homeless advocates, write in The Oregonian:

Whoever wrote the headline "Beaverton distorts homeless roll call" for the Dec. 4 PolitiFact.Oregon column by Janie Har engaged in their own "distortion" of the reality of homelessness.  

Har correctly reported that Beaverton School District's headcount of 1,580 homeless students ranked it as No. 1 of all school districts in 2009-10. Sadly, the headline undercuts the message and facts of the issue.  

A Beaverton City not a Beaverton School District press release erred in claiming that the Beaverton homeless student count was the "highest number ever recorded in Oregon." As Har points out this is not correct.  

Har accurately informs readers that homelessness is a statewide problem in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Education estimates that there are at least 19,000 homeless students in Oregon from Portland to Medford, from Washington County to Klamath County. 

It's too bad the headline is framed in a negative way and the "Truth-o-Meter" rating was a FALSE. This is classic "gotcha" journalism best left to judging election ads or candidate gaffes not serious public policy issues.  

Readers who only notice the headlines might conclude from the title that homeless advocates are "cooking the books." Counting the homeless is very hard to do. The reality is that annual homeless counts are probably much higher. 

Here's a partial quote from the Beaverton School District's response to the PolitiFact article:  

"...We are concerned that people may see that headline and read no further. In the body of the article it is clear that the Beaverton School District's homeless numbers as reported to ODE are completely accurate. Unfortunately a representative from the city misunderstood the ODE data and stated in a press release that our number from last year, 2009-2010 was the highest ever reported in the state of Oregon, rather than in just Beaverton…" 

Full story.

Visit the Interfaith Committee on Homelessness of Washington County for additional information.

Russ and Eric, I should mention, are members of Forest Grove United Church of Christ (where I recently had the opportunity to preach).  Dr. Dondero was also my advisor at Pacific University.  Only grace explains why he still to speaks to me. :)

FOX News Forgets To Report News

The New York Times reports:

News organizations can educate voters about public policy and economic conditions, but they can also misinform voters. As if to prove the point, a study released Friday found that “substantial levels of misinformation” seeped out to the electorate of the United States at the time of the midterm elections this year.

The study was conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a project that is managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland....

“Almost daily” viewers of Fox News, the authors said, were 31 points more likely to mistakenly believe that “most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit;” were 30 points more likely to believe that “most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring;” and were 14 points more likely to believe that “the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts.”

They were also 13 points more likely to mistakenly believe “the auto bailout only occurred under Obama;” 12 points more likely to believe that “when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it;” and 31 points more likely to believe that “it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States.”

The study’s authors continued, “These effects increased incrementally with increasing levels of exposure and all were statistically significant. The effect was also not simply a function of partisan bias, as people who voted Democratic and watched Fox News were also more likely to have such misinformation than those who did not watch it — though by a lesser margin than those who voted Republican.”

In other words, the more you watch FOX News the less you know. 

Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network: Chuck Currie "Christian Leader of The Month"

In perhaps one of the more surreal moments of my life it has just come to my attention that the Christian Broadcasting Network (Pat Robertson's network) has named me the their "Christian Leader of the Month." I'm honored and accept their recognition in the spirit of Christian fellowship.  I find it encouraging that CBN - known for their conservative theological viewpoint - would highlight the ministry of a progressive Christian.   

What Is Wrong With The People On Oregonlive.com?

Oregonlive.com is the website that publishes articles from The Oregonian, our state's largest paper, online.  People that visit the site are allowed to post anonymous comments related to stories and editorials.  A large number of the comments left are hateful - even bigoted and racist.

The recent planned bombing of Pioneer Courthouse Square has brought out the worst in some people.  Today The Oregonian posted this comment to one of their stories on the event:

To our readers:

Our editors have removed many comments from earlier posts concerning the plot to bomb Pioneer Courthouse Square because they violated our online user agreement. That agreement http://www.oregonlive.com/useragreement/ reminds users not to use any obscene, indecent, or offensive language and to refrain from ethnic slurs, religious intolerance and personal attacks. 

That's an appropriate step for the paper to take but take a look through story after story and you'll still see these kinds of comments on Oregonlive.com.  The site is a wasteland of hate speech.

One reason might be that Oregonlive.com allows people to post anonymous comments.  As a writer for The New York Times notes in an op-ed today, allowing anonymous comments is problematic:  

Psychological research has proven again and again that anonymity increases unethical behavior. Road rage bubbles up in the relative anonymity of one’s car. And in the online world, which can offer total anonymity, the effect is even more pronounced. People — even ordinary, good people — often change their behavior in radical ways. There’s even a term for it: the online disinhibition effect.

On my blog, I changed the comment policy to force people to use existing Facebook accounts, etc. before leaving a comment.  This doesn't take care of the problem entirely but 99% of the racist and otherwise bigoted people that have "trolled" this site have disappeared.  Forcing people to use their real names and take responsibility for their words is like taking the hood off a member of the Klan.

Hate thrives in darkness and anonymity.  Force people out into the light where they can be held accountable for what the say and do and then the community has an opportunity for true dialog.  

The Oregonian should take strong corrective action to stop their website from becoming a center for hate speech in Oregon.  Deleting a few comments here and there simply isn't enough.          

Catch Me 7:20 AM (Mon.) On @1190kex Re: Clergy Support For Gun Violence Prevention @NRAILA

Catch me at 7:20 at on 1190 KEX tomorrow (Monday) morning talking with Paul Linnman about why Portland clergy have offered both words of support and concern over proposed gun control ordinances to come before the Portland City Council this Thursday.  The Oregonian and The Portland Mercury have both published stories over the weekend about reaction from area clergy concerned about growing gun violence in our city.  The NRA has been urging their members to oppose these common sense proposals that would, among other things, establish a "child safety law that would hold adults responsible if their gun gets into a child's hands" and "a theft reporting law that would penalize gun owners who don't report the theft or loss of a firearm."  The National Council of Churches In Christ, which has backed gun control, noted earlier that year that it is "idolatry to trust in guns to make us secure, since that usually leads to mutual escalation while distracting us from the One whose love alone gives us security."    

The Oregonian's Season Of Sharing Wishbook

The Oregonian has published their annual 2010 Season of Sharing Wishbook.  As always, it is a great guide that lifts up organizations working to make a difference in our community under difficult circumstances.  This economy makes their work all the more difficult and important this year.  I plan to "tweet" one program each day - minus one important example that doesn't belong on the list- and hope that you find ways to support these agencies.  What is the wishbook?

The 2010 Season of Sharing Wishbook, The Oregonian's annual holiday fundraising campaign, seeks help for 20 social service agencies that serve individuals and families in Oregon and southwest Washington. Your generosity will fulfill their wishes, which range from sleeping bags for a summer camp where sexually abused children can start healing, to building materials to make home repairs for low-income homeowners, to hotel vouchers for women who've fled domestic abuse. Last year, readers donated nearly $280,000, fulfilling the wishes of all the agencies featured. Since 1990, readers have given more than $4 million. Thank you for your generosity in these difficult economic times.

The agency I would discourage folks from supporting on this list is the Community Transitional School.  Not every agency is worth supporting and below the fold I offer my reasons for not recommending support for this one program (a position that I've held for some time).  But don't let controversy over this one program stop you from supporting the others.  They fill an important need and help transform lives.  So please give generously and volunteer year-round if possible.     

Juan Williams Long Ago Abandoned Journalistic Ethics; NPR Had Cause To Fire Him

I'm conflicted over Juan Williams' remarks made on FOX News in which he said he was afraid to fly with Muslims.  The conflict on my part arises from a lack of understanding concerning his comments.  Did he mean to characterize all Muslims - stereotype them - as terrorists?  Or was he admitting a unjustified but real fear he shares with other Americans post 9/11 knowing that he was wrong to think such things?

Did he just speak poorly or was there generalized bigotry toward Muslims at play? 

NPR's Ombudsman, Alicia Shepard (who writes that the networked has handled the situation poorly), makes this very fair statement today on NPR's website:

I can only imagine how Williams, who has chronicled and championed the Civil Rights movement, would have reacted if another prominent journalist had said:

"But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see an African American male in Dashiki with a big Afro, I get worried. I get nervous."

In any event, NPR was justified in firing him.  Williams long ago left mainstream journalism for the hyper-opinionated world of FOX News (or MSNBC, for that matter).  The New York Times does a good job of explaining the difference between the two types of media:

NPR’s decision Wednesday to fire Juan Williams and Fox News Channel’s decision to give him a new contract on Thursday put into sharp relief the two versions of journalism that compete every day for Americans’ attention.

Mr. Williams had his NPR contract terminated Wednesday, two days after he said on an opinionated segment on Fox News that he worries when he sees people in “Muslim garb” on an airplane. He later said he was citing his fears after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks nine years ago.

NPR said Wednesday night that Mr. Williams’ comments were "inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices." According to a report in The Los Angeles Times, Fox News chairman Roger Ailes offered Mr. Williams a new three-year contract on Thursday morning, pegged at nearly $2 million total.

By dismissing Mr. Williams, one of its senior news analysts, NPR argued that he had violated the corporation’s belief in impartiality, a core tenet of modern American journalism. By renewing Mr. Williams’ contract, Fox News showed its preference for point-of-view — rather than the view-from-nowhere — polemic. And it gave Fox the opportunity to jab NPR, the public radio organization that has long been a target of conservatives for what they perceive to be a liberal bias.

Those competing views of journalism have been highlighted by the success of Fox and MSNBC and the popularity of opinion media that beckons many traditional journalists. That Mr. Williams was employed by both Fox and NPR had been a source of consternation in the past.

In early 2009 Mr. Williams drew the ire of NPR’s ombudswoman when he said on Fox that Michelle Obama has “got this Stokely-Carmichael-in-a-designer-dress thing going,” an allusion to a leader of the black power movement of the 1960s. Afterwards, NPR made it known that it didn’t want Mr. Williams identified as an NPR employee in appearances on "The O’Reilly Factor," the Fox News program hosted by the conservative commentatorBill O’Reilly.

"This isn’t the first time we have had serious concerns about some of Juan’s public comments," the NPR chief executive Vivian Schiller wrote in an e-mail message to affiliates.

She said that his most recent comments "violated our standards as well as our values and offended many in doing so.” Ms. Schiller declined an interview request.

Like many other news organizations, NPR expects its journalists to steer clear of situations that might call its impartiality into question -- an expectation that is written into the organization’s ethics code.

Williams departed from traditional journalism as soon as he stepped onto the studio of FOX News.

The AP reported today that Vivian Schiller, NPR's CEO said:

...Williams' firing is not a reflection of his comments (on Fox News Channel) that he gets nervous when he sees people in Muslim garb on an airplane. She said she has no problem with people taking controversial positions, but that such opinions should not come from NPR reporters or news analysts. Williams, Schiller said, is a news analyst, not a commentator or columnist.

Schiller also sent out an e-mail today to NPR affiliates in which she stated:

"A critical distinction has been lost in this debate. NPR News analysts have a distinctive role and set of responsibilities. This is a very different role than that of a commentator or columnist. News analysts may not take personal public positions on controversial issues; doing so undermines their credibility as analysts, and that's what’s happened in this situation. As you all well know, we offer views of all kinds on your air every day, but those views are expressed by those we interview — not our reporters and analysts.

"Second, this isn't the first time we have had serious concerns about some of Juan's public comments.  Despite many conversations and warnings over the years, Juan has continued to violate this principal.

"Third, these specific comments (and others made in the past), are inconsistent with NPR’s ethics code, which applies to all journalists (including contracted analysts): 'In appearing on TV or other media. ... NPR journalists should not express views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist. They should not participate in shows ... that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis.”

"More fundamentally, 'In appearing on TV or other media including electronic Web-based forums, NPR journalists  should not express views they would not air in their role as an NPR journalist.'

And, she said the firing came after "several cases'' of Williams veering from journalistic ethics.

As the child of a television executive, I can tell you that growing up we were not even allowed to have political yard signs.  Such a visible display of political leanings could be easily construed as representing the news departments of the stations my father worked at.  Of course, this was a time (not that long ago, really) will journalistic ethics were grounded in the work of people like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.  

As President Obama noted in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, that era is over:

The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox is part of that tradition — it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view. It's a point of view that I disagree with. It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world. But as an economic enterprise, it's been wildly successful. And I suspect that if you ask Mr. Murdoch what his number-one concern is, it's that Fox is very successful.

When Williams left the ideals of Murrow behind for the big money and politics of FOX News he abandoned the ethics of an objective press that is still represented in places like National Public Radio, whatever their faults might be.

The Right is now howling for an end of public financing of NPR, as Politico reports:

“I think it’s reasonable to ask why Congress is spending taxpayers’ money to support a left-wing radio network – and in the wake of Juan Williams’ firing, it’s clearer than ever that’s what NPR is,” said House Republican leader John Boehner (R-Ohio.)

What the GOP fears most is an independent and free press that can't be bought.  They don't care about freedom of the press or journalistic ethics.  The want a corporation, like FOX News, that promotes their agenda and even contributes financially to their campaign coffers.

Juan Williams is right where he belongs now.  Now he is free to say whatever he wants.  Just don't call what he does journalism.  

"New police column in Street Roots — Street Blues: Black and white to gray" @PortlandPolice

We hear so much about what is wrong with the Portland Police Bureau - and boy, is there a lot that needs to be talked about in regards to that - that it is easy to overlook the good.  As I told reporters yesterday with KATU and KOIN, most of my interactions with the police have been good.  Most cops are good and decent public servants who care deeply about the community.  So I'm excited to see that Street Roots, Portland's paper that covers issues of homelessness and poverty, has a new regular column: written by Portland Police Officer Robert Pickett.  This is a great way to promote dialog and understanding.   

KOIN: "Portland cop alleged to be Nazi sympathizer" (Includes My Interview)

Click here to watch video from KOIN-TV.

Related Post: The Oregonian Reports On My Call For Independent Investigation Regarding Capt. Mark Kruger

KATU Coverage Of Capt. Mark Kruger's Nazi Interests (Includes My Interview)

Related Post: The Oregonian Reports On My Call For Independent Investigation Regarding Capt. Mark Kruger

The Oregonian Reports On My Call For Independent Investigation Regarding Capt. Mark Kruger

The Oregonian reports on my request for an independent investigation into the Portland Police Bureau and city of Portland's handling of Capt. Mark Kruger: 

Two community activists have called for outside agencies to investigate the Portland city attorney's office after anOregonian story revealed the office stashed controversial "memorial plaques" to five Nazi-era soldiers put up by a Portland officer at a city park for at least six years, without any investigation into the officer...

The Rev. Chuck Currie, a United Church of Christ minister who unsuccessfully ran for the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, asked state Attorney General John Kroger for an independent investigation. Alan Graf, an attorney who had sought the plaques as part of discovery in a 2002 lawsuit against the city, requested an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. 

"I write today to ask for an investigation into the city of Portland's handling of a police matter with serious implications for our community," Currie said in an e-mail to the attorney general on Sunday. "A serious breach of trust now exists between Portlanders and their police." 

Full story.

You can read my letter to the Oregon Attorney General here. 

A reflection on 9/11: Yearning for good from tragedy

Click here to read my op-ed on 9/11 published in The Oregonian.

"Facebook revokes, returns Portland minister's posting rights as drama of Quran burning unfolds"

Portland's religious community is working for the common good - oh, and I had a bit of an odd day.

Boycott Beaverton?

Celebrate the "Year of the Bicentennial" in the Americas on September 16 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at City Park.

A recent article in The Oregonian concerning Beaverton, Oregon's planned celebration of Mexico's bicentennial - which has been attacked by Washington State resident Lars Larson - has produced some pretty heated comments (many in response to my Open Letter to Beaverton praising city officials).   Comments like: 

• Will really reconsider shopping in that city any more. Uwajimaya will lose MY business. 
• We will no longer be shopping in Beaverton OR; As Americans we will give our business to cities that celebrate us. Thank you.

They're going to boycott Beaverton?

Actually, those were some of the more polite comments left on the paper's website but both of them reminded me of this photo from a Tea Party rally:

Looks like these folks boycotted English classes in grade school.

Ok, ok.  That wasn't fair.  Read a few posts on this blog and you'll see similar errors.  But the irony of the mistake on this sign is just sweet.

In the end, Beaverton's celebration of Mexico's bicentennial (which has now been expanded to include other nations south of the border) will more likely than not be good for business.  Celebrations bring people into the city and help local businesses. 

What's really going on?  Some people are clearly upset tax payer money is being spent on the celebration - and you can fairly debate that - but others are clearly being whipped up by racial animosity.  Larson has helped to fan the flames of racism.  That's the truth of the matter.  Check out a few other comments left on The Oregonian's website:      

• Celebrating the heritage of the dirt countries that they fled? If Mexico is so great, why is it a pig sty? And why do the Mexicans all want to leave the country that their great heritage has wrought in order to come to this one? I'd be ashamed of being part of the Mexican and/or Latin culture. Look at the misery it's caused in the lands in which the culture has domain. Do you want Mexican/Latin culture in THIS country? Really? 
• The brown people are the future after all, huh mayor. They'll probably have mercy on you and your family once they have completed their invasion, huh. 
• Why does "diversity" always revolve around propping up black and hispanic culture and holding it in higher regard than our own America culture?

To their credit, The Oregonian's website has deleted some of the most offensive comments.

I suspect Larson doesn't actually care about this issue.  What he cares about are the mid-term elections and it is clear that he is happy to try and divide Americans along racial and cultural lines if he thinks it helps his partisan political agenda. 

Show Beaverton some love and join their celebration on September 16th. 

St. Louis "Grandmother" Upset Over Beaverton's Mexico's Bicentennial Celebration Promises A Visit @1190kex @LarsLarsonShow

Yesterday I posted an Open Letter to Beaverton, Oregon: Thank You For Celebrating Mexico's Bicentennial.

Washington State resident Lars Larson and FOX's Bill O'Reilly have been attacking the city and falsely claiming that Beaverton doesn't celebrate the 4th of July (regardless of the fact that America's Independence Day is a city, state and federal holiday with countless area celebrations).

My letter has prompted a few angry phone calls this morning.  Most have been polite, however.  But one woman from St. Louis, MO. called a short time ago.  There was nothing polite about her call - just a lot of yelling on her part.  I offered to talk with her but every time I started she cut me off (taking her communication lessons from O'Reilly and Larson, I suppose) and I finally hung up as her attacks became more personal.

She called back and left this message - with a promise to visit me in Oregon with her son: 

Download Upset St. Louis Caller

Larson and O'Reilly intentionally attempt to incite such anger by dividing our community among racial and cultural lines.  As a minister in the United Church of Christ, (a multicultural and multiracial denomination),I find their actions to be reprehensible.  They're more concerned with partisan politics than the common good of our state and nation.  We need to tone down the hateful rhetoric and seek to find reconciliation.   

(some browsers - like Firefox or Google Chrome - will allow you to simply click on the link and listen...otherwise click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here. 

Update:  The grandmother from St. Louis isn't on only person upset.  This e-mail came in this evening:

from Becky Royse <b.royse@comcast.net> to rev@chuckcurrie.com date Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 5:09 PM subject Beaverton Mexican celebration

Rev Currie,

I have not  a problem with people celebrating their culture…but not with  my tax dollars!!!This is the united states of America..if they are here legally then they are Americans..we celebrate 4^th of July..if this is a priority for them then they should go home to Mexico and celebrate. I find this bigoted,immoral, and most of all Racisit!

B.Royse

Open Letter to Beaverton, Oregon: Thank You For Celebrating Mexico's Bicentennial @1190kex @LarsLarsonShow

Dear Mayor Doyle and Councilor Bode:

I was pleased to hear that the city of Beaverton would be celebrating Mexico's bicentennial this month and disheartened to learn that Washington State resident Lars Larson has once again attacked an Oregon city. Actually, attacking Oregonians seems to be the full-time job for this Washingtonian.

As you know, Mexico is a great neighbor to America.  Both nations share a history of being colonies that finally gained independence and freedom. We share a tradition of working generation to generation to improve on the dream of democracy. Oregon has been blessed to welcome people from Mexico and Mexican descendents as new citizens and neighbors. Like immigrants before them, they contribute to our state community.

Mr. Larson and his partner in crime Bill O'Reilly have unfairly attacked Beaverton (where I lived as a child and where I attended public school) for celebrating Mexico's bicentennial and not the 4th of July. Hogwash. In middle school and high school a high point of every summer was celebrating America's Independence at the Oak Hills 4th of July parade and fireworks display. Neighborhoods, community groups and houses of worship throughout Beaverton celebrate the 4th of July proudly each year.

A city-sponsored celebration of the Mexican bicentennial simply acknowledges the deep relationship between our two nations and the rich diversity of the Beaverton community. I'm afraid that Mr. Larson and Mr. O'Reilly are less interested in the truth than in using immigration and race as partisan political issues during a campaign year.  As a minister in the United Church of Christ (a multicultural and multiracial denomination),I find their actions to be reprehensible.  They seek to divide Americans - to divide Oregonians - when our nation needs unity. The city of Beaverton should be commended for reaching out in ways that strengthen the common good of our state.

Thank you for your leadership and public service.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Chuck Currie

On The New York Times Website: Watch My Conversation Re: Comprehensive Immigration Reform

This past week I had an online conversation with Michael Brendan Dougherty of The American Conservative on Bloggingheads.tv regarding comprehensive immigration reform.  Part of that conversation is being featured today on The New York Times website. Check it out.

Is Fox News Owned By Terrorists?

Maybe so.

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What I Told KEX About Arizona's New Law And Comprehensive Immigration Reform

This morning I had the opportunity to talk about the need for comprehensive immigration reform and the problems with Arizona's new law with 1190 KEX's Paul Linnman. 

You can download an audio podcast of the short interview here:

Download 080210_KEX-AM_Currie

(some browsers - like Firefox or Google Chrome - will allow you to simply click on the link and listen...otherwise click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here. 

Related Post: Evangelical, Mainline & Roman Catholic Christians React To Arizona Court Ruling; Call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Union Theological Seminary Offers Glenn Beck Bibles, Theological Education

UCC-related Union Theological Seminary in New York City, whose faculty has been a target of some of Glenn Beck's programs, has responded to Mr. Beck with an Open Letter from seminary president Serene Jones and a video message from students.  First, from the letter:

Serene Jones here. I'm President of Union Theological Seminary in New York, home of James Cone, the scholar featured on your liberation theology program this week. 

I write with exciting news. Bibles are en route to you, even as we speak! Kindly let me explain. On your show, you said that social justice is not in the Bible, anywhere. Oh my, Mr. Beck. At first we were so confused. We couldn't figure out how you could possibly miss this important theme. And then it hit us: maybe you don't have a Bible to read. Let me assure you, this is nothing to be ashamed of. Many people live Bible-less lives. But we want to help out. And so, as I write this, our students are collecting Bibles from across the nation, packing them in boxes, and sending them to your offices. Grandmothers, uncles, children, co-workers -- indeed, Bible-readers from all walks of life have eagerly contributed. They should be arriving early next week, hopefully just in time for your next show. Read them with zeal! 

Oh, I almost forgot: we've marked a few of the social justice passages, just in case you can't find them. 

But as good as this might sound, that's not all! You express such a fervent desire to interpret the rich faith of the gospels that we have decided to offer you a substantial scholarship to Union for advanced theological studies, should you matriculate. Indeed, a fundraising campaign is already underway to offset the cost of your education. It is true that in your case you may need some remedial study before Master's level work can commence, but we are willing to work with you as you come up to speed with the rest of our student body. 

In this regard, may I recommend preparatory summer readings? Have you heard of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion or Reinhold Niebuhr's Nature and Destiny of Man? Both are Caucasian men -- not that it matters -- and they have lovely discussions of religion and politics. You'll just eat them up!

 

My guess is that Mr. Beck won't take Union up on their offer. After all, seminary is hard work and involves reading and critical thinking.  But I'd love to be wrong.  Seminary can be a transformative experience.

And Dr. Jones, I hope you don't mind if I point out that while Reinhold Niebuhr taught at Union he studied at Eden Theological Seminary, my alma mater.  We're kind of proud of that.

What I Told KEX About Al #Gore

Today the Portland Police Bureau announced they were re-opening an investigation into former vice-president Al Gore.  Last Thursday I spoke with KEX about the allegations.

You can download a podcast of The Mark and Dave Show on KEX here:

Download 06-24-10 Hour 3 & 4

My interview comes at about the 36 minute mark.

(some browsers - like Firefox or Google Chrome - will allow you to simply click on the link and listen...otherwise click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes by clicking here. 

Related Post: Al Gore Deserves The Benefit Of The Doubt

Al Gore Deserves The Benefit Of The Doubt

The case was not investigated any further because detectives concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations. - Portland Police Bureau statement

News is breaking that right here in our own Rose City, Al Gore, former vice-president of the United States, was accused of sexual harassment by an LMT in 2006. The woman who made the complaint did so weeks after the supposed encounter and failed to show up for three follow-up interviews with police. It was - wait for it - The National Enquirer that broke the story today after the woman told police she was going to the media. 

The Portland Tribune apparently had the story but decided not to publish. A statement on their website reads: 

In 2007 and 2008, after locating the massage therapist and conducting extensive interviews and doing other reporting on this case, the Tribune chose not to publish the story. The Tribune held back, in part, because the woman was reluctant to be named in the story. 

Also, after those months of investigation, the Tribune was unable to state with confidence what actually happened in the hotel room on that night in 2006. Portland police did not investigate further at that time because the woman declined to meet with them or pursue charges. 

Now years after the alleged event the woman has come forward. We don't know her motives or whether or not she has been paid for her story (a fair question to ask in light of The National Enquirer's involvement in this) . 

The Portland Police Bureau released a statement tonight that reads in part: 

In December 2006, a local attorney contacted the Portland Police Bureau and said he had a client that wanted to report an unwanted sexual contact by Mr. Gore. This allegation stemmed from an incident on October 24, 2006, when the woman involved, a Licensed Massage Therapist, was called to a local hotel to provide a massage to Mr. Gore. 

After repeated attempts by Portland Police Detectives to interview the woman involved, the Police Bureau was told by her attorney in January 2007, that they were pursuing civil litigation and declined the assistance of the Portland Police Bureau’s Detective Division. A special report was written and the case was exceptionally cleared–a standard procedure when the person involved declines to talk to police. The District Attorney’s Office was consulted during this time. 

On January 6, 2009, the woman involved came to the Detective Division and explained that she would like to give a statement. On January 8, 2009, a Detective and a victim advocate assigned to the Sexual Assault Detail met with the woman. The woman read from a prepared statement and detailed the events of October 24, 2006. She reported that she was repeatedly subjected to unwanted sexual touching while in his presence. 

The woman reported that she still had clothes that she had worn during the encounter. But due to the description she gave of the incident, detectives did not collect the clothes as evidence because they did not feel there was any evidentiary value to the clothing. After interviewing the woman, the Police Bureau provided additional services per the victim advocate program. The case was not investigated any further because detectives concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations. 

In June 2010, the woman involved contacted Detectives and asked for a copy of her statement, which she was given. She then asked if she could edit her statement and was told she could provide detectives with additional clarifications that would be added to her original report. She also advised that she was going to take the case to the media.

Al Gore deserves the benefit of the doubt.  Unlike some other politicians we know (see Clinton, Bill) there have never before been such allegations made against Gore.  The actions alleged seem totally out of character.  No civil charges were ever filed.  That doesn't mean the allegations aren't true.  The woman making the allegations could be a completely honest individual.  But there are a lot of questions here.  

Why did she wait to go to the police?  Why didn't she follow-up with the police?  Why did she decide to take this to the media now where character assassination is par for the course instead of a courtroom where she could have attempted to prove her case years ago?  There could be good answers to these questions but the burden is fully on the complainant to prove her case in a legal forum. Gore has denied the encounter. 

We've been fooled before by so many boorish politicians of both parties that have taken advantage of their power and prestige that frankly it is difficult not to assume Gore is guilty of something.  But I'm willing to wait for the facts and rely on an institution more reputable than The National Enquirer to act as judge and jury.           

The Rev. Lars Larson? Radio Talk Show Host Undermines Sanctity Of Marriage.

Lars Larson opposes gay marriage because such unions would, from his viewpoint, undermine the sanctity of traditional marriage.  But that won’t stop the conservative talk show host from making a mockery of marriage by performing a wedding himself on air. From his press release:

(Portland, Oregon) ... Talk show host Lars Larson will perform a wedding ceremony live on-air at 2:45pm this Friday (6/4/10), uniting two listeners, who also happen to be Washington County Sheriff Deputies, in holy matrimony. Larson, who is licensed to perform marriages in Oregon and Washington, agreed to unite this couple after receiving an e-mail from the bride's sister with this special request. Rock violinist Aaron Meyer will be on hand to provide the musical accompaniment for Friday's ceremony. 

The happy couple is Erika Wagner and Don Cox, both huge fans of Larson's radio show as well as his political views. In fact according to the original e-mail request, they were willing to get married in the station parking lot or during one of Lars' bathroom breaks if that would seal the deal. They relish the fact that one of Oregon's true conservatives might perform their marriage ceremony as it would horrify their mostly liberal family members. They met and fell in love while working as Washington County Deputies, after Don returned home with a medical discharge from service in Afghanistan. Both share Larson's conservative viewpoint and are supporters of the 2nd Amendment. 

"I'm flattered that I get the opportunity to officiate the marriage of two of our law enforcement public servants, not to mention one who has served this country in the Middle East," commented Larson. "I admire their willingness to let this happen live on my show with the whole Pacific Northwest listening in. I definitely won't be inviting a call from anyone who objects to this marriage!" 

Alpha Broadcasting's Director of Talk Programming Brian Jennings added, "Lars preaches anyway ... so this is just a natural extension of what he does every day."  

Larson talks politics but he doesn’t preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

And just how did Portland’s own Rush Limbaugh wanna-be become licensed to perform marriages in Oregon?  I can only assume he obtained one of those mail order clergy certificates.  Larson, clearly, never attended seminary and has no known theological training.  He claims to attend church but will not say where.  Larson will be turning what should be a religious ceremony (or a secular one performed by a judge) into a political circus.

Larson, whom I believe has also been divorced and remarried, believes in traditional marriage  - unless, of course, he is involved.

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC) endorsed marriage equality in 2005. The UCC, which has roots going back to the Pilgrims, is ”a united and uniting, multiracial and multicultural, accessible to all, open and affirming, and peace with justice church.”  

What About Jesus And Holy Scripture Scares Glenn Beck?

Scripture tells us that God has a simple request of humanity: "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 NRSV)." Glenn Beck doesn't like that kind of talk.

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What I Really Told Willamette Week - The Full Story

Liz and I showed up today in the pages of Willamette Week's "Valentine's Day" special edition. We're more than just Star Trek geeks, as the article implies. Below is the full response sent to WW that shows just how romantic the two of us really are.....

Why I Won't Do The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Show

I booker for The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson show called yesterday afternoon and asked if I would be a guest on the program this week to talk about my pro-choice views (views consistent with official positions taken by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, most mainline Christian denominations and many other Christian Americans, including Roman Catholics).  

I'd never heard of Rev. Peterson before and the booker was vague when I asked about Rev. Peterson's views but finally offered that he would likely disagree with my stance but that he was a fair and honest radio talk show host who liked to hear various points of view.  I agreed to be on the show.

That was until I looked up his record.

"Barack Obama hates white people – especially white men." - Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson

It turns out that Rev. Peterson is a radical religious extremist.

"I was born a Democrat but I had no values; it was anything goes, whatever you want to do, and that came from the black leadership, but I finally started to examine it for myself and I realized the Democratic platform was an anti-God, anti-values, anti-American platform."

He views go way beyond offensive.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, and President Bush failed to get aid to New Orleans quickly, Rev. Peterson said:

"I stated that if whites were to just leave the United States and let blacks run the country, they would turn America into a ghetto within ten years … I gave blacks too much credit. It took a mere three days for blacks to turn the Superdome and the convention center into ghettos, rampant with theft, rape and murder.”

Rev. Peterson is himself African-American.  What he is not is a speaker of the truth.

This morning I wrote Rev. Peterson's booker and producer and told them:  

Thank you for the invitation. Before you called I had not heard of The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson. However, after reviewing his record last night it is clear that he is a radical extremist and that my appearance on his show could only serve to offer him legitimacy. His hate-filled rhetoric toward people of different faiths and political views are irresponsible and should have no place in American discourse. Therefore, I decline the interview request. I certainly have no problem appearing on conservative religious programs – I did so just this week to discuss economic issues – but Rev. Peterson is no conservative. His record of promoting hate and division is far outside the bonds of common decency.

Rev. Peterson shouldn't even be on the air.  No surprise, however, to find that he has been a regular on FOX News.

I'll also mention that nowhere in his bio does it mention which denomination Rev. Peterson is ordained in or where he earned his theological degree.  The omission leaves one to question his credentials.

Catch Me Tonight At 5 pm On KPDQ's The Georgene Rice Show Talking Measures 66 and 67

Catch me live tonight at 5 pm on The Georgene Rice Show on KPDQ talking about why so many Christians and other people of faith are supporting the Yes on 66 and 67 campaign.  It appears the call-in number for the program is 1-800-845-2162.  

KPDQ is a "Christian" radio station owned by Salem Communications Corporation, a for-profit venture whose owners are big-time contributors to Republican candidates and causes.  In fact, the company operates a political action committee that gives 100% of their contributions to Republican candidates.  All in the name of Jesus Christ.

There's really something grossly wrong with a for-profit company operating a "ministry" that includes a partisan PAC (or any kind of PAC) and that would be just as true if someone was doing the same in support of Democratic candidates.

I've never heard Ms. Rice's program before, however.  Her position is unknown to me on Measures 66 and 67.

What I do know is that Ecuemical Ministries of Oregon, whose membership includes:

African Methodist Episcopal Church 
American Baptist Churches of Oregon
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oregon
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Church of the Brethren 
Community of Christ
Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon 
Episcopal Diocese of Oregon
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 
Greek Orthodox Church
Presbyterian Church (USA) 
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland 
United Church of Christ 
United Methodist Church 
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches

has endorsed Measures 66 and 67 (though not every one of these individual denominations may have taken a stand) along with the evangelical leaning Oregon Center for Christian Values.  In additional, hundreds of individual faith leaders have endorsed the measures from a number of religious traditions.

Read my op-ed in The Oregonian for the reasons why so many Christians back these two important measures: 

Measures 66 and 67: Caring for the least of these