Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

World AIDS Day: Gene Ediger

December 1st is World AIDS Day. It is a time to remember those who we have lost and to recommit ourselves in the battle for finding a cure.

Gene Ediger was the closest friend I lost to AIDS. He was a mentor of mine who I first worked with at Baloney Joe’s, a now defunct shelter on the east end of Portland’s Burnside Bridge. We later worked together at Outside In and with Burnside Advocates Group. Portland lost an irreplaceable asset when Gene died. His obituary is below and you can download the eulogy given at his memorial.

It is vital that we keep a human face on this tragedy. Gene should never have had to die. His disease was preventable. Treatments could have been made available sooner. But politics, greed and homophobia got in the way of creating a public health system that could deal with the AIDS crisis.

The worst part: the tragedy is only growing.

F. Gene Ediger passed away August 17, 1997 from AIDS. Gene was born on June 7, 1955 in McPherson, Kansas and moved to Portland, Oregon in 1976. He was a graduate of the University of Oregon. After college he worked as a social worker until the time of his retirement in 1993.

From 1979 until 1989 he worked for Burnside Community Council, which operated Baloney Joe's and the West Women and Children's shelter. He served on the BCC Board from 1989-1990. In 1990 he was a co-founder of Burnside Advocates Group (BAG). In 1990 he joined the Outside In board and in 1993 was elected chair of the agency.

He continued to serve as the chair of Outside In and on the BAG board (now called Oregon Housing Now Coalition) until his death.

He is survived by his partner of 12 years, Paul Nickell. Surviving family members include his mother, Helen Ediger of Inman KS, brothers Ralph and Ray (of Oklahoma City, OK and Newton, KS respectively), and sisters Ilene Banman and Rhonda Sandstrom (of Denver, CO and Portland, OR respectively).

In 1995 he was awarded the Mayor's Spirit of Portland Award for his long-time community service.

A memorial service was held on Thursday, August 28th at First United Methodist Church, where Gene was a member.

Contributions in Gene's memory should be made to Outside In (1236 SW Salmon Street, Portland, Oregon, 97205) or Goose Hollow Family Shelter at First United Methodist Church (1838 SW Jefferson, Portland, Oregon, 97201).

George W. Bush: Misleader

Have you seen MoveOn.Org’s commercials assailing George W. Bush’s economic record?

If you watch CNN and live in one of the 2004 battle ground states you may have heard the message by now. As reported by the St. Louis Dispatch, in Missouri those commercials are being sponsored in part by the Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition.

"We are not saying, don't vote for Bush; we are just saying he misleads you," said Liz Smith Currie, organizer for MoveOn's St. Louis partner, Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition.

Liz, of course, is my wife. The message of the ads is part of a $10 million campaign and is clear and on target:

"George Bush is doing something Bill Clinton didn't do, his father didn't do -- not Reagan or Carter or Ford or Nixon," the announcer says as pictures of the former presidents tick by. "Not LBJ or JFK. Not Eisenhower or Harry Truman. Not in any of FDR's four terms."

"No -- George Bush is going to be the first president since Herbert Hoover to lead an economy that loses jobs," the announcer says. "Over 2 million so far. Didn't George Bush say his tax cuts would create jobs?"

Visit MoveOn.Org to learn more.

Homeless Youth and Public Schools

Getting homeless kids in school was one of my passions when I served on the board of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Thanks to hard work by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress there are more resources available to help accomplish that goal than ever before. My good friend Dona Bolt told the story this week to The New York Times:

In Oregon, officials used data from a census of people living in shelters to estimate that there were about 21,000 homeless school-age youths in the state two years ago. Using the same methodology this fall, Oregon put the number at 28,600.

"Homelessness is exploding in Oregon," said Dona Horine Bolt, coordinator of the state's homeless education program. "We're seeing people who are brand new to poverty, learning how to survive."

As they move through the state, Ms. Bolt said, homeless people use local school district offices, especially in rural towns, "as a sort of one-stop center for help."

"They're looking for a house and some food and a job," Ms. Bolt said. "They ask not only how to enroll their children, but also about jobs or where to park the trailer for a couple of weeks or where the soup kitchen is."

The McKinney-Vento law, passed in 1987, strengthened the rights of homeless students when Congress reauthorized it in 2002. It requires each of the country's 15,000 school districts to designate a "liaison for homeless children and youth," whose duties include searching for children living in shelters, motels, campgrounds and other irregular residences, helping them enroll in school, and ensuring that they get immunizations and other medical and dental care. It also requires districts to provide transportation so that homeless children can attend the same school, even if their parents move about seeking shelter or jobs.

You can learn more about the importance of getting kids who are homeless to attend public schools by visiting these sites:

Education of Homeless Youth and Children

National Center for Homeless Education

School Segregation and Homeless Children and Youth: An Overview

School Segregation and Homeless Children and Youth: Questions and Answers

Portland, Oregon has a great program working to get kids who are homeless into area public schools. The program is called Project Return - they have won national awards for their work. Get in touch with them and find out how you can help. Project Return can be found at 531 S.E. 14th St Room 315 or by calling (503)916-5840 x350 or 352.

The City By The Bay

We heard the President made a surprise trip to Iraq. In that spirit we swiftly took off from St. Louis and landed this afternoon in San Francisco just in time for dinner with some of Liz’s family here. We hope that you’re enjoying this Thanksgiving as much as we are.

Howard Dean On The Move

The Christian Science Monitor is – like The New York Times and other publications – running profile articles on the presidential candidates. This week the profile is on our man Howard Dean and the coverage is pretty good. Take a look.

After you read that you might want to turn your attention to the essay written by US Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. on Dean’s Southern strategy.

If Howard Dean wins the nomination around an economic agenda, and can effectively combat the certain Republican tactic of diversion--using social issues openly, and race more subtly, to sublimate economic concerns--then Democrats may once again be able to win in the South and pursue a progressive economic agenda for the benefit of all Americans.

That's Howard Dean's approach and his challenge. I support him because I think it's the right strategy politically, economically and morally.

"Bum Stomping"

If we need reminders about how dangerous in can be to be homeless in America we need look no further than Baltimore. That’s where three teen-agers have been on trial for murdering people who are homeless. What was their reason for killing these people? They wanted to “clean up the neighborhood” so they engaged in a game they called “bum stomping.”

A South Baltimore teen-ager who prosecutors say fatally beat three homeless men in a sport he and his friends called "bum stomping" was found guilty yesterday of murdering one of the men by fracturing his skull.

Minutes after the verdict in Baltimore Circuit Court, defendant Harold "Jay" Waterbury, 19, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, and hissed at a detective who worked on the case, "I'm going to get you."

Waterbury was the third defendant to be found guilty of the attack in April 2001 that killed Gerald J. Holle, 55, a homeless man living under the Monroe Street bridge in the 1800 block of S. Monroe St. Holle suffered several blows to the head.

Their mission was "bum stomping," meaning they planned to beat and rob homeless men to force them out of the area, Ennis testified last week. They used baseball bats, a crowbar, a steel pole and wooden sticks in the attacks.

Our prayers need to go out to Gerald Holle and his family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Repent!

If you’ve been reading the comments posted on my blog this week you’ve no doubt noticed the trouble I’m in with people upset about my theology. But you’ve only seen what people have posted. What about the e-mails that have been sent directly to me? Well, some of those e-mails aren’t suitable for a family site like this.

But another man named Chuck writes:

A humantarian, yes, a Pastor, NO. Nothing has been said about your group uniting in prayer. Your particular denomination is bordering on being a cult. The churches you are including in your "organization" have one thing in common. None believe that the Bible is perfect and that every word is true. You are leading your flock down the wrong road and including, of all people, muslims. We will pray for you because that is what Jesus Christ would expect of us. The least you could do is repent...if not...we will leave that up to God.

And Karl wrote:

You preachers had better keep out of politics in the pulpit. Church and State, remember are to be kept separate. Your freedom of speech ends at the church door.

But Jesus said:

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. - Matthew 5:11-12 (NRSV)

I’ll stick with Jesus’ advice on this one.

Jesus-related ossuary may be real

An ossuary – which is a funeral box – that was discovered in Israel bearing the inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" was determined by Israeli scholars to be a fake earlier this year. When found it was thought the box once held the remains of James, Jesus’ actual brother who is mentioned the New Testament. It would have been one of the earliest written mentions of Jesus. Fascinating stuff.

Now comes word from the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature that the ossuary might be authentic after all.

If authentic, the ossuary would offer a rare physical link to the life of Jesus, but Israel's Antiquities Authority declared the inscription a fraud in June.

"I don't know for sure whether this is a forged inscription, and I'm sort of cast as a defender of the inscription. I'm not," said moderator Hershel Shanks, editor of the Biblical Archeology Review, which published the initial findings. "What I do know is, Israeli authorities have badly managed the affair."

You can follow all the debate on the Biblical Archeology Society web site. This little box could be one of the most important archeological finds of all time.

Bush and Nixon

The other day I compared George W. Bush to Richard Nixon. Turns out I'm not the only one thinking along those lines. Read The Washington Post article published today.

Protect Church / State Separation

Action Alert from The United Church of Christ.

Under current IRS (Internal Revenue Service) code, houses of worship are banned from participating in any partisan political activities, such as endorsing or opposing candidates or using their tax-exempt donations to further partisan political campaigns.

Over the last two years, conservative leaders in the House of Representatives have sought to change IRS code to allow houses of worship to engage in partisan political activity and retain their tax-exempt status. Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) introduced the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act (H.R. 235), with 180 cosponsors, which would lift the ban on partisan political activity. Reversing the ban would be a step backward for religious liberty and the institutional separation of church and state.

Rep. Jones and other congressional leaders are communicating misleading statements to the public about current law and what H.R. 235 will do. Here is an example of such misleading statements: "The truth is simple: pastors, priests, rabbis and clerics are forbidden to speak out on any topic that could be deemed to be 'politically partisan.'"

This statement is not true. Religious leaders can speak out from the pulpit and as an officer of the church on any public policy issue. Passionate sermons regarding justice and peace, for example, are heard in houses of worship all over the United States and are never challenged unless they cross the line and say something like, "...and therefore vote for candidate X and against candidate Y." H.R. 253 is bad public policy for houses of worship and for the political process.

Witnessing to our faith is a crucial responsibility for Christians, and we are fortunate that the First Amendment to the Constitution protects our religious liberty to speak on issues of faith and conscience. Christians and other people of faith should be encouraged to become involved in the public policy discourse to lead our society toward more just and humane policies. In doing so, houses of worship should play by the same rules as other 501(c)3 organizations and not misuse their tax-exempt status for partisan political purposes.

Contact your representative and urge her/him to oppose H.R. 235. To send a letter log on to, http://www.ucctakeaction.org/ctt.asp?u=6223&l=9964

Ann Coulter's Anti-Semitic Remarks

You won’t be surprised. But The Heritage Foundation has an essay posted on their web site by Ann Coulter that is about as anti-Semitic as you can get.

"In addition to having a number of family deaths among them, the Democrats' other big idea – too nuanced for a bumper sticker – is that many of them have Jewish ancestry. There's Joe Lieberman: Always Jewish. Wesley Clark: Found Out His Father Was Jewish in College. John Kerry: Jewish Since He Began Presidential Fund-Raising. Howard Dean: Married to a Jew. Al Sharpton: Circumcised. Even Hillary Clinton claimed to have unearthed some evidence that she was a Jew – along with the long lost evidence that she was a Yankees fan. And that, boys and girls, is how the Jews survived thousands of years of persecution: by being susceptible to pandering."

As a Christian, I’m sickened by comments like this. We all should be.

The Heritage Foundation has close ties to the Bush White House. The President himself spoke at one of their recent events. The President should condemn these remarks in the strongest possible terms.

FBI Investigates Bush Opponents

Not only do political critics of George W. Bush get their patriotism criticized, but now it turns out Bush’s Justice Department has ordered the FBI to investigate people taking part in anti-Bush demonstrations.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has collected extensive information on the tactics, training and organization of antiwar demonstrators and has advised local law enforcement officials to report any suspicious activity at protests to its counterterrorism squads, according to interviews and a confidential bureau memorandum.

But some civil rights advocates and legal scholars said the monitoring program could signal a return to the abuses of the 1960's and 1970's, when J. Edgar Hoover was the F.B.I. director and agents routinely spied on political protesters like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Herman Schwartz, a constitutional law professor at American University who has written about F.B.I. history, said collecting intelligence at demonstrations is probably legal.

But he added: "As a matter of principle, it has a very serious chilling effect on peaceful demonstration. If you go around telling people, `We're going to ferret out information on demonstrations,' that deters people. People don't want their names and pictures in F.B.I. files."

Maybe the President can order the “most trusted man in America” investigated next.

Clergy Leadership Network Part II

People have been visiting my blog in droves today – all looking for information about the Clergy Leadership Network. Since my first post on this new progressive group they’ve launched their web site - http://www.clnnlc.org/ - and been quoted in today’s The Washington Post on a story concerning George W. Bush getting in trouble with conservatives for speaking theologically. There is great irony in that, but I don’t have time to write more right now. Welcome to all these new visitors to my blog! Feel free to stick around and comment.

George W. Bush As Joe McCarthy

Republicans are running ads in Iowa criticizing Democrats for not supporting the “war on terror.”

“Some are now attacking the President for attacking the terrorists," the type says. "Some call for us to retreat, putting our national security in the hands of others."

And how are Bush and company doing in the “war against terror?” From the news this morning:

U.S. Warns of Possible Al Qaeda Plot on U.S. Interests

Suicide Bombs in Iraq Kill 18, Plane Reported Hit

Army Is Planning for 100,000 G.I.'s in Iraq Till 2006

U.S. Military Returns to War Tactics

Attacking the President’s policy failures is not the same thing as supporting terrorism. George W. Bush and the Republican Party are doing a great job this week of returning to their political roots – Richard Nixon and Joe McCarthy.

JFK: 40 Years After Dallas

(Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.)

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. There will be endless media stories looking back on the events of November 22, 1963. I’ve always been inspired by President Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and their only surviving brother Senator Edward Kennedy. I was also a fan of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his publication George Magazine.

Robert Kennedy, Jr. is the only Kennedy I’ve met in person. A few years ago I was invited to a luncheon with him held at Forest Grove’s Pacific University, where I had been a student. Robert Kennedy, Jr. has been one of the nation’s leading environment advocates. Instead of offering another memorial to President Kennedy, I thought it might be better to post something on this blog about the importance of the progressive causes so many in the Kennedy family have fought for.

The most recent issue of Rolling Stone has an important essay by Robert Kennedy, Jr. on the critical environmental choices our nation is now facing.

The best way to judge the effectiveness of a democracy is to measure how it allocates the goods of the land: Does the government protect the commonwealth on behalf of all the community members, or does it allow wealth and political clout to steal the commons from the people?

Today, George W. Bush and his court are treating our country as a grab bag for the robber barons, doling out the commons to large polluters. Last year, as the calamitous rollbacks multiplied, the corporate-owned TV networks devoted less than four percent of their news minutes to environmental stories. If they knew the truth, most Americans would share my fury that this president is allowing his corporate cronies to steal America from our children.

Kennedy’s essay is a great read and taking action on these issues the greatest tribute to President Kennedy.

Speaking of Steve Currie

Writing about Ted Bryant got me thinking about my dad and I did a Google search. His name showed up in a recent article from a local newspaper in Florida – in one of those “this day in history columns.” Back in 1988 he refused to air ads on KOIN-TV that the Oregon Citizens Alliance hoped to run in their effort to overturn then-Governor Goldschmidt’s executive order banning discrimination against gays in the executive department of state government. Here’s the story:

15 YEARS AGO Oregon TV Stations refuse phobic ads – Portland, Ore.: Four Portland television stations have refused to air an ad promoting the passage of Ballot Measure Eight, the proposed repeal of Gov. Neil Goldschmidt’s executive order banning anti-gay discrimination in the state. The controversial 30-second ad features a young boy being placed in the foster care of two gay men. In the spot, a social worker turns to the boy and says, "Well Ryan, shall we meet your new parents?" as the camera pans to two men sitting on a bench. At the end, the boy asks, "But which one is the mommy?" "The spot is extremely inflammatory and distasteful," said Steve Currie operations manager for KOIN, one of the stations rejecting the ad. Supporters of the measure are screaming censorship over the stations’ refusal to carry the ad, arguing that gay foster parents present an improper role model for children. But officials of the state’s Children’ Services Division (CSD) say that only do they know of no problems involving gay foster parents, but passage of the measure will not affect the state’s open foster care policy anyway. Also, the phobes have acknowledged that their ad is inaccurate, since the CSD has allowed gay men and lesbians to be foster parents for several years, long before Goldschmidt was elected in 1986 and signed the 1987 order. The rejection of the ad is the latest in a series of controversial events surrounding the Measure Eight campaign. Two weeks ago, the Oregon Citizens Alliance, the group spearheading the ballot measure campaign, engaged in name-calling of various state officials opposing the measure and called Secretary of State Barbara Roberts a "fairy queen" for her support of gay and lesbian civil rights. Source: THE WEEKLY NEWS, November 9, 1988

Veteran Oregon Newsman Dies

Veteran Oregon newsman Ted Bryant died this week. Ted was a friend of my father, Steve Currie, a television producer who worked at KOIN-TV for 14 years and passed away in 1998. The last time I talked with Ted was at my father’s memorial service. Ted and my dad got along for a lot of reasons – one of them was their strong belief in local news programming.

"His nickname was 'The Sheriff,' both because of his love of Western lore and because he rode herd over us," recalled KOIN anchor/reporter Mike Donahue. "Ted was a tough taskmaster but a great mentor. Accuracy was everything with him, not getting it first. And he had no use for consultants. He was old school."

Mr. Bryant left KOIN in 1986, moving on to jobs at KOPB radio, where he served as news director, and KXL-AM, where he hosted a talk show. He also taught broadcast writing at Linfield College and the University of Portland, served as news consultant to the Republic of Estonia for the U.S. Information Agency and contributed freelance stories for publications ranging from The Oregonian to Woman's World and Senior Lifestyle magazines.

Ted Bryant will be missed.

Praying for Peace

An effigy of President George W. Bush is pulled down in Trafalgar Square, London, as part of a large protest over his state visit November 20, 2003. The protestors were mimicking the pulling down of a Saddam Hussein statue in Baghdad by U.S. troops during the war on Iraq. Photo by David Bebber/Reuters

A photo like this causes mixed emotions. The one good part of the war in Iraq is that Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat to his people. Can George W. Bush be honestly compared with a man who gassed his own people? The obvious answer is no. Protesters in London and elsewhere remind us though that America’s foreign policy in 2003 is seen as aggressive and a danger to world peace. I don’t disagree with that.

Since today war is still raging in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Israel, and Palestine it is right to offer prayers for peace.

Christian Prayer for Peace

Blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall be known as
the Children of God.
But I say to you that hear,
love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
To those that strike you on the cheek,
offer the other one also,
and from those who take away your cloak,
do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you,
and of those who take away your goods,
do not ask for them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Protests Across the Pond

(London protesters)

While tens of thousands are marching to protest American foreign policy in London the police in Miami are using pepper spray to turn back people protesting economic globalization. My friend Kate Lore is in Miami with a group from Portland’s First Unitarian Church. She wrote me before leaving:

Tomorrow morning several of us from church and from the larger Portland community will be boarding a plane to Miami to teach workshops at the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)Teach-In and to participate in a large, legally permitted protest. I expect that all of us will have a wonderful and inspiring time -- as we did at the WTO protest in Seattle. From what I'm reading, however, things are likely to get messy for folks who will be participating in civil disobedience (and there is much of it planned).

These are strange times and Florida is a strange state (to put it mildly). Thus, there is some uncertainty regarding just how heavy-handed the police and National Guard will be with us protesters. Hence, I am putting out this request for your thoughts and prayers -- especially on the big protest day: Thursday, Nov. 20.

A Sacred Institution

The Massachusetts state court decision on gay marriage / unions is driving some in religious circles just crazy.

Conservative religious and pro-family groups rallied on Wednesday against a Massachusetts ruling backing gay marriage, promising to make it the first shot in a cultural battle likely to extend into the 2004 campaign.

The United Church of Christ (UCC) allows clergy to perform ceremonies for same sex couples. The decision is left up to local congregations and their ministers. That’s a good policy. Government has no business trying to regulate religious ceremonies. At the same time, government has a moral obligation to provide gay and lesbian couples with the same civil rights as straight couples.

In the spirit of open debate the UCC has essays offering both pro and con views on this issue. Check them out.

Tom Potter for Mayor

Being away from Portland during the upcoming election year will be hard for us. We won’t be able to vote for our friends and the people we know can make a difference for the city we still consider home. That won’t stop either one of us from giving advice, however, to anyone who will listen.

That is why I’m throwing in my two cents now and asking people to vote for Tom Potter for Mayor. I’ve gotten to know the last three people who have served as Portland’s Chief of Police and no one has been more of a community builder than Tom Potter. It was no surprise to anyone that when he left the Police Bureau he went to work with homeless kids. He also has the support of two other people I’ve worked closely with and admire: former Portland Mayor Bud Clark and former Portland City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury. Tom Potter is someone who can start leading the city on day one. He’ll work hard on issues of public education, safety, and affordable housing. That’s the kind of leadership we need in Portland.

Hopefully, by the time I finish seminary and we move back to Portland, Tom Potter will be our new Mayor.

Clergy Leadership Network

Progressive Christians that hope to be a counter-point to conservative organizations like the Christian Coalition have formed a new faith-based political group.

The nonprofit organization, the Clergy Leadership Network, plans to formally announce its formation on Friday and will operate from an expressly religious, expressly partisan point of view. The group cannot, under Internal Revenue Service guidelines, endorse political candidates, and it will have no official ties to the Democratic Party. But the driving purpose of the organization, according to its mission statement, is to bring about "sweeping changes — changes in our nation's political leadership and changes in failing public policies."

Churches should never be involved in partisan political campaigns for specific candidates or political parties, but churches have a responsibility to speak out on moral issues as they attempt to discern God’s will. The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church have a great way of putting it:

We believe that the state should not attempt to control the church, nor should the church seek to dominate the state. `Separation of church and state’ means no organic union of the two, but it does permit interaction. The church should continually exert a strong ethical influence upon the state, supporting policies and programs deemed to be just and opposing policies and programs that are unjust.

One great example of faith-based involvement on policy issues comes from the United Church of Christ. The UCC’s Take Action Center allows participates to directly contact legislative and political leaders on a variety of important issues. Many other denominations have similar programs.

Hopefully, the new Clergy Leadership Network will become a vibrant part of our nation’s policy debates.

Read my Nov. 22nd update on the Clergy Leadership Network.

The End of the World

My friend Wendy Marsh sent along this link to a very funny cartoon on the end of the world. Mark sure your volume is turned up.

You can find it at www.egoyk.com/flash.asp?id=319

Get Back!

As a Beatles fan, I can't wait.

When the Beatles recorded "Let It Be," their intention was to get back to being "a pretty good rock 'n' roll band" - to playing live and recording together the way they did when they started out.

"Get Back" was the original title of that album, released one month after their breakup. Now, 33 years later, they really are getting back. On Tuesday, America will hear that album as the band originally intended, without any of the schmaltzy strings, choral fills, or other special effects added later by famed "Wall of Sound" producer Phil Spector. They're calling the stripped-down version "Let It Be ... Naked."

Read the full story.

Hillary Clinton Takes Center Stage

(Governor Dean and Senator Clinton)

US Senator Hillary Clinton was the keynote speaker today at an event in Iowa showcasing the democratic candidates for President.

"America is ready for a change, America is ready for a Democratic president again," Clinton told Iowa Democrats, who will kick off the race for the party's nomination with caucuses on Jan. 19.

She praised the current presidential field, which she consistently leads in public opinion polls, and advised all the candidates to season their criticism of Bush with a positive agenda and a vision for the future.

"We have to do more than criticize, we have to have a vision of where we want to lead this country," she said, adding that Bush "has no vision for a future that will make America safer and stronger and smarter and richer and better and fairer."

The Sin of David Reinhard

Debate is raging on the pages of The Oregonian over the consecration Bishop Gene Robinson. Conservative political columnist David Reinhard kicked it all off with his column “A gay bishop and the sin of…. pride.”

The Rev. V. Gene Robinson is now a consecrated Episcopalian bishop. Robinson is also famously gay and the divorced father of two girls. He lives with his male lover and has become the gay crusade's latest cause celebre.

It's now clear that Robinson is far more interested in representing the gay-rights movement than the one holy, catholic and apostolic church -- the Body of Christ.

Paul Nickell, aka Worldwide Pablo, took on Reinhard Friday on his blog.

Here's the bottom line: A church not caught up in breaking barriers is no church at all. It’s a country club, one that is fixed on maintaining the order as it exists now and has always existed, one that draws the lines of inclusion exactly as they existed before, one that attends to its own needs instead of others, and which is resistant to the ever-evolving, always challenging call of God.

And Saturday, a guest column by Episcopalian Cheryle Jones Cerezo challenged Reinhold’s flawed theology.

David Reinhard's column on the sin of pride ("A gay bishop," Nov. 13) is offensive on so many levels that I almost don't know where to begin. I am a lifelong Episcopalian, the mother of three men -- the oldest is gay -- and all of us have been active and involved in our church for most of my life. I also happen to be the webmaster for the Diocese of New Hampshire's Bishop Search site. All of this gives me a more than casual interest in recent articles and editorials concerning the nomination, election, and consecration of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson.

The Anglican Communion can and will survive. It survived the audacious act of splitting from the established Church of England; it survived the defection of many Southerners during the Civil War; it survived the "new" Book of Common Prayer, the ordination of women, and Bishop Spong. It may look different and we may be uneasy with each other for a while, but it will survive. And those who choose to leave are the ones making the choice. I assume that they are responding to what they clearly hear as God's voice, just as Bishop Robinson has responded to what he -- and so many others -- hear as God's voice.

"Now We Can Dance With Girls!"

(Wheaton students practice dancing)

Chicago’s Wheaton College takes a step into the new millennium this week with their first ever school dance. For the last 143 years dancing has been banned on campus – unless you were dancing with a member of the same sex. Go figure.

Oregon Episcopalian Speaks Out

An openly lesbian Episcopalian has a great commentary in The Oregonian this morning asking why local Episcopal officials haven’t defended the consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire.

And why hasn't my church confronted the anti-gay faction's commandment-breaking? They fall into idolatry by holding up their few violent lines of Scripture, straining to block God's love from their baptized gay sisters and brothers. And they bear false witness when they say that just being what God made us is sick or a crime. Or, like the Bishop of Nigeria, they call us "satanic." Rich nations such as the United States do commit satanic acts against poor nations such as Nigeria, but a church affirming the discipleship of queer Christians isn't the problem.

This is a great read from a committed lay person struggling for justice in her denomination.

Raw Deal for 9/11 Families

A deal has been reached between the 9/11 Commission and the White House over the commission’s demand to review top-secret documents related to the terrorist attacks. As reported here, the Republican chairman of the commission blasted the White House last month for not cooperating. The deal, however, doesn’t have the support of families who lost loved ones or all the panels’ members.

The Family Steering Committee, a group of victims' relatives who are monitoring the work of the independent commission, criticized the agreement announced late Wednesday. Under the deal, only some of the 10 commissioners will be allowed to examine classified intelligence documents, and their notes will be subject to White House review.

"All 10 commissioners should have full, unfettered and unrestricted access to all evidence," the group said in a statement Thursday. It urged the public release of "the full, official, and final written agreement." (full story)

Two commissioners, former Indiana Rep. Tim Roemer and former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, criticized the deal after it was announced, saying it places unwarranted restrictions on the panel's work. The commission discussed issuing a subpoena to the White House, although that could have led to a legal battle had the Bush administration claimed executive privilege. (full story)

The Incredible Talent of George Bush

England is getting ready for a visit from the President of the United States. What do Americans living in England think of their President’s visit?

"It's tougher being an American in London than it used to be. Our President has made it so," said Newsweek Magazine's London correspondent Stryker McGuire. "Even among friendly Britons, there's a growing scepticism about the gun-toting, electric-chairing land that has let Dubya be Dubya for nigh on three years now."

Christine Swanson, back home after taking the kids on the morning run to school, said: "I am frustrated. As horrible as September 11 was, it was a real opportunity to move forward in a positive way. "There was a lot of goodwill to tap into and it took the incredible talent of George Bush to piss it all away in two years."

Almost 25 years after she first called London home, Pennsylvania-born Virginia Schultz vividly recalls the days after 9/11. "People were hugging me in the street. I thought the way they reacted then was wonderful." "Right now there is strong anti-Americanism and I compare it to the Vietnam War. Bush has been targeted as the villain in all of this. I think he is even more unpopular than Nixon was."

The New York Times ' London correspondent Warren Hoge told Reuters: "America is now something of a rogue state, a pariah nation." "People repeatedly say it isn't Americans we don't like, it is just Bush. He pushes hot buttons. Bush has so much to do with this rather stupendous fall-off in American popularity. It is quite amazing to think where we were the day after September 11 and how much of that goodwill has been squandered."

"His Guilt Is Not In Dispute"

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from office today in response to his ill-advised and theologically suspect attempt to govern Alabama’s courts using the Ten Commandments instead of the US Constitution.

You’ll remember that after a federal court ordered Moore’s Ten Commandments monument removed from the Alabama Supreme Court he defied the court order saying that his view of Scripture was more important than the rule of law.

Yesterday during a hearing on his future before a judicial review panel he declared:

"I would do everything I've done again. I stand by what I've done."

Americans United for the Seperation of Church and State took a different view:

“This is an open-and-shut case,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which helped bring the legal challenge against Moore’s display. “Facing a federal court order to remove the Ten Commandments, Roy Moore publicly announced that he would not do so. His guilt is not in dispute.”

Moore’s attorneys have told the Court of Judiciary that Moore was required to defy the federal court order because it was illegal. Lynn called that position “remarkably wrongheaded.”

Commented Lynn, “Is it nothing short of amazing that this late in the day Moore’s attorneys continue to make off-the-wall, long-discredited arguments challenging the authority of the federal courts. Their position is wholly without merit and should be rejected out of hand.

“The Court of the Judiciary should vote to remove Moore from the Alabama Supreme Court,” said Lynn. “Leadership of the state high court must rest in the hands of someone who is willing to uphold the rule of law.”

No More Late Night Taco Bell

Last week the National Council of Churches General Assembly endorsed consumer boycotts of Taco Bell and Mt. Olive Pickle products, both effective immediately, to put pressure for improvement of wages and working conditions of their suppliers’ farm workers. It is the largest and broadest U.S. religious body to join the boycotts.

The National Council of Churches is the nation’s leading ecumenical organization. Its 36 mainline Protestant, African American, Orthodox and Episcopal member denominations comprise 50 million U.S. Christians in 140,000 local congregations nationwide. The actions came during the Nov. 4-6 annual meeting of the General Assembly, the NCC’s highest legislative body, made up of official delegates from the member denominations.

Given the NCC’s insistence that boycotts are a measure of last resort, the affirmative votes on the two boycotts are especially significant. It has been more than 15 years since the NCC endorsed a boycott (May 1988, related to Royal Dutch/Shell’s connections at that time to apartheid South Africa.).

Read more on the NCC web site by clicking here.

A Penny Here, A Penny There

Financier George Soros is giving another $5 million to help oust President Bush from office. Soros has pledged to match every dollar given to MoveOn.Org with 50 cents of his own – up to $5 million. That brings his total contribution to defeating the President to over $15 million.

Overnight, Soros, 74, has become the major financial player of the left. He has elicited cries of foul play from the right. And with a tight nod, he pledged: "If necessary, I would give more money."

"America, under Bush, is a danger to the world," Soros said. Then he smiled: "And I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is."

Soros believes that a "supremacist ideology" guides this White House. He hears echoes in its rhetoric of his childhood in occupied Hungary. "When I hear Bush say, 'You're either with us or against us,' it reminds me of the Germans." It conjures up memories, he said, of Nazi slogans on the walls, Der Feind Hort mit ("The enemy is listening"). "My experiences under Nazi and Soviet rule have sensitized me," he said in a soft Hungarian accent.

MoveOn.Org is launching television commercials and voter registration drives aimed at electing a new President in 2004. Visit MoveOn.Org and learn more about how you can help.

Lars Larson vs Poor People

My friend Jon Ross sent this tid-bit along from The Portland Tribune. More on Lars "Richest Man on Radio" vs Dignity "Poorest of the Poor" Village:

Must be something in the air. KXL (750 AM) talk show host Lars Larson, not normally an advocate of intensifying government regulation, files a complaint with the city concerning building-code violations at Dignity Village, the homeless encampment out by the airport. ... City Commissioner Randy Leonard, whose department must decide whether to enforce the violations, calls Lars on the air to give him a piece of his mind. ... "Why'd you call me?" asks Lars. Earlier in the day, Lars says, the commissioner had refused to go on the air unless Lars dropped his complaint. ... "Because you're a jerk and you piss me off," responded the city councilman, before engaging Lars in a spirited argument over the city's intentions for Dignity Village. ... Lars says he's trying to make a broader point about the chilling effects of building permits on business. Randy says, "Lars is a big fat hypocrite."

Close the School of the Americas

from Sojourners

The U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers located at Fort Benning, Georgia. SOA graduates have been responsible for some of the worst human rights atrocities in Latin American history. Notorious graduates include:

3 of the 5 officers responsible for the rape and murder of four U.S. churchwomen in 1980

2 of the 3 officers responsible for the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero that same year

19 of 26 responsible for the massacre of 6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter in 1989
the man convicted in Guatemalan courts for the assassination of Guatemalan Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi in 1998

the man arrested for the murder of Colombian Bishop Isaias Duarte in 2002

Originally set up as a counterinsurgency training school in 1946, the SOA has claimed numerous reforms in the way it selects and trains its students over the years, culminating in its name change to the "Western Hemishphere Institute for Security Cooperation" (WHISC) in 2001. Each of these changes came only after grassroots and congressional activism - and not one has closed the school or allowed for a full accounting of its tragic legacy. As U.S. tax dollars continue to train soldiers from countries with the worst human rights records in the region, a bill has been introduced that would close, investigate, and prevent another cosmetic remake of the SOA. It is vital that co-sponsors be added before Congress adjourns on November 21.

Contact your congressperson today and tell them to close this "School of Assassins" for good!

Take action today at: http://go.sojo.net/campaign/close_the_SOA/8usuki4yjn56dk

If I Were Bush's Speechwriter...

A weekly commentary by CBS News Correspondent Andy Rooney

Years ago, I was asked to write a speech for President Nixon.

I didn't do that, but I wish President Bush would ask me to write a speech for him now.

Here's what I'd write if he asked me to - which is unlikely:

My fellow Americans - (the word "fellow" includes women in political speeches):

My fellow Americans. One of the reasons we invaded Iraq was because I suggested Saddam Hussein had something to do with the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. No evidence that's so, I wish I hadn't said it.

I said we were going to get Saddam Hussein. To be honest, we don't know whether we got him or not. Probably not.

I said we'd get Osama bin Laden and wipe out al Qaeda. We haven't been able to do that, either. I'm as disappointed as you are.

I probably shouldn't have said Iraq had nuclear weapons. Our guys and the U.N. have looked under every bed in Iraq and can't find one.

In one speech, I told you Saddam Hussein tried to buy the makings of nuclear bombs from Africa. That was a mistake and I wish I hadn't said that. I get bad information sometimes just like you do.

On May 1, I declared major combat was over and gave you the impression the war was over. I shouldn't have declared that. Since then, 215 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. As the person who sent them there, how terrible do you think that makes me feel?

I promised to leave no child behind when it comes to education. Then I asked for an additional $87 billion for Iraq. It has to come from somewhere. I hope the kids aren't going to have to pay for it - now in school or later when they're your age.

When I landed on the deck of the carrier, I wish they hadn't put up the sign saying MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. It isn't accomplished.

Maybe it should have been MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.

I've made some mistakes and I regret it. Let me just read you excerpts from something my father wrote five years ago in his book, “A World Transformed.”

I firmly believed we should not march into Baghdad ...To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us and make a broken tyrant, into a latter-day Arab hero …

This is my father writing this.

...assigning young soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerrilla war.

We should all take our father's advice.

That's the speech I'd write for President Bush. No charge.

Methodist Bishops in "Good Company"

(U.S. Senator Clinton meets with United Methodist Bishops)

United Methodist Bishops were on Capitol Hill this week to press issues of concern to The United Methodist Church. “Bishop Melvin Talbert, ecumenical officer for the (Bishop’s) council, (said) that President Bush has not responded to requests to meet with the bishops from his own church, though he has met with other religious leaders.”

The United Methodist Bishops spoke out against the war with Iraq. Bush only seemed to meet with religious leaders who agreed with his stand and ignored The United Methodist Church leaders. Bush is a United Methodist. Plenty of Republicans and Democrats found time to meet with the Bishops this week.

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told the bishops that President Bush had refused to meet with the Congressional Black Caucus as well. "You’re in good company," the caucus chairperson said.

Read the full story.

Howard Dean As Ronald Reagan

David Reinhard, The Oregonian’s resident conservative columnist, has a column today reporting on a memo from Portland-based Republican pollsters warning their fellow party members that Howard Dean might beat George W. Bush in 2004.

Let us not be fooled by misguided conventional wisdom. [Howard] Dean is a threat and Republicans better not ignore him."

(T)his is the considered judgment of two respected Republican pollsters -- Bob Moore and Hans Kaiser -- from Portland's Moore Information. Their Oct. 6 memo should be a welcome read (www.moore-info.com) when Dean visits here Tuesday.

"Howard Dean can win because he believes in what he is saying, because he can semi-legitimately spin his record as governor into one of fiscal conservatism, and because he comes across as if he actually cares about people . . ." they wrote, continuing a bit later: "The difference between Howard Dean and the rest of the Democratic candidates is that Dean comes across as a true believer to the base but he will not appear threatening to folks in the middle."

"Dean's appeal is closer to Ronald Reagan's than any other Democrat running today. . . . The Democratic party used to chuckle about Reagan and his gaffes, which they believed would marginalize him to the far-right dustbin of history. But when his opponents tried to attack him for some of his more outlandish statements, the folks in the middle simply ignored them. Voters . . . looked to the bigger picture, where they saw a man of conviction who cared about them and had solutions for their problems."

You can read all of Reinhard’s assessment on this memo in today’s The Oregonian or by just clicking here.

Gore Vs Bush (Again)

Al Gore made a well-received speech on the Bush presidency this afternoon. MoveOn.Org sponsored the speech. Gore told the audience of over 3,000 plus a web simulcast that:

"They (the Bush Administration) have taken us much farther down the road toward an intrusive, 'big brother'-style government — toward the dangers prophesied by George Orwell in his book '1984' — than anyone ever thought would be possible in the United States of America."

He brought many the crowd of 3,000 to their feet when he called for a repeal of the Patriot Act, which expanded government's surveillance and detention power, allowing authorities to monitor books people read and conduct secret searches.

Gore chided the administration for what he said was its "implicit assumption" that Americans must give up traditional freedoms in order to be safe from terrorists.

"In my opinion, it makes no more sense to launch an assault on our civil liberties as the best way to get at terrorists than it did to launch an invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) as the best way to get at Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)," Gore said.

In both cases, Gore said, the administration has "recklessly put our country in grave and unnecessary danger."

It is always nice to see the man most Americans voted for as President in 2000 back on the political stage.

Belief-O-Matic™

Do you know what religion you are? The Belief-O-Matic™ knows.

Answer 20 questions about your concept of God, the afterlife, human nature, and more, and Belief-O-Matic™ will tell you what religion (if any) you practice...or ought to consider practicing.

Warning: Belief-O-Matic™ assumes no legal liability for the ultimate fate of your soul.

A service of Beliefnet.com.

A Weekend With Mollie Copeland

Our old friend Mollie Copeland has been visiting from Portland the last several days. It has been great to have her here. Photos from her visit can be found by clicking here.

New Faith-Based Study

As someone who has run faith-based social service agencies, I agree with those who stress the separation between church and state. In fact, when I ran the Goose Hollow Family Shelter we took no government funding and relied on volunteers and community contributions. Faith-based agencies that receive public funding should be required to meet the same guidelines and standards as any other non-profit that takes government money. A new report agrees with the assessment:

The Charitable Choice Research Project, funded by the Ford Foundation, sheds new light on the effectiveness and constitutionality of hotly debated faith-based initiatives strongly supported by President Bush.

After three years of study, project researchers have found evidence that is contrary to some long-held assumptions about faith-based initiatives, including the belief that faith-based organizations produce better results in providing social services than their secular counterparts.

"We found that states did not monitor constitutional violations and did little to educate contractors about constitutional compliance," said Sheila Suess Kennedy, the Charitable Choice Research Project principal investigator and professor of law and public policy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. "We also found that congregational leaders had little familiarity with applicable constitutional constraints."

In other research, the Charitable Choice Research Project found that faith-based organizations operating job training programs placed 31 percent of their clients in full-time employment, compared with secular organizations that placed 53 percent of their clients. Less than 1 percent of the clients of faith-based organizations found jobs with health or other benefits, compared with 9 percent of secular organization clients.

Communities of faith should do more to help people. But they ought to play by the same rules as everyone else.

General Boykin Should Resign

Tell the ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee - Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John Warner (R-VA) - how you feel about religious extremism in the military.

Recent news reports have quoted General William Boykin, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, as speaking about America's "Christian army," the holy war we're waging against the "idol" of Islam's false God, and the "spiritual battle" we are fighting against "a guy named Satan" who "wants to destroy us as a nation, and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army."

Conservative Christian organizations have launched a campaign to support the General, saying that he is under attack simply for being a Christian. As Christians, Sojourners believes Gen. Boykin's views are bad theology that does not reflect biblical teaching. We must not confuse the Christian faith with the American nation.

The Pentagon has said only that it will conduct an internal investigation of Gen. Boykin's comments. Yet even President Bush has said that the General's opinion "doesn't reflect what the government thinks." We believe more serious action is warranted - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should ask the General to resign his position.

Let your voice be heard-as Christians and others of good will who believe in social justice and peace, not religious extremism. The kingdom of God does not endorse the principalities and powers of nation-states, armies, and the ideologies of empire; but rather calls them all into question. Tell the Senate Armed Services Committee that General Boykin does not speak for you, and that they should urge Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to remove him from his position in the Pentagon.

Send your message by visiting: http://go.sojo.net/campaign/general_boykin_should_resign

A Little Christian Humor

This news in from Worldwide Pablo (aka Paul Nickell):

OPENLY EPISCOPAL MAN JOINS THE VILLAGE PEOPLE!

We all knew Gene Robinson was about to open some doors. Read all about it!

The Doctor is Back

Our candidate Howard Dean will be back in Portland next week. We wish we could be there (though we’re still talking about how much we enjoyed the Al Franken event for Gephardt last night). Governor Dean should be riding high in Portland after receiving the endorsement from two major unions. As a small-time contributor, I got to vote to recommend that Dean opt-out of public financing so that he has a (hopefully) more level playing field against Bush in the fall. Wouldn’t a Dean / Clark ticket be the best? If anyone needs a reason to vote against Bush next year there are more than just a few in the news today:

Bush takes quiet aim at 'green' laws

U.S. Black Hawk Helicopter Down in Iraq, Six Die

U.S. Sees Imminent Attacks in Saudi, Shuts Embassy

Jessica Lynch Criticizes U.S. Accounts of Her Ordeal

The only bad news for anyone really interested in ousting Bush is the news that Ralph Nader is about to announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee. Nader has more ego than sense. Here’s some good advice for Nader from a Green party leader:

"I don't think Ralph Nader should run again," says Elizabeth Horton Sheff, one of the party's slowly increasing number of African-American elected officials. Sheff, the majority leader of the Hartford, Connecticut, city council, adds, "Our message of grassroots inclusion did not get through with this candidate. His appeal is not broad enough to reach my community." (Indeed, Nader only got 1 percent of the African-American vote in 2000, compared with his 3 percent overall. Even in Democratic strongholds like Washington, DC, where Nader reached 5 percent, he only got one in one hundred black votes.) Arguing that Nader reaches mainly progressive and middle-class whites, Sheff insists that the party doesn't even need a presidential candidate, concluding, "We should run someone only if they have a proven track record appealing to a cross section of America."

That’s some good political wisdom!

Al Franken and Us

Though we’re supporting Howard Dean we couldn’t pass up the chance to see Al Franken speak at a fundraiser for Dick Gephardt (Liz got free tickets). Gephardt did a fantastic job speaking about his vision of the future. We were impressed. But the star of the show was Franken. These days Franken is best known for his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look At The Right. He spoke in length about the lawsuit FOX News filed against his book. He was funny, articulate, and ruthless in his indictment of the Bush presidency. We were glad our Portland friend Mollie Copeland was in town to join us. Anytime you get a chance to hear him you should.

Judge Blocks New Abortion Ban

Here's some good news!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York federal judge on Thursday blocked the government from prosecuting certain doctors for performing a type of late-term abortion banned under a law signed by President George Bush on Wednesday.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard Casey issued a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the ban against so-called "partial-birth" abortions. The order had been sought by the National Abortion Federation (news - web sites) and a group of doctors.

Casey cited arguments by the plaintiffs, who were represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites), that the act is unconstitutional because it does not contain an exception to protect women's health.

Read the full story.

God Is Still Speaking

God is still speaking ... through the Ten Commandments
Are we still listening?

OUR CULTURE THINKS have no other Gods before me is "nice" unless it’s Super Bowl Sunday or the Final Four.

PERHAPS GOD says you shall neither worship your car, your "ice," or your wide-screen.

OUR CULTURE THINKS you shall not make for yourself an idol except for Madonna; Starbucks; X Box; Nike; Chief Wahoo, et al.; the American flag; and Wall Street.

MAYBE GOD says you shall not worship the idol of individualism that leads to the American dream of "success" only for some of God's children.

OUR CULTURE THINKS you shall not take the Name of the Lord, thy God, in vain unless you lose something you thought was yours, you don’t get something you thought you deserved, or you smash your finger.

MAYBE GOD says you shall not take God’s Name in vain EVER, especially not as justification for the separation of peoples/cultures or to strip civil liberties or as justification for war on terrorism.

OUR CULTURE THINKS remember the Sabbath day means to keep it Holy by shopping or watching the kid’s soccer game instead of going to church.

PERHAPS GOD says spend some time with me, your family, and a community of faith.

OUR CULTURE THINKS the meaning of honor your father and mother expires when our parents reach the age of 75 or can't care for themselves.

PERHAPS GOD says honor older parents with needed Medicare and affordable prescription drugs. Honor younger parents with affordable, available, quality child care so that they can earn a living.

OUR CULTURE BELIEVES you shall not commit adultery unless you know you won’t get caught.

POSSIBLY GOD says you should be faithful to the one you love no matter your sexual orientation.

OUR CULTURE THINKS you shall not steal unless you really, really want something and a) don't have it; b) don't want to pay the money; c) it's a natural resource we need and another nation has; d) it's for the protection of our national security.

MAYBE GOD SAYS you should not siphon oil from the Middle East, Africa, or Latin America in order to satisfy our industrial need for fossil fuel. You should not bankrupt small family farmers by disproportionately supporting corporate farms. You shall not mouth "high" academic expectations for our nation's children and then steal money from schools to pay for war and huge tax cuts.

OUR CULTURE SAYS you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor unless your neighbor doesn’t look like you, doesn’t live like you, doesn't speak the English language, or calls God by another name.

POSSIBLY GOD says tell the truth about our relationship with the Saudi government and with oppressive leaders around the world. Release dozens of Arabs and Muslims still in American jails since 9/11. Come clean about using the Patriot Act to regenerate a new brand of McCarthyism.

OUR CULTURE BELIEVES you shall not covet your neighbor's property unless your neighbor's crib is bigger than yours or has more "toys" that bling-bling. Note: "neighbor" includes other countries and planets.

PERHAPS GOD SAYS you shall not covet another culture's land or tax benefits obtained on the backs of the poor or global trade advantages ... water ... air ... women ... or immigrants ... as personal property.

OUR CULTURE MAINTAINS you shall not kill unless you are one of the states with the death penalty, look different, talk different, think different or you're trying to off Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. (Note: Collateral damage, maimings, casualties, and the like are unavoidable, regrettable, justifiable, and patriotic).

PROBABLY GOD SAYS you shall not kill, period. Not by lethal injection, not by surgical air strikes, or by endangering the lives of millions of Americans by failing to provide health insurance or food or AIDS meds.

Learn more. Visit the United Church of Christ.

Who Is Missing From This Picture?

My wife Liz wants to know who is missing from this picture of Bush signing the so-called Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003. Want to guess?