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Clinton Presidential Center
How much can one group of people hate former President Bill Clinton? Enough to build a “counter library” that plans to open in time for the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center. It will house information critical of the administration that presided over the longest period of economic growth in American history. CNN reports that Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh are promoting the project. No joke.
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A Message From The Clergy Leadership Network.....
After listening to President Bush's address to the nation last night and his comments to reporters last weekend, we realize more than ever how zealousness and pride have prevented this President from seeing moral issues about Iraq clearly. For weeks and even months, President Bush suggested that the violence in Iraq stemmed from only a "few people." Yet, though he admitted that times were tough, he failed to genuinely take responsibility for his decisions. In effect, he has failed to acknowledge just how grave last week was for our soldiers and for the Iraqi civilians who have been caught in the crossfire. The tragic facts are that more soldiers died last week in combat than in any other week since the conflict in Iraq began.
While President Bush spent most of the week on vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, approximately 76 American soldiers lost their lives. During a time that included days of religious celebration for Christians, Jews and Muslims, nearly 76 families learned that they would never again welcome loved ones to their holiday tables.
In light of these events and despite Bush's visit to soldiers' families in Fort Hood, Bush's comments seem, at best, callous and, at worst, frighteningly detached from the harsh reality so many Americans and Iraqi civilians are facing.
Since our inception, CLN has opposed President Bush's war in Iraq and his Administration's failure to bring peace and stability to that area. We agree with the comments of Rev. Dr. James Forbes, "A righteous superpower must have a global vision, strong values of respect for the rights of others, and a rational sense of purpose to promote justice, peace, and compassion."
Last week's events obligate us more than ever to call for a new vision for America's actions in Iraq and our foreign policy in general – a vision that is rooted in our shared values of justice and peace.
We urge you to speak truth to power! Join us in challenging America to forge a new path in international relations, a path that ends with America offering authentic principles of freedom and hope to Iraq and the world.
Please support our work and demonstrate that people of faith are deeply concerned with these issues by:
1) Writing your local Congressman or Congresswoman about this issue. To identify your Senator and/or Congress person go to http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/index.html.
2) Writing the Kerry Campaign and/or Senator Kerry's office about this issue. Go to http://www.johnkerry.com/contact/ for details.
3) Registering to attend our National Gathering to empower yourself and to learn more about the role of people of faith in politics. Go to our website at http://www.clnnlc.org/news_events.html for more details.
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(Aljazeera photo of Iraqi child killed in Falluja Fighting)
Western media reports continue to focus understandably on the tragic deaths of US and other coalition forces and civilian contractors. Iraqi civilian deaths largely go unnoticed. Tonight you can expect the president to ignore the issue completely. We can at least do a little something (besides opposing the administration politically). Church World Service is looking for support for their campaign to help Iraqi children.
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The Right Christians is written by an author just like me except he is smarter and more thoughtful. His blog has undergone a massive redesign and it even has a new name: The Village Gate. Go check it out.
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The Clergy Leadership Network was formed late last year to help the progressive religious community organize against Bush Administration policies. The Rev. Dr. Albert M. Pennybacker is CEO/Chair of group’s National Committee. Rev. Pennybacker is a former executive with the National Council of Churches.
CLN is hosting a National Gathering of progressive religious leaders on May 16-18 in Cleveland. He took some time to talk with me about the National Gathering and the goals of his organization. I have been working to help get seminarians involved with the CLN.
This will be the first in a series of interviews with CLN leaders as the National Gathering approaches.
The Clergy Leadership Network will be holding a National Gathering on May 16-18 in Cleveland. What is the general purpose behind the gathering?
There is deep dismay, even outrage, among clergy over the current national leadership of our country and the policies being pursued internationally and domestically. Clergy from all religious traditions - liberal, moderate and even progressive evangelical religious leaders - need to be heard. To stand together - priest, pastor, rabbi, imam, and other religious leaders, both men and women, ordained, seminarians, and even lay supporters - serves to make clear that the present Bush Administration does not have a lock on the religious communities of America. The National Clergy Gathering offers the opportunity for such a witness. And that may make it one of the most significant gatherings of religious progressives in our nation's history!
You and others have said that clergy have a prophetic role to play this election year. What are the issues that are of deepest concern to the progressive religious community?
International policies, including starting war and including the present tragic occupation, has been rooted in America swagger and made our country a bully in the world, contrary to God's will as we understand it. Domestic policies have been rooted in insensitivity to the vast numbers of normal American households and in rampant greed. The President's rhetoric bears little resemblance to his actions. He talks of compassion but poor families suffer. He talks of personal integrity but lies about the reasons for war and its consequences. He talks of peace and freedom while death continues to take young lives away. He talks about protecting Americans but cuts funding for firefighters and police. He soothes but then stings. He often uses a religious vocabulary to distort circumstances and mislead Americans. The Clergy Network and the thrust of its National Clergy Gathering are to stand up to the Bush Administration's abusing and cheapening of religion.
What are the ways the CLN hopes to be involved in the election? Will the group register voters? Will you run commercial advertising?
Clergy Network offers a way to move beyond classic religious nonpartisanship and pursue an influential clergy role on behalf of national leadership change. Short of endorsing a candidate, there are many options. Clergy Network encourages local religious leaders to affirm political involvement as a spiritual witness. It asks local pastors, for instance, to urge their congregations to register voters, participate in voter education programs and follow up with voter mobilization when election day comes. Clergy Network will recommend clergy for prayers and other public campaign roles. Organized in local and state Clergy Network committees now being formed, clergy will be asked to speak out and give moral leadership once again to the election decisions of 2004. Many feel that this is the most crucial social justice election in our history. The impact of four more years without change can warp our nation's life for generations, socially, economically and internationally. There are no plans for public ads by Clergy Network due to funding limitations but support for the ads others place compatible with Clergy Network's leadership change goal is being encouraged.
Jim Wallis has done a good job of bringing together conservative evangelicals and progressive Christians to work on issues of common concern. Are there issues you could identify with which you could see conservative and progressive Christians working on together?
First let me say that some outstanding conservative Christians, including evangelical seminary professors, have joined Clergy Network. They see collaborative political action for leadership change with liberal and progressive Christians as urgent. They want to reclaim the radical social vision of evangelical Christianity and the absolute independence of the evangelical community from vest-pocket political party captivity. Shared issues abound: war and peace, environmental stewardship, international policies that affirm and build up life free of coercion, a common fear of American imperialism, a commitment to address the causes of terrorism as well as protection from terrorists, a sharing of wealth with a special concern for the disadvantaged and the poor, a militant rejection of our continuing racism, a firm commitment to the separation of church and state. Work of these issues together occur daily. Unleashing our shared political action capacities in addressing these issues is the special focus of Clergy Network.
Is the Clergy Leadership Network just for clergy or do you hope to have lay people and seminarians involved with the group?
This is an easy one: the answer is No! The focus is clergy because progressive clergy have often been intimidated or driven into silence by the stridency of extreme right religious voices. Uninformed congregations have sometimes threatened progressive clergy with isolation or dismissal. Theologies of prosperity or self-adjustment have become popular and tend to replaced social ethics and a passion for justice. Christian exclusivism has built barriers out of human differences and estranged the valuable public ties of mutual religious respect. Renewing clergy courage often relies on active and mature lay partnership and support. So it is in Clergy Network. Seminarians are especially urged to affiliate. A special section - Seminarians Leadership Network - is a full partner. Lay religious partners have been members from the first. Every aspect of Clergy Network is open to lay and seminarian involvement except those entrusted by our religious traditions to established or ordained leaders. Further, on the clergy positive side, a recovery of the acknowledging and supporting of moral leadership from clergy can occur through Clergy Network. It promises a new sense of social justice at the heart of our various religious communities.
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This morning we had another ultrasound done of the twins. These pictures below show both faces (though not very clearly) and Baby A's arm. We’ve been a little disappointed in the quality of the scans of late. None of the scans have been particularly clear - at least to untrained eyes like ours. The important news is that the doctor is happy with the scans. That’s all that counts in the end.
For family and close friends who want to know what we need: We’re registered.
If you are a reader of this web site but don't really know us and still want to help out we'd like to sugguest that you donate to the Goose Hollow Family Shelter or Children First for Oregon. Both of those groups could use your help more than we could.
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“Our Whole Lives,” a sex education program developed by the United Church of Christ (UCC) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), was the focus of a story in The Oregonian on Sunday. What is this program and why is sex education being taught in church? The UCC web site explains the intent:
Our Whole Lives is a series of sexuality education programs for four age groups: grades K-1, grades 4-6, grades 7-9 and grades 10-12. Written by professional sexuality educators, the programs provide accurate information for parents, teachers and pastors to use with children and young people to help them learn about sexuality in the affirming and supportive setting of our churches. The resources are based on the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education produced by the National Guidelines Task Force, a group of leading health, education and sexuality professionals assembled by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. There is a Parent Guide to Our Whole Lives Grades K-1 and Grades 4-6 that accompanies the Our Whole Lives resource for those age levels.Sexuality and Our Faith, written by United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalist Association members, is the accompanying resource used for each of the grade groups: grades K-1, grades 4-6, grades 7-9 and grades 10-12 in the church setting. Each of the grade level resources has separate sections devoted to UCC and UUA faith traditions. By using Sexuality and Our Faith, leaders integrate worship, prayer and discussion of United Church of Christ faith values and principles into the programs for each age group.
One of the primary reasons for teaching sex education in church is that there are few comprehensive programs on the topic in public schools. Most school programs ignore controversial issues involved with sex (which pretty much cuts out most of the content). The Oregonian article talked about how “Our Whole Lives” is different:
"We try to present (teens) with the complexity of the whole thing and trust that in the context of faith they will make responsible decisions," said Todd Smiedendorf of the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, which just finished the course for seventh- to ninth-graders. As in Oregon's school-based sexuality curricula, Our Whole Lives promotes abstinence while providing information on contraception and how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. It also explores sexual activity, dating, homosexuality, abortion, rape, peer pressure, teen pregnancy and more in a value-laden context that emphasizes self-worth, sexual health, responsibility, justice and inclusivity.The openness is welcomed by participants. In school, "They don't tell you anything positive about having sex. Even the topic of sex, it's called, like, the 's-word,' " said Ali Actor, a Forest Grove eighth-grader.
The church program is "more interesting and it's kind of like, more truthful," said Jacki Pope, who also attended the Forest Grove class. "It makes you want to pay more attention."
All the open, honest talk about sex appears to give Our Whole Lives credibility -- and impact.
Pope said that by the time the class ended this month, she had changed her attitude toward sex from noncommittal to "I kind of decided for sure I want to wait."
Our Whole Lives participants often become "the experts" among their school friends, who come to them with sex-related questions, Rick Tangeman said.
Our Whole Lives classes are open to all youth, not just church members, although parents must come to an orientation meeting to view the curriculum materials and sign a permission slip. Some parents might shy away from the "God language" the United Church of Christ uses or the curriculum's teaching that homosexual relationships are part of the normal spectrum of sexual behavior.
The 18 youth who signed up at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ were there almost every session. A low-attendance day was 15.
You can find a wealth of information on the program here.
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Easter message to the churches from the general secretary of the World Council of Churches
March 2004
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pe 1:3).
Christ is Risen!
This year this joyful exclamation will be simultaneously pronounced by all Christian Churches, because the two Christian traditions of the East and of the West will celebrate Easter on the same day.
We consider this coincidence of dates as a real gift and blessing of the Risen Lord to his people and to his church, and we humbly confess the failure of our efforts for having a common celebration of this “feast of feasts” and a common witness to the resurrection of our Lord on the same day.
It is our hope that churches and Christians throughout the world will join in prayer and celebration to mark this rare occasion of an Easter on the same Sunday everywhere.
It is our hope -- and fervent prayer to the Risen Lord -- that this year’s common celebration will encourage churches and Christians to revive and accelerate their efforts towards agreeing for a permanent common day for celebrating together Christ’s resurrection.
We promise that the World Council will continue to invite churches to work together on this and we express gratitude to all those churches who have invited one another as a particular way of marking this occasion.
In the midst of so many atrocities overtly committed by the powers of sin and death, we praise God because our Lord’s passion and resurrection allow God to enter forcefully everywhere there is human pain and transform it into a source of hope and life.
In the midst of so many acts of injustice and violence which disfigure human beings and creation, we praise God because in Christ’s resurrection darkness is reversed by light, death by life, hatred by reconciliation, sin by forgiveness, the reign of the evil by the reign of Christ.
In the midst of so much personal and communal, physical and psychological suffering, we praise God because Christ’s powerlessness on the cross communicates the authentic love of God for the whole world and God’s transformative love for each and every human being, while Christ’s resurrection becomes source of renewal and constant transformation of the world through the coming realities of God’s future.
Christ is Risen! In Christ’s glorious resurrection “death is destroyed and victory is complete” (1 Cor 15:54). Christ’s resurrection is a new exodus, liberation for those who are oppressed, comfort for the persecuted, plenitude for the deprived, exaltation for the humiliated, hope for the despairing.
The women disciples show us the way: they dare where the apostles fear; they act courageously when the apostles are paralysed by their doubts; they wipe their tears and go to proclaim the good news to the world.
Christ is Risen! May the light of the resurrection shine before us all.
Christ is Risen! May the joy of the resurrection fill our lives.
Christ is Risen! May the common celebration of the resurrection renew our commitment to the unity of the Body of Christ, the Church.
Samuel Kobia
General Secretary
World Council of Churches
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Today the White House released the August 6, 2001 memo that outlines what the President was told about terrorism:
From:
Open Source Politics: United States: Preznit Daily Briefing
The real copy of the report can be found here. The President and his staff have told the American people the document offered no warnings about possible terrorist attacks. Here is part of what it actually says:
We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a . . . service in 1998 saying that bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft to gain the release of "Blind Sheik" Omar Abdel Rahman and other U.S.-held extremists.Nevertheless, F.B.I. information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.
The F.B.I. is conducting approximately 70 full field investigations throughout the U.S. that it considers bin Laden-related. C.I.A. and the F.B.I. are investigating a call to our embassy in the U.A.E. in May saying that a group of bin Laden supporters was in the U.S. planning attacks with explosives.
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Jani and I played tourists today by visiting the Cahokia Mounds.
The remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico are preserved at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Within the 2,200-acre tract, located a few miles west of Collinsville, Illinois, lie the archaeological remnants of the central section of the ancient settlement that is today known as Cahokia.The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) , in 1982, designated Cahokia Mounds a World Heritage Site for its importance to our understanding of the prehistory of North America. Cahokia Mounds is managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
According to archaeological finds, the city of Cahokia was inhabited from about A.D. 700 to 1400. At its peak, from A.D. 1100 to 1200, the city covered nearly six square miles. Houses were arranged in rows and around open plazas, and the main agricultural fields lay outside the city. The site is named for a subtribe of the Illini - the Cahokia - who occupied the area when the French arrived. Archaeological investigations and scientific tests have provided what is known of the once-thriving community.The fate of the prehistoric Cahokians and their city is unknown. Depletion of resources probably contributed to the city's decline. A climate change after A.D. 1200 may have affected crop production and the plant and animal resources needed to sustain a large population. War, disease, social unrest, and declining political and economic power may have also taken their toll. A gradual decline in population began sometime after A.D. 1200, and by the 1400s, the site had been abandoned.
The weather was a little cloudy and rainy, but the upside was it was the perfect temperature for walking up huge hills. The mounds are about 8 miles outside of St. Louis near Collinsville, Illinois. There was a great view of the St. Louis skyline in the background.
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My longtime friend Jani Brockley (we've known each other since 7th grade) is in town visiting this weekend. Jani is a professor at Jackson State University. She is here with her dog Duchess.
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Once again I’m sitting around listening to Air America’s Majority Report and they mentioned they have a blog. Not a lot of content, but it does list who will be on the show. And I enjoy the show.
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49,000 people will be cut from the Oregon Health Plan in another sign of difficult economic times and the post-Measure 30 environment. OPB’s Colin Fogarty reports:
SALEM, OR 2004-04-08 (Oregon Considered) - A panel of lawmakers approved a revised state budget today that would cut 49,000 people from the Oregon Health Plan. The move is part of the fall out from the failure of Ballot Measure 30, the tax referendum on the ballot in February. Despite the budget cuts, those clients have one glimmer of hope.State health managers lined up before the subcommittee of the legislature's Emergency Board. They want the E-Board to approve a reconfigured human services budget.
The good news, health officials said, was that the state has found enough money to preserve the bulk of the Oregon Health Plan. That includes 300,000 Medicaid clients who automatically qualify for health coverage.
The bad news is that the state does not enough money to cover the 49,000 low-income Oregonians who are included in the Oregon Health Plan.
Read the full story here or listen online.
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The Center for American Progress has complete analysis of Condoleezza Rice’s testimony today before the 9/11 Commission. John Podesta writes:
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's testimony before the 9/11 Commission today established new and important facts. Two and a half years after 9/11, the American public learned that President Bush received a memo on August 6, 2001, entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States." It contained explicit warnings that Osama bin Laden was planning to attack the United States – including what the FBI called suspicious activities "consistent with preparations for hijacking."Yet, there was no domestic follow-up by the Bush Administration. No high level meetings. No sense of urgency.
You can read it all here.
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National Council of Churches Easter Message 2004: Fear and Amazement in a Troubled World
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (Mark 16:5-8, NRSV).
At Easter, Christians readily embrace the joys of the season. Pleasant weather finally arrives; crocuses burst forth from the thawing ground; birds begin to greet us with their early-morning song. Colored eggs appear on our tables; bunnies mysteriously deliver baskets filled with chocolate and jellybeans to our children; new clothes make their debut at church services.
We should enjoy all these blessings; after all, God has given us natural wonders, and we have responded with wonderful creativity to express our appreciation for these gifts. But sometimes we have to ask ourselves, where is the fear and amazement that characterized the first Easter?
Certainly the followers of Jesus were perplexed and afraid. Their Lord had just died a horrible death. He had been taunted, scourged, beaten, and crucified; he died with an agonizing cry of abandonment and pain. The ridicule heaped upon him as he suffered his torment was compounded by the indignity of being buried without proper preparation of his body. Now he was raised?
In the words of the Orthodox Paschal hymn, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and bestowing life upon those in the tomb.” Our belief as Christians is that, as revealed on that first Easter morning, God has wrought salvation in this mysterious way, by “trampling down death by death.” Perhaps we don’t experience fear and amazement today because we no longer see the contradiction inherent in this story. Perhaps it is because we don’t really understand that our calling is to follow Christ step-by-step through this paradox.
Yet it is precisely this understanding -that God is with us in our most vulnerable moments-that is at the heart of the Gospel that we proclaim and which enables us to witness to the universal love of God. How else to provide comfort to the millions suffering from war in the Middle East? How else to offer hope to the millions suffering from HIV/AIDS in Africa? How else to bring joy to the millions suffering from starvation throughout the world?
Certainly, we should work in every possible physical way to bring peace, healing and sustenance to all people. Our calling requires it. But as Christians, we also have a faith to share, and it is only by comprehending with fear and amazement the paradox of Christ’s death that we can genuinely share with others the fruit of his resurrection.
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Plenty of people warned before the US invasion of Iraq that the battle would be costly and a distraction from the war on terror (i.e. bringing to justice those responsible for 9/11). The worst case scenario was the possibility of outright revolt by Iraqi citizens against US forces that kept America in a protracted ground war. Many believe that scenario is now playing itself out. Jefferson Morley from The Washington Post reports:
Iraq is slipping into chaos as a radical young Shiite leader rallies the country's Arab population against the U.S. occupation, say international online commentators.While Arab observers criticize upstart cleric Moqtada Sadr for inciting rebellion against U.S. forces, many are predicting he will gain support at the expense of Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the Shiite leader who has grudgingly cooperated with occupation authorities. Fears that Iraq is falling apart have never been more common in international news sites.
At least 20 American soldiers have also been killed in the last few days. Al Jazeera, the Arab news service, reports there are growing numbers of Iraqi civilian causalities in the battle zone.
Fierce street battles continued to rage in Falluja with resistance fighters putting up stiff opposition to US occupation forces trying to gain control of the restive town.Hospital sources said at least 45 Iraqis were killed and 90 injured in attacks on the besieged town on Wednesday.
Among the casualties were a family sitting in a car parked behind the Abd al-Aziz al-Samarai mosque when it was bombed by a US airplane.
Another 53 Iraqis died in attacks overnight on the town which was sealed off on Sunday by US forces.
Twenty-five of those killed were from a single family.
"More than 200 Iraqis, including women and children, have been injured in the past 24 hours," said Aljazeera correspondent in Falluja, Ahmad Mansur.
The US plan to hand over control of Iraq some sort of self-governing body on June 30 has come under increased attack. So far the Bush administration has put forth no plan for the formal transfer of power. There is no natural leader who could pull the country together. John Kerry is calling on the White House to abandon the transfer date.
"I think the June 30 deadline is a fiction and they never should have set an arbitrary deadline, which almost clearly has been affected by the election schedule in the United States of America," Kerry told National Public Radio in an interview to be broadcast Wednesday.
Anyone seeking evidence of the failure of the Bush Administration’s policies toward Iraq – going back so far as the original plan to invade – needs to look no further than the events of the past few days for a fuller understanding of the magnitude of the disaster.
Hopefully, the battles will be short-lived. No one wants to see more Americans or Iraqi people die. The administration needs to look past election year politics and invite the international community – one their own terms, not Bush’s – to help deescalate the situation and return some measure of stability to the country.
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Our seminary e-mail system has been down again since this weekend. Please remember to e-mail me at [email protected] if you want to be in touch.
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It turns out that some of America’s leading counter terrorism officials have left the White House because of growing frustration with the Bush Administration.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has faced a steady exodus of counterterrorism officials, many disappointed by a preoccupation with Iraq they said undermined the U.S. fight against terrorism. Former counterterrorism officials said at least half a dozen have left the White House Office for Combating Terrorism or related agencies in frustration in the 2 1/2 years since the attacks. Some also left because they felt President Bush had sidelined his counterterrorism experts and paid almost exclusive heed to the vice president, the defense secretary and other Cabinet members in planning the "war on terror," former counterterrorism officials said. "I'm kind of hoping for regime change," one official who quit told Reuters.
Richard Clark isn’t alone.
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All the major networks will cover Condoleezza Rice's testimony before the 9/11 Commission. It all begins at 9 am EDT (that's 6 am for you late sleepers on the West Coast).
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It appears that Ralph Nader’s Oregon nominating convention did not bring in the 1000 registered voters he needed to gain a place on the November ballot. Only 700 or less Nader supporters showed up. Nader’s forces have been boasting that the process of getting Nader on the ballot would be a cake walk. If the numbers hold Nader will not be on the ballot against Kerry and Bush.
Failure to do so would be a blow for Nader, who has been counting on using his traditional strong showing in Oregon to make it the first state where he would qualify for the ballot.Earlier Monday, former Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean warned that "a vote for Ralph Nader is the same as a vote for George Bush."
Dean urged Oregon's voters to ignore the independent's presidential bid and stick with presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry.
"The only way to send President Bush back to Crawford, Texas, is to vote for John Kerry because, unfortunately, a vote for Ralph Nader is the same as a vote for George Bush," Dean said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Nader should take the low turn out as a sign that no one will again take him seriously as a political figure after the role he played in helping to elect George W. Bush in 2000.
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In the wake of Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ there are a growing number of people who believe Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus. Roman authorities actually executed Jesus, but Gibson’s film includes scenes not written in the New Testament that attempt to place blame on the Jewish people.
Those who have seen the film, according to polling done by The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, are more likely to consider Jews responsible than those who have not seen the film.
Generally, there is a correlation between seeing the movie, and expressing an intention to see it, with holding the view that Jews were responsible for Christ's death. This is especially the case among younger people. Of those age 18-34 who have seen the movie, 42% believe Jews were responsible for Christ's death. Similarly, 36% of those age 35-59 who have seen "The Passion of the Christ" express that view.
This data points to a need for improved Christian education programs targeted at young people. We cannot afford to allow a generation of Christians to hold false opinions – fostered by theological conservatives like Gibson – holding Jews responsible for something they did not do.
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Sojourners Magazine has an interview this issue with Susan Pace Hamill (profiled on this site in February).
Susan Pace Hamill, a professor at the University of Alabama Law School specializing in federal corporate tax law, had previously worked at two prestigious law firms and at the IRS. Her research on the Alabama tax code - the most regressive and harsh on the working poor of any in the country - led her to write "An Argument for Tax Reform Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics." Her article convinced Alabama's conservative Republican Gov. Bob Riley to propose a state constitutional amendment that would have revolutionized tax policy in Alabama. The proposal failed in the 2003 vote, but the reform work continues - with the potential of spurring a nationwide movement for tax justice. This is her story, as told to Sojourners associate editor Julie Polter.
Check it out.
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The Bush White House will get to review the “independent” 9/11 Commission report before it is released to the public and will have the opportunity to delete sections for national security purposes.
Chairman Thomas Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he was surprised to learn of the White House review, which he said was required under law to ensure any material that could compromise intelligence was not included."They go through it line by line," Kean said, referring to the White House review process involving intelligence issues. White House chief of Staff Andrew Card will oversee the vetting.
You can bet Karl Rove will be there right alongside Card with a big black marker. In the end, we may see a report come out that claims John Kerry tried to highjack a fifth plane.
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Earlier this week I mentioned some new online resources developed by the United Church of Christ designed to help local congregations become involved in a non-partisan way with the elections being held this year.
Faithful Democracy, a new interfaith group, also unveiled their national effort this week to:
To increase the number of people casting informed votes that are counted in the 2004 elections;To increase the number of people with a commitment to responsible civic participation that is grounded in their religious values; and,
To create or strengthen lasting partnerships between different religious groups, and between the faith community and secular organizations at the local level.
Among the participants in Faithful Democracy are:
American Friends Service CommitteeEpiscopal Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Friends Committee on National LegislationInterfaith Alliance
National Council of Churches
Presbyterian Church USA
Religious Action Center of Reform JudaismUnitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
United Church of ChristUnited Methodist Church
Check them out.
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Here is our bi-weekly photo of Liz - now at 23 weeks. Wednesday was Liz's last day at work as we start the big countdown. Now we just have to get the house ready. We had another doctor appointment on Friday and everything is looking great.
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The National Coalition for the Homeless has launched their 2004 “You Don’t Need a Home to Vote” campaign. NCH aims to register thousands of people experiencing homelessness to vote before the November elections. The Christian Science Monitor reports:
….advocates say the simple act of registering and voting brings a sense of dignity to those living on the streets."I came across two old timers - one was 60, the other was 80," says Michael Stoops, director of community organizing at the National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington, of his first attempt to register voters in 1980. "The younger man had not voted since he had voted for John F. Kennedy, and the old-old-timer hadn't voted since he had voted for Franklin Roosevelt. Those folks were so excited that someone wanted them to get involved in the system."
The experience convinced Mr. Stoops that registering large numbers of homeless voters was not only possible, but it could also have a tangible political impact. In 1992, he started the "You Don't Need a Home to Vote" campaign, and has since registered tens of thousands of homeless voters using shelters, post-office boxes, and friends or families' residences as their permanent address. This year the coalition is working to register voters in six target cities including Nashville, Tenn.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Cleveland, Ohio. It aims to reach out to homeless in all 50 states during National Homeless Voter Registration Week in late September.
I served on the NCH board for several years and took part in voter registration campaigns from 1988-2000. Oregon is one of the few states with a homeless rights voting law. However, vote-by-mail has made it nearly impossible to register those who are homeless to vote. Without a permanent mailing address it is difficult for people to receive their ballots.
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Air America has been on the air for three days now. Are you listening? What are your thoughts on this experiment in liberal journalism? I’ve listened to parts of The O’Frakken Factor, The Majority Report, and Unfiltered. For the most part I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard (though I have to confess to not being a huge talk radio fan). At least they have me listening. What about you?
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Here's the deal (in the words of CBS' The David Letterman Show):
So what’s new with the CNN/White House flap? Monday we showed a clip of a speech given by the President from March 20 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Directly behind the President stood a boy of 14 or so bored to tears. While the President spoke, the lad yawned, stretched, yawned some more, checked his watch, took a knee, yawned, and fell asleep standing up near the end. It was a very humorous actual clip we uncovered. Well, CNN played the clip the next day, Tuesday morning, stating that the White House had called and said the Late Show did some editing to the piece and it never happened. Two hours later, CNN showed the clip again and this anchor person said that the boy was at the speech, but was not standing behind the President as we had seen.Dave informs America that neither statement from CNN is true. The boy was at the rally and the boy was standing behind the President. Something strange is going on, and Dave smells a cover up. CNN is now saying the White House never called them. But why would CNN say the White House HAD called if the White House never did? Hmmm. And Dave reveals that our source, a very good source, confirms the White House DID call the CNN. Hoo boy, this is getting interesting. While Condoleeza Rice is testifying in front of the 9/11 Commission, perhaps she can shed some light on this as well.
Perhaps the White House truly believes the kid wasn’t there due to faulty intelligence.
Thanks to my fellow American Street blogger Angry Bear for reporting on this.
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Tre Arrow, accused of setting fire to logging and concrete trucks in Oregon, is on a hunger strike. Maybe they don’t recycle enough in the prison system and he’s trying to make a point. Who really cares? Once Arrow abandoned his inspirational and non-violent style of leadership for a strategy of blowing things up he lost the support of those who care about the environment.
Unfortunately, Arrow’s fate is a little too complicated to completely ignore. If Arrow deserves to be in jail so do those who continue to rape the environment and instead of receiving punishment get rewarded by profit. Corporate polluters have done much more damage than Arrow and his cohorts. Lee Griffith wrote in The Fall of the Prison: Biblical Perspectives on Prison Abolition that:
The prophets seemed especially aware of how an individualized view of crime inevitably favored the rich who were able to purchase the enactment of the statutes they desired (Isa. 10:1-2) and bribe their way to acquittal (Mic. 7:3; Amos 5:12).
Arrow will likely end up in jail. My guess is that Arrow’s use of violence would only continue to escalate if he were left without some sort of supervision.
On the other side of the spectrum, polluters continue to help write energy and environmental laws in Washington with the help of a friendly White House. This will spur (hopefully) more non-violent protest, but it might also sadly spur more eco-terrorists like Arrow. We exist in a reciprocal ethos that allows violence to be considered a legitimate response to violence. Christians must stand in opposition to this.
Arrow deserves to be brought to justice. But I’m not sure I trust the federal or state governments to really know what justice looks like. If they did maybe more of the polluters would be rooming with Arrow in his cell. They could all fast together and repent of their sins.
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The Washington Post reported this morning that on 9/11 Bush National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was set to give a speech outlining the administration’s number one security priority: missile defense (the Star Wars plan).
The address was designed to promote missile defense as the cornerstone of a new national security strategy, and contained no mention of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or Islamic extremist groups, according to former U.S. officials who have seen the text.
Richard Clarke was obviously correct when he claimed before the 9/11 Commission that the Bush Administration ignored the threat of terrorism before the attacks in New York and Washington.
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