A new documentary is coming to a theatre near you (at least in Portland and 12 other cities) and is available on DVD. Bush’s Brain follows the life and times of Karl Rove, the chief political advisor to the president. Rove is a legend for his dirty campaign tactics. Many independent observers have noted his close association with the contributors and producers of the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The promoters of this film, which is based on a book by journalists James Moore and Wayne Slater, provided me with an advance copy. It is worth viewing. Knowing the history of how George Bush has run his past campaigns and who is behind them is key to understanding the viscous nature of his 2004 effort.

Our Portland adventure continues in full swing today. This morning we drove from my mother’s house on Puget Island, Washington to visit folks at Portland’s First United Methodist Church. This was the congregation I served as director of community outreach before leaving for seminary. Then it was off to North Plains for lunch with friends Bill Pressly, Carole Douglas and Jim Barlow. My sister Heather and her husband Rick hosted us later in the afternoon. We returned to southeast Portland for dinner with Liz’s cousin Susan and her family. Our final event was a reception for us throw by Janet and Henry Miller. Many of our old friends were there. Mayoral candidate Tom Potter dropped by with his wife to say hello right after his big event with Howard Dean. That is him in this picture with Liz and I and the babies. I’ll be posting a lot more pictures from the day when we get near some high speed internet access.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A U.S. judge Thursday became the second in the nation to rule that a federal ban on a particular type of late-term abortion is unconstitutional.

In his ruling on the law dubbed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, Judge Richard Conway Casey cited a high court ruling and a lack of exemption to protect the health of a woman.

Full story

My advice to the Religious Right: add the exemption to protect the mother. Bill Clinton promised for years to sign this bill if only the health of a mother was taken into consideration. GW Bush went ahead and a signed the bill regardless of the medical needs of women. And the courts have ruled he was wrong to do so.

No one wants late stage abortions to occur. The left and the right should be able to come to an agreement to ban the procedure except when doing so will harm or kill the mother. That would be a victory will all could live with. Under those rules there would be almost no late stage partial-abortions.

The only problem toward achieving this goal: partisan politics and religious fundamentalism. We have a lot of rivers to jump before reason takes over.

Yesterday our children set foot in four states (Missouri, Colorado, Oregon and Washington), took their first airplane rides, traveled on their first ferry, met uncles, aunts and grandparents, and slept comfortably in the great Pacific Northwest. Liz and I are back for another whirlwind trip home from our temporary exile in St. Louis to visit family and friends in Portland and Puget Island, Washington. Heather and Jennifer, my younger twin sisters, are pictured here with their twin nieces. We visited Heather and Jennifer’s homes and families in Hillsboro before heading north to Puget Island where my mother and her husband live. Monday and Tuesday we’re back in Portland for a short stay and then will return to Puget Island. My grandfather, uncle and aunt will be arriving at the island on Wednesday from South Carolina. Our major purpose for taking this trip is to surprise my grandfather with the twins. He hasn’t met them yet and our daughter Frances is named after Rock’s wife (my grandmother) who passed away late last year. The other Oregonians on Eden’s campus, the Elliot family, happen to have family in town this week and are staying at our place while we’re gone. Thanks to them for taking care of all the animals while we’re away! Liz and I are glad to be back home. More reports will follow.

If you can’t take care of your children should the state have the right to either force you into jail or to take away your ability to procreate as an alternative? That is what is happening in Judge Michael Foellger’s Kentucky court room. His actions have come under fire from civil liberties groups and at least one Catholic priest. Click here to read or view the story on the website of Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

Here is a site worth checking out:

The Islam Project
http://www.theislamproject.org/

This multimedia effort is aimed at schools and communities interested in a clearer understanding of Islam. Based on two PBS documentaries (MUSLIMS and MUHAMMAD: LEGACY OF A PROPHET), the Web site features a community engagement campaign, case studies, a facilitator's guide, ideas for dialogue, links to the documentary Web sites, and educational resources for teachers.

This is the site of the month on the Religion & Ethics Newsweekly web site.

Statement from the World Council of Churches

The WCC executive committee meeting in Seoul from 24-27 August has deplored the ongoing humanitarian disaster and forced displacement of civilians in Western Sudan, and has urged the African Union and the United Nations to provide for an international peace-keeping force, the investigation of war crimes, and the full deployment of independent observers to monitor the ceasefire and human rights in the region.

"The ethnic cleansing which has taken place in Darfur must be reversed before it takes on the proportions of genocide," stated WCC director of International Affairs, Peter Weiderud. According to the United Nations, at least 50,000 people have died in 18 months of violence blamed on pro-government militia-men.

Reacting to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Darfur, the WCC executive committee "urged the government of Sudan to protect its civilian population and to disarm the pro-government militia," and calls on all parties to work for peace and reconciliation. The WCC committee recognized the international mobilization of churches and related agencies in support of peace, reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts in Sudan.

The statement was made as fresh peace talks between the warring parties are held in Nigeria. The WCC has been at the forefront of international ecumenical efforts to reach a lasting peace in the country. Sudan has been plagued by war almost constantly since independence in 1956, and in 2002 appointed a special ecumenical envoy, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, subsequently elected WCC general secretary, to accompany the peace negotiations there.

The WCC committee issued the statements during its meeting in Seoul, Korea, 24-27 August 2004 as part of its regular work on issues of international concern.

Click here for the full statement

There is good news and bad news for both the major party candidates for president in a new poll published by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. A majority of Americans view the Republican Party as more religious friendly but John Kerry is now tied with George Bush when voters consider whether or not the candidates devote enough time to religion.

The nationwide survey, conducted August 5-10 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, shows that 52 percent of the voters surveyed see the GOP as being a more religion-friendly party than the Democrats, who are perceived similarly by only 40 percent of respondents. A majority (53 percent) also are comfortable with the way Bush’s religious beliefs affect his policymaking.

Another possible piece of good news for Bush and the Republicans is that 67 percent of voters, according to the poll, are paying at least some attention to the gay marriage controversy. While the survey also shows that the issue is not a high priority for most voters, it could help energize religious conservatives, who overwhelmingly support GOP candidates.

...the Democrats can take heart that a majority of voters (52 percent) now favor embryonic stem cell research, up from 43 percent just two years ago. Moreover, the poll shows increasing awareness of the issue, with 42 percent of voters now focused on the stem cell debate, compared to 27 percent in 2002.

In another piece of good news for Kerry, a solid majority of voters (56 percent) polled by Pew are comfortable with the amount of time the Massachusetts Democrat devotes to talking about religion. Kerry is now statistically tied with President Bush (56 percent – 53 percent) in this important religious approval rating.

More generally, the new poll shows that even in an election campaign dominated by the war in Iraq, terrorism and the economy, a substantial majority of voters (64 percent) say that “moral values” also will be an important factor when they cast their ballots in November. But while many voters are focused on moral issues, they also have expressed considerable ambivalence on questions concerning the appropriate role for churches and other houses of worship in politics. Most notably, 65 percent of those surveyed in the Pew poll said that churches should not endorse a candidate, compared to 25 percent who find it acceptable.

Click here to read the full press release.

Here is the problem for progressive Christian leaders: moral issues are mostly defined as matters related to sex. Jesus never once condemned homosexuality (see Homosexuality and the Bible) but spoke often about social justice as it relates to war, economics, and oppression. There is no question that progressive Christians have done a better job this year in trying to reframe the debate toward the issues that Jesus actually preached on. This poll, regardless of the partisan political implications, shows a continued need for progressive Christians to link Scripture and the Christian faith with issues other than sex. Otherwise the Religious Right will continue to dominate the agenda and mislead the American people purely for political purposes.

The National Council of Churches made a great start on working toward showcasing Christian principles that voters might consider this November that look beyond abortion and gay marriage. Check out this post for more information on NCC’s efforts. Here are the actual principles:

Christian Principles in an Election Year

Our Christian faith compels us to address the world through the lens of our relationship to God and to one another. Public discourse is enhanced as we engage civic leaders on the values and ethics affirmed by our faith. At the same time, religious liberty and the integrity of our democracy will be protected as candidates refrain from using faith-based organizations and institutions for partisan gain. We offer these ten principles to those seeking to accept the responsibility that comes with holding public office.

Finally, our religious tradition admonishes us not to bear false witness against our neighbor and to love our enemies. We ask that the campaigns of political candidates and the coverage of the media in this election season be conducted according to principles of fairness, honesty and integrity.

We’re now seven weeks into our big adventure as parents. It is now clear why sleep deprivation is considered a form of torture. New pictures of our growing twins have been posted to mark the seven week milestone. Frances and Katherine are still perfect.

New census figures released this week show that the number of Americans living in poverty continues to grow. Children and racial minorities have fared the worst. Another 1.3 million Americans joined the ranks of the poor in 2003. The increase in poverty is a direct result of the Bush Administration’s economic policies. The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports:

2003 marked the third straight year that living standards have deteriorated, with poverty increasing, the number of uninsured climbing, and the income of the typical household stagnating. The income of the typical, middle-class household is $1,535 below where it was three years earlier, while 4.3 million more Americans were poor than in 2000, and 5.2 million fewer people had health insurance, producing the largest number of uninsured on record, with the data going back to 1987. Further, by some indicators, gaps between the most well-off and other Americans — already at exceptionally wide levels — became still larger in 2003.

The federal government’s response to these adverse developments has been misdirected. As recent studies indicate, the nation has squandered huge amounts of resources on poorly designed tax cuts that greatly increased budget deficits and further widened gaps between the most well-off and everyone else, and did so without much pay-off in terms of jobs. These policies are burdening further generations with large amounts of debt and starving the budget of resources that could be used to address such problems as the growing health insurance crisis.

Click here to read their full statement.

Poverty is a moral issue and should be of central concern to Christians. Neither political party has done as much as possible to fight poverty. Not since Lyndon Johnson has a president made poverty the center piece of a domestic agenda. Only Senator John Edwards developed a meaningful plan to fight poverty during the presidential primaries.

A statement issued by the United Church of Christ speaks to our calling to be advocates for economic justice:

As members of the United Church of Christ, we are called to be compassionate and generous people. Our concern for the poor has rightly led us to initiate church-based soup kitchens, ecumenical feeding programs, and community food banks. Each year, we donate tons of canned goods and designate portions of our church budgets for outreach efforts. But, our commitment to charity should not preclude our witness for justice. As people of faith, we must urge our government to do more to alleviate hunger and poverty.

Visit the National Coalition for the Homeless and the Children's Defense Fund to learn how you can help.

Message from Sojourners

You know the saying that truth is stranger than fiction. When it comes to the Religious Right, we believe that truth is scarier than fiction.

Sojourners is outraged by claims that Christians can only vote for George W. Bush and that Bush is God's candidate. So we produced this animated Web video. Watch for yourself and see what several Religious Right leaders are actually saying.

Watch the video at: www.sojo.net/video

We also distributed a petition that has been signed by more than 25,000 people. It will appear as a full-page advertisement in The New York Times next week during the Republican convention - and in other local newspapers across America!

Every faithful citizen in America should know that they can choose to vote for any candidate - for reasons deeply rooted in their faith.

Let's tell America that the Religious Right doesn't speak for us. Let's take back our faith.

www.sojo.net/video

Genocide is raging in the Sudan and the world is sitting by. "The Sudanese Government, using Arab "Janjaweed" militias, its air force, and organized starvation, is deliberately and systematically killing the black Sudanese of Darfur." It is estimated that over 100,000 people have been killed as of yesterday.

Today has been declared Sudan: Day of Conscience by the Save Darfur Coalition. Thousands of people in the United States are fasting to draw attention to this issue. From the coalition web site:

Under the pretext of countering an insurgency in the region, a government-supported militia (called the Janjaweed) is deliberately killing, raping and terrorizing civilians in Darfur on a horrifically widespread scale.

To date, as many as 50,000-100,000 civilians have been killed and 1.2 million people have been driven from their homes. Many of these refugees, now in camps in Chad and Sudan, report the raping of women and girls, the torching of villages, the destruction of food supplies and the deliberate poisoning of water sources by the Janjaweed.

In addition to the constant danger of attack from the Janjaweed, the refugees and those who remain in their villages in Darfur must deal with rampant hunger and disease, the lack of water, and the absence of sanitation facilities. The seasonal rains hamper access by humanitarian aid organizations, whose assistance is already drastically reduced by limitations imposed by the Sudanese government.

Please take some time to learn more about the genocide and ways you can act to help stop it. The world said “Never Again” after the genocide of the Jews in Europe, but here we are silently watching another genocide occur.

This prayer is offered for use as part of the Sudan: Day of Conscience.

Peace for the Children of God

O God, all holy One,
you are our Father, and our Mother,
and we are your children.
Open our eyes and our hearts
so that we may be able to discern
your work in the universe.
And be able to see Your features
in every one of Your children.
May we learn that there are many paths
but all lead to You.
Help us to know that you have created us
for family, for togetherness,
for peace, for gentleness,
for compassion, for caring, for sharing.

May we know that You want us
to care for one another
as those who know
that they are sisters and brothers,
members of the same family,
Your family,
the human family.

Help us to beat our swords into plowshares
and our spears into pruning hooks,
so that we may be able to live
in peace and harmony,
wiping away the tears
from the eyes of those
who are less fortunate than ourselves.
And may we know war no more,
as we strive to be
what You want us to be:
Your children.
Amen.

Desmond M. Tutu, Former Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa (adapted)

We weren't involved in any way in these ads. We've made that clear. I do think that Senator Kerry losing his cool should not be an excuse for him to lash out at the President with false and baseless attacks.

- Scott Mcclellan, Bush Press Secretary, August 20, 2004

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A lawyer for President Bush's re-election campaign disclosed Tuesday that he has been providing legal advice for a veterans group that is challenging Democratic Sen. John Kerry's account of his Vietnam War service.

Benjamin Ginsberg's acknowledgment marks the second time in days that an individual associated with the Bush-Cheney campaign has been connected to the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which Kerry accuses of being a front for the Republican incumbent's re-election effort.

Full story

Once again it turns out those "false and baseless attacks" are 100% true and right on. Only in November will we figure out if the truth matters.

Wednesday, August 25th is the National Day of Conscience on Sudan. The day is meant to draw worldwide attention to the on-going genocide in Darfur. "The Sudanese Government, using Arab "Janjaweed" militias, its air force, and organized starvation, is deliberately and systematically killing the black Sudanese of Darfur." Many people will mark the day by fasting from sunrise to sunset. I’ll be one of them. You can join the fast by clicking here. Let your friends and family know why you are fasting to help bring light to this problem and the responsibility we all have for stopping it.

Please leave a comment to let me know if you sign-up for the fast.

Call To Action
announced by the Save Darfur Coalition on August 2, 2004:

We commend the efforts of the U.S. government in brokering a peace deal to end the gruesome 21-year Civil War in the South and its generous pledge of $300 million in U.S. humanitarian aid. We also applaud the recent visits of Secretary of State Colin Powell and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to the region of Darfur to assess the atrocities human rights organizations are calling the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. And we congratulate Congress for taking decisive legislative action. But we must not wait for a legal determination of "genocide" to ensure a massive worldwide humanitarian response and call to end the violence and investigate crimes against humanity.

As Elie Wiesel passionately declared at our Darfur Emergency Summit on July 14, "the perils of indifference enable killers to kill and tormentors to torment--we cannot stand idly by [the crimes against humanity being committed in Sudan] or all our endeavors will be unworthy--We must act." We therefore call on people of conscience everywhere to take any and all actions permitted by each individual’s or organization’s abilities and constraints to:

1. encourage worldwide efforts to stop the displacement and end the crimes against humanity

2. demand massive worldwide governmental humanitarian support and access to match the need

3. help in the relief efforts by supporting organizations giving aid

4. promote efforts to rebuild villages and return the displaced

5. call for a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide

Political discourse is so polarized that I become less convinced with each passing day that our civic institutions have the ability or will to tackle serious issues. For years I have argued that most of our problems are more spiritual in nature rather than political anyway. Sadly, the truth is that unfortunately our religious institutions are just as polarized as the political world and as ill-equipped to deal with major problems. Conservative evangelicals and progressive Christians are often just as guilty of distorting the “other” into something monstrous or evil. There have times that people have accused me of doing that on my blog and I admit there have been occasions where that is true. Fostering division instead of offering hope is something everyone with strongly held positions needs to be careful of.

Last night I was reading an essay in The Social Gospel Today called Social Salvation: The Social Gospel as Theology and Economics by Gary Dorrien. Dorrien is the Ann V. and Donald R. Parfet Distinguished Professor at Kalamazoo College. Part of his essay discusses tension in the Progressive Era between Christians who were strongly supportive of the labor movement and those who wanted to create better living conditions for those living in poverty by appealing to the morality of corporate leaders. Both positions had merits (though most Social Gospel followers finally sided in total with the unions as worker conditions continued to deteriorate).

Dorrien argues that in today’s market economy Christians ought to support:

…work that explores the politics and economics of cooperative ownership, the mixed forms of decentralized worker and community ownership, and especially, the possibilities of mutual fund ownership strategies.

Through these efforts he believes that more people can be lifted out of poverty and poor living conditions. A more equitable society could be created utilizing the principles of the Social Gospel movement of the last century.

Set all that aside for a moment and concentrate on this (because it is actually the most important part of his essay):

…no single scheme should be universalized or enshrined as the next object of faith.

This is something rare. Dorrien is making an argument for a certain economic philosophy based on his understanding of Scripture but allowing for the possibility that other alternatives that achieve the same goals could exist or might exist later. You might not think what he has written is as radical as I do. But how often can you think of anyone making spiritual or political arguments these days without speaking in absolutes and ending dialog? His example is something I’m going to have to try and remember the next time I’m sure that I’m right and everyone else is wrong.

Message from the National Council of Churches

An interfaith rally at New York City's The Riverside Church and "Faith Lights Up Broadway" human chain August 31 will show Republican National Convention delegates -- indeed, the nation and world -- that people of faith are deeply concerned about poverty and social justice issues. The 7 p.m. rally - to be broadcast live by WBAI-FM radio - and 9 p.m. human chain (with flashlights) are the latest in a multi-city campaign to press the presidential candidates, convention delegates and voters to address the needs of the nation's poor, sick, unemployed and disenfranchised. Sponsors include The Riverside Church's Mobilization 2004, and the "Let Justice Roll: Faith and Community Voices Against Poverty" campaign of the National Council of Churches USA and Center for Community Change, in collaboration with dozens of partners nationwide. On July 28 in Boston during the Democratic National Convention, 800 people of faith gathered in the historic Old South Church to hear the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Senior Minister of The Riverside Church who also will speak at the August 31 rally. He called on Americans to get poor people on their agenda "because it's on God's mind." Read more about NYC plans. More about the Boston event. More about 'Let Justice Roll'.

A Pentagon investigation has determined that U.S. Lt. Gen. William Boykin “violated regulations by failing to make clear he was not speaking in an official capacity when he made church speeches casting the war on terrorism in religious terms,” according to press reports.

The probe by the Defense Department's deputy inspector general also found that Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, violated Pentagon rules by failing to obtain advance clearance for his remarks, which gained wide publicity last fall.

Readers of this blog will remember that Boykin made dozens of appearances in uniform before evangelical Christian organizations where he claimed God had put George W. Bush in the White House despite the obvious preference voters had for Al Gore and that Islam was a satanic religion.

Now the Pentagon has to decide what punishment Boykin will face.

He should be made to resign.

His remarks have hurt America’s prestige around the world and our relations with Muslims across the globe. Boykin dishonored the country by making his religious and political comments while in uniform. He is not fit to serve the nation.

Related posts:

A General Problem

Gods and Generals

General Boykin Should Resign

By JONATHAN PEREZ, Portland Press Herald Writer

A new United Church of Christ has opened in Portland. The group first made its appearance in October 1998 with non-traditional, music-centered services at the State Street Church. It was then affiliated with the Congregational denomination.

Today the church, which runs solely on the help of volunteers and the contributions it receives, hopes to become independent. It presently holds its Sunday programs at the Chestnut Street United Methodist Church.

The group has one ordained minister, the Rev. Stephen Carnahan.

"Last Sunday's discussion was pretty lame, but the week before was pretty heavy because we had a family baby that was not doing well," said Carnahan. "We had talked about the miracle of healing, of which some believe in and some simply do not."

The progressive atmosphere of the church attracts many to its open doors. Jessica Richards, in her mid-30s, said she tried many contemporary Christian churches in Maine and back home in Ohio, but had not found one with as wide a range of ages as the United Church of Christ in Portland.

Full story

We hear so much about mainline Protestant churches losing members that it is always nice to hear about a new church start. My feeling has always been that if the United Church of Christ positions itself (that’s a marketing term, I know) as a place of progressive faith (which is our history and heritage) our membership will grow. It looks like that is happening in Portland, Maine.

Beliefnet.com has a story on their site listing what they see as the Best Spiritual Blogs. They picked some good blogs from across the theological spectrum. The Village Gate and The Revealer, two of my favorite sites, make the list. Check it out.

This post has been updated

By Alan Cooperman

The Washington Post
Wednesday, August 18, 2004; Page A04

Ten teachers of Christian ethics at leading seminaries and universities have written a letter to President Bush criticizing his campaign's outreach to churches, particularly its effort to gather church membership directories.

The Aug. 12 letter asked Bush to "repudiate the actions of your re-election campaign, which violated a fundamental principle of our democracy." It also urged both presidential candidates to "respect the integrity of all houses of worship."

The letter's signers included evangelical Christians who teach at generally conservative institutions, such as the Rev. George G. Hunter III of Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and Richard V. Pierard of Gordon College in Massachusetts. Other signers included the Revs. Paul Raushenbush of Princeton University, Walter B. Shurden of Mercer University in Georgia, James M. Dunn of Wake Forest Divinity School in North Carolina and Ronald B. Flowers of Texas Christian University.

Full Story

Anyone with much credibility would describe those who signed this letter as relatively conservative or at least moderate in their theological and social views. That hasn’t stopped Focus on the Family, the Religious Right group aligned with the Bush reelection campaign, from claiming the signers of this letter are actually liberals in disguise:

A group of mostly liberal seminary teachers is blasting the Bush campaign for its outreach to churches.

In a letter to Bush, the group demands Bush "repudiate the actions of your re-election campaign, which violated a fundamental principle of our democracy" by urging members of churches to get involved in the electoral process.

But Kevin Madden, a spokesman for the Bush/Cheney campaign, said the president and vice president aren't doing anything wrong.

Actually, the Bush campaign has done plenty wrong. They’ve urged churches to hand over membership lists and recruit volunteers for the reelection campaign during services, for example. Focus on the Family can make up all the stories they want, but the truth is that even some conservative evangelical Christians are questioning the motives and tactics of George W. Bush.

Update: One of the misstatements by Focus On The Family is that:

News reports in the mainstream media have referred to the letter's signers as evangelical Christians who teach at conservative schools. But a check of the names shows many are members of the Clergy Network for National Leadership Change, a group that attacks Bush administration policies and says it will do whatever is appropriate to get the president tossed out of office.

As a member of the Clergy Leadership Network, I know the people involved and have attended their meetings. Only three of the people who signed this letter are members of CLN. The fact that three evangelical Christians would join with more liberal members of the clergy speaks volumes about this president. However, the clear majority of the people who signed this letter are not members of CLN.

The full letter reads:

August 12, 2004

President George W. Bush Bush/Cheney 2004 Campaign Arlington, VA

Re: Playing Politics with Church

Dear President Bush,

When certain church leaders acceded to the request of the Bush/Cheney campaign to hand over the names and addresses of their congregants they crossed a line.

It is proper for church leaders to address social issues, but it is improper, and even illegal, for them to get their churches to endorse candidates or align their churches with a specific political party.

Christians, individually, should prayerfully seek God's direction when voting, but when any church leaders contend that they speak for God and have the right to tell congregants how to vote, such leaders have assumed prerogatives to which they have no right.

Whenever the Church follows such a path, it engages in a scandalous secularizing of the sacred. Whenever political parties use the church, they invoke absolutes in the passing parade of politics. Whenever the church has engaged in partisan politics, it has compromised its moral authority.

In the light of these developments, we call on church leaders to stand vigilant against entanglement in partisan politics. Likewise we urge both candidates to respect the integrity of all houses of worship. In that spirit, we call upon you to repudiate the actions of your re-election campaign, which violated a fundamental principle of our democracy.

Jimmy R. Allen, Former President, Southern Baptist Convention (Georgia)

The Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo, Eastern University (Pennsylvania)

The Rev. Dr. James M. Dunn, Wake Forest Divinity School (North Carolina)

Dr. Richard V. Pierard, Gordon College (Massachusetts)

The Rev. Dr. Ronald B. Flowers, Texas Christian University (Texas)

The Rev. Dr. Walter B. Shurden, Mercer University (Georgia)

The Rev. Dr. George Hunter, Asbury Theological Seminary (Kentucky)

Dr. James T. Laney, Faith and the City (Georgia)

The Rev. Dr. Paul Raushenbush, Princeton University (New Jersey)

Rollin O. Russell, Lancaster Theological Seminary (Pennsylvania)

This post has been updated

By Sara Kehaulani Goo

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, August 20, 2004; Page A01

U.S. Sen. Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy said yesterday that he was stopped and questioned at airports on the East Coast five times in March because his name appeared on the government's secret "no-fly" list.

Federal air security officials said the initial error that led to scrutiny of the Massachusetts Democrat should not have happened even though they recognize that the no-fly list is imperfect. But privately they acknowledged being embarrassed that it took the senator and his staff more than three weeks to get his name removed.

Full story

Homeland Security can’t seem to tell the difference between a United States Senator and a terrorist. That is just total incompetence.

Or maybe this is part of George W. Bush’s ‘you’re either with us or against us’ policy. After all, Senator Kennedy sure isn’t with the president.

Senator Kennedy is not alone. The ACLU reports:

WASHINGTON – A member of the military, a retired Presbyterian minister and a college student are among seven U.S. citizens who have joined the first nationwide, class-action challenge to the government's “No-Fly” list filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Check out their web site on the No Fly List and the ACLU's Keep America Safe and Free Campaign.

Update: CNN has this related story:

Kennedy has company on airline watch list

Friday, August 20, 2004 Posted: 7:18 PM EDT (2318 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Edward Kennedy is not alone.

A second prominent lawmaker said Friday that he's been subjected to extra security at airports because his name appears on a list designed to prevent terrorists from boarding planes.

Rep. John Lewis, D - Georgia, a nine-term congressman famous for his civil rights work with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has been stopped 35 to 40 times over the past year, his office said.

As President 1960-63, Led NCC on Race, Peace;
Columbus, Ind., Industrialist Brought Faith to Life

J. Irwin Miller of Columbus, Ind., whose decades of service to the National Council of Churches USA included his term as the NCC’s first lay president in 1960-63 (pictured in 1960), died Monday (August 16) at his home at age 95. Under his leadership, the NCC founded the Commission on Religion and Race, which coordinated organized religion’s support for strong civil rights legislation, and jointly sponsored the March on Washington. As vice president of the NCC's Division of Christian Life and Work from 1957-60, he helped lead the launching of the NCC's Nationwide Program for Peace. "Miller's priorities included keeping the church faithful, relevant and effective,” commented NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar. “In his later years, he was especially supportive of the NCC’s priority work against poverty and its revisioning for the 21st century.” Miller headed the Cummins Engine Co. for more than 40 years, and was an active member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The Rev. Dr. Brenda Girton-Mitchell of Washington, D.C., NCC Director of Public Policy, will represent the NCC at the memorial service for Miller, scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at North Christian Church, Columbus, Ind. Read more.

- from the National Council of Churches

Read The Ugly Side of Jim Francesconi

04:41 PM PDT on Thursday, August 19, 2004

By ABE ESTIMADA, kgw.com Staff

A barrage of attack advertisements unleashed by Jim Francesconi’s mayoral campaign against rival Tom Potter triggered an unexpected backlash: The Portland police union withdrawing its support of Francesconi.

“Portland needs a vigorous debate on the issues as to who should be our next mayor,” the union said in a statement released Thursday. “It does not need attack ads, much less ones that attack not only a candidate, but the city’s entire police force. Ads that are intentionally or recklessly misleading have no place in Portland.”

In response, Potter told KGW, "I think this decision illustrates the differences of the two campaigns and the leadership I would bring to Portland. I think these types of attack ads push people apart. This is an example of that."

Full story

There is a growing number of progressive religious blogs floating around out there. This site links to several of them. Below are excerpts from a few posts written on these blogs that caught my attention this week. I hope you’ll read them and give the authors some feedback.

- Chuck Currie

A Religious Liberal Blog is writing about plans underway by conservative Christians to place “monitors” in mainline churches so the spies can report back to conservative Christian groups as to what the progressives are up to in worship. I hope they let us know when they’re coming so at least we can have the choir sing something radical like “For the Healing of the Nations” (NCH 576).

Father Jake is tackling the bizarre story of two Episcopal congregations who are planning to disaffiliate with the Diocese of Los Angeles in favor of a new association with the Diocese of Luweero. The Americans fear our culture is too sinful and that only taking their orders from Africa’s more conservative leaders will allow them to remain faithful.

Outside the Box is asking if the split between conservative and liberal Christians is actually the beginnings of two separate faith traditions that share a common history. Read what he has to say and consider his excellent questions.

The Faithfull Skeptic is tired of being polite to those on the right who question his commitment to Christianity.

I'm tired of being gracious. I'm tired of being polite. I'm tired of being understanding. Not in every area of my life, just a couple very specific ones: religion and politics. I'm tired of trying to politely explain my point of view and express my understanding of other viewpoints to people and have them not return the courtesy. I'm a pretty good debater. When I was in high school, my partner and I were in the top 10 teams in the state. I'm tired of not using those skills. So, for today anyway, no more Mr. Nice Guy.

Read the rest of his well done post. I often share his frustrations and I bet you will as well.

A fellow seminarian who writes The Heretic’s Corner has been taking part in a very intense field experience and has been chronicling it all in her blog. Karen’s writing is very personal and that makes it so much more powerful. She is the best of the religion bloggers.

The Religious Left is talking about partisan politics this week.

Analogcabin: The Sacred is using his site to raise money for AIDS programs in Colorado. Pass the word around and help this guy out.

Social Gospel Today is debating the nature of individual sin v. social sin. This is always a good site to read.

A Republican House member has done something that neither John Kerry nor John Edwards have had the courage to do: admit their vote to authorize war in Iraq was a mistake. The AP (Via CNN) reports:

LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- A top Republican congressman has broken from his party in the final days of his House career, saying he believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified and the situation there has deteriorated into "a dangerous, costly mess."

"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action," Rep. Doug Bereuter wrote in a letter to his constituents.

"Left unresolved for now is whether intelligence was intentionally misconstrued to justify military action," he said.

Bereuter is a senior member of the House International Relations Committee and vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman Bereuter's website does not include the letter written to his Nebraska constituents. But you can send him a thank you note at the following locations.

By JOHN CURRAN The Associated Press

BRIELLE, N.J. - An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot consume wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained none, violating Catholic doctrine.

Full story

My blood pressure needs to go down before I write anything of value on the total stupidity of this act. Protestant Polyglot has a few things to say and Jesus' General pokes a little fun at the church for taking this stand. I’m just going to sit here and stew in anger. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

A conservative evangelical Christian group that goes by the misleading name “Jews for Jesus” is set to launch a new campaign targeting DC area Jews for conversion to Christianity. Christians are deeply divided over the campaign. The Washington Post reports on the controversy:

The ancient debate over Jesus's claim to be the Jewish Messiah is being renewed in Washington this week as hundreds of evangelists seeking to convert Jews take to Metro stops, parks and college campuses -- along with protesters from the Jewish community.

Jews for Jesus, a San Francisco-based group, said it trained more than 600 local volunteers to evangelize the region's 220,000 Jews as part of a worldwide campaign called "Operation Behold Your God...."

A core belief of Jews for Jesus and other so-called messianic Jews is that one can remain Jewish and accept Jesus as the messiah. As proof, they and other evangelicals often point to the early church, which was filled almost entirely with Jewish believers in Jesus.

But Jewish leaders call that claim "deceptive" and "deeply offensive."

"What we are asking for is a little truth in advertising," Hillman said. Jews for Jesus is "dressing up fundamental Christianity and saying it's Judaism. . . . "Just because Jews are involved in an enterprise doesn't make it Jewish. Jews worshiped the golden calf -- that didn't make [idolatry] Jewish. It was condemned."

Evangelical mega-churches like McLean Bible Church are supporting the effort with money and volunteers:

The Rev. Lon Solomon, senior pastor of McLean Bible Church, was born Jewish and became a born-again Christian in the 1970s. He explains his support for Jews for Jesus in part by pointing to the book of Romans, in which the Apostle Paul wrote that the Christian Gospel was "first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."

"To be honest with you, there are a lot of churches that don't have the courage to stand up and take the heat and criticism that the Jewish community is going to generate," Solomon said. "And we just figured some church is going to have to do that, and why not us."

Jewish groups and the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, whose executive director is a Presbyterian minister, have condemned Jews for Jesus.

In November 2002 members of the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations rejected the historical Christian notion that Jews must accept Jesus as their savior. The statement found some support in the United Church of Christ. A United Church News article from 2002 reports:

Rejecting a centuries-old hall mark of Christian teaching on salvation, an ecumenical group of Christian scholars in September said Jews can be saved without coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

Claiming "Jews are in an eternal covenant with God," 21 members of the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations challenged the traditional Christian view of Jesus as savior for all humankind. Because faithful Jews are already in right relationship with God, they said, "We renounce missionary efforts directed at converting Jews."

"We know there has been a long tradition of anti-Judaism within that Christian tradition," says Joseph Tyson, chair of the scholars group and professor emeritus at Southern Methodist University. "It's based on certain misperceptions of history, and it's theologically invalid ... We're convinced that a re-thinking of Christian attitudes toward Jews is central, indispensable and sacred."

The 10-point statement, "A Sacred Obligation," marks the latest in a series of attempts to bridge historic enmity and divisions between Christians and Jews. It comes in response to "Dabru Emet," a call from Jewish scholars in September 2000 for Jews to rethink their understanding of Christianity. It follows also on the heels of an Aug. 12, 2002, statement in which Jews and a committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said attempts to convert Jews are "no longer theologically acceptable."

UCC reaction

In the United Church of Christ, despite general support for the sentiment expressed, UCC voices take issue with certain specifics.

Dale Bishop, Executive Minister for the UCC's Wider Church Ministries, says that many in the church would not join the scholars in conferring special salvation status upon Jews in God's economy. Nor would many consent to tenet nine in the statement: "We affirm the importance of the land of Israel for the life of the Jewish people."

"We recognize it to be a part of their tradition," Bishop says, "but that doesn't mean we incorporate it into our theology or belief system."

The Rev. Martin Duffy, son of a Jewish mother and now a retired evangelical UCC pastor in Easton, Pa., agrees that Christians shouldn't target Jews for conversion, because such "pressure" has caused undue harm through history. But he refused to join scholars in asserting that "Jews are in a saving covenant with God."

"Everyone has to be spiritually reborn to enter the kingdom, and that's not something you get from your genes or your blood," Duffy said. "At some point, you have to make a personal decision for Christ ... That's what Jesus taught, and he was a good Jew. He's my rabbi."

Are non-Christians doomed to the fires of hell for their lack of faith in Jesus? No. I can say that Jesus is the truth and the light and feel confident that I’m hearing God’s word. However, God is obviously bigger than human understanding and I feel confident that God speaks through many religious traditions. Christians have as much to learn from other faiths as we have to share.

It sure looks that way. The good folks over at BlueOregon have been covering all the breaking news. Here is what they are reporting today:

Last night, right here at BlueOregon, we broke the news of the SEIU fraud and forgery investigation into Nader's petition for the Oregon ballot. At a press conference this morning, SEIU released more evidence. The key item: SEIU Local 49 contacted 269 people whose names were on petition sheets - and only 32% report that they actually signed the Nader petitions. The key quote, from SEIU veep Alice Dale: "This fraud is too pervasive to have been committed without at least the complicity of the signature gatherers."

Get the full story from BlueOregon:

BlueOregon: Nader Ballot Fraud, Part 2

Greg Kafoury needs to stop blaming the Democrats for Nader's problems. Everyone involved with this mess needs to be fired and records should be handed over to the state department of justice before anyone even makes a formal request. Everytime that Nader people blame the Democrats for their mistakes it reminds you of an alcoholic blaming the bottle of gin for creating such a mess. Nader needs to own up to his own actions.

Message from Sojourners

Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and others on the Religious Right claim that God has taken a side in this election, and that Christians should only vote for George W. Bush. The Bush-Cheney campaign even told volunteers it was their "duty" to make church directories available to the campaign.

How has the love of Jesus, the Prince of Peace - and his good news to the poor - been distorted by the pro-war, pro-rich political agenda of the Religious Right? Our faith has been hijacked, and it's time to take it back!

Click below to sign our petition and send a message to America that God is not a Republican or a Democrat, and that the Religious Right does not speak for you. Remind America that Jesus taught us to be peacemakers, advocates for the poor, and defenders of justice.

www.takebackourfaith.org

With your help, Sojourners will also place a full-page advertisement in The New York Times, followed by local newspaper and online ads across the United States.

Please forward this e-mail to your family and friends. Tell faithful citizens to make their voices heard.

Sign the petition, support the campaign, and spread the word. Together we can take back our faith!

www.takebackourfaith.org

(This is a good statement from our friends at Sojourners. Do I agree with all of the points on their web site? No. But I don't think that Christians have to be in full agreement with each other on all issues. We can be Republicans, Democrats, Greens, etc. and be Christian. The most important thing is that we put our religion before our politics.)

By GAYLE WHITE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 08/14/04

When the Rev. Joyce Myers-Brown had to decide what image she wanted to project, she didn't examine her wardrobe. She looked over her collection of well-worn protest signs.

She narrowed her choice to two: "Regime Change Begins at Home" vs. "War Is Not the Answer."

At lunchtime Friday, she was at the corner of 14th and Peachtree streets holding "War Is Not the Answer," which, she said, "I think is the very basic message for a Christian in today's world."

Myers-Brown, a United Church of Christ minister, is proud of the label "liberal Christian."

"I wouldn't feel that I was living up to . . . my faith if I were not speaking out about things that are hurting people and killing people and destroying nations," she said.

During this year's presidential race, more people from the center-left of the religious spectrum are joining Myers-Brown, 67, in bringing their faith to bear in the public discourse. Some are spurred by concern about the war in Iraq and by what they see as a growing gap between rich and poor. Many complain that in today's politics, "religious" has become synonymous with "conservative." They look back nostalgically on a period 50 years ago when religious voices drove the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war move- ments.

Full story

This is a pretty good article and worth the read. It includes statements from The Rev. Albert Pennybacker (Clergy Leadership Network) and The Rev. Paul Sherry (former General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ). Give it a look.

This is a big birthday week for our family.

My wife Liz celebrates her birthday today. This has been a pretty exciting year for her with the birth of the twins. I’m a lucky guy to be married to someone as smart and talented as her. This picture is a little over a year old. It was from an awards ceremony that took place at the Oregon State Capitol just before we came out to the Midwest. Liz was recognized for her work as the public policy director at Children First for Oregon. Our friend Dona Bolt took the photo.

Below is a photo of my nephew Ian Rock that was taken over the weekend. His birthday is on Tuesday and he turns two. We’re looking forward to seeing him and the rest of our Oregon family during a short trip back later this month. My mother took this photo and more from Ian's party can be found on her site.

Maybe this somehow makes up a little bit for all the years we've bombed the heck out of that island.

"Poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to not be rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill."

George W. Bush, May 18, 2003

Doonesbury ran this quote in his comic today. It took me five minutes to read it to Liz while we were just feeding the babies. It took all my self-control to stop laughing so I could share this brilliant insight from the President with my wife. I'd laugh more but a crying baby is calling. Who needs sleep anyway?

Press Release from the National Council of Churches

New York City, August 3, 2004 -- The Save Darfur Coalition, composed of National Council of Churches and 70 other faith-based, humanitarian and secular civic organizations, has identified Wednesday, August 25, 2004 as Sudan: Day of Conscience. On that day, communities across North America are urged to engage in interfaith activities designed to raise public awareness about the growing genocide in Darfur and to demand that the international community take immediate and decisive action to stop the killing, the rape, and the destruction of villages, and to assure that humanitarian relief reaches all those in need.

If it is not feasible to hold such activities on August 25, groups are urged to schedule them on a date that works best for their communities. The announcement is being sent not only to Christian communions, but to Jewish, Muslim and other faith communities nationwide through their respective communications networks.

The National Council of Churches is represented on the steering committee of the coalition by Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, Associate General Secretary for International Affairs, who expressed the Council's appreciation to the American Jewish World Service and the Committee on Conscience of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, who served as the co-conveners of a July 14 summit, which led to the creation of the Save Darfur Coalition.

Background

The emergency in Sudan’s northwestern region of Darfur presents the starkest challenge to the world since the Rwanda genocide in 1994. Government-backed militias, known as the Janjaweed, have been engaging in campaigns to displace and wipe out entire communities of tribal farmers. Villages have been razed, women and girls are systematically raped and branded, men and boys murdered, and food and water supplies specifically targeted and destroyed. Government aerial bombardments support the Janjaweed by hurling explosives as well as barrels of nails, car chassis and old appliances from planes to crush people and property.

Tens of thousands have died. Well over a million have been driven from their homes, and only in the past few weeks have humanitarian agencies had limited access to a portion of the affected region. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that 350,000 people or more could die in the coming months. Ongoing assessments by independent organizations such as Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) suggest that USAID’s estimate may be conservative. If aid is denied or unavailable, as many as a million people could perish. Lives are hanging in the balance on a massive scale.

Interfaith Program Ideas

In an effort to raise awareness and ultimately engage our own country and the international community to take actions to stop this unfolding genocide, coalition members, including the National Council of Churches, are encouraging interfaith activities in local communities across the country. Such activities might include the following ideas:

1. Organize an interfaith service or vigil;

2. Hold a press conference to demonstrate endorsement by your local religious leaders of the joint “Unity Statement and Call to Action” issued on August 2 by the coalition;

3. Encourage city councils, county boards, and state houses to adopt a proclamation on the crisis in Sudan;

4. Meet with members of Congress as an interfaith delegation (both the House and Senate voted unanimously to name the killing in Darfur as a genocide and to condemn it);

5. Collect 1,000 signatures on the ‘Call for Action: Stop Atrocities in Sudan’ petition, which would bring attention to the 1,000 dying in Darfur each week;

6. Prepare joint op-ed pieces and letters to the editor;

7. Put together a photo exhibit featuring pictures from Darfur;

8. Help in the relief efforts by supporting organizations giving aid, such as Church World Service.

Resources

To read the coalition’s “Unity Statement,” as well as the “Call for Action” petition, click here.

For other resources, such as the prayers, sample op-ed pieces, and photos for an exhibit, as well as additional resources, please check the coalition’s website, www.savedarfur.org, scheduled to be available by August 4.

For a complete history of actions taken by the NCC to date on the crisis, please see the Council's Index of Resources on the Sudan Crisis.

by SUSAN KIM
Disaster News Network

Note: At the conclusion of this story you will be given information on how you can help out.

SARASOTA, Fla. (August 13, 2004) — As a Category 4 Hurricane Charley made landfall in Florida with 145-mph winds, faith-based response groups were in the throes of emergency response and were already making plans for long-term recovery.

Florida's Gulf Coast communities saw a 15-foot storm surge, and President Bush declared a federal disaster by Friday night. Charley's eye reached land at 3:45 p.m. when it passed over the barrier islands between Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, then crossed toward Orlando.

Almost 2 million people evacuated before the storm.

Disaster relief groups were moving equipment and personnel into the hardest hit areas, and waiting for damage assessments to roll in.

Salvation Army crews set up a main staging area for relief operations, which kicked into full gear immediately after Charley blew through. "All units are ready to roll," said Salvation Army spokesperson Kevin Smith. The units include all crews in Florida - and possibly those from Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia as well.

The Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), a coalition of amateur radio operators, was also activated.

Members of the Florida state Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) coalition met via conference call on Friday afternoon, and planned to meet via call over the weekend as well.

Preliminary plans were also being made to establish a multi-agency warehouse in the affected area.

National faith-based disaster response organizations were supporting their Florida coordinators, and many national representatives from a variety of denominations were en route to Florida to help support local efforts.

Bill Wealand of the United Church of Christ's (UCC) National Disaster Ministries Network, said damage assessments will begin Saturday morning. "Two emergency generators are in place at churches located in what will likely be the most affected area," he said.

Three trained UCC coordinators were planning to work with state and federal officials to assess damages, and use those figures to formulate a long-term response, said Wealand.

Thousands of people were in the storm's path, and, after emergency response ends, many of them will be left with long-term unmet needs.

"There's a huge population there that's low- to moderate income, including lots of mobile homes," said Jody Hill, head of Florida Interfaith Networking in Disaster.

In addition, some 700,000 elderly people were potentially in the storm's path.

Lesli Remaly, a CWS Disaster Response and Recovery Liaison, was already thinking about needs that could potentially go unnoticed. "There are lots of immigrants and migrant farm workers. There is a tremendous population of people working on the orange groves. There are Native Americans who will be affected."

People who can't speak English may not able to easily determine what aid is available to them, Remaly added.

In the long-term, people who have jobs in the service or tourism industry could see a tremendous negative economic impact, she said.

Homeless people were another population that could easily be forgotten, Remaly said. "Lots of people come to Florida hoping they'll find that job, and they don't."

Other Florida VOAD members pointed out that Creole communities and HIV-infected individuals might also have special needs in Charley's wake.

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) was also monitoring the situation and preparing to help address long-term needs. Through its network of volunteers, CRWRC's Disaster Response Services helps disaster-stricken communities with cleanup, needs assessments, reconstruction and long-term community development and recovery.

Lutheran Disaster Response and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) were also planning for a long-term response.

UMCOR has sent all available flood buckets to Florida and UMCOR leaders urged United Methodists to pray for those in the paths of this week's storms. A disaster response team will arrive in Florida on Monday for initial assessments.

Nazarene Disaster Response was setting up distribution centers in local Nazarene churches in the Ft. Myers, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Orlando and Apopka areas, where care kits will be given to hurricane survivors, said Jim Morsch. "We also have a chain saw crew on standby to assist those homes that have fallen trees," he reported.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) was also ready to respond. HSUS offers emergency search and rescue of animals, including pets, horses, livestock and wildlife, as well as assessment of animal-related needs from natural or other events.

The National Organization for Victim Assistance also stood ready to respond.

As news of Hurricane Charley's landfall made national headlines, many people across the U.S. were already wondering how best to help. "The best way to help is to make a cash donation to your denomination's disaster response fund," said Linda Reed Brown, associate director of domestic response for the Church World Service (CWS) Emergency Response Program. "These funds will support the recovery efforts of local churches and local communities."

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials agreed with Brown, adding that people should avoid sending material goods such as used clothing. "Please don't drive to Florida from out of state and try to help," said one FEMA official. "Instead," he said, "work with voluntary organizations that coordinate and train volunteers, then match them to people's needs."

Florida state officials echoed FEMA's stance by emphasizing that cash donations help to avoid the labor and expense of sorting, packing, transporting and distributing donated goods; and that voluntary relief agencies use cash to meet people's specific needs more quickly.

By Friday afternoon there was little doubt among response experts that people will need significant assistance. "This is a big storm. It is going to hurt. A lot of people are going to need our help," said Hill.

After Florida, Charley was expected to head north along the Georgia coast, arriving in South Carolina around midday Saturday.

And, in some ways, hurricane season is still just beginning. Tropical Storm Danielle formed in the distant Atlantic, and was expected to grow into a hurricane, and forecasters were watching an additional tropical depression as well.

Posted August 13, 2004 10:57 PM

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Click here for a list of faith-based organizations seeking donations. They are all good groups. "Not sure where to send your gift? A donation to Church World Service will support all interfaith disaster response efforts. The Organizations listed on this page are sponsors of the Disaster News Network. The process used by these organizations for online credit card and online check donations is completely secure (additional information on transaction form)."

On a personal note, I've lived through these types of storms before and the damage can be amazing. I still have lots of family in South Carolina who will take some of the impact of this storm.

And yes, it is true, our dogs Hugo and Hazel are named after famous South Carolina hurricanes.

Please help anyway you can.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One-third of President Bush (news - web sites)'s tax cuts have gone to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, shifting more burden to middle-income taxpayers, congressional analysts said on Friday.

Full story.

This is old news for anyone that has followed Bush’s economic policies. Al Gore warned this would happen in 2000. Yet George W. Bush wants to give even bigger tax breaks to the top 1% at the same time deficits explode (remember there was a huge budget surplus when he took office) and poverty rates climb.

Faith leaders released the following statement on tax policy back in 2001 that ought to still be reflected on today:

"As representatives of the faith community we believe that government is intended to serve God’s purposes by promoting the common good. Paying taxes to enable government to provide for the needs of society is an appropriate expression of our stewardship. We believe the United States of America should have a responsible tax policy for all people, particularly the most vulnerable.

"We are gravely concerned with the current tax cut proposals initiated by President Bush and being debated and passed by Congress. As millions of people – parents and children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and the working poor – are driven to seek charity to meet their most basic needs, we are appalled that the focus of attention in this Congressional session is not on meeting their needs; rather, it is on tax cuts that will mostly benefit the affluent.

"Polls show that the American people do not want a tax cut if it means cuts in spending for social programs. The size and magnitude of these tax cut proposals endanger the very programs that the majority of people in our country need and support. If the surpluses do not materialize as projected, a huge tax cut that is passed this year would require spending cuts in public education, health care, Social Security, Medicare, economic development, poverty, homelessness and international development assistance for the next decade and beyond. These are the very programs in which our nation should invest.

"It is a disgrace that in this rich country 43 million people have no health coverage and that nearly five million renter households spend over 50% of their meager incomes for shelter or live in substandard housing, while the number of affordable rental housing units continues to decline. Soaring utility costs will only worsen their plight. While unemployment is at an all-time low, millions of people work at wages so low that they cannot support their families. They are the ones who will suffer the most as the economy weakens.

"Responsible tax policy should be structured so that the poorest households benefit. For example, we support increasing the child tax credit and making it refundable so that all families who are too poor to owe income taxes but pay other federal taxes may receive a credit. We also support an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). We support the President’s proposal to allow non-itemizers to claim a tax deduction for their charitable contributions because we believe this will encourage people to give more to charities that work to address human need. But we do not believe that charitable contributions should be expected to replace government investment.

"Let us be clear, we oppose the tax cut proposal initiated by President Bush and currently moving through Congress. It is too inequitable, too large, and threatens the future well being of our nation."

Curtis Ramsey-Lucas
Director of Legislative Advocacy, National Ministries
American Baptist Churches, USA

Mary Ellen McNish
General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee

Rev. David Beckmann
President, Bread for the World

Rabbi Paul J. Menitoff
Executive Vice President, Central Conference of American Rabbis

Rev. Ken Brooker Langston
Co-Convener, Disciples Advocacy Washington Network
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Rev. Jerrye G. Champion
President, Church Women United

Rev. H. George Anderson
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Joe Volk
Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quaker)

Rabbi Daniel Polish
Director, Joint Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism

Jose¢ Ortiz
Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee of U.S.

Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar
General Secretary, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

Kathy Thornton, RSM
National Coordinator, NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
President, Union of American Hebrew Congregations

Rev. John H. Thomas
General Minister and President, United Church of Christ

Bishop Melvin G. Talbert
Ecumenical Officer, Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church

James E. Winkler
General Secretary, General Board of Church and Society in the United Methodist Church

Lois Dauway
Assistant General Secretary, Section of Christian Social Responsibility
Women’s Division, United Methodist Church

This post has been updated

A number of people have written posts or sent e-mails about the Catholic League’s attack on my blog. Here’s a sampling of what they’re saying:

I checked out the alleged anti-Catholic site and found it to be anything but an anti-catholic site (actually it's a blog; click here for the blogger's response to the false charge of anti-Catholicism).

- Scoobie Davis Online

Now the Vatican is picking on Monica Bellucci and the Catholic League on our blogospheric brother Chuck Currie. And why? Because Monica Bellucci spoke up and posed on the cover of a magazine in support of Italian women's reproductive rights and Chuck Currie wrote a quite thoughtful piece about the Vatican's condemnation of feminists and the reactions to that.

- Analogcabin: The SACRED

Last week I asked a conservative blogger who had anonymously been posting anti-gay comments to come clean with who she was. That post provoked a lot of feedback.

Now this is just plain sad. Chuck Currie is at it again. This time he wonders if I am really real. He's not the first one that has questioned my authenticity. Here's what sad about this all.

This world has gotten so evil that people just assume their wickedness is okay. Why isn't it okay? After all, everybodys doing it. Nobody waits until after marriage to have sex anymore. It's popular to move in together before marriage "to see if we can actually get along". And now even those of deviant sexual practices are becoming accepted in our society.

They are so comfy in their practices that when somebody dares to call their gay lifestyle "SIN", they are shocked and hurt. Immediately they resort to calling us hatemongers. It's simple. It doesn't take a lot of thought and it may gain them sympathy in this politically correct world.

But that doesn't change the fact that gay sex is wrong.

- Dispan Dribble

I do not believe that just because a person has a different voice than mine, that person ought to be silent. I try to put myself in that person's shoes. If I were a lone liberal in a sea of conservatives, would I want to have myself drowned by their flood? No. Many of Tammy's beliefs are repugnant to me, but I believe she has every right to hold these beliefs, and to share them.

- foldedspace.org

WWP would give up his firstborn child [except alas that he doesn't have one ... at least one that he knows about] to have the sort of web traffic that WWP amigo and fellow blogger Chuck Currie commands. But the current tussle unfolding in Chuck's comments over this particular post gives pause. Remember, nearly all these folks claim a certain carpenter's son as their model. Devil's always in the details, or in this case, in the divisions. WWJD?

- worldwide pablo

A post I wrote on a seminary group in New York set to protest the GOP convention was mentioned on Liberal Oasis. It also got the notice of at least one conservative Christian:

UCC seminarian and liberal blogger Chuck Currie strains credulity as he seeks to distinguish between the religious right and left:

If there a difference between the political aims of the religious rights [sic] and the progressive left? Yes, and it is pretty basic. The Southern Baptists, for example, maintain close ties with Republican political candidates, like George W. Bush, and work to elect them. Their efforts often cross the line between separation of church and state and even violate IRS rules governing churches.

This is a rather serious charge for which Currie offers no evidence. Not surprising, really, since there's no evidence to be found.

- Ecumenical Insanity

(Update: I meant to add some evidence to help illustrate my point. As a church leader, I would never tell my congregation how to vote in a partisan political race – though I would offer how I might vote. The religious right doesn’t see a distinction. Take what Jerry Fallwell told CNN yesterday:

Churches can take stands on issues, but they shouldn’t be endorsing candidates.)

Finally, John’s Kerry’s endorsement of Missouri’s anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment got me to question his leadership. That made the right-wing happy:

Chuck Currie will be voting for the Kerry-Edwards ticket this November, he informs us on the portside pages of The American Street. Nevertheless Senator Flip Flop was not the United Church of Christ seminarian's first choice—as Kerry keeps reminding him—and Currie apparently retains enough common sense and chutzpah to post this logical query:

John Kerry told reporters this week that while he opposed a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage he still doesn’t support gay marriage and would have voted for Missouri’s anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendment. Kerry believes this should be a state’s rights issue.

"But Kerry also personally opposes abortion and yet favors federal protections for the right to choose," Currie continues, concluding, "What is the difference here?"

A good question that deserves a good answer, even though we doubtlessly disagree with the one that Chuck would like to hear . . and won't.

- Times Against Humanity

When you make the right-wing happy it is time to question if your message is getting out.

Thanks for reading and all the feedback.

New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey resigned his office effective November 15th during a press conference in which he declared he was gay and had violated his marriage vows. CNN reports:

With his wife standing quietly by his side, McGreevey spoke in calm tones as he described his struggle with his sexuality, "a certain sense that separated me from others." It was something that he said began as a child.

"At a point in every person's life, one has to look deeply into the mirror of one one's soul and decide one's unique truth in the world, not as we may want to see it or hope to see it, but as it is," McGreevey, a Democrat, said.

"And so, my truth is that I am a gay American," McGreevey said.

Liz and I watched the press conference and could not have been more amazed at the Governor's heartfelt and very personal statement.

It appears there is some type of lawsuit against the governor that forced his admission. What the lawsuit contains is unclear. However, media reports suggest it involves sexual harassment charges. In that case, the governor took the right action in resigning his office. It was a rare example of a politician taking responsibility for his actions.

The other side of the issue is this: it is highly unlikely that had the governor had a heterosexual affair that he would have been forced from office (depending on the circumstances). There is a sad double standard at work.

A Religious Liberal Blog made mention today about seminarians getting ready to protest the Republican National Convention in New York. Great news. Here is the press release from the website of the The Social Action Caucus at Union Theological Seminary:

New York, July 2004 - As people of faith we are children of God and our allegiance is first to the kingdom of God. This core principle of faith and unity is why seminarians from across New York - including Union Theological Seminary, General Theological Seminary, Jewish Theological Seminary and New York Theological Seminary - are gathering in a spirit of worship, meditation and prayer on Sunday, August 29th, during the Republican National Convention. Concerned people of all faiths and political persuasions will be gathering together with one unifying premise: government is a moral issue. The 2004 elections will define our lives, spirituality and communities in ways more urgent and complex than a simple map of red and blue states ever could.

As future religious leaders, we believe the role of religion in society is that of provider and healer, to be a voice of conscience that demands accountability, reconciliation and justice. We believe all people of faith should be involved in the political process, especially to exercise their right to vote, and that the role of clergy is to provide education on the issues and promote an affirming and uplifting role for religion in public life. Our God is a God of justice who believes in the dignity, integrity and value of each human being.

That is why we are gathering on Sunday, August 29th to pray for change for the future of our country in this election year. Record deficits, record job loss, more people under-employed and uninsured in America than ever before, unprecedented limitations on our civil liberties, under-funding of education, unstable alliances with our allies and the threat of terrorism increased by the ever-unwelcome presence of our military in Iraq - these things suggest that no one is currently free to fulfill their potential as children of God created equally in God’s image. We need strong, moral leadership. Islam, Judaism and Christianity all admonish us to take care of the poor, the outcast. Join us in worship On Sunday, August 29th and pray with us that our faith might lead us to elect and guide our leaders to do God’ will in these times.

The religious right is always more organized than the progressive religious community for election cycles. This fact is highlighted once again by the upcoming Christian Citizenship Week slated at Midwestern Seminary, a Southern Baptist seminary. Baptist News reports:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)--As Election Day 2004 approaches, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has dedicated the week of Aug. 17 as Christian Citizenship Week to emphasize the Christian’s responsibility to participate in and support America’s democratic government.

“Christians across America have the privilege and responsibility to participate in the electoral process of our government,” said R. Philip Roberts, president of MBTS. “Prayerfully, this week will remind us, as Christian leaders, to be good stewards of what we have been given in this country, as well as to be obedient to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Highlighting the week will be special guest speakers Richard Land and Richard Wells in special chapel services Aug. 17 and Aug. 18, respectively, at the Kansas City, Mo., campus.

Is there a difference between the political aims of the religious rights and the progressive left? Yes, and it is pretty basic. The Southern Baptists, for example, maintain close ties with Republican political candidates, like George W. Bush, and work to elect them. Their efforts often cross the line between separation of church and state and even violate IRS rules governing churches.

Progressive religious people tend to be tied more to causes (homelessness, poverty, civil rights, health care, etc.) than to individual candidates and almost never claim to speak for God on partisan political issues. Claiming to speak for God is a hallmark of the religious right.

Our girls turn five weeks old today. They just keep growing. Every week I'm posting a new series of photos. This might get a little old when they're 26 or 27, but until then you just have to check them out. Click here to take a peak.

The One True b!X's PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE reports today that mayoral candidate Jim Francesconi has launched new negative ads against rival Tom Potter. Francesconi’s ads question Potter’s effectiveness during his tenure as Portland police chief by distorting Potter’s record of distinction.

I’ve know Tom Potter since he was first named police chief and I’ve know Jim Francesconi since he first ran for the Portland City Council.

Potter has always conducted himself with the utmost integrity. He has a reputation as someone willing to find solutions that benefit the entire community. Without question he was the most effective police chief Portland has seen in the last 30 years or more. We don’t agree on all the issues. But there is never a doubt that Potter’s decisions are based on his principals and I trust those principals.

Sadly, Francesconi has amassed a record of finding solutions that put the interests of campaign contributors before the common good. He is the downtown business candidate who raised a million dollars from special interests. Francesconi’s negative advertisements only further sully his reputation. His campaign playbook seems to be filled with all the negative tactics designed to turn voters off the political process.

Jim, you should be ashamed.

I'm proud to support Tom Potter.

The One True b!X's PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE: Francesconi Radio Ad Slams Potter's Tenure As Chief

...if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

- Isaiah 58:10 NRSV

FaithfulAmerica.org is working with TrueMajority.org to raise $45,000 that will be used to send a camera crew to the Sudanese border to broadcast live from the refugee camps via satellite. They hope to bring the stories of the people suffering under genocide in Darfur to light, and Western eyes and hearts.

Learn more about the crisis in Darfur by visiting: www.darfurgenocide.org

Find out more about the campaign to raise the $45,000 by visiting: www.faithfulamerica.org/darfurvideo

And contribute by clicking: http://faithfulamerica.kintera.org/darfurdonate

I meant to add Analogcabin: The Sacred to my list of faith blogs the last time I updated the site and managed to forget. Well, it is a mistake to leave off those that are willing to defend you from the right. So check out Analogcabin: The Sacred when you get the chance.

Actually, that is a lie. I was only a toddler when Kerry served honorably in Vietnam.

But to say I served with John Kerry is just about as honest a statement as those put out by a pro-Bush group running commercials that question the senator’s war record. The American Progress Action Fund reports:

A group of veterans have launched a media blitz featuring a host of wholly unsubstantiated and largely discredited charges against Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) which call into question his record of honorable military service in Vietnam. In particular, the group – called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) – is airing an ad featuring 13 men who never served with Kerry calling him a liar and alleging that he did not deserve the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two of his three Purple Hearts. The allegations contradict all of Kerry's crewmates who are still living, medical records and an independent investigation by historian Douglas Brinkley. Sen. John McCain – who was similarly smeared by false charges during his 2000 campaign that he fathered an out-of-wedlock black child – called the group's advertisement "dishonest and dishonorable." But asked specifically whether Bush would join McCain in condemning the ad, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan demurred.

That’s the Bush campaign for you. At the head of the ticket are two men who avoided service in Vietnam. They are pulling the same below the belt tactics that they threw at John McCain four years ago. These are the acts of desperate men.

Published on Sunday, August 8, 2004 by Associated Press
by Scott Lindlaw

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine - A clergyman implored his affluent congregation, including President Bush's family, to jettison their material possessions, gently mocking George H.W. Bush's struggles on the golf course to drive home his point.

The Very Rev. Martin Luther Agnew preached Sunday to a packed Episcopal church just down the road from the Bush family's seaside estate. Its oceanfront parking lot was filled with luxury cars made by Jaguar, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo, testament to the wealth of the summer visitors at this southeast Maine resort.

"Gated communities," Agnew said, "tend to keep out God's people." But, he said, "Our material gifts do not have to be a wall."

"They can very well be a door. Jesus says, 'Sell your possessions and give alms,'" Agnew said. "I'm convinced that what we keep owns us, and what we give away sets us free."

Full story

National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness Action Alert

On July 22, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2005 VA-HUD funding bill. While the bill provides $1.5 billion more for the Section 8 program than President Bush’s request and rejects the Administration's “flexible voucher” proposal, it pays for this by cutting most other critical housing programs, rather than identify and provide new sources of funding.

Cuts Include (Below FY 2004 Levels):

Public Housing Operating Fund, cut by $154 million

HOME Program, cut by $86 million

Homeless Assistance Grants, cut by $54 million

Housing for the elderly cut by over $32 million

Housing for persons with AIDS cut by $13 million

Housing for persons with disabilities cut by $11 million

These cuts are unacceptable. More than 14 million people pay over 50% of their income on housing, 5 million renter households live in "worst case" housing situations, 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year, and the poorest renters face a lack of over 2 million affordable units. The American housing crisis takes place against the backdrop of recent U.S. Census data, which revealed that 34.6 million Americans are living in poverty.

The Senate will consider the bill in September when Congress returns from the summer recess. Your calls and letters are needed to tell Senators and Representatives to fully fund Section 8 and all housing programs, and reject any attempts to reduce HUD funding.

What you can do:

Send a letter to your Senators and Representative, and call both their district and Washington, DC offices. Inform them of these drastic cuts and the impact they will have on your state and community. To find your Member of Congress, enter your zip code online at: http://congress.org/congressorg/home/ or, call the Congressional switchboard at 1-888-818-6641

If your Representative is on the House Appropriations Committee tell them how the Committee’s action will affect your community. For a list of committee members: http://www.npach.org/appropriations.htm
Contact the media in your area and inform them of the House decision to slash funding for critical housing programs.

NPACH's recommendations on the FY 2005 VA-HUD bill are available here.

I’m not sure what did it…

The LA Times mention of my blog…

The attack on my blog by the right-wing Catholic League…

Or the birth of our twins…

But our homepage hit the 10,000 hit mark yesterday and my blog hit the 55,000 mark. Our dog Hazel celebrated yesterday at the park by chasing a stick.

John Kerry told reporters this week that while he opposed a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage he still doesn’t support gay marriage and would have voted for Missouri’s anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendment.

Kerry believes this should be a state’s rights issue.

But Kerry also personally opposes abortion and yet favors federal protections for the right to choose. And he favors federal civil rights laws to protect racial minorities. What is the difference here?

It looks like gay and lesbian people are expendable on the Kerry express.

Kerry does support civil unions for gay couples and it is amazing to think the gay rights movement has come so far in recent years to think of this as the conservative position. But Kerry had a chance to stand for something important in this election and he blew it (just like he did in Iraq and with the DNC’s ouster of their religion advisor). I’m reminded once again why I voted for a different candidate in the primary election.

Come November I’ll caste my vote for the Kerry-Edwards ticket because I still believe on a wide range of issues they’ll be far better than the current administration. However, while the Massachusetts senator may have got my vote by default he sure hasn’t earned my respect as a leader.

Read more about this from GayAmerican.org:

GayAmerican.org: Civil Unions are anti-Gay

"Trinity United Church of Christ has been a true community to me—a place in which the mind, heart and soul come together to celebrate God’s goodness. Our pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A Wright, Jr., embodies everything you would want in a pastor—a powerful intellect and an equally powerful grace, warmth and humor."

State Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill)
U.S. Senate candidate in Illinois
Member, Trinity UCC in Chicago

By J. Bennett Guess
United Church News
July-August 2004

Public images of flag-draped, military coffins—once common during wartime—are now forbidden by the U.S. government. But that hasn’t stopped several United Church of Christ churches from finding creative ways to help their communities grieve the deaths of hundreds of U.S. service members and thousands of Iraqi civilians.

On June 21-22, about 1,000 people from across northern Ohio wandered about the expansive green lawn at The First Church in Oberlin (Ohio), UCC to view "Eyes Wide Open," a traveling, multimedia exhibit of the American Friends Service Committee. Its centerpiece is a makeshift memorial containing rows and rows of black combat boots, each identified with the name of a fallen U.S. soldier. Reminiscent of the somber, orderly feel at Arlington National Cemetery, Oberlin’s emotional tribute paid homage to 837 military personnel who had died to-date during the 2003 Iraqi invasion and subsequent occupation.

Inside the church, 10,000 bullet casings, each representing an Iraqi civilian killed during the war, surrounded a primitive plow—a symbolic, prayerful reminder of Isaiah’s biblical, swords-into- plowshares image. Accompanying education-oriented displays helped visitors grasp the cost of war both in human and financial terms.

Full story