Barbara Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, is coming out in favor of marriage equality.  The walls of injustice are tumbling down for gay and lesbian Americans and that makes us all more free.  

Ms. Bush joins her mother Laura Bush (a good United Methodist), Cindy McCain (Baptist) and former Vice-President Dick Cheney (possible practitioner of the Dark Side of the Force) among prominent Republicans who have endorsed legal marriage for gays and lesbians.  

President Obama, who says he feelings on this issue are "evolving" should stop following and start leading on this issue.  

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ, the denomination in which President Obama first became a Christian, endorsed marriage equality in 2005.  That made the UCC the first mainline Christian church to take such a stand (similar to one the UCC took in the 1960s to end the legal ban on interracial marriages that the Religious Right at the time so strongly backed).

And now for a musical interlude:    

And let's end with a sermon (as I am a pastor):

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

A Florida judge ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional today.  Several other judges have upheld the law.  The Affordable Care Act was strongly support by religious leaders across the United States.  Today the White House's Stephanie Cutter explained in a White House blog post what this all means as conservative activists and politicians try and keep Americans from getting the medical care they need: 

Today, a judge in Florida issued a decision in a case filed by 25 Republican Attorneys General and Governors striking down the Affordable Care Act.   This ruling is well out of the mainstream of judicial opinion.   Twelve federal judges have already dismissed challenges to the constitutionality of the health reform law, and two judges – in the Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Virginia – have upheld the law.   In one other case, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a very narrow ruling on the constitutionality of the health reform law’s “individual responsibility” provision and upheld the rest of the law.  

Today’s ruling – issued by Judge Vinson in the Northern District of Florida – is a plain case of judicial overreaching.   The judge’s decision contradicts decades of Supreme Court precedent that support the considered judgment of the democratically elected branches of government that the Act’s “individual responsibility” provision is necessary to prevent billions of dollars of cost-shifting every year by individuals without insurance who cannot pay for the health care they obtain.  And the judge declared that the entire law is null and void even though the only provision he found unconstitutional was the “individual responsibility” provision.  This decision is at odds with decades of established Supreme Court law, which has  consistently found that courts have a constitutional obligation to preserve as a much of a statute as can be preserved. As a result, the judge’s decision puts all of the new benefits, cost savings and patient protections that were included in the law at risk.

Under today’s view of the law, seniors will pay higher prices for their prescription drugs and small businesses will pay higher taxes because small business tax credits would be eliminated. And the new provisions that prevent insurance companies from denying, capping or limiting your care would be wiped away.

We don’t believe this kind of judicial activism will be upheld and we are confident that the Affordable Care Act will ultimately be declared constitutional by the courts.

History and the facts are on our side. Similar legal challenges to major new laws -- including the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act -- were all filed and all failed. And contrary to what opponents argue the new law falls well within Congress’s power to regulate economic activity under the Commerce Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the General Welfare Clause.

Those who claim that the “individual responsibility” provision exceeds Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce because it penalizes “inactivity” are simply wrong. Individuals who choose to go without health insurance are actively making an economic decision that impacts all of us. People who make an economic decision to forego health insurance do not opt out of the health care market.  As Congress found, every year millions of people without insurance obtain health care they cannot pay for, shifting tens of billions of dollars in added cost onto those who have insurance and onto taxpayers.   There can be no doubt that this activity substantially affects interstate commerce, and Congress has the power to regulate it. 

The Affordable Care Act, through the individual responsibility requirement, will require everyone, if they can afford it, to carry some form of health insurance since everyone at some point in time participates in the health care system, and incur costs that must be paid for. For the 83% of Americans who have coverage and who are already taking responsibility for their health care, their insurance premiums will decrease over time.  Many of those who are currently struggling to pay for insurance will get a new tax credit. Only those who are able to pay for health insurance will be responsible for obtaining it. Because most people would voluntarily purchase coverage as it becomes more affordable and the policy exempts those for whom purchase would cause a financial hardship, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that only 1 percent of all Americans would pay a penalty for not having health insurance in 2016.  

The Affordable Care Act also bans insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions.   However, unless every American is required to have insurance, it would be cost prohibitive to cover people with pre-existing conditions. 

Here’s why:  If insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to anyone who applies for insurance – especially those who have health problems and are potentially more expensive to cover – then there is nothing stopping someone from waiting until they’re sick or injured to apply for coverage since insurance companies can’t say no.  That would lead to double digit premiums increases – up to 20% – for everyone with insurance, and would significantly increase the cost health care spending nationwide. 

We don’t let people wait until after they’ve been in a car accident to apply for auto insurance and get reimbursed, and we don’t want to do that with healthcare.  If we’re going to outlaw discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, the only way to keep people from gaming the system and raising costs on everyone else is to ensure that everyone takes responsibility for their own health insurance.  

Two federal courts and more than 100 constitutional scholars agree with these arguments. And representatives from important organizations like the American Cancer Society Action Network, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, the American Hospital Association and the American Nurses Association have all filed amicus briefs in similar cases supporting the Administration’s position. Event President Reagan’s Solicitor General Charles Fried has written, “the health care law’s enemies have no ally in the Constitution.”

In the end, we’re confident our arguments will carry the day and the health reform law will continue to make the health care system stronger for all of us.

Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor.

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

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

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

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

The Oregon Tea Party sent out an e-mail today that listed where a series of Tea Party events will be held over the next month.  My attention was immediately drawn to two events scheduled to be held in Oregon churches - one for a candidate recruitment drive.  Churches, like all non-profits, are forbidden from engaging in partisan political activity. 

I contacted both churches.  One was unaware that the Oregon Tea Party and their partner, Americans for Prosperity (a GOP-aligned political group), had scheduled an event at their church.  They determined that a parishioner had volunteered the church without the knowledge of church staff but once informed of the political nature of the meeting the church immediately informed the Oregon Tea Party the event would be cancelled. 

The second church, in Beaverton, knew of the event and initially defended hosting it when I contacted them.  This was the meeting being held to recruit candidates.  However, within a few hours they appropriately cancelled the event.  Churches that engage in partisan political activity run the serious risk of losing their tax exempt status.

Churches can rent space to political groups as long as they make space available to all political parties without regard to platforms.  But churches cannot co-sponsor events with political groups which aim to influence candidate elections (churches, again like all non-profits, are allowed to become involved in issue politics i.e. initiative campaigns, etc. and pastors are allowed as individuals - not on behalf of the church - to endorse candidates).

It is troubling that the Oregon Tea Party and Americans for Prosperity are obviously seeking to inappropriately misuse houses of worship for partisan political gain.  Cleary, these groups have very little respect for churches if they are willing to put congregations in legal jeopardy.

At the same time, I do believe that the Oregon Tea Party clearly has a right to meet.  There are plenty of community centers and businesses where they could legally gather.  One of the meetings they announced today will take place at Standard TV and Appliance in Beaverton, a company with a long history of supporting conservative causes.  I personally will not shop at a business that shares Tea Party values but I defend the Tea Party's right to freely assemble as long as their meetings are non-violent.             

Related Post: Tea Party Incites Hate, Racism And Sarah Palin Defends It All (Updated)

Related Post:  The Politics of Jesus

Press Release from Living The Questions

Contact:  David M. Felten at [email protected]  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watch the promo:

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

In the aftermath of the Tucson shooting earlier this month, The Rev. Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite wrote:

... responsible religious leaders need to speak out and say, without equivocation, that God and guns don't mix. When one of the disciples uses a weapon to defend Jesus from arrest, Jesus rebukes the disciple. God's own son warns us about what happens to those who live by weapons. What happens is they die by weapons."

Newsweek is reporting that President Obama will soon offer Congress new gun control proposals. The last two years has seen little evidence of a willingness on the part of the White House to delve into this politically charged topic - much to the frustration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The New York City Mayor, along with family members of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy, recently called for a new push for gun control in an "Open Letter" to the president and Congress:

Forty-three years ago, following the shootings of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Congress passed a law to prevent dangerous people from possessing guns. The 1968 law bars felons, the mentally ill, drug abusers, and other dangerous people under federal law from possessing guns.

In 1993, Congress passed the Brady Bill, named for President Reagan's press secretary James Brady, who had been critically wounded in the assassination attempt on President Reagan. The Brady Bill created a system of background checks that helped to make real the purpose of the 1968 law.

But in the wake of the tragic shooting in Tucson, it is clear that the system is flawed and too many dangerous people are still able to buy guns. In Tucson and at Virginia Tech, the killers should have been barred from buying guns, but their records were not in the background check database as they should have been. At Columbine High School, the shooters went around the system by getting their guns through a purchase from an unlicensed seller at a gun show.

Altogether, in the years since 1968, 400,000 Americans have been murdered with guns. That's 34 Americans each and every day.

Specially, U.S. mayors are calling for fixes that would:  

• Ensure the names of all the people who should be prohibited from buying a gun are in the system
• Close the loopholes in the background check system by requiring a background check for every gun sale

Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, quickly re-affirmed after the Tucson tragedy the long-held Southern Baptist position of opposition to gun control:

"Gun control would not solve this problem...People who are crazy and intent on criminal activity will get guns. When you have gun control, the problem is that the only people who have guns are the crazy people and the outlaws. Guns are not the problem. Human beings with criminal intent are the problem."

What Land fails to note is that there was a 66% decline in assault weapon use after the 1994 passage of the Federal Assault Weapons Act.

For Christians debating this issue, are there theological principles that can be drawn from to inform the discussion? Ending Gun Violence: A Resolution and Call to Action by the National Council of Churches of Christ, U.S.A. offers a sound theological rational for supporting gun control efforts:

When thinking about the problem of violence, Christian faith is both "idealistic" and "realistic." On the one hand, there is a stream within the Christian tradition that counsels non-violence in all circumstances. A seminal text is the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew's gospel, where Jesus instructs his followers to bear violence rather than inflict it.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.... You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . . (Matt. 5: 38-39, 43-44).

It is difficult to imagine that the One whose own Passion models the redemptive power of non-violence would look favorably on the violence of contemporary U.S. society. Present-day violence is made far worse than it otherwise would be by the prevalence of weapons on our streets. This stream of the Christian tradition insists that it is idolatry to trust in guns to make us secure, since that usually leads to mutual escalation while distracting us from the One whose love alone gives us security.

On the other hand, Christians also know, from both experience and scripture, that all humans are sinful, capable of acting with hostile aggression toward their neighbors. This "realistic" view of human nature also argues for restricting access to guns which, in the wrong hands or without adequate supervision, can make violence ever more deadly. Christians can certainly contend that it is necessary for public authorities to take up arms in order to protect citizens from violence; but to allow assault weapons in the hands of the general public can scarcely be justified on Christian grounds. The stark reality is that such weapons end up taking more lives than they defend, and the reckless sale or use of these weapons refutes the gospel's prohibition against violence.

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I've preached on this topic and know that in our pews there is debate and disagreement about the right course of action to reduce gun violence. The National Rifle Association has a powerful hold on the American political system. The question for people of faith is where we place our trust: with God or guns?

We remember the men and woman of the Challenger - who 25 years ago this day gave their lives not just for our nation but for the benefit of all humankind.  

Let us keep their families and colleagues in our prayers as we seek new ways to reach for the stars.  Part of the human experience is to explore and it is vitally important that we develop new international efforts to visit Mars and to learn more about the creation of the cosmos.  Today, however, it is right to pause in memory of these American heroes.  Those of us who lived that day will never forget their sacrifice.  

Photo Credit:  NASA

Mass protests against the government in Egypt are scheduled for Friday - mostly organized by young people over the internet.  There are reports now that nearly all internet service in Egypt has been cut off.

Human Rights Watch is concerned about more violence:

(Cairo) - The Egyptian government should end an escalating crackdown on what appear to be largely peaceful protests against police brutality, poverty, and corruption, Human Rights Watch said today. Ahead of demonstrations planned for January 28, 2011, security forces need to ensure that force is only used when strictly necessary, such as to prevent violence, and only to the minimum extent necessary.

At least eight demonstrators and one policeman have been killed in three days of protests in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other Egyptian cities. Police have fired rubber bullets and tear-gas, used water cannon and baton charges, and even thrown rocks at protesters. Over 1,200 have been arrested over the past three days, many of them still in detention, and many others beaten. The government has warned that further demonstrations will not be tolerated.

"The Egyptian authorities should allow protesters to exercise their right to assemble and protest peacefully," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead protesters have met with exactly the kind of heavy-handed abuse and repression that people are protesting against."

Full story.

Action Alert from the Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ 

Gun violence can grab the national headlines, as it did recently in the aftermath of the tragic shooting rampage in Tucson, but for many communities, gun violence is such a routine fact of life that it sadly no longer draws much attention.  As people of faith, we are called to stand against violence in our communities.  Gun violence has already taken too great a toll in precious lives lost and permanently damaged, not only in Tucson but in communities around the country.

The debate over gun violence and gun control can quickly become divisive.  But we cannot allow a difficult debate to deter us from addressing what is a major public health crisis in the United States.  We can come together to take small, sensible steps toward preventing further tragedy.Rep. Carolyn McCarthy has introduced a bill that would limit the sale of high capacity ammunition magazines such as the one used in the Tucson shootings. 

Of course, no single law can prevent a tragedy such as the shooting in Tucson or the killing of 32 students at Virginia Tech in 2007.   Measures like the one to prohibit the sale of high capacity ammunition magazines are reasonable, modest steps toward reducing the terrible toll that is taken by gun violence. Please take this opportunity to come together across our differences in this small step to prevent future tragedies.

Take action now. Come together to stop gun violence.

The State Of The Union: A Christian Response To President Obama

A White House official said tonight that just because an issue didn't get mentioned in the State of the Union Address doesn't mean the president doesn't care about it.  The National Council of Churches, representing over 45 million U.S. Christians, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism - along with other people of faith - asked that the president use tonight's address to re-affirm his campaign commitment to offer up plans to cut poverty in half by 50% over ten years.  That didn't happen.  Does this mean poverty isn't on the president's agenda?  Of course not.   

I'm disappointed that President Obama didn't lift up the needs of the nearly 47 million Americans living in poverty but know that action speaks louder than words and that the president's Recovery Act and the Affordable Health Care Act have kept millions from falling into poverty during the Great Recession and helped tens of millions more from falling deeper into poverty.  No one should doubt the president's sincerity on this important moral issue.

At the same time, the president needs to take a more public role in addressing the issue of poverty.  "We can't allow this kind of suffering and hopelessness to exist in our country. We can't afford to lose a generation of tomorrow's doctors and scientists and teachers to poverty. We can make excuses for it or we can fight about it or we can ignore poverty altogether, but as long as it's here it will always be a betrayal of the ideals we hold as Americans. It's not who we are," said candidate Barack Obama in 2007.  He was right then and we need his voice now more than ever. 

Church leaders wrote to the president earlier this month that: "There is no greater concern among the churches of Christ than for those in this nation who live in poverty. This could hardly be otherwise because Jesus himself lived among the poor: loving them, eating and drinking with them, healing them, and speaking words of justice and assurance that God's own love for the poor is unsurpassed." 

And so, people of faith regardless of party should support the president's economic policies - particularly around education, innovation and health care- because these goals all advance the fight against poverty.  Tonight the president also said, unfortunately, that his budget will include "cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs."  We'll have to fight those cuts because they will hurt the most vulnerable, which would violate the president's stated goal tonight of making sure the budget was not balanced "on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens."  As the Half In Ten Campaign notes, some members of Congress have proposed even deeper cuts in anti-poverty efforts.  That cannot be allowed and we must use our voices and our pulpits to demand a better America for every child.

We must also work with the president to end the unneeded tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans.  These tax cuts add to the deficit and create added pressure to cut important domestic programs.  In short, we're giving away money to the richest of the rich and taking it away from those Jesus called the "least of these."   

Why is it important to set a goal in this area?  If President Kennedy had said that "one day America should go to the moon" it never would have happened.  Today, we need President Obama to give hope to the tens millions of Americans who through no fault of their own have fallen into poverty during the worst economic period since the Great Depression by offering a road map with a time table to cut poverty dramatically.  No one should live a third world life in a first world nation. 

There were other issues that the president addressed in which America's faith community can find common cause. 

We should congratulate the president and bi-partisan leaders  in the U.S. Senate for finally passing the New Start Treaty which, as the president noted tonight, means that "far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists." 

And faith leaders that disagree on important issue like abortion - Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, members of the United Church of Christ and other mainline churches - all support the president's call for immigration reform. 

Certainly, we've witnessed a growing consensus between Roman Catholics, mainline Christians, and evangelicals (along with other people of faith) over the need to protect our environment.  Supporting the president's goals for cleaner energy will make sense to most people of faith. 

As for the issue of poverty, I've already reached out to the White House and asked that the president find a venue of some importance to more fully articulate his vision for a better America where poverty declines instead of grows.  As the leaders of the National Council of Churches told the president recently, "this is a very ambitious goal and there are far too many politicians in this nation who might not take the risk or pursuing it without the strong advocacy of the President. But as you renew this commitment, be assured that we stand with you and that you have the support and prayers of all 37 member communions of the National Council of Churches."  As the president has already demonstrated through the Recovery Act and the Affordable Care Act, he cares about those living in poverty.  We know that.  But to reduce poverty we need more.  We need the president's leadership and passionate voice fighting for an America where equality means that no one goes hungry or lives in homelessness.  Only then can we truly say that state of our Union is strong.          

Conservatives are forever complaining about the "judicial activism" of democratic appointees.  Today will see U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speak before the Tea Party Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives.  His colleague Justice Samuel Alito spoke at a fundraising dinner recently for The American Spectator, an ultra conservative political magazine that regularly questions the Christian faith of President Obama (not to mention his policies).  Justice Clarence Thomas also makes political appearances (and his wife is a leader in the Tea Party movement).  The legacy of the Reagan and Bush 1 and Bush 2 presidencies are that our courts are stacked with right-wing political activists who clearly put partisan political interests before the law (see Bush v Gore).  Visit People for the America Way to keep up-to-date about the real judicial activism underway in our courts.  

Update:  Common Cause has issued the following statement on Justice Scalia's plans to address the Tea Party Caucus:

Common Cause today criticized Justice Antonin Scalia’s decision to address a closed-door session of the House Tea Party caucus as political activity that undermines public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The American people expect impartial justice from the Supreme Court,” said Bob Edgar, President and CEO of Common Cause, a non-partisan watchdog group. “The last thing we need in these divisive times is Supreme Court justices appearing to be allied with a political faction.”

“Justice Scalia’s acceptance of Rep. Bachmann’s invitation shows poor judgment and could lay the ground for his recusal in future cases, such as court challenges to President Obama’s health care reform law,” Edgar said.

The Judicial Code of Conduct bars federal judges from engaging in political activity, including “mak[ing] speeches for a political organization” or attend[ing]…a dinner or other event sponsored by a political organization.” See Canon 5, Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges.

The code applies to all federal judges, but is not binding on the nine Supreme Court justices, Edgar noted. Nonetheless, federal law on disqualification of judges is binding; it requires that “[a]ny justice…of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned..” 28 U.S.C. § 455. 

“It’s clear that Congress intended Supreme Court justices to live by the same ethics rules as every other federal judge,” said Arn Pearson, an attorney and Vice President of Programs for Common Cause. “An appearance of bias is just as damaging to the nation at the Supreme Court level – perhaps even more so -- as it is at the trial level.”

The federal disqualification law was enacted in 1974 after a series of judicial scandals, most notably a controversy over Justice Abe Fortas’s role as a confidant and advisor to President Johnson, whose orders and legislation he would have to review. 

“It’s time to upgrade the law to include the Judicial Conference’s rules on political activity by judges,” Pearson said. Those rules were adopted after the law’s initial passage in 1974.

“Common Cause is calling for immediate legislation to ensure that the Code of Conduct’s ban on political activity applies to the high court,” Edgar said. “Unfortunately, some justices seem to think they are above the ethics rules. We shouldn’t have two standards for what is okay and what isn’t for federal judges. I think our court of last resort is getting way too politicized.”

Last week, Common Cause asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether Justices Thomas and Scalia should have recused themselves from the Citizens United case, which ended a longstanding ban on corporate spending to influence elections, because of potential conflicts of interest. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., the group cited the justices’ appearances at secretive retreats sponsored by Koch Industries, a firm that stood to benefit from the Citizens United decision, as well as Virginia Thomas’s financial interest in the outcome given her role as CEO of Liberty Central, a 501(c)(4) group that used corporate money to target members of Congress in the 2010 elections.

Common Cause also asked the U.S. Judicial Conference to look into Justice Thomas’s failure to disclose his wife’s income at the Heritage Foundation and Liberty Central over a seven-year period, as required by the Ethics in Government Act. The Judicial Conference is required refer willful violations of the Act to the Attorney General.

“It’s high time we restored the appearance of fairness and balance to the high court,” Edgar said.

These are serious issues.  The actions by several members of the Supreme Court clearly undermine the work of the court and politicize judicial proceedings in a manner that threatens democratic governance. 

The new television series Portlandia airs tonight aired Friday night (the name is taken from a famous sculpture that sits atop the Portland Building). This new production with veterans of Saturday Night Live pokes fun at the City of Roses and Portlanders in a fairly respectful way. "Keep Portland Weird" is a favorite bumper sticker in this town and Portlandia shows us in all our organic obsessed, coffee addicted, politically correct weirdness. The series premiere has been available to preview on Hulu this week. It reminded me a lot of SNL. Some of the sketches were too long and the funny ran dry before the next commercial break. But there were some good Portland-like moments to chuckle at. It is hard to imagine the series lasting, however. Then again, the show airs on a cable network I've never heard of so maybe they'll have the space and time to let the show grow.  NPR has a nice review today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Full story.

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

President Obama, as The New York Times reports, marked the anniversary of Roe vs Wade today:

President Obama reaffirmed his support for abortion rights on Saturday, the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade that established a woman’s right to an abortion.

“I am committed to protecting this constitutional right,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “I also remain committed to policies, initiatives, and programs that help prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption.”

Mr. Obama, the father of two young daughters, called on Americans to “recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms, and the same opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”

Mr. Obama said the 1973 Supreme Court ruling “affirms a fundamental principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.”

Anti-choice forces are confident that they are winning a battle to restrict reproductive choices available to women, including abortion, and they have reason for their confidence.  The 2010 elections brought numerous victories for those who believe government should make reproductive choices for women and anti-choice organizations are gloating.

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice also offered a statement noting the anniversary of this historic Supreme Court decision:

Washington, DC - On the 38th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, women’s access to abortion services faces an unprecedented barrier. While the nation moves forward to expand health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, women’s reproductive health care is being bargained away by federal and state legislators working in tandem with Religious Right organizations. Their target is the removal of abortion coverage from the insurance exchanges - the insurance marketplaces being formed by individual states. With more than 80 percent of insurers now covering abortion, the potential loss of coverage in the exchanges will affectmillions of women in both public and private insurance plans.

Coverage for abortion was a bargaining chip in congressional negotiations over the health care bill. In an unconscionable deal, extremists demanded that coverage for abortion - a key part of women's lifetime reproductive health services - be restricted before voting to pass the bill. Singling out abortion – and treating it differently from all other health services – was a shameful political calculation that we must work to correct at the state level. Already, five states have passed legislation banning insurance companies from covering abortion services in the exchanges, and legislation is being introduced in other states daily.

RCRC today launched an interfaith social justice campaign - Insure Women, Ensure our Future – for full coverage of abortion services in the insurance exchanges. We act as people of faith whose strong family values are rooted in our diverse traditions and who believe that women’s lives are sacred, as are all lives, and must be protected. Guided by compassion and our commitment to a more just world, we hold that women deserve safe medical care throughout their lives, including abortion services if and when necessary, both for their own health and for the well-being of their families.

We appeal to state insurance officials, commercial insurers, health care providers, legislators and other concerned individuals to protect access to the full range of reproductive health care – including abortion, birth control and contraception, and pre- and post-natal care. Going backward, to a time when women lacked rights and access, is not an option.

It will be important for pro-choice advocates to work harder then at almost any point since 1973 to make sure that women don't lose their right to make their own health care decisions.

Like many churches and religious groups, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has offered support for reproductive choice:

God has given us life, and life is sacred and good. God has also given us the responsibility to  make decisions which reflect a reverence for life in circumstances when conflicting realities are present. Jesus affirmed women as full partners in the faith, capable of making decisions that  affect their lives.  

There are many justice issues related to reproductive health, including access to pre- and postnatal care for all women, equal access to the full range of legal reproductive health services  including abortion, the right of women to determine when, if and how many children she should  have, access to emergency contraception and other family planning services and information, the  right not to be sterilized against one’s wishes, and the ability of women to negotiate safe sexual  practices and non-coercive sexual experiences.

The United Church of Christ has affirmed and re-affirmed since 1971 that access to safe and  legal abortion is consistent with a woman’s right to follow the dictates of her own faith and  beliefs in determining when and if she should have children, and it has supported comprehensive  sexuality education as one measure to prevent unwanted or unplanned pregnancies, and to create  healthy and responsible sexual persons and relationships.  (General Synods VIII, IX, XI, XII, XIII, XVI, XVII, and XVIII)  

A 1987 resolution adopted by the General Synod of the United Church of Christ resolved that the national setting of the UCC:

• affirms the sacredness of all life, and the need to protect and defend human life in particular;
• encourages persons facing unplanned pregnancies  to consider giving birth and parenting the child, or  releasing the child for adoption, before abortion;  
• upholds the right of men and women to have access  to adequately funded family planning services, and  to safe, legal abortions as one option among others;
• urges the United Church of Christ, at all levels, to  provide educational resources and programs to persons, especially young persons, to help reduce  the incidence of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, and to encourage responsible  approaches to sexual behavior.

We should undertake our advocacy on this issue with prayer and humility.  We should acknowledge despite our strong difference of opinion on this issue that for many of our opponents they act not out of malice but with genuine concern.  Some anti-choice opponents may not act out of good faith and may continue to hurl hate and venom at those who are pro-choice but we should ignore such rhetoric and focus our attention on the battle to protect the gains made by the Roe vs. Wade decision a generation ago.  When possible we should seek to find common ground with those we disagree with on this difficult issue.  As President Obama said today, we must "recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms, and the same opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.”

My blog post - President Obama Should Outline Plan to Reduce Poverty By Half - is up on The Huffington Post today. Check it out, share it on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and leave a comment. 

For a year now I've been campaigning to get President Obama to talk about poverty in his upcoming State of the Union address.  As a candidate, Barack Obama made a commitment to offer up plans to reduce poverty by 50% over ten years.  But then he inherited an economic nightmare.  Poverty rates skyrocketed along with unemployment and hunger.  

The good news is that President Obama never gave up the fight and through the Recovery Act and the Affordable Care Act (health care reform) he kept millions more from falling into even deeper poverty.  Even the tax compromise with the GOP that was reached before Christmas includes anti-poverty measures that will help lift more Americans out of poverty.  President Obama has earned his stripes as an anti-poverty advocate time and time again.

None-the-less, 43.6 million Americans lived in poverty last year.  That is morally unacceptable.  Congress - insisting on tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that in turn drive up the deficit - are calling for reductions in anti-poverty programs to pay for those tax cuts for the wealthy.  In all honesty, we can expect to see poverty grow and more people suffer in the long-term. This week the deep poverty in America drove religious leaders to write this message to President Obama:

We who lead the member communions of the National Council of Churches believe it is time for you to renew the pledge you made during the campaign to cut poverty in half in the next decade. We ask that you use the influence of your office to assure those living in poverty that this nation has not forgotten them.

Mr. President, we urge you to renew this pledge like a clarion call in the 2011 State of the Union Message.

As you have noted, this is a very ambitious goal and there are far too many politicians in this nation who might not take the risk or pursuing it without the strong advocacy of the President. But as you renew this commitment, be assured that we stand with you and that you have the support and prayers of all 37 member communions of the National Council of Churches.

The New York Times also issued a call for the president to more forcefully address the issue of poverty:

With 14.5 million people still out of work, and more than 6 million of them jobless for more than six months, reducing federal help now will almost ensure more poverty later. That would impose an even higher cost on the economy and budget because ever poorer households cannot spend and consume.

We know it goes against the prevailing rhetoric to argue that more and better government policies are still needed to repair the economy. It is also unpopular to argue that programs that have succeeded for decades in reducing poverty, like Social Security, need to be preserved even as they are retooled for the 21st century. To do otherwise is to deny the evidence.

President Obama must explain to the American people that the country needs to continue relief and recovery efforts, especially programs to create jobs. Without that, tens of millions of Americans stuck in poverty will have little hope of climbing out — and many more could join their ranks.

I'm praying this week that President Obama uses the State of the Union to re-affirm his commitment to cut poverty in half with specific proposals. In doing so he will offer hope to tens of millions of Americans who are struggling in unimaginable ways.  

I'd bet that raising the issue of poverty in America is the last thing political professionals would advise any president.  But I'm placing my hope in President Obama himself and the staff at the White House who I know from experience care deeply and passionately about this issue.  Lifting up the needs of those living in poverty, particularly children, should be an issue beyond political considerations. 

Visit the Half In Ten Campaign to learn more about the fight to reduce poverty.

Police accountability is an issue that I have a long-standing interest in.  As an advocate for those experiencing homelessness, I have had both good and bad experiences with the police and laws they are required to enforce.  Most of my interactions with police have been positive and most police chiefs - from Tom Potter to Rosie Sizer - have been people I've known and respected.  

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, however, I've witnessed the Portland Police Bureau decline in recent years.  The Bureau has become more defensive, the leadership more isolated, and the union a true obstacle to progress in a city ripped apart by a series of police shootings and scandals that, sadly, reflect on all police when we know the reality is that most officers are good and decent public servants.

My frustrations with our broken system today in Portland have only grown since I helped to preside at the memorial for James Chasse, a mentally-ill Portlander killed by the police for no reason in 2006.  

That's why I told The Portland Mercury this week that I'm happy to support a series of legislative proposals put forward by state Rep. Lew Fredrick that would bring about systemic changes in the ways Oregonians interact with police and in the process build trust and bring real accountability.

Rep. Fredrick explains his proposals this way:

I am working on four bills relating to public safety. The first calls for an immediate investigation when police officers are involved in an incident resulting in death or serious injury. These investigations would be conducted by an agency outside the jurisdiction in which the incident occurred, and would include testing for controlled substances, including steroids. The second would add the term “reasonable” to the definition of justification for use of lethal or potentially lethal force. The third supports upgrading training, particularly as it relates to encounters with people whose behavior is affected by disability.

The fourth one relates to community policing.  It is important that our public safety officers are respected, and respectful, members of our community, not seen as an outside security force that patrols our streets. This bill calls for increased scrutiny of disparities in treatment of citizens during stops and arrests based on immutable characteristics such as race and ethnicity. It also calls for tracking the amount of time an officer spends participating in the community outside of his duties in law-enforcement. Finally, in order to promote more effective recruitment and retention of minorities in public safety, the bill calls for targeted recruitment strategies. We need to make sure that any of us can feel safe, either on the streets of our cities or as a member of our police force.

These proposals put forth by Rep. Fredrick are complementary of proposals that I support that have been put forth by the Albina Ministerial Alliance, which call for:

1. A federal investigation by the Justice Department to include criminal and civil rights violations, as well as a federal audit of patterns and practices of the Portland Police Bureau.
2. Strengthening the Independent Police Review Division and the Citizen Review Committee with the goal of adding power to compel testimony.
3. A full review of the Bureau's excessive force and deadly force policies and training with diverse citizen participation for the purpose of making recommendations to change policies and training.
4. The Oregon State Legislature narrowing the language of the State statute for deadly force used by police officers.
5. Establishing a special prosecutor for police excessive force and deadly force cases. 

The debate over police accountability has turned increasing nasty in recent years.  Sadly, most of the blame for this rests squarely with the Portland Police Association, the union, which consistently puts the personal interests of officers ahead of the common good.

Like many, I've also had some concerns about new Portland Chief Mike Reese.  Despite those concerns, I'm hopeful that he'll be a successful police chief who can help us overcome the problems we face today in Portland.  That's why I wrote Chief Reese in early January and asked if we could meet sometime in the near future for coffee to talk about how some of these issues can be resolved.  I'll continue, of course, to press for the same goals as my colleagues in the Albina Ministerial Alliance.  I hope Chief Reese will accept my invitation as I want him to succeed in his work.

In the meantime, I hope that the bills introduced by Rep. Fredrick are heard, debated, and eventually adopted as law in Oregon.       

The GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted today to repeal the historic health care reforms passed by the last Congress and signed into law by President Obama.  The repeal has no chance in the U.S Senate and even if it did President Obama has said he would veto the bill.

This was just a day about politics as usual in Congress but it also tells us something about the values of those now leading the House.  As my friend U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer noted today, repeal would mean:

• Children with pre-existing conditions will again be denied coverage and families will again have devastating annual and lifetime caps;
• Middle class Americans will lose the tax breaks that help millions of families and small businesses pay for coverage.
• Seniors will see their prescription drug costs rise again when the donut hole is reinstated.
• The federal deficit will increase by $230 billion over the next ten years and by more than $1.2 trillion in the following decade
• And the Republican proposal would simply give everyone under 55 a voucher and involve them in a serious experiment in personal sacrifice by arbitrarily cutting the value of care without any regard to quality or cost increases

Thankfully, the Senate and the White House are there as a firewall to stop ideas like this from advancing.  Leaders from America's faith community - like the National Council of Churches - fought hard for passage of healthcare reform and spoke out strongly against the repeal vote held today.  

The story today about a Philadelphia doctor charged with killing a woman patient and several babies isn't about abortion and health care choices (though abortion opponents will try and turn it into that).  No, it is about a sick monster of a man who, if found guilty of these crimes, should face the harshest penalties.  

How could a physician with "46 malpractice suits" against him (including one in the death of another woman) and who wasn't even board certified ("He does not know how to do an abortion," Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore said) get away with practicing all these years without red flags going off all over the place?

Update:  Planned Parenthood has talked with local media about this profoundly upsetting story:

Dayle Steinberg, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, said her organization was very “dismayed” by the news. Planned Parenthood has an abortion clinic in West Chester as well as health centers in Coatesville and New Garden Township.

“Planned Parenthood condemns the alleged action of Dr. Gosnell and condemns the actions of any physician or health care provider that chooses to not obey the laws or puts any patient in danger through reckless actions,” Steinberg said...

Steinberg said new regulations would not stop those who want to break the laws. She added that current regulations keep the price of abortion high for those agencies that perform legal abortions. She said that can lead some women to seek out people like Gosnell, who may be performing illegal abortions that are less expensive.  

The Washington Post notes that making money, not providing decent health care, was what motivated this doctor and his wife:

Prosecutors said (Dr. Kermit) Gosnell made millions of dollars over three decades performing thousands of dangerous abortions, many of them illegal late-term procedures. His clinic had no trained nurses or medical staff other than Gosnell, a family physician not certified in obstetrics or gynecology, prosecutors said...

Gosnell didn't advertise, but word got around. Women came from across the city, state and region for illegal late-term abortions, authorities said. They paid $325 for first-trimester abortions and $1,600 to $3,000 for abortions up to 30 weeks. The clinic took in $10,000 to $15,000 a day, authorities said.

"People knew near and far that if you needed a late-term abortion you could go see Dr. Gosnell," Williams said.

White women from the suburbs were ushered into a separate, slightly cleaner area because Gosnell believed they were more likely to file complaints, Williams said.

Few if any of the sedated patients knew their babies had been delivered alive and then killed, prosecutors said. Many were first-time mothers who were told they were 24 weeks pregnant, even if they were much further along, authorities said.

These were truly evil acts.

It is vital that we protect the rights of women so that they can seek quality medical care without regard for income so that no one is forced to deal with frauds like Gosnell.  Unfortunately, Congress wants to make it even more difficult for women to have access to quality care.  That's the wrong direction to go.

You can make a difference by signing the petition put forward by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice that reads:

As a person of faith and conscience who cares deeply about the health and well-being of all persons, I believe that women should have access to safe medical care throughout their lives, including abortion services if and when necessary. Including coverage for abortion services in the upcoming state insurance exchanges is important to make sure that all women can get the safe, legal medical care they may need.
  
Eighty percent of health plans nationwide cover abortion services. That coverage should not be denied in the insurance exchanges because some people oppose it. Taking away insurance coverage does not reduce the need for abortion. It only makes it harder for women to access the medical care they need.

I stand with the millions of pro-choice people who support insurance coverage of comprehensive reproductive health care for all women. By insuring women’s full health care, we will be helping to ensure a brighter future for our families and communities.

Click here to add your name.  Let's protect women from people like Gosnell.

As President Obama welcomed Chinese President Hu to the White House the U.S. president brought up the always touchy subject of human rights:

The United States welcomes China’s rise as a strong, prosperous and successful member of the community of nations.  Indeed, China’s success has brought with it economic benefits for our people as well as yours, and our cooperation on a range of issues has helped advance stability in the Asia Pacific and in the world. 
 
We also know this:  History shows that societies are more harmonious, nations are more successful, and the world is more just, when the rights and responsibilities of all nations and all people are upheld, including the universal rights of every human being.

Some are saying that in raising the issue of human rights with China the U.S. risks an important relationship.

But morality demands that human rights be at the center of any political or economic engagement strategy with China.  As Human Rights Watch notes:

(Washington, DC) - The Chinese government has failed to deliver on commitments in its first-ever National Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010) to protect key civil and political rights over the past two years, Human Rights Watch said today.

The 67-page report, "Promises Unfulfilled: An Assessment of China's National Human Rights Action Plan," details how despite the Chinese government's progress in protection of some economic and social rights, it has undermined many of the key goals of the National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) by tightening restrictions on rights of expression, association, and assembly over the past two years. The report highlights how that rollback of key civil and political rights enabled rather than reduced a host of human rights abuses specifically addressed in the NHRAP. 

"If this plan had been vigorously pursued - and had not been accompanied by a slew of government-tolerated abuses - it could have marked a real change in the Chinese government's human rights performance," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "But the government's failure to implement the Action Plan makes clear it is more of a public relations exercise than a meaningful tool for protecting and promoting human rights for the people of China."

We have a clear obligation to make human rights a center piece of our foreign policy.  Unfortunately, both Republican and Democratic administrations (including this one) have often put economic interests ahead of human rights.

President Obama should be applauded for his comments today.  

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

We narrowly escaped a terrible terrorist attack in the Pacific Northwest on the MLK hoilday.  NPR reports:

Federal agents are investigating race as a possible motive behind an abandoned backpack containing a functional bomb after it was left along the downtown route of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Spokane, Wash.

Investigators would not disclose what kind of explosive it was, except to say that it was "potentially deadly," and could have caused "multiple casualties," had the device detonated.

While the FBI hasn't providing direct evidence that the explosive device was connected to the MLK Day march, an agency spokesman said the backpack's proximity to the route was "not coincidental."

"The confluence of the holiday, the march and the device is inescapable, but we are not at the point where we can draw any particular motive," said Frank Harrill, special agent in charge of the Spokane FBI office.

The suspicious backpack was spotted by three city employees at an intersection in downtown Spokane about an hour before the parade was to start Monday, Harrill said. They saw wires and immediately alerted law enforcement, who disabled it without incident, he said.

The discovery before the parade for the slain civil rights leader raised the possibility of a racial motive in a region that has been home to the white supremacist Aryan Nations.

Unfortunately, racism has been the fuel for a lot of hateful political rhetoric in the last couple of years.  No where has that been more true than in the Tea Party movement.  A political atmosphere currently exists in our nation where those less stable and most angry could be incited to do violence.  This is where it becomes very important for all Americans - regardless of politics - to seek common ground and to tone down hateful rhetoric.

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

Press Statement from the National Council of Churches

New York, January 17, 2011 -- Heads of National Council of Churches member communions and NCC staff leaders used the Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday weekend to urge President Obama to use his January 25 State of the Union message to reassert his dramatic campaign pledge to "cut poverty in half" in the next ten years.

In an open letter to Mr. Obama, the NCC staff and communion leaders said, "There is no greater concern among the churches of Christ than for those in this nation who live in poverty. This could hardly be otherwise because Jesus himself lived among the poor: loving them, eating and drinking with them, healing them, and speaking words of justice and assurance that God's own love for the poor is unsurpassed."

The Rev. Michael Livingston, who directs the NCC's poverty program, said it was appropriate to send the message to the President as the nation observed Dr. King's 82nd birthday.

"Martin Luther King, Jr. was the prophet who inspired all of us to work for justice and to end poverty," Livingston said. "We know the President shares our views, and we want him to know we are behind him as he takes up this challenge."

Despite hopeful signs that the recession is abating, the letter told the President, "there are millions in our nation who live in the profoundest poverty -- persons unable to find work to sustain themselves or their families, children and elderly who go to bed hungry each night, persons who have lost homes and the comfort of safe places to lay their heads -- persons who for the most part have been hidden from the national view," the letter said.

These persons "have neither a political power block nor an influential constituency that makes it worthwhile for politicians to notice them. The only real political advocate they have, as Harry Truman said, is the President of the United States."

During the 2008 campaign, then Senator Obama said on more than one occasion that he would commit his presidency to the goal of cutting poverty in half in the next decade. "I absolutely will make that commitment," Mr. Obama said in a forum in Grantham, Pa., in April 2008.

"Understand that when I make that commitment, I do so with great humility because it is a very ambitious goal. And we're going to have to mobilize our society not just to cut poverty, but to prevent more people from slipping into poverty."

The ecumenical leaders said in their letter to the President: "We who lead the member communions of the National Council of Churches believe it is time for you to renew the pledge you made in the campaign to cut poverty in half in the next decade ... Mr. President, we urge you to renew this pledge like a clarion call in the 2011 State of the Union Message."

As the President takes this step, the letter said, "be assured that we stand with you and that you have the support and prayers of all 37 member communions of the National Council of Churches.

The full text of the letter follows:

January 17, 2011

The President
The White House
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President

     "I absolutely will make that commitment (to cut poverty in half in ten years) ...Understand that when I make that commitment, I do so with great humility because it is a very ambitious goal. And we're going to have to mobilize our society not just to cut poverty, but to prevent more people from slipping into poverty ..." (Barack Obama, Democratic Candidates Compassion Forum, Grantham, Pa., April 13, 2008).

     (Cutting poverty in half) "is a goal that I will set as president of the United States of America." (Barack Obama, speech, Grand Rapids, Mich., May 14, 2008).

All of us -- the heads of member communions of the National Council of Churches -- listened to your historic words with hope.

There is no greater concern among the churches of Christ than for those in this nation who live in poverty. This could hardly be otherwise because Jesus himself lived among the poor: loving them, eating and drinking with them, healing them, and speaking words of justice and assurance that God's own love for the poor is unsurpassed.

Mr. President, the recession that reached its nadir in 2008 continues to have a profound effect on all of us. There are millions in our nation who live in the profoundest poverty -- persons unable to find work to sustain themselves or their families, children and elderly who go to bed hungry each night, persons who have lost homes and the comfort of safe places to lay their heads -- who have for the most part been hidden from national view. They have neither a political power block nor an influential constituency that makes it worthwhile for politicians to notice them. The only real political advocate they have, as Harry Truman said, is the President of the United States.

As we see hopeful signs that the recession may be abating, we know that millions in our nation will continue to live in poverty and hopelessness unless immediate and decisive action is taken to help them.

We who lead the member communions of the National Council of Churches believe it is time for you to renew the pledge you made during the campaign to cut poverty in half in the next decade. We ask that you use the influence of your office to assure those living in poverty that this nation has not forgotten 
them.

Mr. President, we urge you to renew this pledge like a clarion call in the 2011 State of the Union Message.

As you have noted, this is a very ambitious goal and there are far too many politicians in this nation who might not take the risk or pursuing it without the strong advocacy of the President. But as you renew this commitment, be assured that we stand with you and that you have the support and prayers of all 37 member communions of the National Council of Churches.

Grace to you, and peace,

Bishop John F. White, Ecumenical Officer, African Methodist Episcopal Church

The Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches USA

Bishop Charles Leigh, Apostolic Catholic Church

H.G. Bishop Serapion, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii

The Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Mr. Stanley Noffsinger, General Secretary, Church of the Brethren

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop, the Episcopal Church

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller, President, Moravian Church (Northern Province)

The Rev. Canon Peg Chemberlin, President, National Council of Churches

The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary, National Council of Churches

The Rev. Michael Livingston, Director, Poverty Initiative, National Council of Churches

The Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (USA)

Rev. Walter L. Parrish III, General Secretary, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.

The Rev. Dr. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America

The Rev. Ken Turley, President, General Convention of the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian)

H.E. Metropolitan Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, Archdiocese of the Eastern U.S.

The Rev. Geoffrey A, Black, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ

Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, President, Council of Bishops, United Methodist Church

Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader, Ecumenical Officer for the Council of Bishops, United Methodist Church

Related Link:  Honor Dr. King With Message to President Obama About Poverty

Related Link:  Letter to President Obama regarding poverty in the United States.

1/19/2011 Updated Below With Governor Bentley's Apology

As Ben Smith (via Political Wire) notes, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley offered what I would term a bizarre and offensive statement during his inaugural address an event honoring The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

''I was elected as a Republican candidate. But once I became governor ... I became the governor of all the people. I intend to live up to that. I am color blind," Bentley said in a short speech given about an hour after he took the oath of office as governor.

Then Bentley, who for years has been a deacon at First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, gave what sounded like an altar call.

"There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit," Bentley said. ''But if you have been adopted in God's family like I have, and like you have if you're a Christian and if you're saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister."

Bentley added, ''Now I will have to say that, if we don't have the same daddy, we're not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother."

The governor would do well to immediately resign his position and become a preacher in a fundamentalist church because he essentially just told the people of his state that if you're Jewish or Muslim or atheist or anything else that doesn't fit his vision of Christianity than you aren't part of the Alabama community.  That is a dangerous message for a public official to make.  How can you live up to being governor of all the people after that statement?  Frankly, you cannot serve as the governor of just those who subscribe to your own religious views.

Update: 1/18/2001 1:40 PM:  The ADL has issued a statement:

Atlanta, GA, January 18, 2011 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today condemned remarks by Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, who told an audience in Montgomery that citizens who do not accept Jesus as their savior are "not my brothers and sisters."

"It is shocking that Governor Bentley would suggest that non-Christians are not worthy of the same love and respect he professes to have for the Christian community," said ADL Southeast Regional Director Bill Nigut. "His comments are not only offensive, but also raise serious questions as to whether non-Christians can expect to receive equal treatment during his tenure as governor..."

"Governor Bentley's remarks suggest that he is determined to use his new position to proselytize for Christian conversion," Nigut said. "If he does so, he is dancing dangerously close to a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids government from promoting the establishment of any religion."

The Interfaith Alliance has also just now issued a statement in response to the Governor's remarks:

Governor Bentley’s comments yesterday at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church raise disturbing concerns for anyone committed to protecting religious freedom and maintaining the Constitutional boundaries between religion and government in this country. The people of Alabama elected Mr. Bentley to lead the state, not to give him a platform from which to proselytize. Though Mr. Bentley promised to be ‘the governor of all the people,’ he immediately cast doubt on the sincerity of that statement by telling citizens in Alabama who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior that ‘you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister’—thus creating two classifications of residents in the state.

It is somewhat ironic that these comments were made on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Dr. King’s own church. Dr. King embraced all those who stood with him in his quest for civil rights and gave his life for the establishment of a society in which there were no classifications of citizens identifying some as more important to government leaders than others. Mr. Bentley’s comments fly in the face of the example Dr. King set for us and throw in question the new governor’s commitment to religious freedom as promised in the United States Constitution.

Mr. Bentley has a right to his beliefs, as do those who hold beliefs different from his, but he must remember his election conferred upon him the title and responsibilities of “Governor,” not “Reverend.”

1/19/2011 3:11 PM Update: Governor Bentley has rightfully apologized today for his remarks:

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley this afternoon apologized to anyone he may have offended with his inaugural day comments that non-Christians were not his brothers and sisters.

Bentley met for an hour with members of Alabama's Jewish community and afterward told reporters he meant no insult with his words.

"What I would like to do is apologize. Should anyone who heard those words and felt disenfranchised, I want to say, 'I'm sorry.' If you're not a person who can say you are sorry, you're not a very good leader," Bentley said.

The governor's statement today is very appropriate and he should be commended for recognizing his error.  He'll be judged now on whether or not he truly serves all the people of his state regardless of their religious faith.   

Action Alert from Faithful America

People of faith were instrumental in passing health care reform last year, but our struggle is far from over.

Egged on by the Tea Party, the new Congress has made taking away health care reform its #1 priority -- and we need to step up to protect it.

This Wednesday, the House will vote on a bill repealing health care reform. While this bill is not expected to survive the Senate or President Obama’s veto pen, it’s the first step in a very real campaign to take away health care reform, through funding cuts, legislation and lawsuits.

Let Congress know this is unacceptable. Sign the Petition to Protect Health Care today.

Repeal and funding cuts would take away important protections given to us by the new law, especially for young people and seniors.

Worst of all, putting insurance companies back in charge means going back to the days when insurers could arbitrarily deny coverage, hike up premiums or drop patients from their insurance plans without notice.

With all the pressing issues facing our nation, we don’t have time for our leaders to play political games that takes us backward, not forward.

Sign the Petition to Protect Health Care.

Today our nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose commitment to justice for all people was an inspiration to many of us during the long and often frustrating campaign for health care reform.

As many of us take time to honor King's memory through service, we recommit ourselves to doing all we can to create a nation that more and more resembles his dream.

Thanks for all you do,

Beth, Nick, Dan, Allison, Kristin, John and Jennifer

The Faithful America Team

Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice. 

Let us be dissatisfied until those who live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security. 

Let us be dissatisfied until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history, and every family will live in a decent, sanitary home.

- The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Where Do We Go From Here?, 1967) 

Honoring The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shouldn't be just about service projects - though service to others is an essential part of moral character.

To truly honor Dr. King we should seek to continue his ministry of justice and transformation.  

One way we can do that is to continue the struggle to end poverty.  The National Council of Churches is calling on President Obama to re-affirm his commitment to outline plans for reducing poverty by 50% over the next ten years, a  promise made during the 2008 campaign.  You can join churches in calling on our president to keep this important promise by clicking here.  There could be no greater tribute to Dr. King than continuing his last crusade - the fight against poverty.

Related Link:  Letter to President Obama regarding poverty in the United States.

Photo credit:  Life, Paul Schutzer.  Portrait of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at 'prayer pilgramage for freedom' at Lincoln Memorial, 1957.    

Has the Christian faith of Martin Luther King, Jr. been forgotten? Some on the far fringes of society argue that King wasn't a Christian because they disagree with his theology. Others claim he was an anti-American communist or, oddly enough, a conservative who is represented best today by Glenn Beck. Critics and revisionists like these can be easily dismissed. But as we celebrate another national holiday in his honor it is worth considering whether or not we have created a safe historical vision of King where his Christianity is stripped away and the radical, transformational nature of his faith forgotten.

King was a Christian, of course, ordained to preach and teach the Gospel message. A 13-year old recently expressed surprise to me when he learned that King was a minister. But why would a child today know this? Once a year King's "I Have A Dream" speech is recited or replayed but the origin of the Civil Rights Movement - born out of the Christian church - is largely forgotten in America today. It is vital that the Christian faith of King not be lost. Churches, particularly historic African-American churches and all those within the progressive Christian tradition that King came out of, need to claim King's legacy for important reasons. If forgotten, we lose the memory of one of history's best examples of Jesus' teachings put into action.

Watch how King pushes for civil rights:

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

And then how he turns his attention to issues such as war and poverty:

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

King's views on role of the church in society are best reflected in his sermon "Guidelines For A Constructive Church," in which he preached:

This morning I would like to submit to you that we who are followers of Jesus Christ, and we who must keep his church going and keep it alive, also have certain basic guidelines to follow. Somewhere behind the dim mist of eternity, God set forth his guidelines. And through his prophets, and above all through his son Jesus Christ, he said that, "There are some things that my church must do. There are some guidelines that my church must follow." And if we in the church don't want the funds of grace cut off from the divine treasury, we've got to follow the guidelines. (That’s right) The guidelines are clearly set forth for us in some words uttered by our Lord and Master as he went in the temple one day, and he went back to Isaiah and quoted from him. And he said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me (Yes, sir) to preach the gospel to the poor, (Yes, sir) he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, (Yes) to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." These are the guidelines.

You see, the church is not a social club, although some people think it is. (Make it plain) They get caught up in their exclusivism, and they feel that it’s a kind of social club with a thin veneer of religiosity, but the church is not a social club. (Make it plain) The church is not an entertainment center, although some people think it is. You can tell in many churches how they act in church, which demonstrates that they think it’s an entertainment center. The church is not an entertainment center. Monkeys are to entertain, not preachers.

But in the final analysis the church has a purpose. The church is dealing with man's ultimate concern. And therefore it has certain guidelines that it must follow.

Now I wish time permitted me to go into every aspect of this text, but I want to just mention a few. Let us first think of the fact that if the church is following its guidelines, it seeks to heal (Yes, sir) the broken-hearted. Now there is probably no human condition more tantalizing than a broken heart. You see, broken-heartedness is not a physical condition; it’s a condition of spiritual exhaustion. And who here this morning has not experienced a broken heart? I would say broken-heartedness comes basically from the trying experience of disappointment. And I don't believe there are many people here this morning under the sound of my voice who have not been disappointed about something. (Yes, That’s right)...

Secondly, when the church is true to its guidelines, it sets out to preach deliverance (Yes, sir) to them that are captive. (Yes, sir) This is the role of the church: to free people. This merely means to free those who are slaves. Now if you notice some churches, they never read this part. Some churches aren't concerned about freeing anybody. Some white churches (Make it plain) face the fact Sunday after Sunday that their members are slaves to prejudice, (Yes, sir) slaves to fear. You got a third of them, or a half of them or more, slaves to their prejudices. (Yes, sir) And the preacher does nothing to free them from their prejudice so often. (Make it plain, Yes) Then you have another group sitting up there who would really like to do something about racial injustice, but they are afraid of social, political, and economic reprisals, (Make it plain) so they end up silent. And the preacher never says anything to lift their souls and free them from that fear. (Make it plain) And so they end up captive. You know this often happens in the Negro church. (Yeah) You know, there are some Negro preachers that have never opened their mouths about the freedom movement. And not only have they not opened their mouths, they haven’t done anything about it. And every now and then you get a few members: (Make it plain) "They talk too much about civil rights in that church." (That’s right) I was talking with a preacher the other day and he said a few of his members were saying that. I said, "Don't pay any attention to them. (Make it plain) Because number one, the members didn't anoint you to preach. (Yeah) And any preacher who allows members to tell him what to preach isn't much of a preacher." (Amen)

For the guidelines made it very clear that God anointed. (Yes, sir) No member of Ebenezer Baptist Church called me to the ministry. (No, sir) You called me to Ebenezer, and you may turn me out of here, but you can’t turn me out of the ministry, because I got my guidelines and my anointment from God Almighty. And anything I want to say, I'm going to say it from this pulpit. (Make it plain) It may hurt somebody, I don’t know about that; somebody may not agree with it. (Tell them) But when God speaks, who can but prophesy? (Amen) The word of God is upon me like fire shut up in my bones, (Yes, That’s right) and when God’s word gets upon me, I've got to say it, I’ve got to tell it all over everywhere. [shouting] (Yes) And God has called me (Yes) to deliver those that are in captivity. (Yes, sir)

Some people are suffering. (Make it plain) Some people are hungry this morning. (Yes) [clap] Some people are still living with segregation and discrimination this morning. (Yes, sir) I'm going to preach about it. (Preach it; I’m with you) I’m going to fight for them. I’ll die for them if necessary, because I got my guidelines clear. (Yes) And the God that I serve and the God that called me to preach (Yes; Amen) told me that every now and then I'll have to go to jail for them. (Make it plain) Every now and then I’ll have to agonize and suffer for the freedom of his children. (Yes) I even may have to die for it. But if that’s necessary, I'd rather follow the guidelines of God (Yes) than to follow the guidelines of men. (Yes) The church is called to set free (Yes) those that are captive, (Yes, sir) to set free those that are victims of the slavery of segregation and discrimination, those who are caught up in the slavery of fear and prejudice. (Make it plain)

And then the church, if it is true to its guidelines, must preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Yes, sir, Make it plain) You know the acceptable year of the Lord is the year that is acceptable to God because it fulfills the demands of his kingdom. Some people reading this passage feel that it’s talking about some period beyond history, (Make it plain) but I say to you this morning that the acceptable year of the Lord can be this year. (Yes) And the church is called to preach it.

You see, Dr. King was more than just a civil rights leader.  That would by itself be a honorable legacy.  But he was a Christian minister, a prophet even, who challenged the church to build up the Kingdom of God.  That's radical.  That's transformational.  And for those of power and privilege it was terrifying because in the Kingdom the last come first.  The Holy Spirit worked through King to break-up the evil of white supremacy and to lift up the needs of those oppressed by economic systems that failed to address the condition of poverty.  The task of the church, in this day, is to continue that ministry in new ways and to continue - as Jesus did himself - to confront oppression wherever we find it...to set the captives free.  

Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) has been my temporary home over the past week.  I returned to Portland last night after taking a weeklong intensive on Just Peacemaking and Human Security.  The course - taught by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite and Sharon Welch - sought to look at ways the church universal could help in the work of peacemaking in a world torn apart by war.  Special attention was spent exploring the differences between "just war" and "just peace" theories and the responsibilities placed on the international community to stop genocide and protect human rights.  In the weeks ahead, I'll write more on these topics. 

An excellent primer to the subject is Just Peacemaking: The New Paradigm for the Ethics of Peace and War, edited by Fuller Seminary's Glen H. Stassen.  The book - written by over 20 scholars (including Dr. Thistlethwaite) - articulates 10 principles needed to help bring about sustainable peace and a reduction in conflict:

1. support nonviolent direct action;
2. take independent initiatives to reduce threat;
3. use cooperative conflict resolution;
4. acknowledge responsibility for conflict and injustice and seek repentance and forgiveness;
5. advanced democracy, human rights, and religious liberty;
6. foster just and sustainable economic development;
7. work with emerging cooperative forces in the international system;
8. strengthen the United Nations and international efforts for cooperation and human rights;
9. reduce offensive weapons and weapons trade; and
10. encourage grassroots peacemaking groups and voluntary associations.

I highly recommend the book.  

There wasn't much time for sightseeing during my stay, unfortunately.  Chicago is a wonderful city.  The seminary is located within the orbit of the University of Chicago (in the historic Hyde Park neighborhood).  I  stayed at the International House at the University of Chicago (just a mile walk to Lake Michigan) and thoroughly enjoyed a January snow storm (something we just don't get often enough in Portland). 

CTS will be leaving behind their historic building for a new home later this fall.  I'm glad I had the chance to be in their old home before they take the leap into what promises to be an exciting future for the seminary.

Below are a few pictures (which you can also view by clicking here):     

One of the victims of the Tucson shootings was arrested tonight after making verbal threats against a Tea Party member.  J. Eric Fuller has been taken to a facility for a mental health evaluation, reports The New York Times.  You can imagine the anguish this U.S. veteran feels after being shot last weekend in the back and knee.  Trauma victims often live with on-going mental health issues long after events such as the Tucson shootings.  We should keep Mr. Fuller in our prayers, as we continue to pray for reconciliation and an end to violence. 

In the meantime, it should be noted that earlier today The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon renewed his call for an end to gun violence in America:

On the eve of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches has called on individual NCC governing board members, communion heads and other representatives to let their political officials know they oppose the easy availability of fire arms.

"I strongly urge you to write your own congressional delegates and state governor, letting them know that you, too, are the NCC -- and that together we say an emphatic 'No!' to laws that allow assault weapons and handguns with oversize magazines to be readily available on our city streets," Kinnamon wrote today in a letter to NCC representatives.

Kinnamon said his message comes "in the aftermath of the tragic shooting in Tucson, an event which I am sure we have all named in our personal times of prayer."

A surge of voices from national, state and local bodies will remind political leaders of the scope of the NCC's partnerships, Kinnamon noted. "When we send letters from the NCC office to Congress and/or the Administration, they are too often dismissed as the message of a single organization instead of the collective witness of a community of communions," Kinnamon wrote.

Kinnamon noted that the NCC Governing Board adopted a resolution against gun violence last May.

"Ending Gun Violence: A Resolution and Call to Action by the National Council of Churches," calls upon the NCC's member communions to "prayerfully, financially, and otherwise support the NCC staff in coordinating ecumenical efforts for gun violence reduction, including preparing educational materials about the magnitude of gun violence, developing avenues for dialogue among gun owners and gun control advocates within our congregations, and offering a faithful witness in cooperating with inter-faith and nonreligious anti-gun advocacy organizations."

The full text of the resolution can be downloaded at  http://www.ncccusa.org/NCCpolicies/gunviolence.pdf

Kinnamon wrote: "In addition to prayer and calls for civility, I believe this is also the moment to press our long-standing concern as a community of Christian communions for laws aimed at reducing gun violence in America.  It is not exploiting (Tucson) tragedy for followers of the Prince of Peace to say, 'Enough!'  Every serious study on the subject shows that easy access to guns is a menace to our nation's public health."

Kinnamon cited a column by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times calling for regulations "to regulate guns as seriously as toys."

Visit Heading God's Call and the Brady Campaign to learn more about how your faith community can become involved in the work to end gun violence in America.

As we continue to reflect on both gun violence and the need for more civility in our political and religious lives, I want to offer again these two sermons on the topics:

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

God, Guns & American Violence: Turning Weapons Into Ploughshares

Faith In Public Life Press Release

In an open letter to Congress published today as a full-page advertisement in Roll Call newspaper, faith leaders are calling for national "soul searching" and praying for Members of Congress after Saturday's shooting spree in Arizona, which left six people dead and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords critically injured.

The open letter is signed by more than 50 prominent national religious leaders, including heads of evangelical, mainline Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim denominations, congregations, and organizations. The signers urge Members of Congress to reject vitriolic and rancorous rhetoric and consider the consequences of their words, engaging political adversaries in a spirit of shared American values of civility and cooperation.

Signatories of the letter include megachurch pastors Bishop T.D. Jakes and Rev. Joel Hunter; Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners; Nathan J. Diament, the Director of Public Policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America; and Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Rev. Peg Chemberlin, President of the National Council of Churches and Rev. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, which represents 45 million people and 100,000 congregations in the U.S., and Rev. Sam Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which serves 15 million Hispanic Christians, also signed the letter. Arizona faith leaders, including Bishop Minerva Carcaño of Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church, Rev. Jan Olav Flaaten, Executive Director of the Arizona Ecumenical Council, and Rt. Rev. Kirk S. Smith, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, also joined the letter.

The full letter with signatories is below:

Dear Members of Congress,

As Americans and members of the human family, we are grieved by the recent tragedy in Tucson, Arizona. As Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders, we pray together for all those wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as she fights for her life. Our hearts break for those lives lost and for the loved ones left behind. We also stand with you, our elected officials, as you continue to serve our nation while coping with the trauma of this senseless attack.

This tragedy has spurred a sorely needed time of soul searching and national public dialogue about violent and vitriolic political rhetoric. We strongly support this reflection, as we are deeply troubled that rancor, threats and incivility have become commonplace in our public debates.

We appreciate the sacrifices you make and risks you incur by accepting a call to public service, and we urge you to continue to serve as stewards of our democracy by engaging ideological adversaries not as enemies, but as fellow Americans.

In our communities and congregations, we pledge to foster an environment conducive to the important and difficult debates so crucial to American democracy. In our churches, mosques and synagogues, we come together not as members of a certain political ideology or party, but as children of God and citizens called to build a more perfect union. We pray that you do the same.

Naeem M. Baig
Executive Director
Islamic Circle of North America
Council for Social Justice

Dr. Carroll A. Baltimore, Sr.
President
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.

The Rev. Geoffrey Black
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

Bishop John R. Bryant
Senior Bishop
African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church

Dr. Zahid H. Bukhari
President
Islamic Circle of North America

Rev. Jennifer Butler
Executive Director
Faith in Public Life

Simone Campbell, SSS
Executive Director
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Bishop Minerva Carcaño
Desert Southwest Conference
United Methodist Church

The Rev. Canon Peg Chemberlin
President
National Council of Churches

Rev. Richard Cizik
President
New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good

Nathan J. Diament
Director of Public Policy
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

Faithful America

Rev. Jan Olav Flaaten
Executive Director
Arizona Ecumenical Council

Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson
General Secretary
Reformed Church in America

Simon Greer
President and CEO
Jewish Funds for Justice

Dr. David P. Gushee
Board Chair
New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good

Rabbi Steve Gutow
President and CEO
Jewish Council for Public Affairs

Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins
Senior Pastor
Nineteenth Street Baptist Church
Washington, DC

The Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson
President
Auburn Seminary

The Rev. Anne S. Howard
Executive Director
The Beatitudes Society

James E. Hug, SJ
President
Center of Concern

Dr. Joel C. Hunter
Senior Pastor
Northland - A Church Distributed

Bishop T. D. Jakes
The Potter's House

Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon
General Secretary
National Council of Churches

Chris Korzen
Executive Director
Catholics United

Leadership Team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Eileen Campbell, RSM
Anne Curtis, RSM
Pat McDermott, RSM
Mary Waskowiak, RSM
Linda Werthman, RSM

Rabbi John A. Linder
Temple Solel
Paradise Valley, AZ

Marie Lucey, OSF
Associate Director for Social Mission
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Rev. Steven D. Martin
Executive Director
New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good

Brian McClaren
Author/Activist

T. Michael McNulty, SJ
Justice and Peace Director
Conference of Major Superiors of Men

Rev. Peter Morales
President
Unitarian Universalist Association

Bishop Paul Morton
International Presiding Bishop
Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship

Muslim Public Affairs Council

Stanley J. Noffsinger
General Secretary
Church of the Brethren

Dr. Walter L. Parrish III
General Secretary
Progressive National Baptist Convention

Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church (USA)

Nancy Ratzan
President
National Council of Jewish Women

Rev. Meg Riley
Board Chair
Faith in Public Life

Dave Robinson
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez
President
National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

Rev. Gabriel Salguero
President
National Latino Evangelical Coalition

Rabbi David Saperstein
Director
Religious Action Center

Dr. William J. Shaw
Immediate Past President
National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.

Dr. T. DeWitt Smith, Jr.
Immediate Past President
Progressive National Baptist Convention

Rt. Rev. Kirk S. Smith
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Arizona

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed
National Director, Office for Interfaith & Community Alliances
Islamic Society of North America

Rev. Dr. Stephen J. Thurston
President
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., Intl.

Rev. Jim Wallis
President and CEO
Sojourners

Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Rev. Heyward Wiggins, III
PICO National Network
Camden Bible Tabernacle Church
Camden, NJ

Jim Winkler
General Secretary
United Methodist General Board of Church & Society



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President Obama challenged the nation tonight at a memorial for the victims of the Tucson massacre to unite with common purpose to build a better America:

If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let’s make sure it’s worthy of those we have lost. Let’s make sure it’s not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle.

The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives – to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations.

I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here – they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.

That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.

I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.

Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. “I hope you help those in need,” read one. “I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.”

If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.

May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America.

The President's words lifted up a vision for us of America as it should be. When President Obama speaks of the reconciliation needed in our nation today we hear an agenda that should be shared by all - regardless of politics. There is too much violence in society today - too much anger in our politics - but we know we are better than this. Our nation is still a great nation. We need to live that out by becoming better neighbors - by being our brothers keeper, our sisters keeper - and working with intention to build a stronger national community.

Photo Credit:  President Barack Obama hugs members of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ staff at the University of Arizona’s McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz., Jan. 12, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Sarah Palin today charged that those who say she is guilty of using rhetoric that creates an atmosphere where violence is permissible are themselves guilty of "blood libel." Elizabeth Tenety notes:

The term refers to the false claim made by Christians starting in the Middle Ages that Jews murder non-Jews and use their blood for ritual or medicinal purposes.

Palin also said today that only the Arizona shooter was responsible for the tragedy that occurred - not her, not anyone else.

But has Palin's rhetoric helped fuel a climate of division and violence? Many, including the Secret Service during the 2008 campaign, have said that Palin's words have had the result of inciting people to hate others - including the President - and, after all, Palin during the 2010 campaign put a "hit list" online that included U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head.

In terms of responsibility, lax gun laws certainly played a role in letting the assassin get a gun in the first place. There is plenty of responsibility to go around. We all share it in.

Palin's comments today - in which she literally declares she is being treated like a persecuted Jew (Giffords is, of course, actually Jewish) - are astounding and offer up a picture of Palin playing the victim instead of taking responsibility for her words and actions.

America needs leaders - particularly now - who take responsibility, seek common ground, and work toward reconciliation.

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In the wake of the Arizona tragedy many are asking about the role of guns in society. The Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlewaite - who I'm spending the week with at Chicago Theological Seminary - writes today in The Washington Post:

We are at a pivotal moment in American politics. If we want to continue to be able to have our government officials interact with the public in mutually informative ways, a practice critical to democracy, then we need to break up the unholy trinity of God, guns, and politics. Put away the guns and talk to each other.

Full post.

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From Richard Cohen, President of the Southern Poverty Law Center:

A year ago, we introduced a new school curriculum, Civil Discourse in the Classroom and Beyond, with this urgent call: "There is a pressing need to change the tenor of public debate from shouts and slurs to something more reasoned."

The tragedy in Tucson this weekend reminds us that it's a call that politicians and pundits would do well to heed.

We may never get a clear picture of what was going through the confused mind of the Tucson gunman. But as my colleague Mark Potok explained on NPR this morning, with all the vitriol on the airwaves, it's not surprising that someone has taken deadly aim at an elected official.

Tea Party darlings like Sharron Angle talk about using "second amendment remedies" to change the course of the country. The shameless Glenn Beck feeds the lunatic fringe with talk of the government herding Americans into FEMA concentration camps and of imminent violence from mysterious forces "from the left." Sarah Palin uses phrases like "don't retreat, reload" and shows the districts of various Democrats in Congress, including that of Tucson's Gabrielle Giffords, in the crosshairs.

The problem isn't so much a lack of politeness. We should expect sharp elbows and a healthy degree of ridicule to be thrown around by those in the political arena. The problem is the incendiary rhetoric, with its violence-laced metaphors, and the spinning of paranoid fantasies. The problem is the non-stop demonization one hears from political opportunists trolling for votes and their media allies trolling for ratings.

The sheriff in Tucson put it this way: "When you look at unbalanced people — how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain people's mouths about tearing down the government — the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous."

With six dead and 14 wounded, the sheriff would have been justified in using much stronger terms.

Politicians of both parties have condemned the attack and begun to ask themselves questions about the overheated rhetoric that may have contributed to it. Speaker Boehner has postponed the normal business of the House for the week so that he and his colleagues can reflect on what should be done.

Let us all hope that the week of reflection is more than a brief interlude in what has become a vicious political season.

Full story.

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NCC PRESS RELEASE

National Council of Churches renews its calls
for control of guns and for non-violent discourse

New York, January 10, 2010 -- Less than eight months after the National Council of Churches governing board called for action to end gun violence, a U.S. Congresswoman lay in critical condition after a 9 mm bullet passed through her brain, six people lay dead and 14 were recovering from wounds.

But the January 9 attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and innocent bystanders in Tucson was only the most visible eruption of gun violence in the new year, said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC general secretary.

"Death and suffering from guns -- legally and illegally attained -- is virtually a daily occurrence in the cities and villages of this country," Kinnamon said. "This latest tragedy in Tucson is just the latest reason we should reexamine how guns are so easily attained
"Ending Gun Violence: A Resolution and Call to Action by the National Council of Churches," by is asking its members to add to note the number of rounds this weapon could hold. The organization has added to its Prevent Gun Violence Resolution a call for action to "decrease the firepower available to civilians by prohibiting high capacity ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds."

Kinnamon also expressed concern that the nature of political debate in the U.S. "has become increasingly vitriolic with overtones of threats of violence. It may be free speech to use of words like 'targeting' to identify candidates whose political views differ from other individuals or groups," Kinnamon said. "But in the current climate they add nothing to political discourse and can be dangerous provocations."

Reports say Rep. Giffords, a Democrat, was occasionally the recipients of threats because of her support of national healthcare legislation and was "targeted" for defeat by her opponents in the recent campaign. The motivations of her accused assailant are unknown.
unanimously by the NCC Governing Board on May 2010, calls upon local, state and federal officials "to enact reforms that limit access to assault weapons and handguns, including the so-called federal 'gun show loophole,' which allows for the purchase of firearms from private sellers without submitting to a background check, or providing documentation of the purchase."

The resolution also calls upon the NCC's member communions to "prayerfully, financially, and otherwise support the NCC staff in coordinating ecumenical efforts for gun violence reduction, including preparing educational materials about the magnitude of gun violence, developing avenues for dialogue among gun owners and gun control advocates within our congregations, and offering a faithful witness in cooperating with inter-faith and nonreligious anti-gun advocacy organizations."

The full text of the resolution can be downloaded at http://www.ncccusa.org/NCCpolicies/gunviolence.pdf

In September 2009, alarmed by the intensity of angry and sometimes violent language coming out of public meetings on healthcare and other issues, the Governing Board called for "civility in public discourse."

"This clash of views demeans the dialogue and ultimately risks subverting the democratic process itself," the Governing Board said in the statement that passed without dissent. "Individuals cannot express their best hopes and acknowledge their deepest fears within a climate of intimidation and character assassination, and all too often this climate is the product of racism and xenophobia."

The message calls on churches, political leaders and persons of good will to reflect "on the ways we might restore dignity and civility to the national discourse."

Two prayer-hymns on gun violence by the Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, for use in worship, can be found at http://www.ncccusa.org/news/110110gillettehymnprayers.html

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA has been the leading force for shared ecumenical witness among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 37 member communions -- from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches -- include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212 (cell), [email protected]



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This morning those of us here today at Chicago Theological Seminary - at the urging of President Obama - joined people across the nation in a moment of silence for those injured in the Arizona shooting. (Photo credit: White House)

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The attack today on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords left 6 dead, including a nine year old girl, and 18 wounded.  The congresswoman, who had been reported killed by NPR and other media outlets, survived and is in ICU after being shot in the head.  U.S. District Judge John Roll is reported to be among the dead.  Both Rep. Giffords and Judge Roll have been the target of threats.

An anti-government activist is reported to have been the gunman, according to Slate.

The New York Times reports on threats to Rep. Giffords:

Last March, after the final approval of the Democrats’ health care law, which Ms. Giffords supported, the windows of her office in Tucson were broken or shot out in an act of vandalism. Similar acts were reported by other members of Congress, and several arrests were made, including that of a man who had threatened to kill Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington.

And in August 2009, when there were demonstrations against the health care measure across the nation, a protester who showed up to meet Ms. Giffords at a supermarket event similar to Saturday’s was removed by the police when the pistol he had holstered under his armpit fell and bounced on the floor.

During the fall campaign, Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, posted a controversial map on her Facebook page depicting spots where Democrats were running for re-election; those Democrats were noted by crosshairs symbols like those seen through the scope of a gun. Ms. Giffords was among those on Ms. Palin’s map.

AZCentral.com is also reporting this afternoon that Judge Roll was the target of threats:

In 2009, he faced death threats over a $32 million civil-rights suit filed against an Arizona rancher by illegal immigrants.

At the time, Roll and U.S. Marshal's officials attributed the threats to hysteria from talk radio.

He and his wife were placed under federal protection for a month, a process he described as "unnerving and invasive."

Sources told The Republic that Roll was among the six killed Saturday at Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' event in Tucson.

Judge Roll was appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1991.

In 2009, as the debate over health reform raged and town hall meetings deteriorated into near brawls, the National Council of Churches issued a statement urging civil discourse:

Individuals cannot express their best hopes and acknowledge their deepest fears within a climate of intimidation and character assassination, and all too often this climate is the product of racism and xenophobia.  Too much is at stake for the good of our society for us to continue down this dangerous path.  The essential nature of our national compact, to enfranchise the views of all, is imperiled in a hostile and suspicious environment. In this moment, then, we call the members of our churches, our political leaders, and all people of good will to somber reflection on the ways we might restore dignity and civility to our national discourse both as a matter of social ethics and to bolster the highest traditions of democratic process.

The prophet Isaiah (1:18) declares God’s message to the people to “Come let us reason together”. This injunction might serve us well in the present moment.  Reason, (yakah), in this passage does not refer to a dispassionate meeting of the minds but, rather calls for convincing, persuading and presenting a case for a point of view. Vigorous, principled debate advances our thinking and clarifies the challenges before us. Respect for neighbor strengthens the fabric of our communities.

Let us then, as a people, draw from our deepest traditions of faith and heritage to gain a renewed sense of community marked by honesty and mutual respect. Let our moments of rigorous debate be tempered with a profound sense of the dignity and worth of each person. Let us debate ideas on their merits and exercise restraint in expression of our own best conceptions. Such a disciplined dialogue holds great promise, honoring our differences and confirming our perception that we are a people joined in our mutual aspiration to live the lives for which we were created. 

Let us as member churches and brothers and sisters of other living faiths model the civility to which our sacred texts command.  Throughout its history, the conciliar ecumenical movement has provided a common venue for persons to express and debate differing viewpoints in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Let us make clear to ourselves and others those marks of civility that represent the best of our faiths and that can serve as foundational to rigorous, honest public discourse for the common good.

There is too much violence in our society today and politicians like Sarah Palin  and media figures like Glenn Beck seek with intention to fan those flames with full knowledge of what the consequences might be.  We do not know enough about the alleged gunman to say what set him off on this mass killing spree but we do know that rhetoric can provoke those who are unstable.  We need to tone down our politics, tone down our language, keep our political opponents off Palin-style "hit lists," and treat each other with respect and kindness even when we have profound disagreements over public policy or theology.  All Americans should pray today for an end to violence and for the families involved in this shooting.  

6:34 PM Update:  Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik said this evening:

“The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. And unfortunately, I think Arizona has become sort of the capital, we have beome the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry...”  “There’s reason to believe that this individual might have a mental issue, and I think that people who are unbalanced might be especially susceptible to vitriol.”

In the meantime, the sheriff's office also announced that a search for a possible second suspect was underway.   

Update: NPR is now reporting that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has died.

12:48 PM Update:  NPR now reporting Rep. Giffords' condition unclear.

1:07 PM Update:  Rep. Giffords survived shooting; out of surgery and in ICU 

Please keep the family of U.S. Rep. Giffords and the families of those others injured or killed in your prayers.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot today, according to NPR and other sources, and has been taken by life flight to a hospital in the Tuscon area.  Giffords is a supporter of President Obama's health care reform package which the new GOP majority in the House hopes to repeal.  Her office was vandalized after she voted in favor of the legislation last spring.  Several members of her staff were also injured in the attack today which occurred outside a "Meet Your Congressperson" type event at a Safeway.  Please keep Rep. Giffords and all those involved in your prayers.  No known reason for the attack has been given but the media is reporting that the gunman is in custody.

Update:  Rep. Giffords, who won re-election, was on Sarah Palin's 2010 "hit list."  The former governor wrote of Giffords and 19 others: ""We’re going to fire them and send them back to the private sector, which has been shrinking thanks to their destructive government-growing policies ... We’ll aim for these races and many others. This is just the first salvo in a fight to elect people across the nation who will bring common sense to Washington."  Palin's Facebook page included a map with with a gun crosshair over Gifford's district.      

From The Christian Century:

The United Church of Christ, with its traditionally liberal leadership, has often passed resolutions at national gatherings that seemed "ahead of their time." Such was the case when the UCC's biennial General Synod in 1993 "strongly urged" the U.S. government to end the ban against gays and lesbians in military service. But it wasn't until the U.S. Senate voted 65 to 31 last month to pass a House-approved bill and President Obama signed the repeal into law in pre-Christmas actions that UCC activists could claim vindication.

Although the 17-year-old military policy carried the label of possible anonymity—"don't ask, don't tell"—some 13,500 openly lesbian, gay and bisexual persons were discharged from the military in that period.

In a letter from Obama released December 22 at the bill's signing, the president said, "Gay and lesbian service members—brave Americans who enable our freedoms—will no longer have to hide who they are." Before the law signing, Obama encouraged once-discharged military personnel to reenlist: "We will be honored to welcome you into the ranks."

The United Church of Christ noted in its 1993 synod resolution that the Cleveland-based denomination, which has about 1.2 million members in auto nomous congregations, had pioneered the ordination of openly gay ministers decades earlier. Its General Synod of 1975 affirmed "the full participation of gays and lesbians in church and society."

Full story.

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

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This afternoon I joined a White House conference call with Stephanie Cutter and others to discuss the Affordable Care Act - the health care reform package pushed forward by President Obama and supported by the National Council of Churches and other religious leaders - that the U.S. House will consider repealing next week.  

What would happen if reform was repealed?  Cutter wrote today on the White House website:

Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, the economy has created over 1 million private sector jobs.  The unemployment rate is 9.4%, lower than it was in March 2010—9.7%. 

In the period during and right after the enactment of the law, the economy grew by 2.7%.

Consumer confidence in a range of areas have improved, including retail and food sales by 4%, and auto sales by 7% since the enactment of the law.

Slowing the growth of health care costs—as the Affordable Care Act does—will have the likely impact of creating more jobs since businesses will have to spend less on health care for their employees.  This reduction could create more than 300,000 additional jobs. 

The law widely expands coverage to Americans, thereby reducing the hidden tax of about $1,000 that families with insurance pay each year in additional premium costs to cover the uncompensated costs of the uninsured. 

The law reduces small businesses’ health care expenses by giving them $40 billion worth of tax credits,and through the creation of new, competitive state-based insurance Exchanges.  Exchanges will enable individuals and small businesses to pool together and use their market strength to buy coverage at a lower cost, the same way large employers do today, giving them the freedom to launch their own companies without worrying whether health care will be available when they need it.

The law will lower the deficit by over $100 billion this decade and by over $1 trillion in the following decade.

It is important that people write their members of Congress today in support of the Affordable Care Act.  Repeal would cause over 30 million Americans to lose their health care coverage, would increase private insurance costs, and add over $200 billion to the budget deficit, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. 

The GOP's #1 legislative goal is the repeal of President Obama's health care reform that passed during the last Congress. A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office shows such a repeal would drive up the deficit and cost over 30 million Americans their insurance:

Rescinding the federal law to overhaul the health care system, the first objective of House Republicans who ascended to power this week, would ratchet up the federal deficit by about $230 billion over the next decade and leave 32 million more Americans uninsured, according to congressional budget analysts. The rough estimate by the Congressional Budget Office also predicts that most Americans would pay more for private health insurance if the law were repealed. The 10-page forecast was delivered to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), installed a day earlier to shepherd the new GOP majority. He immediately dismissed it.

Full story.

The reforms passed by the last Congress were strongly supported by U.S. religious leaders - including the National Council of Churches. Health care reform was perhaps the most significant moral victory in American politics since the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Speaker Boehner is engaged in what George H.W. Bush once called "voodoo economics." Repealing the health care reforms championed by President Obama would further crush the economy and hurt millions of American families.

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New from The Beatitudes Society:

Prophetic Preaching Workshops

President Obama's policies kept poverty from growing in 2009, despite the rescession, according to new information released today by the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

Despite a deep recession, very high unemployment, and widespread hardship, a combination of existing safety net programs and temporary expansions in them enacted in 2009 all but prevented a rise in the poverty rate that year, according to a Center analysis of new poverty data the U.S. Census Bureau released this week that includes the effects of non-cash benefits and tax credits. This is a remarkable achievement; poverty usually burgeons in major recessions.

These findings come to light at an important time — just as Congress prepares for a major debate on the role of government in addressing economic and social problems.

The poverty protection came partly from existing programs — such as unemployment insurance, assistance programs for low-income households, and tax credits for low-income working families. But the bulk of the poverty protection came from improvements that the 2009 Recovery Act (ARRA) made in various programs. Although the Recovery Act was designed chiefly to bolster a collapsing economy, it generated the important side effect of protecting millions of families against poverty and massive income losses. Center analysis of the new Census data shows that the Recovery Act kept more than 4.5 million people out of poverty in 2009: 1.3 million people through extensions and expansions of federal unemployment benefits, 1.5 million people through improvements in the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, nearly 1 million people through the Making Work Pay tax credit, and another 700,000 people through an increase in benefit levels for the SNAP program (previously called food stamps).

The impact of these programs helps to explain why, under the “alternative” poverty measures that the Census Bureau released yesterday — which count non-cash benefits like food stamps and tax credits and which most analysts consider superior to the official poverty measure — poverty did not rise between 2008 and 2009, even as the economy fell deeper into recession, unemployment increased sharply, and many Americans lost their homes to foreclosure. The official poverty measure misses these effects because it counts only conventional cash income and does not reflect the income that non-cash benefits and tax credits provide.

Unfortunately, the new majority party in the U.S. House hopes to cut these successful programs to pay, in part, for tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest Americans.  That cannot be allowed to happen.  Nonetheless, the poverty rate is obscenely high.  43.6 million Americans lived in poverty in 2009.  Not to have that number increase is an achievement the White House can be proud of but a poverty rate that high indicates a moral crisis in America.

I still hope that President Obama will address poverty in his upcoming State of the Union Address and that he will lay out clearly for the American people a plan for reducing poverty by 50% over the next ten years.