Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Racism On Oregon Talk Radio Directed At President Obama

Oregon radio talk show host Bill Post might be loved by figures such as GOP chair Allen Alley but his program and Facebook book page crosses lines into extremist territory - including blatant racism.

Consider this picture placed on his Facebook wall, a post he has kept up since last month, which compares President Obama to a monkey.  Post's only comment on the picture that he allows on his site is that he would like to take a poll on the appropriates on the image.

Oregon is better than this and so is our nation.

I urge Mr. Post to remove this image and to apologize to President Obama and the people of Oregon for engaging in race baiting of the worst kind.

Political leaders such as Allen Alley, along with the Oregon GOP, and all those who appear on Mr. Post's program seeking support should urge Mr. Post to take these actions and promise not to appear on his program if he refuses.

Mr. Post often talks about his Christian faith.  As a minister, I believe that good people of faith can come to different conclusions on how to vote in this election.  But racism is sin.  

(Update: I'll note that in a comment left last night by Mr. Post he claims to have condemned this image.  That comment is not visible, however. I would hope that he has in some way.  What are visible, however, are other postings: One by Mr. Post defending a GOP congressional candidate who has written articles defending slavery and another by one of Mr. Post's listeners suggesting that the president eats puppies.)

31 Days Left

Are you registered to vote?

October 9– Voter Registration Deadline: PA

October 9 – Voter Registration Deadlines: CO, FL, MI, NM, OH,

October 9 – New Mexico Early Voting Beings

October 11 – Vice Presidential Debate in Danville, KY

October 12 – Voter Registration Postmark Deadline: NC

October 15 – Voter Registration Deadline: VA

October 16 – 2^nd Presidential Debate in Hempstead, NY

October 6 – Voter Registration Deadline: NV

October 17 – Voter Registration Deadline: WI

October 16 - Voter Registration Deadline: OR

October 18 – North Carolina Early Voting Begins

October 20 – Nevada Early Voting Begins

October 22 – 3^rd Presidential Debate in Boca Raton, FL

October 22 – Colorado & Wisconsin Early Voting Begins: CO, WI (WI doesn’t include Saturdays and Sundays)

October 27 – Florida Early Voting Begins

November 2 – Early Vote Deadlines: CO, OH, WI

November 2 – Absentee Voting Deadline: PA

November 3 – Absentee Voting Deadline: OH

November 3 – Early Vote Deadlines: FL, NC, NM

President Obama and Rev. Chuck Currie, July 2012

With only 31 days left before the election there is little time to register and organize. Visit http://www.barackobama.com/faith to learn more about President Obama's agenda to move America forward. And visit The Huffington Post to read about why I've offered the president my personal support. Despite inheriting a wrecked economy, President Obama has indeed moved our nation in the right direction -- by creating jobs and reforming our health care system -- in ways that advance the common good. We need Barack Obama to continue the hard work of repairing our nation.

Christian Principles in an Election Year

Are there principles that Christians can agree on when determing which candidates to vote for this fall?  The National Council of Churches put forth a set during a previous election cycle that still hold true:

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

1. War is contrary to the will of God. While the use of violent force may, at times, be a necessity of last resort, Christ pronounces his blessing on the peacemakers. We look for political leaders who will make peace with justice a top priority and who will actively seek nonviolent solutions to conflict.

2. God calls us to live in communities shaped by peace and cooperation. We reject policies that abandon large segments of our inner city and rural populations to hopelessness. We look for political leaders who will re-build our communities and bring an end to the cycles of violence and killing.

3. God created us for each other, and thus our security depends on the well-being of our global neighbors. We look for political leaders for whom a foreign policy based on cooperation and global justice is an urgent concern.

4. God calls us to be advocates for those who are most vulnerable in our society. We look for political leaders who yearn for economic justice and who will seek to reduce the growing disparity between rich and poor.

5. Each human being is created in the image of God and is of infinite worth. We look for political leaders who actively promote racial justice and equal opportunity for everyone.

6. The earth belongs to God and is intrinsically good. We look for political leaders who recognize the earth's goodness, champion environmental justice, and uphold our responsibility to be stewards of God’s creation.

7. Christians have a biblical mandate to welcome strangers. We look for political leaders who will pursue fair immigration policies and speak out against xenophobia.

8. Those who follow Christ are called to heal the sick. We look for political leaders who will support adequate, affordable and accessible health care for all.

9. Because of the transforming power of God’s grace, all humans are called to be in right relationship with each other. We look for political leaders who seek a restorative, not retributive, approach to the criminal justice system and the individuals within it.

10. Providing enriched learning environments for all of God’s children is a moral imperative. We look for political leaders who will advocate for equal educational opportunity and abundant funding for children’s services.

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

I've made clear my personal preference in some races - including the presidential contest.  In doing so, I've been clear that I believe there is no "ordained" candidate in the presidential contest or any other race and good people of faith can come to different conclusions as to how they will vote.

People of faith should reject voices like those of Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas John Paprocki - who like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson before him - has argued this year that you can only vote for one party and remain in good standing with God.  Bishop Paprocki has confused party platforms with the Gospel of Jesus.  That's bad theology and poor pastoral leadership. 

A Christian Voice for Barack Obama

Despite inheriting a wrecked economy, President Obama has indeed moved our nation in the right direction -- by creating jobs and reforming our health care system -- in ways that advance the common good. We need Barack Obama to continue the hard work of repairing our nation.

My latest op-ed on The Huffington Post.

Will You Marry Me? A Sermon on John 2:1-11, 15: 9-17 | Marriage Equality and the Bible

Read Will You Marry Me? Marriage Equality and the Bible on The Huffington Post

Summer is wedding season and while I'm not overwhelmed with wedding requests I've had a few and there is one that I'm really looking forward to in September. Weddings are, of course, special events. At their best, weddings bring not just two people together but families and even communities in a union bonded together in love. There is a simple joy in all that - even if the reality is that marriage itself is complex and sometimes difficult, just ask anyone who has been married longer than an hour. As we reflect on our reading from Scripture this morning, I want to discuss marriage a bit with you as we understand it in Christian terms, what marriage means as a legal institution, and to share with you some decisions that I have made about my role as a minister as it relates to marriage that have been helped along by my doctoral studies on this issue.

Let me begin by noting the reality that within the United States it is illegal for a minister or any other officiant to marry a gay or lesbian couple, much as it was illegal a generation ago to marry interracial couples. Oregonians voted to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman in 2004 - it is part of our state Constitution - thus banning marriage equality. This state Constitutional amendment plus the federal Defense of Marriage Act will both have to be overturned for gays and lesbians to receive true marriage equality. Federal law does not recognize gay marriages that are legal in states such as New York.

As a minister, I am asked to be an agent of the state when it comes to marriage. One way for a marriage to become legal is for an ordained minister to sign a marriage certificate. The United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church USA are the only two mainline Christian denominations to support marriage equality, and that allow their clergy to perform such ceremonies. However, my religious freedom to provide pastoral care to gay and lesbian couples is curtailed by the government which says that I cannot legally marry same-gender couples - thus denying these parishioners the same care I can provide to straight couples. It does not seem the proper function of the government to tell me as a minister whom I can and cannot provide pastoral care to. That should be a decision of the church. The United Methodist Church, of course, forbids not just gay marriages but commitment ceremonies that the General Assembly of the church has deemed incompatible with Christianity. I look forward with great anticipation to the day this deeply flawed policy of this faithful denomination is overturned.

The United Church of Christ has developed an inclusive wedding liturgy, in which we pray for couples being married that:

...we come together in the presence of God to witness the marriage of the couple, to surround them with our prayers, and to share in their joy. The scriptures teach us that the bond and covenant of marriage is a gift of God, a holy mystery in which two become one flesh, an image of the union of Christ and the church. As the couple give themselves to each other, we remember that at Cana in Galilee our Savior Jesus Christ made the wedding feast a sign of God's reign of love. (So we pray that we) enter into (the wedding) celebration confident that through the Holy Spirit, Christ is present with us... We pray that (the) couple may fulfill God's purpose for the whole of their lives.

It is this idea of covenant that is so central, so important to marriage and there is no Biblical reason the marriage covenant should not be available to gay or lesbian couples.

Last fall, as I was taking a course in Biblical theology at Chicago Theological Seminary for my doctoral degree program, I wrote a piece for The Huffington Post about Chick-fil-A and their opposition to marriage equality. I note this mostly to brag that I wrote about this issue nearly a year before most anyone else was talking about it. ☺

I said then and I'll say now that I love Chick-fil-A. Their plain old chicken sandwich and a sweet tea can send me to heaven. I've always known they were owned by a Christian family and, frankly, I like that they close on Sundays. I'm old enough to remember when more stores did (of course, that often was enforced by law) and I think a (voluntary) day off from shopping and commercialism isn't a bad thing. But I was sad to hear then that the company had donated food to an anti-gay marriage group. Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy said the contribution was made because the company believes in a "Biblical definition of marriage." Mr. Cathy has since become even more vocal in his opposition to marriage equality.

What I suggested in my piece in The Huffington Post was that Mr. Cathy ought to read Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions About Sex and Desire, a book from Boston University's Jennifer Wright Knust. This American Baptist pastor and scholar notes that: "When it comes to marriage, biblical laws are almost entirely contradictory." In short, the one "Biblical definition of marriage" that Chick-fil-A wants to promote doesn't exist.

I'm guessing Mr. Cathy never took my advice.

As I've preached, how we read the Bible matters. It is not to be taken literally. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, argued that Christian faith required one to bring Scripture, reason, experience and tradition to the table when trying to discern the will of God. Chick-fil-A is offering fast-food theology to a world that needs more than a bumper sticker understanding of the divine.

In a post for The Washington Post's "On Faith" blog, Knust wrote:

If we do take the time to read the Bible, we are likely to discover that the biblical writers do not agree with us, whatever version of sexual morality we are seeking to promote. Written more than 2,000 years ago at a significant historical and cultural distance, the Bible gathers together a diverse collection of ancient books, edited over time, not a coherent, divinely inspired set of instructions that can easily be applied. Tracing even a few, limited topics from one biblical book to another can make the point: If one book forbids marriage between foreigners and Israelites, the next depicts such marriages as a source of blessing, not only to Israel but to all of humankind. If one insists that women are saved by childbearing, the next recommends that women avoid childbearing altogether in order to devote themselves more fully to God. If one suggests that sex with a relative, the wife of another man, or with a male lover will certainly lead to the nation's downfall, the next depicts heroic kings engaging in precisely these forms of sex. And these are just a few examples.

Knust offers the same argument in her book. Knust writes: "The Bible is complicated enough, ancient enough, and flexible enough to support an almost endless set of interpretive agendas."

That may be true, in part. Taken as a whole, the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament offer (for me) a vision of covenant. My sense is that covenant includes within our relationships between one another and with God that we should - in Paul's words - be subject to one another out of love. That doesn't mean we have an anything goes faith without rules or boundaries. In fact, the opposite is true. You cannot, for example, abandon your family and remain in covenant with God or your relatives. Justice and compassion are central to Christianity. Yet, not all teachings from scripture should be practiced today (if they were, we'd still own slaves, as sanctioned in some parts of the Bible).

We must use an interpretative process to discern God's will for us - and do not think for a moment this isn't just what the different authors of the Bible did during the many centuries it was transformed from oral tradition to the written word. Using Wesley's criteria for discernment, it is important that we open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit - God's own breathe - to help guide us and for us to undertake this enterprise with humility.

A generation ago, as I have mentioned, interracial marriage was outlawed. This was justified by the use of Scripture. Genesis 28:1 reads: "Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, 'You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women." In the past, this piece of Scripture was interpreted by some Christians to mean that Hebrews and Canaanites were of different races and therefore no races should inter-marry.

We may think this silly today but when Barack Obama was born his father - a black man - and his mother - a white woman - were barred from being legally married in many states and the justification was often Biblical. We have discerned over time, led by the power of the Holy Spirit, to understand not only our own error in interpretation but also the reality that some of what is written in Scripture has no moral authority over us today. Or should I quote from 1 Tim 2:11-12? "Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent."

You see, I'm willing to make the faith claim right here and now that God has no problems with interracial marriages, wants women to speak boldly with the voice of Sophia (the embodiment of God's wisdom), and that those who use Scripture to justify discrimination against gays and lesbians are making the same mistake in interpretation that we have made as a people over and over again.

So will I marry gay and lesbian couples?

Right now I'm a United Church of Christ minister serving two Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church. The United Church of Christ affirms marriage equality. The United Methodist Church says homosexuality is incompatible with Christianity. And both Sunnyside Church and University Park Church have pledged to welcome all, and are faithfully engaging the larger United Methodist Church to change the rules and truly become a church with open hearts and open doors and open minds.

So yes, I will marry any gay and lesbian couple that I believe is ready to make that commitment, using the same criteria to make that call that I would for any heterosexual couple. To respect the rules of the United Methodist Church, I will conduct those services at Ainsworth United Church of Christ, my home congregation.

Is there a risk is making this announcement?

I remember the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. who told his church:

No member of Ebenezer Baptist Church called me to the ministry. 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. It may hurt somebody, I don't know about that; somebody may not agree with it. But when God speaks, who can but prophesy? The word of God is upon me like fire shut up in my bones, and when God's word gets upon me, I've got to say it, I've got to tell it all over everywhere. And God has called me to deliver those that are in captivity.

So if you're gay or you're lesbian or bi-sexual or transgendered or questioning, I want to make it clear today: I am your pastor too. I am your pastor if you're straight, if you're a Democrat or a Republican, if you're black, white, Latino. And no rulebook or law will prevent me from providing you with the pastoral care I am called to provide.

What I will no longer do after September is sign wedding licenses. Until the day comes when marriage equality is the law of the land I will no longer act as an agent of the state in an institution that is discriminatory. In this, I join a small but growing number of clergy. I will offer you the religious rites of the church but will invite you to have your marriage license signed by a judge or other official of the state.

When the General Synod of the United Church of Christ endorsed marriage equality in 2005, they noted:

The message of the Gospel is the lens through which the whole of scripture is to be interpreted. Love and compassion, justice and peace are at the very core of the life and ministry of Jesus. It is a message that always bends toward inclusion. The biblical story recounts the ways in which inclusion and welcome to God's community is ever expanding - from the story of Abraham and Sarah, to the inclusive ministry of Jesus, to the baptism of Cornelius, to the missionary journeys of Paul throughout the Greco- Roman world. The liberating work of the Spirit as witnessed in the activities of Jesus' ministry has been to address the situations and structures of exclusion, injustice and oppression that diminish God's people and keep them from realizing the full gift of human personhood in the context of human communion.

I find truth in this statement and have love for the United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ and the church universal - not as institutions, but as part of the body of Christ. We are all one in Christ. It is in that spirit of love, that I come forth today to share with you God's call to us to love all people in ways that honor and continue the ministry of Jesus. It is a ministry, as we heard this morning in our text from John, that is joyful and where the Disciples - and by extension us - are commanded once again simply to love as Jesus has loved us - without condition or judgment, and centered on God's desire for us to be free from oppression or captivity, in covenant with one another and with God. Amen.

Will You Marry Me? A Sermon on John 2:1-11, 15:9-17 | Marriage Equality and the Bible from The Rev. Chuck Currie on Vimeo.

Romney Using Faith As Tool To Divide Americans

Mitt Romney's new false ad claiming that President Obama is waging a "war on religion" can only be called sad and pathetic.  President Obama is himself a faithful Christian who has worked across religious lines to promote the common good of our nation.  His health care reform plan has been supported by the National Council of Churches and many religious groups.  Governor Romney - who was pro-choice and pro-birth control until he decided to run for president - should be ashamed of the gutter politics his campaign is playing.  He is using religious faith as a tool to divide Americans.  Someone hoping to be president should have better judgement and ethics.

Christians Must Counter Sikh Temple Shootings With Call For End To Gun Violence

 

Members of Sunnyside Church and University Park Church pray for the victims of the Sikh Temple shooting.

 As the people of Sunnyside Church and University Park Church gathered for a joint BBQ and celebration of our shared ministries together we learned of the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin.  We offered prayers for those killed and wounded.  This terrible event reminds us once again that Christians are called to preach a message of love and compassion to a world torn apart by too much violence.  Further, it reinforces to need for Christian communities to develop interfaith partnerships and friendships to promote understanding.  We are also reminded, without question, that one of the responsibilities of the church universal is to work toward an end of gun violence.  No one in a house of worship should be cut down by bullets fired in hate.  As we know now, the suspect was a white supremacist.  Were his actions motivated by those who preach intolerance towards minority religions?  It would not come as a surprise as too many politicians and religious leaders have used faith in recent years as a tool to divide Americans.  Our faith should never be so misused and it is certainly the responsibility of Christians across this great nation not only to condemn this act of hate but to work toward reconciliation.  This terrible event, just like the mass shooting in Colorado two weeks ago, never should have happened.  It is time for all people of faith to join together in opposition to the gun lobby and others who support the legality of weapons of mass killing in our neighborhoods and streets.  Enough is enough. Click here to tell President Obama, Governor Romney and Congress that we are better than this.

What I Told President Obama Today

It was an honor to today spend just a few moments with President Barack Obama before he spoke at an event here in Portland, Ore.  Like many people of faith, I have strong personal support for the president.  There are always issues where you disagree with politicians - some of them very important issues - but the core values and ideals lived out by Barack Obama are values that I share.  The president often says, quoting from Scripture, that we are our brother's keeper, our sister's keeper.  It is that belief that has lead this president to fight for health care reform and an economy that works for everyone - not just the wealthy.  Today I told the president that I pray for him and his family - and I do, along with all those who serve in public life - because we need people of moral character in this nation today as much as ever.  

Disclaimer: As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I trust deeply in the Constitutional principle of separation of church and state and my endorsement is therefore a personal one and does not reflect on my denomination. But as a citizen I believe that all Americans must engage in the political process as individuals for democracy to thrive. So I choose to participate in the political process as an individual when appropriate.

On The Washington Post Website

Click here.

Moral Values And The 2012 Election

Read my latest op-ed in The Huffington Post:

Moral Values And The 2012 Elections

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

People Of Faith Will Rejoice Over #SCOTUS Ruling Upholding Health Care Reform

Many people of faith supported President Obama's health care reform plan and today rejoice in the Supreme Court ruling that largely upholds the Affordable Care Act.  30 million Americans will receive coverage under the president's plan.  Millions already have.  All this moves us closer to the Beloved Community.  President Obama and those leaders in Congress who voted for reform are to be applauded for their commitment to fixing a broken system that has long created a moral crisis in our nation.  The Supreme Court has surprised many with their ruling and they too must be applauded for a wise decision.  There is more to do, of course, to fix the health care system.  But President Obama has moved us further down the path toward universal health care than any other president since Teddy Roosevelt first made the effort.  This has long been a goal of the National Council of Churches and many Christian denominations, along with other interfaith leaders.  Today is a good day for our nation.   

Related: Faith Leaders Celebrate Supreme Court Ruling on Affordable Care Act: “God is smiling down on today’s decision”

Related: Reason rules for Court, but Christians need to continue to advocate for the poorest

Health Care vs. Bullets

GOP leaders in Congress - hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down Obamacare - are looking to reroute funding for health care to military budgets.  It's a move people of faith must resist.  Politico reports:

If the Supreme Court strikes down the health care reform law, that loss for President Barack Obama could be a win for the Pentagon.

That's because Congress could find itself flush, thanks to billions of dollars that were allocated to fund "Obamacare" that won't be spent if parts of the law are knocked down. And that money would be freed up just as a battle over automatic cuts to the Defense Department budget heats up on the Hill.

He explained that the process wouldn't be hard: Any House committee, likely the armed services or Defense appropriations panels, could send a recommendation to the House Budget Committee for consideration. The deal could move through a reconciliation bill, which is a common tactic to move business along in Congress.

Members of those committees said it's an option they'd consider.

"If the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare, I would certainly support using the savings to replace the cuts contained in the FY 2013 Obama budget. I believe that most GOP Defense appropriators and House Armed Services Committee members would feel the same way," said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla), who sits on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

For Christians, the responsibility on how to respond is clear.  We need to continue to work towards a health care system that covers every American.  It is our moral obligation.  Robbing people of their health care to expand military budgets is contrary to the values of our faith.

Christians Praise President Obama On Immigration

Christians across the United States have been quick to praise President Obama for his decision not to deport certain young immigrants who came to the United States as children.  "As the President has said many times, it makes no sense to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language. They have become productive members in our communities. They have grown up swearing allegiance to our flag. Yet they live in the shadows of America, without the possibility to realize their dreams," writes Cecilia Muñoz, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.  Mainline Christians, evangelicals and Roman Catholics - often divided - have been outspoken in their support for immigration reform and President Obama's actions. Why is this the case? We are called to "welcome the stranger" in our midst with hospitality.  Laws must be followed and real reform is still needed but the clear Christian response on this issue has always been not to turn away young people trying to better their lives.

“We believe the DHS’s policy that rewards hard working young people sets the right tone.  Evangelicals everywhere affirm that young immigrants can and should be allowed to contribute to our nation’s well-being.”

- Rev. Gabriel Salguero, President of The National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NaLEC)

"The Obama administration’s announcement today that some undocumented youth living in the U.S. will receive temporary relief from deportation and will be able to receive work authorization is an extraordinary way forward for much needed immigration reform. Among the young people who will be blessed by this action are United Methodists with whom we celebrate and give God thanks. This day comes as a result of the diligent efforts of many, including the hard work of Immigration Rapid Response Teams in our annual conferences, the work of several of our general agencies, United Methodist Women, and the clear and steady voice of our Council of Bishops."

- United Methodist Bishop Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomed the action of President Barack Obama today to defer action to all young people eligible under the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, saying that it would permit young people who were brought into the United States undocumented to come out of the shadows and more fully participate in society.

“This important action will provide legal protection, and work authorization, to a vulnerable group of immigrants who are deserving of remaining in our country and contributing their talents to our communities,” said Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration. “These youth are bright, energetic, and eager to pursue their education and reach their full potential.”

As many as 800,000 young people would be eligible to receive a deferred action on deportation for two years, and a work permit.

Archbishop Gomez said the President’s action is no substitute for passage of the DREAM Act and encouraged Congress to enact comprehensive and humane immigration reform.

- U.S. Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops

Jesus said, "Bring the children to me." Our Christian teachings compel us to welcome the stranger in our midst, many of whom are young people innocent of any wrong doing. As officers of the United Church of Christ, we applaud President Obama's decision to grant categorical relief to almost 1 million young people who were brought to the United States when they were children. 

Until now these young people — who grew up in the United States, attended American schools and stayed out of trouble — were not able to dream of possibilities for personal or professional advancement in this country. Until now, these young people have been unable to work. They are ineligible for government financial aid to go to college, even in circumstances when they are outstanding students who are committed to being productive contributors to their communities and our society as a whole. Worst of all, they have been subject to deportation proceedings, sending them back to countries in which they have little connection or familiarity. 

The Executive Order announced on June 15, 2012, gives undocumented young immigrants, under the age of 30, the ability to apply for deferred action of deportation.  They must meet key criteria outlined in the statement delivered by Janet Napolitano, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. While this temporary measure contains limiting conditions and gives only two years of reprieve, it is a positive step that we pray will lead to just and compassionate immigration reform legislation that is long overdue. As leaders of the United Church of Christ we call for the President and Congress to enact comprehensive social policies that establish a safe and humane immigration system that is consistent with our core values: Continuing Testament, Extravagant Welcome, and Changing Lives. 

- The Officers of the United Church of Christ

Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rallies Really About Politics #StandUpRally

Rallies being held across the United States today to oppose contraceptive services included in the Affordable Care Act are largely political and do not represent the views of most people of faith.  Many religious leaders, in fact, strongly support President Obama's efforts to extend health care coverage to women and his willingness to compromise with churches on this issue.

Organizers claim these rallies are designed to protect religious freedom but look no further than the Portland, Ore. rally and you'll see that the speakers are nearly all right-wing radio talk show hosts or extremist candidates for political office.

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I continue to applaud President Obama and those responsible Republicans and Democrats who support making sure that contraception is available to stop unwanted pregnancies and to fight disease such as cancer.  There is no war against religion.  This is a political battle that was started not by the president but by some willing to misuse religion for partisan political gain.

What's On Right Wing Talk Radio? Bigoted Paranoia

Salem-area radio talk show host Bill Post (who not long ago said he wanted to urinate on the corpses of dead Taliban soldiers) says that he's a Evangelical Christian who shares the "world-view" of the Founding Fathers.  Thomas Jefferson might argue with that but those views lead Post to question President Obama's Christian faith and American values.  In fact, those views leave Post very afraid of the future if the president is re-elected. Post writes that electing Mitt Romney, a Mormon, might not be great for evangelical Christians, but consider the alternatives:

1 - Is Obama a Muslim?  I don't know for sure, but we all know he has made some pretty big concessions to Muslims as well as some pretty interesting statements concerning Muslims.  So, if he IS a Muslim or leans towards them, would you rather have a Muslim or a Mormon President? I haven't seen very many Mormons strap bombs to the jackets blowing up marketplaces, have you?

2 - Is Obama a Marxist/Socialist/Communist?  I don't know for sure, but again, his statement and policies sure make it look that way.  Have you seen any Mormon gulags, death camps or mass murders committed lately?

Evangelicals, Mainline Christians and Roman Catholics have repeatedly condemned those who question the president's Christian faith for partisan political reasons but that won't stop people like Post who are so far outside the mainstream that they actually believe the president of the United States is planning death camps if re-elected. 

We can expect opponents of the president this election - big and small - to attempt to exploit racial divisions and to paint President Obama as something "other" than fully as American. Consider the new racially charged film financed by right-wing billionaire Joe Ricketts that suggests that the president has a Kenyan, not American, world-view. 

These campaigns against President Obama are driven by fear, hatred and racism - let's be honest.  The good news is that the American people are better than Bill Post or Joe Ricketts.  We are an optimistic people at our core.  But whether or not we agree with the president's policies - whether we support his re-election or not - all good Americans must reject the division and hatred promoted on talk radio and the web and use the election to engage in a serious debate over the issues this nation faces.

People Of Faith Must Condemn Tucker Carlson Racist Gun Stunt

Does Tucker Carlson crave publicity so badly that he's willing to embrace a racist gun dealer or does he himself harbor hatred toward the president of the United States of America based on the color of his skin and wish him harm? It's a legitimate question as Carlson's website gives away guns from a known bigot.

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Reports:

Washington, DC—That Tucker Carlson and the Daily Caller would promote a man like firearms manufacturer Jim Pontillo to their readers is a testament to how far the American Conservative movement has moved to the right in the last several years. It is not just that Pontillo’s dislike of President Obama is tinged with not-so-subtle racism (“He will never be President of the United States; that job requires he represent all Americans, not just the angry black ones.”). Pontillo also believes that political violence has a legitimate place in American politics. He states that armed resistance to democratic government is “integral to the American DNA” and warns, "I can't imagine how much more insult the American people are willing to endure under the 'enterprises of ambition' by our politicians, but I do know, gun ownership and an understanding of our American Founders' vision will have positive and deliberate effect on the psyche of our populace and can subdue the overzealous and prejudicial effect of this ambition. When law is abused to achieve political ends where do the gallant citizens turn? Quite possibly to their guns." 

Such commentary would have been inappropriate and dangerous even before Gabby Giffords was shot in the head by Jared Loughner (“You don’t have to accept the federalist laws”). That the Daily Caller would associate itself with such rhetoric in the wake of Tucson is unfathomable. 

Tucker Carlson has already attempted to downplay the controversy, suggesting that the only relevant detail about Pontillo is the fact that he’s a licensed gun maker. But giving away a handgun with the Bill of Rights engraved on its side is an overtly political statement. It is therefore relevant and worth asking whether Carlson embraces Pontillo’s ideas about “Second Amendment remedies.” 

Finally, it is ironic that while Pontillo sees Liberals as a bunch of Socialists and Communists that are subverting all that is great about America, he seems to see no contradiction in his own effort to void sacrosanct democratic institutions like political equality and the rule of law.

Threats against President Obama and our democracy must be taken seriously.  There is room for debate in our nation - that is what elections are all about - but Carlson crosses a line here that must be condemned.

People of faith must demand an end to gun violence and a return to civility in public life.  

People Of Faith Support President On Contraception Fight Despite Lawsuit

The lawsuit announced today by some Roman Catholic organizations isn't supported by all Roman Catholics and certainly not many Christians, including Roman Catholics, who support President Obama's efforts to expand health care opportunities for women and their families.

There is no war against religion. As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I join other people of faith in continuing to applaud the president's efforts. He has, in fact, gone the extra mile to meet religious objections raised by some Roman Catholics and Religious Right evangelicals. But they want more. They want to strip women of the ability to make their own health care decisions. Christians and other good people of faith need to continue to fight these efforts even as we seek reconciliation with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters. In a democratic pluralistic society no church gets the final say and no church will be allowed to dictate health policy to women.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

President's Call For Marriage Equality Consistent With Christian Ethics

As a minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC), I want to applaud President Obama's decision today to endorse marriage equality.  The General Synod of the United Church of Christ first called for marriage eqality in 2005. Gay and lesbian Americans deserve all the protections of U.S. law afforded other citizens. Discrimination is contrary to the will of God. I believe, in fact, that we are called to be a people of reconciliation that advance the cause of justice. A generation ago laws against interracial marriage were struck down. Many in our churches see this as the time to advance the cause of freedom and equality. I hope and pray with President Obama's leadership and a growing consensus from different political leaders - including former Vice-President Cheney - that marriage equality will soon become the law of the land.

- Rev. Chuck Currie

How To End Homelessness: Fight Poverty

Our national and local efforts to reduce homelessness are making a difference - for some - but as I told Governing Magazine - we need to be bolder, do more and focus our efforts on fighting poverty:

Ending homelessness, Currie says, will take a massive push on curbing poverty -- including not only creating jobs, but also preparing workers for those jobs -- and on making huge investments in affordable housing and building up programs for in-home support of the elderly, those with physical disabilities and those suffering from other health, mental health and addiction problems.

That's why I support the Half In Ten Campaign, a national effort that is backed by the Center for American Progress and the Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ (among many others). The Half in Ten Campaign is advancing progressive economic policies to reduce poverty that stand in stark contrast to the budget proposal put forward by Paul Ryan and adopted this week by the U.S. House that would increase poverty and homelessness, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

President Obama's budget proposals move us in a much better direction. But even the president will tell you we need to do more. That's why the American people need to be heard.

I remain strongly convinced from the polls and my own experiences that we Americans are a compassionate people who want our government to advance policies that promote the common good over the needs of the special interests or the wealthiest and most powerful among us. We can end homelessness. We simply need to make the moral investment.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Portland #StandUpRally Organizer Calls Women "Sluts" Over Contraception

Today some Roman Catholics bishops and others will be holding Stand Up for Religious Freedom rallies to oppose President Obama's efforts to expand health care coverage, including contraception, to women.

Portland, Ore. rally organizer Jason Schmidt, echoing Rush Limbaugh, called women who support contraception "sluts" on his Twitter account yesterday.  Are these the type of people the U.S. Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops now associate with?  We should be able to disagree without calling women names or accusing the President falsely of attacking religious liberty.

In fact, religious leaders - including Roman Catholics, Mainline Christians and Evangelical Christians - have offered support for President Obama's efforts.

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I strongly support the efforts of the White House to protect women from unwanted pregancies, cancer and STDs that contraception can help prevent.  And I condemn religious leaders who associate with those who refer to women as "sluts" because of a disagreement over public policy.

Obama And Ryan Budget Proposals: What's A Faithful Budget? #faithfulbudget

President Obama and GOP House Budget Chair Paul Ryan have each released budget plans. What's a faithful budget? Religious leaders are blasting Ryan's plan. That's what I talked about on KPOJ this morning. Listen in. President Obama's plan calls for investments in job creation, anti-poverty programs, and education. Ryan wants to give $3 trillion to the wealthiest while cutting trillions from domestic programs.

 

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

As people of faith our call is clear. The bible instructs us to act with mercy and justice and to care for our neighbors. We live out these commandments not just as individuals in our local communities, but as a society through our government. The yearly debate over the federal budget is – at its heart –a struggle for our nation’s moral conscience. This week hundreds of faith advocates will be gathering in the Nation’s Capital at Ecumenical Advocacy Days.

Together they will carry a message to Congress, asking that our national leaders defend people struggling to live in dignity by funding programs that protect vulnerable populations here and abroad.

Join them in lifting your voice - Call on your elected officials to pass a faithful budget!

The White House On The Road

The White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships decamped Washington, DC for Portland, Ore. this week where staff members from the office met with local faith and non-profit leaders to talk about ways the Obama Administration stands ready to partner with local leaders:

The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships works to build bridges between the federal government and nonprofit organizations, both secular and faith-based, to better serve Americans in need. The Office advances this work through 11 Agency Centers across government and a Strategic Advisor at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

So what exactly does the office do?

In addition to its daily work, President Obama has asked the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to focus on four special priorities.  These priorities are:

1. Strengthening the Role of Community Organizations in the Economic Recovery
2. Reducing Unintended Pregnancies, Supporting Maternal and Child Health, and Reducing the Need for Abortion
3. Promoting Responsible Fatherhood and Strong Communities
   
4. Promoting Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation

    

Unlike the office as operated under the previous administration, the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships does not hand out grants.  President Obama has also insisted that all people of faith - and secular neighborhood bodies -be welcomed at the table.  So you'll see progressive Christians working alongside conservative evangelicals, Muslims, Jews, atheists, and a wide-cross section of Americans committed to the common good.

The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, along with the White House Office Of Public Engagement, works to make sure that diverse voices are heard as policy decisions are debated at the highest levels of government.   

President Obama has done a commendable job of creating a faith-based program that removes politics from funding decisions and is inclusive of all faith traditions - along with secular neighborhood groups. We can also be proud that this president has worked to protect religious liberty (despite what political partisans might argue) while tackling difficult issues.

Having the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships in Portland this week was of special importance to me, as it gave me to chance to see friends Joshua DuBois and Michael Wear.  Josh is special assistant to the president and executive director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and Mike is one of his top aides.  I deeply admire their work and committment to our nation.

You can follow the work of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships here. 

Rev. Chuck Currie and Joshua DuBois, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. 

Obama Offers Progressive Budget Blueprint; Concerns About Safety Net Remain

The Collegium of Officers of the United Church of Christ responded to the release of President Obama's proposed budget by saying that while "we do not agree with all its provisions, we believe it moves the country in a positive direction."  I share that assessment.  Overall, the president's budget proposal seeks to make sure the wealthy begin to pay their fair share of taxes while helping promote the common good by investing in education and people by (via Half In Ten):

• Permanently extending expansions of the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit that were passed in the Recovery Act, which will boost the incomes of millions of low-wage working families with children
• Combating hunger by providing full funding for the nutritional safety net that has been responding to high levels of unemployment and by continuing investments in programs that ensure children have the nutritional building blocks they need to thrive
• Providing funding to make progress on the administration’s strategic plan to end homelessness
• Preserving existing housing vouchers that help low-income families afford rent
• Creating new housing opportunities for veterans
• Proposing financing for the development and preservation of affordable housing through the Housing Trust Fund

As Deborah Weinstien, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs points out, this is a budget meant to help put Americans to work and to continue moving us past the failed economic policies embraced by Paul Ryan and the House leadership:

The Obama budget calls for $350 billion in job growth measures, spread mostly between FY 2012 and FY 2015. These include $50 billion in road and transit maintenance and upgrading, $30 billion to modernize at least 35,000 schools and another $30 billion to hire and retain teachers and first responders, Project Rebuild, which will hire workers in low-income communities to "re-purpose" residential and commercial properties, and a new small business tax credit for companies that hire new workers. The new initiatives include Pathways Back to Work, a $12.5 billion project that will provide subsidized jobs and training for low-income, low-skilled workers and summer and year-round jobs and training for youth.

Still, there are areas of deep concern over the direction our nation is headed.  As the officers of the United Church of Christ rightfully note:

We recognize the constraints facing the nation and the President. A number of factors including the weak economy, high levels of unemployment, unfunded wars, corporate tax loopholes, and cuts in income taxes skewed to favor the wealthiest Americans have reduced tax revenues to historic lows and created a large federal budget deficit. These limit the ability of the federal government to perform its essential roles to help those in need and promote the common good. (See General Synod resolution “For the Common Good.”)

What does this mean in practical terms?  Half In Ten notes:

...the president proposes cutting more than $300 million from the Community Services Block Grant, a program that helps community action agencies in more than 1,000 localities throughout the country to provide services such as weatherization, job training, and Head Start to more than 20 million Americans.

And while the president proposes more funding than he did last year for low-income home energy assistance or LIHEAP, his blueprint would represent more than $450 million in cuts from last year’s enacted level—a hit to vulnerable households struggling to afford heating and cooling.

Cuts to affordable housing programs will also hit low-income families especially hard. The administration’s proposal requires struggling households to pay a $75 minimum rent, which would hit the lowest-income families who are already exempt from normal rents charged to Department of Housing and Urban Development recipients. These changes, coupled with small cuts to housing for people with AIDS and people with disabilities, could translate into real hardship for families on the brink of homelessness.

None of these cuts are acceptable and I'll share that view with both the White House and Oregon's Congressional delegation.

A fair conclusion to draw is that President Obama has drafted the most progressive budget possible considering the political realities faced by our nation.  

It remains the job of the church universal to engage both the President and Congress in this debate, along with the American public, to further protect the most vulnerable among us.

Open Letter to Archbishop Timothy Dolan: Stop the Partisan Politics

There is a double standard where the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is concerned: you'll start a nuclear political war with a pro-choice Democrat but allow a pro-life Republican to get away with anything.

My latest on The Huffington Post.

President Obama Will Announce Contraception Accommodation That Expands Coverage

President Obama will speak at 9:15 am to announce an accommodation that expands contraception access for women and meets the needs of religious employers with objections to offering coverage.  I've been briefed by senior White House officials and the plan is sound.

Religious employers will not be required to offer insurance plans that cover contraception. But those insurance companies will be required to provide free contraception to women.  Insurance companies would prefer to offer free contraception than to cover the costs of an unwanted pregnancy or diseases that contraception can help prevent.  

This is creative thinking by President Obama and his staff.  Sister Carol Keehan, President of the US Catholic Health Association, and Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards support the compromise.

So do I.

Many Christian denominations - the United Church of Christ included - strongly support contraception and have applauded the president's efforts to expand coverage.  

Any opposition to this new proposal will be partisan politics, pure and simple.

A Contraception Compromise? Maybe.

Like many religious leaders, I fully support President Obama's recent decision to expand contraception coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act.  That decision, however, has drawn fierce criticism from Roman Catholic leaders.  Is there room for a compromise.  I think so.

Melissa Rogers of Wake Forest Divinity School wrote this past fall that Hawaii might be a model for a federal law:

In terms of its definition of a “religious employer,” the state of Hawaii’s contraceptive coverage law has some of the same defects as the interim federal rule. But it appears to have taken some noteworthy steps to ensure that employees of objecting religious organizations may readily gain access to affordable coverage of contraceptives. Under Hawaii law, religious employers that decline to cover contraceptives must provide written notification to enrollees disclosing that fact and describing alternate ways for enrollees to access coverage for contraceptive services. Hawaii law also requires health insurers to allow enrollees in a health plan of an objecting religious employer to purchase coverage of contraceptive services directly and to do so at a cost that does not exceed “the enrollee’s pro rata share of the price the group purchaser would have paid for such coverage had the group plan not invoked a religious exemption.” A New York law has similar provisions.

Vice-President Biden, a Roman Catholic, said today that he wants a compromise to be worked out.

Some of the criticism of the new rules has been unfortunate and the rhetoric from New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and others has been heated.  It is unclear if Dolan wants a compromise or a fight.  What the American people want, however, is clear: access to contraceptives as part of health care (and this includes a solid majority of Roman Catholics).  

I'd urge the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to stop their nuclear attack on the White House and to work with the President to find a win-win solution.  Anything less than serious good faith negotiations from the Bishops will force a question about motives.

Why is it, for example, President Obama is coming under fire this election year from Dolan when Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, both Roman Catholics, have taken positions in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church on war, immigration, climate change, economics, and aid for those in poverty without as much as a word from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops?

People Of Faith Support President Obama On Health Care, Contraception

As part of President Obama's commitment to increase health care for women and reduce the need for abortion services, the Affordable Care Act - broadly supported by religious organizations in the United States - will require that most insurance companies cover women's preventative services, including contraception, beginning this August.

Churches and other houses of worship are exempt from being required to provide contraception if they have a religious objection (some do, many don't) but some faith-based groups, such as those that receive federal funding and that hire people from various faith backgrounds, will be required over time to follow the same guidelines as other employers.  For some, this has been understandably controversial.  People of good faith sometimes come to different conclusions on difficult issues and President Obama has always respected even those who might occasionally disagree with him.

There is, however, strong support from religious Americans for contraception.  The Guttmacher Institute notes that 98% of Roman Catholic women have used contraception and just recently the Public Research Institute found that "85% of Catholics support expanding access to birth control for women who cannot afford it."  Many Christian and Jewish bodies have official positions that strongly support contraception to help stop unwanted pregnancies, reduce HIV/AIDS and other STDs, and to lower the overall costs of health care for women. Religious leaders from various traditions have praised the President.

As a minister, a husband and a father, I want to thank President Obama and his administration for making sure that the Affordable Care Act works well for women and families.  This is exactly what so many of us in the faith community hoped for when we called on Congress to pass this important legislation.

President Obama: Speak Up For Others #POTUSonFaith

President Obama spoke today about his Christian faith at the National Prayer breakfast.  What made the remarks important was the way in which he linked his concerns over policy - particularly poverty - with his understanding of Christian tradition, an understanding rooted not just in the larger United Church of Christ (his tradition and one shared by other U.S. presidents) and our work from the fight against slavery to the fight against modern day poverty, but within the larger context of progressive Christianity, American pluralism and respect for the separation of church and state.

We face many important moral issues in this nation, and President Obama understands this:

...when I talk about our financial institutions playing by the same rules as folks on Main Street, when I talk about making sure insurance companies aren’t discriminating against those who are already sick, or making sure that unscrupulous lenders aren’t taking advantage of the most vulnerable among us, I do so because I genuinely believe it will make the economy stronger for everybody.  But I also do it because I know that far too many neighbors in our country have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years, and I believe in God’s command to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”  I know the version of that Golden Rule is found in every major religion and every set of beliefs -– from Hinduism to Islam to Judaism to the writings of Plato.  

And when I talk about shared responsibility, it’s because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it’s hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone.  And I think to myself, if I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that’s going to make economic sense.

But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that “for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.”  It mirrors the Islamic belief that those who’ve been blessed have an obligation to use those blessings to help others, or the Jewish doctrine of moderation and consideration for others. 

When I talk about giving every American a fair shot at opportunity, it’s because I believe that when a young person can afford a college education, or someone who’s been unemployed suddenly has a chance to retrain for a job and regain that sense of dignity and pride, and contributing to the community as well as supporting their families -- that helps us all prosper. 

It means maybe that research lab on the cusp of a lifesaving discovery, or the company looking for skilled workers is going to do a little bit better, and we’ll all do better as a consequence.  It makes economic sense.  But part of that belief comes from my faith in the idea that I am my brother’s keeper and I am my sister’s keeper; that as a country, we rise and fall together.  I’m not an island.  I’m not alone in my success.  I succeed because others succeed with me.

And when I decide to stand up for foreign aid, or prevent atrocities in places like Uganda, or take on issues like human trafficking, it’s not just about strengthening alliances, or promoting democratic values, or projecting American leadership around the world, although it does all those things and it will make us safer and more secure.  It’s also about the biblical call to care for the least of these –- for the poor; for those at the margins of our society.  

To answer the responsibility we’re given in Proverbs to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”  And for others, it may reflect the Jewish belief that the highest form of charity is to do our part to help others stand on their own.  

Treating others as you want to be treated.  Requiring much from those who have been given so much.  Living by the principle that we are our brother’s keeper.  Caring for the poor and those in need.  These values are old.  They can be found in many denominations and many faiths, among many believers and among many non-believers.  And they are values that have always made this country great -- when we live up to them; when we don’t just give lip service to them; when we don’t just talk about them one day a year.  And they’re the ones that have defined my own faith journey.  

And today, with as many challenges as we face, these are the values I believe we’re going to have to return to in the hopes that God will buttress our efforts.

There are times when I find fault with political tactics or matters of policy.  This speech, however, reminded me of why I have so deeply respected Barack Obama since 2004:  he is a person of deep faith who despite the political winds attempts to live out that faith even in these extreme times.  His policies, shaped sometimes by the imperfect times in which we live, reflect the values he articluated today.  

It is hard to imagine another politican of this age being able to deleiver a speech like this.

Mitt Romney's America: Not a Good Deal For Seniors, Children

If you want to see the nation nearly completely abandon our solemn commitment to children, seniors and those forced into poverty during difficult economic times then a Mitt Romney presidency is just what you're waiting for.  The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports:

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's proposals to cap total spending, boost defense spending, cut taxes, and balance the budget would require extraordinarily large cuts in nondefense programs.  If policymakers cut all nondefense programs by the same percentage, the cuts would measure 21 percent in 2016 and 36 percent in 2021.  If policymakers exempted Social Security from the cuts and then cut all other nondefense programs by the same percentage, the cuts would rise to 30 percent in 2016 and 54 percent in 2021. 

For nondefense discretionary programs, these cuts would comeon top of the 17-percent cut already in law due to the discretionary funding caps of the Budget Control Act that Congress enacted last August and the automatic cuts (or "sequestration") scheduled to start in January 2013.  Our estimates of the depth of cuts that the Romney proposals would require are consistent with what Governor Romney himself has said about the required cuts.

These cuts are far deeper than those that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-WI) austere budget plan would require.  They would shrink nondefense discretionary spending — which, over the past 30 years, has averaged 3.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and never fallen below 3.2 percent  — to just 1.7 percent of GDP by 2021.

What we need right now are public investments - like President Obama's American Jobs Act - and economic policies and programs that help people lift themselves out of poverty.

But, as the Occupy Wall Street movement has helped to clearly demonstrate, it will take a lot of work to reverse the growing economic inequality in our nation that continues to force families in poverty, homelessness and hunger.

People of faith can continue to press both political parties to address these important moral issues by joining the Circle of Protection, a campaign by religious groups to protect America's most vulnerable.

The State Of The Union: Progressive Progress Or Return To A Failed Past?

President Obama once again offered a progressive, moral vision for America during last night's State of the Union Address - a choice between an America where we're all in this together or where some people put their personal self interests ahead of the common good, a return to the policies of the past.

“….The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive.  No challenge is more urgent.  No debate is more important.  We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by.  Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.  What’s at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values.  We have to reclaim them.” 

President Obama inherited the most broken economy since the Great Depression.  And some want to return to the policies that brought us to that point?  President Obama is correct to call for increased investments in education and our public infrastructure.  We need to continue creating jobs. 

Last night, in the GOP response, Gov. Mitch Daniels made the claim that President Obama is "pro-poverty." That's absurd - particularly coming from George W. Bush's budget director whose policies created the poverty crisis we face in the United States today.  President Obama's stimulus program, opposed by every GOP member of Congress, kept 30 million additional Americans from falling into poverty (or deeper into poverty) during the worst part of the recession.  No president in recent memory has done more on this issue. 

My hope is that sometime soon President Obama will take the opportunity to speak directly to those living in poverty in America - the numbers are too high - and offer hope directly to those who struggle each day to find food and shelter, many while working. We cannot afford cuts in anti-poverty programs in the new budget.  But make no mistake:  President Obama's economic agenda will help reduce poverty if the GOP gets out of the way and stops playing politics with the economy.

I'm deeply proud of our president for again articulating a moral vision for the United States.  

Photo Credit:  Whitehouse.gov

My Letter To President Obama @HuffPostRelig Regarding Poverty #SOTU

I urge you to use this State of the Union Address to speak of hope and change to the millions of Americans -- most of whom are children -- who live in poverty today. We need your voice in this important moment.

Click here.

Be Very Quiet. Mitt Romney Doesn't Want To Hear About Income Inequality.

Mitt Romney - who is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 million - says discussions about income inequality are "...about envy. I think it's about class warfare."

"I think it's fine to talk about those things in quiet rooms and discussions about tax policy and the like," Romney said. "But the president has made this part of his campaign rally. Everywhere he goes we hear him talking about millionaires and billionaires and executives and Wall Street. It's a very envy-oriented, attack-oriented approach and I think it'll fail."

Quiet rooms?

We ought to be talking about these issues in every venue because, as William Jennings Bryan once said, every great economic question is in reality a great moral question.

It isn't about envy.  It is about homeless children and their families sleeping outdoors because of economic policies that benefit the wealthy while those Jesus would have called the "least of these" are left behind.  It's about growing hunger in a land of plenty.  For Christians and other people of faith, it is a matter of justice. 

As the Center for American Progress notes,  the increase in income inequality over the last 30 years is equivalent to a $1.1 trillion transfer from the 99% to the 1% every year.

President Obama was right when he said in Kansas last month:

Look at the statistics. In the last few decades, the average income of the top 1 percent has gone up by more than 250 percent to $1.2 million per year. I’m not talking about millionaires, people who have a million dollars. I’m saying people who make a million dollars every single year. For the top one hundredth of 1 percent, the average income is now $27 million per year. The typical CEO who used to earn about 30 times more than his or her worker now earns 110 times more. And yet, over the last decade the incomes of most Americans have actually fallen by about 6 percent.

Now, this kind of inequality -- a level that we haven’t seen since the Great Depression -- hurts us all. When middle-class families can no longer afford to buy the goods and services that businesses are selling, when people are slipping out of the middle class, it drags down the entire economy from top to bottom. America was built on the idea of broad-based prosperity, of strong consumers all across the country. That’s why a CEO like Henry Ford made it his mission to pay his workers enough so that they could buy the cars he made. It’s also why a recent study showed that countries with less inequality tend to have stronger and steadier economic growth over the long run.

Inequality also distorts our democracy. It gives an outsized voice to the few who can afford high-priced lobbyists and unlimited campaign contributions, and it runs the risk of selling out our democracy to the highest bidder. It leaves everyone else rightly suspicious that the system in Washington is rigged against them, that our elected representatives aren’t looking out for the interests of most Americans.

But there’s an even more fundamental issue at stake. This kind of gaping inequality gives lie to the promise that’s at the very heart of America: that this is a place where you can make it if you try. We tell people -- we tell our kids -- that in this country, even if you’re born with nothing, work hard and you can get into the middle class. We tell them that your children will have a chance to do even better than you do.

Mitt Romney doesn't want to have this debate.  But without it our nation will continue to falter and our nation fail unless we do and fix the economic system that once produced a strong middle class. 

GOP Kansas House Speaker Prays For Death Of President Obama

Update: Angry with Speaker O'Neal?  Don't call or email me - I'm the one calling him out for his hateful comments.  You can call the Speaker at 785-296-2302 or e-mail [email protected].  Leave a respectful message about how you feel.  Don't get down to his level. - Rev. Chuck Currie

On the day we honor the memory of those killed in Tuscon and recognize the bravery of those who survived - on a day we remember the need for civility in our politics in a time of super heated and even violent rhetoric - we learn that the GOP Speaker of the Kansas House of Representative is praying for the death of President Obama and referring to the First Lady as "Mrs. YoMama."

Pat Cunningham reports that Speaker Mike O’Neal compared Michelle Obama to the Grinch in e-mails and later wrote over the holiday: "“I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing Mrs. YoMama a wonderful, long Hawaii Christmas vacation — at our expense, of course."

In another e-mail, Speaker O'Neal forwarded Psalm 109, which reads: "May his days be few; may another seize his position..." and continues:

May his children be fatherless  and his wife a widow.

May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.

May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.

O’Neal wrote: “At last — I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up — it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!!!!!”

One year ago U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot and many others were killed and injured by a mentally-ill man during a time of white hot political debate.

President Obama said in the days that followed:

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.

There is no place in our politics for Speaker Mike O’Neal's hateful comments.  America deserves - needs - better.

May God soften Speaker O'Neal's heart.

Iraq: America's "Dumb" War Comes To An End

A Promise Kept

President Obama officially ended the war in Iraq today.  Final combat troops will return by the end of the month.  This is a war that never should have been fought.  President Bush lied to the American people and said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and were part of the 9/11 plot.  Neither claim was true.  

The National Council of Churches and nearly every other Christian body in the United States and across the globe opposed the Bush's administrations rush to war.  But Democratic presidential candidates gearing up for the 2004 and 2008 presidential races - including John Kerry, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton - backed President Bush and the result was nine years of war - nearly 5,000 Americans killed, many more wounded, and tens of thousands of Iraqis killed and wounded.

Barack Obama, however, opposed the war from the start and promised to end it if elected.  He has kept that promise.  I supported Barack Obama in 2007 in large part because of his moral clarity on this important issue that has defined the last decade.

Today President Obama wrote:

Part of ending a war responsibly is standing by those who have fought it. It's not enough to honor our heroes with words; we must do so with deeds. 
 
That's why we've worked to send 600,000 veterans and family members back to school on the Post-9/11 GI Bill. That's why one of Michelle's top priorities as First Lady has been to support military families and why she's worked with the private sector to get commitments to create 100,000 jobs for those who've served and their spouses. That's why we worked with Congress to pass a tax credit so that companies have an incentive to hire vets and have taken steps to help veterans translate military experience to the private sector job market.
 
In America, our commitment to those who fight for our freedom and our ideals doesn't end when our troops take off the uniform. 
 
You can be a part of this effort to honor our heroes. 
 
Help mark this moment. Write a quick note that troops and veterans all over the world will be able to see: 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/iraq

Please take this opportunity to thank our troops and we must all commitment to stronly supporting effortings undertaken by President Obama and Secretary Clinton to help re-build Iraq.  Our humanitarian responsibility is clear.  

Winning The Nobel Peace Prize (Close Enough)

I was deeply honored earlier this month to be awarded the Distinguished Service and Leadership Award from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

Unfortunately, I could not attend the conference in person but I sent the following message to the 800 delegates attending their annual convention:

Please accept my thanks for this wonderful award. As President Obama has rightly noted, the best anti-poverty strategy is a good education. Like you, I see the growing number of homeless children in our nation as a moral crisis. This crisis has economic, political and even spiritual implications. I believe, like Dr. King, that we are called to create the Beloved Community and to do so we must end homelessness - not just manage it. The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth is one of the great civil rights organizations of our time. Without your advocacy and leadership children across our country who are living in homelessness would have no hope. So for me it is a tremendous honor to receive an award from this organization. It's like winning the Nobel Peace Prize. And if I could, I would present each one of you an award in return for the work you do each day to promote to common good of our nation.

So what does this organization do?

NAEHCY, a national grassroots membership association, connects educators, parents, advocates, researchers, and service providers to ensure school enrollment and attendance and overall success for children and youth whose lives have been disrupted by the lack of safe, permanent, and adequate housing. NAEHCY achieves these goals through advocacy, partnerships, and education.

Each year, approximately 1.5 million children and youth experience homelessness in our nation's towns, cities and counties. These students lack the stability and peace of mind we all hope to be able to give our children. On a regular basis, children and youth report that school is a home to them – a place where they see the same faces, sit in the same seat, and can put their hearts and minds into pursuits that ease their daily troubles. In academic settings, students gain the skills and support needed to avoid poverty and homelessness as adults. Our members work in schools, education, and advocacy agencies across the country, as well as in shelters and community organizations. We are on the front lines identifying, enrolling, and coordinating services for homeless children and youth.

It has been my deep honor to work with the staff and board of NAEHCY over many years to help lift up the needs of students experiencing homelessness in our nation. There might be no more important work as we try and save a generation of Americans who are seeking with their families to escape the cycle of poverty and homelessness that so many are trapped in.

Right now as Congress debates funding for programs that help lift people out of poverty it is critical that all Americans demand that educational opportunities not be denied. Public education is one of America's greatest achievements and students who are homeless need schools and the hope they provide more than most.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hysterics From Religion Dispatches Over DNC Faith Outreach Director

Sarah Posner over at Religion Dispatches put up a post last Friday with the concerning headline Dems’ New Faith Outreach Director “Pro-Life” and Against Marriage Equality.  But it turns out The Rev. Derrick Harkins is on the advisory board of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice’s (RCRC) National Black Church Initiative (BCI).  RCRC director Carlton Veazey praised the pick and said: "The Obama Administration is to be commended for naming Reverend Harkins to lead faith outreach for the Democratic Party as it heads into the 2012 election cycle."  

On marriage equality, Posner writes: "Harkins told me he opposes same-sex marriage, but hopes for a place of 'common understanding' of a 'vexing question.'" 

But from the tone of the piece and the headline you would have though that Barack Obama had just hired Pat Roberton.

Posner painted an unfair picture of Harkins.  His position on marriage equality is the same as the president's (which for me doesn't go far enough).  Harkins has defended the work of Planned Parenthood and fought against efforts to defund the organization.  

If Posner was hoping to stir up trouble it worked.  The day after her piece ran I had three voice-mail messages waiting when I got off an airplane wanting to know what the president was doing.

Great pro-choice leaders contacted me first-thing Monday morning about joining a sign-on letter to protest the hiring.

Posner created a controversy where none existed.  Harkins by all accounts is a progressive and important leader - particularly in the African-American faith community - but for whatever reason Posner tried to turn him into a caricature of a right-wing evangelical.  

The real fight that religious progressives should be waging is against the GOP's recently passed "Protect Life Act" that, as The Washington Post notes, "would prohibit federal funds from going toward any health care plan that covers abortion services, marking the chamber’s passage of its first major abortion-rights measure since May."

I'll sign a letter about that.  But at least I know it will never become law as long as Barack Obama is president.   

Leaving Iraq: Addressing The Humanitarian Crisis via @whitehouse

Earlier today President Obama made the very important announcement that all U.S. forces wil leave Iraq by the end of 2011.  The president began a draw down of forces earlier in his presidency and the full removal of forces keeps a fundamental promise of his presidential campaign in 2008.

For the last 45 minutes I've been on a conference call with Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Adviser to President Obama, and I asked him about the president's commitment to the humanitarian situation in Iraq once U.S. forces leave.

In 2007, the National Council of Churches issued a statement that read it part:

“….united together as the National Council of Churches USA, we call upon the U.S. Government to recognize that the continued presence of occupying forces has not provided meaningful security for Iraqi citizens and only exacerbates escalating violence, and begin an immediate phased withdrawal of American and coalition forces from Iraq with a timetable that provides for an expeditious final troop withdrawal. And we further call upon our government to link this withdrawal plan to benchmarks for rebuilding Iraqi society, since the reconstruction of infrastructure, the restoration of essential services, and a foundation for economic growth are necessary to nurture Iraqi hopes for a stable future, and to steps to meet the security concerns of all Iraqis, including the more vulnerable, smaller ethnic and religious communities.”

Mr. Rhodes spoke in detail about President Obama's commitment to address the humanitarian situation with Iraq through the U.S. State Department and other agencies.  That effort will now take place not in the flawed context of a military operation but through diplomatic relations with a sovereign nation.  You can learn more about some of what is already occurring at USAID: Assistance for Iraq.

I only wish President Bush had listened to the National Council of Churches and others in 2003 and never began this conflict that Barack Obama rightly called "dumb" at the time.

President Obama deserves credit for moving us in the right direction on this critical issue.   

Leaving Iraq: Barack Obama's Moral Decision

When I personally endorsed Barack Obama in 2007 I wrote:

Barack Obama has shown leadership on the most pressing moral issues of our day – such as the war in Iraq and the global AIDS crisis. During his time in the Illinois Legislature and in the United States Senate he has demonstrated that his values cannot be compromised by prevailing political winds.

Christians, Jews, Muslims – all people of faith in America – share in a deep and abiding love for this nation. But many of us, as William Sloane Coffin would have said, have a “lover’s quarrel” with America. We know things can be better. We know all Americans need health care. We know that no one should be homeless in the world’s richest nation. We know that global warming threatens God’s own earth and that as the stewards of creation we are called forth to protect this planet. We are also called to be peacemakers in times of conflict.

Barack Obama shares these values and when elected president will embody them as he makes decisions in the Oval Office. When that day comes we will be a better nation.

President Obama has faced great difficulties  - including the meltdown of the entire U.S. economy under President Bush and two on-going wars.

Today, President Obama, after beginning a troop draw down earlier in his term, announced that all U.S. troops will leave Iraq by the end of 2011.  The decision is responsible.  I continue to appreciate President Obama's moral leadership and I know my decision in 2007 to walk away from the democratic establishment and endorse his candidacy when he was 30 points behind was the right one.  

Why I Went To #OccupyPortland: It Was The Christian Thing To Do | #OccupyAmerica #OccupyWallStreet #OWS

I came out here today to show my support for the protesters. The United Church of Christ is concerned with the growing inequity in this nation--it's a deeply moral issue. -Reverend Chuck Currie (via Oregon Public Broadcasting)

Earlier today I stopped by Occupy Portland to show my personal support for the non-violent protests occurring across our nation that are calling attention to growing inequity and poverty in the United States.  I'm particularly impressed with the number of young people involved.

For Christians, supporting the Occupy America protests should be clear-cut.  The protesters are lifting up principles of compassion, justice and love.  These principles are central to the Christian faith.  

We need to do more to address the truly fundamental problems facing our nation.  As a start, we need Congress to pass President Obama's American Jobs Act.

But we also need to dig more deeply and make the American economy work not just for the wealthy and the largest corporations but for the common good of all Americans - while at the same time taking note of our place in the global community.  

I'll continue to support the Occupy America movement as long as it remains non-violent and positive and I urge the Portland Police Bureau and other cities to treat protesters with respect as they exercise their democratic rights to assemble and speak.

Supporting the Occupy America movement is the Christian thing to do.    

The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth

Today we celebrate the life of The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth.  He was a Christian who put his faith into action alongside The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Council.  He endured bombings and beatings but prevailed in making America a more equal Union.  More importantly, he helped to build-up the Kingdom of God when others stood silent.  

There is a lesson in his ministry and life's work for us today as we face new difficulties that challenge the common good.

President Barack Obama, who never would have been elected president or even had the right to vote without the leadership of Rev. Shuttlesworth, said today:

Michelle and I were saddened to hear about the passing of Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth today.  As one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Reverend Shuttlesworth dedicated his life to advancing the cause of justice for all Americans.  He was a testament to the strength of the human spirit.  And today we stand on his shoulders, and the shoulders of all those who marched and sat and lifted their voices to help perfect our union.

I will never forget having the opportunity several years ago to push Reverend Shuttlesworth in his wheelchair across the Edmund Pettus Bridge – a symbol of the sacrifices that he and so many others made in the name of equality.  America owes Reverend Shuttlesworth a debt of gratitude, and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Sephira, and their family, friends and loved ones.

So many times opponents of equality tried to kill this minister of the Gospel.  We can be thankful he lived a full life - and lived to see the legacy of his struggles for freedom. 

Statement On Growing Student Homelessness In Oregon

Today the Oregon Department of Education announced that last school year over 20,000 children experiencing homelessness attended public school in Oregon.  That any child is homeless is evidence of a moral crisis is our state.  As a long-time advocate on these issues, I commend our state officials and local school districts for working to assist these children.  All the evidence points to the reality that getting kids who are homeless into public schools benefits them in many tangible ways.  Yet at the same time we are failing as a state and nation to deal with the reality of growing homelessness and poverty.  These numbers provide more evidence why Congress needs to pass President Obama's proposed American Jobs Act.  At the same time, Oregon leaders need to take family homelessness more seriously and dedicate additional resources during a difficult economic period to assist children struggling to learn while living in shelters, motels, camps, and cars.  We can do better.        

- Rev. Chuck Currie

 

Pass The American Jobs Act For A Stronger, More Moral America #jobsnow

President Obama unveiled his American Jobs Act in a bold speech before a joint session of Congress last week. In short, the president offered up a moral vision of what America should be and in doing so he provided a stark contrast with the Tea Party Congress and their Ayn Rand devotees in the GOP leadership. Congress should pass the American Jobs Acts immediately and put politics aside to address the jobs crisis.

That might be wishful thinking. We all remember what U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell said in the aftermath of the 2010 elections. When asked what the #1 priority of Congressional republicans was he said to deny President Obama a second term. Not to create jobs. Not to address the deficit.

On the House side, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the budget committee, has said his inspiration in crafting policy comes from Any Rand who once said: "Nobody has ever given a reason why man should be his brothers' keeper." Rand rejected a basic Biblical concept but she also strongly rejected Christianity. Ryan hands out her books as gifts.

Christian leaders have looked at GOP budget proposals and said:

Budgets are moral documents, and how we reduce future deficits are historic and defining moral choices. As Christian leaders, we urge Congress and the administration to give moral priority to programs that protect the life and dignity of poor and vulnerable people in these difficult times, our broken economy, and our wounded world. It is the vocation and obligation of the church to speak and act on behalf of those Jesus called "the least of these." This is our calling, and we will strive to be faithful in carrying out this mission.

It is time to change course and embrace a vision of America where no one is left behind. Creating jobs now will lower the unemployment rate, reduce poverty and instill hope for the future.

In addition, the Americans Jobs Act proposed by President Obama will rehire laid off teachers - making sure young children get the support they need to learn in the classroom - and will put workers on the job fixing up crumbling schools, like the one my children attend that is nearly 75 years old and without seismic upgrades.

The American Jobs Act will also extend unemployment benefits to workers left jobless during a prolonged period of economic difficulty. We abandon these workers now and they will become the next wave of homeless families seeking shelter in facilities that are already full.

Our churches and other faith communities are overburdened by the human tidal wave of need that has been showing up since poverty began to explode in 2001 - the same time our government abandoned economic policies that reduced poverty in favor of tax cuts for the wealthiest and reductions in federal support for critical human service programs. Faith communities have opened shelters, built housing, organized volunteers, and hosted job fairs. But it is not enough.

Churches have never had resources equal to the government or equal to the task of dealing with all America's social ills. Nor should the faith community be expected to play such a role. Taking care of our neighbors is a task all Americans must share and government is the only vehicle we have that can marshal all the partners we need to meet the needs: business, labor, non-profits, students and the faith community. We need partnerships with government paying the bigger bills that create infrastructure, such as schools and affordable housing. President Obama was absolutely right when he said last week:

We have to ask ourselves, "What's the best way to grow the economy and create jobs?" Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? Because we can't afford to do both. Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs? Right now, we can't afford to do both. This isn't political grandstanding. This isn't class warfare. This is simple math. These are real choices that we have to make. And I'm pretty sure I know what most Americans would choose. It's not even close. And it's time for us to do what's right for our future.

We have to decide who we are going to be as a people.

Will we continue to allow children to live homeless and in poverty?

Will we scrape Social Security?

Or will we be our brother's keeper, our sister's keeper and fight to make our national community a place where once again there is hope in the future and security for families?

We need the American Jobs Act now. Tell Congress.

President Obama Addresses Unemployment Crisis In Moral Terms; Sets Agenda For Progress #jobsnow

President Obama addressed the unemployment crisis today in moral terms that once again offered a progressive and positive vision for the United States - a start contrast to the Tea Party mentality.  I've just finished a conference call with senior White House officials who have offered more specific information on the president's proposed American Jobs Act.

Here's the basic outline, as offered by Think Progress:

President Obama tonight laid out a $450 billion job creation plan before a joint session of Congress, challenging lawmakers to repeatedly to “pass this jobs bill.” “Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the arguments we’ll have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. You should pass it. And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country,” he said.

Obama called for a reduction in the payroll tax, investments in infrastructure, a plan to modernize up to 35,000 schools, as well as tax breaks for new hires and a plan to reform the corporate tax code that currently “stands as a monument to special interest influence in Washington.” Obama emphasized that many of these ideas have, in the past, garnered bipartisan support and he threw in some Republican favorites, such as approving pending free trade agreements.

However, despite drawing cheers from the Republicans in the crowd when he mentioned eliminating or streamlining regulations, Obama said that he would not use the economic crisis as an excuse to engage in a regulatory race to the bottom...

Many of these items are the ones anti-poverty advocates recommended to the president in advance of his speech.

The White House explains the American Jobs Act in these terms:

First, it provides a tax cut for small businesses, not big corporations, to help them hire and expand now, and provides an additional tax cut to any business that hires or increases wages. 

Second, it puts more people back to work, including up to 280,000 teachers laid off by state-budget cuts, first responders and veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, and construction workers repairing crumbling bridges, roads and more than 35,000 public schools, with projects chosen by need and impact, not earmarks and politics.   And, it expands job opportunities for hundreds of thousands of low-income youth and adults through a new Pathways Back to Work Fund that supports summer and year round jobs for youth; innovative new job training programs to connect low-income workers to jobs quickly; and successful programs to encourage employers to bring on disadvantaged workers.  

Third, it helps out-of-work Americans by extending unemployment benefits to help them support their families while looking for work and reforming the system with training programs that build real skills, connect to real jobs and help the long-term unemployed.    It bans employers from discriminating against the unemployed when hiring, and provides a new tax credit to employers hiring workers who have been out of a job for over 6 months. 

Fourth, it puts more money in the pockets of working and middle class Americans by cutting in half the payroll tax that comes out of every worker's paycheck, saving families an average of $1,500 a year’ and taking executive action to remove the barriers that exist in the current federal refinancing program (HARP) to help more Americans refinance their mortgages at historically low rates, save money and stay in their homes.   

Last, the plan won’t add a dime to the deficit and is fully paid for through a balanced deficit reduction plan that includes closing corporate tax loopholes and asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.

Asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share has been a demand of many U.S. religious leaders to Congress and so I deeply appreciated it when President Obama said tonight:

We have to ask ourselves, “What’s the best way to grow the economy and create jobs?”

Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies?  Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers?  Because we can’t afford to do both.  Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires?  Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs?  Right now, we can’t afford to do both.  

This isn’t political grandstanding.  This isn’t class warfare.  This is simple math.  These are real choices that we have to make.  And I’m pretty sure I know what most Americans would choose.  It’s not even close.  And it’s time for us to do what’s right for our future. 

We'll hear more in the coming days.  But I believe that President Obama is setting the right course.

Photo Credit: WhiteHouse.gov 

Rally For Jobs In Oregon (And What I Wrote The President)

The Oregon Center for Public Policy sends along the following information:

This week Oregonians will be rallying in cities throughout the state, delivering a message to their congressional representatives: jobs, not cuts.

Below is the list of cities where rallies will take place. The accompanying links are to flyers (PDF) providing details regarding the times and locations:    

Hood River -- Tuesday, August 30

Eugene -- Tuesday, August 30

Medford -- Wednesday, August 31

Salem -- Wednesday, August 31

Bend --  Thursday, September 1

Portland -- Thursday, September 1st 

These events, in coordination with the Rebuild The Dream movement, are sponsored by: Oregon Action, Jobs With Justice, Alliance for Democracy, US Uncut, Rural Organizing Project, We Are Oregon, SEIU 503, SEIU 49, Moveon.org, AFSCME, PCUN, Economic Fairness Oregon, Unite-Here Local 9, Our Oregon, Pride At Work and Basic Rights Oregon.

How we address the unemployment crisis was the topic of a letter I sent President Obama today - asking him to support the Urban Jobs Act and to support recommendations made by the Center for American Progress regarding job growth.

As the Center for American Progress notes, the GOP's jobs plan is a "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" that would hurt families across our nation.

We can and we must do better.

President Obama Takes Steps To Create Common Sense Immigration Reform

President Obama made some important immigration-related decisions last week, as Church World Service notes, that I wanted to lift up:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Friday, August 19, 2011 – Humanitarian agency Church World Service applauds the Obama administration’s announcement Thursday that it would suspend deportation proceedings against many undocumented immigrants who pose no threat to United States national security or public safety, and instead would exercise prosecutorial discretion to focus enforcement efforts on cases involving criminals.

“This is a big and important step toward fair, humane, common sense reform of our nation’s broken immigration system," said Erol Kekic, Director of the CWS immigration and refugee program.

“President Obama’s decision puts national resources to the important goal of ensuring the security of our communities and stops wasting those precious resources on arresting, detaining and deporting low-priority cases, including individuals who were brought to this country as young children and know no other home,” Kekic said.

Church World Service is a long-time advocate of immigration reform that reunites families, protects all workers and provides a way for undocumented immigrants to earn legal status, including students who were brought to the United States as children and are undocumented.

The administration’s directive and new guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security echo in part the intention of proposed DREAM Act legislation, which would give young undocumented immigrants who are attending college or serving in the military an opportunity to work legally and attain legal status.

“We look forward to working with the Obama Administration on and holding it accountable for implementation of the new policy and with Congress on further reform, Kekic said.

Church World Service is one of ten voluntary agencies that helps resettle newly arrived refugees in the U.S. The international relief, development and refugee protection agency also provides immigration legal services for immigrants and refugees, working through its nationwide network of local affiliate agencies.

The United States still needs comprehensive immigration reform that provides an earned pathway to citizenship. President Obama has laid out such a plan - one that has gained support from the U.S. Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops, Southern Baptist leaders, and mainline leaders from the National Council of Churches and the United Church of Christ. But politicians in Washington, D.C. are ignoring the strong public support for President Obama's reform efforts and trying to use this issue to divide the public along racial and regional lines. We must do better as a country. Thankfully, the president is moving us in the right direction.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Alabama Clergy Stand Up For Justice In Immigration Debate

If you didn't catch it yesterday The New York Times reported on how an Episcopal bishop. United Methodist bishop and Roman Catholic bishop have sued the state of Alabama over a new anti-immigration law.  

We need comprehensive immigration reform in our nation but the Tea Party Congress is blocking common sense reform proposed by President Obama, similar to a reform bill pushed by George W. Bush, that would protect our borders and provide a earned pathway to citizenship that has broad popular support from US voters tired of inaction on this issue.  

Alabama has enacted draconian state legislation that goes against basic American principles and just as importantly infringes on the Constitutional rights of faith communities to practice their faith.

150 United Methodist Alabama clergy have signed a letter, mentioned in The New York Times article, explaining just wwhy this law is immoral and I wanted to lift up that letter by reprinting it here:

An Open Letter to Governor Robert Bentley, Senator Scott Beason, and Rep. Micky Hammon:

Forty-eight years ago, while sitting in a Birmingham jail cell, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote that, just as Christians have a moral duty to obey just laws, they also have a moral duty to disobey unjust ones.  We are a group of United Methodist ministers from all across the state of Alabama who believe that HB 56 is an unjust law.  Both proponents and opponents of the bill have described HB 56 as the “toughest immigration law in the country.”  Among other measures to discourage illegal immigration, it gives police the ability to stop anyone they have a “reasonable suspicion” may be here illegally.  It requires schools to verify the immigration or citizenship status of students.  It denies bail to anyone arrested for being here illegally.  And, it makes it a crime for a citizen to associate with undocumented persons, whether that be inviting them to one’s home or church or giving them a ride in a car. 

We know that many who support this law are well-meaning individuals who are seeking to find the state's best interest: they are people who are worried about employment in this fragile economy and some feel that the state is strained to pay for services like health care, police protection, and education for those who may be here illegally.  These are all valid concerns.   

We believe, however, that many elements of this law are not in the state’s best interest.  Teachers and principals are already stretched thin and have suffered tremendous budget cuts.  Requiring them to also verify the immigration status of students will, in all likelihood, cost rather than save money and can only distract them from their most important task: preparing our children to succeed.  Prohibiting bond to people who are here illegally means that more and more people will be kept in jails that are already overcrowded and understaffed.  Finally, this law will most certainly be challenged in court and could cost the state millions of dollars at a time when nearly every state board and agency must accept budget cuts in this economy. 

As Christian ministers, however, we believe that this law is not only impractical, but it also contradicts the essential tenets of the Christian faith.  In Exodus 22:21, God commands the people, “You shall not oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt,” and in Leviticus 19:34 God says, “You shall love the alien as yourself.”  In one of his most famous parables, Jesus used the example of the Good Samaritan – someone who was not considered a true Jewish citizen -- who stopped to help a battered and beaten man while the leaders of the people passed him by.  And the apostle Paul taught us that in Christ there is “no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, but all are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). 

HB 56 would force many of our churches and many people in our churches to become lawbreakers, because we believe that God has called us to be a church in ministry to ALL people.  United Methodists across the state welcome people regardless of immigration or citizenship status.  Many of our fastest growing churches are Spanish-speaking, and we do not check people’s immigration status at the door.  In response to Jesus’ admonition in the parable of the Last Judgment to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked and welcome the stranger, many churches have ministries to care for those who are poor by providing them with food, shelter, and transportation.  Again, we do not check people’s immigration status before inviting them into our church vans and cars.  We United Methodist clergy will continue to be in ministry to all people and we call on all United Methodists to do the same.  We call on the governor to call a special legislative session to review this bill, and we call on the legislature to repeal HB56.

Click here to see the list of signers.

We can be proud that clergy in Alabama are bravely standing up for God's justice.

GOP 2012 Field Looks To Tea Party For Inspiration #amesdebate

Note:  I'll be on FoxNews.Com Live at 11am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern to discuss the GOP debate.

Tonight FOX News broadcast the latest GOP presidential debate.  Eight candidates - minus incoming candidate Rick Perry - took part and instead of using the opportunity to address issues important to the American people, such as creating jobs, used their time to fight among one another and to pledge allegiance to the Tea Party, the most unpopular political movement of our time.  It was a missed opportunity to share a positive vision of our nation and while some of the candidates, particularly Michelle Bachman, may have scored points with far right voters that will be important in the Iowa caucus none of the candidates embraced a mainstream agenda that voters would support in a general election.

There was a lot of pandering to the religious right, as you might expect.  Rick Santorum re-pledged his support for arresting doctors that provide even medically needed abortions (remember that he along with Bachmann were the only "candidates to sign a controversial pledge pushed by the Iowa Family Leader that disturbingly implied that African American children were better off in slavery in 1860 than they are in 2011, based on respective family structures").  Tim Pawlenty, who has recently been part of a "bus tour opposing same-sex marriage and abortion and advocating for 'religious liberty,'" seconded Santorum's radical call for criminal penalties for physicians who provide health care to women. 

Mitt Romney, the frontrunner who was pro-choice and supportive of equality for gays and lesbians when he first ran for office in the 1990s, spent most of his time dodging questions about his record.  Voters are still left wondering who the real Mitt Romney is: the moderate Massachusetts governor or the born-again conservative of his 2008 and 2012 campaigns?

Looming in the shadows of tonight's debate was the impending candidacy of Rick Perry.  The Texas governor is expected to announce in South Carolina this weekend - just one week after his "prayer rally" hosted with collection of hard core religious right organizations - and a primary sponsor that is a noted hate group. 

Again, religious right voters who make up a vital part of the Iowa caucus will find a lot to like in several of these candidates.  Mainstream voters, including people of faith, will be turned off by the rhetoric heard tonight and the lack of substantive proposals from the GOP field on how to get the economy moving after the Tea Party downgrade.    

FOX News channel contributor Doug Schoen summed it up right tonight:  the winner of the debate was Barack Obama.  The GOP field tonight embraced the religious right and the agenda put forth by Congressional republicans, at a time Congress is polling at a historic low of 14%.  Americans might not agree with President Obama on every issue but they know he isn't an extremist and polls show that on most key issues the president's positions, such as increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans to help bring stability to our national finances, have broad popular support.              

"What Happened To Obama?"

The New York Times has a rather harsh critique of President Obama written today by Drew Westen.  I've spent a little bit of time with Dr. Westen and appreciate his insights on the Obama presidency at this stage of the term.  Drew is asking - with more eloquence - the same questions I did last week about where the president stands on the issues of the day and what his core principles are.  I don't share his overall assessment of the Obama presidency - the president has accomplished a number of difficult goals that have moved our nation forward - but I do agree with his general assessment that President Obama more clearly needs to define what he stands for and why.  "Compromise" with a Tea Party-controlled House isn't a governing strategy when the policies that result leave the country on the edge of disaster.  Check out What Happened To Obama?      

Happy Birthday, President Obama!

50 is a big milestone, Mr. President.  I wish you all the best and thank you for your many achievements as president thus far.  Enjoy the day.

Poll Shows Muslim Americans Loyal To U.S. (How Will Tea Party, Peter King React?)

Despite all the "bad news" there is good news in a new poll:

A decade after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a Gallup poll released Tuesday found that the vast majority of Muslim Americans say they are loyal to the United States and optimistic about the future, even though they are more likely than other religious groups to say they recently experienced discrimination.

Nine out of 10 Muslim Americans said that their co-religionists in the United States were not sympathetic to Al Qaeda, the group held responsible for the 2001 attacks. Majorities in other religious groups agreed that Muslim Americans did not sympathize with Al Qaeda, but the percentages were much lower.

The poll in many ways contradicts the stereotype of Muslim Americans as an alienated and discontented religious minority. It was conducted by telephone from Feb. 10 to March 11, 2010, and Oct. 1 to 21, 2010, by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, a Gallup-affiliated research group based in the United Arab Emirates. The poll, which included interviews with 2,482 adults of whom 475 said they were Muslim, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus seven percentage points for Muslims.

“It’s not a completely rosy picture,” said Mohamed Younis, senior analyst with the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies in Washington and an author of the study.

“The prejudice and discrimination are definitely there, and that’s something we have consistently seen in the data,” Mr. Younis said. “But at the same time many of the people in the Muslim-American community seem to be doing relatively well, and part of their doing well is being able to be full-fledged Americans, to participate in the American experience.”

The poll found that Muslim Americans were the most likely of any religious group to express confidence in the fairness of elections. The researchers speculated that this might be because of their high levels of support for President Obama, who said early in his term that he would make it a priority to repair relationships with the Muslim world.

One of President Obama's greatest successes since assuming office is largely changing the nature of America's reputation across the globe from one that is adversarial to one that is partnership based.  His speech in Cairo went along way toward building bridges in the Muslim world.

More importantly, President Obama's steadfast support of Muslim Americans has helped to build trust that was violated during the previous administration.  President Obama deserves credit, for example, for speaking out in support of building a new mosque in New York City and for having his administration refute charges made by U.S. Rep. Peter King that Muslim Americans are disloyal.

Muslim Americans have proven time and time again that like most Americans they are committed to our democracy - we witness this daily as they serve in public office, serve in the armed forces, and work as first responders - and believe as all good Americans do that E pluribus unum - Out of many, one.  Those in the Tea Party and on right-wing talk radio will continue to bash Muslims to divide Americans along religious and cultural lines but each day ordinary Muslim Americans show us the path to a better America is built through unity and common purpose.