Another Christian for Dean
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
christian4dean's LiveJournal:
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| Saturday, May 1st, 2004 | | 9:24 am |
| | Saturday, April 24th, 2004 | | 4:02 pm |
An important discussion at The Village Gate I hope you will check out. How Can We Defuse the Anger and Bitterness? | The Village GateAllen writes: Did I ever sleep through some excitement! Last night, Atrios at Eschaton blasted Melanie and me--of course, without mentioning us by name or giving us a link. He complains about discrimination against atheists and the bogus claims of persecution coming from White Christian Males. ... One has to admire Atrios and Kos. They've built the left side of the blogosphere into a more-than-equal counter to Reynolds and company. But if they continue to dominate conversation in the progressive blogosphere while holding to the attitudes that both have toward religion and specifically, Christianity, the potential of this medium to mobilize the Left and counter the corporate-controlled media will never be realized. It's not their being atheists or agnostics that's the problem. It's not that they bash the Christian Right. It's that they express and/or countenance such an intense hatred of religiosity in any form so that their sites will offend the overwhelming majority of the public and ultimately be an embarrassment to politicians who must seek votes from those 90% of Americans who consider themselves religious. I wish I knew how to defuse all that anger. From the feedback I receive on this site, it seems that those who actually spend time here, even if they came full of justified anger and bitterness against Christianity and Christians, usually find something at The Village Gate/The Right Christians that counters their previous negative experiences. But one must take the risk of being exposed to the feared and the hated "Other" in order to be freed from stereotypes." To add your own comments at The Village Gate, you need to register. You can register for free and comment, or you can join as a contributor or subscriber for additional privileges, such as submitting articles and maintaining your own blog at The Village Gate. | | Saturday, April 10th, 2004 | | 5:57 pm |
I remember how impressed I was when I heard that William Sloane Coffin had endorsed Howard Dean. I wish I'd had the chance to meet him--he has been such a source of wisdom and insight to me. Coffin ready: "Having spent his life raging against bigotry, nuclear arms and economic excess, the Rev. William Sloane Coffin says he intends to die gently, without fuss, without fury. 'We should cooperate gracefully with the inevitable,' he says pragmatically, acknowledging with some amusement that, while he's had a fiery public life, he is a man who picks his battles. 'If you don't come to grips with death early on, but know you'll die, it will make you insecure. And that's the worst thing that humans can do, try to secure themselves against insecurity. With money. Or power. Pretending that life will go on forever. And it makes others pay a gruesome price. 'You see, you can't get rich without making someone else poor. You can't get power without disempowering somebody else. All of these things are forms of pride ... and are essentially corrupt.'" -- Since he suffered a stroke, Coffin's speech is slightly slurred; he sometimes must repeat a word or two. His voice doesn't boom like it used to, but he can still rant against what he finds intolerable - lately the duo of Bush and Cheney, men he believes are muddied by deception and are putting U.S. soldiers' lives at risk in a war with Iraq that shouldn't even be. -- Death may be inevitable, he says, but atrocities and injustices are not. Mention the war in Iraq, and he says that he wishes the military brass had quit in protest. "Bush, Cheney, Pearl ... (they're) intellectually in a bunker. They're lacking in imagination, and have misled the country, including the military. I feel sympathy for those who are in Iraq." Coffin says the churches have grown too conservative, like the whole country, forgetting that the devil tempted Jesus with wealth and power. He thinks his thesis in a book published in the 1980s by Westminster/John Knox, A Passion for the Possible, still holds up - that the world the churches ought to be working to create is one without violent conflict, without pollution, and without "a yawning chasm" between rich and poor. Some churches are "irrelevant(ly) righteous," he says, and others are "more concerned with free love than free hate." He says the answer to bad religion isn't no religion - it's good religion. He laments that much about church life is "management and therapy. There is so little prophetic fire." "Anger has a very important spiritual benefit," Coffin says. "If you don't have anger, you end up tolerating the intolerable - and that's intolerable. I still have plenty of anger that is ready to be used at a moment's notice." He pauses, then adds: "When you get older, you find that you don't miss as much as you thought you would. I was a damn good tennis player. Now, I can hardly walk ... I don't grieve that. I was a serious pianist. But I no longer have the energy to keep up my digital dexterity. So, I listen to music; I don't play it. If you adapt in this way, it is a positive thing. You're not in control anymore, less and less. And that's very nice. ... "As I think I have said other places, it's a very good thing we don't live forever. ... If life were endless, we'd be bored to death. ... The fact that we're going to die gives meaning to life, gives meaning to our days. And that is a good thing." | | Saturday, April 3rd, 2004 | | 6:51 pm |
I just got an e-mail from People for the American Way. Please pass this info along to any lists or blogs you frequent. "With members and supporters like you, it is hard to imagine that a day might come when People For the American Way's voice for democracy, fairness and justice would be muted. But we, and almost all other nonprofit advocacy groups, are facing the unimaginable because of proposed rules being considered in April by the Federal Election Commission. The FEC - an appointed body of three Democrats and three Republicans - is considering new rules that would muzzle virtually all nonprofit advocacy groups, right in the middle of this critical election year. These over-reaching, unjustified rules would severely limit, if not outright prohibit, People For and other nonprofits from engaging in advocacy activities that are vital to our democracy, such as registering voters in the months before a federal election or informing voters of federal officials' policy positions and the potential impact of those positions. Urge the FEC to reject the harmful and unwarranted rules on nonprofit free speech and advocacy - send a free fax to the FEC today: http://www.pfaw.org/go/FAX_the_FEC/Note: The FEC's deadline for comments is April 9th, but we encourage you to get your comment in by April 8th to make sure it is considered. Outside of a few brief articles, little media attention is being paid to this enormous threat to freedom of speech and democratic debate. We really need your help to spread the word, especially to friends and family members who belong to nonprofit organizations. The FEC's proposed rules would affect nearly every type of nonprofit: big and small; activist- and research-oriented; left-wing, right-wing, and centrist. If you or a friend works for, or sits on the board of, a nonprofit, urge that an organizational letter of opposition be sent." | | 1:21 pm |
I found out about this site a while ago, but it somehow kept slipping my mind and I don't think I ever posted about it... Jesus No RepublicanWould Jesus be a Republican in America today? Jesus of Nazareth was a man famous for being a paragon of virtue and yet the epitome of humility, a man who gave the rich a hard time, while associating with the dregs of society, much less like a Conservative Republican than a Liberal Democrat.This site was created by Ray Dubuque, who also created Liberals Like Christ. I've seen him around the internet, and in Yahoo groups, but today is the first time I've seen his "about me" page that tells something of his history. Ray is the younger of two sons born in Chicago to a very devout Roman Catholic family. All his early schooling was in parochial schools, where a really dedicated priest turned him on to what Catholics were then calling the "Social Gospel", and which Conservatives today cannot distinguish from "socialism" or "communism".
Wanting to be like his saintly mentor, Ray then spent twelve years in Catholic seminaries. including four extra years devoted to the study of the empowering and liberating philosophy of Aristotle, theology of Thomas Aquinas and Good News of Jesus Christ. After earning the equivalent of a Master's degree in Theology at Catholic University of America, in D.C., and being ordained a priest, he became a seminary professor.
When, however, he saw his church take a U-turn after the Second Vatican Council and start heading back to the dark ages again, he lost any hope that the Roman Catholic Church would be reformed in his lifetime and became a minister in the United Methodist Church, where the Reformation had already taken place.
Before leaving the church, however, Ray used every opportunity to preach this powerful sermon, challenging the Roman Catholic hierarchy,
on behalf of the voiceless people in the pews, and then sent a copy of it to the Pope and to every Catholic bishop in America.
Ray then married Jane, one of the most genuine Christian women imaginable, who like Ray had outgrown the R C church. Jane had five children at the time, but the Dubuques were persuaded by the teaching of Jesus ("when you did it to the least of these, you did it to ME") to rescue and adopt five more children, three of them severely handicapped and to promote the adoption of many more by others. Wow--color me impressed! | | Saturday, March 20th, 2004 | | 12:57 pm |
A letter to John Kerry
Many Dean supporters, and, I suspect supporters of other candidates as well, are struggling to come to terms with the idea of John Kerry as the Democratic nominee. We are in different places--some are resigned to vote for him in November but will need to "hold their noses", and some say they will vote for Nader or write in the candidate they supported during the primary season. Some will give money and time to the Kerry campaign, while others will focus on organizations that are anti-Bush rather than pro-Kerry. Dean's new organization, Democracy for America, promises to focus a great deal on getting progressive candidates to run at all levels of government, and supporting those candidates. Dean has also said that we will be supporting Kerry, but my impression so far is that members of the organization can decide to focus their own efforts in some other area if "supporting Kerry" with anything other than their vote in November is just too much to ask. I feel that some healing needs to happen, and so far I have not really seen any moves in that direction from Kerry. And I do not believe that it is respectful for the DNC or John Kerry or anyone else to just expect us to fall in line because Bush is so bad. There needs to be some outreach, especially from Senator Kerry. With that in mind, a couple weeks ago I started compiling questions for Kerry. In this past week, I have selected some of those questions--the ones that were the most serious and the least combative in their tone--and set about trying to write a letter to the man himself. What follows is a letter I sent earlier this week. As I tried to find a way to get past my anger enough to write a gentle, respectful letter, I eventually decided to focus on one thing I knew that John Kerry and I had in common--our Catholic heritage. Although I was recently received into the Episcopal church, I spent most of my life as a Catholic. I am not aware of Senator Kerry's current level of observance, but he must have it in his psyche somewhere that Lent is a season of special significance. And so I used that thread as my inspiration in writing the following letter: Dear Senator Kerry, As I stare at this blank screen, I am trying to think of what I can say in opening to increase the likelihood that you actually read my words. I wrote once before--it was a very heartfelt plea to you to consider the effect your attacks on Howard Dean could have on our ability to support you if you became the nominee. A month later, I received a very generic letter, almost completely unconnected with what I had written, and was solicited for money. Repeatedly, actually. So, my hopes aren't high, I suppose. And yet, I still believe that miracles can happen. We are now in the season of Lent. I doubt there is much that you and I have in common, but a Catholic heritage is one thing. I found this in an online sermon: Entering Lent has to do with being in the wilderness. A place where we become vulnerable to God’s touch. A place where we no longer place our hands over our ears and shout, “I can’t hear you.” Can you try to listen now? Understand that I am only writing to you now because I am trying to listen to God's "still, small voice", and it really seems to be insisting that I do this. Yet, it is hard for me to put aside my anger about things you have said and done throughout this campaign. So I hope that you, likewise, will find a way during this season of reflection to put aside whatever your natural reaction might be to getting a letter from an unknown woman in Ohio that challenges you in the way this letter will. Instead, please listen carefully, and see if Someone might be calling you to something better. Surely you are aware that many of Howard Dean's supporters have never been involved in politics before--at least not beyond voting. (I understand that is why you and others have been so interested in obtaining access to Dean's list of supporters.) My husband and I had never even done so much as vote in a Democratic primary before. Yet we ended up spending countless hours volunteering for the campaign, creating flyers, web banners, signs, bumper stickers--even "Flat Howard", a printable 2-D life size Howard Dean. We posted these things on a web site called People-Powered Graphics so that we could offer these resources to our fellow grassroots supporters. My husband is actually the artist, and I have focussed on other parts of the web site, such as the Live Journal, a blog called Another Christian for Dean, a page of supporter bios called " Meet the Blog Family", a page of thank-you messages to Judith Steinberg-Dean, and many other little projects. In a very real sense, the Dean supporters online have become family to me. And I look out for my family. I think it is crucial that you understand what drew many of us into this campaign. Opposition to the war in Iraq is often brought up as the reason many people were attracted to Dean's campaign. That is part of the reason for us, but there is more to the story than that. Dean stood up for us when few Democrats seemed to have the courage to do so. He "had our backs." Our concern about many in Washington, and you in particular, is that the concerns of ordinary people take a back seat to other concerns that you may find more pressing. I can certainly understand that you are concerned about your political survival, but I become really worried when ordinary people cannot have a real impact on the decisions politicians make. I worry that our voices and our concerns seem really distant to you when you are concerned about being reelected, or about your standing among fellow politicians. Given the concerns I described above, the reason people like my husband and I threw ourselves so completely into Dean's campaign, is that we saw it as an opportunity to have a *real* voice in our government. My husband once said that he didn't think of the money we sent to the Dean campaign, or the work we did, as a donation. Rather, he thought of it as an investment in something that would benefit all of us. Even today, people are still giving--a little while ago, one of my fundraising bats reached its goal of $1000. All together, the bats my husband and I put up have raised close to $4500. We did not do this because we are political fundraisers in any generic, easily transferable sense. We did this because the Dean campaign is a cause we truly believed in and could support. Right now, many of us are unable to consider ourselves your "supporters". Most will probably vote for you just to get Bush out of office, although a number have said that they will not. A common sentiment is that our votes and/or our support must be earned. Are you willing to earn our support, or will you just assume you've got it based on our dislike for Bush? How you respond to this challenge will tell us much about the kind of president you would be. On April 8, it will be Holy Thursday. In many churches around the world, Christians will engage in the ritual washing of hands and feet. This part of the reenactmant of the Last Supper serves to remind us of something important--one who would lead must also be willing to humble him or herself and serve. With Jesus setting the gold standard for humble leadership, I hope you will see fit to follow. And we are not asking you to wash anyone's feet--just to enter into a dialog with those you hope to lead, and answer some questions. What I have written above comes from me. I chose to call upon our shared Christian heritage as a way of reaching out to you in spite of my feelings of hurt, anger, betrayal, and mistrust. I thought it would be easier for me to use gentle words if I centered myself in my faith. What follows is a series of questions and concerns that have been submitted by my fellow Dean supporters. I hope you will consider this to be the beginning of a respectful, two-way dialog with us. We share your desire to get George Bush out of the White House, but are unready and unwilling to "fall in line" without having our concerns taken seriously. -------------------- From Deborah: During the debate prior to the vote in Wisconsin, you refused to take responsibility for your YES vote that handed George Bush war power that allowed him to invade Iraq. Over 500 young Americans and thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the war in Iraq and many thousands more have suffered horrible injuries. Please answer these questions in less than 5 minutes: Why didn't you know what George Bush was planning when millions of people from around the world knew? Why didn't you speak out, as you said you would, when you finally realized Bush was lying to you and the American people? When will you take full responsibility for the consequences of your poor judgement? Editor's note: Someone recently pointed to an article by William Rivers Pitt, which was written for Truthout back in December when you were still down in the polls. This part stunned me:http://truthout.org/docs_03/121003A.shtmlKerry nodded, bowed his head, and said, “You’re right. I was wrong to trust him. I’m sorry I did.” And then he was gone. Senator Kerry, this shows me that you are at least capable of showing a touch of humility and admitting your mistakes. Why have we, the voters, never seen that side of you?----------------- From Kate in Montclair What I want to know, Senator Kerry, is: Are you aware there is a racial divide in this country, and are you, too, tired of being divided by race? Are you, too, eager to talk about race with white people, rather than just in communities of nonwhites, and just on the third weekend of January, some part of February, and when you're running for office? And, do you agree that proper leadership could actually unite America around our shared challenges for quality schools, job opportunities, a clean environment, affordable healthcare, secure finances upon retirement, rather than divide us around our fears, our prejudices, and our race? --------------- From Steviemo in MN Senator, it appears Democrats didn't learn ANYTHING from the role Ralph Nader played in handing the White House to the Republicans in 2000. Here we are, four years later and no senator has introduced a bill to calling for Instant Runoff Voting which would allow Americans to vote FOR a candidate instead of AGAINST one. Will you reach out to Greens and independents and mitigate the Nader factor by putting Instant Runoff Voting before the Senate PRIOR to this years election? --------------------- From Agatha: Senator Torricelli, one of your top financial contributors, funded the smear ads in Iowa associating Howard Dean with Osama bin Laden. Will you publicly apologize to Dr. Dean for your indirect but obvious involvement in this filth? My vote for you in November HINGES on your response to this question. Editor's note: Many people have asked this question or a similar one. I really hope you will address this concern.----------------- From Michelle: How about asking Mr. Kerry if he will be willing to break up the media conglomerates, and do some re-regulation of that industry, as Dean said he would do. This has got to change. The media has tremendous influence, because it shapes the public's opinions on Everything. As he knows all too well. It destroyed one candidate and built up another. Then I might consider giving him my vote. I would begin to respect him, but not until he states what he will do concerning this. -------------------- From Judy: Will you reinstate Public Television taxpayer funding and ban corporations from financially supporting the public airwaves? Our taxes have built the infrastructure and the American people own the airwaves. PBS should NOT be a venue for government or corporate influence. A society is only as free as we demand it to be, and the American people have the right to a free and honest media. -------------------------- From Joni in OK: Do you support the roping off of dissenters during the Democratic Convention? If not, what will you do to change what is obviously being arranged at this time? If so, where does our freedom of speech begin and end in your estimation? ------------------------ From Kyna: Will you take on the full implications of being a uniter of the Democratic party by carrying the newly formed platform of principles from the ground up...a platform that is pro-community, that establishes equality that is non-negotiable in terms of basic rights (civil, health care, minimum wage) that works off of an appropriate timeline for each concern (20 years for education, 100 years for environment, etc.)? Will this platform serve as your compass point that you are beholden to even as pundits and politics suggest that you adjust to a platform that is more "central?" --------------------- From Corinne: Now that you are the presumptive Democratic nominee, will you update and release your list of bundlers and pledge to do so regularly throughout the campaign? As a March 13 editorial in the Washington Post correctly notes, "Knowing the identities of the campaign's bundlers would be critical to assessing the policies and personnel of a Kerry administration. Mr. Kerry needs to make clear that releasing a list of his financiers was not a one-time event but part of a regular system of providing meaningful disclosure." Also, when do you plan to make good on your promise to release the records of your meetings with lobbyists over the years? In January, you said that you'd happily release any lobbyist meeting you've ever had. Now would be a good time to do that. --------------------- From Susan in Ohio 1. The drug companies are out of control. Their prices are a joke. Every other commercial on T.V. is for a drug. Some of the drugs are rushed into market so fast they're not thoroughly tested and cause deaths (ex: Ephedra). What would you do to rein in the drug companies? 2. Credit card companies are now charging an average of around 24%, some higher. Isn't this usury? It's funny that when credit card interest was a tax deduction, interest averaged around 7.5%. What would you do to stop this consumer abuse? 3. Will you work seriously to develop alternate fuel/power sources (NOT NUCLEAR) to make us less reliant on oil? 4. Will you put security in place for incoming cargo vessels? 5. Will you do something to stem the influx of illegal aliens from Mexico? 6. Will you do something to halt the outflow of jobs? When companies outsource to make bigger profits they don't share. Prices don't go down for products, and remaining workers don't get raises. Only the CEO's and shareholders get rich. 7. Will you see that the media is broken up? Right now 5 companies control the media. American must have a free press. 8. Will you see that Robert Novak is charged for exposing a CIA agent? 9. Will you safeguard Social Security? I worked all my life, but I made lower pay as a woman and had to take time out to have and raise children. Consequently I have no pension savings. I'm quite sure I'm not alone. 10. Will you make a promise to regularly get out among the "real people"? Outside the Washington bubble, outside the Millionaire/Billionaire club, where most people live for a week on what you might spend on one dinner. America has millions more "regular folks" than rich ones. You'd be well advised to keep in touch. Will you? ---------------------- From Janice: Senator Kerry, Do you care enough about the concerns of Dean supporters to answer the above questions, or are we considered "collateral damage" to you, of some peripheral concern but ultimately expendable. Do you care that our concern is that you have a pattern of being unable to discern the truth in a crisis? Did you really expect George Bush would not use the power you gave him in October of 2002? If I had been reading his intentions since before the 2000 election, how could you have missed this? Please explain this to me. Are you counting on our support simply because you know we want Bush out of office? Do you not realize, once again, that the problems in our country are bigger than that and that if you miss this, even with our support and our votes and a majority, you may still lose in November? ----------------- This is a sampling of questions that have been submitted to me. I only included the ones I could use without major editing, but other concerns included your missed votes in general and your missing the vote on the "partial birth abortion" ban in particular, Hoffa's comment on Hardball regarding ANWR that "Kerry will drill everywhere," your vote for the unfunded mandate No Child Left Behind, as well as your plans to reverse the damaging effects of that legislation, and the push polling and robo calling against Dean that was used by your campaign in some states. Pay special attention to the question by Janice--it reflects the level of distrust and cynicism that many of us are experiencing right now. We believe America deserves better than the politics of cynicism. We want very much to have something real and hopeful to vote for in November rather than simply voting against Bush. Retired Bishop John Shelby Spong, an early endorser of yours, spoke at my church in January. In the question/answer session that followed, someone asked his thoughts about the election in November. Spong expressed his optimism, noting that because of your service in Viet Nam, no one would be able to question your courage or patriotism. Your endorser Max Cleland would probably attest to the fact that the Bush administration is not squeamish about questioning anyone's patriotism. Please consider that this election in 2004 may be calling for you to show a different, ultimately more powerful kind of courage and patriotism--by entering into a truly open and respectful dialog with those you hope to lead. We Dean supporters, and all others who want Bush out of office, but are not yet ready to call ourselves "Kerry supporters" look forward to your thoughtful and sincere response. Sincerely, Renee in Ohio P.S. Adding one question of my own: What mechanism will you set up *before* November to insure ongoing two-way communication between yourself and grassroots organizations dedicated to working for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people? | | Friday, March 19th, 2004 | | 12:29 pm |
Iraq: One year later
by Jim Wallis Nearly 600 American soldiers have died in Iraq - six more just last weekend. More than 3,000 have been wounded or maimed. Reliable accounts say more than 10,000 Iraqi civilians have lost their lives. No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq. U.S. weapons inspector David Kay has reported that they probably weren't there, and that the U.S. government should honestly admit that it was mistaken. They haven't. President Bush and his administration now repeatedly say the fact that the principal argument for going to war with Iraq has turned out to be false doesn't matter. There was no "imminent" or "urgent" threat from chemical or biological weapons and Iraq wasn't developing a nuclear threat, as was claimed before the war. The best explanation is that intelligence was manipulated and selectively reported to justify a worst-case scenario previously arrived at on political grounds. The worst is that the case was fabricated. Either way, the president of the United States misled the American people into going to war. A new book based on documents from former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill makes clear that this administration decided to go to war with Iraq even before Sept. 11, and the "facts" were never the decisive factor. CIA Director George Tenet has virtually said that his agency's efforts to prevent the Bush administration from "overstatement" on Iraq were a failure. Iraq remains chaotic and unstable. Divided factions threaten any political solution, and the largest faction - the Shiites - may not support a new provisional government. In July, the United States plans to turn over sovereignty to a new Iraqi government that does not yet exist, a transition that would clearly not be happening if there were no American election in the fall, again a purely political calculation. It is indeed a good thing that the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein is over. But that worthy goal should and could have been accomplished, over time, in much better ways than a pre-emptive and largely unilateral war that has proven to be both unnecessary and unjust. Iraq is now a big mess with no clear or responsible exit strategy in sight and is likely to remain so for a very long time. At the end of the article, Jim Wallis seems to agree with Dean's "controversial" comments about Spain this week:In Spain 201 people died from bombs on commuter trains, with hundreds more injured. American columnists are attacking the Spanish people for caving into terrorists because they defeated the pro-American Spanish party in last week's elections. What they don't say is that the vast majority of the Spanish people were against their government's decision to support the U.S. war with Iraq, which was therefore an undemocratic decision. Or that the ruling party lied to the Spanish people in an attempt to blame the commuter train attacks on Basque separatists and distract attention from al Qaeda. What the U.S. government and its media allies seem to be saying is that the proper response of the Spanish people after being bombed should have been to vote for the policy of George W. Bush. They didn't. Good for them. | | Monday, February 23rd, 2004 | | 10:53 am |
Being involved in politics is rather out of character for me, and it is not something I bring up most of the time. It was even hard for me to bring myself to wear a button, but I finally put one on a couple months ago--after half a year of active involvement in the campaign. But I feel I have to mention it now, or write nothing at all, because it is what weighs most heavily on my heart right now. I have never cared so much, believed so deeply, or fought so hard for something before. But I felt called, and, having promised myself to always follow "God's Clues", whatever I perceived them to be, I threw myself into this work completely. It was more than I ever bargained for. We have worked hard, and met many wonderful, inspiring people, but we have also had to fight this battle on more fronts than we could have imagined. The most difficult opponent has been the corporate media, because it truly does have the power to "disappear" us no matter how much we cry "We are here! We are here! We are here!"The latest indignity was an article in a local paper. The official Ohio grassroots leader, who jumped ship for a different candidate, and then switched to another, is portraying himself as the voice of the Ohio grassroots. The press is more than happy to tell the story his way, leading readers to believe that we, as a group, are transferring our "energy and enthusiasm" to another candidate. But that is not what we are doing. My husband and I, and many other grassroots supporters, are working to do what Howard Dean asked us to do when he suspended (not ended) his campaign. We are working let people know that Howard Dean is still on the ballot, and that votes for him can still send delegates to the Democratic convention. None of the other candidates speaks for us, and this is the only way to be assured that we still have a voice. How can we, as individuals, actually do that, if the powerful voice of the media is telling a different story? Believe me, I have tried--many of us have tried--to get people to tell our story, but to no avail. I don't have an answer, but I pray that an answer will come. I have had some song lyrics in my head for the past couple days. I could only remember little snippets of the song, so I searched for the lyrics: By eric clapton and stephen bishopHoly mother, where are you?
Tonight I feel broken in two.
I’ve seen the stars fall from the sky.
Holy mother, can’t keep from crying.
Oh I need your help this time,
Get me through this lonely night.
Tell me please which way to turn
To find myself again.
Holy mother, hear my prayer,
Somehow I know you’re still there.
Send me please some peace of mind;
Take away this pain.
I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait any longer.
I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait for you.
Holy mother, hear my cry,
I’ve cursed your name a thousand times.
I’ve felt the anger running through my soul;
All I need is a hand to hold.
Oh I feel the end has come,
No longer my legs will run.
You know I would rather be
In your arms tonight.
When my hands no longer play,
My voice is still, I fade away.
Holy mother, then I’ll be
Lying in, safe within your arms | | Monday, February 16th, 2004 | | 10:51 pm |
Loving God, you have always looked with special favor upon those who are small, weak or oppressed. You are known for your "stunning upsets", championing the underdog and bestowing your greatest blessings upon people the world regards as insignificant. Bless your servant Howard Dean as he works to create real change in our government so that it better reflects your will--on earth as it is in heaven. Bless and strengthen those of us who have been inspired by Howard's message and courage, and feel called to give of our time, money, and talents in order to help elect him. Strengthen us when we feel defeated. Fill our minds with your peace when we doubt. Fill our hearts with your love, even when others try to tear us down. If your beloved Son could say, "Forgive them, Father for they know not what they do", then we too must find it in ourselves to forgive those who seek to destroy what we have built. This is not easy for us, so we ask your help. We ask also that you open the ears, eyes, and hearts of our brothers and sisters. Help them to really hear what we are saying without any cynical distortion. Help them to see the community we are building--as it really is, not as it has been described to them. And help them believe in their hearts that real change can happen if we join together in hope, not fear. | | Saturday, February 14th, 2004 | | 7:49 pm |
In defense of Biblical marriage The Presidential Prayer Team is currently urging us to: "Pray for the President as he seeks wisdom on how to legally codify the definition of marriage.." So here, in support of the Prayer Team's admirable goals, is a proposed Constitutional Amendment codifying marriage entirely on biblical principles: A. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. (Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5) B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21) C. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deut 22:13-21) D. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30) E. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9) F. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen. 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10) G. In lieu of marriage, if there are no acceptable men in your town, it is required that you get your dad drunk and have sex with him (even if he had previously offered you up as a sex toy to men young and old), tag-teaming with any sisters you may have. Of course, this rule applies only if you are female. (Gen 19:31-36) from "left coast jane" | | Thursday, February 12th, 2004 | | 8:41 am |
An imaginary conversation between myself and John F. Kerry This is completely imaginary because John Kerry will never deign to speak to a lesser mortal such as myself. I know this because I have tried to reach him. I always try--make a real effort--before I write someone off as beyond hope. I have tried very hard to maintain a tenuous balance for the past 8 months. I have been throwing myself into this campaign, fully supporting Howard Dean and doing whatever was in my power to help get him elected--while at the same time always aware that I might eventually have to vote for one of the other Democrats in the race in the general election. On the outside, people can easily see what I am doing in support of this campaign. What people can't see is that all the while I have *also* been making a continuous, concerted effort not to despise one of the other candidates so much that I felt unable to vote for him or her in the general election. Kerry has not made this easy, but I have done what I could. When I read the news articles that he and Gephardt were coordinating their efforts in a "tag-team" attack against Howard Dean, I wrote letters to each of them, politely and sincerely asking them to reconsider their approach. I warned that their actions would make it difficult for many of us to support them if one of them became the nominee, but that it was very important to get Bush out of office, so could they kindly stop. From Gephardt I received no acknowledgement at all. From the Kerry campaign, one month after my letter, I received a form letter thanking me for my letter, telling me what a great guy Kerry is, and asking me to send money to his campaign. Those requests for donations went on for quite a while, incidentally, as I had trouble getting off of his mailing list. I have never even voted in a primary election before, let alone actually been involved months in advance. Unfortunately, this means I have seen first hand a lot of ugly details that most Americans have not. I *saw* him, in effect, beat up my candidate and steal his message. I know that he is one of the people behind vicious attack ads against Howard Dean. I know that one of the people with whom he coordinated these attacks (Gephardt)has since dropped out of the race and endorsed him. So, the press repeats the mantra that Kerry is electable, and, in an ongoing call and response with the public, has polled the American public into agreeing with them (Kerry is electable, Kerry is electable--are you getting this? There will be a quiz later...)It is working. What can I do? I imagine myself having this conversation with John Kerry... "Stop it! Stop acting like this, or I'll--" "You'll what?" he sneers arrogantly. He's got me. I know that. He knows how desperately I want to get Bush out of office, for the good of the country and the world. He has all the cards, though I know he has played a dirty game--aided and abetted by the DNC and the corporate media. "I'll---vote for you in November but feel really sick about it," I answer softly. It is in this context that I once again find myself in awe of Howard Dean's courage. He is speaking the bold, uncensored truth--that which many of us are saying to each other but are never heard in the press. He has actually addressed the latest news, which many of us have been discussing in the blog: "Seizing on a fresh report about the financing of critical ads, Democrat Howard Dean assailed front-runner John Kerry (news - web sites) on Wednesday for being part of "the corrupt political culture in Washington."
Struggling to right his winless campaign, Dean focused on the disclosure that former Sen. Bob Torricelli, who now raises money for Kerry, donated $50,000 to an independent group that ran controversial ads in three early-voting states.
One commercial showed terrorist leader Osama bin Laden as the group sought to raise doubts about Dean's national security credentials. Other spots focused on Dean's previous support of NAFTA, his past comments supporting slowing the growth of Medicare and his eight endorsements by the National Rifle Association while he was governor of Vermont.
"The link is unassailable," Dean said, describing Torricelli as "ethically challenged." Amid an ethics scandal, Torricelli quit his 2002 re-election bid five weeks before Election Day.
Torricelli declined to comment.
Nearly all the donors to Americans for Jobs, Healthcare and Progressive Values were backers of Dean rival Dick Gephardt the Missouri congressman who staked his candidacy on Iowa and was in a head-to-head battle with Dean there weeks ago.
"What we now see is John Kerry is part of the corrupt political culture in Washington," Dean told The Associated Press in an interview. "That's exactly what I'm asking Wisconsin voters to stand up against."That took tremendous courage, in the bizarre political culture that rewards style over substance, brutally punishing any true honesty. And it is absolutely true. On the same day he criticized Kerry's links to the ads, Dean said John Edwards would be a better candidate against President Bush in the general election.
"I think that Senator Kerry has an enormous advantage. My fear is that he (Kerry) won't be the strongest Democratic candidate," Dean told CBS News in an interview to air Wednesday night. "I've actually said on the record that I thought Senator Edwards would be a stronger candidate against George W. Bush than John Kerry because when Senator Kerry's record is examined by the public at a more leisurely time when we're not having primaries every week he's going to turn out to be just like George Bush."Wow. I can't help thinking of the biblical story of Solomon, in which the contested infant's true mother revealed herself, by saying she would surrender her son to the other woman rather than see him destroyed. Howard Dean, in his recent remarks that will no doubt be parsed, and spun, has similarly shown us that he is the true patriot. He knows what is at stake, and, as someone who is genuinely in this election for the good of this country, candidly told the truth about the relative merits and electability of two of his opponents. So, is there still hope for his campaign? Only if the American voters can find in themselves the wisdom of Solomon. | | Wednesday, February 11th, 2004 | | 8:41 am |
Moral Mob Mauled Blind by Janet's Areola BorealisWow--quite a title, there! That's why I stopped to read it, even though I was scanning Common Dreams for articles about the Democratic primary. I was trying to find the article about why it's too soon to be thinking in such "practical" terms about a general election that won't occur until it is almost next winter. But then I read this article, and it really expressed much of what is troubling about they way Americans "think"--or perhaps, don't think. At least not deeply enough. We don't just take in too much fast food--we take in too much "fast news". Now that I think about it, the reasons are pretty similar. Anything else seems to time consuming--too overwhelming--given our stressed, busy lives. -- This country hops between the Puritan and the whorish faster than Jim Bakker could unzip his pants off camera. It explains how the nation's moral mob could howl at the only glimpse of something natural in the whole halftime spectacle at the Superbowl while finding nothing offensive in the simulated orgy that had preceded it. We are the dirtiest-minded nation on Earth, peddling the sluttish and the puerile in every other frame out of Hollywood and Madison Avenue. We dress up kiddie porn in leather and croons and call it pop. We accuse a president of sneaking in a couple of pitiful extracurricular dates when the whole culture is stuck on winks and nudges. Yet when a woman's breast appears on national television for less time than it takes to say boo, we revert to being what we are most at our worst, what H.L. Mencken summed up in one word: boobs. It's really too bad, given the seeming progress of the last few decades when words like "breast cancer" could finally be uttered without someone's obligatory titters (and when the disease could be treated more honestly), when breastfeeding is increasingly esteemed and decreasingly segregated, when women's bodies have, here and there anyway, been less worshipped than respected. The message from the Superbowl is: The breast, and by extension female "virtue," is still a political football. Two Sundays ago it was picked up, pounced on by variously opportunistic lechers, and used to score the only touchdown that counted. Score another one for the conservative rollback to Ozzie and Harriet's imaginary values. | | Tuesday, February 10th, 2004 | | 10:43 pm |
| | Thursday, January 22nd, 2004 | | 4:18 pm |
I just noticed that a new link has been added to the Featured Sites on Blog for America. Check it out, and pass it along. | | Wednesday, January 21st, 2004 | | 9:41 pm |
Bishop John Shelby Spong is speaking in Columbus, Ohio this Saturday. He is controversial in part because of his support for gay rights within the church, and also for his liberal, nonliteral interpretation of the Bible. I just found an interview he did in Australia back in 2001, and learned something I had not known about his long history of risk taking in the name of equal rights for all people: David Weber asked Bishop Spong why the Ku Klux Klan once proclaimed him public enemy number one.JOHN SPONG: That was one of my greatest honours. I lived in North Carolina, it was in the days of the civil rights movement and school desegregation and I spoke out against them and I was probably the only one in that little farming community that dared to do that. I told the Sheriff that I planned to escort these little black children into the schools if he couldn't guarantee their safe delivery. He did guarantee their safe delivery. So the klan had a field rally and burned a cross and named me public enemy number one in Edgecombe County, and I was enormously proud of that. | | Tuesday, January 20th, 2004 | | 11:00 am |
From The Right Christians web site. Click the link to read the rest. : "The Howard Dean campaign has brought the 'Take America Back' movement to South Carolina's Democrats. Committed to changing politics by 'bringing more people to the table,' the Deaniacs are using weblogs, MeetUps and 'mushrooming' house meetings to foster two-way communication and build new communities. While the campaign has not shunned more traditional tools like television advertising, obtaining local endorsements and conducting door-to-door canvassing, the Dean effort in this critical southern state has employed the same 'new politics' techniques that have drawn the attention of politicians and pundits nationwide." | | Monday, January 19th, 2004 | | 7:13 pm |
From Oscar in Louisville
One way to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. is to honor that for which he believed, fought and died. In his sermon entitled, "The Drum Major Instinct" King said, “The other day I was saying, I always try to do a little converting when I'm in jail. And when we were in jail in Birmingham the other day, the white wardens and all enjoyed coming around the cell to talk about the race problem. And they were showing us where we were so wrong demonstrating. And they were showing us where segregation was so right. And they were showing us where intermarriage was so wrong. So I would get to preaching, and we would get to talking—calmly, because they wanted to talk about it. And then we got down one day to the point—that was the second or third day—to talk about where they lived, and how much they were earning. And when those brothers told me what they were earning, I said, ‘Now, you know what? You ought to be marching with us. [laughter] You're just as poor as Negroes.’ And I said, ‘You are put in the position of supporting your oppressor, because through prejudice and blindness, you fail to see that the same forces that oppress Negroes in American society oppress poor white people. (Yes) And all you are living on is the satisfaction of your skin being white, and the drum major instinct of thinking that you are somebody big because you are white. And you're so poor you can't send your children to school. You ought to be out here marching with every one of us every time we have a march.’ Now that's a fact. That the poor white has been put into this position, where through blindness and prejudice, (Make it plain) he is forced to support his oppressors. And the only thing he has going for him is the false feeling that he’s superior because his skin is white—and can't hardly eat and make his ends meet week in and week out. (Amen) And not only does this thing go into the racial struggle, it goes into the struggle between nations. And I would submit to you this morning that what is wrong in the world today is that the nations of the world are engaged in a bitter, colossal contest for supremacy. And if something doesn't happen to stop this trend, I'm sorely afraid that we won't be here to talk about Jesus Christ and about God and about brotherhood too many more years. (Yeah) If somebody doesn't bring an end to this suicidal thrust that we see in the world today, none of us are going to be around, because somebody's going to make the mistake through our senseless blunderings of dropping a nuclear bomb somewhere. And then another one is going to drop. And don't let anybody fool you, this can happen within a matter of seconds. (Amen) They have twenty-megaton bombs in Russia right now that can destroy a city as big as New York in three seconds, with everybody wiped away, and every building. And we can do the same thing to Russia and China. But this is why we are drifting. And we are drifting there because nations are caught up with the drum major instinct. ‘I must be first.’ ‘I must be supreme.’ ‘Our nation must rule the world.’ (Preach it) And I am sad to say that the nation in which we live is the supreme culprit. And I'm going to continue to say it to America, because I love this country too much to see the drift that it has taken. God didn't call America to do what she's doing in the world now. (Preach it, preach it) God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war as the war in Vietnam. And we are criminals in that war. We’ve committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it. And we won't stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation. But God has a way of even putting nations in their place. (Amen) The God that I worship has a way of saying, ‘Don't play with me.’ (Yes) He has a way of saying, as the God of the Old Testament used to say to the Hebrews, ‘Don’t play with me, Israel. Don't play with me, Babylon. (Yes) Be still and know that I'm God. And if you don't stop your reckless course, I'll rise up and break the backbone of your power.’ (Yes) And that can happen to America. (Yes) Every now and then I go back and read Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. And when I come and look at America, I say to myself, the parallels are frightening. And we have perverted the drum major instinct.” http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/sermons/680204.000_Drum_Major_Instinct.htmlSo I'm sure you can understand why I enthusiastically support Howard Dean when he says that he wants to be the candidate of guys in the South who have the Confederate flag on their truck - Martin Luther King would have said, "Amen!" After the populist revolts in the 1890s the poor white has been put into this position, where through blindness and prejudice, he is forced to support his oppressors - and Howard Dean wants to change that for all of us. I'm sure you can understand why I support Howard Dean when he says, "It only becomes more and more clear every day what a mistake this administration made in launching a preemptive war in Iraq. The evidence mounts that not only did the Administration mislead the American people and the world in making its case for war, but that it failed to plan adequately for the peace." Martin Luther King would have said, "Amen!" George W. Bush has confessed that Iraq had nothing to do with the attacks on America in 2001, but George W. Bush is caught up with the drum major instinct: ‘I must be first.’ ‘I must be supreme.’ ‘Our nation must rule the world.’ This is why "W" must be dethroned, and I believe that Howard Dean is the man to replace him. Martin Luther King and Howard Dean - two men who have my utmost respect and support. | | Friday, January 16th, 2004 | | 11:51 pm |
I have been thinking about something rather ugly that was said by the Gephardt campaign. I know-- I really need to try not to do that...and generally I don't. I have resigned myself to the idea that politics is an ugly business, and just try to put the ugliness out of my mind . Just focus on the positive things that I can do towards the goal of helping Howard Dean win the Democratic nomination. But somehow, this time it was different. This afternoon as I was getting ready to go to work, I caught part of an interview with Dick Gephardt. The interviewer mentioned this quote to Gephardt: As one Gephardt labor organizer put it to me, "Who are you going to follow to a caucus—a [labor union] brother you know from work or some kid with piercings from Seattle?" Then, the interviewer asked, "So, is it a cultural difference?" I thought, "Here's your chance. Dick Gephardt, here is your chance to do the right thing and speak out against stereotyping, against the politics of division. To talk about the need for unity, and the need to heal the divisions in this nation." Dick said something to the effect that, yes there is a cultural difference and...I don't know what he said after that. Nothing good, nothing hopeful and uniting, so I tuned it out. But as I was driving to work, I kept thinking about it. It reminded me of the last time I had been really disappointed and saddened by one of his responses. It was when someone asked him about the hateful "Club for Growth" ad that referred to Dean supporters as a tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show. Gephardt was asked "Should they not have run that ad?" His response was something extremely noncommittal like, "Well, I wish they would have chosen a different way to express that." How disappointing. How sad. Would it have killed him to say, "Even though I am running against Howard Dean, I disapprove of ads that are hateful and promote stereotyping and distrust of people who may be different from us." I can be left with no other conclusion than this: while Dick Gephardt, at least to my knowledge, has not actually made such hateful, divisive comments himself, he cannot bring himself to denounce them, because he hopes to benefit from them. The sad, ironic part of this is the timing. Yesterday was the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Monday is the National Holiday in his honor. Dr. King's message was one of unity and brotherhood, and like Jesus, King recognized you as brother even if you were different from him. Even if you were a different color or spoke a different language. Even--and I don't think I'm going out on a limb here--if you were pierced. Dr. King once said, Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this. We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the way God’s universe is made; this is the way it is structured.Dr. King also spoke of the Beloved Community: Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.We may still be a long way from achieving Dr. King's vision, but we dishonor his memory and his legacy if we do not even try. If you were to ask me why I became involved in the Dean for America campaign, I could give you the short answer and tell you how vital it is to the United States and the world community to get George Bush out of the White House--and that I feel that Howard Dean has the best chance of doing that. But on a deeper level, what attracted me to this campaign is that I feel called to do whatever is in my power to help heal the world. A necessary part of that is to help people recognize our common bond. We are all family. We are all, as King said "caught in an inescapable network of mutuality." Howard Dean recognizes this too. He has said, "I think the biggest loss since this president has been in the office is our sense of community, our sense that we're all in it together." We are all in it together--no matter where we live, or what color we are, or what we do or don't have pierced. And if Dick Gephardt, or any other candidate, fails to unequivocally affirm this message (out of some hope of benefitting from people's prejudices), then, no matter who wins the nomination, we will all lose. | | Thursday, January 15th, 2004 | | 5:21 pm |
Jennifer in SC posted this in the main blog: As we need all the help we can get between now and Nov. 2nd, and since I got such a positive response yesterday, I would like to post this again. As stated on an earlier thread, the current administration talks of being Christian, yet all the programs and policies they implement are the opposite of what Jesus Christ taught us to do. And, in recognizing that all major religions have more in common with each other than differences; and whether or not you follow the teachings of Christ, Muhammad, The Great Sprit, who ever, we all eventually pray to the same God. I invite all of you to join me in prayer at 8:30pm Eastern Standard Time. We are praying for our country, our future, and our chance to change the course of America. We are a determined grassroots force; we can, and will, make a better America. You can all see the difference we have made, just by joining together in our support for Howard Dean. Let's take that power to a new level. Pray for wisdom and guidance in our efforts to bring every American into this movement. Pray the election process does not over shadow the magnitude of what we are trying to accomplish. Pray this movement toward a better America does not end when Howard Dean becomes President. Finally, make sure to give thanks, for we live in a country that we the people have the power, and the responsibility, to fix things as they become broken. Take one minute at 8:30 tonight to ask your higher power for help in our mission, help for our country, help for our world. I will be praying to my higher power every night at 8:30, please join me. | | Monday, January 12th, 2004 | | 10:56 pm |
There is a new Christians for Dean Yahoo Group--actually it is replacing the old one, whose moderator is missing in action (we hope he's all right). Click here to read about the group, and to join if you so desire. |
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