Politics, society and Faith from a Christian liberal prospective. We believe that we can all accomplish great things in the world if we can just get past the lust of the powerful and the fear of the comfortable.
"Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well." FEMA Director Michael Brown, Sept. 1, 2005
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." President Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown, Sept. 2, 2005
. 'We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did.' " Republican Congressman Richard Baker of Baton Rouge
. "What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them." Former First Lady Barbara Bush, about evacuees in Astrodome, Sept. 5, 2005
. My wife and I lived in Biloxi, MS for five years during the late 80’s early 90’s. It's time to pray, ya'all, for all those down there facing another monster in the Gulf promising death, destruction and disrupted lives.
Will Fema be there? Will President Bush play like he did last time? Will the Republicans blame the victims for their situation? Will the Bush government be negligent in their responsibilities and foul up to the point of costing lives like in Katrina?
Will the GOP hold a big party for themselves while disaster rages on American soil?
. Sounds like they are going to play while the South suffers.
On the first day of their convention - Vice President Cheney, First Lady Laura Bush and President Bush will all be speaking at the Republican get together while Hurricane Gustav will be slamming into the state of Louisiana and Mississippi as a storm of anything between a 3 and 5.
Even if the prominent speakers were to cancel the party will still go on. There will be citizens of the United States under great stress at this time; some may be dying or undergoing severe injury..
Here's Democratic Congressman Gene Taylor of the south Mississippi Gulf Coast attempting to speak on the floor of the House about serious problems his state is having with restoration after Katrina. from March 22, 2007...
Just another example showing radical conservatives yielding to their lesser nastier selves, which has come to fit them like an old shoe. . Well, I guess we'll see if they've been sufficiently shamed into doing the right thing. They wouldn't want to look bad with the whole world watching the contrast between scenes on the Gulf Coast and Minneapolis-St. Paul; the election just might depend on it.
What a huge contrast Sen. Biden is compared to the post below of Bush hugging McCain's poor choice. He made his acceptance speech on the third night of the convention. It was a good one as you would expect from this most able VP choice.
Joe Biden accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for VP . The articulate winner of the 2000 presidential election and Noble Prize winner Al Gore.
Former Vice President Al Gore . Everyone who is going to vote, the too, young but will vote next time and all those concerned about the future direction of the United States should hear or at least read this most excellent speech. The prepared text of the speech is in full following a critique from Pat Buchanan.
Sen. Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech to the DNC . Pat Buchanan Comments on Barack Obama's Speech . Remarks of Senator Barack Obama "The American Promise" Democratic National Convention August 28, 2008 Denver, Colorado
As prepared for delivery
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To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation;
With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States. . Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest - a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.
To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.
Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.
It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.
That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.
We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.
Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.
These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.
America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.
This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.
This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.
We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.
Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."
Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.
But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.
The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."
A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.
Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?
It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.
For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.
Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.
You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.
We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.
We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.
The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.
Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.
In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.
When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.
And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.
I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.
What is that promise?
It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.
Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.
That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President. . Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.
Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.
And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.
As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.
America, now is not the time for small plans.
Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.
Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.
And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.
Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.
And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.
And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.
For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.
And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.
That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.
You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.
But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.
America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.
You make a big election about small things.
And you know what - it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.
I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.
But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.
For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
America, this is one of those moments.
I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I've seen it. Because I've lived it. I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I've seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.
And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they'd pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.
That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.
And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.
The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.
"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."
America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America. .
Everyone else that was speculated on had strong personalities and opinions. He didn't want that, he picked a person to go to funerals and dinners!!!
McCain picked a trophy wife type partner. It wouldn't be the first time. Sadly, when you sit down and think about all the reasons, she doesn't measure up, to all the many, many, exceptionally qualified battle-harden women in the GOP; it's hard to come to any other conclusion than he wanted only to use her to look good.
It's quite shameful when you think about it.
Her right-wing identity and closeness to the top office along with McCain's medically complicated age make her a dangerous choice for VP. If the country were to be foolish enough to put McCain into office and something were to happen to him she would have no choice but to trust her, already ever present in the McCain campaign, Neocon handlers in running the country.
She would be another Bush-like character close to the oil companies with even less experience running the nation into the ground.
I worry that what we see as such an obviously shallow choice will be welcomed by the reality show obsessed Fox-accepting crowd as a good idea with no solid reason why they believe so.
I'm certain the community I live in will just love her. .
. Gov. Sarah Palin on the Wooten scandal and VP . The Huffington Post has a great page devoted to all things Sarah Palin...
Sen. Kennedy has always been a powerful voice for those on the bottom. His love for this country and it's people have been unequaled in modern politics.
It seems important to the public to have a beautiful first lady, well Michelle has that easily covered. Besides being the mother of two precious little girls she's heavy in the education department being a Princeton and Harvard Law School graduate. She gave up corporate law to work in city hall and then with youth. Mrs. Obama will be more than just a first lady, she will be, as she has been to her husband, a valuable asset to America.
I expected the Democratic primary to be decided by the time it got to Washington State. I have a lot of respect for Dennis Kucunich. I planned to vote for him hoping that enough others would do so, also, in an effort to have his ideals noticed, and perhaps some embraced, by the party, candidate, and platform committee.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) . I was one of those who felt Hillary Clinton would damage the Democratic Party for her own gain. I am sorry for that. I was wrong. It took courage to do what she did along with a love for the Dems. She has been saying since June that she supports Barrack Obama for president. The story of the revolt of the Hillary supporters was greatly overblown and may have been Republican fueled.
Hillary Clinton . Senator John Kerry . Michael Wilson Nominates Barack . President Bill Clinton . Barack Obama becomes the Democratic Party's Nominee by Acclamation .
I was so happy with the speech and enthralled with the emotion of the historic moment. He touched on so many issues that were important to me. In fact I don't think he left anything out. At the moment I'm just sitting here kind of numb and overwhelmed only a few minutes after the end of the convention. The whole forth day was a pleasant change as was the fireworks after the speech.
I was very glad we watched the whole convention on CSPAN. There were no annoying pundits forced to give snap judgments or follow flawed suppositions in order to fill time and sell 'soap'. I got to hear the minor speakers and the music which was actually pretty good, at least for my age group.
I've got to get caught up so,back to the VP pick...
I was glad to see Barrack formally announce that Sen. Biden was his pick at the state capitol of my home state; Illinois.
I'm very happy with his pick. My wife and I have been CSPAN viewers, at times junkies, for a long time now. Sen Biden has long been, within a small group, of our more favorite Senators. Foreign policy matters have been my most important set of issues ever since the Bushies have drug our reputation, principles and military through the dirt. There is no one in the Congress of the United States who is more capable than Joe Biden in assisting our future president in turning around the, what I believe to be criminal, demolition of US interest at home and around the world.
Barrack Obama in Springfield, IL . Joe Biden in Springfield, IL .
I haven't done much spiritual stuff here (except maybe the abortion post a little) lately but listening to the I have a Dream speech seems to bring some of that out.
"Don't ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love. We must have the compassion and understanding for those who hate us. We must realize so many people are taught to hate us that they are not totally responsible for their hate. But we stand in life at midnight; we are always on the threshold of a new dawn."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"In struggling for human dignity the oppressed people of the world must not allow themselves to become bitter or indulge in hate campaigns. To retaliate with hate and bitterness would do nothing but intensify the hate in the world. Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can be done only by projecting the ethics of love to the center of our lives."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King "I have a dream" “We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and for justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
I'm emmersed in a primarily conservative Republican community (with hopes of seeing it become dark purple to blue).
I get the felling I’m supposed to hate. I can’t be a loyal American unless I believe that all members of Islam want to make us all like them or destroy us and our freedom in the process.
Bravado driven nationalism that disguises hate in an illusion of the defense of mom and apple pie does not improve its immorality.
We are constantly assailed by the religious right that we are a Christian nation founded on Judeao/Christian values. What we really are is a country founded on the principle that people can be,say, believe and associate with whoever they want without interference. Besides, it takes a lot more than just saying it; you have to struggle your best to be it. Isn't that the way it is with all religions or belief systems?
It doesn’t matter what our founding fathers believed about their own personal faith. To be a Christian nation we would have to act like one. We would have to be the servant of all and as a nation make meaningful sacrifices for the good of all people.
We would have to love those who hate us and wish to do us harm , pray for them, ask that they be blessed, forgive them and do good things for them as well.
Far too many times we Christians have excused crimes against humanity done in our name. Our nation has too often placed into power or supported dictators guilty of many human rights atrocities for what is perceived as some short term foreign policy benefit. Often these arrangements are made for the profit of powerful international corporations.
A short list of sins against our neighbors would include; detention of innocents, accepting the use of torture, tolerance of the killing of innocent women and children as just a casualty of war, participating in and profiting from the arms trade, and supporting cruel and unjust economic policies in the third world.
Holy Dirt -by: Steve Schalchlin. This was a short Sunday Gospel reading that caught my eye in Feb. 07. I couldn’t pass putting it up. Everything Christ talks about here is exactly what the conservatives attempt to denigrate liberals with, what they seem to believe is the derogatory expression of ‘bleeding heart’. Few who throw the term out with venom realize it's referring to a picture of the Sacred Heart.
Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give, and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
Luke 6-27-38
Jesus explains well what it means to be a good follower of His; a good explanation of one type of Cross He has asked us to bare. Also, for those of us who dare to call ourselves Christian it’s a good example of how to be a ‘bleeding heart liberal’.
Back during Israel’s incursion into Lebanon I remember a caller on CSPAN who, with a calm fatherly voice speak of, after identifying himself as a Christian, how wrong a cease fire between Israel and Lebanon would be. He told a story of how he along with his father and brother had to go into their barn and kill all the rats, big ones and little ones. How sad when a person who claims to represent reason and family values can so calmly call for bloodthirsty violence, terror from the skies and murder.
The sad thing is these types of words and the actions they’re meant to initiate inflame the haters. Violence whether it’s from shadowy terrorist or from terrifying smart bombs is always counterproductive except for those who want to keep hate super-charged. We have a huge hate problem toward everyone of Middle Eastern ancestry now from the radical conservatives, many who claim to be good to outstanding Christians, who are the presidents’ supporters. Many want all Muslims, including citizens, to carry special identification, identifying them as so, but, they would prefer Muslim round-ups and expulsion at home with bombing to the point of genocide else where.
They believe greater violence is the only answer. Those who disagree will be called un-American traitors in league with the terrorists, bad Christians and anti Semitic. Evil can and often does exist on all sides in a war. Many are feeling comfortable cuddling up with wickedness. They are deceiving themselves that they are doing God’s will while calling evil good. Bravado driven nationalism that disguises hate in an illusion of the defense of mom and apple pie does not improve its immorality.
Barack Obama Speaks at Dr. King's Church . Hate is evil, it always has been and it always will be the largest obstacle to fitting through the needles eye. They frighten me and I worry how they will use this to push us further into fascism.
Islamo-fascism is the marketing term for our struggles, that has been officially adopted by this administration. It’s an incorrect term. The most extreme are authoritarian and theocratic with about as much love for human rights as our favorite trading partner, China or our favorite oil producer, Saudi Arabia. What they aren’t, like our neoconservative dominated administration, are corporatists. Fascists use religion as a tool to further the propaganda to be seen as its great protector. In a theocracy it’s all about the religion and everyone, corporations included, are under its thumb.
If we are looking for a new term how about the ‘Struggle against Al Qaeda’. After all they were the ones who attacked us. They are the ones who were ignored when the Bush administration abandoned that battle in favor of Iraq and now they are the ones along with the Taliban who have grown stronger.
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." G.W. Bush
There’s another incorrect mantra, frequently repeated on CSPAN and other places where they can be found lurking, of the dangerous right….’Not all Moslems are terrorists but all terrorists are Moslems.’
These places have all had or are continuing to have problems with terrorists who are not from Islam...
United States .....National Security Watch: 60 right-wing terror plots foiled (from 05) there have been plenty since then from the Unitarian Church shooting to the meth-heads with the plot to kill our presidential pick. Conservative hate radio is a huge instigator for those who are easily inclined to hate and violence. .....http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050712/12natsec.htm South America Africa Asia Europe Etc., Etc. Etc…..
There’s no shortage of people who mistakenly think terrorism is the answer to their political or economic problems. They are not a homogeneous group, they are all different with different solutions to each circumstance. I wish they would learn from such great men as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, John Paul II, Desmond Tutu and others for a better way to attack their problems. Much more can be accomplished through nonviolence.
'An eye for an eye for an eye would make the whole world blind.' Gandhi
"As an essential part of its fight against all forms of terrorism, the international community is called to undertake new and creative political, diplomatic and economic initiatives aimed at relieving the scandalous situations of gross injustice, oppression and marginalization which continue to oppress countless members of the human family. History in fact shows that the recruitment of terrorists is more easily achieved in areas where human rights are trampled upon and where injustice is a part of daily life.”
Pope John Paul II
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” Desmond Tutu
‘God bless the whole world-no exceptions’. ????? . on subject.... Obama message to Nelson Mandela on his birthday .
While I was struggling not being here very often (hanging in there--kinda sorta ) I completely left out Barack Obama's foreign policy trip across the Middle East and Europe. I kept up with it on the tube.
The huge welcoming crowds were refreshing, yes to the point of being goose-pimply . What was so exhilarating was the welcome for a return to the America of human rights and renewed international standing. The enormous cheering crowds would have been there if it were Clinton,Biden, Dodd or any of the other well qualified hopefuls to the highest office in the land. The world has been well aware of the damage that the fascist-leaning neocon-absorbed Bush administration has been doing to us and the security and well-being of a stable planet. That was the basis for their most welcome exuberance. It didn't hurt having someone gifted in language and intellect to highlight the gulf between the party of fear enabling warmongering and the Democratic party of those who seek a more hopeful way.
Here are some welcome moments of someone showing our better side and my personal gratitude that despite the last 7 1/2 years the world still has a fondness for Americans; that leaves welcome hope for the prospects of a better dialogue between nations.
Sen. Obama and fellow Senators engaged in (not quite media free, but definitely media light) fact finding, boots on the ground briefing, of Afghanistan and Iraq. During a respectful visit with one of our strong allies in the Middle East he held this news conference...
Barack Obama: Thoughts on Iraq and Afghanistan . Barack Obama at Yad Vashem, Israel . Barack Obama: Berlin . The Republicans, in desperation, like to throw a superstar mantel around Barack in order to attempt to equate him with Hollywood stars who right wing hate radio has been bashing for years.
The other angle they throw out is the anti-christ persona in an effort to attract sorely lacking religious right support. Conservative Evangelical fundamentalists have been expecting 'End Times' since the recreation of the state of Israel. This means they are expecting the return of anti-christ to kick in the period of tribulation then Armageddon, but conveniently proceeded by a time of Rapture where all who have said,"I'm Born Again", will be whisked away into Heaven in a twinkling of an eye.
When Fox and reactionary radio suggestively points to the messiah-like popularity of Obama in the world and how he speaks of peace in the Middle East and better diplomacy throughout the world it sends a huge red flag, to the easily gullable, that he just might be the anti-christ. You see they have had it drilled into they're heads from a false interpretation of Daniel and the Book of Revelations, among some of the other apocalyptic books, that the anti-christ spawn of evil will be someone who is charismatic and has a plan for peace in Israel. This in turn ushers in a one world government and religion which they don't have to worry about because if they're pre-trib they're gone; for post-trib believers it's another matter.
The easily gullible swallowers of all that's spilled into they're hypnotized brains from Fox pretend news and the talking point swillers of all that's fit for Rightist consumption will unquestionably believe all that they're told to, parroting it back with astonishing similarity.
They're voting block numbers worry me when coupled with the squishy middle, comfortable in they're apathy, who are more concerned with matters of material vanity or current gossip.
It's that squishy middle which has great potential of waking up as it so often has throughout history. It's the job of all of us to help them see. It's a great failing of Progressive ideology if because of our ineptitude or sufficient lack of effort that their eyes remain closed.
It's why liberalism has always been the stalwart guardian against authoritarianism and it's why liberals are so often it's first victims. . More Lies and Deceptions about Obama
“In Germany, they first came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist....
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.....
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist....
Then they came for the Catholics
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Catholic....
Then they came for me –
and by that time there was nobody left to speak up.”.....
Martin Niemoller
"Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well."
