I just saw this diary on Daily Kos. It is taking me a while to learn the ins and outs of the place, but one thing I know is that if a diary does not get a bunch of "recommends" pretty quicky, it becomes very hard to find. And I think it's pretty neat, so I'd like it to be seen by more people. A creation story for evolutionists Perhaps.... ...the beginning, God was no size at all.  Because there was no Space.  And no age at all, because there was no Time. God just was. And perhaps God was lonely -- and did something extraordinary. Perhaps God grew. And when God grew, Time and Space exploded into being. Stuff at colossal temperatures shot outwards, clumping into clouds of burning gas and splashes of red hot liquid.  Suddenly God was everywhere, because there was everywhere to be. And God called Time and Space her Universe. Click the title link for the rest.

On January 1, 2002,  I dutifully dragged my sleepy self out of bed, bundled up, and drove to our local Unity church for a 7 a.m. global meditation for healing. Unity was one of the many stops on my spiritual journey, and it's where I happened to be in the wake of 9/11. Feeling a profound need to help "heal the world" in any way I could, I decided, "It couldn't hurt", therefore I have to give it a shot. When I came back, I announced to family that I had been out "saving the world before breakfast"--my own takeoff on the Powerpuff Girls' "Saving the world before bedtime" (TM). Even though I decided long ago that a lot of what people at that church believed was too "woo woo" for me, I still hold to the possibility that meditation and visualization can bring about real change. So this year, once again, I think I will ring in the new year by joining people around the world and meditating on peace. This time, I'll do it from the comfort of my own home, though. ;-) Anyone else ever do anything like this? I'm trying to find any links about it. Here's what I've found so far: Join us on the inner planes to call forth the Spirit of Peace to assist humanity in creating worldwide peace.   Friday,  December 31, 2004 at 11:55 PM through Saturday, January 1, 2005 at 12:05 AM (Your Time) http://www.orindaben.com/home/wwmeditationpeace.htm New Year's Eve World Peace Meditation December 31 2004, 6:00 am–December 31 2004, 7:00 am http://www.unityhouston.org/events/21 If nothing else, it can't help but be a good thing if a lot of us take a little time out this weekend to "think peace."

I've been to the Cobb/LaMarche site plenty of times to check for updates on the recount situation, but just recently I decided to see, "Okay, what does the Green Party stand for?" Someone at our church meeting a couple weeks ago commented that she'd decided after this election that (paraphrased) supporting the lesser of two evils isn't something she can do any more. So she got online to read the platforms of the different parties, and, based on what she'd read, she was joining the Green Party. So I did some poking around the site, and found this: Ten Key Values There is no authoritative version of the Ten Key Values of the Greens. The Ten Key Values are guiding principles that are adapted and defined to fit each state and local chapter. The version you see here was ratified at a national Green Party convention in Colorado in 2000. Read them over and see how many you agree with. 1. Grassroots Democracy 2. Social Justice and Equal Opportunity 3. Ecological Wisdom 4. Non-Violence 5. Decentralization 6. Community-Based Economics and Economic Justice 7. Feminism and Gender Equity 8. Respect for Diversity 9. Personal and Global Responsibility 10. Future Focus and Sustainability Wow--I almost wept when I read those. Yeah, I know...it would never play in the red states. ...or would it? "Vote Green--it's how Jesus would vote!"

51 Capital March I haven't posted here as much lately due to a combination of work schedule, the impending holiday season, life (you know, that which happens to you while you're busy making other plans.) Much of my spare time has been devoted to my new blog, Ohio Counts. I figure it makes sense to devote the bulk of my blogging time to this issue in the short term, because this is a time-sensitive issue. If you want to find out more about the voting irregularities in Ohio, the public hearings that have taken place, and the impending recount, I've been updating this web site with all the relevant articles I can find. There is a big, national event tomorrow, which many of you may not have heard about. So, as a public service announcement: 51 Capital March On December 12th 2004 at 12 noon, before the steps of your State Capitol and the Federal Capitol, join with us to protest the theft of our votes and our voting rights in the 2004 election. As citizens, it is our duty to protect those basic rights that insure the survival of our democracy and constitution for present and future generations of Americans. Egregious infringements of our voting rights occurred in the 2004 election: our voting systems were compromised and our votes violated. The line was crossed: we no longer trust our voting systems. Click here for more. And, if you're interested, you can find my account of the Jesse Jackson rally in Columbus here and here.

Better late than never--today is St. Nicholas Day. We have some friends who celebrate St. Nicholas Day instead of Christmas, and on Christmas they "give back" by working at a soup kitchen or something. That always struck me as a really neat way to handle the holidays, but there are probably about a dozen or so reasons why that would not work with our families. But anyway, I'll make with some links now... How to Celebrate Saint Nicholas Day (from EHow) Wikipedia page on St. Nicholas (notice his almost complete lack of physical resemblance to Santa Claus) St. Nicholas Day legends and recipes