Quick reminder about today's peace vigils in commemoration of the two-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. I want to make sure people found out about them so that they could make last-minute plans, if so desired. Visit http://www.sojo.net/ to find a peace vigil near you. Click here to read an essay by David Batstone of Sojourners, reflecting on the events of the past two years and what they say about us as a nation.

Have you noticed that parents are often “guilty until proven innocent”? Liberals and conservatives both make snap judgements—they just make different ones. Conservatives will argue that there is no such thing as ADD—only parents too lazy to discipline their children. These kids don’t need Ritalin, they just need to be smacked more often. Liberals will still blame the parents, but say that it is because parents are too self-involved and don’t give their kids enough attention, they overschedule them, they use television and video games as babysitters. If parents respond, “Hey, that’s not the way it is!” then they must be defensive, making excuses, etc. Some on the right criticized Hillary Clinton for using the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Conservative talking heads scoffed, “No, it takes a *family* to raise a child.” Apparently Rick Santorum liked that comeback so much that he has written a book using that statement in its title: It Takes A Family: Conservatism And The Common Good. The problem with this sentiment is this: families do not exist in a vacuum. Public policy can make their job easier or painfully, unneccessarily difficult. The attitudes, words, and actions of neighbors, school personnel, and the larger community can help or hurt. The specific example that prompted me to write this diary is the tenor of the (judgemental) comments many have made about Noah McCullough, a 9-year-old presidential trivia buff and his parents. Noah will travel to a handful of states ahead of visits by the president and will go on radio programs, answer trivia questions and say a few words about Social Security. Though he is obviously not an expert (and not really a lobbyist, either), officials say the effort is a lighthearted way to underline Mr. Bush's message. In diaries that discuss this boy, I have been saddened to see the way posters have repeatedly jumped to some conclusions about about this boy’s home life without even reading all the way through one *article* about him. Here is a typical statement: The kid is obviously very bright, but also raised in a GOP-Christian-Bush-worshipping family. Yet, the New York Times article excerpted above says "He's very patriotic and very Republican," said Noah's mother, Donna McCullough, a former teacher and self-described Democrat. "It's the way he was born." "He's very patriotic and very Republican," said Noah's mother, Donna McCullough, a former teacher and self-described Democrat. "It's the way he was born." When a Kos poster retorted that “no one is born that way”, that’s when a light bulb went off for me. I showed the story to my husband, and he saw it too. No one is born that way? Oh, yes they are! That could *so* easily be our son. I think most parents will discover, sometimes to their dismay, that they do not have as much power to shape the personalities of their children as they thought they would. As Kahlil Gibran wrote: They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. And that is true of the “neurotypical” kids. Parents who have a child who is in some way “wired” differently are continually surprised by the things their child will say and do. Demetrius and I are the parents of an 11-year-old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He is a walking, talking paradox. When he was very young we used to refer to him as “a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a diaper.” Raising him has already been an amazing journey—a true education like nothing else I have ever experienced. I always thought that I might write about the experience one day. What I have learned from him, and how the experience of raising a child who possesses unique gifts and challenges has changed the way I think about everything, from parenting to basic human nature to the nature of God. But somehow I always thought I would write about this at some point in the distant future—you know, looking back after weathering all the years of turbulence. Yet, after reading about Noah and seeing some of the reactions people have posted, this seems like a good time to share some of our insights. There are two reasons. On a more abstract level, the rush to judgement has showed that while critical thinking skills are so important to understanding the world today, neither liberals nor conservatives seem to use them on a regular basis. We are thinking critically when we ·weigh the influences of motives and bias ·consider a variety of possible viewpoints or perspectives, ·remain open to alternative interpretations ·recognize our own assumptions, prejudices, biases, or point of view Certainly there are numerous examples or wingnuts, repugs (insert your favorite epithet here) failing to use critical thinking skills. But the rush to judgement regarding Noah and his parents (not just here but in a number of other blogs and forums) has shown that Republicans have far from cornered the market in this area. But on a less abstract and more “touchy-feely” level, this is a plea for compassion and understanding. I ask this in the name of parents everywhere, whether or not their children have special needs or challenges. Most of us are doing the best we can with the resources we have. If you were to ask us what we needed to help us do our jobs better, you would probably hear a wide range of responses: good, affordable child-care, better communication with schools, parenting classes and support groups, more flexible work schedules and family-friendly work places, etc. But I doubt if you would find too many parents who would say, “More criticism, please!” In a separate diary, I will share some of the similarities we have seen between our son and Noah. The purpose is not, as I have stated before, to “diagnose” Noah, but to encourage you all to remain “open to alternative interpretations”. Not all children who spout right wing talking points have been indoctrinated by their parents. Sometimes children can display these attitudes in spite of their parents efforts to encourage open-mindedness. Noah's political leanings are hardly the product of his parents' influence. While Chris McCullough calls himself a fence-sitter, Noah's mother, Donna, is a Democrat. His father constantly emphasizes that "not all Republicans are good, and not all Democrats are bad," much to Noah's annoyance. There is a piece called “Welcome to Holland” that many parents of children with disabilities have probably heard. In a nutshell, the experience of giving birth to a child with a disability is compared to spending months looking forward to a trip to Italy. You research, plan, prepare, and eagerly anticipate what it will be like when you finally arrive in Italy. When you finally land, the flight attendant says, “Welcome to Holland.” It’s not what you planned for, but once you adjust to your disappointment, there are things to enjoy about Holland. It’s not a bad, dirty place—it’s just not the place you thought you were going. I think that analogy works better for some diagnoses than for others. If you give birth to a baby with Downs Syndrome, it is apparent right away, and you can begin the process of learning your way around “Holland”. But I figured out that I needed to make some changes to the “Holland” analogy to get it to work for Asperger’s Syndrome. You plan for your trip to Italy, you take your flight and land in Holland, but you still think you’re in Italy. You wonder why the map you brought with you isn’t helping you find your way around. You wonder why you’re not seeing any of the famous landmarks described in the guidebook. It’s very confusing. Once you do figure it out, it can be such a relief. Finally you know what the problem is, and you know which maps and guidebooks you need to buy. But there are still a lot of folks who are in Holland but don’t know it. Some of them may be starting to wonder why they are seeing so many windmills and tulips in Italy…

I almost missed this wonderful diary, because the title, Thank you for helping my family made me think it was about a blog community pulling together to help someone (as I have seen them do) rather than an effort to put a human face (that of the author's grandmother) on the issue of Social Security. Thank you to Maura in VA for giving the heads-up as to what the diary was really about. Click here for the pictures and the story, which ends like this: We all have people who are close to us that benefit from the help that Social Security gives us. Social security is far more than a retirement program. It is Americans standing together to honor their past, and Americans standing together to ensure their future. It is the public expression of our collective goodwill. I am very angry that people, who for years have wanted to kill Social Security, now are speaking as if they alone can save it. Social Security is an extension of the goodwill of the American people. It honors the past and promises the future. These people pushing for radical reform intend to bleed dry the goodwill of the American people and replace it with another investment account that starts $2 trillion in the red. It is an amazing display of hubris. In the twilight of our lives or when family tragedy strikes, Social Security is there; you are there extending a helping hand to your fellow Americans, to your family. Asking people to stand alone at these times, in the wealthiest nation in history, is selfish and mean. Americans are not selfish and mean. If you would like to lend a hand in saving Social Security, please stop talking about dollars and cents and start showing people the faces of those benefitting from Social Security. Thank you again for the help you have given my family.

I've posted some links recently addressing budgets as moral documents. Here, Joan Chittister, OSB, weighs in, asking, Is this kind of Christianity Christian? National budgets are a nation's theology walking. In an era in which we call poverty "low-income" and hunger "lack of food security," the number of poor, according to the U.S Census Bureau, is increasing and the number of hungry in the richest country in the world has been rising steadily for four years. To pay for a war we should never have fought -- at least not for the reasons they gave us -- this budget is slashing domestic programs. The budget of this Christian presidency cuts food stamps. It reduces support for subsidized housing. It suggests pillaging social security. It reduces environmental enforcement programs and scientific research in a scientific age. It even reduces veteran's health benefits. Clearly, the country is in danger of going the way of all oligarchies; power and wealth are sucked to the top, while those on the bottom bleed. We can call it "Christian" as it collapses. And all the while, we watch more food lines forming, more homeless on the streets, more environmental degradation and more of the elderly living destitute lives. More than that, according to the budget analysis done by Bread for the World, (www.bread.org) while we honor our tax breaks to the rich in this country, we are not keeping our promise to fight HIV/AIDS around the world or to support the Third World development programs that might really make us secure in the future. From where I stand, it seems that the poor who will be most affected by these budget cuts have no political voice with which to protest them and the rich can hardly be expected to object since they are benefiting from them That leaves only the Christians -- the pastors and the bishops and the Religious Right -- who worked so hard to put this administration into office, to require that the rest of the Christian agenda finally be faced. Otherwise, forget the prayer in schools, the definition of marriage, or the fight against abortion. We lost the Christianity of this Christian nation a long time ago.

I've seen a few things in the past several days that I want to draw people's attention to, but didn't really have much comment to offer, so I have held off on posting. Rather than let stories come and go without a mention, I thought I should just go ahead and do a general "some stuff you might be interested in" post. First of all, I highly recommend checking out Accessible Airwaves, which is "A Campaign by the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ Inc." There is a guest entry there by Rev. William Sloane Coffin about CBS and NBC's refusal to air a UCC ad that included an image of a same-sex couple holding hands. I have been hearing for a while that Coffin is very ill and near the end of his life. It is truly an inspiration to see him continue to do Good Work wherever and however he is able to. On an entirely different note, I wanted to share this story about a "Men's Night Out" at Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. I found it linked in a Kos diary entitled "Was Allawi Iraq's Kerry?" (The diary author, dddemocrat, notes that Allawi and Kerry both failed to stem the tide of radical fundamentalists.) An excerpt from the conservative blogger, locomono, who shared, in words and pictures, what he found disturbing about the Men's Night Out in the Kentucky Baptist church: Even as I had already taken these photographs of something that I clearly know is wrong, hell we ended with “I‘m proud to be an American”, after a sermon and a combined rendition of all the services anthems. I was conflicted. I knew, and know that almost all of the people I’m depending on to bring this to light disagree with me on virtually every issue. I wasn’t going to release this unless they were recruiting. They were. Jesus himself only got mad once. It was because merchants were using the church to sell their wares, he flipped their tables, seized a whip, and attacked them. This day the answer to “what would Jesus do?” is grab one of the m-16s laying around and start kneecapping. Speaking of "what Jesus would do", I just found this web site called Jesus Politics today. There are a number of interesting posts there, including: Presbyterians and the Federal Budget Charles Haynes on Buster Bunny The Most Polluting Nation on God's Earth The Political Jesus and the Crazy Jesus Anyway, it looks like a blog with a lot of good "food for thought". And finally, yesterday I made a first attempt to start a dialog about the need for genuine dialog--the kind where we listen and genuinely try to understand where the other person is coming from instead of just trying to make sure that our side "wins". I have no idea how we get there, but I think we at least need to start talking about it.

A couple days ago I posted a diary about Bush's budget, and Ohio Governor Bob Taft's, and how immoral they were from a Christian perspective. Today, I heard from Chuck Currie that religious groups representing a number of different faith traditions have come together to speak out against the budget Bush has proposed. A Faith Reflection on the Federal Budget As communities of faith, we are grounded in a shared tradition of justice and compassion, and we are called upon to hold ourselves and our communities accountable to the moral standard of our Biblical tradition. We speak out now because we are concerned about our national priorities. The federal budget serves as a fundamental statement of who we are as a nation. The decisions we make about how we generate revenue and spend resources test our commitment to these values. Thus, we hold that the federal budget should be viewed and evaluated through a moral lens: does it uphold values that will strengthen our life together as a nation and as part of the global community? I won't copy the whole thing here, but I highly recommend reading the whole thing, and spreading the word. Anyone up to a letter to the editor? Check out the list of endorsing organizations below--might want to ask why our "Christian" president isn't listening to what they have to say about the immoral nature of his proposed budget. Endorsing organizations American Baptist Churches USA American Friends Service Committee Bread for the World Call to Renewal Central Conference of American Rabbis Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office The Episcopal Church, USA Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Friends Committee on National Legislation Jewish Council for Public Affairs Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office Union for Reform Judaism Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society Women of Reform Judaism These groups ask that you send a message to Congress, reminding our elected representatives that a budget is a moral document, and that they should consider the effect this budget will have on our nation's poor before voting on it.

For anyone who may not know this, for Christians around the world, today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the season of Lent. When I was growing up Catholic, Fridays in Lent were a time of creative rationalizing for me. When I was in high school, after cooking up some ham and eggs for breakfast, I would realize, "D'oh! It's Friday! But which is the greater sin--eating meat on Friday, or wasting food?" So I guess creative rationalizing is the wrong thing to call it. Actually, it was pretty darn predictable. But in those days, being a Good Catholic was important to me, so I tried to fit myself into that mold. It was many years later before I encountered the idea of "Building Your Own Theology" (actually the name of an adult education course at Unitarian Universalist churches). Even in college, I somehow had the notion that matters of faith and belief were black and white. You had two choices, it seemed--accepting what you were taught or rejecting it. Discovering that there was another way was pretty exciting to me, although I wondered why this hadn't occurred to me before. You can *build* your own theology? Well, why not? We don't need to completely accept or reject what we have been given by our parents, our churches, and our society. We can examine it, carefully, piece by piece. Keep some of the old as building blocks, but discard the pieces that simply won't fit. Or reshape/reinterpret them so that they do fit. I'm not sure the process can ever be considered complete during this lifetime, so I'm always on the lookout for new building material. Many Christian holidays have early connections to earth-based spirituality celebrations. At Christmas (Hannukah, Solstice) time it is dark and we long for the light. Later in winter, we look forward to the rebirth of spring--the word "Lent" actually comes from the Middle English "lenten", which means spring. I am soooo ready for spring right now, but that won't make it come any faster. Might as well try to do something constructive with that time. As is often the case, I believe Marcus Borg has some useful food for thought... This process is at the heart not only of Christianity, but of the other enduring religions of the world. The image of following "the way" is common in Judaism, and "the way" involves a new heart, a new self centered in God. One of the meanings of the word "Islam" is "surrender": to surrender one's life to God by radically centering in God. And Muhammad is reported to have said, "Die before you die." Die spiritually before you die physically, die metaphorically (and really) before you die literally. At the heart of the Buddhist path is "letting go"--the same internal path as dying to an old way of being and being born into a new. According to the Tao te Ching, a foundational text for both Taoism and Zen Buddhism, Lao Tzu said: "If you want to become full, let yourself be empty; if you want to be reborn, let yourself die." This process of personal spiritual transformation--what we as Christians call being born again, dying and rising with Christ, life in the Spirit--is thus central to the world's religions. To relate this to John's affirmation that Jesus is "the way": the way that Jesus incarnated is a universal way, not an exclusive way. Jesus is the embodiment, the incarnation, of the path of transformation known in the religions that have stood the test of time. Seeing this commonality between the way of Jesus and the ways of the world's religions is sometimes disconcerting to Christians, given our history of "Jesus is the only way." But the commonality is cause for celebration, not consternation. Not only does it mean, to echo an exclamation in the book of Acts, the Spirit has gone out to Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, and so forth, but it also adds credibility to Christianity.27 When the Christian path is seen as utterly unique, it is suspect. But when Jesus is seen as the incarnation of a path universally spoken about elsewhere, the path we see in him has great credibility.

Why do so many Republicans hate Jesus? Or maybe a better question is, why are they consistently able to favor the rich, while doing real, life-threatening harm to the "least of these" and not get publicly, loudly called on it. How is it that *anyone* still frames this as the party of Christian values. Consider these news stories, from the past 24 hours: Taft plan: Cut taxes, slash aid for poor Bush Seeks Sweeping Cuts to Curb Deficit State dismantles aid program for people with chronic health conditions The state is ending a program that paid for medicines and treatment for homeless and extremely poor Ohioans with chronic health conditions such as heart problems, diabetes or mental illness. Disability Medical Assistance is a $73 million state effort designed to bridge the gap while people await approval for Medicaid, Social Security or other benefits. Income guidelines mean a single person would have to earn less than $115 a month to qualify. Gov. Bob Taft warned agencies he'll be cutting many services in the two-year state budget plan he releases Thursday. State lawmakers have until the end of June to pass a budget that fills an anticipated deficit of up to $5 billion. Combine that piece of news with this from the article about Bush's "sweeping cuts": President Bush on Monday proposed a $2.5 trillion budget that slashes domestic programs from farm aid to housing grants for the poor, as he sought to curb budget deficits that have soared on his watch. There *must* be more ethical, humane, and yes, since these men claim it as their faith, *Christian* ways to balance the budget. Matthew 25 (New International Version) 41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ The "least of these" are getting hit by cuts at the state and the federal level. Who will speak for the poor?

On Friday, January 21, I wrote, in reaction to Dr. James Dobson's anti-SpongeBob anti-tolerance remarks (that he was somehow in a position to make, and be taken seriously at a black-tie inaugural dinner): Thinking about all of these things, I didn't feel like laughing any more. I felt like screaming--or weeping. But I also realized that what religious progressives (really all non hate-based religious people) needed to do was to speak, and to write about our values. More than that--and this is the tricky part we really need some help with--we need to find a way to be heard. Well, today I got to enjoy reading the words of a member of the mainstream media outing himself (*snark*) as a member of the religious left. No, he didn't call himself that per se. I don't imagine there is any name we could all agree on, as we're something of an unruly, free-thinking bunch. But Keith Olbermann, in his remarks on his blog, certainly sounds like "one of us", even if we as a group don't generally apply a label to ourselves. In his most recent entry, Keith Olbermann describes the spam e-mail campaign that Dobson incited against himself and three other journalists. He then reported that Focus on the Family had followed up with a piece by Gary Schneeberger entitled “Influencing Olbermann”. I recommend reading Olbermann's entire blog entry, but wanted to draw special attention to this part: ...Mr. Schneeberger now tries extra-sensory perception. “…When it comes to lobbying liberal journalists like Olbermann, the sad reality is that getting them to acknowledge - let alone to respond respectfully - to our point of view is the longest of long shots. Theirs is a 24/7 secular world - in most newsrooms, especially those in big cities, about the only time you hear the word ‘God’ is as the first part of somebody’s second-favorite swearword.” Wow. Talk about creating your own reality. My newsroom is in Secaucus, New Jersey - population 15,931. “Focus On Family” headquarters is in Colorado Springs, Colorado - population 360,890. And not to let the facts get in the way of FOF’s prejudice, but I happen to be a religious man. I believe in God, I pray daily, and if I’ve ever gotten any direct instructions from my maker, they were that I’ll be judged by whether I tried to help other people, or hurt them. Also, that true belief should not be worn like a policeman’s club, nor used like one. And, finally, that I’m in big trouble for helping to introduce funny catchphrases into sportscasting. The producer of Countdown - Mr. Kordick, you’ve met him here, the guy who goes on vacation and celebrities die - is not only a religious man of the finest kind, but actually sings at Church-related events out in the community. And there are many others on the staff who are similarly spiritual, although, admittedly, none of us is pushy nor self-congratulatory about it. I might also say that I feel a little disappointed in my workplace. Mr. Schneeberger, who claims to have spent a dozen years in “secular newsrooms,” writes of all of these “God Damns” flying around the ones he knows so well. I honestly think I’ve heard that phrase used at MSNBC once or twice in the last year. I feel short-changed. Where did Schneeberger work, The Sodom and Gomorroh Picayne? .... More importantly, at some point, some of these people are going to wake up to find that the great secular assault they see on their children was, in fact, a bogeyman created to hide their own bad parenting. If they can’t convince their own kids of the appropriateness of their religion and values, then the religion, the values, or the convincing, must not have been very good. Ask my folks if I was an easy sell - yet most of my tenets turn out to have been their tenets - not my teachers’, not television’s, not the secular world’s. .... Schneeberger finishes his piece with the hope that I’ll experience the same kind of epiphany he claims to have in 1997. “Let’s pray, if he ever does, that he comes up with the right answer - and not because it may lead to fairer reporting. But because it may lead to a redeemed life.” Hey, guys, worry about yourselves. You’re spewing hate, while assuming that for some reason, God has chosen you and you alone in all of history to understand the mysteries of existence, when mankind’s existence is filled with ample evidence that nobody yet has been smart enough to discern an answer. You might try keeping it simpler: did you help others, or hurt them? I’ll be happy to be judged on the answer to that question, and if it’s a group session, I don’t expect I’ll find many members of “Focus On Family” in the “done ok” line.

I have a blog entry at The Village Gate entitled "Speaking Up for Tolerance" that mentions the SpongeBob flap as well as the PBS program that was censored because it involved a family with two moms who make maple syrup. When I first read the story, I must have just skimmed it, or maybe the first article I read about the program was not that clear on the matter. Because I somehow had the idea that the episode of "Postcards From Buster" featured a pair of lesbian cartoon rabbits. It doesn't. Apparently, like the cartoon Arthur that this program spun off from, this program includes live-action segments. A real human family that had taped a segment of the show was told that they were somehow too "offensive" to be seen on a show on PBS. Knowing this increases my anger and sadness exponentially. I shared some thoughts here on the the moral value of teaching the inherent worth and dignity of every person. One of the seven principles Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote is, "the inherent worth and dignity of every person". I truly believe that is what we should be teaching all children-- even if that does not fit with the "values" of their parents. I truly believe this is a value that needs to be promoted, because it contritbutes to the well-being of society as a whole, and is vital if we have any hope of peaceful existence in a diverse world.

I hate to give any additional attention to the hate-based perversion of Christianity espoused by James Dobson of Focus on the Family, especially now that the SpongeBob flap has become yesterday's news. But, at the same time, while this is fresh in my mind, I wanted to address some issues this raises for religious progressives. For anyone who somehow missed this story, Keith Olbermann did a segment on it on Friday. Click here to read his column about Dobson's remarks and the children's video to which he was referrning. And click here to read the statement given on the Focus on the Family web site as to why James Dobson and his organization are publicly denouncing a children's video designed to promote tolerance. The other day, I wrote a diary on the Daily Kos entitled Cartoons and tolerance: view from the "religious left". I am not a member of the clergy or in any way a known spokesperson for religious progressives, but I just felt compelled to at least say that James Dobson does not speak for this Christian. And I wanted to revisit the dialog we have from time to time about what we can do to make the message (even the existence) of the religious left more visible to the general public. As one commenter asked: What can be done? The religious right seems to be organized and have strategy meetings every 6 weeks or so. Is that something that could be organized with a progressive agenda for the religious left? Pastordan, who, among other things, writes the Religion News Roundup on Kos, commented I'm thinking that somebody needs to get a group together to actively cultivate the religious left message. Maybe we can get it funded by some sympathetic billionaire? I am aware that there are groups out there such as the Clergy Leadership Network and Faithful America, as well as any number of smaller groups and denominational efforts. I think the UCC is doing a phenomenal job of presenting its open, inclusive Christian vision. (Chuckling as I type this--I just visited the UCC web site to make sure I had the URL right, and found an updated home page, with a picture of the yellow porous one, accompanied by the caption, "SpongeBob - You're Wecome Here"." There is also a news release entitled, SpongeBob receives 'unequivocal welcome' from United Church of Christ.) But it still seems like a smattering of voices here and there. Of course I do not expect us to speak with one voice. But even with all of our voices combined, I don't think the religious left (and center) even comes close to the level of media presence and public awareness that has been achieved by the religious right. How to begin to address this--your thoughts?

Yesterday we heard about James Dobson and, er, shall we call it Spongegate? No--that would be taking his words far more seriously than they deserve to be. I had a bit of fun myself, speculating on where these right-wing ideas about characters like Tinky Winky and Spongebob might originate. Today I read Keith Olbermann's column, Will Spongebob make you gay? and watched the video that Dobson claimed, as reported in Olbermann's column "had been included in a pro-homosexual video which was to be mailed to thousands of elementary schools to push a tolerance pledge by kids, including tolerance of differences of what Dr. Dobson called "sexual identity."" If you haven't seen the video yourself (it was shown last night on Countdown), the column has a link where you can view it. Keith Olbermann commented after showing the video, "By the way, not only did I not see any sexual identity in that, I didn't even see very much of SpongeBob either. Although Winnie the Pooh wasn't wearing pants." As I waited in an insanely long line to buy groceries this evening (we are supposed to get a lot of snow this weekend) I thought about the video, which is a version of the 1979 disco hit "We Are Family", and its message of tolerance, diversity, and the idea that we are all family. I believe in that message--those are my values. Thankfully, I have found a local church, which is a member of the Center for Progressive Christianity, and the people there share those values as well. And I thought about James Dobson and the distorted, hurtful brand of Christianity that he espouses and preaches. I thought about the fact that he rails against and is prepared to blame those pushing a "tolerance agenda" for the downfall of society as he knows it. But I'm sure he does not see that he bears any responsibility when a gay man dies as a result of a hate crime, or when a gay teen commits suicide. I thought about how distubing it is that this man continues to get airtime, that he would even be called upon to give an address to members of Congress at a black-tie, inaugural event in Washington D.C., and that the name James Dobson is being repeated in news stories this week, again and again, in the same breath as the word "Christian". Thinking about all of these things, I didn't feel like laughing any more. I felt like screaming--or weeping. But I also realized that what religious progressives (really all non hate-based religious people)needed to do was to speak, and to write about our values. More than that--and this is the tricky part we really need some help with--we need to find a way to be heard.

Has everyone here heard about BlogPac? I've been seeing the name here and there, but hadn't had a chance to really look into it. Howard Dean recently did a conference call with them. Being a longtime "Deaniac", I took notice. But I didn't really decide I needed to look into this thing until I saw their latest effort: From There is No Crisis The Blog Political Action Committee has launched a major online offensive exposing the manufactured Social Security "crisis". BlogPAC, a collection of Democratic bloggers and blog readers, is joining the battle, with an online media campaign that refers to the attacks against Social Security's solvency as "fraud". "Fact is, There Is No Crisis," said Markos Moulitsas. "And there is no projected crisis anytime in the near future. Or far future." "We want to provide tools for citizens to engage in the political process on this critical issue," said Matt Stoller "President Bush's consistently fraudulent claims need to be rebutted by the American people, and that's what's going to happen with thereisnocrisis.com." Read more about the There Is No Crisis here. Click here for Bob Brigham's diary, BLOGPAC and Social Security: An Open Source Press Release, to learn about the strategy and how you can get involved.

I have a diary on Kos today about Rep. John Conyers and the legacy of MLK. At the end of the diary, I have linked to other King-inspired diaries that were posted this weekend. One of the diaries, A Little Inspiration on Dr. King's Birthday, links to the mug shots of both Dr. King and Rosa Parks, which can be found on The Smoking Gun web site. When a commenter noted, "I don't want to see them like that", storwino, the blogger who wrote the diary responded, I guess that's my contrary, and negative, nature showing itself and that I find more power in the challenges my heros faced than in the successes they won. That's why I like these photos. They remind me of the very real dangers and degradations that these heros of mine faced. I want to remember that they are/were real people who walked the earth with dirty feet just as I do. I also mentioned the comment to my husband, who is not religious in any traditional sense, and has described himself as a member of the Church of the Restful Sabbath. He said, "They probably didn't want to see Jesus on the cross like that either, but now they've got one in every church." It is sobering though. I am dedicated to working for social justice, but am I willing to be arrested if that is what it comes down to?

I love this quote. I haven't read it for a while, but I just found it again when I was searching for a sermon I heard Rev. Mark Belletini give at First Unitarian Universalist Church several years ago, entitled Dr. Martin Luther King's Theology. I love it because it is full of hope *and* it speaks of such a radically different kind of mandate than the one Bush claims. From The Strength to Love, by Martin Luther King... I am convinced of the reality of a personal God. It is a living reality that has been vindicated in the experiences of every day life. God is a living God, with feeling, will; responsive to deepest yearnings of the human heart. (God is the one who) is able to make a way out of no way, and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. This is our hope for becoming better human beings. This is our mandate for seeking to make a better world. I had a nice talk with my priest yesterday. Of course, it's always enjoyable to sit down and have coffee with another person who thinks of The Daily Show as a better way to find out what's really going on in the world than watching "real" news shows. But on a deeper level, he reminded me again of the prophetic hope expressed by people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who surely experienced far darker times than what we are experiencing right now in the United States. As did Martin Luther King. Living *my* life, as a White female who has never suffered the kind of oppression that King or Tutu experienced, I have a hard time imagining that I could ever feel the kind of hope, faith, strength, and compassion that they expressed. But when I look to the examples they set, I realize that I need to set the bar a bit higher for myself and at least *try* to come closer to that ideal.

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