John McCain's Rage is a National Security Concern
Current mood: pessimistic
Category: News and Politics
Again i ask, when are we going to see McCain-Palin demonstrate the "Christian values" they keep claiming that they - and and their Pary alone - in this present campaign hold?
You cannot love others and harbor resentments toward them at the same time. The love we are speaking of is not romantic love, but a spiritual love that views another through the eyes of compassion. Love produces a quality of life that is more enjoyable and healthy than a life with resentment and anger. - Sage Bennet from Wisdom Walk: Nine Practices for Creating Peace and Balance from the World's Spiritual Traditions
Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest, and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.
Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it! The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers.
"Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each."
The villagers rounded up with all their savings and bought all the monkeys. Then they never saw the man, nor his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere!
Now you have a better understanding of how the stock market works. (Tony Scott, on Crikey.com).
Please send this link to everyone and anyone you know who tells you things about Obama that you know is untruthful or an outright smear.
People often say with pride, "I'm not interested in politics." They might as well say, "I'm not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future." — Martha Gellhorn, writer/journalist (1908-1998)
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
'God does not share his love between all of his creatures; He gives *all* of his love to *each* of His creatures!' (Hugh of St. Victor).
===================
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this Blog without warning, warrant, or notice.
They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
FAIR USE NOTICE:
This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.
This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
This material is distributed without profit
"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
Sightings: When is Kosher not Kosher?
Current mood: exhausted
Category: Religion and Philosophy
And the questions raised here in this article also need to be, must be, directed towards those who keep claiming that "this is a Christian nation, founded upon Christian values and principles"!!
Sightings 10/9/08
When is Kosher not Kosher? -- Nora Rubel
In my introductory Judaism course, the most common questions my students have relate to confusion over dietary laws. Many are surprised to learn that the actual definition of kosher has nothing to do with food. The slang use of the term ("Something's not kosher here") is actually correct. Kosher meat is not blessed by a rabbi, nor is it "cleaner" than other meat. Kosher simply means "fit" or "proper"; kosher meat is meat from an animal that is sanctioned by halakhah (Jewish law) and subsequently slaughtered according to that same law.
Questions about the nature of kashrut recently entered the public discourse with new allegations surrounding a kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa. The plant, Agriprocessors – run by the hasidic Rubashkin family – came under general scrutiny after the publication of Stephen Bloom's 2000 book Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America. Bloom's critique of the plant had more to do with what he perceived as an arrogance of the new Jewish inhabitants toward their Iowan farmer neighbors. More serious charges came in 2004, when an undercover expose from PETA (including gruesome video coverage) raised questions about inhumane treatment of animals. A later 2006 investigative report in the Jewish weekly The Forward described complaints about the unethical treatment of workers, as well as concerns over the hiring of illegal immigrants who have little legal recourse. This past May, a federal raid of the plant led to the arrests of over three hundred undocumented workers, one of the largest such raids in US history. The following weeks and months have brought increased scrutiny on the whole Rubashkin family enterprise, a kosher monopoly that supplies well over half of the nation's kosher meat. Accusations beyond Agriprocessors' undocumented workforce have included charges of child labor violations, unreasonably low wages, poor safety training, extortion, and physical and sexual abuse.
Much of the outrage about these conditions began outside the Orthodox community, most notably from the Conservative movement, which has recently raised the idea of an ethical stamp of approval for kosher goods. This stamp, known as hekhsher tzedek, is meant to be placed on products already determined to be kosher by recognized authorities (such as the Orthodox Union), but would signify that those goods were produced in an ethical and socially responsible manner. This proposal has drawn ridicule from some segments of the Orthodox community, who see it as hypocritical coming from a movement where many practitioners eschew dietary laws anyway; nonetheless, a conversation about the ethical standards of kosher meat production is stirring within the Orthodox world as well.
On August 5th, Shmuel Herzfeld, the Orthodox rabbi of Ohev Sholom-The National Synagogue, published an Op-Ed entitled "Dark Meat" in the New York Times. In it, Rabbi Herzfeld not only expressed outrage about the reluctance of many in the Orthodox community to speak out against Agriprocessors' alleged behavior, but he provided Jewish precedent for declaring something treyf (nonkosher) due to poor treatment of employees. Herzfeld writes, "We need to express shame and embarrassment about the reports coming out of Iowa, and we need to actively work to change these matters." Heralded by many as a hero, Rabbi Herzfeld has also been sharply criticized for suggesting that "kosher" should mean anything other than the proper slaughtering of a halakhicly sanctioned animal.
But those who claim that it's ridiculous to try to redefine kosher are not paying attention. The last few decades have seen an increase in separate sinks, separate dishwashers, even separate kitchens in order to fulfill kosher laws to the highest possible standard. While the other end of the spectrum argues that these increased standards are far beyond what our most revered ancestors practiced, those advocates for stricter standards essentially claim that with great power comes greater responsibility. The question remains, why can't these stricter standards include demands for greater ethical and social responsibility? Kosher certification may be lost if the owner violates halakhah by working on the Sabbath, for example. In such a context, how can Agriprocessors' ethical violations – if the allegations are true – go unpunished? A letter to the editor in response to Herzfeld's piece succinctly asserts, "I must rely on rabbinical supervision to determine if foods are fit to be put in my mouth. I don't need anyone to tell me that the plant's actions cannot be stomached." As Jews observe Yom Kippur, the annual Day of Atonement, they prepare to recite the Al Chet, a communal confession of sins. Each line begins with the phrase "For the sins we have committed before You…" Perhaps this year we have something else we can add to our list.
Nora Rubel is Assistant Professor of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.
---------- This month on the Marty Center's Religion and Culture Web Forum, anthropologist Danilyn Rutherford writes on "The Enchantments of Secular Belief." She examines the "active belief" upon which anthropological work is predicated, drawing on her fieldwork among Biak exiles from New Guinea, her readings of Locke and Hume, and her analysis of the notion of secular belief expressed in the National Public Radio series "This I Believe." Ultimately, she argues that "like Biak appeals to belief, anthropological perspectives on the world lead us to expect the unexpected. This effect does not simply stem from anthropology's power to unsettle the everyday, but also from its method, which entails the impossible belief that one can assume another's point of view." Formal responses will be posted from W. Clark Gilpin (University of Chicago), Malika Zeghal (University of Chicago), and Charles Hirschkind (University of California at Berkeley). http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/webforum/ ----------
Martin E. Marty's biography, current projects, upcoming events, publications, and contact information can be found at www.illuminos.com.
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Sightings comes from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Submissions policy Sightings welcomes submissions of 500 to 750 words in length that seek to illuminate and interpret the forces of faith in a pluralist society. Previous columns give a good indication of the topical range and tone for acceptable essays. The editor also encourages new approaches to issues related to religion and public life.
Attribution Columns may be quoted or republished in full, with attribution to the author of the column, Sightings, and the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Contact information Please send all inquiries, comments, and submissions to Jeremy Biles, editor of Sightings, at sightings-admin@listhost.uchicago.edu. Subscribe, unsubscribe, or manage your subscription at the Sightings subscription page.
FAIR USE NOTICE:
This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.
This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
This material is distributed without profit
===================
"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
Send me a VoiceComment. It's FREE! Just call 1(641)985-7878 and enter *3932648. If you get one too, I'm supposed to be able to reply. http://www.snapvine.com
Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!! Feed a hungry person today: http://www.hungersite.com
I am "blessed" to have to spend this day literally traveling thru the city doing "church stuff", so I most likely will be away from computer till late afternoon or the evening.
So I thought that as I try to focus on Whom I hope to serve today, I might share this thought with you:
Which Jesus?
Bible Excerpt from John 7:40-52 Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?
Reflection by Donna Schaper
I visited two peers, who are normally not rivals, in their country homes last summer. During each visit, a humming bird arrived. This summer I saw not one hummingbird at my own country place. One night I stayed on the deck (yes, I know many people have neither decks nor country homes) for about two hours, thinking that if I sat still long enough, a hummer would come to the blooming bright red trumpet vine.
None came I made plans to sell the house.That same night I lay in the meadow (yes, I know many people don't have a meadow) and a shooting star zippered the night sky.
Finding Jesus is similar. We often look for his signs in the wrong places. We think he couldn't possibly come from Galilee, a place where we weren't looking. We figure our friends know how to find him in ways that we do not.
Jesus can be found. He is often found among the people without decks or meadows. He is often found in an act of generosity instead of rivalry, an act of appreciation rather than envy. If you haven't checked out the night sky lately, give it a try.
Prayer For all the clues we miss, O God, we repent. Send us some more. We want to see Jesus. Amen.
About the Author Donna Schaper is Senior Minister, Judson Memorial Church, New York, New York, and the author of Living Well While Doing Good.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
===================
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this Blog without warning, warrant, or notice.
They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
"Who Do You Think You Are, God?" - a Stillspeaking Devotional
Current mood: impatient
Category: News and Politics
Who Do You Think You Are, God?
Bible Excerpt from Exodus 23:14-19 Three times in the year you shall hold a festival for me.. No one shall appear before me empty-handed.
Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson
What's up with this? Who exactly does this God think he is? "Three times in the year you shall hold a festival for me." Period. Just ordering, prescribing, demanding really, that three times a year we do this whether we feel like it or not, whether it's convenient or not. And, for good measure, "See that you don't come empty-handed." God in this passage sounds as sharp and direct as my grandmother, Victoria Moon Robinson. Though I was the apple of her eye, she was completely capable of setting me straight in no uncertain terms. When my words were those of a callow youth, she fixed me with the stern look of her craggy visage and said, "Mister, don't you ever think that you are any better than anyone else." Like the slap of a Zen master.
So often today, too often, we seem to construe God in ways that suggest that God's whole purpose in being is to serve us, to comfort us, to make us feel okay or peaceful or less-stressed. God as a "Sleep Number Bed," adjustable to our own particular 'comfort preference." God becomes another consumable, adjusted to fit our taste and needs. But what if that's not who God is at all? What if the point is not to adjust God to fit and serve us, but for us to be adjusted--transformed--to serve God? What if God is not safe but good? What if God is God?
Prayer Dear God, You alone are holy. You alone are worthy. You alone are God. Help me, this day, to take myself a little less seriously and take You a little more seriously. Amen.
About the Author Anthony B. Robinson, UCC pastor, speaker and author, teaches leadership at Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto. His newest book is Changing the Conversation: A Third Way for Congregations.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
===================
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this Blog without warning, warrant, or notice.
They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
t r u t h o u t | Politics of Attack
Current mood: disgusted
Category: News and Politics
The New York Times | Politics of Attack
The New York Times: "It is a sorry fact of American political life that campaigns get ugly, often in their final weeks. But Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have been running one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember. They have gone far beyond the usual fare of quotes taken out of context and distortions of an opponent's record - into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia. Senator Barack Obama has taken some cheap shots at Mr. McCain, but there is no comparison."
*Updated* The Debate: No McMud but many McLies with a pinch of McDisdain
Current mood: argumentative
Category: News and Politics
I was kind of surpirsed that I actually manged to sit thru most of the debate (I missed the first 15 minutes).
I had watched Olbermann's Countdown before the show and was sure that the Debate would see Obama being covered in "mud". I suppose McCain and Palin will continue with the "mud-slinging" today.
So I thought I'd include this little bit (that I hope you would"share" with as many people as possible) as well as two bits of analysis from the debate.
McCain's Scary Associations
And just in case this ad doesn't appear in your "neck of the woods":
No McMud but many McLies with a pinch of McDisdain
Please send this link to everyone and anyone you know who tells you things about Obama that you know is untruthful or an outright smear.
People often say with pride, "I'm not interested in politics." They might as well say, "I'm not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future." — Martha Gellhorn, writer/journalist (1908-1998)
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
'God does not share his love between all of his creatures; He gives *all* of his love to *each* of His creatures!' (Hugh of St. Victor).
===================
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this Blog without warning, warrant, or notice.
They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
FAIR USE NOTICE:
This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.
This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
This material is distributed without profit
"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
And this woman - and John McCain - has the nerve to call Obama anti-American and risky?
Why exactly did MCCain choose Palin?
Post Turtle
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate whileworking cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President
The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Palin is a post turtle.'
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was.
The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle.'
The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. 'You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb idiot put her up there to begin with.' '
American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada
Category: News and Politics
My bags are almost packed....
From the MANITOBA HERALD, Canada (a very underground paper):
A flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.
The possibility of a McCain/Palin election is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly.
Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.
I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota
The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken.
When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"
In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk."
Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.
"A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. "They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."
When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the McCain administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to shoot wolves from airplanes, deny evolution, and act out drills preparing them for the Rapture.
In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the '50s.
"If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies.
"I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history and English majors does one country need?
Please send this link to everyone and anyone you know who tells you things about Obama that you know is untruthful or an outright smear.
People often say with pride, "I'm not interested in politics." They might as well say, "I'm not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future." — Martha Gellhorn, writer/journalist (1908-1998)
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
'God does not share his love between all of his creatures; He gives *all* of his love to *each* of His creatures!' (Hugh of St. Victor).
===================
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this Blog without warning, warrant, or notice.
They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
FAIR USE NOTICE:
This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.
This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
This material is distributed without profit
"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!! Feed a hungry person today: http://www.hungersite.com
American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada
Category: News and Politics
My bags are almost packed....
From the MANITOBA HERALD, Canada (a very underground paper):
A flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.
The possibility of a McCain/Palin election is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly.
Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.
I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota
The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken.
When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"
In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk."
Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.
"A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. "They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."
When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the McCain administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to shoot wolves from airplanes, deny evolution, and act out drills preparing them for the Rapture.
In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the '50s.
"If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies.
"I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history and English majors does one country need?
Please send this link to everyone and anyone you know who tells you things about Obama that you know is untruthful or an outright smear.
People often say with pride, "I'm not interested in politics." They might as well say, "I'm not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future." — Martha Gellhorn, writer/journalist (1908-1998)
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
'God does not share his love between all of his creatures; He gives *all* of his love to *each* of His creatures!' (Hugh of St. Victor).
===================
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this Blog without warning, warrant, or notice.
They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
FAIR USE NOTICE:
This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.
This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
This material is distributed without profit
"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!! Feed a hungry person today: http://www.hungersite.com
Wm. Ayers v. Todd Palin (and) McCain The Make-Believe Maverick
Current mood: busy
Category: News and Politics
I am tempted to send out an e-mail to anyone who has ever known me, and everyone who know me now, that they if they have any plans to do anything in the public sphere, they may want to "denounce" me now.
Just being on my MySpace Friend List - heck just reading this Blog entry - could ruin your life "forever, and ever, amen"!!
In my wild and crazy youth, I did believe that America needed a second Revolution. I was a member of the Black Panther Defense Committe, the Young Socialist Alliance, and the Socialist Workers Party. My belefs have changed since then, but there are still people - assuming they are among the living - I would still consider friends.
If those friends still held the same beleifs, I might "renounce" those beliefs, but I would never renounce THEM.
I have had meals with people who have dealt drugs. I have had drinks with prositutes. These people knew where I stand on those "issues", but I think sometimes thinks it says more about those people soending time with ME, as opposed it says anything about my spending time with THEM.
And here's a question: "Did Jesus show poor judgementin picking Judas as one of the twelve?"
Wm. Ayers v. Todd Palin: Tales from GBA-Land by Marc Ambinder
In response to Gov. Sarah Palin's invocation of Barack Obama's "terrorist" "pal" William Ayers, Democrats have settled on a rhetorical response that inquires, innocently enough, whether Todd Palin's association with anti-American secessionists is fair game, especially in light of Palin's charge that Obama "is not a man who sees America as you and I do."
Todd Palin, a former member of the Alaska Independence Party, might well have seen America unlike his wife did -- that is, an America that one can secede from. He was comfortable belonging to and being associated with a political party whose founder seemed to delight in denouncing the principles that hold our union together.
Now -- maybe that's not fair. Maybe Todd Palin didn't believe in all of the principles the AIP espoused... indeed, the AIP seems to be a bit of a cultural relic in Alaska, a quirky old friend. A difference may be that many professional conservatives genuinely believe that Obama's association with William Ayers -- more accurately, he refusal NOT to associate with him -- is a genuine reflection of Obama's poor judgment, whereas no one really cares about why Sarah Palin stayed married to her husband. He seems like a good guy, a loving father, hard to find in a chaotic world, and that she didn't dump him because he associated with some dum-dum secessionists is probably a sign of good judgment. "[Its] a laughable comparison," says Tracey Schmitt, Palin's spokesperson. "Bill Ayers was a founding member of the group that bombed the US capitol and the Pentagon."
On the other hand, there is very little evidence that Ayers's radical worldview ever influenced anything Barack Obama did, said or thought -- indeed, there is evidence of the opposite -- whereas one can easily assume that a husband and wife influence each other's beliefs quite often.
Forget about whether it's OK or intellectually honest or not.
Conservative groups have spent more than ten million dollars on ads tying Obama to Ayers, and so far, Americans don't seem to give a heck. (This tells us what about how we're going to make that mortgage payment?)
Maybe Palin's willingness to go there changes all that.
Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone: "This is the story of the real John McCain, the one who has been hiding in plain sight. It is the story of a man who has consistently put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to outrank his four-star father and grandfather. In its broad strokes, McCain's life story is oddly similar to that of the current occupant of the White House. John Sidney McCain III and George Walker Bush both represent the third generation of American dynasties. Both were born into positions of privilege against which they rebelled into mediocrity."
Please send this link to everyone and anyone you know who tells you things about Obama that you know is untruthful or an outright smear.
People often say with pride, "I'm not interested in politics." They might as well say, "I'm not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future." — Martha Gellhorn, writer/journalist (1908-1998)
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
'God does not share his love between all of his creatures; He gives *all* of his love to *each* of His creatures!' (Hugh of St. Victor).
===================
NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this Blog without warning, warrant, or notice.
They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.
FAIR USE NOTICE:
This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.
This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
This material is distributed without profit
"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
Carnivores and Vegetarians - a Stillspeaking Devotional
Current mood: chill
Category: Religion and Philosophy
I had one of my conservative "friends" (yes, I actually have conservative "friends") tell me that the Bible had absolutely nothing to say in favor of "tolerance", recently.
I suppose I was a wee bit intolerant, since I replied that he and I obviously had, and had read, totally different Bibles.
Carnivores and Vegetarians
Bible Excerpt from Colossians 2:16-23 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths . . . . These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.
Reflection by Lillian Daniel
In my household, my daughter and I are vegetarians, while my husband and son are carnivores. But when I say my daughter is a vegetarian, do not confuse her with a person who actually eats vegetables. Her brother says she would be more accurately described as a "starch-itarian."
Planning menus at my house would be good preparation for heading up the United Nations. When it comes to food, everybody has an opinion, and everybody speaks a different language. Since I am the cook, this delicate diplomatic responsibility falls to me. So I have no trouble imagining what it would be like to live at the time Paul wrote this letter to the early church, when members of the various religious sects condemned one another for their food choices and festival preferences. As a parent of teenagers, my life is no less complicated.
What Paul tells all these people is something we still need to hear. You can make different food choices, based on ethics or tradition. You can celebrate different festivals, and worship in different ways. But don't think any of this makes you better than the other guy. In fact, beware that in your efforts to live well, you do not fall into self indulgence. Live and eat intentionally, but don't become obsessed with yourself.
Prayer Lord Christ, you have promised us an eternal heavenly banquet where all of us, in our uniqueness, will be fed. I thank you, God, that at that time, I will not have to do the cooking. Amen.
About the Author Lillian Daniel is the senior minister of the First Congregational Church, UCC, Glen Ellyn, Illinois and the author of Tell it Like it is: Reclaiming the Practice of Testimony.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
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"I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain."
pessimistic
fermented
exhausted
impatient
disgusted
argumentative
weird
shocked
busy
sleepy
chill
