The Role of Faith in Politics

Above Tim Alexander and William Buchanan, Nashville area pastors, discuss "The Rightful Role of Faith in Politics" in an excerpt from the Baptist Center for Ethics new DVD on "Golden Rule Politics." Here's a quote from Robert Parham, Executive Director of BCE,:

Through Christian representatives from a number of Christian faith traditions, "Golden Rule Politics" explores what is the rightful role of faith in politics. Democratic politicians share their Christian witness, without ever making an exclusive claim to the politics of providence. Clergy caution that political parties are neither thoroughly moral nor completely immoral, that God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, that sin is a universal reality and that God transcends human finitude.

"Golden Rule Politics" challenges a myth, offers a corrective story and outlines three answers to the question--what is the rightful role of faith in politics?

Tenet Knew Iraq Had No WMD's

Sidney Blumenthal has published a story on Salon that indicates that CIA Director George Tenet was fully aware that Iraq had no WMD before the U.S. launched its pre-emptive strike against Iran.

Tenet briefed President Bush about that fact, but Bush refused to consider it. Tenet did not share this information with Condolezza Rice or Colin Powell.

Here's Blumenthal's lead:

On Sept. 18, 2002, CIA director George Tenet briefed President Bush in the Oval Office on top-secret intelligence that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, according to two former senior CIA officers. Bush dismissed as worthless this information from the Iraqi foreign minister, a member of Saddam's inner circle, although it turned out to be accurate in every detail. Tenet never brought it up again.

On Golden Rule Politics

The Baptist Center for Ethics has just released an outstanding video on religion and politics under the title of "Golden Rule Politics: Reclaiming the Rightful Role of Faith in Politics."

In a nutshell, the DVD says -- in the public square -- faith must be prophetic, not partisan.

SBC Fundamentalists Run Broadcasting Arm Into Ground

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the Southern Baptist Convention is selling its Radio and Television Commission to Charles Stanley's "In Touch Ministries" and exiting the broadcasting business.

This is just the latest example of the gross mismanagement of Southern Baptist Convention agencies by the fundamentalists who took it over in the 1980's.

For more detailed information about the mismanagement of the SBC's North American Mission Board, see Mary Kinney Branson's Spending God's Money: Extravagance and Misuse in the Name of Ministry.

Huckabee's Reason for Tithing

Mike Huckabee was a guest on George Stepanopoulous's This Week Sunday Morning. Stephanopolous confronted him with Richard Land's refusal to support Huckabee for the GOP nomination on the basis that Huckabee will be unable to defeat Hillary Clinton in the election. In responding, Huckabee began by saying,

"Well, the first thing I'd like to do is just say, you know, all these years I've been paying my tithes to the Southern Baptist churches I belong to. I'm thinking maybe I ought to get some of my money back if Richard's not going to be a little more supportive."

This is the worst reason for tithing that I've ever heard, but it provides another good reason why denominational leaders should not be handicapping political candidates.

Thanks to Bill Jones for calling my attention to the Huckabee interview.

The World Speaking America's Language

Chris Hedges, author of War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, has provided a worst-case senario for what might happen in a war with Iran. Here's a quote:

It is not hard to imagine what will happen. Iranian Shabab-3 and Shabab-4 missiles, which cannot reach the United States, will be launched at Israel, as well as American military bases and the Green Zone in Baghdad. Expect massive American casualties, especially in Iraq, where Iranian agents and their Iraqi allies will be able to call in precise coordinates. The Strait of Hormuz, which is the corridor for 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, will be shut down. Chinese-supplied C-801 and C-802 anti-shipping missiles, mines and coastal artillery will target U.S. shipping, along with Saudi oil production and oil export centers. Oil prices will skyrocket to well over $4 a gallon. The dollar will tumble against the euro. Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon, interpreting the war as an attack on all Shiites, will fire rockets into northern Israel. Israel, already struck by missiles from Tehran, will begin retaliatory raids on Lebanon and Iran. Pakistan, with a huge Shiite minority, will reach greater levels of instability. The unrest could result in the overthrow of the weakened American ally President Pervez Musharraf and usher into power Islamic radicals. Pakistan could become the first radical Islamic state to possess a nuclear weapon. The neat little war with Iran, which few Democrats oppose, has the potential to ignite a regional inferno.

We have rendered the nation deaf and dumb. We no longer have the capacity for empathy. We prefer to amuse ourselves with trivia and gossip that pass for news rather than understand. We are blinded by our military prowess. We believe that huge explosions and death are an effective form of communication. And the rest of the world is learning to speak our language.

Laboring for Peace

As labor day approaches, I am convinced that the most important thing to do on this holiday this year is to use it to labor for peace. Glenn Greenwald at Salon Magazine has written an alarming essay about Bush's escalating rhetoric. Here are the paragraphs that worry me most:

The two most extremist factions when it comes to the Middle East -- Israel-centric neoconservatives and Christian evangelicals -- have long been telling the President that stopping Iran is his most important mission, the ultimate challenge that history will use to judge his strength, character and conviction. And it is beyond question that those are the groups who continue to hold the greatest sway over the decision-making process of the Commander-in-Chief himself.

Who is going to match the zeal and influence of these warmongers in order to stop them? The notion of attacking Iran may be insane, but it is not considered such by our mainstream establishment. Those who muse about it openly -- Lieberman, McCain, Giuliani, Kristol, Max Boot -- are not considered fringe extremists or unserious radicals, even though they are. Their views are comfortably within what is considered to be the realm of serious and responsible foreign policy advocacy.

As we march step by step with barely a debate towards a confrontation with Iran -- one that neoconservatives have long been proclaiming is inevitable -- are there any meaningful efforts to avert this? We frequently hear the slogan from war critics about Iraq that "hope is not a policy." The same is true with regard to preventing an attack on Iran.

Over the last few weeks, every time I mention to someone that I am worried that this administration is about to start a war with Iran, I get the same response -- "That would be crazy! It will never happen."

I hope they are right, but hope is neither a policy nor a plan for action.

Please join me this labor day in doing something to work for peace. Write a letter or send an e-mail to your congressman and ask them to insist that the President get explicit approval from Congress before launching a war with Iran. For more suggestions, here's a link to the Stop the Iran War website led by Ret. General Wesley Clark.

NorthHaven Opens

NorthHaven Church, a new church start in Norman, Oklahoma affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, will conduct its first worship service at its own facilities this Sunday.

Today, the church is being featured in the religion section of the Norman Transcript. Here's a quote from pastor Mitch Randall:

Randall said the 12,000 square-foot building houses a sanctuary/fellowship hall, offices, a conference room and a special detail.

"They wanted to create a wing of the building or a specific room that's dedicated primarily to community activities," he explained.

Church members would like to open the church to neighborhood associations and community organizations, Randall said. The public can reserve any of the rooms by calling the church office.

For the record, the initial suggestion to that the church add a room for the use of community organizations came from Dr. Rick McClatchy in discussions that preceeded the formal organization of the church. At the time, McClatchy was Coordinator of the Cooperating Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma. Now he is Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Texas.

On Scapegoating Iran for Failure in Iraq

Ray McGovern, former analyst with the CIA, is warning that the Bush administration is determined to scapegoat Iran for its failures in Iraq. Here's a quote:

Bush and Cheney have clearly decided to use alleged Iranian interference in Iraq as the preferred casus belli. And the charges, whether they have merit or not, have become much more bellicose. Thus, Bush on Aug. 28:

"Iran's leaders...cannot escape responsibility for aiding attacks against coalition forces...The Iranian regime must halt these actions. And until it does, I will take actions necessary to protect our troops. I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran’s murderous activities."

How convenient: two birds with one stone. Someone to blame for our losses in Iraq, and "justification" to confront the ostensible source of the problem.

Rove Responds to Moyers

Ethics Daily has published a story about Karl Rove's response to Bill Moyers' critique of his faith. Here's a quote:

In a comment on Moyers' blog, Deal Hudson, director of the Morley Institute for Church & Culture and former editor and publisher of the politically conservative and Catholic Crisis Magazine, said Moyers owed Rove an apology. Hudson said he e-mailed Rove a copy of Moyers' comments, and Rove sent him the following reply:

"I am a believing Christian who attends his neighboring Episcopal parish church. People have taken out of context a quote in which I express admiration for the deep faith of colleagues that so clearly informs their lives as a statement I am not a believer. I am: just not as good a Christian as some very fine people I have been honored to call friends and colleagues."

Two days after Moyers' comment Rove gave a wide-ranging interview on "Fox News Sunday," during which interviewer Chris Wallace aired a portion of Moyers' commentary and asked Rove to respond.

"I'm a Christian," Rove said. "I go to church. I'm an Episcopalian."

In my opinion, Rove's statements should be taken at face value. Moyers mentioned widespread rumors that Rove was agnostic. Rove disclaimed the rumors.

Moyers owes Rove an apology.

On the Dangers of Privatized Intelligence

James Carroll, whose father founded the Defense Intelligence Agency, has written an alarming essay about the dangers of "Outsourcing intelligence." Here's a quote:

The Bush administration has replaced officials with contractors throughout government, outsourcing run amok. But Bush did not begin this. Since Ronald Reagan, conservatives have preached the doctrine that the nation's basic needs can best be met by private enterprise. The profit motive trumps any public ideal. Consequently, government has been in slow motion collapse, with the ineptitudes of Iraq as final proof of its untrustworthiness.

But what the antigovernment movement missed is that attacks on the public sector equal assaults on the public. When the high calling of public service yields to the highest bid, the corruption is total: the heart of government -- the military -- becomes mercenary; the mind of the military -- intelligence -- becomes privatized. Citizenship itself is universally gutted, yet another source of our malaise.

Is Universal Health Care for Children a Socialist Plot?

Paul Krugman offers some cogent arguments in the debate over whether universal health care for children would be "middle class welfare" or a "socialist plot." Here's a quote:

We offer free education, and don't worry about middle-class families getting benefits they don't need, because that's the only way to ensure that every child gets an education -- and giving every child a fair chance is the American way. And we should guarantee health care to every child, for the same reason.

On Silent Accomplices

Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager who was the subject of the move Hotel Rwanda, says the churches failed to speak out during the Rwandan Genocide. Here's a quote from a story at Ethics Daily:

Prior to 1994, Rwanda was described as the most Christianized country in Africa. Ninety percent of its citizens professed to be Christians. But that didn't stop tribal violence from breaking out that resulted in the wanton murder of 800,000 people in 100 days.

Like other foreigners, American missionaries were evacuated when the killing started, Paul Rusesabagina told EthicsDaily.com.

"The Rwandan genocide took place in a hidden way, without any eyewitnesses from the international community," Rusesabagina said. "When it comes to churches, all the churches kept quiet."

"Silence, as we all know, is complicity," he said.

Robert Fisk's Questions About 9-11 Truth

Robert Fisk of the Independent UK lists some questions about the official version of what happened on 9-11. Here's a quote:

I am talking about scientific issues. If it is true, for example, that kerosene burns at 820C under optimum conditions, how come the steel beams of the twin towers – whose melting point is supposed to be about 1,480C -– would snap through at the same time? (They collapsed in 8.1 and 10 seconds.) What about the third tower -– the so-called World Trade Centre Building 7 (or the Salmon Brothers Building) -– which collapsed in 6.6 seconds in its own footprint at 5.20pm on 11 September? Why did it so neatly fall to the ground when no aircraft had hit it? The American National Institute of Standards and Technology was instructed to analyse the cause of the destruction of all three buildings. They have not yet reported on WTC 7. Two prominent American professors of mechanical engineering -– very definitely not in the "raver" bracket -– are now legally challenging the terms of reference of this final report on the grounds that it could be "fraudulent or deceptive".

Seeing Yourself Through Virtual Reality

The New York Times is reporting that scientists have devised an experiment that induces an out-of-body experience.

It is a fascinating experiment. I'm not sure what it proves.

Through an exercise of imagination, humans have long been able to project themselves outside their bodies. We do it in dreams all the time.

North Carolina Baptist Women Separate from Fundamentalist Men

Three cheers for the Women's Missionary Union in North Carolina. ABP is reporting that they have separated themselves from the Fundamentalist dominated state convention. Here's a quote:

WMU-NC wants to resource other Baptist entities in mission education and involvement, Fulbright said. That includes assistance to churches that affiliate with other denominations and with bodies such as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist World Alliance. The SBC’s conservative leaders have been highly critical of both groups.

The Most Dangerous Man in America

Scott Ritter, former head of U.N. arms inspections in Iraq, has written an essay that ought to be entitled "The Most Dangerous Man in America." If he succeeds in ushering in a war with Iran, he'll earn the title as the most dangerous man in the world. Here's a quote from Ritter:

The absolute worst of the rot that has infected America because of the policies and actions of the Bush administration has originated from the office of the vice president. The nonsensical response to the terror attacks of 9/11, seeking a "global war" versus defending the rule of law at home and abroad, taking the lead in spreading the lies that got us involved in Iraq, legitimizing torture as a tool of American jurisprudence, advocating for warrantless wiretappings of U.S.-based communications (regardless of what the Fourth Amendment says against illegal search and seizure), and pushing for an expansion of America’s global conflict into Iran-all can be traced back to the person of Cheney as the point of origin.

Fox News Reports Strike on Iran Within Six Months

Fox News has reported that a former CIA field officer is predicting that the U.S. will strike Iran without warning within the next six months. Here's a quote:

"We won't see American troops cross the border. . . . If this is going to happen, it's going to happen very quickly and it's going to surprise a lot of people," said Baer. "I hope I'm wrong frankly, but we're going to see."

Did the GOP Use Government Resources to Win Elections?

McClatchy News has published a report about investigations of 15 government agencies to determine if they used federal resources to assist the GOP in winning elections. Here's an excerpt:

The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether the White House's political briefings to at least 15 agencies, including to the Justice Department, the General Services Administration and the State Department, violated a ban on the use of government resources for campaign activities.

Under the Hatch Act, Cabinet members are permitted to attend political briefings and appear with members of Congress. But Cabinet members and other political appointees aren't permitted to spend taxpayer money with the aim of benefiting candidates.

During the briefings at Treasury and Commerce, then-Bush administration political director Ken Mehlman and other White House aides detailed competitive congressional districts, battleground election states and key media markets and outlined GOP strategy for getting out the vote.

Commerce and Treasury political appointees later made numerous public appearances and grant announcements that often correlated with GOP interests, according to a review of the events by McClatchy Newspapers. The pattern raises the possibility that the events were arranged with the White House's political guidance in mind.

The briefings are part of the legacy of White House political adviser Karl Rove, who announced this week that he's stepping down at the end of the month to spend more time with his family. Despite Rove's departure, investigations into the briefings are expected to continue.

On Religious Equality Vs. Theocracy

Jim Evans has written an outstanding essay contrasting the difference between religious equality and theocracy. Here's a quote:

So when Dr. Kennedy tells us that he despises tolerance, he is not kidding. If he had his way the Constitution would be scrapped in favor of an Old Testament theocracy.

Of course, I wouldn’t mind a theocracy, which literally means "rule by God," if God was in fact the one who ruled. But what usually happens in theocratic states is someone who claims to speak for God ends up running things, and normally not too well.

Getting back to tolerance, mere tolerance, in my opinion, does not go far enough. Simple toleration of someone or some idea is not the ideal expressed in our founding documents. In America we don't promote tolerance among religions; we practice "religious freedom."

In America, as far as the law is concerned, all human beings and their various religions are created equally. If we fail to protect this basic constitutional ideal, we will find ourselves on a path that leads to totalitarianism.

Moyers on Rove's Resignation

Bill Moyers will comment on Karl Rove's resignation this evening on PBS. Raw Story has posted a preview. Here's a quote:

At his press conference this week he asked God to bless the president and the country, even as reports were circulating that he himself had confessed to friends his own agnosticism; he wished he could believe, but he cannot. That kind of intellectual honesty is to be admired, but you have to wonder how all those folks on the Christian right must feel discovering they were used for partisan reasons by a skeptic, a secular manipulator. On his last play of the game all Karl Rove had to offer them was a hail mary pass, while telling himself there’s no one there to catch it.

Richard Land has been on a weekly conference call with Rove for the past six years.

Was Land duped by this "secular manipulator," or was he spending all that time trying to witness to Karl?

A Call for Prayer

Wiley Drake, former Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention, has issued a call for imprecatory prayer against my good friends and colleagues at Americans United for Separation of Church and State -- Joe Conn and Jeremy Leaming.

I am fully convicted that Drake is completely misguided to offer imprecations against these staunch advocates of both religious liberty and the golden rule, I intend to make it a point to pray daily at 9:00 AM CST for God to bless Joe Conn, Jeremy Leaming, Barry Lynn, Rob Boston and everyone else at Americans United.

I'll also pray for Wiley Drake and his cohorts to attune their hearts more fully to that of Jesus of Nazareth who denounced every temptation to enlist civil power as a means to inaugurate his kingdom.

While I am at it, I'm going to pray for Brent Walker, Hollyn Hollman and everyone at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty who share the mission with Americans United (an organization that the BJC helped found) as watchdogs over separation of church and state.

Please join me in these prayers.

And let's pray in our private prayer closets, as Jesus commanded (Matt. 6:5-13). True prayer is not for show, it's an act of worship. God has never needed people to all be on the same phone line to hear their prayers.

Roots

My Dad's parents were William Edward Prescott and Erma Ruby Morrow Prescott. My grandmother, b. 1904 in Missouri, is pictured wearing the navy blue and white polka dot dress that I remember her wearing when I last saw her. She died in 1958.

My grandfather, b. 1904 in Colorado, was the oldest of four children born to William Addison Prescott, b. 1866 in Wisconsin, and Cora Bubb Prescott, b. 1876 in Illinois. William E., Charles A., Lyman S., and Mildred E. Prescott were orphaned in Denver in 1910. Mildred was adopted. My grandfather hated life in his Catholic orphanage and was placed in the George W. Clayton College for Boys in Denver in November 1911. He was discharged in 1922 when he entered the Army. In the Army he took up boxing and fought under the name "Soldier Prescott." In 1926 he was honorably discharged from the Army and began to box professionally under the name "Billy Bubb." Once a sparring partner to Jack Dempsey, they were friends until death. When he gave up boxing, my grandfather moved to Pueblo, Colorado to work in the steel mill. When he retired, he moved to California. He died in 1983.

The names of my great-grandfather's parents have been a mystery to my family until last week when I managed to track down some genealogical information on the web.

William A. Prescott, age 14, born in 1866 in Wisconsin is listed in the 1880 U.S. Census Records from Lima, Pepin, Wisconsin under the household of George Coles, age 50, born in New York and Sarah Coles, age 56, born in Canada. In the same household is a Laura E.(Elvira?) Prescott, age 22, born in Wisconsin and a George H. Cole, age 9, born in Wisconsin. The father's birthplace for the children is listed as Vermont. The mother's birthplace is listed as Canada. That suggests that Sarah is the mother of the Prescott children, but George is not the father.

If the sources I've discovered are correct, the 1860 U.S. Census Records from Wisconsin must show a Sarah Barnard Prescott, age 36, born in Canada listed as the wife of a Lyman Prescott, age 40, born in Vermont with a daughter named Laura Alvira Prescott, age 2, born in Wisconsin. William A. Prescott (my great-grandfather) was not born until 1866. By the time of the 1870 Census, Lyman and Sarah had split up.

Here's a link to Lyman Prescott, b. 1820, in Richard Prescott Bale's online family history. From there you can follow the lineage of fathers in my family tree all the way back to William De Prestcote, b. before 1195.

Head Honcho

William R. Prescott, b. 1930, was head honcho for the clan pictured above. The picture was taken in the summer of 1980 -- two years after Dad received his Masters Degree in Art Education from the University of New Mexico.

Tena Prescott, my Mom, is now a retired secretary from the Albuqerque Public School System. Penni is now a Respiratory Therapist at the Children's Hospital in Dallas and Pat is still teaching History for the Albuquerque Public School System.

At a Loss for Words

My dad died yesterday. He was a retired Albuquerque public school teacher.

I'm not in much of a mood to blog today. I may, or may not, miss a few more days blogging this week. It depends on how and when my mood changes.

Instead of writing, I'm going to post a couple more pictures of Dad. Below are a couple of my favorite pictures of Dad with my son, Will -- when both were much younger.

Southwestern Seminary Becomes Homemaking School

There was a time when Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth was busting at the seams trying to accommodate all the men and women who wanted to earn a degree in theology. The school had more than 5,000 students a year in the 1980's.

That was before Fundamentalists consolidated their power at the school and replaced Russell Dilday as president. Now Southwestern Seminary is a mere shadow of what it was when moderates ran the institution.

As enrollments slipped and funding was tied to the number of students enrolled, the school devised a number of "creative" schemes to keep dollars flowing to the school from denominational headquarters. For more than a decade the school has been reporting "Full Time Equivalents" (FTE's) for enrollment figures. FTE's have been described to me as "anything that walks across the campus in the course of a year."

Now,as the Dallas Morning News reports, the school is resorting to teaching homemaking, cooking, and sewing classes for their idea of model minister's wives.

If I still considered myself a Southern Baptist, I would be embarrassed.

Judging from the continued decline in interest in theological study at their seminaries, it looks like a lot of people within their fold are less than enthusiastic about swallowing the pablum they are now serving.

Krugman on the Current Liquidity Crisis

Economist Paul Krugman has posted an essay on the current turmoil in financial markets around the world. He doesn't paint a pretty picture.

When liquidity dries up, as I said, it can produce a chain reaction of defaults. Financial institution A can’t sell its mortgage-backed securities, so it can’t raise enough cash to make the payment it owes to institution B, which then doesn’t have the cash to pay institution C — and those who do have cash sit on it, because they don’t trust anyone else to repay a loan, which makes things even worse.

And here’s the truly scary thing about liquidity crises: it’s very hard for policy makers to do anything about them.

Cheney Laying Groundwork for Iran Strike

McClatchy News is reporting that "Cheney Urging Strikes on Iran." Here's a couple quotes:

Cheney, who's long been skeptical of diplomacy with Iran, argued for military action if hard new evidence emerges of Iran's complicity in supporting anti-American forces in Iraq; for example, catching a truckload of fighters or weapons crossing into Iraq from Iran, one official said.

. . .

Proposals to use force against Iran over its actions in Iraq mark a new phase in the Bush administration's long internal war over Iran policy.

Until now, some hawks within the administration — including Cheney — are said to have favored military strikes to stop Iran from furthering its suspected ambitions for nuclear weapons.

Rice has championed a diplomatic strategy, but that, too, has failed to deter Iran so far.

John Dean on Executive Aggrandizement

John Dean, former White House Counsel under Richard Nixon, has posted an essay on Findlaw that says the danger of the so-called "Protect America Act" is its executive aggrandizement. Here's a quote:

This law is another bold and blatant move by Bush to enhance the powers of the Executive branch at the expense of its constitutional co-equals. . . .

This, of course, is consistent with Bush and Cheney's general drive to weaken or eliminate all checks and balances constraining the Executive. This drive was evidenced by countless laws enacted by the Republican-controlled Congresses during the first six years of the Administration, and in countless signing statements added by the President interpreting away any constraints on the Executive. Thus, when even the GOP Congresses required presidential compliance and reporting, they were thwarted.

The most stunning aspect of the Democrats' capitulation is their abandoning of their institutional responsibility to hold the president accountable. The Protect America Act utterly fails to maintain any real check on the president's power to undertake electronic surveillance of literally millions of Americans. This is an invitation to abuse, especially for a president like the current incumbent.

On Pentagon Evangelism

No, this isn't another blog about the top brass endorsements of the Christian Embassy in their promotional video.

This is about the abysmal "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game that is being distributed to soldiers in Iraq. In a previous blog I described this game as a "religious warfare instructional video." Here's a link to a podcast of a radio interview about the game.

Max Blumenthal has posted a story that summarizes the message as "Kill or Convert" and that is a pretty good summary of the game's message. Advocates of church-state separation as well as Catholics, Jews, gays and Muslims are targeted for extermination on the streets of New York.

Are elements within the Religious Right trying to prepare soldiers to wage religious wars in New York City after they leave Iraq?

Not An Idle Threat

China is threatening to destabilize the dollar by unloading its holdings of U.S. Treasuries.

This is not an idle threat.

Uncle Sam's deficit spending and our country's trade deficits have put our economy at risk.

Turkish Troops Invade Iraq

News reports are confirming that Turkish troops are setting up bases in the Kurdish areas of Northern Iraq.

The Kurds have been the most loyal allies of the U.S. within Iraq.

The Kurds are quickly becoming the odd men out of the land and oil grab that will take place in Iraq as the U.S. withdraws.

On Tangling Feet

Caroline Arnold, formerly a staff member for Ohio Senator John Glenn, has posted an essay about impeachment that makes some fairly astute observations. Here's one of them:

His supporters believed that Ronald Reagan planned to hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union by goading it to invest in military technology to circumvent our “Star Wars” missile interception system, (the Strategic Defense Initiative that never worked) and by undermining the Soviet economy to damage the civilian infrastructure and weaken ideological support for communism.

It may be that such was the plan. By the late 1980s the Soviets were running out of money and having trouble maintaining their civilian infrastructure; they had lost most of their ideological credibility and popular support: the system simply couldn’t keep operating and collapsed, though it’s debatable whether U.S. action caused it.

We might equally observe that Osama bin Laden planned the destruction of the United States by goading the Bush administration to invest in an economy-busting war on Iraq, by giving the neo-cons a pretext for abridging citizen’s rights and destroying public faith in democracy and government, by providing Bush an excuse to detain and torture suspects, by giving the US commercial media new opportunities to use fear and violence to sell more stuff, and by creating new markets for large corporations to sell weapons for destruction and expertise for reconstruction.

On the Dismemberment of Iraq

Chris Hedges has written an instructive essay about how the war in Iraq is "Beyond Disaster." Here's a quote:

Saddam Hussein, like the more benign dictator Josip Broz Tito in the former Yugoslavia, understood that the glue that held the country together was the secret police.

Iraq, however, is different from Yugoslavia. Iraq has oil-lots of it. It also has water in a part of the world that is running out of water. And the dismemberment of Iraq will unleash a mad scramble for dwindling resources that will include the involvement of neighboring states. The Kurds, like the Shiites and the Sunnis, know that if they do not get their hands on water resources and oil they cannot survive. But Turkey, Syria and Iran have no intention of allowing the Kurds to create a viable enclave. A functioning Kurdistan in northern Iraq means rebellion by the repressed Kurdish minorities in these countries. The Kurds, orphans of the 20th century who have been repeatedly sold out by every ally they ever had, including the United States, will be crushed. The possibility that Iraq will become a Shiite state, run by clerics allied with Iran, terrifies the Arab world. Turkey, as well as Saudi Arabia, the United States and Israel, would most likely keep the conflict going by arming Sunni militias. This anarchy could end with foreign forces, including Iran and Turkey, carving up the battered carcass of Iraq. No matter what happens, many, many Iraqis are going to die. And it is our fault.

How Ruthless Rumsfeld Outed Joe Darby

BBC News has published a story about the ordeal faced by Joe Darby, the Military Policeman who exposed the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, after he reported the abuse to his superiors. Darby understandably feared retaliation from within the military for exposing the abuse and requested anonymity:

And then he was sitting in a crowded Iraqi canteen with hundreds of soldiers and Donald Rumsfeld came on the television to thank Joe Darby by name for handing in the photographs.

"I don't think it was an accident because those things are pretty much scripted," Mr Darby says.

"But I did receive a letter from him which said he had no malicious intent, he was only doing it to praise me and he had no idea about my anonymity.

"I really find it hard to believe that the secretary of defence of the United States has no idea about the star witness for a criminal case being anonymous."

There are at least two possible explanations for Rumsfeld's behavior. Either he's an imbecile or he's ruthless.

Romney Grilled About Health Care at Diner

Mitt Romeny got an unexpected response when he spoke about health care at a Washington D.C. diner.

A waitress, Michelle Griffin, asked him some tough questions about the accessibility and affordability of health care in this country.

She asked the kind of questions that every politician in this country needs to face.

She's clearly fed up with pious platitudes from politicians in both parties.

Here's a link to a story at the Washington Post and a video of the exchange.

Thanks for speaking up, Michelle.

DOD: Officers Wrongfully Endorsed Christian Embassy

An investigation by the Department of Defense concludes that military officers were filmed for a video in ways that gave the appearance that the Defense Department endorsed the work of the Christian Embassy. The Christian Embassy is a non-profit organization affiliated with Campus Crusade. The Christian Embassy used the film for fund raising.

Several high ranking officers were cited for misconduct.

Jason Leopold has posted a story with the video at Truth Out.

Why Gaddy is Right and Robinson is Wrong

Chuck Currie has posted a blog defending Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson's endorsement of Barak Obama. After Welton Gaddy, Executive Director of the Interfaith Alliance, criticized Robinson's endorsement of a political candidate, Currie wrote a blog entitled "Why Gene Robinson is Right and Welton Gaddy is Wrong."

Currie recently endorsed Barak Obama himself and was questioned about it on Welton Gaddy's radio program. Here's a quote from Currie's blog:

Welton invited me to come on his show right after I made my endorsement and asked me to explain why I was supporting Obama and what I thought the role of churches should be in politics. He told listeners that my answer was one of the best he had ever heard (you can listen to the show here).

Few people in America have earned my respect the way Welton Gaddy has. He is a tremendous champion of the separation of church and state and a strong voice for the progressive religious community. But if he is suggesting that religious leaders cannot as individuals engage in the political process he is simply wrong.

Religious leaders should be (and are under the law) free as individuals to become involved in all aspects of public life but must do so without bringing our churches along for the ride. I understand and appreciate Welton's concerns but disagree with his conclusions.

Currie is needlessly obfuscating Gaddy's point by insinuating that "he is suggesting that religious leaders cannot as individuals engage in the political process." That is not what he or any other leader among church/state separationists is suggesting.

What we are suggesting is that no person of faith should undermine the integrity of their faith by subjecting it to the compromising influences of secular politics.

There's no point in denying that endorsing candidates is about exercising influence in electoral politics. Currie and Robinson are free to line up as private citizens beside actors, musicians, union bosses, CEO's and others whose celebrity politicians hope to use to boost their standing among voters. No one, however, would take notice of them if they were merely standing there as private citizens. Their ability to exert influence comes from their identification with and position in the church.

I've been engaged in political activities as a private citizen for decades but I don't do endorsements. I've attended campaign meetings. I've written checks to candidates. I've passed out flyers, mailed brochures, and made phone calls for candidates. When I engage in partisan political activities I never volunteer information about myself or my vocation. If someone knows my vocation and mentions it in that setting, I always make it clear that I am acting outside my responsibilities as a minister. The focus should be on the candidate and the positions he/she holds on issues pertinent to the campaign -- not on myself or my ability to lend credibility to his/her campaign. Endorsements call attention to the endorser as much as to the politician.

If Robinson and Currie were engaged with Obama's campaign merely as private citizens, they would not be making headlines and doing radio interviews. By making endorsements both of them are making statements about themselves as much as about Obama. In the end, what they are saying is that it is alright for preachers to peddle their influence on behalf of politicians.

Slip-Sliding Retirements

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston University has published a report asking "Is There Really a Retirement Savings Crisis?"

The short answer is yes.

In 1992 20% of the people aged 51 to 61 were at risk of facing a declining standard of living when they retired. Today 32% of the people that age are at risk.

35% of the Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1954 are at risk. 44% of the Baby Boomers born between 1954 and 1964 are at risk.

49% of the Gen-Xer's born between 1964 and 1972 are at risk.

If you were born after 1972 . . . well, without saying so, because he's still trying to recruit you to fight his wars and pay taxes to brake your elder's slide into poverty, Uncle Sam's making it clear that you're on your own.

Religious Conflict Reviving in America

The prominent role that religion is playing in contemporary American politics is reviving conflicts that were once dormant or at least subdued in this country.

Ethics Daily is reporting that GOP Presidential candidates Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee are sparring over an allegedly "anti-catholic" e-mail that has surfaced from a Huckabee supporter in Iowa. The author of the e-mail contends that "Protestants should vote for Protestants." Apparently, for him, denominationalism is a trumph card in the game of politics.

Of greater concern is the religious balkanization of public education as members of different faiths are launching charter schools to preserve their religious culture at taxpayer expense. Jewish Week has published a report about "Hebrew, Arabic Schools Seen Stretching the Boundaries."

Segregating schools along religious lines will prove to be as divisive as segregating schools along racial lines has been.

People of different faiths will never learn to get along until they all agree to stop trying to use the public schools to proselytize and indoctrinate unbelievers into their faith.

Jan Linn on Faith Based Politics

The Christian Century has published an essay by Jan Linn, author of What's Wrong with the Christian Right, about "On Faith Based Politics: An Exchange" subtitled "On not mimicking the religious right."

Linn rightly suggests that Jim Wallis and other social justice liberals are mimicking the religious right. Here's a quote:

The issue is not whether Christians or members of any other religious group have the right to vote for candidates who share their faith and values. The question is whether the way Christians on the right and left are involved in politics undermines both our democracy and the faith communities they represent. With good reason many of us have believed that the Christian right has done so. I would suggest that any group that focuses on the faith of candidates as a qualification for public office will negatively affect government and religion, even if its agenda is one of social justice.

For those interested in hearing more from Jan Linn, here's a link to a podcast of an interview I did with him on the Religious Talk radio program on 9-19-04.

On Voting Records in the Banana Republic of Ohio

Alternet has posted a story about the illegal destruction of the 2004 presidential election records in Ohio. The records were necessary to settle claims over whether the results from the 2004 presidential election were accurate.

In times past, I used to shake my head as fraud and corruption was uncovered in the elections of the "Banana Republics" in Central and South America. Now, I'm shaking my head in disbelief as evidence mounts day-by-day demonstrating that throughout the twenty-first century the United States has been reduced to the status of a banana republic.

Barak Obama on Separation of Church and State

David Brody at the right-wing Christian Broadcasting Network interviewed Barak Obama and asked him about his views regarding separation of church and state. Obama gave a surprisingly forthright answer:

For my friends on the right, I think it would be helpful to remember the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy but also our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn't the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn't want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves.

It was the forbearers of Evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they didn't want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith as they understood it. Given this fact, I think that the right might worry a bit more about the dangers of sectarianism.

Whatever we once were, we're no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of non-believers. We should acknowledge this and realize that when we're formulating policies from the state house to the Senate floor to the White House, we've got to work to translate our reasoning into values that are accessible to every one of our citizens, not just members of our own faith community.

Unfortunately, Obama states his case in an ambiguous way that could give the impression that he was wrongfully slurring the reputation of the very Baptist who was the foremost opponent of slavery in colonial Virginia. As a matter of fact, once the first amendment had been adopted (1789) and at the very moment when evangelist John Leland was enjoying his greatest popularity in Virginia, he pressed Baptists on the issue of slavery and then had difficulty finding a pulpit in which to preach in Virginia. He left Virginia and spent the rest of his life in Massachusetts.

For the record, here are some facts about John Leland:

John Leland opposed slavery because it destroyed the slaves family life, it undermined the character of both master and slave, and it deprived the slave of religious liberty. Concerning the morality of slavery, he argued:

"The whole scene of slavery is pregnant with enormous evils. On the master's side, pride, haughtiness, domination, cruelty, deceit, and indolence and on the side of the slave, ignorance, servility, fraud, perfidy, and despair. If these, and many other evils, attend it, why not liberate them at once? Would to Heaven this were done! The sweets of rural and social life will never be well enjoyed, until it is the case." (The Writings of John Leland, ed. L. F. Greene, New York: Arno Press, 1969, pp. 96-97)

He thought slavery was worse for the master than for the slave, saying, "The state of slaves is truly pitiable, and that of the master, in some things, more so." (p. 96)

Leland opposed federal laws that counted slaves as "three-fifths of a man, and two-fifths of a brute." (p. 96) He insisted that:

"Slavery, in its best appearance, is a violent deprivation of the rights of nature, inconsistent with republican government, destructive of every humane and benevolent passion of the soul, and subversive to the liberty absolutely necessary to ennoble the human mind." (p. 174)

In 1790 the Baptist General Committee of Virginia passed a resolution against slavery that was proposed by Leland. The resolution read:

"Resolved, That slavery is a violent deprivation of the rights of nature and inconsistent with a republican government, and therefore recommend it to our brethren to use every legal measure to extirpate this horrid evil from the land; and pray Almighty God that our honorable Legislature may have it in their power to proclaim the great Jubilee consistent with the principles of good policy."

The Roanoke Baptist Association took immediate exception to Leland's resolution, saying it was not "unanimously clear" whether or not slavery opposed the gospel. As opposition to his resolution was being mobilized and as preaching invitations for the evangelist ended, Leland left Virginia in 1791 and returned to his home in New England. In 1792 the General Committee rescinded Leland's resolution and passed a resolution declaring the issue of slavery "belonged to the Legislative Body" -- thereby advising abolitionists to focus their energies in the political arena outside the church.

Can a Mormon Be President?

Associated Press is reporting that "Religion Looms Large Over 2008 Race." Mitt Romney's Mormon faith, however, is hurting him as he runs for the GOP nomination.

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits using religion as a test for political office. Romney's faith should not be an issue in his run for president. Hilary's gender and Obama's race shouldn't be an issue either.

Ironically, while the constitution originally did not grant women nor African-Americans the right to vote, the odds are higher for Clinton or Obama to be elected president than for Romney.

How can "conservative" voters affirm allegiance to the "original intentions" of the founding fathers while disregarding their clear intentions regarding the prohibition against establishing a national religion and against religious tests for holding public office?

David Iglesias on the Reason for White House Stonewalling

NOW with David Brancaccio interviewed David Iglesias, fired U.S. Attorney from New Mexico, for his opinion about the import of the dispute between the White House and Congress over whether White House aides will testify about attorneygate. Iglesias did not mince words:

NOW: Do you think the problems surrounding the U.S. attorneys' firings, as well as what we're learning about some of these voter suppression efforts has tainted the party?

DI: It's tainted the party and it's tainted the Justice Department, which is a real shame. It's a tragedy because, for many years, the only agency that really had a standing as the untouchable agency from partisan politics was the Justice Department. And unfortunately, what's happened over the passed couple of years has tarred it with a very, very ugly brush ... It's a serious problem. The American people have the right to believe that "prosecutive" decisions are made on the basis of evidence alone. And right now, that's called into question.

Every president has the right to set their priorities. But they have to stay within the rules. I mean, this entire scandal in one sense is about the rule of law. And this sordid affair was an attempt to use the power of the Justice Department in an unethical and unlawful way.

NOW: Trying to use the office of a U.S. Attorney for partisan political purposes is unethical. But you're saying it is actually illegal?

DI: Right. That's why there has been such a circling of the wagons around Karl Rove and Harriet Miers and Sarah Taylor. I believe there to be incriminating, possibly criminally incriminating evidence contained in those e-mails and other memoranda. That's why the White House doesn't want to produce it to Congress.

A Master Scurrilous Propaganda

John Yeats, director of communications for the Louisiana Baptist Convention and recording secretary for the Southern Baptist Convention, has long been a master of the scurrilous propaganda that passes for journalism at Baptist Press.

Today's juvenile attack on Barry Lynn and Americans United is a classic example. Here's a quote:

Looking at its track record, the Americans United organization is not as interested in separation of church and state as it is in using its influence to silence the voices of American pulpits and organizations that disagree with a leftist vision of religious liberty. With its letter in 2000, AU attempted to intimidate pastors into thinking they must become homiletic wimps or lose their church's tax exemption.

For the record, Americans United's position on politics in the pulpit is identical to that of the Supreme Court of the United States and of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty.

Tom Delay, Israel, and Christ's Second Coming

Journalist Max Blumenthal has branched into video journalism. Recently, he interviewed Tom Delay on camera at the Christians United for Israel Summit in Washington, D.C.

Here's a quote from Raw Story about the Delay interview:

Blumenthal opens the video by interviewing Tom Delay, who when asked how much the "Second Coming" plays into his support for Israel, says, "obviously, it's what I live for, I hope it comes tomorrow."

Delay closed by saying, "we have to be connected to Israel to enjoy the second coming."

Considering the grave implications involved when politicians base their foreign policy on the eschatological charting of right-wing evangelical Christians, voters might find it important to discover what future political candidates believe regarding Armageddon theology. It could literally be a matter of life and death for people living in Israel and the Middle East.

On Transcendental Meditation in the Schools

The LA Times has published a story about the teaching of Transcendental Meditation in public schools.

Here's a quote from my friend and colleague on the Board of Americans United for Separation of Church and State:

"It's not the business of schools to lead kids to inner peace through a spiritual process," says Edward Tabash, chairman of the national legal committee for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Tabash, a self-described secular humanist, predicts an imminent court battle. "I can quite frankly see a coalition between religious fundamentalists and atheists challenging this."

Imagine that! Secular humanists and fundamentalist Christians working together again to promote separation of church and state.

Oil at $100 at Barrel Looming, $200 a Barrel Possible

The International Herald Tribune has published a story with the headline: "$100-a-barrel oil may be only a few months away." The price of oil is around $75.00-a-barrel today.

If that is not sufficiently alarming, this should be -- Matthew Simmons, one of the most widely respected researchers on worldwide petroleum supplies issued this warning:

Oil prices could triple in three months to more than $200 a barrel, given the right circumstances, according to Matthew Simmons, chairman of Simmons, a Houston investment bank.

"Oil is still cheap," Simmons said. "In the 20th century, with a few exceptions, oil was almost free. The only exceptions were during 1973, 1979 and when Iraq invaded Kuwait."

No, this is not oil companies gouging consumers for profits. Worldwide demand for oil has increased to an unsustainable level and the supply of available oil has peaked.

Specter Calls for Special Prosecutor

Arlen Specter, the Senate Judiciary Committee's senior Republican, has advised Attorney General Alberto Gonzales that he needs to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the firings of federal prosecutors.

On this and on a variety of other issues, the world is waiting to see if the United States of America is ruled by law or whether we are governed by leaders who rule as they will.

Costly Preaching

Baptists around the world are protesting the arrest of pastor Zaur Belayev who was arrested during a preaching service at his "unregistered house church" in Aliabad, Azerbaijan on May 20th.

Ethics Daily has posted a story about the Protests being registered by International Baptists. Here's a link to a letter from Tony Peck, Executive Secretary of the European Baptist Federation demanding the release of Belayev.

Four hundred years ago today, English Separatists -- forerunners of the earliest English Baptists -- were facing this same form of persecution for forming unauthorized conventicles in England.

Business As Usual?

Associated Baptist Press and Ethics Daily have posted stories about Coy Privette, a SBC fundamentalist takeover leader in North Carolina, being arrested for hiring a prostitute. He was also a leader in an organization with a mission to publicly denounce sexual immorality.

Incidents like this have long been commonplace among America's morality police. It's just business as usual for the sex industry.

Instead of manning megaphones to publicly denounce immorality, conservative Christians would do more good if they would devote themselves to promoting fidelity in their churches and to discreet and compassionate counselling of those whose relationships are being shattered by their infidelities.

Is the President Assuming Dictatorial Powers?

Raw Story has posted some alarming quotations from Paul Craig Robert's interview on Thom Hartmann's radio program this morning. Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during the Reagan Administration. Roberts warns that a new executive order issued by the White House allowing the government to seize the assets of anyone interfering with its Iraq policies gives dictatorial powers to the President. Here's a quote:

"Americans think their danger is terrorists," said Roberts. "They don't understand the terrorists cannot take away habeas corpus, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution. ... The terrorists are not anything like the threat that we face to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution from our own government in the name of fighting terrorism. Americans just aren't able to perceive that."

Roberts pointed out that it's old-line Republicans like himself, former Reagan associate deputy attorney general Bruce Fein, and Pat Buchanan who are the diehards in warning of the danger. "It's so obvious to people like us who have long been associated in the corridors of power," he said. "There's no belief in the people or anything like that. They have agendas. The people are in the way. The Constitution is in the way. ... Americans need to comprehend and look at how ruthless Cheney is. ... A person like that would do anything."

Immigration Debate Resurrecting the KKK

The History News Network has posted a helpful and informative essay regarding "What's Scary About the Immigration Debate." The author, Jean Pfaelzer, professor of English and American Studies at the University of Delaware and the author of Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans, gives a brief history of anti-immigrant sentiment in America that leads the recent spat of anti-immigrant legislation and current events in Pennsylvania. Here's a quote:

Hazleton's mayor told Sixty Minutes about a 70% rise in violent crime since Latinos came to town in 2001 (the correct number is 20 of 8,500 crimes). Farmers Branch, Texas said that the code would prevent terrorist attacks by purging its Latinos. One third of towns that passed the code are in unemployed areas of Pennsylvania--railroad towns that once sold anthracite coal, steel tubes, and carpets. Now they export Latinos.

These gentlemen prefer blondes. The mayor wants Hazleton to remain 94.7% white. Last week in front of a burning cross the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party, recently defunct, announced to ABC Evening News that since they began assaulting, torching, and "bleaching" Latinos, membership has risen 40%.

"Pack your bags…It's over, go home" shouted local Minutemen after Escondido's city council voted 3-2 for the Hazleton code. With nearly half the town born outside the US, anyone who looked or sounded "foreign" stood to be evicted. In Altoona, which is 99.9 % white, a city councilman declared "We just want to stay ahead of the curve."

On President Bush's God of War

Robert Parham has posted an outstanding essay about "Bush Makes God an Argument for Iraq War." Here's a quote:

Bush apparently believes that he is doing God's will. If so, then God's will is spreading democracy in Iraq through a preemptive war in its fifth summer using violence for righteousness' sake.

If this is Bush's theological perspective, then our nation is being lead by a Christian crusader, not a commander in chief. And that is a very dangerous place to be. Good democracies go bad when governed by theocrats.

If the president is theologically right that God wills the war in Iraq, what does that say about the moral reflection of the broad sweep of Catholic bishops, Methodist bishops, mainline Protestant clergy and other Christian leaders who hold the view that the war is morally wrong?

In my opinion, Bush has been listening to the wrong theologians. He's listening to megalomaniac televangelists, lapdog GOP loyalists who will provide a theological rationale for whatever a Republican President wants to do, and a host of "Christian Zionist" ideologues instead of genuine theologians.

A Commander-in-Chief who follows the foreign policy guidance of "Armageddonists" and "Left-Behind pop theologians" only serves to guarantee that their fanciful interpretations of apocalyptic literature become reality.

Religious Leaders Challenge Corporate Farms

Ethics Daily has posted a story about "Religious Leaders Call for Just Farm Bill." Here's a quote:

In prepared remarks, (Earl) Trent said the Progressive National Baptist Convention, founded in 1961, the convention of Martin Luther King, has in its "organizational DNA" a central concern for "the least, the lost and the left out of our society."

Current farm policies, Trent said, are inequitable. Commodity subsidies to black farmers are "abysmally low," he said. Out of every $100,000 given for subsidies, black farmers receive three dollars.

Those policies endanger African-American farms, Trent said. In 1910, there were 215,000 African-American farmers owning 15 million acres of land. By 1992 those numbers had declined to 18,000 African-American farmers and 2 million acres.

African-American farmers are not alone in being neglected by farm subsidies. Small farmers of every race have been neglected for decades. The effects of policies that have long been skewed to the advantage of large corporate farms is being felt around the world.

Testing my iphone

If this works, the days of lugging a laptop on plane trips are over.

Sent from my iPhone

On Assertive Liberalism (Updated)

Theo Hobson has written an interesting essay about the need for an "assertive liberalism." He overstates his case a bit with his use of the language of "salvation," but he addresses a valid concern. Here's a quote:

The problem with liberalism is that it gravitates towards being a merely negative position; it seems to mean little more than "live and let live". If you don't bother me, I won't bother you. It's really just a mask for selfish individualism, isn't it? No: this is a slur put about by the enemies of liberalism. In reality it is a positive social vision: of shared freedom forming the basis of the best possible form of society. Liberalism is not just the least worst thing: it is the best thing. We need to renew the idea that liberalism is a form of salvation.

Salvation? Yes. Consider the case of the young woman forced into an arranged marriage, who is threatened with death if she disobeys her father. Our political culture defends her right to defy her father; it defends this right absolutely and unequivocally. It saves her from patriarchal tyranny. Where is our pride in this? If we do not learn to feel proper pride in this, we are in trouble.

We need a new sense of pride in the liberal state, as the highest form of political and cultural life. And we need a new spirit of hostility to those who denigrate it. Those who scorn the liberal ideal, on Islamist or other grounds, must be answered more sharply than they presently are. It must be strongly asserted that their idea of the good society is inferior to ours. Theirs is less civilised. This will cause offence but the offence is very necessary.

(Hat tip to Robert Cunningham for calling my attention to Hobson's essay.)

The Texas Observer on the SBC Renegade Bloggers

The Texas Observer has published a valuable report discussing "Regengade Bloggers Beseige the Southern Baptist Convention." Here's a quote:

To wage their battle, they have taken up the newest tool for loudmouths and deep-thinking outsiders of all stripes and faiths—blogs. Much of Cole's visibility to ordinary Southern Baptist preachers (the "bubba-pastors," he calls them) has been through his blog, baptistblog.wordpress.com, one of a handful written by reform-minded pastors that have sprung up in the past two years. The missives are widely read by many SBC leaders and are linked to by countless other bloggers, probably thousands, who add to the discussion. All this blogging energy has created a new power base within the SBC that circumvents the establishment, particularly the traditional Baptist media, and attracts fellow travelers. "You and I may have met at the coffee shop and talked about how frustrated we were with the Southern Baptist structure, but with blogs the conversation happens so that thousands of people can see they’re not the only ones who thought that way," says Marty Duren, a pastor in Georgia who ran an influential blog, www.sbcoutpost.com, until recently.

Bloggers have become the new Baptist bogeymen. For non-Baptists, their ascendance may well mean that the voice of the Southern Baptist Convention, a potent political force for decades, will become more diffuse, less able to coordinate its attacks on secular culture, and less powerful in national politics.

Cheney Pushing Bush to Strike Iran

The Guardian UK is reporting that Vice President "Cheney Pushes Bush to Act on Iran" and, as usual, Bush is inclined to follow Cheney's lead. Here's a quote:

The vice-president, Dick Cheney, has long favoured upping the threat of military action against Iran. He is being resisted by the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the defence secretary, Robert Gates.

Last year Mr Bush came down in favour of Ms Rice, who along with Britain, France and Germany has been putting a diplomatic squeeze on Iran. But at a meeting of the White House, Pentagon and state department last month, Mr Cheney expressed frustration at the lack of progress and Mr Bush sided with him. "The balance has tilted. There is cause for concern," the source said this week.

Pope Benedict and the Death of Ecumenism

Pope Benedict declared this week that Christians in communions outside Roman Catholicism are not in churches. John Hooper has written an Op-Ed about "The Churches that Aren't" for the Guardian which describes the implications of the Vatican's "clarification" for ecumenism. Here's a quote:

After the Vatican's latest "clarification" -- to the effect that Protestant religious communities do not even merit being described as churches - you cannot help but marvel at the tenacity of other denominations in pursuing talks with Rome on Christian unity. Especially since -- let us not forget -- those discussions were launched, back in the 1960s, largely at the prompting of Catholic leaders following the Second Vatican Council.

Is there any point in other Christians continuing to discuss unification with a church whose leadership goes out of its way to say that it is not just the sole custodian of eternal truth, but the only sure path to salvation from that hell the pope said recently is real?

(Hat tip to Robert Cunningham for calling my attention to Hooper's essay.)

A Defining Moment (Updated)

I just watched Bill Moyers Journal on "Tough Talk About Impeachment."

Without a doubt, it is the most important, timely and memorable news report that I have ever seen.

Moyers has clearly identified why we are living at a defining moment in both American history and world history.

Every American needs to watch this report.

Here's a link to the video. Here's a link to the transcript.

Deregulated Cuisine Could Make You Lean

Rick Perlstein of the Tom Paine website has posted an alarming essay about the quality of America's food supply in a time of government deregulation. Here's his conclusion:

In the six years since 9/11, food-borne pathogens and toxins have quietly killed ten times the number of Americans who died in the terrorist attacks. How many more Americans must conservatism kill before our leaders embrace a more responsible ideology?

Washing Out Bad News

Williams Rivers Pitt has posted an essay with an interesting metaphor for the penchant this administration has for issuing terrorist alerts after every significant release of news that is damaging to the current leadership of the executive branch of government. Here's a quote:

The recipe is simple, like the directions on the back of a shampoo bottle. Damaging reports of Bush administration malfeasance emerge. Warnings of imminent terrorist-borne doom immediately follow, all spread far and wide by said Bush administration. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Support our Troops

The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that "Free Calls Home to End for Soldiers." The Freedom Call Foundation, which provides troops with free phone calls home, is running out of money.

Providing free phone calls home is a good way to show support for our troops.

Here's a link to the Freedom Call Foundation.

Support the troops, not the war.

On the Divisiveness of Civil Religion

A Hindu chaplain was disrupted today as he was opening a Senate hearing in prayer. Three people were arrested for shouting that his prayers were an "abomination."

Genuine prayer is an act of worship. That is why it is not appropriate for it to be sponsored by civil government. The generic ceremonial prayers of civil religion and interfaith prayers are offensive to people of many faiths who take the scriptures of their diverse faiths seriously.

Rather than insisting that persons of any faith should participate in acts of worship led by persons of a different faith, the government should be preserving a strict separation of church and state. Moments of silence are the most that are appropriate for government to sponsor in a pluralistic society.

Rich Men Robbing the Poor

Mitch Randall's blog about Southern Baptists holding up Baptists in Northern Ghana for missionary outposts reminds me of Nathan's parable before King David. Randall was recently on a mission trip to Ghana with His Nets. Here's what Randall learned from a Ghanian Baptist mission pastor serving at a severely impoverished village:

The pastor told us that he and his wife were sitting at their home one day when a Catholic priest came by and asked to see the property. The pastor inquired to the reason why. The priest told him that he was negotiating the purchase of the house from the Southern Baptists.

In fear of losing his home and launching pad for ministry, he quickly called the local Southern Baptist representative in Accra. The Southern Baptist missionary confirmed the sale of the property, but instructed him that if he were interested in purchasing the property he could buy it for $18,000, the same price they were going to sell it to the Catholics. He quickly got on the phone. Between the Ghanian Baptist Convention and this pastor’s strong desire to keep his home and ministry center, they were able to raise the $18,000 for the purchase of the home. Of course, they had to take money away from other ministries that may have fed a village or provided clothing for children. One local pastor said, “Southern Baptist leaders care about our souls, but they do not realize that these souls come in a body.”

After reading about the gross mismanagement of mission money at the North American Mission Board in Mary Branson's Spending God's Money, I'm beginning to wonder whether the IMB is selling real assets at exorbitant prices and posting the proceeds as receipts to cover-up similar mismanagment and/or shortfalls in missions contributions from American churches.

Regarding Cal Thomas' View of Hillary's Faith

Ethics Daily has posted a report entitled "Cal Thomas Questions Hillary Clinton's Christianity." Thomas recently declared that Hillary Clinton "not a person who believes in the central tenets of Christianity." Bob Allen, managing editor of Ethics Daily, accurately records my response to Thomas' Op-Ed:

Bruce Prescott, president of the Oklahoma chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church & State, told EthicsDaily.com he isn't a fan of Hillary Clinton or of politicians giving testimonies while on the campaign trail, but Thomas' attack on her faith is "beyond the pale."

"Thomas apparently equates his own brand of political conservativism with orthodox Christianity and derides those who disagree with him as proponents of 'works salvation,'" Prescott said. "His attack is directed not only against her, but against Christians of every stripe who take the social teachings of Christ seriously."

"It's well past time for conservatives like Thomas, who make claims for the authority of Scripture, to stop shredding those pages that disagree with their personal political views," said Prescott, who also is executive director of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists.

Gushee's Rules for Christians in Politics

David Gushee, soon to be teaching ethics at Mercer University, provides an outstanding list of seventeen rules for Christians in politics. Here are the boldest rules:

3. Christian leaders must not publicly handicap or comment upon the political horse race.

4. Christian leaders must not provide private or public advice to particular politicians, parties or campaigns concerning how they can strategize in order to win evangelical or Christian votes.

5. Christian leaders must not calibrate their public teachings or writings in order to affect the outcome of political elections or to gain and hold the support of politicians.

6. Christian leaders must not attend political rallies or campaign events of one candidate or party unless they are prepared to attend rallies and events of all candidates and parties.

Someone needs to send Richard Land and Jim Wallis a copy of Gushee's book.

Knotheaded Neo-Cons Never Learn

William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and one of America's foremost Neo-conservative intellectuals, is deriding the Republican Senators who are talking about withdrawing troops from Iraq. Here's what Jim Lobe quotes him as saying:

"They are pre-9/11 Republicans," wrote William Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard, about Sens. Richard Lugar, George Voinovich, Pete Dominici, and John Warner, the four most-senior Republicans who have called for a change of course in Iraq over the past week.

"They have been followers of conventional opinion (during their 20-plus-year Senate careers), not leaders," he went on. "Now they are following conventional wisdom again, in their stately way, in turning against the Iraq war."

Kristol has been head cheerleader for war in Iraq since the end of the first Gulf war. The fact that neither he, nor the bulk of the neo-conservatives in this country, have the intellect nor integrity to admit that they made a humongous mistake in calling for war with Iraq does not speak well for the annointed intelligensia of the United States.

Kristol is no intellectual. Intellectuals can learn from their mistakes. Only knotheads refuse to admit that they make them.

Scarborough Launches Political Crusade in Baptist Churches

Don Wilkey has posted a story about Rick Scarborough's New Crusade on the Talk to Action website. Scarborough is a key leader among Texas Baptist Fundamentalists who heads Vision America, a theocratic right get-out-the-vote machine. Here's a quote from Wilkey:

Rick Scarborough's new idea of a crusade -- launched in Lufkin, Texas on July 5th -- is a radical departure from his past. His mentor, the late Jerry Falwell claimed in a PBS documentary on the Religious Right, that the old idea that holding revivals and winning converts meant the nation would move in the right direction was flawed. Rick used to hold revival meetings known in those circles often as "crusades," in which unchurched people were called upon to profess faith in Christ and Christians were called to turn from sin and resume following Jesus.

Now Rick's idea of leading a Crusade has more to do with calling people to get involved in politics, specifically the right wing of the GOP. Rick used to give an invitation at the end of his earlier crusades asking people to come forward to respond to Christ. Recently it was reported that Rick uses the same technique to invite people to sign-up for the Republican Party.

Libby Pardon was Last Straw for D.C. Pastor

Ethics Daily has posted Amy Butler's July 4th Letter to President Bush. Butler is pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Butler says that the commuting of Scooter Libby was the "last straw" for her. Here's a quote:

This most recent decision of yours, to make sure Scooter Libby escapes a prison term, while not surprising, seems to be the last straw for me. I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines while you destroy our country's international reputation, alienate our neighbors, and slowly chip away at the freedoms that have made our country great.

Maybe you feel you're protected enough to behave in whatever manner you want, to leave democracy and the American people in the dust while you keep your friends happy, but I want you to know I'm tired of it all. For the first time in my adult life I am genuinely alarmed about the kind of country I will be handing off to my kids.

I'm not hoping, of course, that you will see the light, change your ways, fix the damage you've done … it's, frankly, far too extensive by now. I just wanted to say: I am disappointed in you ... disappointed that you don't have the courage to be a visionary leader to a country with such promise. You missed the boat, but I, for one, will not stand by anymore while you leave democracy in the dust.

AMEN!

Washington Post Embraces Blogs

Editor & Publisher has posted the Washington Post's memo to staffers about the ten principles that the nation's premier magazine embraces for the web. The fifth principle demonstrates the status that blogging has achieved in the field of journalism:

5. Post journalism published online has the same value as journalism published in the newspaper. We embrace chats, blogs and multimedia presentations as contributions to our journalism.

What's the Matter With Kansas? Little Empathy

Five shoppers were recently video taped stepping over a woman who was attacked and dying to complete their purchases at a convenience store in Wichita, Kansas. One even took pictures of her on a cell phone. Here's a quote:

"This is one of the most disgusting examples of disregard for life I've ever seen," (Police Chief) Bassham said of the video. "It is a very, very tragic video to watch. It was revolting to see this lack of humanity."

The video showed the 27-year-old Calloway struggling to her feet and collapsing three times without anyone helping her.

Worse, one woman who stepped over Calloway four times while shopping eventually paused to snap a photo of her with a cell phone.

The name of LaShanda Calloway has joined that of Kitty Genovese as witnesses to the apathy and callous disregard of many Americans.

Contractors Outnumber Troops in Iraq

The Los Angeles Times has published a report indicating that the number of private contractors outnumber the number of American troops in Iraq. This "coalition of the billing" in place of a "coalition of the willing" has alarmed some military experts. Here's a quote:

Continuing uncertainty over the numbers of armed contractors drew special criticism from military experts.

"We don't have control of all the coalition guns in Iraq. That's dangerous for our country," said William Nash, a retired Army general and reconstruction expert. The Pentagon "is hiring guns. You can rationalize it all you want, but that's obscene."

Olbermann's Accusation

Keith Olbermann provided an astute list of accusations against President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Here's his conclusion:

The twists and turns of Plame-Gate, of your precise and intricate lies that sent us into this bottomless pit of Iraq; your lies upon the lies to discredit Joe Wilson; your lies upon the lies upon the lies to throw the sand at the “referee” of Prosecutor Fitzgerald’s analogy. These are complex and often painful to follow, and too much, perhaps, for the average citizen.

But when other citizens render a verdict against your man, Mr. Bush-and then you spit in the faces of those jurors and that judge and the judges who were yet to hear the appeal-the average citizen understands that, Sir.

It’s the fixed ballgame and the rigged casino and the pre-arranged lottery all rolled into one-and it stinks. And they know it.

Nixon’s mistake, the last and most fatal of them, the firing of Archibald Cox, was enough to cost him the presidency. And in the end, even Richard Nixon could say he could not put this nation through an impeachment.

It was far too late for it to matter then, but as the decades unfold, that single final gesture of non-partisanship, of acknowledged responsibility not to self, not to party, not to “base,” but to country, echoes loudly into history. Even Richard Nixon knew it was time to resign

Would that you could say that, Mr. Bush. And that you could say it for Mr. Cheney. You both crossed the Rubicon yesterday. Which one of you chose the route, no longer matters. Which is the ventriloquist, and which the dummy, is irrelevant.

But that you have twisted the machinery of government into nothing more than a tawdry machine of politics, is the only fact that remains relevant.

It is nearly July 4th, Mr. Bush, the commemoration of the moment we Americans decided that rather than live under a King who made up the laws, or erased them, or ignored them-or commuted the sentences of those rightly convicted under them-we would force our independence, and regain our sacred freedoms.

We of this time-and our leaders in Congress, of both parties-must now live up to those standards which echo through our history: Pressure, negotiate, impeach-get you, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Cheney, two men who are now perilous to our Democracy, away from its helm.

For you, Mr. Bush, and for Mr. Cheney, there is a lesser task. You need merely achieve a very low threshold indeed. Display just that iota of patriotism which Richard Nixon showed, on August 9th, 1974.

Resign.

My sentiments exactly.

Are We Like Rome?

Richard Gwyn of the Toronto Star has posted an interesting essay about "Is the US Mirroring Rome?" Here's a quote:

There is the same gap between rich and poor. Far wider in Rome, which had almost no middle class, but far more socially destructive in the U.S. because of America’s founding myth as an egalitarian society. Once that belief is lost, can belief in democracy, a contradiction in terms in a wildly unequal society, be sustained?

Shaking the Foundations of Democracy

President Bush has commuted Scooter Libby's conviction for lying under oath and obstructing justice.

This President has demonstrated utter contempt for the principle of equality under the rule of law.

The sliding scale of justice being used by this administration is beyond disgust.

There is little doubt in my mind that George W. Bush refused to commute death sentences for convicts that were more deserving of leniency than Libby.

This is far worse than Watergate. The foundations of American democracy are shaking.

Randall Balmer on Prayer in Public Schools

Randall Balmer, author of Thy Kingdom Come, spoke last Friday at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty luncheon. He received sustained applause for a statement he made about the impropriety of government mandated prayers in public schools. Here's what he said:

"I, for one, have no interest in having my daughter or my son recite a Shinto prayer at the beginning of school each day. Much less a prayer written by Congress or the state legislature or even a local school board. Baptists, of all people, understand that making prayer rote and obligatory makes prayer into a mockery."

Here's a link to a 30 second podcast of Balmer's statement.