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.