Taking a Break (sort of)

I think I've burned out on this blog. I can't keep up with politics like I could anymore...it actually seems to be increasing my anxiety level and sense of helplessness. I'll still be posting as I find things that appeal to me, they're just likely to be few and far between.

Besides that, I don't get the visitors I'd hoped. Hard to write for next to no audience, even if I am a motormouth. LOL

Public Stoning: Not Just for the Taliban Anymore

Sometimes I don't know why I keep reading newsfeeds. So many only upset me. I don't know what kind of numbers are involved, so I don't want to overreact, but I've heard this kind of stuff before and it scares the shit out of me.

Further confusion as to how men are supposed to act.

So "real men" don't cry anymore? I have no idea how I'm supposed to act towards women now. I guess I'll just follow my admittedly dinosaur instincts and hope I don't get berated.

Ketamine for Depression

This is good news! An extremely rapid acting antidepressant medication reported by NIH to fill in during the usual six to eight week delay before traditional antidepressants begin to work.

The only problem I can see is the potential for abuse for this popular street drug. I'm still excited though. Six weeks (six hours) is too long to wait to begin to have hope restored with the perception of life as full of possibilities rather than obstacles.

Criminal Administration

I applaud John Conyers and his staff for preparing this document on the crimes committed by the Bush administration. I am saddened that these egregious violations are permitted to continue and/or go unpunished. There is no democracy where the rule of law is not enforced for the select few.

Jewish Magazine Calls For Peace

Congratulations to Rabbi Michael Lerner for leading the movement to publish this ad. He also wants to publish the same ad in Israeli and Lebanese papers and requires more financial support to do so.

In the Supermarket Line

This article is right on in my opinion, but fails to cover how I can go through the lines to briefly avoid living my own life by living through the lives of celebrities.

What could be more important?

With Ineptitude on Full Display, the Party's Over for Republicans

Garrison Keillor's comments on the Republican Party.

Welcome to the Police State

Oh my dear God! Just when I can't imagine things getting any worse.

I Am a Liberal Airhead

Try this Authoritarian Personality test. Is it wrong to LIKE being an airhead? LOL

Why universal health care is MORAL

An excellent article on single-payer health care. The provision of health care for everyone is as much a right as education. There are many ways to implement universal health care, but I believe the single-payer method to be the least costly and most effective.

Street Prophets' Interview With Barack Obama

This is my third post on the Obama speech to the Spiritual Renewal Conference:

First Article: Text of Speech
Second Article: Clarification

I hope this clears up the misunderstandings, but I doubt it. I welcome the chance to read more about Senator Obama's vision for the religious left.

Religious Left is Coming Alive

Maybe we won't have hate, but will anger applied in love do? Maybe it'll be easier to get behind the issues of those who don't cast stones to be divisive, but apply reason to persuade instead. Anyway, what will people choose when offered a choice between hatred and love?

The Politics of American Greed

"It seems to me that we've seen enough evidence over the years that the capitalist system is not going to be destroyed by an outside challenger like communism -- it will be destroyed by its own internal greed."

This is shameful. What would happen if we let ALL the people speak, rather than just the rich and the powerful?

Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition!

I didn't read Brooks' column, but reading this gave me a good shot of humor for the day. Thankee pastordan.

The title of this post is also the title of a skit by Monty Python, shown at right. As in most things Pythonesque, the transcript does little to convey the delightful silliness, unless you're like my youngest daughter, who looks at me incredulously and asks, "This is funny?"

How often I despair of our youth!

Is Duck, Duck, Goose Next?

Oh for crying out loud! Maybe they should just abolish fun altogether and get it over with!

Critiquing the Religious Left

This thought provoking article talks about transforming the religious left, currently not very organized and lacking a cohesive philosophy other than expressing a desire to "help," into a force for action on "...political, social and economic justice..."

Wiccan Soldier Denied Memorial

"Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I believe this soldier gave his life in part to protect and defend religious freedoms"

Blessed be!

Heavily Armed and Trained Aryan Racists

Where have I heard this before?

We employ neo-Nazis and skinheads as armed emissaries of a country that went to war in the 40s to defeat the terrible threat of those with a like philosophy? What price will we pay when we become more like those my father's generation fought in Europe?

North Korean missile tests

Believe me, I'm concerned about North Korea having nuclear weapons, and I hope I don't underestimate the danger to those countries closer to North Korea. But if I understand the situation correctly (which is by no means a given), North Korea and the United States at least are well-matched in terms of the missile tests. North Korea has long-range missiles that don't work, and the U.S. has a missile defense system that doesn't work either.

Ann Coulter

Why does anyone pay any attention to this woman and continue to encourage her to spread her philosophy of hate? If we ignore her, won't she eventually go away?

Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason II

I really enjoyed the interview with Jeanette Winterson this week! What a warm, articulate, funny and honest woman. What she spoke about and how she spoke were quite intriguing.

"...since the Enlightenment in the 18th Century, we have privileged reason, logos, the empirical sense, finding proofs for things, discovering things that can be touched, and tested in the universe. Absolute rationality has seemed to be the key to our advancements. And in many ways this Enlightenment, this rationality, this dependency on logic and reason, has freed us from many cruel superstitions, many nameless terrors. It also brought us technological advancements, of civilized advancements. But it's not sufficient."

"And the Greeks, for instance, who were a very rational set of people, still knew that there were two ways of arriving at truth. And it's Plato who makes the distinction between mythos and logos. That there is a mythic truth, which is an imaginative truth, and emotional truth, a way of understanding the world which is not about the facts and the figures, but which is never the less, valid. And we need to have kind of a balance. So, things need to be held in balance. And you wouldn't want to use mythic truth to tell you how to mend your washing machine, for instance."

The rapper/playwright Will Power was also interviewed, primarily about his hip-hop version of Aeschylus' play, Seven Against Thebes, the continuing story of Oedipus' sons. Once again, it was the first interview, with Jeanette, that really got to me.

Progressives: Stop Waiting for a Hero

"...progressive values cannot be saved by heroes. Progressive values can only be saved by ordinary citizens living up to their principles."

Put away the flags

"...nationalism is given a special virulence when it is said to be blessed by Providence. Today we have a president, invading two countries in four years, who announced on the campaign trail last year that God speaks through him.

"We need to refute the idea that our nation is different from, morally superior to, the other imperial powers of world history.

"We need to assert our allegiance to the human race, and not to any one nation."

I am lately much ashamed to be an American, but I love this country and want to help it acheive its inherent potential. But if blind belief in America is supporting a national narcissism, then perhaps this article by Howard Zinn will give us thought as to how we might heal these pathologies.

Willie Nelson for President?

Hey, he'd have my vote!

Senator Obama Clarifies Points from Speech About Religion

This interview of Senator Barack Obama clarifies some of the distortions and misunderstandings (mostly courtesy of an AP story) from his speech to the Call to Renewal conference. The speech has been criticized from the secular left, as well as the religious right.

I believe that this kind of talk from a man of Obama's standing gives "permission" for people of faith to stand up for what they believe in, no longer heeding the tyranny of the religious right, who reserve to themselves alone the right to define what Christianity and moral behavior are. Linking the strength of God with the dedication of secular progressives to improve the world for all seems a good idea to me, NOT to court votes, but to work towards realizing a common goal to heal a wounded world.

Definitions of Power

This is an excerpt from Starhawk's book Truth or Dare where she talks about three kinds of power. When I hear the word power, I think of the kind of power where one seeks to dominate. Starhawk calls this power-over. But there are two other kinds of power: power-with and power-from-within. I read this book years ago and this part stuck with me and I wanted to share it with you.

Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason

I really loved this PBS show last night, with Bill Moyers interviewing writer Mary Gordon and philosopher Colin McGinn. I was especially fascinated by Mary's story...her growth as a person. From a childhood of wanting martyrhood so much that she prepared herself for suffering by putting thorns in her shoes, to a person with of insight, humor, honesty and a living faith complete with its necessary complement of doubt.
She is saddened at the fundamentalism and consumerism that threaten what she values most.

A favorite quote from her interview:

"So that now it seems that one of the most important human divisions is between those who think of religion as a major threat to our survival as a species. And those for whom our survival without it would seem to have no meaning."

Colin's interview didn't capture me the way Mary's did, but was interesting nonetheless.

I plan to watch the rest of the series...thoughtful, intelligent and inspiring.

Milgram experiment

This Wikipedia article on the infamous Milgram experiment frightens me no end. Conducted around the same time as the Eichmann war crimes trial in the early 60s, these experiments were intended to determine if a participant would follow the instructions of an authority to the point of violating their own conscience. Horrifyingly, over two-thirds of the test subjects overrode their humaneness to perform acts of cruelty as directed. Hmmm...

'Call to Renewal' Keynote Address

This is Senator Barack Obama's address to the Call to Renewal conference, organized by Jim Wallis, stating that mainstream Christian evangelicals have much to offer progressive politics with their belief in social justice and good stewardship of the environment. He also said that the secular left would be wise to relinquish their avoidance of religious folks, and to allow them to help fulfill a common vision.

Religious Liberals Gain New Visibility

This article, written by Caryle Murphy and Alan Cooperman, is about a "sighting" of a growing progressive political trend that I'm very enthusiatic about. What would happen if we changed the "bottom line" of business and government from just the acquisition of money and power to love and caring, kindness and generosity?

The Children of Iraq Have Names

This beautiful poem by David Krieger reminds me that the dead in Iraq, though so often nameless to us, are far more than just numbers.

Because a great nation deserves the truth

John in DC is pretty harsh in this post, especially in heaping coals indiscriminately on the head of all Baptists, but I'm afraid the rest of it resonates all too well with my inner pessimist.

True-Believer Progressives, Here's Why You Turn So Many People Off

Russell Shaw's post reminds us of the importance of respectfully standing up for what we believe.

Reducing Homelessness with the "Housing First" program

Here's a great and radical strategy for seeing that the homeless are humanely treated and off the streets.

That Look -- It's Catching!

This article by Stacey Colino makes a LOT of sense to me. It's certainly something to remember as you go through the day. Do you want those you encounter to be "infected" by positive or negative feelings from you? Smile. Be gentle.

Top 10 Signs of the Impending U.S. Police State

I hope Allan Uthman is just getting carried away in this article, but in my times of despair I've often felt that this is where our country is headed.

Will we soon watch helplessly as King George is coronated?

Understanding Neo-Con

This Philip Slater article offers examples of how some words have been hijacked by the neocons.

Doublespeak, anyone?

The Doctor's Office

Good article by Benjamin Brewer, M.D. on Single Payer Health Insurance! From the Wall Street Journal, no less!!

Behavioral techniques in dietary treatment for obesity

This article has some pretty good weight loss tips I hadn't seen before.

We're all in it together.

In this article by Paul Waldman, "The answer to the question, “What do progressives believe at their core?” is this: Progressives believe we’re all in it together."

Yes!

How about this for the coming midterms?

Many Large Corporations Show Characteristics of Psychosis

Joel Bakan has really opened my eyes in this article. I'm horrified to discover that corporations seem to control so many aspects of our lives. And what does this do to our vote? How can we compete with Big Money for any legislator's attention? Faced with a choice between responding to us or to corporate campaign contributors, how many would have the integrity to resist seduction by corporations?

Beyond Hope

In this article from Derrick Jensen, an environmental activist, he makes observations that can be applied to most progressive issues as well.

He maintains that we should strive to banish our hope as well as fear. As Pema Chödrön said:

"Without giving up hope - that there's somewhere better to be, that there's someone better to be - we will never relax with where we are or who we are."

Now I Know I Have Outrage Fatigue

In this article, Joel Bleifuss points out that progressives have been so angry for all six years of the Bush administration that we now find it difficult to summon up any indignation over even the most egregious offenses.

Narcissistic personality disorder: Diagnosing the U.S. ‘national character’

This article by Robert Jensen explains a lot.

The Incompetent Dufus

Should I be frightened because this cartoon by David Horsey makes sense to me?

If I Were Christian

Sometimes it takes someone from "without" to remind those "within" of their core values. This article is a reminder that Jesus' words were words of love.

Depression Sufferer Insufferable

This article, is from The Onion, a great satirical website I visit often.

I swear to God though...Gary Blanke's situation explains how I feel sometimes in the middle of a depressive episode. It (sadly) hits home, while still eliciting a tentative chuckle.

I Wish Someone Would Do Something About How Fat I Am

Another wicked article from The Onion.