Two stories in the news are more evidence for what I recently called a criminal escalation of an unjust war. The war in Iraq has so stretched the U.S. military that the escalation now initiated by President Bush means troops with inadequate training and short of the necessary supplies are being rushed into a situation for which they are not prepared. The Washington Post reported:
Boosting U.S. troop levels in Iraq by 21,500 would create major logistical hurdles for the Army and Marine Corps, which are short thousands of vehicles, armor kits and other equipment needed to supply the extra forces, U.S. officials said. The increase would also further degrade the readiness of U.S.-based ground forces, hampering their ability to respond quickly, fully trained and well equipped in the case of other military contingencies around the world and increasing the risk of U.S. casualties.
The story goes on to quote Lt. Gen. Stephen Speakes, the Army's deputy chief of staff for force development: "We can fulfill the national strategy, but it will take more time and it will also take us increased casualties to do the job." As of today, there are 3,076 confirmed U.S. casualties.
At the beginning of the Iraq war, 80 percent of ALL Army units and almost 100 percent of active combat units were rated at the highest state of readiness. Today, virtually all of our active-duty combat units at home and ALL of our guard units are at the lowest state of readiness, primarily due to equipment shortages resulting from repeated and extended deployments to Iraq.
Just before Christmas, an Army captain named Brian Freeman cornered Sens. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) at a Baghdad helicopter landing zone. The war was going badly, he told them. Troops were stretched so thin they were doing tasks they never dreamed of, let alone trained for. Freeman, 31, took a short holiday leave to see his 14-month-old daughter and 2-year-old son, returned to his base in Karbala, Iraq, and less than two weeks ago died in a hail of bullets and grenades.
Capt. Freeman had served a five-year term of active duty and then moved into the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), former soldiers who are not assigned to a specific unit. In 2005, he was recalled to duty. The story continued, quoting his wife:
Once in Iraq, Freeman was dismayed to find that his training "had no relation to what they were actually doing," Charlotte Freeman said. "He was appalled," enduring danger but seeing no clear mission," she said. … Late last year, Freeman approached the senators at Landing Zone Washington, in Baghdad's Green Zone, "almost out of the shadows," Dodd recalled. Even though he felt nervous, he told his wife later, he delivered his message with urgency. Soldiers were being deployed to do missions that they were utterly untrained to do; Freeman, for example, an armor officer, had been sent to help foster democracy and rebuild an Iraqi civil society.
Every day, the devastating human cost of this war continues to mount on every side. I would hope that those who still support the war and Bush's "surge" could agree that at the very least, our men and women in uniform should not be sent untrained and unequipped to be slaughtered on the streets of Baghdad.
By now you've probably heard about the debate in Dallas. Southern Methodist University is the proposed site for the George W. Bush Presidential Library. The site would host a museum, the administration's archives, and a public policy institute. The initial announcement in the fall garnered protest from faculty members, students, alumni, and United Methodist clergy and church members. The university is moving forward with its negotiations with the president's site selection committee, and it is expected to formally accept soon. The question raised here is, should SMU accept, and why?
The university has offered several reasons for their decision to pursue hosting the George W. Bush Presidential Library, including the following:
"The major motivation of some competitors was economic development, as has been seen with the Clinton Library and the revitalization of Little Rock. In fact, developers near SMU are already investing in projects and using the proposed Library in their marketing."
"Any marketing expert will tell you that the publicity surrounding our receiving the Presidential Library will significantly elevate the national and international visibility of the University."
"Hosting the Library is in the best interests of SMU. It builds and continues our institutional momentum…"
"From the standpoint of a research university, the most important benefit is the enhancement of academic resources and professional interactions that a Library, Museum and Institute can bring."
Broadly, the university's supporting arguments for hosting the Presidential Library fit into four categories: money, fame, power, and academic pursuit. Regarding the danger of pursuing the first three, I refer you to Jesus in the gospels. Start with Matthew 4-7.
On academic pursuit, I think it is important to note Bush's stance towards freedom of inquiry, pointed out by Dorothy Samuels in The New York Times, particularly:
Executive Order 13233, his 2001 directive that reverses — illegally in the view of many leading historians, journalists and legal thinkers — the strong presumption of a public right of access to presidential papers embedded in the 1978 Presidential Records Act. Under this early exertion of presidential power, both sitting presidents and former presidents (and even their heirs) can indefinitely postpone public release of sensitive material past the law's usual 12-year waiting period by simply denying a request for access. No explanation is required, and there is no provision for appealing the denial to a trained professional archivist.
In other words, researchers likely won't have access to the golden nuggets they are searching for in the presidential archives. Realistically, do we expect the administration's general habits of shrouding itself in secrecy and refusing to offer explanation to change once it leaves office?
Ultimately though, whether or not a university should welcome a presidential library is not a question of liberal/conservative politics. SMU should consider its institutional identity, particularly in relation to its religious roots. If it does, it should think twice before associating itself with a president whose policies have often been in direct opposition to the social principles of the United Methodist Church. The Bush administration’s legacy is marked by unjustifiable wars, growing economic disparity, and environmental degradation. How could this relationship possibly enhance the public face of this university, United Methodism, and by extension Christianity?
Tim Kumfer is an executive assistant for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
The latest news on Iran, global warming, Iraq-Congress, New commander, in country-, minimum-wage, the budget, Rabbi Abraham Heschel centennial, Fr. Robert Drinian, and select op-eds. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »
Full news summary:
Iraq-Congress.Bush's war powers debated – “In an intensifying debate on the war in Iraq, Democratic senators began probing how Congress could halt President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq or even use its powers to halt the war altogether.” House Dems want to change direction of war funds - “Murtha: 'We've got problems in our own country' - Democratic leaders in Congress plan to make extensive changes to the Bush administration's anticipated $100 billion request for new war funds.” For GOP, Discord In Dissent On Iraq – “Republican misgivings over President Bush's new war strategy are increasingly dividing the GOP as the Senate moves toward a showdown over the deployment of 21,500 additional troops to Iraq.” In Senate, Allies of Bush Work to Halt Iraq Vote– “The new effort by President Bush’s allies, including Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, is aimed at blocking two nonbinding resolutions directly critical of the White House that had appeared to be gaining broad support among Democrats and even some Republicans.”
Iraq-New commander.Peace in Iraq 'a long time coming,' Fallon says – “President Bush's choice to be the new military commander in the Middle East warned that the U.S. may have to lower its expectations for Iraq, saying the country's transition into a peaceful democracy may be "a long time coming." 'I don't know the details' – “The admiral picked by President Bush to oversee his new strategy for Iraq testified that he does not know much about the plan that the administration says will determine whether the U.S. wins the war.”
Iraq-in country.Militias on rise in Iraq, imperiling hope for a political solution to insurgency – “The messianic Soldiers of Heaven militia that fought US and Iraqi troops in one of the fiercest battles of the war Sunday is among the more than two dozen extremist militias operating across Iraq that are fast becoming a powerful, and hidden, new enemy.” Audit: Millions wasted in Iraq – “he U.S. government wasted tens of millions of dollars in Iraq reconstruction aid, including scores of unaccounted-for weapons and a never-used Baghdad training camp with an Olympic-size swimming pool.”
Iran.Europeans fear US attack on Iran – “Senior European policy-makers are increasingly worried that the US administration will resort to air strikes against Iran to try to destroy its suspect nuclear programme.” Air Force's role in Iraq could grow – “The Air Force is preparing for an expanded role in Iraq that could include aggressive new tactics designed to deter Iranian assistance to Iraqi militants … The efforts could include more forceful patrols by Air Force and Navy fighter planes along the Iran-Iraq border to counter the smuggling of bomb supplies from Iran,” Iran May Have Trained Attackers That Killed 5 American Soldiers - “Investigators say they believe that attackers who used American-style uniforms and weapons to infiltrate a secure compound and kill five American soldiers in Karbala on Jan. 20 may have been trained and financed by Iranian agents,” General says U.S. has proof Iran arming Iraqi militias - “Iran is supplying Iraqi militias with a variety of powerful weapons including Katyusha rockets, the No. 2 U.S. general in Iraq said Tuesday. "We have weapons that we know through serial numbers … that trace back to Iran," Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said in an interview.” New type of IED comes via Iran, say U.S. officials – “A sophisticated type of roadside bomb that U.S. officials have linked to Iran has been used increasingly against U.S. troops in Iraq.”
Opinion.The neocons have learned nothing (Francis Fukuyama, The Guardian) –“What I find remarkable about the neoconservative line of argument on Iran, however, is how little changed it is in its basic assumptions and tonalities from that taken on Iraq in 2002, despite the momentous events of the past five years and the manifest failure of policies that neoconservatives themselves advocated. What may change is the American public's willingness to listen to them.”
Minimum wage.Senate Adds Tax Breaks as It Passes a Wage Bill – “The Senate voted overwhelmingly on to move ahead on a bill to increase the minimum wage, signaling that the measure is likely to pass this week. But the vote also sets up a conflict with the House that is likely to stall any increase.”
Budget.House Democrats refigure GOP budget- “House Democrats sent to the floor a spending measure that substituted some of their priorities for those that Republicans put in the nine appropriations bills they failed to pass last year.” Democrats Move Leftover Spending Measure – “House and Senate Democratic leaders agreed to a $463 billion spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal year that would freeze many federal agencies at 2006 levels but include more money for veterans' health, education, scientific research, HIV programs and public parks, among other things.”
Politics.States revisiting Electoral College – “A movement to upend the Electoral College in favor of a popular presidential vote aims to sweep state legislatures this year, starting with Colorado.”
Global warming.Fossil fuels are to blame, world scientists conclude - “A major international analysis of climate change due Friday will conclude that humankind's reliance on fossil fuels — coal, fuel oil and natural gas — is to blame for global warming,” Lawmakers on Hill Seek Consensus on Warming – “As 600 scientists meet this week in Paris to finalize the first worldwide assessment in six years of the evidence on global warming, lawmakers on Capitol Hill searched for a political consensus on how to address climate change.” Climate is changing, politically – “After years of languishing on Capitol Hill, efforts to curb global warming have picked up momentum, powered by a growing bipartisan belief that climate change can no longer be ignored.”
Rabbi Abraham Heschel centennial.Rabbi's legacy of spirituality and activism is guiding light – “When members of Mishkan Shalom Synagogue in Philadelphia need inspiration to tackle society's thorny problems, they look no further than a social room named for their late hero: Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. … This year at the centennial of Heschel's birth, Jews and gentiles alike are remembering him as more than one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. For people of varied backgrounds, he also is an enduring role model.”
Fr. Robert Drinan.Father Drinan, Model Of Moral Tenacity (ColmanMcCarthy, Washington Post) – “I saw him as a towering moral giant, a man of faith whose practice of Christianity put him in the company of all my Jesuit heroes … In his office, ferociously unkempt and as tight as a monk's cell, our conversation ranged from politics to law to the morning's front pages.” Robert F. Drinan, S.J. (Editorial, Boston Globe) – “THE REV. ROBERT F. DRINAN, who died this week, is best known as a five-term congressman forced to leave office by an edict of Pope John Paul II. He ought to be remembered as well as a Catholic from Boston who extended the boundaries of the institution that nurtured him to serve the needs of the broader society.”
ON THIS DAY– “On Jan. 31, 1865, the House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery.” ( Go to article.)
And, Happy Birthday Jackie Robinson – “On Jan. 31, 1919, Jackie Robinson , who made history in 1947 by becoming the first black baseball player in the major leagues, was born. Following his death on Oct. 24 , 1972, his obituary appeared in The Times.” (Go to obit)
Give your sorrow all the space and shelter in yourself that is its due, for if everyone bears [their] grief honestly and courageously, the sorrow that now fills the world will abate. But if you do not clear a decent shelter for your sorrow, and instead reserve most of the space inside you for hatred and thoughts of revenge - from which new sorrorws will be born for others - then sorrow will never cease in this world and will multiply.
- Etty Hillesum quoted in Marc Ellis, "Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation"
He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world.
Minimum wage.Senate to Consider Minimum Wage Bill With Tax Breaks- "The Senate is expected to clear the way on Tuesday for an increase in the minimum wage that Democrats and some Republicans agree is overdue. The Senate bill differs from the one that cleared the House, and includes $8.3 billion in tax breaks for small businesses. Maverick Costco CEO Joins Push to Raise Minimum Wage - "The chief executive of Costco Wholesale, the nation's largest wholesale club, yesterday became the most prominent member of a new organization of business owners and executives pressing Congress to approve an increase in the federal minimum wage."
Iran.Bush says he doesn't intend to invade Iran - "President Bush said yesterday that the United States "will respond firmly" if Iran escalates military action in Iraq and endangers American forces. But Bush emphasized he has no intention of invading Iran." Bush vows force, diplomacy with Iran - "With a two-track message of stern military warnings and promises of peaceful diplomacy, Bush is confronting an increasingly complicated conflict with the Iranian government."
Europe Resists U.S. Push to Curb Iran Ties- "European governments are resisting Bush administration demands that they curtail support for exports to Iran and that they block transactions and freeze assets of some Iranian companies … The resistance threatens to open a new rift between Europe and the United States over Iran." With Iran Ascendant, U.S. Is Seen at Fault - "Kuwait rarely rebuffs its ally, the United States, partly out of gratitude for the 1991 Persian Gulf War. But in October it reneged on a pledge to send three military observers to an American-led naval exercise in the Gulf,"
Darfur.Conflict in Darfur dominates African Union summit - "Bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region dominated the African Union summit, undermining Sudan's bid to lead the bloc as the UN chief said scorched-earth military policies are "a terrifying feature of life" in the vast, arid area." Darfur violence wrecks Sudan's attempt to lead AU - "Sudan was further isolated over the conflict in Darfur after other African governments blocked it from assuming leadership of the African Union and demanded an end to the bloodshed."
Iraq.Sadr backs Baghdad deal - "Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr has ordered his militia not to confront U.S. forces and has endorsed negotiations aimed at easing the deployment of American troops in his strongholds," Doomsday cult said to be at center of Iraqi battle - "the Iraqi and U.S. troops who fought an intense battle against hundreds of disciples of the renegade Muslim leader near the ancient city of Najaf on Sunday met a modern enemy. They were armed not only with an unorthodox religious fervor but also with high-tech weapons."
Iraq-VN Vets in Congress.Iraq debate strains bond of Congress' Vietnam vets - "When the Senate begins debating President Bush's Iraq policy, one focus will be on a group of lawmakers with special expertise: the ones who know what it's like to fight a war that has lost the support of the American public." Vietnam vet lawmakers' positions - "This is a list of known Vietnam War combat veterans in the House and Senate, and their positions on Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq."
Troops to Iraq.Equipment For Added Troops Is Lacking - "Boosting U.S. troop levels in Iraq by 21,500 would create major logistical hurdles for the Army and Marine Corps, which are short thousands of vehicles, armor kits and other equipment needed to supply the extra forces, U.S. officials said. The increase would also further degrade the readiness of U.S.-based ground forces, hampering their ability to respond quickly, fully trained and well equipped in the case of other military contingencies around the world and increasing the risk of U.S. casualties," Soldier's Death Strengthens Senators' Antiwar Resolve - "Just before Christmas, an Army captain named Brian Freeman cornered Sens. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) at a Baghdad helicopter landing zone. The war was going badly, he told them. Troops were stretched so thin they were doing tasks they never dreamed of, let alone trained for. Freeman, 31, took a short holiday leave to see his 14-month-old daughter and 2-year-old son, returned to his base in Karbala, Iraq, and less than two weeks ago died in a hail of bullets and grenades."
Israel-Plestine.Fragile Gaza ceasefire holds = "A new ceasefire between Hamas and Fatah fighters was tentatively holding today. The ceasefire - the latest in a long series of generally short-lived truces over recent months - followed five days of fierce battles between the rival Palestinian groups, in which more than 30 people died." Palestinian Suicide Bomber Kills 3 in Israeli Resort City - "A 21-year-old Palestinian from the Gaza Strip blew himself up Monday inside a bakery in the Israeli resort city of Eilat, killing himself and all three people inside." Suicide Attack Is First in Israel in 9 Months- "The attack complicated the latest effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which have languished for six years."
Global warming.World Scientists Near Consensus on Warming - "Scientists from across the world gathered Monday to hammer out the final details of an authoritative report on climate change that is expected to project centuries of rising temperatures and sea levels unless there are curbs in emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere."
If we live, we live in the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why then do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
[N]either the stockpiling of sophisticated armaments nor an extensoin of territory are an adequate guarantee or a viable substitute for peace. They are illusory. The best borders are peaceful borders, and the best security lies in a truly peaceful relationship between neighbors.
- Naim Ateek
from "Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation"
In another example of the pharmaceutical industry's efforts to make governments worldwide its enforcers, corporate giant Novartis today announced it would keep pushing its lawsuit for its "right" to get patents in India on minor repackagings of pre-existing drugs. India's generic drug producers currently make a large part of the lifesaving drugs for AIDS and other diseases used in the world's poorest countries. "Novartis is trying to shut down the pharmacy of the developing world," according to Dr. Unni Karunakara of Doctors Without Borders.
In the test case, Novartis will fight India's refusal to give it a patent on a slightly different form of the anti-cancer drug Gleevec (chemists have dismissed the modification as an "obvious" crystal form of the original drug). India's 2005 patent law refuses patents to such "me-too" drugs that show no genuine innovation over the original (although the U.S. grants such patents, motivating companies to turn their attention from more substantive research).
Patents are entirely artificial, temporary monopolies granted by governments to serve a social purpose (i.e., research and development into new drugs – although a lot of the profit gets funneled into marketing and lobbying). Unsurprisingly, corporations like to repackage these monopolies as "intellectual property," and then try to get them extended by the WTO and other trade agreements for longer periods, in more countries – even countries where a vanishingly small percentage of the population could ever hope to pay for under-patent drugs.
The ironic thing is that Gleevec (known in academic circles by the catchy name STI571) is the poster child of new medicines developed based on basic research – largely university-based and government-funded - into the human genome. Gleevec's own testing was partly paid for by the federally-funded National Cancer Institute. When U.S. taxpayers ponied up the dollars to help scientists develop lifesaving medicines, I doubt they were planning to sponsor corporate lawsuits against the world's poor.
Elizabeth Palmberg is an assistant editor of Sojourners magazine, which will have a special issue about trade justice in May.
This latest entry by Jim in the Newsweek/Washington Post series On Faith addresses the following question: As the presidential campaign begins to take shape, do you think it is appropriate and or important for the candidates to express their personal religious views and to use religious rhetoric? Why?
I have said and written many times that I think a good and fair discussion of how a candidate's faith shapes his or her political values should be viewed as an appropriate and positive thing – it's as relevant as any other fact about a politician's background, convictions, and experience for public office.
The more talk in political campaigns about values, the better, and religion is a primary source of values for many Americans. Minority religions and nonreligious people must always be respected and protected in our nation, but the core commitments of religious liberty are not compromised by an open discussion of faith and public life.
Having said that, I also say that it is important to remember that the particular religiosity of a candidate, or how devout they might be, is much less important than how their religious and/or moral commitments shape their values, their political vision and their policy commitments. If one's religious and ethical convictions don't shape a candidate's (or a citizen's) public life, then what kind of commitments are they?
In a democratic and pluralistic society, we don't want to evaluate candidates by which denomination or faith tradition they belong to (or whether they are a person of faith at all), and only vote for the candidate in our group. What's important is not how often they attended church or synagogue (like a tally of votes missed by a member of Congress), but rather the moral compass they bring to their public life and how their convictions shape their political priorities.
I also insist that political appeals, even if rooted in religious convictions, be argued on moral grounds, rather than as sectarian religious demands – so that the people (citizens), whether religious or not, have the capacity to hear and respond. Religion must be disciplined by democracy and contribute to a better and more moral public discourse. Religious convictions must therefore be translated into moral arguments, which must win the political debate if they are to be implemented. Religious people don't get to win just because they are religious (in a nation that is often claimed to be Judeo-Christian). They, like any other citizens, have to convince their fellow citizens that what they propose is best for the common good – for all of us and not just the religious.
Or, as Sen. Barack Obama put it at our 2006 Pentecost conference: "Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason."
Susan Jacoby, however, misrepresents all of this in the two paragraphs about my book she included in her response to this question. She takes two short quotes out of context and implies that by saying the answer to President Bush's "bad theology" is "good theology," I somehow think that the President of the United States should be the "theologian-in-chief." In fact, my critique of the president's theology was making the same point she is making. I wrote in God's Politics: "a president who believes that the nation is fulfilling a God-given righteous mission and that he serves with a divine appointment can become quite theologically unsettling. … Bush seems to make this mistake over and over again of confusing nation, church, and God. The resulting theology is more an American civil religion than Christian faith."
I criticize the president's theology as a Christian, in part because that is how he seeks to justify his policies. But then I argue my political points in the public square on the basis of a morally-based public policy. The two are complementary, not contradictory.
"God weeps," Archbishop Tutu told participants in the ecumenical gathering near the conclusion of the World Social Forum in Nairobi, "and says, 'Who will help me so we can have a different kind of world, one in which the rich know they have been given much so they can share and help others?'" More than 50,000 community activists, social reformers, religious leaders, and movers and shakers met at the seventh World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, this January to compare strategies on transforming global economic systems to benefit the majority world, rather than maintaining economic systems that produce immoral disparities: one percent of the world's adults owns 40 percent of the world's wealth, while the bottom half combined owns less than one percent.
The World Social Forum was launched as a counterpoint to the annual gathering of the world's power elites at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. But lately there's been a hint of cross-fertilization between the two. With changes at Davos that allow religious and moral leaders to challenge the priorities of business and political leaders, and changes at the World Social Forum to promote effective and efficient collaboration between grassroots activists, legislators, and the business community, maybe another world really is possible.
In one small example, Catholic Jesuits from across Africa brought a whole delegation to the WSF from their ministries and communities. They offered a seminar on the theme "Social Transformation in Africa: an Ethical Face," which included this focus on advocacy in the context of Catholic teaching:
1) Advocacy deals with structures of power and decision; it must be critical and constructive towards the people we challenge, and at the same time avoid confrontation. 2) Advocacy should facilitate the building of communities and this is a value in itself; we communicate and campaign in community. 3) It must always be done from the perspective of the oppressed and excluded and promote a value-based leadership. 4) It involves study, research and analysis - a contemplative vision of the world leading to radical action. 5) It is based on the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching; for example, on the principle that the goods of creation are meant for the benefit of all. 6) It implies discernment. 7) Advocacy is relational, and involves thinking, feeling, and action.
Rose Marie Berger, a Sojourners associate editor, is a Catholic peace activist and poet.
A Sojourners/Call to Renewal contingent joined the thousands at Saturday's peace rally on the National Mall. On March 16, in observance of the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, we're also helping to organize a worship service at the National Cathedral, followed by a march to the White House. There will be other services the same day at locations across the nation. Mark you calendars, and learn more at www.christianpeacewitness.org .
The latest news on Iraq-protests, immigration, African Union- Sudan, Iraq-Congress, new analysis on Iraq-Iran, another presidential candidate, political internet, the Gulf Coast, Churches and elections, Climate change-Davos, Drinian passing, and a select Op-Ed.
Iraq.Iraqis Raid Insurgents Near Shiite Holy City - "Iraqi soldiers, backed by U.S. helicopters, stormed an encampment of hundreds of insurgents hiding among date palm orchards in southern Iraq in an operation Sunday that set off fierce, day-long gun battles." 250 Are Killed in Major Iraq Battle- "At least 250 militants were killed and an American helicopter was shot down in violent clashes near the southern city of Najaf," Iranian Reveals Plan to Expand Role in Iraq- "Iran's ambassador to Baghdad outlined an ambitious plan on Sunday to greatly expand its economic and military ties with Iraq."
Iraq-protests.Thousands Protest Bush Policy - "They came to Washington at what they said was a moment of opportunity to push the new Congress to take action against the war, even as the Bush administration is accelerating plans to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq." Protest Focuses on Iraq Troop Increase- "Tens of thousands of protesters converged on the National Mall on Saturday to oppose President Bush's plan for a troop increase in Iraq in what organizers hoped would be one of the largest shows of antiwar sentiment in the nation's capital since the war began." Thousands rally on National Mall - "The rally occurred at a critical time in the four-year-old conflict: President Bush faces a political battle with newly empowered Democrats -- and some Republicans -- over his plan to send 21,500 more troops."Thousands join bicoastal war protest - "Protests attended by several thousand people also were held in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities."
Iraq-Congress.US Congress weighs its role on Iraq - "As the Senate begins a debate this week on whether to oppose President Bush's "new way forward" in Iraq, many lawmakers are balancing what they see as competing constitutional responsibilities - and stepped up pressure from voters long weary of a war that most Americans no longer think can be won." Senators swipe back over Iraq - "Prominent Democratic senators who are against the troop buildup in Iraq took issue with criticism from Bush administration officials who have charged that opposition to the president's new strategy could embolden the enemy." Vietnam Shades Warner's Iraq Stand - "Virginia Sen. John W. Warner's words betray the guilt he still carries about the Vietnam War and help explain why this pillar of the Republican establishment is leading a bipartisan revolt against the war plans of a president in his own party."
Iraq-Iran.News Analysis. On Iran, Bush Faces Haunting Echoes of Iraq- "As President Bush and his aides calibrate how directly to confront Iran, they are discovering that both their words and their strategy are haunted by the echoes of four years ago - when their warnings of terrorist activity and nuclear ambitions were clearly a prelude to war."
Immigration.Fresh potential on immigration - "With a new Democratic-controlled Congress and a president newly committed to bipartisan accomplishments, prospects for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws have never seemed brighter."
African Union- Sudan.African snub to Sudan over Darfur - "Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has again been bypassed in his bid to become chairman of the African Union because of the conflict in Darfur. Mr Bashir had been due to take on the role but it has instead been given to Ghana's President John Kufuor."
Another candidate.Huckabee Announces Presidential Bid- "Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee yesterday announced plans to form a presidential exploratory committee, hoping to carve out a conservative niche in an increasingly crowded field of Republican candidates."
Political internet.Medium is message for '08 runs - "As 2008 hopefuls use the Internet to craft their message, they have an incredible sense of control. Instead of risking a potentially campaign-ending gaffe with a live announcement before a crowd in Iowa or New Hampshire, candidates such as Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois are filming messages on their couches."
Gulf Coast.As Aid Lags, Volunteers Shoulder Rebuilding on Gulf Coast - "The two-by-fours inside the walls of George and Margaret Ladner's new home are inscribed with biblical verses, each written by one of the Alabama schoolchildren who raised money to buy the lumber."
Churches and elections.Turning a blind eye, IRS enables church politicking - "Last year was supposed to spell doom for sermons that endorsed political candidates or parties. Months before the congressional elections, the IRS made front-page headlines by trumpeting a new effort to crack down on churches that violated IRS restrictions on politicking by houses of worship." Crossing the line? Here's a sampling of churches that are the subjects of complaints filed with the IRS:
Climate change-Davos.World leaders rally around climate-change issue - "The world's political and business elite packed up yesterday and headed home from their five-day annual session in Davos, united in the belief that climate change poses the most serious threat to the planet. Security concerns in Iraq and Iran, the rising power of China and India, and efforts to revive the Doha round of global trade talks all were held second to climate fears."
Passing.Congressman-priest Drinan dies - "The Rev. Robert F. Drinan , who left Boston College's administration to become the first Roman Catholic priest elected to Congress and who in 1973 filed the initial impeachment resolution against President Richard M. Nixon, died yesterday at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was 86."
Op-Ed.JAMES CARROLL:Deathtrap - "just by being in the streets to shoot at, our well-armed soldiers empower the gunmen on all sides. Perhaps the most destructive unintended consequence of America's lethal presence has been the way the lethal power of all belligerents has scaled up to match it. Our young people are surrounded now by killers united only in the will to kill them. Operation deathtrap, exactly."
The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
[T]his is the crime of which I assuse my country and my countrymen, and for which neither I nor time nor history will ever forgive them, that they have destroyed and are destroying hundreds of thousands of lives and do not know it and do not want to know it.
DAVOS, Switzerland - Only since Sept. 11 has the World Economic Forum invited religious leaders to its annual meeting. At first, the Forum leaders were most concerned with religious conflict as a destabilizing force in the world, in light of the threats of terrorism and religious fundamentalism, and began to convene a dialogue between religious leaders of many faiths. But since then, the discussion has gone much deeper. This year, not only have there been the best discussions yet between the religious leaders – Christian, Muslim, and Jewish – but the faith leaders have fanned out to penetrate many of the other sessions with spiritual, ethical, and moral perspectives on a broad range of economic and political topics. The engagement with both business and political leaders has been substantial – with all parties really listening to one another. For the first time, there was even a plenary on the subject of religion, pluralism, and multiculturalism in the global neighborhood (that session was posted on yesterday's blog).
But the question that the session's moderator, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, put to the panelists was still about religious conflict and its political impact. Indeed, that remains the big issue for most of the world. Most of the religious leaders here would be perceived to be in the "moderate" camp, as opposed to those thought to be religious "extremists." Those two words have been lifted up again and again: How do we separate moderates from extremists? How do we up enhance the voice of the moderates, and how do we replace religious extremists with religious moderates? In a session today, even the meaning of those words were challenged. "Who decides what is moderate? What criteria will religion be judged by?"
But the problem may be the limits of dialogue itself. Today, many of the most publicly visible religious actors and actions in the world (or at least actions done in the name of religion) are of the extremist kind. And all the while, the moderates are dialoguing. As important as that is, dialogue, even good dialogue, will not be enough. It must be said that many of the religious moderates are also deeply involved in social service programs – although usually quietly. And, to be honest, some religious extremists, like Hamas, also do lots of service, often to the poorest in their communities.
What we need is nothing less than a whole new set of religious actors and new religious actions for the world to see – from those called "the moderates." Specifically, the world needs to see faith leaders and communities from around the globe on the front lines of social movements seeking to change the planet – working on all the big issues that the people at Davos are here discussing, such as climate change, global poverty, pandemic diseases, basic education access (80 million children in the world don't have it), and, crucially, helping to resolve our most pressing and violent conflicts.
The "religious moderates" must become the most passionate of all for social justice. If we did that, we would accomplish two things at the same time. First, we would provide a clear and compelling alternative to extremist religion. And, second, we would be helping to change the facts on the ground – the oppressive circumstances that often lead to and help recruit for extremist religion.
I just came out of an extraordinary panel on "The Promises to Africa," with Tony Blair, Bill Gates, Bono, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and other political, business, and civil society leaders from Africa, Germany (the site of the 2007 G-8 Summit), and Japan (the site of the 2008 G-8).
The moderator's opening comments were these: "I am the moderator, but I hope I am not 'moderate' about Africa. I hope, today, that I will be an accelerator, not just a moderator." After hearing the panel, I was convinced that that's just what we need – religion that doesn't just moderate, but rather accelerates the struggle for social justice and peace.
Alexandra Pelosi's new HBO documentary, Friends of God, is a notable attempt of a confessed "blue state" filmmaker (Pelosi was born in San Francisco and now lives in New York City) to understand evangelical religion. She frames the story as a road trip into the spiritual world of "red" America.
Like the Oscar-nominated documentary, Jesus Camp, Pelosi's movie lets evangelicals speak for themselves. She films people ruminating on everything from salvation and theology to abortion and creationism to family and politics. She introduces viewers to a host of regular folks, big name Religious Right leaders, a Christian wrestler, and a (self-billed) "conservative Christian" comic. Some of the interviews are compelling (the mother of ten who gave up college to "follow Jesus"), while others are tragic (Ted Haggard talking about sex: ouch!), and a few (the Christian comic) are downright scary.
In pre-air interviews, Pelosi said she liked many of the people she met. But there's a problem with Friends of God. You would never know that Pelosi liked any of these people if she hadn't told you. Even the more tender interviews reveal a subtle stereotyping, listening to people but never truly understanding their world.
The result? The film takes on the air of watching "monkeys in the zoo" (as does Jesus Camp). Red state evangelicalism ranges from slightly addled and intellectually backward to an evil manipulation of good people for political ends. In short, Pelosi's road trip echoes H.L. Mencken's 1926 quip: "Heave an egg out of a Pullman car window, and you will hit a Fundamentalist almost anywhere in the United States today."
If these are "God's Friends," I'd hate to meet his enemies.
While Friends may fascinate or alarm "blue state" people, it does little to help watchers understand why conservative evangelicals are such a powerful political force. Two flaws contribute to this.
First, Pelosi interviewed mainly southern evangelicals, reflecting her larger red-state "road trip" theme. However, it is very difficult to separate the strands of southern culture from southern evangelicalism – much of Friends illustrates southern folk traditions regarding women, science, and politics more than evangelical theology. While southern evangelicalism is no doubt a powerful cultural force, it also remains a distinct form of American religion – one more fundamentalist than other varieties of evangelicalism.
Second, how did these "backwoods buffoons" (ala Mencken) get any political power at all? Friends would have been strengthened by a visit to Wheaton College or a Washington, D.C., think tank (like the Ethics and Public Policy Center). In those places, evangelicals move past the simplistic, "The Bible said it; I believe it" mentality of the rest of the film – and present an intellectually credible and politically sophisticated voice of evangelical Christianity.
Friends of God is a well-made, well-intentioned, but ultimately distorted view of evangelicalism. Yes, there are plenty of evangelicals like those in the film. But there are also plenty who are not. What of Jay Bakker? (The recent Sundance series, One Punk Under God, is a complex and engrossing take on evangelicalism.) Jim Wallis? Amy Sullivan? Brian McLaren? Friends of God overlooks evangelical diversity – and it misses how evangelicalism is changing and often roiled in internal conflict – understandings that are needed by the "blue state" audience to whom this film is directed.
Friends of God angered me. Not because I felt attacked by the film (I'm a mainline Protestant), but because stereotypes – even subtle ones – are dangerous. To put the shoe on the other foot, much of the current dissention in the Episcopal Church is fuelled by a 30-year-old stereotype of Protestant liberalism. Conservative leaders have duped some Episcopalians into schism by scaring nice people with a stereotype of liberalism that no longer reflects the spirituality and theology of most mainline Protestants. As a result, a historic denomination is being strained, its passion for mission eroded, and its resources for charity and justice depleted. Religious stereotypes are among the most dangerous – because they corrode trust in the nation's most faithful sources of social compassion and make a mockery of Christian witness to God's love.
Stereotypes may entertain. And they stir up the political troops by heightening anxiety about "the other." But they do not enable us to empathize or understand the how and why of other peoples' lives. Without that, charity and love are impossible.
Diana Butler Bass (www.dianabutlerbass.com) was raised United Methodist, converted to evangelicalism, attended an evangelical college and seminary, and is now a progressive Episcopalian. She is the author of six books including Christianity for the Rest of Us (Harper San Francisco), a study that challenges the stereotypes of mainline Protestantism.
The "Mississippi Freedom Summer" in 1964 was one of the most significant nonviolent campaigns in history, conducted in the face of incredible hatred and violence. Under the direction of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, hundreds of young volunteers - men and women, black and white - faced death on a daily basis. Black-owned homes, churches, and businesses were firebombed; volunteers were arrested and beaten; some lost their lives – including James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.
The summer of 1964 produced both heroes and villains. Two stories in Thursday's New York Times highlight that.
One of the heroes, Mendy Samstein, died yesterday at the age of 68. The Times reported:
Mendy Samstein, 68, Dies; Championed Civil Rights – "Mendy Samstein, who left graduate school to put himself in the forefront of the fight for black voting rights in Mississippi, enduring bombings and beatings in the crucial summer of 1964, died yesterday … Mr. Samstein abandoned his pursuit of a doctorate in history to join the historic turmoil in the South and became known as an adept organizer and pull-no-punches speaker. He helped recruit and deploy the more than 800 college students, mainly white, who traveled from many states to rural Mississippi towns, mainly black, as part of the Mississippi Summer Project in 1964. He became a full-time organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Stokely Carmichael, who later became the group's chairman, called him "one in a million."
And, along with the highly publicized violence against civil rights volunteers, there was vicious violence against ordinary folks. Just a few pages away was this story about an arrest in the murder that summer of Henry H. Dee and Charles E. Moore, both 19:
Mississippi Man Arrested in Killing of 2 Blacks in '64 – "A 71-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in Mississippi on federal kidnapping charges stemming from the 1964 killing of two black teenagers who were tied to trees, whipped and drowned."
It was truly a summer that brought out the best and the worst in America.
Duane Shank is senior policy adviser for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
Iraq-in the streets.Antiwar protesters target Congress- "When thousands of Iraq war protesters gather in Washington Saturday, their chants and amplified speeches are likely to be heard inside the secure grounds of the White House … But the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue - the Capitol and the Democratic-led Congress - is where they most aim their message." Groups Head to Capital to Step Up Antiwar Drive - "Tens of thousands of demonstrators are set to arrive in the capital this weekend for a major antiwar march, staging the first of several protests intended to persuade the new Democratic-controlled Congress to do more than simply speak against President Bush's Iraq policy." Big antiwar rallies set for L.A., D.C. and other cities Saturday- "Similar events are planned in dozens of cities around the country, with some of the largest expected in Los Angeles and San Francisco." War protest set Saturday in D.C. - "Organizers said they hoped to focus attention on Iraq more intensely than ever, given the growing public opposition to the war and congressional efforts to repudiate it."
Iraq-in the Senate.GOP senators may offer counter-resolutions on Iraq- "Scrambling to head off a potentially embarrassing congressional rebuke for President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, Senate Republicans are working on alternative legislation that would attach specific "benchmarks" to the White House plan." US senators feel weight of Iraq vote - "As the resolution moves to the full Senate next week, it's clear that deep disagreements exist within each party over how best to express doubts about the Iraq war. The result is a vivid - and very public - grappling over the terms of their disagreement." GOP Senators Wrestle With Iraq War Resolution - "Senate Republicans, scrambling to head off GOP defections to a resolution opposing President Bush's war policy, are considering their own resolution demanding benchmarks to measure progress in Iraq and possibly a new diplomatic effort to end the war," Hagel Ponders White House Run As War Criticism Raises His Profile - "Hagel's sharp criticism of the war has placed him squarely in the mainstream of public opinion on Iraq and revived long-dormant speculation about his presidential ambitions."
Iran.Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq - "The Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran's influence across the Middle East and compel it to give up its nuclear program," Tehran's Influence Grows As Iraqis See Advantages - "changing the "behavior" of the Iranian government, as Khalilzad proposes, collides with Iran's expanding influence in Iraq, which is built on deep cultural ties as well as personal and business relationships developed during the years…" Israel tries to cut off Tehran from world markets - "Israel is launching a campaign to isolate Iran economically and to soften up world opinion for the option of a military strike aimed at crippling or delaying Tehran's uranium enrichment programme."
Darfur.First test for new UN chief: Darfur - 'Putting an end to the violence there, which the United States calls "genocide," is also turning into the UN leader's first major test - of his credibility as a global moral force and of his ability to cajole the international community, and in this case Sudan, beyond words to action." Aid chief warns of Sudan catastrophe - "The forced withdrawal of aid organisations from Darfur could leave more than two million civilians facing catastrophe, vulnerable to militia attacks, starvation and disease, a leading human rights activist has warned."
Health insurance.Health-care coverage gains political steam - "Leading Democratic presidential candidates are showing a passion for ambitious plans to provide health-care coverage to all Americans that the party has not shown since the Clinton administration's health plan turned into a political debacle in 1994."
Harold Ford-DLC.Democrats' new leader embraces faith - "Harold Ford Jr. is back in national politics. The young former congressman from Tennessee, who came close last fall to becoming the first African- American elected to the Senate from the South since Reconstruction, was named chair of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC)."
Israel-Palestine.Palestinian state 'not an illusion' - "Israel's foreign minister reached out to the Palestinian president in an emotional speech as she sat next to him at the World Economic Forum, saying lasting peace is the dream of her government and her people, and promising that a future Palestinian state is "not an illusion. It's there, it's achievable."
Lebanon.Beirut University Dispute Escalates Into Rioting, Killing 4 - "Violence erupted in Beirut for the second time in three days, as an altercation in a university cafeteria escalated into rioting and gunfire." Aid Conference Raises $7.6 Billion for Lebanon- "Led by Saudi Arabia and the United States, international donors from more than 30 countries pledged $7.6 billion in aid for Lebanon, in a bold effort to try to prop up the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora."
Libby trial.Aide: VP, Libby targeted Iraq critic - "Vice President Dick Cheney and his former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, were personally and actively involved in an effort to spin news coverage and discredit a critic of the Iraq war even before the fact that his wife was a CIA operative became public," Ex-Aide Says Cheney Led Rebuttal Effort - "Vice President Cheney personally orchestrated his office's 2003 efforts to rebut allegations that the administration used flawed intelligence to justify the war in Iraq and discredit a critic who Cheney believed was making him look foolish," Ex-Cheney Aide Contradicts Libby's Version of Events - "A former spokeswoman for Vice President Dick Cheney gave testimony in the trial of I. Lewis Libby, Jr. that directly contradicted Mr. Libby's version of events during a crucial period that is at the center of the perjury case against him."
Op-Ed.The costs to those who soldier on (Anthony Lake, Boston Globe) - "Among the many costs of this tragedy -- in losses of our men, women, and resources, in providing a recruiting poster for terrorists, in diverting us from the Afghanistan war we should have prosecuted more fully, in increased Iranian influence -- is the fact that we are asking my young friend and his comrades to soldier on in a conflict that more and more of them recognize as misguided."
May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the Lord!" As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
The big question, however, is the validity of the protest as communication. Is the current protest making any real headway in re-educating us, in giving us a new attitude toward war? Or is it simply an outlet for the indignation, the frustration and the anxiety of those who see that the war is irrational, but fear they can do nothing to stop it?
Click on the image below to see video of Jim Wallis among religous, cultural, and political leaders from around the world engaging in a forum titled, "Rules for a Global Neighbourhood in a Multicultural World" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. They even gave Jim the last word...
When Saddam Hussein and his aides Awad Hamed al-Bandar and Barzan Ibrahim were hanged, many were upset that the killings were not done with “dignity.” They thought it unseemly and improper that some present at the execution hurled insults and taunted Hussein, or that his half-brother Ibrahim was decapitated in the process.
That's like talking about icing without talking about the cake.
Here's the cake: rendering Hussein or any human being defenseless and killing him. Imposing a violent death on a person is the greatest indignity of all; it makes name-calling or taunts pale in significance.
Can a state killing ever be done with dignity? This question was at the heart of my dialogue with Pope John Paul II in January 1997. I informed him of the U.S. Supreme Court statement in Furman v. Georgia, which claimed that executing human beings is not "inconsistent with our respect for the dignity of men." And I told him how in accompanying the condemned to their deaths, most asked me to "pray that God holds up my legs."
"How can one possibly subject human beings to torture and to death and yet respect their dignity?" I asked.
The pope responded publicly when he visited St. Louis in 1999 and said: "A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil." He then renewed his call for the abolition of the death penalty, which, he said, "is both cruel and unnecessary."
Even for Saddam Hussein.
The response to Hussein's execution from Vatican officials has been unequivocal in their condemnation. "There is no doubt," said Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, "that Saddam was a ruthless dictator responsible for hundreds of deaths. But one does not compensate for one crime with another crime. The church proclaims that human life is to be protected from conception to natural death. The death penalty is not a natural death." Cardinal Martino said it was not morally licit for anyone, "not even the state," to kill another person.
Hussein's hanging was "tragic news," said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi. He went on to say: "This is a reason for sadness even if this is about a person who is guilty of serious crimes. The position of the Catholic church, which is against the death penalty whatever the circumstances, needs to be repeated again: There is a risk that [the hanging] feeds the spirit of vengeance and plants the seeds for fresh violence."
Since 9/11, we have seen time and again the operation of this cycle of vengeance and violence. When will we ever learn?
Sister Helen Prejean is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille and a prominent anti-death penalty advocate whose work was featured in the film Dead Man Walking. Her most recent book is The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.
The latest news on Iraq, Immigration, Iran, minimum wage, education, 2006 election in Ohio, poverty, Senator Kerry, Darfur, Summer of 1964-good and evil, Pelosi film, and select op-eds and editorials.
Iraq-Senate.Panel rejects war `surge' - "In the first congressional vote over President Bush's deployment of additional troops to Iraq, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution declaring that the president's new war strategy is "not in the national interest." Senators Rebuff Bush on Troop Plan - "The committee voted 12 to 9 to send a resolution of disapproval of the president's Iraq policy to the Senate floor next week, setting up what could be the most dramatic confrontation between Congress and the Bush administration since the war was launched four years ago." Bush Iraq Plan Is Condemned by Senate Panel- "The full Senate is poised to consider the nonbinding, yet strongly symbolic, repudiation of Mr. Bush as early as Wednesday."
Iraq-war.Troops Battle Insurgents in Central Baghdad - "With attack helicopters circling overhead, U.S. and Iraqi forces waged an intense battle to clear armed men from high-rise buildings in a strategic Baghdad neighborhood that had been the scene of a similar day of combat two weeks ago." U.S.-Iraqi forces strike 'Sniper Alley' - "The U.S. military said the fighting on and around Haifa Street was part of a new offensive launched before dawn to disrupt illegal militias and bring the volatile area under the control of Iraqi security forces."
Iraq-Cheney.Cheney says war critics are 'dead wrong' - "A day after President Bush struck a conciliatory tone toward critics of the Iraq war, Vice President Dick Cheney did the opposite, denouncing as "hogwash" the assertion that the administration had lost credibility because of blunders in Iraq." Defending Iraq War, Defiant Cheney Cites 'Enormous Successes' - "Vice President Cheney said that the administration has achieved "enormous successes" in Iraq but complained that critics and the media "are so eager to write off this effort or declare it a failure" that they are undermining U.S. troops in a war zone."
Iraq-Blair.Blair skips heated debate on Iraq war - "Prime Minister Tony Blair rejected calls to withdraw British forces from Iraq by October, then dodged a blistering debate in Parliament in which there was almost unanimous condemnation of the war and little optimism for a U.S. plan to boost its troop presence in Baghdad."
Immigration.GOP renews 'amnesty' defiance - "House Republicans opposed to amnesty vowed to fight President Bush's proposal to legalize millions of illegal aliens as outlined in his State of the Union address." Children of illegal immigrants are caught in a web of conflicting public policies - "Such children often face a confusing thicket of public policies reflecting sympathy for their vulnerability and disapproval of their parents' illegal behavior."
Education.Bush Proposes Adding Private School Vouchers to 'No Child' Law - "The Bush administration unveiled an education plan that would allow poor students at chronically failing public schools to use federal vouchers to attend private and religious schools, angering Democrats who vowed to fight the measure."
2004 election in Ohio.2 election workers convicted in '04 tally - "A jury found two Cuyahoga County elections workers guilty Wednesday of charges that they skirted Board of Elections procedures to thwart a countywide ballot recount after the divisive 2004 presidential election."
Poverty.Childhood Poverty Is Found to Portend High Adult Costs - "Children who grow up poor cost the economy $500 billion a year because they are less productive, earn less money, commit more crimes and have more health-related expenses." With Health Care Topic A, Some Sketches for a Solution- "Start with the children and work up from there. For corporate America and Washington policy experts, that seems to be the emerging consensus about how to begin tackling the problem of the 47 million people in this country without health insurance: Start with the more than 8 million uninsured children."
Iran.Israel raises nuclear stakes with Iran- "The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, dramatically raised the stakes in the international showdown with Iran last night, with a clear warning that his country was prepared to use military force to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon." Olmert vows use of every means to meet Iran threat - "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert devoted one of his most important policy speeches of the year to a single topic--Iran--saying Israel will respond to a nuclear threat "with all the means at our disposal." The complete text of the speech is on the Prime Minister's website. Iran obtains defense system for nuclear sites - "Iranian officials said that they have taken delivery of advanced Russian air defense missile systems--weapons intended, according to one Russian news agency, to defend Tehran's major nuclear facilities."
Politics. Charting his future as senator,Kerry rejects second run for White House,seeks to end war - "A tearful Senator John F. Kerry launched the next phase of his Senate career yesterday with a vow to hasten an end to the Iraq war, as the man who spent the past four years gunning for the presidency turned his attention to building a statesmanlike legacy in the Senate."
Darfur.Chinese Leader to Visit Sudan for Talks on Darfur Conflict - "Chinese officials announced that President Hu Jintao would visit Sudan in early February and would seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict in the country's western Darfur region," Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival - "Three filmmakers chronicle their journey to document the tragedy in Darfur where 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million forced from their homes."
Summer of 1964-good and evil. Mendy Samstein, 68, Dies; Championed Civil Rights - "Mendy Samstein, who left graduate school to put himself in the forefront of the fight for black voting rights in Mississippi, enduring bombings and beatings in the crucial summer of 1964, died yesterday … Mr. Samstein abandoned his pursuit of a doctorate in history to join the historic turmoil in the South and became known as an adept organizer and pull-no-punches speaker. He helped recruit and deploy the more than 800 college students, mainly white, who traveled from many states to rural Mississippi towns, mainly black, as part of the Mississippi Summer Project in 1964. He became a full-time organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Stokely Carmichael, who later became the group's chairman, called him "one in a million." Mississippi Man Arrested in Killing of 2 Blacks in '64- "A 71-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in Mississippi on federal kidnapping charges stemming from the 1964 killing of two black teenagers who were tied to trees, whipped and drowned."
Film.Soldiers of the Cross - ""Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi," a new HBO documentary about America's army of impassioned evangelicals, doesn't address the question "Why are we in Iraq?" -- but the film's parade of believers has a fervent certainty that echoes President Bush's unwavering belief in the war." A Culture of Faith, Devoted Yet Complex- "The documentary is a good-natured travelogue: it glances on the more intolerant and grotesque manifestations of Christian fundamentalism and also the faith's vast following and political clout." (FRIENDS OF GOD: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi.HBO, tonight at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.)
Op-Eds.
Jim Webb: Reagan Democrat(E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) - "Like him or not, Ronald Reagan spoke in a clean, clear prose that almost always left listeners with a sense that he stood for something. Jim Webb did the same when he offered the Democrat's response to the president's State of the Union speech."
Senate Firefighters(By David S. Broder, Washington Post) - "Despite the raging controversy over Iraq military policy, President Bush's plea for bipartisan cooperation on the domestic agenda has a chance of success in the Senate. The reason has less to do with sympathy for the politically weakened chief executive than a dynamic that has gone largely unnoticed among the senators themselves. Since the midterm election created a near-even balance in the Senate -- 51 Democrats and 49 Republicans -- serious efforts at cross-party communication have developed momentum."
Editorial. Chicago Tribune. The anti-surge surge - "A restrained President Bush pleaded with Congress Tuesday night for time to let his new "surge" strategy in Iraq work. He clearly hopes to head off anti-surge resolutions now simmering in the U.S. Senate, and other potential congressional moves to limit his already-narrowed options in Iraq."
After all of the pundits and commentators were done picking apart President Bush's State of the Union address, one glaring point had still not been made. In 49 minutes, President Bush barely uttered the words "poverty" or "the poor." It's as though our president has taken Jesus' words in Matthew ("the poor you will always have with you") to justify making scant mention of their crushing needs in what is arguably the most important political speech of the year. How did this omission sound to the 37 million Americans and counting who are currently living in the quicksand of poverty, or the more-than-a-billion people around the world living on less than $1 a day?
To be fair, the president briefly mentioned global poverty in relation to the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and a $1.2 billion anti-malaria initiative. In relation to domestic poverty, the president mentioned poor children in the context of making modest proposals to expand health care coverage to uninsured Americans. But these policies and reforms lacked specifics, and fall far short of a bold plan that addresses the root causes of poverty. Even newly-elected Senator Jim Webb's Democratic response fixated almost entirely on the middle class. Senator Webb correctly pointed out that we must measure the health of our economy based on how its benefits are properly shared among all Americans, but then focused exclusively on the middle class as those Americans who "have lost their place at the table."
Hurricane Katrina pulled back the curtain on poverty in America, putting a human face on the needless deprivation that permeates the wealthiest country in the world. I heard many preachers refer to Katrina as "Povertina" due to the hurricane's devastating and disproportionate impact on those already living at the margins. Yet too many Americans seem to be suffering from an acute case of amnesia surrounding all that Katrina revealed. How would the prophets Amos, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Micah have responded to last night's speech? I would imagine with words of righteous indignation and judgment against an administration that prioritizes the needs of the wealthiest over the weakest.
Through Christ's teachings and ministry we see time and time again a call to treat people's needs as holy, particularly those among us who are the most left out and left behind. Somehow we have made the needs of the impoverished so synonymous with the interests of the middle class that politicians no longer feel the need to call them out by name. It's as though the word poverty has become taboo and obsolete in political circles. This trend is in part because people living in poverty are less likely to vote, lack the means to write campaign contributions, and don't enjoy the benefits of the social networks needed to exert the same influence as the rest of society. Thus by its very nature our political system is antithetical and hostile to the interests of those with the weakest voice. This will remain the case until the church accepts its prophetic vocation to speak truth to power. The church stands at the intersection of power and powerlessness.
Through campaigns like the Covenant for a New America, we can make sure that poverty is no longer relegated to a third-rail issue due to political expediency and neglect. By joining together, and speaking out with a unified voice, we can elevate poverty to the top of the president's - and our nation's - political agenda.
Adam Taylor is director of campaigns and organizing for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
DAVOS, Switzerland - The first comments I heard in response to President Bush's State of the Union message were from a diverse group of business, political, media, and civil society leaders from all over the world, gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. It was discussed at the first session of the morning, which focused on the current state of geopolitical affairs in the United States.
It was noted that the president spoke to a number of domestic issues and tried to reach out to a new Democratic Congress. There were hopeful signs on energy independence, with a direct reference to the problems of "climate change," a word not often heard from Mr. Bush. Some new initiatives, like a 20% gasoline consumption reduction over 10 years, don't go nearly far enough to really address global warming, but they are nevertheless a step in the right direction. Similarly on health care, Bush acknowledged the problem of the uninsured, but fell short of a plan to cover them. He again made a commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, which has more support among the new Democratic majority than in his own party.
But most of the questions and discussion topics in the seminar for these world business and social leaders were about American foreign policy - especially with regards to Iraq, Iran, and the Middle East. It reminded me again of just how badly the United States is now perceived, almost universally, around the world. And Bush was implacable on Iraq, vigorously defending his plan to escalate (he still says "win") a failed and disastrous war. Jay Nordlinger, the Managing Editor of the conservative National Review, rather sheepishly pointed out that Bush was doing what he believed in, despite its unpopularity, and that was a kind of leadership. Others weren't so kind, calling U.S. policy that pits "triumphalism" against "realism" nothing short of "delusional."
And there was even more concern about the potential for an American (or Israeli) military air strike against Iran. One of the panelists was The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who I met this morning for the first time. I have been deeply moved by many of his columns on Darfur, the modern slavery of sex trafficking, human rights, and foreign policy from a deeply moral perspective. I told him he was "doing the Lord's work," which got me a big smile. Kristof spoke very seriously about North Korea and Iran's progress toward nuclear weapons, but also said that an American military strike aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities in various cities would be "the height of irresponsibility," an action that would just give the "hardliners" more power.
David Gergen, of U.S. News and World Report and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, recalled flying on Air Force One in 1974 with Richard Nixon to Syria for intensive diplomatic negotiations. He suggested that no president since then (and he has worked for several of them - both Republican and Democrat) would have considered such military action without the kind of intensive and sophisticated diplomacy which we have yet to attempt with Iran. "To even be talking about a possible air strike this year, without that sort of diplomatic effort is," Gergen said, "Nuts!" He recalled a conversation with a European journalist the day before where the United States was portrayed as the "worst governed" nation in the developed world.
But for all the alarm and anger at George Bush, there was a great deal of hope expressed about America. Gergen said that "signs of hope are in the air, with a real desire for change." He pointed to many signs of hope: the nation being "ripe" for real immigration reform; new plans for comprehensive health care in several states; new ideas for education in places like New York City and the great popularity of programs like Teach for America; CEO's grappling with global warming; and a new generation of social entrepreneurs looking for answers. "America," David said, "has always had a great capacity for self-correction," and suggested that "the old order is passing, and a new order may be coming into place." Someone else humorously paraphrased Winston Churchill by saying, "you can always trust America to do the right thing, after exhausting every other alternative."
Arianna Huffington, the editor of the explosively growing blog, The Huffington Post, was equally optimistic about the future despite Bush's policies (about which she noted, "conviction against all evidence is fanaticism"). She said that questions like global warming, health care, and Iraq are now majority concerns, "70% issues, not "Left/Right issues." The key, Arianna said, is for journalists in particular to stop the Left/Right framing of issues, and for all of us to see things as "moral issues that go beyond just the sexual ones, and include matters like poverty. She called for "a new politics, beyond Left and Right, but rather from a moral center," and graciously pointed to our work, at Sojourners, for putting politics in those terms.
Despite the broad hostility to U. S. policies around the world, I am often amazed at how much goodwill there is toward Americans. And in another session this afternoon, a panel of international analysts from across the globe said that despite multi-polar shifts of power toward other nations (especially in Asia), U.S. influence will be unmatched in the world for the foreseeable future - hence the need for good leadership rather than bad dominance. Tomorrow I speak at a plenary session, here in Davos, on the role of religion, multiculturalism, and pluralism in all of this. Say a prayer.
The latest news on the State of the Union Address-lead responses, Democratic responses, specific issues including domestic policy, health insurance, immigration and energy,- the new commander for Iraq, Jimmy Carter in the Mideast, China, Somalia, Iran, Tutu at the World Social Forum, and select editorials.
Full news summary: State of the Union - the lead stories. Chicago Tribune.Bush seeks Dems' help - "Issuing a bipartisan call "to achieve big things for the American people" at home and an appeal for patience with his new strategy for the war in Iraq, a weakened President Bush faced a doubting, Democratic-controlled Congress"
Washington Times. 'We must not fail in Iraq' - "President Bush pleaded with Congress to give his new strategy for victory in the struggle in Iraq a chance because "America must not fail in Iraq."
Los Angeles Times. Bush seeks compromise, except on Iraq strategy - "President Bush, seeking to regain political ground lost to the new Democratic-led Congress, called for bipartisan action on energy and other domestic issues but forcefully defended his unpopular decision to send more U.S. troops to Iraq."
New York Times. Bush Insists U.S. Must Not Fail in Iraq- "President Bush presented a modest agenda of energy and health care proposals while warning an assertive Congress against undercutting his new Iraq strategy."
State of the Union - the Democratic Response Chicago Tribune. Sen. Webb: Congress may show way on Iraq - "While President Bush urged opponents of his planned troop increase in Iraq to give it a chance to see if it works, the Democrats turned to an old soldier to hammer away at the president's war strategy."
Washington Post. Va.'s Webb Offers a Blunt Challenge to Bush - "Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) delivered a forceful nine-minute response to President Bush's State of the Union address, promising an aggressive challenge to Bush's Iraq and economic policies" Los Angeles Times. Democrat says Bush 'recklessly' waged war - "Sen. Jim Webb delivers the rebuke in his party's State of the Union response, also focusing on kitchen-table issues."
Some specific issues. Domestic policy.Bush Adopts Some Priorities Of Congressional Democrats - "In an overture to the new majority in Congress, President Bush strayed into Democratic territory with proposals on health insurance, gasoline efficiency and even the first real tax increase of his presidency."
Immigration. President renews push for bill on immigration - "President Bush said his administration has made huge strides clamping down on illegal border crossings, and called on Congress to finish the job this year by passing a guest-worker bill and extending citizenship rights to illegal aliens."
Energy. Clean alternatives key to oil plan - "President Bush sought to counter criticism that he has failed to do enough to tackle global warming and energy security as he unveiled a 10-year plan to slash U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent." Contradictions seen in alternative energy plan - "President Bush's proposals to reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by 20% in 10 years include more specific and ambitious new goals than in previous White House statements, but they also appear to rely on assumptions about energy markets, politics and technology that some experts say are debatable,"
In other news. New commander for Iraq. Petraeus Expresses Confidence In Buildup - "Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the expected new top commander in Iraq, gave Congress a stark preview of the challenge ahead, saying sectarian violence has reduced Baghdad's population to a daily struggle for survival," General tells Senate Iraq 'not hopeless' - "Petraeus told Congress that the situation in the war-torn nation was dire and posed "tough days" ahead, but he pleaded for time to begin executing a new strategy." General Says New Strategy in Iraq Can Work Over Time- "the general described the situation in Iraq as "dire" but not hopeless. He asserted that the "persistent presence" of American and Iraqi forces in strife-ridden Baghdad neighborhoods was a necessary step, but also cautioned that the mission would not succeed if the Iraqi government did not carry out its program of political reconciliation."
Jimmy Carter and Mideast. Carter wins applause at Brandeis - "Jimmy Carter, in a carefully orchestrated visit, received multiple ovations last night during his speech at Brandeis University." At Brandeis, Carter Responds to Critics- "Carter told an audience at Brandeis University that he stood by the book and its title, that he apologized for what he called an "improper and stupid" sentence in the book and that he had been disturbed by accusations that he was anti-Semitic."
China.China Confirms Space Test; Denies Intent to Intimidate - "The Chinese government publicly confirmed a successful test of a new antisatellite weapon but said it had no intention of participating in a "space race." Officials fear war in space by China - "China's anti-satellite-interceptor test Jan. 11 is part of a covert space-weapons program designed to cripple the U.S. military in a conflict, defense officials said"
Somalia.U.S. Stages Second Airstrike in Somalia - "Air Force AC-130 gunship targets suspected al-Qaeda operatives in southern Somalia, the second such attack in the country this month."
Iran.U.S. ships headed to Mideast called a warning to Iran - "A second U.S. aircraft carrier group steaming toward the Middle East is Washington's way of warning Iran to back down in its attempts to dominate the region, a top U.S. diplomat said."
Tutu at World Social Forum. - " Tutu says that the war against terror cannot be won by force - "The war against terror in the world will "never" be won by force and injustice, and will remain a problem "as long as there are conditions in the world that make people desperate," like dehumanizing poverty, disease and ignorance, Nobel laureate and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has told participants at the 2007 World Social Forum (WSF) in Nairobi, Kenya."
Boston Globe Editorial: Welfare as we knew it - "The nation once raged over welfare. Now, in a more globally troubled time, poverty might seem a less pressing issue. But state and federal governments must still act. Ending poverty isn't enough; the country has to promote 21st-century success."
Most of what we do in worldly life is geared toward our staying dry, looking good, not going under. But in baptism, in lakes and rain and tanks and fonts, you agree to do something that's a little sloppy because at the same time it's also holy, and absurd. It's about surrender, giving in to all those things we can't control; it's a willingness to let go of balance and decorum and get drenched.
- Anne Lamott from "Traveleing Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith"
Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" He replied, "What is impossible for mortals is possible for God."
I've been thinking a lot about the ethos of violence that is spreading like a disease through our world. I just read that TV violence is at a record high, with an average of 13 incidents of violence every hour. News headlines tell of the murders down in New Orleans. Homicides here in Philly and Camden have been happening almost every day. And of course there is Iraq.
I just told a group of graduate students I would like to see them do a study comparing the ethos of violence globally with the violence on the streets here in the U.S. Remember how the Columbine shooting happened on the same day that the Clinton-led U.S. bombed Kosovo most intensively? It's hard to imagine that these recent murders and school shootings are somehow separate from the current escalation of violence by our government. After all, we are wrestling against principalities and powers. These are not just lofty thoughts to ponder, but they are realities that sometimes hit pretty close to home. The only incidents of violence I have experienced in the last 10 years of living here in the inner city have been since the Iraq war. One of them was about a week ago. I am including a little account of it here, mostly because I am really proud of my friend Cassim and how he handled the situation. I think he has some things to teach those who continue to trust in the myth of redemptive violence.
Cassim and I were walking to the post office, a walk I take several times a week. It's on the "other side of the tracks" in a neighborhood called Port Richmond, where lots of folks say they want to move to get out of Kensington, where we live. In fact, most locals call Kensington "the Badlands." But I always warn folks to be careful with that, lest they think "nothing good can come out of Kensington." After all, that's exactly what folks said about Nazareth, Jesus' neighborhood. God seems to have a special knack for showing up in the Badlands. After all, there are really good kids here, like Cassim. Cassim is one of the gentle kids, one I hope to never see lose his innocence and trust, or his heart grow hard. He likes cooking with us, gardening, getting beat at Othello - even cleaning the house or doing homework. I've always thought it funny and out-of-character that he is in a boxing club run by some Christians around the corner from us. Christian boxing ... hmm.
Cassim is 11 and his mom doesn't let him out a lot, so you can imagine that when we got jumped I was caught a little off-guard. We were walking down the narrow side street, and some teenaged guys started following behind. You could just feel the mischief brewing, and it grew from two young men to four and then eight, until there was a little mob of sorts. They started calling out some names, throwing rocks and sticks, trying to stir up trouble.
It's always hard on the spot like that to know exactly what Jesus would do. I told Cassim, "Let's go say hi." He looked at me skeptically. We turned back and walked towards them (knowing full well that if we had run we may have made it to the post office). "Hey, I'm Shane. And this is my friend Cassim. We live around the corner," I said with my hand out. They weren't really sure what to do with that. A couple of them shook my hand and introduced themselves. Others snickered. One or two refused the handshake. We said, "Nice to meet you guys," and headed on our walk.
With the wind taken out of their sail a bit, they regrouped, and then continued to build momentum towards a violent brawl. They ran after us, throwing some rocks and bottles, and I noticed two of them now carried a couple of broomsticks from the trash. We picked up the pace a bit, and then I looked at Cassim and said, "No, don't run." We turned back, and before we knew it, one of them clocked Cassim on the side of the head with a stick. I said firmly, "Why would you do that? We haven't done anything to hurt you." They laughed. Then they started hitting me with the broomstick until it broke over my back. At this point I decided to bust out a can of holy anger. I looked them in the eyes and said as forcefully as I could, "You are created in the image of God ... every single one of you. And you were made for something better than this. Cassim and I are followers of Jesus and we do not fight, but we will love you no matter what you do to us." That wasn't exactly what they expected or hoped for. They looked at each other, startled a bit ... for the first time, they were completely quiet. And then they scurried off in every direction.
I'll never forget what Cassim said afterwords. "Shane, why am I taking boxing lessons?" We laughed at the irony of it, having just experienced a prime chance to implement his mad skilz. I asked Cassim frankly what he thought would have happened if he had chosen to fight. "It would have been ugly," he said. "They might have been bloody and we probably would have been real bloody." No one would have left any nicer, that was for sure.
I asked Cassim if he thought Jesus was happy with how we acted. He thought about it, and then nodded with a smile. I told him that, honestly, I wasn't sure exactly what Jesus would have done if he were in our place … but there are two things I know Jesus would not have done. He would not have fought. And he would not have run. I told him Jesus may have thought of something else, or he may have done something weird to throw them off, as he often seems to do – like drawing in the dirt with his finger (or writing on the road with sidewalk chalk, "you are better than this"), or maybe pulling a coin out of a fish's mouth (or pulling a piece of candy out of a pigeon's mouth). But I think Jesus was happy with how we acted, and that we were good representatives – good witnesses – of Christ to them. Cassim agreed, and then we prayed for them together. And finally, as he was leaving, Cassim reminded me that each of those boys has to go to bed thinking about what they did that day, and so did we.
I'm not sure about those other boys, but Cassim and I both slept well that night … and woke up a little sore but happy the next morning. Hopefully Cassim's mom will let him come out of the house.
I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. But they asked, and rightly so, what about Vietnam? They asked if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today – my own government.
- Martin Luther King Jr., in " A Time to Break the Silence," delivered April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church, New York City.
Shane Claiborne is a Red Letter Christian, a Sojourners/Call to Renewal board member, author of The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, and a founding partner of The Simple Way Community, a radical faith community that lives among and serves the homeless in Kensington, North Philadelphia. This story is one of many that will appear in Jesus For President, a book Shane and some friends are working on that will come out in the spring of 2008 with Zondervan.
Tuesday evening, President Bush will deliver his State of the Union speech. He is expected to address challenges and policy proposals facing our country. Here is what I would like to hear the president say:
I have a vision for the United States of America this evening. It is an America safe and secure, at peace with our neighbors in the world community. An America where every person able to work is productively working and able to support a family while building assets for their future. An America where every person has access to affordable healthcare, a secure roof over their heads, adequate food to eat, and a quality education. An America where immigrants from other countries are welcomed in an orderly way that allows them to become productive members of our society. I also have a vision for our world. It is a world where no child dies for lack of food and medicine. A world where strong multinational institutions protect human rights and economic justice.
It's a vision first proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah:
No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity ...
While keeping that vision as our goal, this session of Congress has the opportunity to take a number of real and concrete steps toward its accomplishment.
Making work work. I applaud the House for its bipartisan vote to increase the minimum wage, and urge the Senate to quickly do the same. But that action, important though it is, is only a first step toward guaranteeing that those who are working full time are able to support their families. I believe that all those who work responsibly should have a living family income in which a combination of a family's earnings, with supports for transportation, health care, nutrition, child care, education, housing, and other basic needs together provide a decent standard of living. This requires creative thinking about work supports, as well as tax policies that reward work and family stability, ownership and asset creation, job training, and financial education. I urge Congress to appoint a bipartisan joint committee to hold hearings and recommend appropriate legislation.
Insure all our kids. The State Children's Health Insurance Program has been a remarkable success in providing health coverage to children living in poverty. The program is up for Congressional reauthorization this year, and I urge the Congress to promptly do so. But despite that success, more than 8 million children still lack insurance. The Congress should also enact the necessary legislation to expand the program so that all eligible children are covered. Ensuring quality health care for all our children is an important step toward lifting them out of poverty and to a better future. It is a significant part of the commitment I have made to reduce the number of children in poverty by half in the next 10 years. And for all Americans who need health insurance, our states are taking the lead in developing new approaches and innovative programs. We will examine those, and using the best ideas, propose a program that guarantees universal health insurance that will benefit every American.
Comprehensive immigration reform. I urge Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that is both compassionate and just. It is important to make our borders secure and enforce our nation's laws, but we should do so in humane and realistic ways. Immigration policies should establish a dignified guest worker program that can lead to citizenship. Those individuals and families who are already living in the U.S. and working hard should have the option to apply for permanent legal status and citizenship if they choose to do so, by meeting specific application criteria. We must transcend a narrow debate about walls and fences to foster better dialogue about the root causes of immigration. Comprehensive immigration reform can be pro-work and pro-family, and create opportunities to strengthen the common good of families and employers and the vitality of America.
Abortion. I support the creation of a culture of life that advances the dignity and equality of women, protects and defends the vulnerable unborn, and promotes a consistent and healthy sexual ethic, especially for teens and young adults. I therefore support approaches that reduce abortions, incorporate reasonable restrictions, and promote policies that reduce unintended pregnancies, increase adequate health care for women, and reform adoption and foster care so that they are viable options for women who want to carry children to term. There is no one solution for reducing abortions in America. Therefore, we need a strategy employing multiple approaches that results in a reasonable, comprehensive strategy to effectively lower our abortion rate. Several bills toward that end have already been introduced in Congress, and I will support these efforts.
In our world, major crises also demand our attention.
The war in Iraq. After nearly four years of war, the violence in Iraq is increasing rather than decreasing. Rather than an escalated war with additional troops, I will accept the recommendation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, and begin "new and enhanced diplomatic and political efforts … that will enable the United States to begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly." As a first step, I pledge that there will be no permanent American military bases in Iraq, the U.S. will make no unique claim on Iraqi oil, and that we will substantially fund the re-building of Iraq, working with the international community. I will ask Secretary-General Ban and the U.N. Security Council to convene a conference of all countries in the region, specifically including Iran and Syria, to agree on measures to stabilize Iraq's political and security future. The war should never have been started, and it has gone on long enough. We must find a way to reverse course.
Genocide in Darfur. Here too, violence increases as hundreds of thousands of people have been massacred and millions more turned into refugees. Only a large and strong multi-national peacekeeping force, with the authority (in the words of the U.N. Security Council) "to use all necessary means … to prevent attacks and threats against civilians," will end the genocide. I will ask the Secretary of State to apply the maximum possible political and diplomatic pressure to force Sudan to accept such a force, including gaining the cooperation of other key Security Council nations. We will take strong economic action against Sudan and personally against top government officials, including initiating and rigorously enforcing sanctions. If necessary, we will discuss with the Security Council stronger actions that could include a no-fly zone over Darfur and a possible naval blockade. Enough is enough – if the government of Sudan will not stop the killing, we will lead the international community in doing so.
Iran. I will continue to work to ensure that Iran does not produce nuclear weapons. As a first step toward that objective, I pledge my opposition to all efforts to build and test new nuclear weapons for the U.S. arsenal. It is time to lead by example. If we are to stop other countries from securing these terrible weapons, we must live up to our own non-proliferation obligations. I will continue to cooperate with European countries and international agencies in multilateral talks with Iran, but I will also instruct the Secretary of State to work to begin direct U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran without preconditions. We can negotiate with Iran on a mutually acceptable settlement of the nuclear standoff while making it clear that Americans absolutely reject anti-Semitism and threats against Israel. We will seriously and persistently apply strategic combinations of pressures and incentives, beginning with direct negotiations.
Foreign aid. We must honor our commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (addressing poverty and hunger; education; gender equality; child mortality; maternal health; HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; environmental sustainability; and increasing effective aid, debt cancellation, and just trade policies). I urge the Congress in this year's budget to increase U.S. international development assistance by an additional one percent of the federal budget in order to do our part in the goal of reducing global poverty in half by 2015.
In all of these areas, we need a new politics inspired by our most deeply held values. We must summon the best in the American people, and unite to solve some of the moral issues of our time. Americans are not essentially concerned about what is liberal or conservative; what is Democrat or Republican. Rather, we care about what is right and what works. The path of partisan division is well worn, but the road of compassionate priorities and social justice will lead us to a new America. Building that new America will require greater moral leadership from both Democrats and Republicans, and also from each and every one of us.
Thank you, and God bless you.
What are your thoughts? Which issue facing us do you think is the biggest one the president and Congress should address?
The latest news on Iran, health insurance, State of the Union, Senate-Iraq, global warming, abortion, campaign finance, immigration, wages and profits, Evangelicals, and sports history.
State of the Union.Bush speech faces obstacle course - "Planning a State of the Union address Tuesday night heavy on health care, energy and education, President Bush will attempt to get beyond a raging debate over the war in Iraq as he faces a new Democratic-controlled Congress for the first time." Bush To Face Skeptical Congress - "President Bush plans to reach out to the opposition in his State of the Union address with new and recycled proposals on health care, energy, immigration and education, but the uproar over his decision to send more U.S. troops to Iraq has eclipsed potential consensus on domestic policy." President's speech will stay close to home - "As President Bush prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address to a Democratic-controlled Congress, he may be at the lowest point in his six-year presidency. Yet on domestic policy, at least, the president may have an opportunity to revive his fortunes on several fronts, including healthcare, immigration and energy policy."
Senate-Iraq.Key Republican Senator Offers Bipartisan Call to Reject Bush Plan for More Troops in Iraq - "Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, one of Congress's leading authorities on the military, presented a bipartisan proposal on Monday that soundly rejected President Bush's plan to send more American troops to Baghdad and urged the administration to find a new course in Iraq." Warner Backs Resolution Opposing Troop Increase - "Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, endorsed a new resolution opposing President Bush's buildup of troops in Baghdad, as even some of the most loyal Republicans scrambled to register their concerns and distance themselves from an unpopular policy." Warner bill hits Bush's troop surge - "Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia and other Republicans publicly offered a resolution condemning President Bush's proposal to send more troops to Iraq."
Global warming.Internal Rifts Cloud Democrats' Opportunity on Warming - "The House Democrats had not quite finished their "100 hours" agenda when they met in the Capitol basement Thursday morning, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) was already looking ahead. As her colleagues ate bagels and turkey sausage, she warned that their next challenge would be a lot tougher than popular issues such as student loans and ethics reforms. For her next act, she planned to take on global warming..."
Health insurance.Bush wants states to plan coverage of uninsured - "President Bush's top healthcare official proposed a strategy for covering the uninsured that would offer incentives to each state to develop its own plan for expanding access, but stopped short of guaranteeing universal protection."
Abortion.Abortion Foes to Renew Efforts - "Tens of thousands of abortion opponents marched through melting snow on the Mall yesterday and vowed to work harder -- since Democrats have taken control of the Capitol -- to overturn the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in 1973." Pro-lifers march by the thousands - "Tens of thousands of people converged on the District to participate in the March for Life and to attend Masses in recognition of the 34th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in the Roe v. Wade case."
Iran.Iran Bars Inspectors; Cleric Criticizes President - "Iran is barring 38 nuclear agency inspectors from entering the country in retaliation for a United Nations resolution aiming to curb Iran's nuclear program, a senior Iranian lawmaker said Monday. The announcement came only days after Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, Iran's most senior dissident cleric, criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's defiant stance against the West on the nuclear issue …"
Campaign finance.Death Knell May Be Near for Public Election Funds- "The public financing system for presidential campaigns, a post-Watergate initiative hailed for decades as the best way to rid politics of the corrupting influence of money, may have quietly died over the weekend. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York became the first candidate since the program began in 1976 to forgo public financing for both the primary and the general election because of the spending limits that come with the federal money."
Immigration.Labor Groups, Business Seek Immigration Law Overhaul - "Worried that surprise raids are driving away workers who are their lifeblood, businesses are pooling their money and joining unusually broad alliances that include labor unions and civil rights groups to push Congress to overhaul the nation's immigration laws. The coalition Alliance for Immigration Reform 2007 announced its formation this week, placing the force of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Service Employees International Union and the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group behind a unified lobbying effort to get a law passed before the politics of the 2008 presidential campaign make a compromise on the contentious issue unworkable."
Wages & profits.Disparity in wages, profits widening - "workers are struggling to keep pace with growing U.S. economic wealth. Company profits as a percentage of gross domestic product are at a 40- year high, rising to 12 percent in the third quarter from 7 percent five years ago. Wages and salaries fell to 45 percent from 49 percent, government data show."
Evangelicals.Can the 'E-word' be saved? - "Who's an evangelical? Until last year the answer seemed clear: Evangelical was the label of choice of Christians with conservative views on politics, economics and Biblical morality. Now the word may be losing its moorings, sliding toward the same linguistic demise that "fundamentalist" met decades ago because it has been misunderstood, misappropriated and maligned."
Sports history.Black coaches open up the field - "For all his years in the game of football, Al Lavan struggles to describe the emotions of the past couple of days. Lavan spent almost two decades as an assistant coach in the National Football League, starting in the mid-1970s as one of the few African Americans in the professional ranks. On Sunday afternoon, he watched the NFL playoffs at home in Delaware and rooted not for the teams but for their coaches - Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts. The 70-year-old Lavan found himself yelling at the television screen as Smith and then Dungy became the first African Americans to guide their squads into the Super Bowl. "It was like 30 years of emotion," Lavan said. "I looked over at my wife and she was crying." From pro football down through college, all the way to high school fields, Sunday's watershed moment reverberated across a nation of black coaches who say they are still fighting for equal opportunity."
Jesus took the command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and pushed the definition of who is our neighbor, out, out, and still further out, until it reached to the ends of the earth and included all of humanity - all of God’s children.
A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear the Lord, on those who hope in the Lord's steadfast love.
A new poll suggests that fully 60 percent of white evangelical voters now oppose sending more troops to Iraq. That can be nothing but good news for those who seek to take seriously the teachings of Jesus (though one wonders about the remaining 40 percent). Why the sudden turnabout – especially since white evangelicals overwhelmingly supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the progenitor of the Iraq deception, George W. Bush, during the presidential election the following year?
Anyone who seeks to apply generalizations to the internally diverse movement that is American evangelicalism will come away frustrated. Still, it may be instructive to speculate on this dramatic change of heart.
We should point out, first of all, that white evangelicals are not alone in their disaffection with the war and, more generally, with the present administration. Some of this can be chalked up to the predictable cycle of presidential politics; most presidents encounter a dip in popularity midway through their second terms. Besides, who isn't beginning to tire of this administration's litany of deceptions and prevarications?
Still, the disillusionment with the war, according to this same survey, is slightly more pervasive among white evangelicals than it is even among self-described conservatives (52 percent). This suggests that there may finally be an awakening of conscience among American evangelicals.
It's about time. For centuries Christians have talked about the phenomenon of a "just war," and various criteria have been established to determine whether or not military action is morally justified. Is it a defensive war, for instance? Is the deployment of military forces the last resort? Has every alternative been exhausted? Is the use of force roughly proportional to the (supposed) provocation? Have provisions been taken, as much as possible, to protect civilians from collateral damage?
No one has yet persuaded me that the invasion of Iraq meets any of these criteria.
The other factor that may explain this shift in attitudes about the war may be wishful thinking on my part, but I'd like to believe that evangelicals are reconsidering what it means to be truly "pro-life." It's one thing to construct a moral case against abortion (a case with which I generally sympathize), but if those scruples have no bearing on your attitudes toward war or capital punishment or torture, then it amounts to little more than, to use St. Paul's phrase, "a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal."
(In the course of writing "Thy Kingdom Come," I asked eight Religious Right groups to send me a copy of their organization's position on the use of torture. Only two responded, and both supported the Bush administration's policies on torture!)
At the very least, these survey results suggest that the stranglehold that leaders of the Religious Right have held over America's evangelicals is beginning to loosen. As evangelicals continue to think more critically, and to reclaim their birthright as people of the Book, they are increasingly calling into question the "orthodoxies" of the Religious Right – the opposition to environmental protection, the (at least tacit) support for torture, and the morality of the war in Iraq.
The latest news on presidential politics, State of the Union, Iraq, Democrats, Abortion, Iran, Darfur, Baptists, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, religion and politics, and select feature articles.
Presidential politics.Rush of Entries Gives '08 Race Early Intensity- "Two years before the next president is inaugurated and a full year before the first vote is cast, the contest for the White House is off to a breathtakingly fast start, exposing an ever-growing field of candidates to longer, more intensive scrutiny and increasing the amount of money they need to remain viable." Conservative core seeks a contender - "But as conservatives survey the 2008 field - and, particularly, the early Republican front-runners - many are despairing. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani have all broken with conservative orthodoxy at one time or another. Many activists have neither forgiven nor forgotten." On the Electronic Campaign Trail - "If last year was the year of the rogue videographers, the already-underway 2008 presidential campaign is likely to be remembered as the point where Web video became central to the communications strategy of every serious presidential candidate.
More announcements. Brownback Announces Presidential Bid - "Sen. Sam Brownback, the son of a rural Kansas farmer who has become a leader among religious conservatives in Congress, formally launched his 2008 bid for president at a rally in Topeka yesterday."
Hillary Clinton Opens Presidential Bid- "New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton launched a long-anticipated 2008 presidential campaign that could make her the first female president in the nation's history and the only former first lady to follow her husband in the White House." N.M. Governor Joins Presidential Race - "New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson began a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, betting that his long résumé and Hispanic heritage will boost his chances in a field already stocked with better-known candidates."
Democrats.Emerging Grievances Within Party Likely to Test Pelosi - "Beneath the resounding Democratic victories of the past two weeks, tensions have been growing between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and many new committee chairmen and other members over her aggressive management style and her approach to the war, according to lawmakers and advisers." GOP seizes on dissent in majority - "House Republicans have been quoting some unlikely allies when complaining about the methods used by the new Democratic majority -- Democratic leaders."
State of the Union. Bush set to tackle global warming - "President Bush this week is prepared to unveil what his aides have billed as a bold new national strategy to confront global climate change and work toward energy independence, even as Democrats push their own, more aggressive approach to the issue." Bush to Urge New Tax Plan for Health Care Coverage- "President Bush intends to use his State of the Union address Tuesday to tackle the rising cost of health care with a one-two punch: tax breaks to help low-income people buy health insurance and tax increases for some workers whose health plans cost significantly more than the national average." Universal Health Coverage Attracts New Support - "this time, advocates hope, the political climate is right for the best ideas to grow, in large part because many business groups that opposed earlier efforts now agree that rising health-care costs and increasingly tougher access to insurance are unsustainable trends."
Abortion. Democrats Seek to Avert Abortion Clashes - "Democrats are seeking to reach these "abortion grays" through their own legislative proposals, all focused on preventing unwanted pregnancies. The initiatives, including several in development for more than a year, represent an attempt to broaden the discussion beyond the traditional framework of whether abortion should be legal."
Iraq.U.S. Toll in Iraq Is 27 for Deadly Weekend - "The United States military said that two marines died Sunday in western Iraq and that an additional seven service members died Saturday. The deaths brought the weekend toll to 27 and made Saturday the third-deadliest day for United States forces since the war here began." U.S. troops' deadly weekend- "The bulk of the U.S. deaths Saturday came in the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter northeast of Baghdad. Twelve soldiers were killed. U.S. officials have not announced the cause of the crash."
Iran.Leading Senator Assails President Over Iran Stance- "The new chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Friday sharply criticized the Bush administration's increasingly combative stance toward Iran, saying that White House efforts to portray it as a growing threat are uncomfortably reminiscent of rhetoric about Iraq before the American invasion of 2003." Iran president defiant in face of critical MPs - "The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, defied his domestic critics yesterday by vowing not to retreat from his nuclear and economic policies despite growing pressure."
Darfur.Aid groups pull out of Darfur refugee camp after rape - "Aid groups have suspended operations in Darfur and may pull out of the Sudanese province after a French relief worker was raped, another sexually assaulted and an Oxfam employee was severely beaten at the world's largest refugee camp."
Baptists.Carter, Clinton Seek To Bring Together Moderate Baptists- "Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are leading an effort to forge dozens of small and medium-size, black and white Baptist organizations into a robust coalition that would serve as a counterweight to the conservative Southern Baptist Convention."
Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Pastor's message inspires Obama's 'audacity to hope'- "During his 34 years in the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. has inspired rap lyrics, a presidential hopeful and an entire South Side congregation."
Religion and politics.The religious test - "The Constitution forbids it, but political reality is another thing. John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, passed it. Mitt Romney, who is Mormon, will have to as well. Polls show that even today, a candidate's faith matters. How the prospective presidential contender handles it, however, is what counts."
Feature.Uncommon bonds | Can the glue of economic populism hold the Democrats' unlikely new majority together? - "As the business of Congress moves into more divisive territory, it will be up to the Democratic leadership to find out what really unites them. One answer that's been offered by commentators across the political spectrum -- especially in reference to the new crop of Democrats in Congress -- is so-called "economic populism," or what New York Times columnist David Brooks has called "factory-floor populism."
Thirty-four years ago today, on January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade, arguing that most abortion laws violate the constitutional right to privacy.
Waking up on this icy morning in Virginia, I might have forgotten the anniversary if not for the little map on page B4 (Metro section) of The Washington Post, outlining the route for the yearly "March for Life" protest. Page B4? There was a religion piece on the front page of today's Post: a story about Christian dieting. The diet feature began with a Baptist pastor preaching ethics to his congregation: "About 40 percent of you need to lose weight. When you love potluck more than God, it's serious."
No doubt some will accuse the Post of "liberal bias" by ignoring Roe vs. Wade and by making Christians look ridiculous by reporting on the Web site "FatFree4Jesus.org." But I think that the Post's choice of these two stories is indicative of something beside liberal bias. It reflects the failure of the Christian community to understand abortion in the context of theology and practice – and the equal failure of Christians in accepting the secular framing of abortion ethics.
To commemorate the day, I decided to re-read some Stanley Hauerwas (Duke Divinity School ethicist) essays on abortion. After spending Monday morning with Stanley, it is difficult to fault the Post for not carrying a story about Roe vs. Wade. As Hauerwas noted in 1981, "Essays of the morality of abortion, whether they be anti or pro, have begun to take on a ritualistic form. Each side knows the arguments and counterarguments well, but they continue to go through the motions. Neither side seems to have much hope of convincing the other."
Even though Hauerwas wrote those words 26 years ago, nothing much has changed. Like the editors of the Post, I can hardly imagine what "news" might come from yet another "March for Life." Protesters and counter-protesters yelling at each other – the same "pro-life" and "pro-choice" arguments they have been shouting since 1973. A very stale ritual. No wonder most Americans sigh, turning a deaf ear to what seems a political and social stalemate.
But, for Christians, abortion remains an important ethical issue, one that is surprisingly difficult because we have given up the theological dimensions of the discussion in favor of those two ritualized (and politicized) positions. I can relate to the words of Presbyterian minister, Rev. Terry Hamilton-Poor: "I believe that it is essential that the church face the issue of abortion in a distinctly Christian manner." She continues, "I believe that the issue, for the church, must be framed not around the banners of 'pro-choice' or 'pro-life,' but around God's call to care for the least among us whom Jesus calls his sisters and brothers."
Stanley Hauerwas framed his seminal 1991 essay "Abortion: Theologically Understood" with Ms. Hamilton-Poor's sermon. From the starting point of "the least among us," Hauerwas reflected on the responsibilities of Christian discipleship, the language of abortion, and baptism as it relates to the church as family.
Nowhere, however, is Hauerwas more provocative than in debunking both "pro-life" and "pro-choice" positions. He reminds pro-lifers: "Christians do not believe life is sacred." Indeed, he points out, "Christians took their children with them to martyrdom . . . Christians believe there is much worth dying for. We do not believe that human life is an absolute good in and of itself" (Pope John Paul II also made this point in Evangelium Vitae). As for "pro-choice" advocates, he attacks the idea that abortion is individual and private, arguing instead that Christians must embody "the kind of community" that can "sustain the practice of hospitality to life."
Finally, Hauerwas states that abortion is intrinsically linked to Christian sexual ethics: "The church has to make it clear that sexual relations are relations of power." From that perspective, he states that abortion is not primarily a women's issue. Rather, abortion starts with male sexual promiscuity, "nothing but the exercise of reckless power." He claims that until the church clearly addresses male sexuality, which it appears loath to do, Christians will continue to misunderstand the ethical dimensions of abortion and its proper theological context. Male promiscuity, an expression of sexual power, victimizes both women and children.
On this January 22, I am reminded that the Christian community has, for the most part, failed regarding abortion. Certainly, there are isolated examples of Christian care for the least when it comes to abortion. For the most part, however, we have given in to slogans and untenable philosophies. We do not bear transformative witness of hospitality to the "least of these" or prophetically challenge the disordered "relations of power" that plague our lives, churches, and society. Until we live in hospitality and justice, the world will continue to ignore abortion – thinking instead that Christians are more concerned with the ethics of potlucks than with the oppressed and powerless.
I was recently interviewed by a "secular" journalist who had read some of my books. He said, "Your religion doesn't seem to keep you constantly dividing the world into us and them, in and out, good and bad. Is that legitimate, or is that compromise?"
I explained that as a follower of God in the way of Jesus, I am taught to see every person as my neighbor. The first thing I think upon meeting someone is not, "I wonder if she's a Christian?" but "This is my neighbor. This is a beautiful person, a bearer of the image of God, someone I have the opportunity to know and appreciate and perhaps even serve in some way." Seeing others this way isn't a compromise of my Christian commitment; it's an expression of it, I explained.
The reporter responded humorously, "What good is being religious if you can't feel superior to anybody?" We both laughed, but after the interview, I couldn't stop thinking about the serious point conveyed by his ironic comment.
What is religion for? Is it for creating an in-group that feels superior? Or is it for turning us into neighbors who want to appreciate, love, and serve one another?
Of course next to nobody would ever say overtly that the purpose of their religion is to feel superior. In fact, it just struck me that at this very moment, my act of writing, and your act of reading, could turn us into a kind of elite "in-group" who share the superiority of having one kind of religion over another.
The danger of in-grouping and out-grouping is, I think, subtle, inescapable, and universal, whatever the religion (or irreligion, or political party, or ideology) one holds. No wonder Jesus said, "A tree is known by its fruit;" Paul said, "If I don't have love, I'm nothing;" James said, "Faith without works is dead;" and John said, "Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother."
Last time I checked, three of the top 10 "religious" books were in praise of atheism and against religion in all its forms. In these times of snarky religious cold wars in some quarters and hot religious violence in others, I'm not surprised. Those of us who see religion in a different light – who see religion as a powerful motivation to care for the widow and orphan, to seek justice and peace, to love our neighbors and our enemies – shouldn't feel superior, but we should keep practicing, and preaching, with humility and focus. It's so easy to get distracted, and a lot is at stake.
Brian McLaren (brianmclaren.net) is an author, speaker, Red Letter Christian, and serves as board chair for Sojourners/Call to Renewal. His most recent book is The Secret Message of Jesus, and his next book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope, will be released later this year.
The only purpose of the gospel is to reconcile people to God and to each other. A gospel that doesn't reconcile is not a Christian gospel at all. But in America, it seems as if we don't believe that. We don't really believe that the proof of our discipleship is that we love one another (see John 13:35). No, we think the proof is in numbers ... Even if our "converts" continue to hate each other, even if they will not worship with their brothers and sisters in Christ, we point to their "conversion" as evidence of the gospel's success. We have substituted a gospel of church growth for a gospel of reconciliation.
Jim Wallis is no stranger to The O'Reilly Factor, having appeared on the show several times over the past few years. Jim will be the first to tell you, you need to be on your toes and stand your ground.
Well, last night Bill O'Reilly bravely entered the domain of his satirical doppelgänger Stephen Colbert and got a heaping helping of his own medicine. (There was the occasional spoonful of sugar from Colbert: "Folks, we are ready to rumble. And by rumble I mean a friendly conversation between peers who respect each other and agree on everything.") Let's just say "Papa Bear" Bill O'Reilly was at least 30% off his game - watch the clip for why that's funny. Best lines:
Colbert: Let's educate the people. What is the culture war, and why is it so important?
O'Reilly: Well, the culture war is between secular progressives like yourself –
Colbert: – I am not a secular progressive, sir. I'm a deeply religious man who will do anything you say.
. . .
O'Reilly: I'm not a tough guy – this is all an act.
Colbert: You're breaking my heart, Bill.
O'Reilly: I'm sensitive –
Colbert: – If you're an act, what am I?
Watch it (WARNING: This clip contains a shamelessly retouched photo of O'Reilly as a "San Francisco secular progressive" ):
Colbert: I do my show a half-hour a night, four nights a week. I haven't seen my kids for 18 months and I'm losing calcium in my bones. Doctors say I should stop--I'm not gonna. Okay. You go five nights a week, an hour a night, plus the radio Factor, Bill. What are you on? What gives you the strength? Jesus Christ, or Pat Robertson's protein shakes?
Congress.After 42 Hours (or So), House Democrats Complete 100-Hour Push - "House Democrats met the goals of their 100-hour legislative offensive with plenty of time to spare, claiming that their successes proved they could govern." Congress is off to a bipartisan start, but tougher tests lie ahead - "After a bitterly fought midterm election, Democrats controlling the new Congress pledged to transcend partisanship and tackle the big problems that concern Americans. Then, something happened that neither Washington insiders nor, probably, even the voters expected: Lawmakers began acting as if they meant it." House Democrats take on global warming, oil issues - "As the House's new Democratic majority celebrated the completion of their populist 100-hour agenda, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) unveiled the party's next legislative target: an ambitious plan to wean the U.S. from foreign oil and slow global warming."
Senate ethics bill.Senate Passes Ethics Package - "Senate Democrats and Republicans broke a difficult stalemate last night and approved 96 to 2 expansive legislation to curtail the influence of lobbyists, tighten congressional ethics rules and prevent the spouses of senators from lobbying senators and their staffs." Senate approves major overhaul of ethics rules - "The legislation is aimed at reining in the influence of special interests by forbidding lobbyists and their employers from buying meals and gifts for lawmakers and paying for their junkets." Senate Passes Vast Ethics Overhaul- "The Senate overwhelmingly passed sweeping changes to ethics and lobbying rules, overcoming bipartisan reluctance to ban many of the favors that lobbyists do for lawmakers and to illuminate the shadowy legislative practice of earmarking money for special projects."
Iraq.Ambush Kills an American Teaching Democracy to Iraqis- "An American woman killed here on Wednesday when gunmen fired on her convoy of vehicles was ambushed just minutes after leaving the headquarters of a prominent Sunni Arab political party, where she had been teaching a class on democracy," Perry grad killed in Iraq praised for her passion- "Perry- Lake County native Andrea "Andi" Parhamovich died doing what she loved most - helping other people. Parhamovich, 28, who worked for the Washington-based National Democratic Institute on International Affairs, was killed in an ambush in Baghdad, Iraq."
Mahdi militia under siege in Sadr City- "Mahdi Army fighters said yesterday they were under siege in their Sadr City stronghold as U.S. and Iraqi troops killed or seized key commanders in nighttime raids. By Steven R. HurstMahdi Army fighters said yesterday they were under siege in their Sadr City stronghold as U.S. and Iraqi troops killed or seized key commanders in nighttime raids." Sadr fears for life in security crackdown - "Moqtada al-Sadr has moved his family to a secure location because of fears he will become the target of a security sweep of Baghdad,"
Iraq war cost to hit $8.4 billion a month - "The steadily rising cost of the Iraq war will reach about $8.4 billion a month this year, Pentagon spokesmen said Thursday, as the price of replacing lost, destroyed and aging equipment mounts … When U.S. combat costs in Afghanistan are factored in, the Pentagon will spend about $9.7 billion a month during the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. Since fiscal 2001, Congress has approved $503 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other aspects of the U.S. "global war on terrorism," Partisan collision nears on Iraq plan - "President Bush's confrontation with the Democratic-controlled Congress over Iraq is likely to worsen in coming months as Democrats pursue caps on troop levels and legislation denying funds for escalating the conflict while demanding that Iraq curb its sectarian violence." Retired Generals Criticize Bush's Plan for Iraq - "A panel of retired generals told a Senate committee that sending 21,500 additional troops to Iraq will do little to solve the underlying political problems in the country."
Military planners in Iraq may soon be seeing 'red' - "The U.S. military has sent to Iraq a five-person team of dedicated skeptics, known in military jargon as a "red team." In a war known for its missteps and unanticipated results, the team will be assigned to review, and question, military operations."
Iran.Rebuke in Iran to Its President on Nuclear Role- "Iran's outspoken president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appears to be under pressure from the highest authorities in Iran to end his involvement in its nuclear program, a sign that his political capital is declining as his country comes under increasing international pressure." Iran's president spurns critics, UN on nuclear work - "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed back over the US military buildup in the Gulf, saying yesterday that Iran is ready for any possibility in the standoff over its nuclear program. The president made clear he was not backing down in his tough rhetoric toward the United States, despite criticism at home."
US pushes for Middle East peace - "The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, will attempt to inject impetus into the drive for an Israeli-Palestine peace settlement by convening a meeting of the Quartet of Middle East negotiators early next month, for the first time for almost six months." Analysis: Rice Highlights Opportunities After Setbacks On Mideast Trip - "Rice told reporters traveling with her that, despite the day-to-day headaches and setbacks, she thinks that conditions are right now for a fundamental reordering of the Middle East."
Global health.Huge cut in measles deaths - "Measles deaths have been slashed by more than half by a concerted campaign that was hailed as a triumph for global public health and could pave the way for eradication of one of the world's most infectious diseases. … Africa, where children are most prone to die when they catch measles because of poor nutrition and other infections including HIV, has led the way, with a 75% drop in deaths." Groups Make Headway in Fight Against Measles - "A partnership of international health organizations said that it will seek to reduce the global death toll from measles to less than 10 percent of its 2000 level by 2010, spurred in part by bigger-than-expected gains against the disease in the past five years."
Health insurance.Groups Offer Health Plan for Coverage of Uninsured - "A broad coalition of business and consumer groups, doctors, hospitals and drug companies laid out a major proposal on to provide health coverage to more than half of the nation's 47 million uninsured by expanding federal benefit programs and offering new tax credits to individuals and families."
Op-Ed
Abortion's elusive middle ground (Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe)- "It's not an accident that one of the first bills in the Senate with a new Democratic majority was the Prevention First Act, a wide-ranging family planning initiative. Rep resentative Louise Slaughter of New York will follow next week with a similar bill described in one mouthful as a "bipartisan, bicameral, pro choice, pro life innovative approach to reducing unintended pregnancies." Then Representatives Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Tim Ryan of Ohio , a pro choice-pro life duo, will reintroduce an omnibus family planning and support bill with the lumbering title, "The Reducing the Need for Abortions and Supporting Parents Act."
We can never have enough of nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and titanic features, the sea-coast with its wrecks, the wilderness with its living and its decaying trees, the thunder cloud, and the rain which lasts three weeks and produces freshets. We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander.
- Henry David Thoreau Source: "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau.
Praise the Lord with the lyre; make melody to [God] with the harp of ten strings. Sing to [the Lord] a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the Lord is upright, and all [God's] work is done in faithfulness. [God] loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
The genocide in Darfur continues to weigh heavily on my heart. After months and months of talk, it is increasingly clear that there are no real strategies for peace among any of the major players.
Last week, there was a glimmer of hope when New Mexico's governor, Bill Richardson, visited Khartoum on a trip sponsored by the Save Darfur Coalition. In a meeting with President al-Bashir, Richardson was able to secure his agreement to a 60-day cease-fire, which is intended to stop the violence in the short term and create a window for further negotiation. And while al-Bashir remained unmoved in his objection to the U.N. peacekeeping force authorized in August of last year, there were some indications he might allow U.N. personnel and equipment. Richardson also reported that al-Bashir is aware of, and deeply affected by, his unfavorable international reputation. This is a testimony to the reach and influence of the growing grassroots movement to end the genocide.
The cease-fire was welcomed by many, including the World Evangelical Association, whose International Director Geoff Tunnicliffe said, "We applaud this significant step toward peace in Darfur. We truly hope this process will lead to end the suffering of the people in Darfur." That is what we all hope and pray. But only a few days later, news stories reported that the Darfur rebels say the Sudanese government has bombed their area despite the truce, although the report was denied by the government.
And, yesterday in Nairobi, ]13 U.N. humanitarian agencies released a Joint Statement on Darfur. They noted:
Access to people in need in December 2006 was the worst since April 2004. The repeated military attacks, shifting frontlines, and fragmentation of armed groups compromise safe humanitarian access and further victimize civilians who have borne the brunt of this protracted conflict. In the last six months alone, more than 250,000 people have been displaced by fighting, many of them fleeing for the second or third time. Villages have been burnt, looted and arbitrarily bombed and crops and livestock destroyed. Sexual violence against women is occurring at alarming rates. This situation is unacceptable. Nor can we accept the violence increasingly directed against humanitarian workers. Twelve relief workers have been killed in the past six months – more than in the previous two years combined.
The statement concluded:
If this situation continues, the humanitarian operation and welfare of the population it aims to support will be irreversibly jeopardised. ... The humanitarian community cannot indefinitely assure the survival of the population ...
Just before Christmas, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention and I met with Bobby Pittman, the National Security Council's director for African affairs, on behalf of Evangelicals for Darfur. Mr. Pittman was positive and responsive as we urged that the administration move quickly from words to strong, real, action. He assured us of the president's commitment on this issue, and readily agreed that much more needs to be done. We then discussed a series of strong steps: Maximum political and diplomatic pressure should be used to force Sudan to accept additional peacekeepers. Efforts to secure the cooperation of other key National Security Council nations must be increased. Strong actions should be taken against Sudan, including rigorously enforcing sanctions, and targeting sanctions against top government officials. Stronger actions could include a no-fly zone over Darfur and a possible naval blockade. We had complete agreement that only a large and strong multi-national peacekeeping force, with the authority to use "all necessary means," would suffice to end the genocide in Darfur – and that Sudan must be compelled to accept it.
We stressed the importance of making Darfur primary in the president's State of the Union address, with clear words about what we – and the world – will DO in the face of Sudanese intransigence. Deadlines have come and gone, with no real change. The State of the Union should mark the moment for the kind of commitment that is necessary to save Darfur. Next Tuesday, as President Bush delivers his speech, I will be listening for action. For God's sake, save Darfur.
The latest news on wiretapping, student loans, Iraq, public opinion, GI opposition, ethics legislation, climate change, death penalty, Colombia, globalization, and select Op-Eds.
Wiretapping.Court to Oversee U.S. Wiretapping in Terror Cases- "The Bush administration, in a surprise reversal, said that it had agreed to give a secret court jurisdiction over the National Security Agency's wiretapping program and would end its practice of eavesdropping without warrants on Americans suspected of ties to terrorists." Court Will Oversee Wiretap Program - "The Bush administration said that it has agreed to disband a controversial warrantless surveillance program run by the National Security Agency, replacing it with a new effort that will be overseen by the secret court that governs clandestine spying in the United States." News Analysis: White House Retreats Under Pressure - "But facing no new attack to justify emergency measures, as well as a series of losses in the courts and finally the Democratic sweep of the November election, Mr. Bush has had to retreat across the board."
Student loans.House Votes to Reduce Rates on Student Loans - "The House overwhelmingly approved a bill that is designed to cut interest rates on college loans, creating a plan that potentially could save students $2,300 over the course of a loan." House passes student-loan interest bill - "the House measure, passed 356 to 71, applies to the 5.5 million subsidized Stafford loans given each year to students whose families earn $26,000 to $68,000 annually, but would not increase Pell Grants or student tax credits."
Iraq.Shiite Fighters Arrested in Crackdown, Iraq Says- "Facing intense pressure from the Bush administration to show progress in securing Iraq, senior Iraqi officials announced that they had moved against the country's most powerful Shiite militia, arresting several dozen senior members in the past few weeks." Maliki Stresses Urgency In Arming Iraqi Forces - "The Iraqi government's need for American troops would "dramatically go down" in three to six months if the United States accelerated the process of equipping and arming Iraq's security forces."
Iraq-Senate.Measure in Senate Urges No Troop Rise in Iraq- "The Senate set the stage for a direct clash with President Bush over the war, with two senior Democrats and a prominent Republican introducing a symbolic measure to declare that the administration's plan to send additional troops to Iraq runs counter to the national interest." Bipartisan Senate Measure Confronts Bush Over Iraq - "A bipartisan group of senators announced a formal resolution of opposition yesterday to President Bush's buildup of troops in Iraq," Iraq resolution may expose Republican divide - "A Democratic resolution on Iraq has attracted the support of at least two Republicans and is exposing fissures within the GOP over the unpopular war." Congress unleashes antiwar proposals - "it marks the leading edge of a rapidly expanding legislative front that will confront Bush as he tries to chart a new Iraq policy." After Iraq Trip, Clinton Proposes War LimitsSenator Hillary Rodham Clinton called President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq "a losing strategy" and proposed placing new limits on the White House's conduct of the war. Sen. Clinton takes offensive on war For Clinton, widely considered to be at the top of the list of potential Democratic presidential nominees in 2008, the conflict in Iraq is proving to be a tightrope walk of the highest order.
Public opinion.Poll: Most oppose troop buildup - "A strong majority of Americans opposes President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq, and about half of the country wants Congress to block the deployment," McCain's war stance alienates many - "Sen. John McCain's vocal support for sending more U.S. troops to Iraq has set him apart from most of the emerging crop of major presidential contenders. And that position could harm his political prospects."
GI opposition.Officer facing court-martial denounces war - "The nation's first Army officer to refuse deployment to Iraq urged the public in a statement to "stop the war so that the death and sacrifices of American soldiers will not be in vain" after a major legal setback in his court-martial proceedings."
Ethics legislation.Republicans Halt Ethics Legislation - "Senate Republicans scuttled broad legislation last night to curtail lobbyists' influence and tighten congressional ethics rules, refusing to let the bill pass without a vote on an unrelated measure that would give President Bush virtual line-item-veto power." Quarrel Stalls Movement of Ethics Bill in Senate- "A proposed ethics overhaul collapsed when a procedural question turned into a feud between the Democratic and Republican leaders."
Climate change.Bills on Climate Move to Spotlight in New Congress - "Legislation to control global warming that once had a passionate but quixotic ring to it is now serious business. Congressional Democrats are increasingly determined to wrest control of the issue from the White House and impose the mandatory controls on carbon dioxide emissions that most smokestack industries have long opposed."
Death penalty.High Court Hears 3 Death Penalty Cases - "It was death penalty day yesterday at the Supreme Court … The court heard three death penalty cases from Texas even as executions are on hold in an increasing number of states, from Maryland to California, and as the number of new death sentences continues to fall." Justices Scrutinize Death Penalty in Texas - "The Supreme Court resumed its long-running effort to monitor the use of the death penalty in Texas, hearing arguments in three cases that put the strains and internal contradictions of the court's capital punishment jurisprudence fully on display."
Colombia.Colombian militia leader confesses to massacres - "A senior commander of Colombia's rightwing militias has admitted taking part in some of the country's most grisly crimes in the first of what could become a flood of confessions from demobilised paramilitary leaders." Testimony details death squad acts in Colombia - "The testimony by Salvatore Mancuso in the northwestern city of Medellín is a key step toward clarifying and assigning blame for atrocities committed in the last two decades of Colombia's ongoing civil war between insurgents and the state."
Globalization.Brown calls for overhaul of UN, World Bank and IMF - "Urgent and far-reaching reform of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the G7 is needed to make old-fashioned international institutions fit to cope with the "seismic shifts" of globalisation, Gordon Brown said yesterday."
Op-Eds.
A New Chance for Peace? (By Jimmy Carter, The Washington Post) - "I am concerned that public discussion of my book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid" has been diverted from the book's basic proposals: that peace talks be resumed after six years of delay and that the tragic persecution of Palestinians be ended. Although most critics have not seriously disputed or even mentioned the facts and suggestions about these two issues, an apparently concerted campaign has been focused on the book's title, combined with allegations that I am anti-Israel."
Suffering binds Iraq and Darfur (David Bosco, contributing writer at Foreign Policy magazine, Los Angeles Times) - "POLLS TELL US that Americans want to be less involved in Iraq and more involved in Darfur. It's not hard to understand why. For the American public, and many of its leaders, Iraq is a tainted war without good guys. Darfur, by contrast, is a chance to save the helpless. In our minds, Iraq and Darfur seem to fit into neat categories: One is a botched war, the other is a humanitarian crisis. But the ghastly facts on the ground support no such clear distinction."
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints.
I was struck this morning by a column in The New York Times business section by David Leonhardt. He explores the question of What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy. He notes how difficult it is for us to understand so large a number, then says:
The way to come to grips with $1.2 trillion is to forget about the number itself and think instead about what you could buy with the money. When you do that, a trillion stops sounding anything like millions or billions.
For starters, $1.2 trillion would pay for an unprecedented public health campaign — a doubling of cancer research funding, treatment for every American whose diabetes or heart disease is now going unmanaged and a global immunization campaign to save millions of children's lives.
Combined, the cost of running those programs for a decade wouldn't use up even half our money pot. So we could then turn to poverty and education, starting with universal preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old child across the country. The city of New Orleans could also receive a huge increase in reconstruction funds.
The final big chunk of the money could go to national security. The recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that have not been put in place — better baggage and cargo screening, stronger measures against nuclear proliferation — could be enacted. Financing for the war in Afghanistan could be increased to beat back the Taliban's recent gains, and a peacekeeping force could put a stop to the genocide in Darfur.
All that would be one way to spend $1.2 trillion. Here would be another:
The war in Iraq.
Leonhardt says his estimate of the eventual cost of the Iraq war is conservative, noting, "I didn't even attempt to put a monetary value on the more than 3,000 American deaths in the war." And, one could add, the value of the more than 20,000 physically wounded.
Another news story in USA Today highlighted a different aspect of the war: "An experienced Navy psychologist warns that the U.S. military does not have enough mental health professionals to meet the growing number of emotionally damaged war veterans." Navy Commander Mark Russell says that "Mental health trauma is on the rise. … Training for mental health professionals is inadequate. … Staffing is down."
The war goes on; the cost in money and lives continues to grow. As I ended my last blog on Iraq, unjust wars cause massive human suffering. When will we ever learn?
Barack Obama. He sets his sights on the White House. Now the hard part. - "Sen. Barack Obama took an important formal step toward a Democratic presidential campaign that would make him the most formidable African-American candidate ever, offering a call to common purpose as a remedy to bitter partisan divisions and marking a potential turning point in the nation's race relations." Obama Jumps Into Presidential Fray - "Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, whose best-selling books and political travels generated huge pressure to run for the White House, joined a crowded Democratic field," Obama raises stakes for Democrats - "Sen. Barack Obama's decision to take the first formal step toward running for president marks an extraordinarily rapid rise in politics - and sets up a high-stakes competition for campaign money, staff and supporters with the presumed front-runner for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York." Race and Gender Make Democrats' Field Historic - "Democrats moved a step closer to what shapes up as one of the most historic and compelling contests ever for their party's presidential nomination, a study in contrasting styles and candidacies in which race and gender play central roles in the competition."
Iraq war.Bombings Kill 60 at University In Baghdad - "The coordinated detonation of two bombs during the after-school rush at a Baghdad university killed at least 60 people Tuesday and wounded more than 140 in what university officials described as one of the deadliest attacks on academia since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion." Iraqi Death Toll Exceeded 34,000 in '06, U.N. Says- "The United Nations reported that more than 34,000 Iraqis were killed in violence last year, a figure that represents the first comprehensive annual count of civilian deaths and a vivid measure of the failure of the Iraqi government and American military to provide security."
Iraq-Senate.Senators to Introduce Resolution Opposing Bush's Iraq Policy - "Senate leaders will introduce a bipartisan resolution of opposition to President Bush's new Iraq policy as early as today, taking the lead from House Democrats who are increasingly divided on how far to go to thwart additional troop deployments to Iraq." Anti-Buildup Measure to Have Bipartisan Stamp - "Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, an outspoken Republican critic of the administration's Iraq policy, will join two leading Democrats in introducing a resolution opposing President Bush's buildup of troops in Iraq, putting a bipartisan stamp on the looming Congressional showdown over the war." Democrats aim to exploit GOP split over war - "Congress is gearing up for a big vote next week to oppose President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, beginning with a nonbinding resolution that could draw strong Republican support."
Iraq-military.Military members make an antiwar plea on Capitol Hill - "President Bush's plan to send additional troops to Iraq is facing public opposition from a slice of the American population that rarely speaks out: the military rank and file. A group of service members came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday armed with signatures from more than 1,000 military personnel who oppose the war." Psychologist: Navy faces crisis - "An experienced Navy psychologist warns that the U.S. military does not have enough mental health professionals to meet the growing number of emotionally damaged war veterans. Moreover, Navy Cmdr. Mark Russell says, many of the mental health professionals on staff lack formal training in core therapies for post-traumatic stress syndrome."
Iraq-Gulf states.8 Mideast states back U.S. on Iraq - "A group of eight Middle Eastern countries joined the United States in warning against foreign interference in Iraq, marking a small step in U.S. efforts to win regional support for pacifying Iraq and resisting Iranian influence." Gulf Allies Support Goals of New U.S. Strategy in Iraq - "But even one of Washington's staunchest partners in the region, Saudi Arabia, indicated deep concerns about whether the Shiite-led government in Baghdad had the capacity and will to halt sectarian violence and protect Sunni Arabs."
Iran.Russia confirms it has delivered missile systems to Iran - "Russia said yesterday it had delivered new anti aircraft missile systems to Iran and would consider more requests from Tehran for defensive weapons, immediately drawing criticism from the United States."
Israel.Israeli General Who Led War Against Hezbollah Resigns - "The Israeli military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, submitted his resignation after facing months of fierce criticism over the military's performance in last summer's war in Lebanon." Lebanon war claims biggest scalp - "Although public protests about the handling of the war have faded in Israel, opinion polls continue to show widespread disillusionment with the government and the senior military leadership as a result of the 34-day fight with Hizbullah."
Senate-earmarks.Senate strengthens pet-project disclosure rules - "The Senate voted to shine more light on thousands of expensive pet projects buried in legislation every year after the new Democratic majority bowed to a push by Republicans to make new disclosure rules even tougher than originally planned."
Global AIDS.U.N. Says Global AIDS Effort for Children Falls Far Short - "Some countries are making progress in treating children with AIDS and preventing others from becoming infected, but the overall global response is "tragically insufficient," Uniced said yesterday."
Op-Eds.
Page: Big test for us (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune) - "Yet as much as we wait to hear what a presidential run will tell us about Obama, I expect the run to tell us even more about America. Already the national conversation about Obama has been like that surrounding no other presidential candidate that I have seen or imagined."
A New Consensus on Universal Health Care (Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post) - "There, at the National Press Club, stood the president of the Business Roundtable, representing the country's largest corporations; the president of the Service Employees International Union, the country's most vibrant union and one of its fastest-growing; and the president of AARP, the formidable seniors lobby. They put aside their usual differences to deliver a clear, simple message to President Bush and congressional leaders of both parties:We stand ready to give you the political cover you need for a centrist, bipartisan fix for a broken health-care system."
The word for peace in both Arabic (salam) and Hebrew (shalom) has the same etymological root and the same breadth of meaning: wholeness, health, safety, and security. It refers to a peace experienced and lived out in the everyday historical situation of life. Peace can be a basis or cause that leads to something else. It is either a prerequisite or a by-product.
- Naim Ateek from "Justice, and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation"
As for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause. [God] does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number. [God] gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; [and] sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in Washington, D.C., almost spring-like in the middle of January (there may be a global warming story here for another blog!). And, of course, it was the official annual celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To remember the day, and not just take a day off, our family went to the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered his best known speech, "I Have a Dream." The young Baptist minister was the closing speaker for the August 28, 1963 "March On Washington For Jobs And Freedom," as the now famous event was then called (I have a framed original poster for the March on the wall of my home study – where it looks down at me now as I write).
We went to read the speech together, as a family, and I brought along four big-print copies of one of the most significant addresses in American history. As we looked down across the reflecting pool, we could see the image of the sleek white spire of the Washington Monument glistening on the surface of the water. I pointed to both sides of the pool, beyond the trees, and all the way to the Monument, showing my son Luke where the 300,000 people stood and sat who came that day for the biggest march and rally in the nation's history up to that point in time.
With us was Luke's godfather Karl Gaspar, from the Philippines, who has labored among the poorest of the poor in his country for many decades now, and a priest colleague of his from the U.K., Peter (who was thrilled to meet my British wife Joy, known all over England as the real "Vicar of Dibley" for serving as the script consultant and role model for one of the BBC's most popular comedies).
We took turns reading a paragraph at a time, and thinking about the words as they were spoken almost 44 years ago. Luke is really into reading these days, and eagerly started us off. Jack, who is only 3 years old, also wanted a turn, so whenever we came around the circle to him, he just would say "I have a dream!" or "Let freedom ring!" The adults read in sequence, reminding us all of words we have often read before, but whose tones and nuances always take on new and deeper meaning every time they are spoken.
When we got near the end, to the "I have a dream today" refrains, Luke wanted to take over. This is his favorite part. And I confess to getting a little teary as my young son read the familiar lines with such enthusiasm: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Luke went on," Let freedom ring;" and he read with passion, "from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire … from the mighty mountains of New York … from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania … from the snow-capped Rockies … from the curvaceous slopes of California … But not only that … from Stone Mountain in Georgia … from Lookout Mountain in Tennessee … from every hill and molehill of Mississippi."
We were on a roll now, just like King was on that glorious day, and Luke concluded, "And when that happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: [we all joined in now] Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
When we finished, we got up from our little circle, climbed down the steps, took one more look at Mr. Lincoln, and headed onto the Mall to play a little football. I think we'll do it again next year. And if you didn't do it yesterday, take a moment to read the speech again – it will do you good.
The latest news on Iraq build-up and GI resistance, King holiday, Congress-domestic issues and Republicans, Iran, Middle East, marriage, and select op-eds.
King holiday.Nation pays homage to King's vision, service - "The first Martin Luther King Jr. Day since the death of King's widow and chief keeper of his civil rights dream was marked yesterday with speeches, visits to the couple's tomb, and the opening of a collection of his papers, including a draft of his "I Have a Dream" speech." King Day in Atlanta, 'the One Without Mrs. King'- "Martin Luther King Jr.'s sister, Christine King Farris, conducted the service in the place of his widow, Coretta Scott King, who died last year at 78."
Iraq buildup.Bush insists Congress can't halt Iraq buildup - "As Congress and the administration gird for conflict over troop levels in Iraq, President Bush is asserting that he has the power to send more U.S. forces, regardless of what lawmakers want." Democrats Split on How to Oppose Troop Increase- "The White House defended the president's proposal to increase the U.S. presence in Iraq as Democrats showed splits over how strongly to oppose the plan." Opposition to Iraq Plan Leaves Bush Isolated - "The bipartisan opposition to President Bush's troop-increase plan has proved more intense than his advisers hoped and has left them scrambling to find support, but the White House is banking on the assumption that it can execute its "new way forward" in Iraq before Congress can derail it."
Iraq-GI resistance.Why They Fight -- From Within - "For Jonathan Hutto and David Rogers, life has become something of a surreality show. The two Navy men, comrades in arms, are waging a war against a war. Working from within, Hutto, Rogers and others have established AppealforRedress.org, a Web site that enables active-duty, reserve and National Guard troops to appeal directly to Congress to withdraw military personnel from Iraq."
Congress-domestic issues.Democrats Seek the Middle on Social Issues- "Democrats in Congress say they are committed to governing from the center, even on divisive social issues." Burden Set to Shift On Balanced Budget - "When he takes the House rostrum next week for the State of the Union address, President Bush will list among his goals a balanced federal budget, a shift for a president who has presided over record deficits while aggressively cutting taxes."
Congress- Republicans.Pit bulls vs. stalwarts in House GOP - "The younger pit bulls want to go after the Democrats quickly and without remorse. Some of the older Republican stalwarts prefer sitting back and allowing new Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her party members to have their moment in the sun and govern accordingly." House GOP Shows Its Fractiousness In the Minority - "House Republican leaders, who confidently predicted they would drive a wedge through the new Democratic majority, have found their own party splintering, with Republican lawmakers siding with Democrats in droves on the House's opening legislative blitz." Choice of Martinez sparks GOP rebellion - "Rebellion is brewing among conservatives on the Republican National Committee over President's Bush's attempt to "impose" Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida as "general chairman" of the party, who favors "amnesty" for illegal aliens."
In the states.Unlikely allies advocate healthcare overhaul - "In a sign of how the political climate is shifting, powerful business interests that once teamed up to defeat Democratic healthcare plans are joining with labor unions and other unlikely allies to advocate extending medical insurance to millions of Americans." Job program for welfare recipients falls flat - "A central piece of the state's sweeping welfare reform, which sought to enlist Massachusetts companies to hire and train welfare recipients, has failed to attract employers and is virtually defunct, records show."
Iran.Iraq edges closer to Iran, with or without the U.S. - "The Iraqi government is moving to solidify relations with Iran, even as the United States turns up the rhetorical heat and bolsters its military forces to confront Tehran's influence in Iraq." Israel buzzes over notion of attacking Iran - "When a US secretary of State comes to town, all eyes are on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But as Condoleezza Rice's weekend visit here demonstrated, there is no issue dominating the agenda like the international standoff surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions."
Middle east.Rice Announces 3-Way Talks on Palestinian State - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would meet with her for a three-way informal discussion of issues that must be cleared away to establish a Palestinian state." Rice plans Mideast summit `soon' - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that she will hold a trilateral summit meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the next few weeks in an effort to restart Mideast peace talks." Rice Speaks Softly in Egypt, Avoiding Democracy Push- "It was clear that the United States - facing chaos in Iraq, rising Iranian influence and the destabilizing Israeli-Palestinian conflict - had decided that stability, not democracy, was its priority.'
Marriage.51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse- "For what experts say is probably the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with one, … In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000."
Op-Eds.
An Unrealized Dream of Justice (James Carroll, Boston Globe) - "THE MEMORY of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has never had more urgent relevance than it does today. America is at a crossroads moment, much as it was when he was murdered. … We honor King today not as a way of recalling the past, but as a way of resuming his campaign in the present. A dream, yes. But equally a three-sided political movement. No racial justice without economic justice! No justice, period, without peace!"
King's voice of peace resounds amid Iraq woes (Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution) - "In an odd coincidence of timing, President Bush launched his plan to escalate U.S. military involvement in Iraq on the cusp of the national celebration of the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., whose courageous denunciation of the American strategy in Vietnam is better appreciated now than it was then. When King came out against the war in 1967, he was harshly criticized."
Ban's first U.N. test -- Darfur (Lee Feinstein, Los Angeles Times) - "BAN KI-MOON has assumed the impossible job of secretary-general of the United Nations with a "problem from hell" at the top of his agenda. In office just since Jan. 1, Ban is already being tested by how to respond to the slow-motion ethnic cleansing in Darfur, the 3-year-old conflict that has landed squarely in his lap."
Religion feature. House Afire - "By the end of this year, their membership will include about one in every 10 New Yorkers. They are the Pentecostals, and they are taking in some of the city's most troubled and needy and pointing them -- and their neighborhoods -- in whole new directions. David Gonzalez spent a year with members of a small storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem. His fascinating report takes you into the homes, and the lives, of church leaders and followers, giving you a rare behind-the-scenes look at the issues, the challenges and the faith of the world's fastest-growing form of Christianity." A three-part series.
This weekend, our nation paused once again to remember the life of a modern-day prophet. In pulpits across the country, preachers offered sermons reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King's seemingly timeless message. While Dr. King's words were quoted across the nation, I fear that the majority of Americans only heard a perfunctory mention of King's dream of racial harmony, with barely a mention of his even bolder words against what he called the "giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism."
Too often our churches are guilty of sanitizing and domesticating King's radical message. We embrace the King of Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, while ignoring the King who boldly and courageously opposed the Vietnam War, arguing that "America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube." We lose sight of the man who was assassinated while supporting sanitation workers in Memphis. We forget that prior to his death, King was in the midst of organizing a Poor Peoples campaign to unite white, black, and brown around a shared economic justice agenda. Dr. King understood that the next phase of civil rights had to realize economic justice for the disinherited of America. At worst, some will proof text and manipulate King's words – such as "we should be judged not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character" in order to justify their own ideological arguments to reverse many of the gains of the civil rights movement, including in affirmative action programs.
I want to remember Dr. King as he wanted to be remembered. In 1965, King said of himself, "I am many things to many people, but in the quiet recesses of my heart, I am fundamentally a clergyman, a Baptist preacher. This is my being and my heritage, for I am also the son of a Baptist preacher, the grandson of Baptist preacher, and great-grandson of a Baptist preacher".
Dr. King embodied so much of the best of the prophetic commitment of the black church. King stood tall in representing a tradition that witnesses to the seamless connection between personal salvation and social and economic liberation. In too many churches across America, this prophetic tradition has been overshadowed by a narcissistic gospel of greed. Too often, the old rugged cross has been draped in the American dollar and the American flag.
Dr. King's birthday represents a day not only to celebrate the birth of a great American prophet, but also a day to recommit ourselves to the prophetic work of the church and realize the unfinished business of the kingdom.
Adam Taylor is director of campaigns and organizing for Sojourners/Call to Renewal, and an associate minister at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.
So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.
In early 1967, in a historic speech at New York City's Riverside Church, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. eloquently spoke of his opposition to the growing war in Vietnam and it's effect on the domestic war on poverty. Forty years later, as we honor the birthday of Dr. King, let us reflect on his words for our time rather than the daily news headlines.
Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.
…
Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read: Vietnam [Iraq]. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that America will be are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land.
I cannot forget that the Nobel Prize for Peace was also a commission - a commission to work harder than I had ever worked before for "the brotherhood of man." This is a calling that takes me beyond national allegiances, but even if it were not present I would yet have to live with the meaning of my commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ. To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I'm speaking against the war. Could it be that they do not know that the good news was meant for all men…?
And finally, as I try to explain for you and for myself the road that leads from Montgomery to this place I would have offered all that was most valid if I simply said that I must be true to my conviction that I share with all men the calling to be a son of the living God. Beyond the calling of race or nation or creed is this vocation of sonship and brotherhood, and because I believe that the Father is deeply concerned especially for his suffering and helpless and outcast children, I come tonight to speak for them.
This I believe to be the privilege and the burden of all of us who deem ourselves bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism and which go beyond our nation's self-defined goals and positions. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for those it calls "enemy," for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.
President Bush continues to view what is now largely a complex civil war in Iraq as a critical test of the United States' “War on Terrorism,” and a decisive global ideological conflict between democratic tolerance and fundamentalist extremism. Further, the president persists in believing that democratic governance in Iraq can be imposed through U.S. military force. Both of these assumptions, in my judgment, have been wrong from the start. But, given the president’s latest explanation of his goals and strategy to the nation, his steadfast convictions mean that the U.S. will remain militarily enmeshed in Iraq for the next two years of his presidency, unless Congress acts decisively to the contrary.
What exactly can Congress do if a majority of members disagree with the president’s policy? Recent discussion of these options seems confused. The perspective I offer comes from my experience as legislative assistant to Senator Mark O. Hatfield during the time of the Vietnam War. Let me set that scene briefly.
Trying to change direction from President Johnson’s Vietnam policies, newly-elected President Nixon proclaimed, in 1969, a plan to shift more military responsibility to the South Vietnamese (“de-Americanization of the war”). But his actions, including expanded bombing of the North and the invasion of Cambodia in the spring of 1970, intensified and prolonged American military involvement. Mass demonstrations at that time (including the killing of students at Kent State) riveted the country’s attention and isolated the president. Up until then, members of Congress opposed to the war had held hearings (especially Senator Fulbright’s Foreign Relations Committee), written letters to the president, and made statements. But the only real power of the Congress to change policy was the power of the purse.
In early 1970 Senators Hatfield and McGovern introduced legislation to cut off appropriations for U.S. combat military involvement in Vietnam by a date certain in the future. The idea was to give the U.S. military sufficient time for an orderly withdrawal; in the legislative process, that evolved from six months to a year’s time. In the mean time, all necessary appropriations and support would be given to support U.S. troops. The point was to establish a specific date that would terminate the combat role of the U.S. military.
This legislative effort was always bipartisan. Hatfield was a Republican, joined by others, and McGovern a Democrat. When this measure was first brought to a vote, 39 Senators were in support. And then, a modified version with the same effect, offered by Senator Lawton Chiles, received 50 votes — one short of the number needed to pass.
I recall this history simply to point out that this would seem to be the only realistic option for Congress today, in my judgment, if it wishes to oppose the president’s policy effectively. The Constitutional framers purposely gave the power to both declare and to pay for war to the Congress. It can choose not to support present policy by withholding appropriations. But the only responsible way to do so, the way that insures support of troops engaged in battle and provides an orderly time to change course, is to set a certain date in the future when such appropriations would no longer be approved. That avoids the politically indefensible position of depriving funds for supporting soldiers deployed in the field.
This, of course, is risky business. Like others who contribute to this God's Politic's blog, I am a follower of Jesus. So the question I keep asking is, what option before us holds the best hope of eventually reducing the terrible bloodshed? Bringing still more U.S. troops to serve essentially as a police force on the streets of Baghdad seems, to my way of thinking, to be a recipe for endless conflict. Setting a date, such as a year, at which point everyone will know — all the Iraqi factions, the neighboring nations, and U.S. military and diplomatic planners — that U.S. combat operations will cease offers the best hope, in my judgment, for spurring an internal political solution to what is largely an internal, sectarian civil conflict.
The U.S. is in a moral quagmire in Iraq. No option is without uncertainty, risk, and ambiguity. We can’t predict for sure the results of these actions. But setting a reasonable timetable that withdraws, rather than increases, U.S. military troops could change the political dynamics, both within Iraq and among its neighbors and the international community. That is the prerequisite for a political solution that has any hope of curtailing bloodshed.
Wes Granberg-Michaelson is general secretary of the Reformed Church in America, and a board member of Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
It is hard to believe in [Christ’s love] because it is a devouring love. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of a living God. If we do once catch a glimpse of it we are afraid of it. Once we recognize that we are [children] of God, that the seed of divine life has been painted in us at baptism, we are overcome by that obligation placed upon us of growing in the love of God.
- Dorothy Day
from “To Die For Love,” The Catholic Worker, September 1948, 2, 8.
Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Since then, I've received a somewhat steady stream of media inquiries into the phenomenon, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal (I was interviewed, but an editor killed the story), a Baltimore TV station, and a national talk radio show. I declined the last few of these, since I was a bit miffed by the Post article's set-up, focusing on opposition from store managers. I don't want raised awareness to lead to problems for me and fellow divers. But when the CBC called, I said yes - since it will only be broadcast in Canada, my local spots will not be compromised. I'm reasonably happy with their report, though they interviewed us at length and didn't include any of my testimony regarding the spiritual underpinnings of eating garbage. You'll just have to read the Sojourners piece to get that. (And special thanks to my partner in crime Laryn Kragt Bakker for posting this to YouTube, so I didn't have to!)
The latest news on civil rights, the Carter Center, California's governor, ethics, stem cell research, Iran-the raid on Iranian consulate, Iraq- public opposition, and the military.
Iraq-Congress.In both parties, doubts cloud Bush's Iraq plan - "A day after President Bush implored the nation to support his new Iraq strategy, his top aides met a storm of criticism from congressional Democrats and Republicans," Congress blisters Bush's war plan - "Nearly all Democrats and no small chorus of Republicans gave an icy reception to President Bush's plan for a dramatic increase in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, revealing an ever-broadening chasm over the war." Several in GOP hit Bush 'blunder' - "Republican leaders on Capitol Hill staunchly back President Bush's proposal to boost troop levels in Iraq but support among the party's rank and file may be crumbling." Bush's Iraq Plan Meets Skepticism On Capitol Hill - "President Bush's proposal to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq encountered strong bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill, and his top national security advisers, dispatched to defend the strategy, were greeted with a skepticism not seen from Congress over the past six years." Bush's Plan for Iraq Runs Into Opposition in Congress-"A day after the president set out a new strategy for bringing stability to Iraq, the White House found few allies on either side of the aisle."
Iraq.In Baghdad, Bush Policy Is Met With Resentment- "Iraq'sShiite-led government offered only a grudging endorsement on Thursday of President Bush's proposal to deploy more than 20,000 additional troops in an effort to curb sectarian violence and regain control of Baghdad." For US troops, new duties, more danger - "Whether the plan outlined by President Bush will eventually succeed - and administration officials and supporters, as well as critics, say the odds are tough - the year ahead is likely to be "bloody and violent,"
Iraq-public opposition.Poll suggest US opposition to troop 'surge' - "Seventy percent of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq, according to a new poll that provides a blunt response to President Bush's plan to bolster military forces there." Antiwar demonstrators protest call for troop 'surge' - "In 30-degree weather, nearly 200 protesters packed the corner of Tremont and Park streets in downtown Boston in an "emergency rally" to stop President Bush from sending more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq." War Protesters' Chorus: Bring U.S. Troops Home: Opponents of Bush's Plan for Iraq Hold Vigil - "… an orderly, hour-long candlelight vigil at Lafayette Square across from the White House, one of many protests held across the country last night to voice opposition to President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops in an effort to stabilize Iraq, a country wracked by violence and questions about its future." Protesters: Bush is giving insurgents more targets - "Activists angered by President Bush's proposal to send more troops to Iraq staged anti-war demonstrations in several major cities Thursday, protesting that the buildup will cause more bloodshed and give insurgents new American targets."
Military.Bush Speaks and Base Is Subdued- "President Bush came to this Georgia military base looking for a friendly audience to sell his new Iraq strategy. But his lunchtime talk received a restrained response from soldiers who clapped politely but showed little of the wild enthusiasm that they ordinarily shower on the commander in chief."
Iran.Bush's new Iraq strategy stokes regional fears - "Arab fears that the violence plaguing Iraq could destabilize the entire region intensified after President Bush unveiled a new strategy for Iraq that for many appeared to contain no new solutions to the deepening sectarian crisis there." Rice won't rule out military actions on Iran - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice refused to rule out cross-border US military action against Iran," 'Shadow' of Iran growing, spy czar says - "Iran has exploited the war in Iraq and a proxy fight with Israel to emerge as a more powerful and confident foe of the United States and is casting a growing "shadow" of influence across the Middle East, the nation's top intelligence official testified Thursday."
Raid on Iranian consulate. G.I.'s in Iraq Raid Iranians' Offices- "American troops backed by attack helicopters and armored vehicles raided an Iranian diplomatic office in the dead of night early Thursday and detained as many as six of the Iranians working inside." The US moves to confront Iran and Syria - "Close to the same hour Wednesday night that President Bush vowed to disrupt the "flow of support" from Iran and Syria to "terrorists and insurgents" in Iraq, US forces raided an Iranian consulate in northern Iraq, arresting five diplomats and staff and taking computers and files." U.S. Troops Raid 2 Iranian Targets in Iraq, Detain 5 People- "U.S. troops launched two raids on Iranian targets in Iraq, following through on President Bush's vow to confront and break up Tehran's networks inside Iraq." Bush's tough tactics are a 'declaration of war' on Iran - "A leading UK-based Iran specialist, Ali Ansari, said the incident was an "extreme provocation". Dr Ansari said that Mr Bush's speech on future Iraq strategy amounted to "a declaration of war" on Iran."
Stem cell research.Stem Cell Bill Sails Through the House - "The House voted overwhelmingly to broaden federal support for embryonic stem cell research, stepping up a confrontation with President Bush over a thorny scientific and ethical issue that Democrats hope to capitalize on in the next election." Passions aflame as stem cell bill passes - "Following an emotional day of debate in which lawmakers invoked their own medical tragedies and those of families, friends and constituents, the House voted to expand federally funded embryonic stem cell research."
Ethics.Democrats in Senate Fail to Block Bill on Ethics - "After campaigning for months on a promise to tighten ethics rules, Senate Democratic leaders tried unsuccessfully to block a measure that would shine a light on the shadowy practice of earmarking federal money for lawmakers' pet projects."
Civil rights.Civil rights for a new generation - "Civil rights groups, beset by aging or stagnant membership, are recasting their messages to appeal to young people. They're putting up discussion boards on youth-oriented websites and talking about jobs, education, housing, entrepreneurship and financial literacy."
Carter Center.Carter Center Advisers Quit to Protest Book - "Fourteen of the city's business and civic leaders resigned from the Carter Center's advisory board to protest former President Jimmy Carter's recent criticisms of Israel and American Jewish political power." Carter Center Advisers Resign Over New Book - "The resignations were the latest episode in an escalating controversy over the book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," published in late November."
California governor.As States Innovate, Schwarzenegger Blurs Lines- "Mr. Schwarzenegger's recent leadership is also the largest example of a growing movement in which state leaders are crossing party lines to get things done. While partisan polarization limits activity in Washington, D.C., state governments are addressing issues the federal government has not tackled."
On the night of January 11, Joe Scarborough began his MSNBC show by commenting on President Bush's leadership, especially in regard to the Iraq war and unfolding anxieties about Iran. "Never have I seen a president so alone," he stated, "having lost an election, deserted by the American people, and abandoned by his party." Scarborough, and his guest, fellow conservative Pat Buchanan, literally piled on the president – questioning Bush's capacities as a leader.
For much of his presidency, George Bush engendered confidence in many Christians who praised him as a leader, uniquely appointed (and perhaps anointed) by God for this moment in history. In the wake of September 11, 2001, many Americans seemed to agree, and consistently gave Bush high marks on leadership abilities. Since Hurricane Katrina, however, the nation has watched his leadership crumble, to the nadir following this week's surge speech. When it comes to Iraq, the most pressing issue of the day, two out of three Americans now believe that the president is not a good leader.
Of course, leadership is lonely business. And no leader should depend on polls or the popularity of his or her ideas for validation. But all this has given me pause: What makes for a good leader? Especially from a Christian perspective? What should faithful people expect from their leaders?
Certainly, Christian leadership involves prayer, scripture study, and envisioning a better future – all things President Bush probably practices. Yet, something appears to be missing from Bush's leadership.
The timing of Bush's speech provides an interesting leadership contrast, a contrast that highlights that missing something. On January 15, the nation will celebrate a remarkable Christian political leader: Martin Luther King, Jr.
King models what Presbyterian pastor Graham Standish calls humble leadership. (N. Graham Standish, Humble Leadership: Being Radically Open to God's Guidance and Grace, The Alban Institute, forthcoming.) I suspect that many Americans, especially the Christians who voted for him, hoped that President Bush would be a humble leader – an "aw shucks" regular guy, "the uniter, not divider" – a person whose fundamental simplicity would allow us to achieve generous compassion while retaining traditional American values. Perhaps he could be a channel for our better selves. Whether or not it actually was the case, Bush appeared to many as the model of humble leadership.
As it is becoming increasingly clear, President Bush is the opposite of the humble leader. He has morphed into a hubris leader – apparently lacking self-awareness (does he really believe he made mistakes?), dividing people and even driving away former friends, and reacting to situations instead of leading proactively. The most telling contrast between the humble leader and the hubris leader is, however, the contrast of personal sacrifice. Martin Luther King was willing to sacrifice himself to enact peace; George Bush is willing to sacrifice other people's children to secure his place in history.
Bush's leadership is not about God's dream for justice; it is not even about the American people. It appears to be about saving his presidency and creating his legacy. Even with all the criticism and defeats, he seems doggedly committed to his vision for the world. What of the rest of us? What of God's dream of shalom? And who has the humility to lead America in this painful and dangerous time?
Ultimately, we are reborn to love because in this expanding, gracious space within us, we arrive at the astonishing presence of God at the core of our life. We blunder into the heart of God and find our own.
- Sue Monk Kidd from Firstlight: The Early Inspirational Writings of Sue Monk Kidd
O Lord my Lord, act on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me.
When the American people make it clear in the election, and in every public opinion poll, that they want an end to the war in Iraq, he ignores them. When the central recommendation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group is "new and enhanced diplomatic and political efforts…that will enable the United States to begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly," he ignores them. When Republican Senators across the spectrum – from Susan Collins (ME) and Olympia Snowe (ME) to Sam Brownback (KS) and Gordon Smith (OR), and respected foreign policy expert Chuck Hagel (NE) – oppose his plan, he ignores them. (" … a dangerously wrongheaded strategy that will drive America deeper into an unwinnable swamp," says Hagel.) When the top U.S. military commanders in Iraq question the strategy, he replaces them.
George W. Bush is determined to continue making war in Iraq. I agree with Bush on one point – we need a new strategy in Iraq. But last night, George Bush decided to escalate the war and increase the American occupation – which he still doesn't seem to realize is at the center of the problem. Bush stubbornly believes that military solutions are always the best answer and consistently chooses war over politics. But without a political solution in Iraq, no escalation of the war will succeed. Whether in Iraq, or even in the larger war on terrorism, Bush believes, as he said again last night, that we are in a great "ideological struggle" between us and them, good and evil – and that only military solutions against "them" will suffice. Both wisdom and humility (two religious virtues) suggest that political and diplomatic resolutions to conflict are ultimately required. But last night, Bush again chose the primacy of military solutions.
By sending 20,000 more U.S. troops in support of a Shiite-dominated government, into a conflict that has become a sectarian civil war, he has essentially rejected the idea of a unified Iraqi government. Today, the idea of there even being a government in Iraq is another myth of Bush rhetoric, and for the young servicemen and women who daily die, it is a cruel joke to learn we have no real partners in Iraq. There is no real commitment to "democracy" among Iraq's leaders, a goal that Bush again invoked last night; there is only endless sectarian violence – with the government forces themselves acting simply as part of the tribal warfare. The depraved scene of Saddam Hussein's hanging revealed more a revenge lynching than an act of national justice – and became a brutal metaphor for what Iraq has now become. American lives are now the prime targets of the insurgency, while they are also caught in the cross-fire of a civil war. To send more troops into battle in a senseless "surge," without any new plan for political resolution between Iraq's intransigent and hateful factions – is morally irresponsible. We've tried this before, and failed. A new surge will simply mean more young Americans in body bags and wheel chairs, more families left without dads, moms, sons, or daughters, and more slaughter of innocent Iraqi civilians. "I don't want to die over there; I don't think it's worth it," said one American serviceman who was interviewed this morning about the President's new plan. He and his new wife had a new baby just five days ago, but now he has been ordered back to Iraq. He named several of his friends who have new wives and babies on the way, who will now also be sent back.
By the classic criteria of a "just war," Iraq was not, and is not, one. Not even close. And at the time of the run-up to the war, a majority of church bodies and their leaders around the world said just that. Pope John Paul II was quite agitated about Iraq, and had he been a younger man, might have actually intervened to prevent the unjust war. Even most evangelical Christians around the globe were against the American war in Iraq, and continue to be – a fact that the U.S. media also missed. There were others, like the American Southern Baptists, who supported their president's war, but on an international scale they were clearly the exceptions.
There is absolutely no way that the American invasion of Iraq could be considered a "last resort" – one of the just war criteria. The inspections officers were working to find and contain any weapons of mass destruction Iraq might have had, and the Bush administration both misrepresented and manipulated the alleged threat from the weapons of mass destruction. The administration lied to start a war. Over time, the brutal Saddam Hussein could have been isolated, undermined, and overthrown (a very worthy goal) from pressures internal and external, and serious proposals were on the table to do just that when Bush went to war. Instead we bombed the children of Baghdad and then allowed the country to slide into bloody chaos. There was never adequate "authority" to wage this war (another criterion) – the United Nations, NATO, and the vast majority of the world's people and nations were against it. Only Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair thought this was a good idea, and their political legacies will be forever shaped by the worst foreign policy decision either country has made in decades. Iraq also failed the tests of "proportionality" and "discrimination" with all the societal damage it was likely to cause (and has): the horrible number of innocents that have been lost through the tactics of "shock and awe," the resulting insurgency against American occupation, and now the civil war that has turned into ethnic cleansing. There was never an "imminent threat" from Saddam, there was no connection between Iraq and 9/11 (as we were told), and Bush's war in Iraq was not a central front in the international campaign against terrorism, but rather has turned out to be a serious distraction from it (though the war itself has now transformed Iraq into a haven and school for terrorism).
The war in Iraq was unjust; to continue it now is criminal. There is no winning in Iraq. This was a war that should have never been fought – or won. It can't be won, and the truth is that there are no good solutions now – that's how unjust wars often turn out. The president says that "failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States." But we have already failed in Iraq and it has already become a disaster for Americans, Iraqis, the Middle East, and even for the larger campaign against terrorism. The mistaken war in Iraq can only be mercifully ended, in ways that cause the least damage to everyone involved: the Americans and the Iraqis, the volatile surrounding region, and a world longing for security. It will likely take new international leadership to help fix the mess of Iraq, because U.S. leadership has brought one calamity after another. Unjust wars cause massive human suffering. When will we ever learn?
Two stories in the news are more evidence for what I recently called a criminal escalation of an unjust war. The war in Iraq has so stretched the U.S. military that the escalation now initiated by President Bush means troops with inadequate training and short of the necessary supplies are being rushed into a situation for which they are not prepared. The Washington Post reported:
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
This latest entry by Jim in the Newsweek/Washington Post series 
Alexandra Pelosi's new HBO documentary, 
Shane Claiborne is a 
Thirty-four years ago today, on January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade, arguing that most abortion laws violate the constitutional right to privacy.
The genocide in Darfur continues to weigh heavily on my heart. After months and months of talk, it is increasingly clear that there are no real strategies for peace among any of the major players.
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day in Washington, D.C., almost spring-like in the middle of January (there may be a global warming story here for another blog!). And, of course, it was the official annual celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To remember the day, and not just take a day off, our family went to the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered his best known speech, "I Have a Dream." The young Baptist minister was the closing speaker for the August 28, 1963 "March On Washington For Jobs And Freedom," as the now famous event was then called (I have a framed original poster for the March on the wall of my home study – where it looks down at me now as I write).
This weekend, our nation paused once again to remember the life of a modern-day prophet. In pulpits across the country, preachers offered sermons reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King's seemingly timeless message. While Dr. King's words were quoted across the nation, I fear that the majority of Americans only heard a perfunctory mention of King's dream of racial harmony, with barely a mention of his even bolder words against what he called the "