Small Town Theology

George Bush is a disaster that has already happened! I had to say that before I could get to my subject for today.
When some people discover that I am a retired Navy enlisted person they are surprised to learn that I am also a liberal (though I am beginning to prefer the term 'progressive') both politically and theologically (again though most people I know don't really understand the use of a word like "theologically"). When many, if not most, Americans think of a people who act out of a faith or belief they think of fundamentalist or evangelical Christians (and in the minds of most Americans those terms are synonamous). But I don't fit into those molds in either case.
Today I want to explore, while I am writing, a basic theological difference between my own understanding of Christianity and that of all fundamentalist and just about all "mainline" Christians, hereafter referred to as "Feel Good Christians", accept without question.
It is said and often repeated without question that the "family" is the basic foundation on which all societies, including Christianity, is built.
I think that is a misreading of the fundamental message of Jesus Christ.
Let me explain. I live in a small town of about 800 people. It's a good place to live, a good place to raise children, but it's far from being unique. Like so many other small towns, villages and neighborhoods it's often described by people who live here as like being a "family," or better said, "an extended family." I can almost, but not quite, go along with the image of being an extended family. I much prefer the term "community."
Family, and even extended family, conjures up an image of personal contact that may bring a warm fuzzy feeling but that not what Jesus was preaching. I see works of comfort, healing and respect not as quest for good feelings but as a way to fulfillment, of living in the way we are created to be.
I have come to understand that Fundamentalist's and Feel Good Christian's focus on the family (pun intended) are for two very different reasons. For Fundy's the reason is to exert more power and control over individual's, i.e. specific roles for men and women, leaders and followers, etc.. For Feel Gooder's it's more privatized, less public responsibility and involvment,i.e. just be nice and hope everything falls in line.
I am convinced Jesus was speaking and acting against both of those mind sets. He was, is, saying that God is not a Santa Claus whose rewards are earned by observing all the laws or conversly by just being nice. God's desire, he says, is that all people be cared for and respected regardless of what family, nation, tribe, they come from or even what they believe.
For me family has become an abstract, almost meaningless term when it comes to the true meaning of life as a Christian. People can live without a family but they cannot survive without community. I don't have to love someone to care for them. I don't have to agree with someone to provide for them, or want them to provide for me when I am in need.
That is why I like living in this small town. We do things for one another even when we may not like one another because that is what we have to do in order to survive. That is what Jesus was talking about.
The good news is that because we know in our hearts that we need one another in order to continue to live here, we find that we will do stuff we might otherwise not do if we could avoid it. We know we can't avoid one another, and that is a choice we make so we can live here. It's called community -- not family. And a good thing about it is that, for the most part, we find we really do like each other.
And finally, when we can take that lesson to heart, we will discover that our community is not limited to one small geographic location, it is across all boundaries ever thought up by human beings.
Let me close with an idea that came to me this morning, World Communion Sunday, in church. In the sermon about the meaning of communion, our pastor said "Communion is not just an ideal." I agree completely, but it also made me think of another Christian concept, "Peace is not just another ideal." And neither is community!
It is what it is!

Peace be with you my friend!

Have you ever known anyone ...

who always seems to "fail forward"? (I used to think a friend of mine was the one who came up with a statement like that but later learned it's been around awhile.)
BG is is one of those types. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is another. Indeed there are a lot of those types in the Bush Administration.
The only problem is that BG failed forward all the way into the Oval Office. As I have previously written Bg didn't, and doesn't, fail forward all by himself, he had to have a lot of help. The final shove into the Presidency was provided by the Supreme Court. In what an overwhelming majority of Constutional scholars say was the worst Courst decision since Dred Scott, by a 5 to 4 vote, they handed the Presidency to the least prepared, least competent, least deserving, most corrupt, most devisive and laziest person ever to serve in that office. He is often ridiculed for not being very smart but someone who knows him pretty well said his problem is not that he's dumb, it's that he's ignorant. He is intellectually lazy. He doesn't want to learn anything because he thinks he already knows the answer. He reminds me of the rich school yard smartass bully (which his classmates said he was) who surround himself with syncophants. No one really likes him but he sees himself as their leader.
He never has to worry about his mistakes because he doesn't acknowledge them someone else is always around to pay for them, even with their lives.
In BG's world, everything is great. Only the real world suffers.

Someday things will change -- and the losers will be winners! And that's all we can hope for. That's the end of the story of BG -- to this point.

OWHN

"Winners never lose and ...

losers never win." That's one of the lines from a song ("Let the Suns Shine In")that they (I don't sing that kind of bullshit) sang in church this morning. It struck me because we had just heard a sermon about Jesus being for the losers of his, and our, world but of course nobody really pays any attentionto a sermon. They come to church to be "Uplifted" (more bullshit) and so they sing crap that "uplifts" them. Boy George "uplifts" people (at least he used to) with his Bullshit, that's why he's president -- and somebody who is more competent and more honest than he is (that's not hard to be) isn't.





(Back to the life story of BG)

Someone once said that George Bush is not Dumb, but he is ignorant." I think that goes a long way to explain BG's journey in politics. Other's say he's just "lucky." I think other people (some he wasn't even aware of) made things happen that to other people seemed lucky.

When people started thinking about BG's future (after baseball) they decided he might just be a good front man for their political ambitions. He might have been convinced that they wanted him in politics because he was so damn smart but they knew better, what they liked about him was his name. If his name had been George Brush he'd still be screwing up oil companies, but his name was Bullshit, I mean Bush.

So they decided to pool their money, to hire the sleaziest political con men they could find, and to let them run his campaign for governor of the State of Dumbass (akaTexas). Now I lived in Texas (I was stationed there) for 10 months (I had to ship over to get transferred) so I know a little about that place.

Somebody once said that all the smart Texans live in Arkansas because that was as far away as they could get on a tank of gas. So I guess the dumb ones just wanted a governor who was as dumb as the rest of them.

Through no fault,nor any thoughts, of his won BG was elected. In reality,Karl Rove (Bush's Brain) was hired to get BG elected and he made it happen. The first thing Karl did, was send BG out to buy a "ranch" to show some easily fooled Texans that he was, after alll, just one of the 'good ol' boys.' (Now BG has probably the only ranch in Texas on which horses aren't allowed because, it turns out, BG is scared to death of horses!) Ahh, the magic of a professional hit man. BG thought it was because he'd earned it, Karl new better.

Daddy Bush had two boys running for Governor that year (1994), the so-called smart one (Jeb) lost and the dumb one won, proving Texans are even dumber than Floridians. From the beginning of his first term as Gov, Karl's (and BG's) eyes were on the presidency. Texas be damned!

More later.

OWHN

Have you ever wondered

what it's like to live in George Bush's world? I don't know where that world is or how many people live there (though I understand the population is decreasing). I do, though, know a little bit about what life is like in Boy George's world because I see it a lot on TV and a lot of people in TV land also seem to live there.


IN BG's (that's GB backwards ) world everything is black and white, unless, of course, you are very rich -- because then the world is rose colored. BG's life has been filled with failures, but in his world failure doesn't have the same meaning as it does for other folks. Failure in BG's world just means somebody else fixing it.



As a kid he went to a private school for very rich kids but he couldn't get good enough grades to get into an Ivy League School where rich kids go so his daddy got him into one. And then when he didn't get good enough grades in college to get into a prestigious grad school (also Ivy League) his daddy fixed it again.



Then, possessing an MBAwh (without honors) from Harvard and a ton of money from his mommy and daddy he set about starting an oil company in Texas. Even with all that money he failed spectacularly so his daddy's friends bailed him out (and gave him another job -- and a new company). Using the lessons learned from his first effort BG he lost their money too.



But not to worry, daddy's friends again came to the rescue by giving him a job in the management of a baseball team (a losing team of course). In fact daddy's friends were so thrilled with his job skills they gave him part ownership of the team -- and sent him around town giving speechs to local Lions Clubs and Chambers of Commerce groups. This was probably the only job he ever had at which he didn't fail, and because he didn't fail the citizens of Dallas (Arlington) Texas are still paying for a losing team but now the team is playing in a big fancy stadium that the taxpayers are and will be paying for for many years to come.



And because of his great selling job he was paid an extra several million dollars and encouraged to run for governor. Daddy was very proud!



(to be continued)



Before I get to "the rest of the story" (in future entries) let me warn you that, as for the rest of us who don't live in BG's world, this story has a good ending.



OWHN

I'm beginning again

for the umpteenth time! I'm not making excuses, I think about writing often but I procrastinate. It's just another of my many bad habits.
What am I thinking about now? No surprises.
Patti and I are feeling bummed today because Russell's Babe Ruth All-Star team lost a double header in the District tournament yesterday and were eliminated from further competition. Truth is they didn't just lose, they were drubbed by both teams they played, 6-0, 16-4. I don't know if they were good enough to win the championship but they were good enough to be competitive, and that just didn't happen. This marks the end of Russell's Babe Ruth playing days, next year he will be too old, and it's too bad it ended on such a sour note. We weren't going to send Russell to a baseball camp this summer but have changed our minds. He's going to go to the camp at Central Washington Univsity at the end of this month. It should be helpful in preparing him for high school baseball next spring and he's already dreaming about on a traveling team or maybe an American Legion team next summer.

Next issue: Patriotism, the last refuge of _______. I am convinced it will be, excuse me, is the root cause of the end of whatever is, or was, good about this nation. It amazes me how otherwise good people can be led around by their nose if they become convinced that in not questioning the nations leaders they are being patriotic. This god damned war is the most unpatriotic and immoral action that has been foistered on the American people, still a large majority who agree with that premise are afraid to speak out because they might be accused of being unpatriotic. And the stupid lengths we go to to prove we are patriotic; plastic yellow ribbons on our cars, flags on everything, flags in church sanctuaries, one of the teams in the baseball tournament yesterday had little flags sewn on the backs of their jerseys. What bullshit!!! We have to sing the national anthem at every public event or people might think we aren't p_____, Bullshit.
I'm not patriotic, I am convinced the world would be a better place if my country weren't a superpower, much less the only one. I am convinced our nation would be a better place to live if we lost all our military power.
I think George Bush, Dick Cheney, and a whole lot of others who are benefitting from the suffering they cause in the world should be in jail, or maybe doing hard labor in Iraq.
I'm not a patriot, I am and would much rather be called a Christian. As far as I'm concerned they can stick the flag up Cheney's ass, while they are singing the national anthem.

End of tonight's rant.

It's a good day when

you can do something nice to help someone who you will never meet.

I first heard about KIVA (see link on left side of this page) on a program on LINK TV. It is a program to enable people like Patti and I to make small loans to people who have or want to start a small business in their community. I recommend you check it out. So far we have "invested" only $25 but that's $25 more than we have ever invested in something like this before. Our money is going to a mother of six children who has a clothing shop in Benin City, Nigeria. She is borrowing $500 to buy more clothing to seel. Including our measly $25, she only needs $50 more to fulfill her loan. I know she will get it and we thank God we can help her in our small way.

It is our goal to raise our total investment "portfolio" to $100, which means we will make at least three more $25 "loans." The as loans are repaid we will always reinvest. What a great program. Please check it out!

It's not my job... (but it is)

"I may criticize a carpenter who makes me a bad table, though I cannot make a table myself. It is not my job to make tables."
Dr. Samuel Johnson, 18th century English author and philosopher

Who am I to argue with an 18th century philospher?

I don't remember the first time I heard someone say "it's not my job," (and I may have even said it myself at one time or another) but it's always bugged me. Especially when it's used as an excuse to escape responsibility. The latest version of this comes from the "esteemed" power people in the Bush administration. Rumsfeld and Gonzales are two good examples but Boy george himself is the prime culprit. He so often and so easily talks of being "responsible" for the actions of his people but at the same time never accepts any responsibility. In Dr. Johnson's terms it's as though Boy george's job is to make tables but he thinks he's only "buying" them. Of course Boy george was never responsible for "making" anything (including a profit at two oil companies he headed) before he was handed the presidency (and he was able to "buy" anything he wanted) so why would anyone think he would change once he had moved into the oval office?

According to Boy george, who likes being known as the "Commander-in-Chief," it's his job to start wars but it's not his job to end them. He is not responsible for any of the hundreds of thousand, millions, of lives lost and suffering because of the way he has done his job. He is just buying a war that other people are paying for. Which makes sense, what he used to get with his daddy's money, he now get's with (future) taxpayers money. (we should call this our first credit card war.)

And like more and more Americans, bankruptcy is closing in on our democracy. But of course, I can always say it's not my job to save democracy. But I can't if I have a conscience and I believe in justice and I want peace in our world.

It's time to stop this god damned war! (and it's my job to work for it!)

"I understand..." (I don't have a clue)

"Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 7, 2006

I wonder if anyone has ever counted how many times George Bush has used the term "I understand" in response to questions posed by news media? If you listen and watch closely it most always means he doesn't have a clue. It really means he doesn't believe or accept the premise of whatever the question happens to be about. That means he has to use the phrase repeatedly.
In the context of the statement quoted above, GB doesn't have a clue how "tough" it is. He may, on a rare occasion or in the midst of a photo op "talk" to someone who really knows "how tough it is" but he certainly doesn't listen to them. He's too busy thinking about himself to be able to hear anything else.

They have a word for GB's dumb statements, thay call them "Bushisms." You can find them updated and archived at http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm
They show how GB's mind works, or doesn't work. More importantly I believe they show how dangerous it is to put a person of his lack of intelect and thought in a position where he has so much power. They show why we have good reason to be mad as hell.
It's time to end this god damned war!

When George Bush talks about peace

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." -- George Bush, June 2002

If only the world were upside down
If war was peace and peace was war.

The hungry would be filled with good things
And the rich would be hungry.

The fearful would be fearful
And the fearless would know fear.

The wounded would be made whole
and the whole would be wounded.

The 'have nots' would have
And the 'haves' would have not.

But the world is not upside down
The world is the way it is.

The hungry are not filled
The fearful are afraid
The wounded are hurting
The 'haves' have more than they need
And demand more.

And even when George Bush talks about peace
He's really talking about war.

Sometimes, when I have time,

Sometimes, when I have time,
I think.

Sometimes I think about baseball.
I don’t play baseball anymore but
I think about other people playing baseball.
And I feel good when I’m thinking
about baseball.

Sometimes I think about singing.
I’ve never been a good singer but
I think about other people singing.
And I feel good when I’m thinking
about singing.

Sometimes I think about woodworking.
I’m not very good at woodworking but
I think about other people who can teach me.
And I feel good when I’m thinking
about working with wood.

Sometimes I think about war.
I’ve was in a war once, a long time ago, but
I think about other people who are in a war now.
And I feel very sad when I’m thinking
about war.

I think we shouldn’t do war anymore.

I should probably change

the title of this blog since I am obviously not dallying daily. But what the heck, since I'm the only one reading (and writing) I will just continue to carry on. Besides I don't know how to change the name and I don't have enough interest to learn. Someday I'd like to take a class on blogging. (Thinking out loud -- Why don't I call Danny Callahan and see if he would be interested in teaching one.)

I'm writing today because I couldn't think of anything else to do. It's a pretty rotten day outside, windy,overcast and about 35 degrees. Wish I had a good book to read, thought about ordering the new book by Chris Hedges. It's about the Christian right and their leading us toward a fascist state. Sounds pretty far out, but when you look at them with a critical eye it seems ver plausible. I think Hedges is one of the most insightful thinkers of our time. I read his book "War is a Force that gives us meaning" and it really says a lot about us as a nation. I have a hard time expressing how strongly I feel that our country is becoming , if it is not already, the greatest threat to peace in the world.

I'm starting a Lenten Bible study at church next Sunday. There will be the same small group if 5 or 6 that usually attend. Trying something new, I will start by passing around one or two articles I will cut out of the Oregonian (or maybe even the Times-Journal) and try to initiate a discussion of the theological or moral issues that are touched upon in the stories, hoping the class (not me) will be able to identify and discuss them. Hopefully, each following week one of the others will be asked to bring one or tow articles from the newspaper and they will be the focus of the conversation. I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out. I'll let me know!!

Enough for now

I was going to sign off but I just went back and looked over what I had written and saw something I want to say more about, the idea that our country is becoming , if it is not already, the greatest threat to peace in the world. I am often reminded of the old bumpersticker America, Love it or Leave it. It still pisses me off, why should I have to move to some strange place because I don't "love" this one. I just spent a couple of days in the town I grew up in. It's nothing like the town I grew up in because the population has probably tripled, the industries that dominated when I lived there are non-existent, having been repleaced by a lot of different stuff. I can walk and drive all over town and never see anyone I know. Yet, despite all that I still have a warm feeling in my heart for the place. I don't love it, I don't really want to live there again but I'm glad it's there and it has a place in my heart.
That's kind of the way I feel about this country, the United States. I'm not at all happy with the way it is but it is still the place I grew up in and it has a place in my heart.
One of the things I think about is maybe it's time we get past the idea of nation states. At one point in history nations may have been a political solution to provide safety and identity to disparate and desparate groups and tribes. But I am coming to believe that nation states are now a threat to bringing peace into the world. When self-interest always overwhelms communal interest, the powerless will always suffer.

Enough for now, I will write more on this in future posts.

In the meantime, go out and do something (anything!) to stop this god damn war!

If it's February 3rd

It means I haven't posted on here for 13 days. In this case I can't say that tie flew while I was having fun, I wasn't. I have had a lingering cold or flu (or whatever it is) for all of those 13 days. I swear I don't recall ever feeling so lousy for so long but then Patti says I say that everytime I get a cold. Suficise it to say I'm not yet over it completely but at least I can now get a pretty good night's sleep.

Molly Ivins died a couple of days ago. Those of you who never heard her or read her books missed one of the smartest and funniestwomen of our time. One of the eulogies that were wrttien about her called her "an acerbic satirist in the vein of Mark Twain." Nobody could describe George Bush as perfectly as she could. I will miss her wit and the style she brought to politics.

I've been watching the Democratic National Committee Annual Meeting on CSPN the last couple of days (It beats the hell out of watching a bunch of talking heads talking endlessly about the Super Bowl Game between the Colts and the Bears coming up tomorrow (finally). (BTW, I've pretty well burned out on both Pro Football and Pro Basketball, I'll stick the the pro's that don't get paid, the college games.)
Back to the DNC meeting, I've heard the speeches of 4 of the 8 declared '08 Pres. candidates . My opinions of any of them has not been changed. I can't see any possility that I would vote for a Repub over any one of the Dems. John Edwards is still my favorite. Barrack Obama was probably the best speaker at this event. He talks a lot in image and vision, which may well get him a long way but I like the way Edwards uses a language about issues that I can relate to.

I'm home alone today (I decided not to go to the BB game in Helix so Patti rode with Carol MacInnes) so I may come back and add some more to this later.

Just got a call from Patti. She reports that the Boy's lost by 3 points but that Russell had a good game. It's too bad they lost but it's a little relief for Patti and I that they will be ending the season a little sooner now. It has been a disappointing season for them, they really expected to compete for first in the League but it just didn't happen. Russell, though, really had a successful season and got lots of good experience. He began the season as a starter on the JV team and, though he suited up for varsity games didn't play too much in the first few games. After a few games he was still playing JV but was also getting increasing minutes in the varsity games. Then he graduated for a few games where he was just playing few minutes in the jv games and in all four quarters of the varsity. About 5 games ago he started in place of the senior he had been relieving and he has been a starter every since. He has been averaging about 8-10 points per game since he has been starting but once , against Arlington, he was high point scorer for the game with 14 points. Next year they are expecting big things from him and I have an idea he will deliver. Now Baseball starts in about two weeks.

Well, I was going to write about the Dems in congress and this "Non-binding Resolution against the war" they are probably going to pass. But I think that's going to have to wait. In the meantime --

It's time to bring and end to Bush's god damn war!

Peace be with you!

It takes balls

for George (the) Bush to declare this , or any, day to be "National Sanctity of Human Life Day" but you can never say that Barbara Bush's Boy doesn't have balls. But having balls doesn't mean he isn't a hypocrite. This, of course, is just another prime example of Boy Bush's words being completely divorced from his actions. Would anyone who truly believes in the sanctity of human life make jokes about capital punishment, would refuse to interrupt his vacation to deal with the suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina, would justify the use of torture and want to do away with the right of Habaeus Corpus, and (worst of all) would knowingly start a war based on lies and use every power at his hand to keep it going as long as possible insuring that more and more people will die primarily because he started something that wastes innocent lives but has no personal cost to him. (Please don't think Bush Baby loses any sleep over the mess he has caused or the tears he shed are anything but a photo op)

It is sad to note that so many think only of abortion when it comes to the sanctity of human life but that is exactly what the Repubs and a lot of self-labeled Christians would have you believe. Yet those same hypocrites are cheerleaders for capitol punishment. Because I am a christian, I support the right of a woman to choose and I strongly oppose capitol punishment. These are the reasons that guide my reasoning.

I hold the belief that the sanctity of human life pretains to every human life. I also believe that a woman has the right to choose whether or not she will carry a fetus to term, to when it will breath and become a human being. In a more perfect world every child would be conceived in love and born into a world of love and hope and security but we don't live in a perfect world. I refuse to be the judge in deciding those very critical matters. Those decisions must be made by the individuals involved, societies role is to make it more possible for a woman to choose not to have an abortion but it should not demand she doesn't or can't have one.

I believe the sanctity of human life pretains to every human being, including a person who, through his or her actions, has demonstrated no concern for the life of another human being. The best way to say that is that I don't believe in capitol punishment in any case. There are bad people in the world, there are people who are and will be a threat to others, but there are no people that we, as a society, have a right to kill (capital punishment is, like war, just a socially acceptable form of killing). Society does have the right to protect itself from anyone who is a danger to members of the socety but it doesn't have the right to kill anyone.

My belief about abortion and capitol punishment are in synch. There is a distinct separation of individual and societal rights. Society's role is to enable life not to destroy it. Individual rights are to make the best choices possible to lead an healthy and constructive life for the individual and their children in the society they live in.

That's what I believe! Some might say I have balls! (I do)

Now it's time to stop this god damn war!!

Peace, if not now when?

Happy Birthday Irene Mensalves!

I have found a new hero in today's (1/18/07) Oregonian. Her story was on page E5, it should have been on the front page. Irene Mansalvas celebrated her 103rd birthday yesterday. That's an extraordinary event in itself but it doesn't make her a hero. Irene is a Quaker, which in itself is nice but it doesn't make her a hero. Irene is still an active anti-war protestor as a member of Raging Grannies, that is what make Irene a hero to me.
Irene is, in her own owrds, ".. a pacifist, strictly. I just go back to the same idea: There has to be negotiation. Why wait until we've killed so many people to negotiate. My feeling about this whole thing (the war in Iraq) is, it was all for profit." ... "I don't want to get too political but I'm not afraid to go to jail."

Irene knows about war profiteering. During WW II she worked in an Internatioonal Harvestor Plant, a farm equipment manufacturer that made tanks during the war. She says it was there she learned about war and profit -- that it was more lucrative to build a tank that would be destroyed than to make tractors that that lasted 20 years.

My first reaction to reading the article was a wish there were more people like Irene. Then it hit me, why I am not like Irene? Why do I weasel out so often when it comes to putting my beliefs and desires to work. Writing a blog that no one reads is not an action, it's an escape.

Heros are people we look up to, people we want to emulate. I'm encouraged. I wonder what the future will bring.

It is, after all, time to stop this god damn war!!

War is not the answer, Peace is!

Better late than

whenever. I'm still working on developing the discipline to dally daily here but, as you can see, my dally discipline is rarely done daily these days. (I love alliteration!)

"Our lives begin to end when we become silent about the things that matter." That's a quote from Martin Luther King Jr that hangs on the wall in my office. I've been looking at it as I reflect on what I might post here on King's Birthday. I remember when King was alive. I was in the Navy stationed in Hawaii at the time he was assassinated. I was in 28 years old at the time. I guess I've always felt a kinship with underdogs and, though I had had minimal contact with segregation in the Navy or while growing up in Oregon, I had the feeling Dr. King was doing something good to make this a better country. I also remember following the coverage of his assassination and becoming more aware of the racial divide that existed not only in the country but in the small world I was a part of.

It was the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy that the issues of racial and economic inequality came into focus for me. It was the time I began to question the status quo and my own willingness to remain silent "about the things that matter."

The change was not instantaneous but cumulative, small experiences began to add up, and it would lead me to a place where I am happier with myself but often discouraged that necessary changes to bring about a more just world are inevitable. I just have to keep telling myself, "One step and one day at a time."

I will continue to describe my faith and political journey in future posts.

All that being said, It's time to Speak out, Act up, and Stop the god damn War!

Peace be with you!

I talk to myself

a lot. That's what I figure I'm doing here, with the exception that someone might, probably does, overhear me even if I never know it. Nevertheless, I ramble on.
Bush gives a "big" speech tonight. I shouldn't say 'gives', he reads a speech tonight. Bush has never 'given' a speech, he just reads what others have written for him. They've probably made him read aloud through it a couple of times so he knows how to pronounce all the words, even if he may not know for sure what they mean.
Someone, I think it might have been Molly Ivins, said about Bush, "George is not dumb, he's just ignorant." I think that nails it. He is smart when it comes to being a smart ass but, even after six years of being President I don't think he has a clue when it comes to what is going on in the world. One of my favorite books about the Bush presidency is "The Greatest Story Ever Sold (subtitle: The Decline and Fall of Truth , From 9/11 to Katrina) by Frank Rich.
It's a history of how, from the beginning, Bush has been like a spoiled kid among the big boys who have used him to achieve their ends, which is primarily concentrating power in the executive branch. And as long as it makes him feel powerful, Bush doesn't really care how or what they (key player Dick Cheney) do.
But let's kid nobody, because he has the power of the presidency George Bush is the most dangerous man in the world.
I've vented enough for one day. Tomorrow I'll try to get a little more specific about some of these things.
In the meantime, it's time to stop this god damned war!

Peace -- if not now when?

If it's Tuesday

it must be time for basketball. As previously noted, our grandson is on the local high school varsity basketball team. Which means for my wife and I will spend two or three nights (and several road trips) watching them play. Russell, our grandson, is not a starter but he gets lots of playing time and he's only a sophmore. The team is good but not much "above average." I'm not the coach so I don't complain but I think their biggest problem is that they don't play as a team very well.

Which is my segway to today's dally. Good teamwork is hard to find at any level of society these days. I am the mayor of a small town with a city council of six members. No member has been on the council less than two years and all have known each other for years. Yet they spend more time arguing about shorterm matters than working together on issues that really matter, such as enabling the city to prepare for the future which means we have to change.
But the reality is the lack of teamwork is prevalent at all levels of government. Partisanship is so much the name of the game today that I wonder if any progress can be made in bringing about a just society. I am happy that the Repubs have finally lost control of both our state and the federal legislative branches but, though I firmly believe that Democrats are better intentioned that the Repubs, I wonder if the whole system isn't so skewed that real change that will benefit the "least of these" as much as does those who already benefit is beyond possiblity.

Still I'm not ready to give up. I'll settle for small steps as long as they move us forward. Unfortunately it will take us years, probabll decades, to even gain back the progress that was made before "the Reagan revolution" began to do away with any hint of a just society in favor of one of, for, and by the wealthy. What I don't want to settle for is decisions that settle for and/or leagalize the status quo. George Bush has done more to harm the intent of the constitution than any president in history. He should be impeached and in a just and truly constitution-based society he would be, but in today's rea;ity it won't happen so we can't dwell on it. I want the Democrats to reverse the direction of our government and let George Bush stew in his own misery.

I have also come to realize that progressive change in a democracy rarely comes in citizen inititives, it comes from elected leaders. Therefore I put most of my hope in someone who seeks political office. I should say at this point that I am a liberal Democrat who lives in what is usually identified as a conservative region. I personally think people are more apathetic and uninvolved than conservative. I think the feeling is that government owes us but we shouldn't have to pay for anything. I think that explains why they usually vote for Repubs.

Right now my first choice for President in the '08 election is John Edwards but others are also acceptable to me. I will have a real hard time generating any enthusiasm if Hillary Clinton is nominated by the Democrats. The only thing she has going for her as far as I'm concerned is that she would be better than any Republican who is under consideration.

Edwards would include everybody as a player on the team and we would all end up winners!

Enough for today. It's time to end this god damn war!

Peace in our time!

When I'm in a hurry

I often get thing a little garbled. I'm not a "natural typist" (I lost half of the index finger on my left hand when I was three years old - a story for another time) so I usually have to write a couple of sentences then go back and correct spelling.
All that aside, I have only a few minutes before I have to leave for my grandson's basletball game and I won't be home until late so I won't to "dally for a bit" before I leave.
The war is on my mnd this morning. Truth be told , it's on my mind every day. Just a saw Keith Olbermann commentary on YouTube that I had missed a couple of days ago. I think KO is right on about Bush, he's delusional about just about everything but espescially about this (his) war. He doesn't give a damn about anybody's sacrifice, that's something that doesn't even enter his psychi, to him this is all about him being the "boss." How in the world did such a loser become the president of our nation. I think it shows the fallibilty of people's (misplaced) trust. He convinced a lot of people to trust him. But, of course, like most of his life, he didn't and couldn't have done all he has done on his own, he had to have enablers. Unfortunately those enablers were, are, a hell of a lot smarter than he is and they know how to pull his chain and lead him around like a puppy. I don't think Bush is dumb, I just think he is ignorant and he think's he smart. Unfortunately, the world is suffering because of Bush's ignorance.
It's time for us to End this god damned war and give Bush a taste of reality!

Peace be with you!
OWHN

Beginning Again!

Maybe the third time will be "the charm." I had a previous blog that I let kind of drift away and now find I can't get back into it because I have changed email addresses. After a couple weeks of trying to get things straightened but having no luck I decided to just give up and start anew.
As stated my interests are varied but I will mostly be sharing my thoughts on politics and the church (I go to my woodworking shop when I get stressed out or just want to think about something else).
I really have a lot to learn about doing this. Trying to figure out how to add links, up load photos, etc.
Just to let you know, my politics and theology are both liberal. My politics are based on my Christian faith but I can also say that my faith is also influenced by politics. One does not have to share my faith to share my politics.
The name of this blog is rather misleading because I'm not disciplined enough to do this everyday but my goal is to post 4 or 5 times a week and to keep up with currrent events. At times I may have to discuss how my favorite (only) grandson is doing. He is 15 years old, a sophomore, plays high school football, basketball, and baseball, is a straight A student who is already taking college math courses because he has completed all that are available in our local school system. He is on the varsity basketball team (scored 9 points in last night's game against Helix) and has been on Little League and Babe Ruth All Star teams every year he has played (he's a pitcher). That's probably more info than you wanted but he's an amazing young man.

Enough for now.
Keep the Peace -- and Let's stop this god damned war!!!