Tina Fey nails it again!

The scariest part is that some of this parody is taken word for word from the actual Couric/Palin interview. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

Michelle Obama's Advocate Op-Ed

Michelle Obama on why a Barack Obama presidency will lead to a more lgbt-friendly America. Excerpt:

As an Illinois state senator, Barack championed the law that amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, in housing, and in public places. In the middle of a tight race for U.S. Senate, Barack went on the record supporting a complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. As a U.S. senator, he voted to protect our Constitution from the stain of discrimination by voting against the Federal Marriage Amendment.

He has supported full funding for the Ryan White CARE Act and has pledged to implement a national HIV/AIDS strategy to combat the continuing epidemic in the United States. He has also spoken out against the stigma surrounding HIV testing, a stigma tied all too often to homophobia. And he’s led by example: On our trip to Kenya, we both took a public HIV test.

This is why Barack is running for president—because he believes that if we work together, we can build the world as it should be.

Andrew, i could kiss you!

Wise Words on White Privilege

Tim Wise is an anti-racism writer, activist, and self-described polemecist, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son and Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White, and someone who's writing i highly recommend.

His latest essay is titled: This is Your Nation on White Privilege.

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll “kick their fuckin' ass,” and talk about how you like to “shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re "untested." 


The rest of his essay may be read here; you'll also find links to some of his other essays. Plus there's more at Tim Wise's official website.

Attention, Media: Grow a Pair!

They'll know we are Christians by our...divisiveness?

It's a stomach churning experience to wake up and find that radical agenda-pushing outsiders have come knocking next door to beat your neighbors' ears. From the New Mexico Independent:

Albuquerque -- Slicked-back hair and clad in all black, Stephen Baldwin looked the part of a Hollywood star Thursday night.

Except he wasn't rehearsing a scene or calling his agent. He was stuck in an anteroom of Legacy Church, a sprawling, mega church west of downtown Albuquerque, with a reporter and waiting to go on stage to talk to about voting "Christian values" -- which, to his mind, meant mainly one thing: voting against abortion.

"In the kingdom murder comes against the king," Baldwin told the Independent."So anybody who says abortion is acceptable is not in agreement with the king. Therefore you cannot truly be a Christian."

Baldwin conveyed similar sentiments a few minutes to the several hundred people who had gathered to hear what he and others had to say about voting "Christian values" come Election Day.

Last Sunday Father Brian's sermon was entitled entitled "Polarization or Harmony".

We’ve just had the national conventions of our two main political parties. While there were some inspiring moments, there were times when the speakers acted like immature kids, taunting their opponents with distorted accusations and sarcastic punch-lines. The crowd cheered in self-righteous conformity “Yeah, that’s showin’ ‘em!” Is this how a great and dignified civilization behaves? Are we still the nation of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln or have we become some kind of Saturday morning cartoon?

Polarization has a grip on this country, not only in politics, but also in religion, in our church. Instead of having a reasoned debate, we fight for 51% of the vote, winner take all. It’s a culture war, with neither side able to even comprehend the world-view of the other. I heard one commentator say that it was the greatest divide since the Civil War.

As i said to Brian+ after Sunday's service, "That's a sermon that i really needed to hear."

War of the aphorism

Apparently the McCain campaign only considers it an offensive aphorism when a Democrat uses it to refer to McCain's policies, but not when McCain uses it to refer to Hilary Clinton's efforts to improve healthcare.



"A beautiful idea has a much greater chance of being a correct idea than an ugly one."
Roger Penrose; The emperor's new mind

Peelin' back the curtain on Palin's Dominionist ties

Bruce Wilson's article at the Huffington Post explores the direct links of Sarah Palin's churches to a radical movement which has been repeatedly declared heretical by the Assemblies of God churches.

Sarah Palin's churches are actively involved in a resurgent movement that was declared heretical by the Assemblies of God in 1949. This is the same 'Spiritual Warfare' movement that was featured in the award winning movie, "Jesus Camp," which showed young children being trained to do battle for the Lord. At least three of four of Palin's churches are involved with major organizations and leaders of this movement, which is referred to as The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit or the New Apostolic Reformation. The movement is training a young "Joel's Army" to take dominion over the United States and the world.

For more information about Joel's Army, check out this article from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Highlights of the past week

Compare what your taxes would be under Obama's and McCain's plans.

Pay no attention to the ringer behind the podium - she's only there to read from a teleprompter and distract us from the fact that the McCain/Palin ticket offers nothing of substance. But just so you have the facts to answer the lies, here's Palin vs. Reality.

Survey says:

Obama raised 8M from 130,000 donors online after the Palin Speech. Link
McCain raised 1M. Link

Some Iraq War numbers as of today: our soldiers- 4155 killed, over 100,000 injured.
Iraqi Deaths: 1,255,026
Please pray for all those affected by this war and other conflicts around the globe.

“Sounds like Rep. Westmoreland should be careful throwing stones from his candidate's eight glass houses,” said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor on Thursday. Southern Congressman calls the Obamas 'uppity'.

While Senator McCain may not know how many houses he & Mrs. McCain own, convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff is going to his new home - the big house.

Tropical Storm Hannah arrives in the US with Hurricane Ike hot on her trail. The AFP coverage.

Here in New Mexico, Democrats protested today's local McCain/Palin rally.

Albuquerque resident Tracy Dingmann, who attended both the Democratic and Republican Conventions, contrasts and compares them in her commentary published by the New Mexico Independent.

Located on the first floor of the building where I work is the office of the Republican Party of Bernalillo County on one side of the main entrance and the New Mexico Martin Luther King Jr. State Commission office on the other. While passing them on my way out to lunch yesterday, I was drawn to the boisterous laughter coming from the open door of the MLK Commission office. I stepped inside and with a big wink and a grin said, "Y'all seem to be having lots of fun here. Unlike across the hall," leaning back to look pointedly at the open door of the Republican offices. Amidst more laughter, one of the MLK ladies said, "Did you watch their convention?" "A little," said I, "but watching all those white people just creeped me out." She replied, "Oh, there were black folk there. About three of them, all in the front row." Amidst more pealing laughter I headed out of the building, shamefully savoring a bit of schadenfreude as I glanced over at the very subdued and sour-faced folks in the Republican offices.

Spit it strong, sister!

Gloria Steinem's op-ed in today's LA Times, Palin:Wrong Woman, Wrong Message, is one of the best editorials i've read in a good long while. An excerpt:

Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

Sarah who?

Online media, including blogs, are engrossed in finding out information about Senator McCain's un-vetted choice as a running mate. Here are some informative links:
Palin's Start in Alaska: Not Politics as Usual (New York Times)
Wasilla housewife's letter (Anne Kilkenny)
Documents Detail Palin's Political Life (politico.com)
2006 Democratic Alaskan Gubernatorial Tony Knowles' Palin research
Project Votesmart's Palin page

There's also a rumor floating around that Sarah Louise Heath Palin is heiress to the Heath Candy fortune. I cannot find anything that independently confirms this. Until such confirmation is found, the truth of this rumor seems very questionable.

Queer Eye for the Lectioniary

Louie Crew, husband of Ernest Clay, professor emeritus of English at Rutgers University, founder of Integrity USA, and also known as Quean Lutibelle, has maintained the blog Lutibelle's Natter for several years. It's hosted on the Unofficial Anglican Pages of Louie Crew. In addition to hosting Natter, his Unofficial Anglican Pages continue to be a wonderful gift to those of us with more than a passing interest in The Episcopal Church, LGBT Christians, and poetry.

Now Quean Lutibelle has chosen to bestow another boon to the blogosphere, Queer Eye for the Lectionary. In Louie's own words:

I like to anticipate the Sunday Mass by reflecting on the lections in advance. My reflections indicate what one person in the congregation is thinking going into the service. Those who preach may get a jump start here on what they will do with the same texts. Those who sit in the pew with me will be prompted to ask their own questions.

Unlike the preacher, I am free to do my work in bits and pieces. I jot notes. I ask questions. I share experiences that relate to the texts and inform my queer angle on them.

I come up with more questions than answers. That is what has always brought me to the texts, even when at age 6 in 1942 I taught a Sunday School class to kids ages 4-5 in a mill village where our Baptist Church had a mission.

I've yet to read through all Louie's posts on QE4L, but what i've read thus far is excellent. Thank you Louie! Please visit his new blog and enjoy!