Sunday, December 30, 2012

Al Qaeda Dissolves Saying U.S. Congress More Destructive to the U.S. Economy: The New Yorker

Okay, so it's another "Onion-type" fake news item I stole from friend Jim Barr. But this one's even better. Only the ironic humor of fake news could strike so deftly at the heart of just how incompetent and irresponsible our dysfunctional Congress is and has been--and how dangerous to our economy and the well-being of our nation. From the New Yorker's "Borowitz Report":

Link here:
Al Qaeda Defers to U.S. Congress : The New Yorker

[I really do have to renew my subscription to the New Yorker.]

Monday, December 24, 2012

A Holiday Letter From John Boehner (While Eric Cantor Waits in the Weeds)

 
I stole this humorous New Yorker piece from friend, Jim Barr. Just too entertaining not to pass on.
 
I respect Speaker John Boehner. He is a man who can be worked with, a man open to compromise--and he knows that compromise and incremental change are the essential elements of an advancing democracy. He has shown a patient and responsible spirit--discipline and accountability, too. But he is dealing with a broken GOP and a renegade ideological right wing that subscribes to none of those things. And the unctuous opportunist Eric Cantor appears at his shoulder like a vulture observing his prey's demise with patience and satisfaction.

Link to article, click here: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/12/a-holiday-letter-from-john-boehner.html?mbid=nl_Borowitz (61)?mbid=social_mobile_email
 

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Despair. Fear. The US Rendered Unable to Govern.


So this is what it has come to, our worst fears. Ours is now a despairing--no, frightening--state of political affairs and governance in the most powerful country in the world. Bereft of any sense of accountability or wisdom, the uncompromising ideological right wing of the GOP have now pronounced themselves a political force that will act independent of their Speaker and party. And in the process , they've made it clear they can and will render us an ungovernable country.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

New Guinea's Bird's of Paradise: Wow!

That’s about the only way you can respond to these singularly beautiful and interesting birds: wow! And that beauty is inextricably bound up in their amazing mating rituals. They can be found and seen only in the rain forests of New Guinea, and this wonderful video was produced by Cornell University’s Bird’s-of-Paradise project, which took years to film and edit. Enjoy.
 
Link to the Bird-of-Paradise video:
 

Monday, December 17, 2012

At Long Last, Light / Scarborough: Today as a nation we grieve

Scarborough: Today as a nation we grieve
 
Joe Scarborough, talk show host and former conservative congressman, begins the Monday, December 17, 2012 episode of ‘Morning Joe’ with a powerful monologue on the Friday shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
 
Link to video of his statement:
 
A powerful personal statement, yes, and more, he's right. But that has always been the clear and right answer; it's just that his ideology has until now blinded his common sense. Now, finally, he and so many others are seeing with clarity the realities, for which I am very grateful. It's deeply saddening that it has taken such a horrific event to make him see things more clearly. There has never been a defensible place for ownership of semi-automatic military assault weapons in civilian life. Not for hunting, not for target or competitive shooting, nor for any sporting uses--and certainly not for self-defense. Their only usefulness is in making money on sale and, sooner or later, mass mayhem and murder.

Personally, I own no guns or weapons of any kind. I don’t hunt, target shoot, or shoot sporting clays. So I have no need of a shotgun, pistol or rifle appropriate to any of those or similar uses. I have no need for any other kind of personal handgun or weapon, either. I do not fear for my safety in public places or in my home. And I don’t think owning a handgun would assuage my concern or prove useful even if I were fearful. No, I fear more the findings of a number of studies: it is much more likely handguns kept in the home will be used by the owner, or someone with access to them, to intentionally or accidentally wound or kill someone known to the owner or user than actually serve as a deterrent to a robbery or be used in a circumstance of self-defense.
 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Farewell, Little Space Spider

On a lighter, quirkier note, we have the fascinating story of Nefertiti, a red-backed jumping spider that did her patriotic duty aboard the International Space Station, then retired to the Smithsonian where she passed on with full honors at the ripe old age of ten months. Good story.  Learn a little, smile a little.

Link to the PBS article:
Farewell, Little Space Spider | PBS NewsHour

'Like lesser Americans': Atheists Face Discrimination, Persecution

As an American and a person of a Christian faith, it troubles me deeply that people who call themselves Christians are so willing to judge others,and do it so openly, both within and without the faith community. Our New Testament Scriptures admonish us so clearly to do neither. We are called to reflect as much as humanly possible the heart, mind and example of Christ: to love, forgive, show compassion and charity, and do it with kindness, patience and humily--and leave the judgments to God. May God bless to our better understanding the spiritual presumption that these Christ-like qualities are aspired to and embraced in every aspect of our attempts to breathe life and action into a Christian life, its teachings and faith understandings.

This article offers the perspective of those who do not feel called to any particular religion or spiritual tradition, and are unconvinced of the existence of God: atheists. For decades, there has been an increasing hostility between more conservative Christians and "secular humanists" (atheists, agnostics and, often, more progressive Christians) over social and cultural issues, often referred to as the "Culture Wars." There is nothing Christian about the way it has been carried out. And there is nothing biblical about legislating one groups faith dictates on another; its power and influence reside in the example and apparent rightness reflected in the lives and community of the faithful. If not, then it has no power and influence at all--and shouldn't.

More to the point, being overtly judgmental toward those unconvinced of God's existence is not only acting directly against the teaching of the Christian faith, it is also failing to affirmatively and sympathetically present the faith and those who claim to be changed by it. We are to let our lives and interactions speak for themselves, to act toward others in a way that engenders respect and trust, and an openness to better understanding. But too often the public and political lives of too many Christians have failed completely to present a sympathetic image to people of other faiths or those of no religious belief.  It's not the calling and way of our faith, and it is not the American way, the way of respect, or at the very least, tolerance, for all religious views or for those who embrace none at all.

In addition to the situation in the US, the article covers the topic from an international perspective focusing on areas of particularly strong discrimination, including the Middle-Eastern and Muslim countries. It is worth reading. Just click on the link below.

Link to article:
’Like lesser Americans’: Atheists face discrimination, persecution, report says

Monday, December 3, 2012

Can the Lincoln Movie Inspire Our Leaders?

Joe Klein, excerpted from his recent Time article:
 
Suddenly it seems as if everyone in the political world is talking about Steven Spielberg's splendid film Lincoln. Instead of the standard Hollywood hagiography, it is an act of civic virtue: a movie about a living, breathing, horse-trading, occasionally mendacious genius of a politician. It resurrects the noble greasiness of politics at a perfect moment: we need some inspired horse-trading in Washington right now, with short-term stimulus, long-term deficit reduction, health care and other issues on the table.
 
--“A New Birth of Politics,” by Joe Klein, Time (12.10.2012)
 
Don't we all want that from both President Obama and Speaker Boehner? But are they up to it? Can they look past party, ideology, and short-term political victory and craft the compromise that best serves the country? Sure hope so.
 
 
Additional Link to entire article: