Good Advice from Rev. Peter Gomes

Good Advice from Rev. Peter Gomes

"Discover something in life that is worth doing, not simply something you're good at, or that's profitable.That means doing the very best you can to conquer this culture of mediocrity, to destroy the mendacious second-class set of values that permeate our culture. Excellence is what you have been called to exercise, and you have the capacity to do so."

Rev. Peter Gomes, American Baptist minister and member of the faculty of Harvard's Arts and Sciences and Divinity school, gave the commencement speech at UNC/Chapel Hill on Sunday morning.

_________


I will be away from the blog for a few days. Because of an unfortunate string of meaningless and fruitless offensive attacks lately, I have my Comments section on 'moderation mode' and may not get to them until I return. I hope you will read and enjoy what I've provided here for your reflection.

I may be reached at iddybud@yahoo.com if you have any questions or messages for me.

Have a great week!

Byrd Option

Byrd's Option

Republican talking points are misleading these days. So, what's new, right?

The Right (for example, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell on one of yesterday's Sunday morning talk shows) is trying to skate away with categorizing the nuclear option as "the Byrd option".

The Nuclear Option battle is a fight for the soul of the GOP - and I wonder if the radical wing of the Republican party will win?

This is NOT a fight for the soul of the Democrats. The GOP's center is dissolving and their armor of "party unity" is melting away.

You cannot blame any Democrat as they have no majority power at this time..and they are having their only bit of minority power in Judicial matters stolen by the GOP, who wants to change every rule when they cannot get their way. (The Founding Fathers would spin in their eternal resting places like chicken rotisserie if they knew!)

Only, the GOP doesn't want America to figure that out, so they look for a Democratic scapegoat. Byrd was once a bigot. Most of the white guys who were the real bigots, however, ran to the Republican Party in the sixties.

I wish to talk about Byrd's real option. Senator Byrd had an option to remain a bigot in 1964, or to move on with the times.

Sen. Byrd is one of the 'coolest' of all Congressmen, if you ask me. He has learned many lessons in his long, long political life and is not afraid to share his experience and political evolution with us. You see, he changed over the years, whereas white guys like Strom Thurmond decided to remain in the old southern Dixiecrat mode....by becoming a Republican (and Trent Lott loves the fact to this day)! Bigot that Strom was, God rest his soul, he switched from the Democratic to the Republican party in 1964 to join the like-minded bigotry, mid-Civil Rights era...and Byrd stuck it out with the Democrats - with courage and real ideological change - surely NOTHING of which to be ashamed.

I'm a Pundit Blogger

You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few. The fellow in the picture looks like Bora, and it's a weird coincidence that I found this quiz at Bora's blog.

What kind of blogger are you?

First Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere Named

First Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere Named

There is a new poet laureate out there in America tonight. She is the very first Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere. Billy Jones announces:

Ladies and gentlemen, bloggers and citizens of the world, please allow me to introduce you to Jilly Dybkla, Poet Laureate Of The Blogosphere, and writer of the Poetry Hut Blog Congratulations Jilly, I’ll bet folks over in your neck of the woods are smiling and cheering for you.

Jilly hails from Kingston Springs TN.

Personal Democracy Forum: Too Expensive

Personal Democracy Forum: Too Expensive

I would have loved to have attended the Personal Democracy Forum Conference taking place at CUNY tomorrow, and I think I could have contributed much to the conversation and gotten a lot out of it..... but I couldn't afford $295 plus the expense for traveling to New York.

I do look forward to mini-conferencing with my blogging friends in Greensboro, NC later this week. It's too bad the Chapel Hill blogging group meets the exact same night/same time. Sigh. If only I could be two places at the same time.

Bolton Mania

Condi Rice introduces John R. Boltonto a dismayed planet


"There is no such thing as the United Nations..if the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."

"It is a big mistake for us to grant any validity to international law even when it may seem in our short-term interest to do so ­ because, over the long term, the goal of those who think that international law really means anything are those who want to constrict the United States."

"...most skilled diplomat...."
"....I am honored...."

...honored........honored..........I am honored?..........................honored??
................................honored?????


HONORED?!?





*This was originally posted March 8. It's an oldie, but a goodie!

Does the GOP Value American Freedom and Democracy?

Does the GOP Value American Freedom and Democracy?

When the state becomes the church, we no longer live in a free country. The government becomes similar to the one that spurred the American Revolution.

Congress has the lowest public approval rating that it has seen in years. The far right pundits will lead you to believe it is the fault of "Democratic obstructionists", but the reality is that moderate, liberal, and progressive citizens are disgusted with the radical right holding the reins of leadership in Congress - pandering to the Religious Far Right.

John McCain denounced the Religious Far Right's influence today on ABC's This Week, yet he aligned himself closely with George W. Bush at last year's Republican Convention with fear-mongering rhetoric and an obvious ommission of any talk about domestic issues. I don't see Bush denouncing the GOP leadership that is coddling the religious extremists. So, isn't McCain a hypocrite or a pathetic dodger, at best? In his Convention speech, McCain said "We have to love our freedom not just for the material benefits it provides, not just for the autonomy it guarantees us, but for the goodness it makes possible." What goodness comes of enriching the richest and creating a Godzilla-deficit with which our poor children will be enslaved?


The state of the American faith-based conscience is sickened with worldly interests that are not 'good faith' approaches to Christian action. The secure harbor of the promise of increased wealth, which is guaranteed to the richest Americans by GOP policies, bars the way from their heresy to the Christian truth.

It is sad irony that the GOP should try to co-opt God and Christianity in their politics, while in reality, they perpetrate the roadblock to Christian truth. At the same time, they run against the U.S. Founding principles.

We cannot allow their lies and deceit to destroy our free and democratic country.

Watch the GOP in the next couple of weeks. They will not be able to blame the Democrats for any obstruction on the "nuclear option" issue because the Democrats aren't the ones who hold the power to make or break the filibuster rule. This, my friends, will be a fight for the soul of the GOP...by the GOP.

In the next couple of weeks, we'll see what value the GOP places on the American freedom and democracy which was purchased by the blood of our ancestors.

technorati category: Politics

BushFish Is American Heresy

If this isn't heresy, the word has no meaning. Not only is it Christian heresy, it's American heresy.
Tip o'the hat to Tim and Carlos.

Jimmy Martin RIP

Jimmy Martin RIP

Bluegrass singer Jimmy Martin has died at the age of 77, after a long battle with bladder cancer. Earlier this week, Jimmy had made it clear to his family that he was ready to leave this world. He was moved to hospice care last Thursday night and his feeding tube was removed. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. You may send cards and letters of support to his children - Jimmy Jr., Ray, Lisa, and Buddy at the following address:

PO Box 646
Hermitage, TN 37076

Republican Governor Speaks Against Grassroots Political Activity

Republican Governor Speaks Against Grassroots Political Activity

Attack on House Parties
From: DFA Blog

Vermont Governor James Douglas
(R-VT) has come out against Democracy for America's House Parties for Health Care, saying these community-driven gatherings, "raise the level of partisan discourse" and are "unconstructive." Funny, we happen to think raising the level of discourse in general is a good thing.

What will the GOP do next? Move to stop Americans from assembling?

He should talk

He should talk

Democrats blow clumps of snot from their noses that are bigger (and far more interesting) than this little guy.

We should be heartfully ashamed of having this sort of person being able to call himself one of the most powerful "statesmen"(?) in the nation. Anyone who could use these words about his colleagues is surely not a leader we can trust to get the work of the nation accomplished in the spirit of compromise or unity.

While his partisan cronies celebrate in a glitzy room with tuxedos and ballgowns and dine on their filet mignon and salmon, Joe Sixpack down on Main Street USA works harder (if he can find a job) and becomes poorer because of the policies shoved down his throat by the glitzy greedy Goobers.

John Edwards To Receive Award for Mission to Alleviate Poverty

John Edwards To Receive Award for His Mission to Alleviate Poverty

I have learned, from traya at the One America blog, that in conjunction with the One Table, Many Voices Conference (Jim Wallis' Call to Renewal) in early June, John Edwards will be this year's recipient of the Joseph Award, which honors individuals who faithfully use their positions of influence to benefit those in poverty.

A list of conference speakers is HERE.

The conference looks like a very educational one. See the agenda and sign up for the conference HERE if you're interested.

Bart Campolo will be one of the speakers at the conference. Bart's work is with Mission Year, which recruits young adults from around the country to live and work together as full-time Christian servants in poor inner-city neighborhoods.

technorati categories: Politics, Religion, President2008

War We Wage in Iraq is Medicine For Illness Without Cure

War We Wage in Iraq is Medicine For Illness Without Cure

If a person is receiving strong chemotherapy for an agressive cancer, and while they are receiving the strongest drugs available, the cancer becomes more vicious and invasive, do you believe the medicine is working? Do you consider it a successful treatment? Hope is reduced to a prayer, and in the face of bitter reality, inevitable death arrives to meet the faith that lies within the terminally ill person's prayer.

How is this any different? I guess it depends on how you view the chances that a civil war in Iraq, which has surely broken out and has been fueled by hatred for our occupation, will destroy the chances for a united, inclusive Iraq with a successful and healthy democracy. Inevitable death of the dream of democracy for Iraq may be a reality if our medicine cannot provide the cure.


photo: Globe and Mail/Canada

Is the "illness" terminal? How will Sunni minds be changed while we destroy their infrastructure and tear their families apart with killing? Have we sabotaged our troops with the wrong policy? Have we gone about this in a way that will destroy our own (and Iraq's) chance for success? Are we hurting the Iraqi people more than we're helping?

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated yeterday that the insurgency could last for many more years - three to nine years. If there's one thing history can tell us, it's that the American public will not stand for a prolonged loss of troops and treasure over this.

I do not see that we are winning the minds of the Sunnis with our brand of 'medicine', and the war we are making upon their homes and persons is likened to the chemotherapy holding off the vicious inevitable.

How do we get out? How do we explain to the mothers and fathers / husbands and wives of soldiers who've sacrificed their lives that the war must have an endgame and that their sacrifice meant something of value? I really want to know.

I want our country to succeed while acting as a respectable and benevolent supporter of human rights and freedom. I have no trust left for the Bush team who planned this war. They have breached my trust by misleading us citizens (and our Representatives) all the way from the lead-up to the Iraq war to the present day.

What is the endgame?

technorati tag: Politics

Quote of the Day - Thomas Jefferson

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government.



This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose."

- Thomas Jefferson

Headlines

Headlines

Whistleblower Group Wants Legal Protection For Whistleblowers

Led by Sibel Edmonds and joined by Daniel Ellsberg and Colleen Rowley, a new group calling themselves the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC)wants Congress to take action to enable whistleblowers to sue government retaliators in their personal and official capacities. They also wish to be able to bring suit against agencies for failure to follow up and rectify wrongdoing by employees after the whistle's been blown. The group is also asking for sufficient safeguards against whistleblower retaliation. Ms. Edmonds has said: "In recent years the number of national security whistleblowers has grown exponentially, so has the level of retaliation and harassment against these whistleblowers by the government." Edward Markey of Massachusetts, a senior Democratic member of the House of Representatives committee on homeland security, said he plans to introduce a bill to protect national security whistleblowers.


John Conyers Says Byron York Sidesteps Issue of 2004 Ohio Exit Polls

John Conyers has written an eye-opening column for Arianna Huffington about the 2004 Ohio election. Only those who do not wish to open their own eyes and hope no one else decides to open theirs will ignore this column (and they hope you will, too). He compares the Ohio exit poll realities to the strangely disparate Ohio election results and 'wonders' why National Review's White House correspondent Byron York has sidestepped the issue in his writings, as Conyers believes it's the "canary in the coal mine", sure as you're born.


'Give 'Em the Finger', Say Conservative Christian Political Coalitions
(Note: This is satire)

The Coalition for Traditional Values and other conservative Christian advocacy groups are encouraging concerned citizens to send wacky foam rubber fingers to their U.S. Senators, asking them to support President Bush’s nominees and to stop the unconstitutional filibustering of judges. LINK - The Swift Report


33 Major Military Insatllations Are Going Bye-Bye. 775 Smaller Locations Are Going, Too

Someone has to pay for the billions we've sunk into the ill-conceived and poorly planned Iraq War. The towns and cities who have received economic benefit from these military bases will suffer greatly.


Clinton and Murray Seek HHS Investigation into W. David Hager's Professional Conduct

W. David Hager's job has been to evaluate data and make recommendations on the safety and effectiveness of drugs for use in obstetrics. Before he was appointed to the reproductive drugs advisory panel by President Bush, Hager wrote books advocating reading Scripture as an appropriate treatment for PMS. (He'd not likely remain conscious for long if he were to suggest that to ME while in the throes of PMS, as I'd likely smash my big ol' Bible over his fat Punkin' Head.) He denied contraceptives to his patients unless they were married. He endorsed an assertion that the birth control pill is an abortifacient. It has recently been discovered that there was a videotaped sermon in which Hager admits he was asked to submit a memo to the FDA commissioner on why the agency should ignore the 23-to-4 committee vote in favor of approval of 'Plan B' and reject the application altogether. Sure enough, the official rejection that followed was for the reasons that Hager had suggested in the video. Yesterday, Hillary Clinton and Patty Murray asked HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt for an investigation into Hager's involvement with the Plan B decision. "We are concerned that the FDA's decision-making process is placing personal beliefs over science," they said. The Carpetbagger Report comments that, "true to form in Bush’s America, [Hager] will be promoted".


More Chan Chandlers? 'Parish' the Thought!

The carpetbagger Report has more on the removal of Chan Chandler from the Wakefield Baptist Church in East Waynesville, NC. It is suggested that religious conservatives hope to clear the way for a legally perfect path to enable them to harbor many more Chan Chandlers in their churches. Plenty of conservatives (sometimes called American Taliban by wry pundits) want to change existing tax law to allow pastors like Chan Chandler to engage in equally partisan behavior and generate similar controversies across the country. Carpetbagger Report says:

"..there’s a bill called the “Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act” (H.R. 235) that would change the law to allow tax-exempt houses of worship to engage in blatantly partisan campaign activities. In fact, the bill was introduced by North Carolinian Walter Jones (R) and has received support from Rep. Charles Taylor (R), who happens to represent the district in which the East Waynesville Baptist Church resides. The funny thing is, the Chan Chandler controversy was so outrageous, no one’s defending it. It’s the kind of incident that might kill off the “Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act” once and for all."

"You Da One"

Dave Johnson would like to remind you that YOU are the leaders you may be waiting around for.


Nuclear Option Will Probably Come Up Soon

Read Steve Benen's take on why we can expect the nuclear option to come up next week.


Senfronia, I Salute You

At Pam's House Blend, there is a statement from Texas House Representative Senfronia Thompson that is refreshingly honest. Speaking about a resolution which was sponsored by Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa(TX), which would let Texas voters decide whether the constitution should be amended to say that marriage should be between a man and a woman, she says:

"I got second-hand textbooks even worse than the kind you're trying to pass off on every public school student next year. I had to ride to school on the back of the bus. I had to quench my thirst from filthy coloreds-only drinking fountains. I had to enter restaurants from the kitchen door. I was banned from entering most public accommodations, even from serving on a jury. I had to live with the fear that getting too uppity could get you killed --- or worse. I know what third-class citizenship feels like. In my first term, one of my colleagues walked up and down this aisle muttering about how Nigras should be back in the field picking cotton instead of picking out committees. So, I have to wonder about Rep. Chisum's "3/5 of a person" amendment. Some of you folks hid behind your Bible then, too, to justify your cultural prejudices, your denial of liberty, and your gunpoint robbery of human dignity."

Wow. I'm impressed. Senfronia is so bluntly honest. President Bush is blunt, too, so it's no political novelty. The difference, for me, is that Senfronia is blunt AND ideologically recognizable to my sense of reality, social justice, and truth. I'd love to see more like her in public service today. This is what grassroots politics is all about - keeping it real and watching out for the rights of citizens who are all too often made invisible and kept weak by the hidden discrimination and irrational public fear enabled by the conduct of politics-as-usual. I wrote to the Congresswoman today. You can write her, too - GO HERE.

Bernie Sanders on The Media

Bernie Sanders on The Media

"...let me tell you some of the concerns that I have with what's going on in the media today. Am I concerned that when I am asked to speak about an issue like Iraq, I get six seconds to respond? Yep. I'm concerned. Because I can't, and you can’t, and our panelists can't, and nobody can discuss an issue intelligently in a six-second sound bite, which is what dominates television, which is the most important medium in our country.

Am I concerned that, by definition, corporately-owned media is pro-corporate? Yeah, I am very concerned about that. We see the manifestations of that all over the place. We saw the difference between how the corporate media treated a moderate Democrat like Bill Clinton, as opposed to a conservative Republican like George Bush. We saw how they covered the lead up and the war in Iraq so that millions of Americans, in order to get unbiased news, had to go to the CBC in Canada or the BBC.

Am I concerned about that? I sure am. Am I concerned that the media seems to think that one of the major issues facing civilization today is the Michael Jackson case? Or maybe -- break it to you: Britney Spears is pregnant! It's true. And we'll have many months of discussion about that or the local trials or the horrible crimes. Am I concerned about that? I sure am.

But of all those concerns and many more, let me tell you what my deeper concern is. My concern is not just what the media reports or discusses and the slants that it has on the issues -- that's important -- but the deeper concern is what the media does not talk about.."

- Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

Transcript found at Democracy Now

"Nuclear Option" Mass Immediate Response

"Nuclear Option" Mass Immediate Response

People For the American Way has created a "Nuclear Option" Mass Immediate Response. By giving them your cell phone number, they will text message you as soon as Senate Republicans trigger the "nuclear option." Embedded in that text message will be a link to the Senate switchboard. With the push of a couple buttons, your call – along with thousands of others – will go right through to the corridors of power demanding preservation of the filibuster.

This is a brand new technology, and this is the first time it is being used on a large scale. They say:

"Don’t worry: we will NEVER send you spam or disclose your number to anyone else; in fact, we won’t even send you any more text messages without first sending you an e-mail like this one, asking you to opt in."

Photo: John Brown's Farm

John Brown's Farm
North Elba N.Y.

photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Headlines

Headlines

The Pastor who said he felt it his religious duty to call the presidential race openly against John Kerry, even though he knew it was against the rules, is SACKED.

In the same story, the Christian Science Monitor reports:

Even in an era of intense partisan divides, the reaction of parishioners here suggests that even in the heart of "red-state" America, many want to see some boundary drawn between the demands of their faith and their ballot-box choices.

White supremacists visit Boston. They don't exactly get the red carpet treatment.

H.R. 418, the "Real I.D. Act" was passed by the House. Margaret Stock explains what a nightmare it will be for the Department Of Defense if it is signed into law. Raw Story has reported that House Democrats were locked out of debate on the sweeping and controversial REAL ID Act. A total of 42 House Democrats supported the bill. Currently, the legislation is sitting in a Senate committee.

H.R. 418. See Sec. 102(c):

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.

(2) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW- Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court shall have jurisdiction—

(A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1); or

(B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive, equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to arise from any such action or decision.

...A "delightful example of the Rule of Man-not-Law", writes Brian Doherty of Reason "..That any member of U.S. Congress could vote for a law with such a provision—giving one (non-elected, no less) official the power to override any existing law, exempt from any judicial oversight or relief, in pursuit of his goals ought to be enough to chill your blood, kids, and send us running for the border—after our passport gets biometrically chipped, of course."

Rotten Republican Hacking Going On - Will FBI act?

Roch Smith Jr's site, Greensboro101.org, based in North Carolina, was hacked April 28 by someone with self-described Republican leanings. Smith said he had no qualms about seeking assistance from the FBI, even though he has received e-mail from others who worry that the FBI won't treat the organization fairly because of their leftist leanings. "Law enforcement isn't for Republicans only. It's a crime. This is America, and we have laws that should be enforced," he said. "In my opinion, if they continue to have a childish view of law enforcement and the FBI, then they'll continue to leave themselves vulnerable to attacks."

Social Security: Just who is the "middle class"? Who gets what taken away? That's an all-important question in the Social Security debate.

US real wages fall at fastest rate in 14 years - Stingy pay rises mean many Americans will have to work longer hours to keep up with the cost of living, and they could ultimately undermine consumer spending and economic growth.

The U.S. Army, remaining short of its recruiting goals and with recruiters facing disciplinary action for their dealings with potential recruits, will halt its recruiting efforts for one day this month to allow commanders to emphasize proper conduct.

US towns brace for base-closing wave: The Pentagon is expected to announce a large number of closings among its 425 domestic bases.

Blogger-Pundit Ed Cone talks about his recent "appearance" on Jon Stewart's Daily Show. Skippy The Bush Kangaroo "appeared" the same night. Jon Stewart says "When I want news, I turn to CNN...and they turn...to...skippy...the bush kangaroo."



WORLD:

Helena Cobban discusses war-crimes prosecutions and how they can actually be counterproductive, and uses the example of Southern Sudan, where international funds were used to support the demobilization and resettlement of former fighters.

A reporter writes from Afghanistan:

"We tell ourselves that, statistically speaking, there are more murders in New York City or Washington, D.C. than in a war-zone like Kabul...But with a single terrorist attack, that confidence can evaporate. A bombing at an Internet cafe in Kabul will always get more attention than a murder in, say, New York’s Central Park. One is a symbolic attack on The West; the other is just a senseless death."

Protests are breaking out in Afghanistan over alleged abuses of the Koran at Gitmo. Four protestors were shot down and 70 were wounded yesterday in Jalalabad where protesters threw stones at police, and at least three more were shot down today. Several hundred students shouting "Death to America" held a peaceful protest in the capital of Kabul today. Protesters attacked police and government offices in Wardak province, southwest of Kabul. Hundreds of protesters in Logar province, 50 km (30 miles) south of Kabul, blocked the main road and chanted "Death to Bush" and "Long live Islam".

At Informed Comment, Juan Cole discusses Newsday's coverage of the current surge of violence in Iraq:

Pat Lang argues that this is a civil war. It may be, of an odd guerrilla sort....Sunni politicians are complaining bitterly about the demands for ideological conformity coming from the Shiite religious parties that dominate the new government....Iraq expert Phebe Marr thinks the Sunni Arab problem is not going away and that the American public will have to get more realistic about the situation.

David Sirota expects a hell of a lot more than the mainstream media (ABC, in this case) is apparently willing to give us on Iraq.

Quote:

....how unbelievable this actually is: A MAJOR AMERICAN MEDIA OUTLET HAS NOW DECLARED THAT THEY SIMPLY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN LETTING THE CARNAGE IN IRAQ "BREAK THROUGH" IN THEIR NEWS COVERAGE - AS IF IT IS SIMPLY NOT NEWSWORTHY. You can just imagine the pathetic newsroom attitude: we don't cover cats getting stuck in trees, we don't birthday parties at the local McDonalds, and we don't cover America's multi-billion dollar war in the Mideast.

Jim Wallis: God's own party?

Jim Wallis: God's own party?
From: Sojourners

Several weeks ago, Episcopal priest and former Republican Senator John Danforth began an op-ed in the New York Times by writing: "By a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians." And, I would add, some Religious Right leaders are trying to transform the church into the religious arm of conservative Republicans. Either way, these partisan attempts to hijack faith and politics are wrong.

Yet each week brings a new outrage. This week's news was of a Baptist church in North Carolina, where nine members, including three deacons, say they had their membership revoked because they were Democrats who supported John Kerry. According to the Charlotte News-Observer, the nine walked out of a church meeting when Pastor Chan Chandler asked them to sign documents agreeing with his political views. When they left, members remaining voted to terminate their membership.

While the pastor has attributed it to a "misunderstanding," the former members say that last fall he told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Kerry should either leave the church or repent. One, a 75-year-old deacon, told the News-Observer: "He went on and on about how he's going to bring politics up, and if we didn't agree with him we should leave. I think I deserve the right to vote for who I want to." News reports today indicate that Pastor Chandler is resigning.

It's the latest outrage in a continuing pattern. Last year, news stories included Republicans seeking church membership lists and mailing postcards implying Democrats wanted to ban the Bible. Just a few weeks ago, Religious Right speakers held what they billed as "Justice Sunday - Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith" in support of President Bush's judicial nominees. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was quoted in the New York Times as saying Democrats "have targeted people for reasons of their faith or moral position."

Because many other religious voices spoke to challenge the attempt to make God a partisan, President Bush, to his credit, repudiated the equation of faith with his policies. He was asked at his recent press conference whether he thought filibusters against nominees were "an attack against people of faith." He replied: "I think people are opposing my nominees because they don't like the judicial philosophy of the people I've nominated.... I don't ascribe a person's opposing my nominations to an issue of faith."

Then, on ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos asked Pat Robertson about his statement that "the out-of-control judiciary, and this was in your last book Courting Disaster, is the most serious threat America has faced in nearly 400 years of history, more serious than al Qaeda..." Robertson replied: "George, I really believe that. I think they are destroying the fabric that holds our nation together...the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings."

This latest news from North Carolina is the logical, inevitable result of the road the Religious Right and some Republicans have taken.

It is the assumption that Christians must accept one partisan political position on issues, or be accused of not being Christian. This is an assumption we must reject. Rather, we must insist on the deep connections between spirituality and politics while defending the proper boundaries between church and state that protect religious and nonreligious minorities and keep us all safe from state-controlled religion. We can demonstrate our commitment to pluralistic democracy and support the rightful separation of church and state without segregating moral and spiritual values from our political life. Abraham Lincoln, in his famous Second Inaugural Address, said of the two sides in the Civil War: "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other." He would say the same today.

The Republican Party is not God's own party, as the Religious Right and some Republican leaders seem to be suggesting. And, of course, neither is the Democratic Party. We must say it again and again until it is heard and understood: God is not partisan; God is not a Republican or a Democrat. When either party tries to politicize God, or co-opt religious communities for its political agenda, it makes a terrible mistake. God's politics challenge all our politics. Our faith must not be narrowed to the agenda of one political party.

- Jim Wallis