Signs of the Apocalypse, Pt 2

You know the neoconomy has got to be bad when a kid comes knocking on your door, asking for bottles and cans, spare change or anything because he's short on rent.

A total stranger. Nice looking kid. Polite. Just broke.

We better turn that corner soon, old Bushie-boy, because the cliff's awful close...

New Jersey keeps losing... HEY JOHN KERRY!

First McGreevey, now Political Aims. That's right, with Amy at the Washington Monthly, Jake's closing up the shop.

However (and excuse me for a minute): JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY JOHN KERRY

Can you hear me now?

Amy Sullivan needs to have a word with you.

I'm no reporter but there's been a very few times when I had an 'aha!' moment or a news tip to share and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to contact anyone close to the top online. And even the folks I did write never acknowledged me.

I set up a place for donations to go to via this blog but when I check back it keeps saying '0 visitors' and I can't even check to see what money's come through (and I know for a fact some did.)

I can understand that no campaign can handle the crush of millions of emails. But if you're fundraising for a candidate, at least, there oughta at least be a tech support line to handle FAQs.

Today I read that Senator Kerry was firing back at the despicable ads by Swift boat veterans who are angry because Kerry told the truth about the war 30 years ago. But in the article it said:

Internally, there was an initial reluctance from senior advisers for Kerry to respond, because they believed that Bush would condemn the critical ad or that the allegations would blow over.

... and other articles claimed he fired back after party leaders started urging him to so . But this same article I blockquoted also says:

As Kerry denounced the criticism as "lies about my record," aides privately acknowledged that they and their boss had been slow to recognize the damage being done to his political standing.

Nincompoops!!!! For two weeks, I've seen the biggest and best and everyone else in the blogosphere imploring him to PUH-LEAZE FIGHT BACK !

You see where I'm headed here? How hard would it be for Kerry to hire a student intern to read 30 or 40 blogs each day and write a summation for his top staff?

The blogosphere is filled with thousands of serious supporters who don't get diddly squat for their efforts, unlike a dozen or two who do. Many get few comments and get rare exposure and attention, but they plug away, and for one simple reason. They fact check and rebut Republicans and the media, looking for every and any angle that might help you - Kerry - out.

And, damn man, some of it is pretty darn clever. But it's falling on deaf ears.

I know there's a time to talk and a time to lead, but there's also A TIME TO LISTEN ! Otherwise, you're frittering away some of your best support.

Howard Dean figured it out. He even showed the way to you and other Dem candidates. But if it's taking two weeks and party leaders to get your attention, you're squandering some advantages without recognizing it. I hope it's not a harbinger for things to come...

CAN YOU HEAR US NOW??!!??!!

Addendum: If you or your aides are listening, the article also states:

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said the charge that Bush is in league with the group criticizing Kerry's war record "is absolutely and completely false."

"The Bush campaign has never and will never question John Kerry's service in Vietnam," Schmidt said.

Fine. They've gone on record on that. But he didn't say anything about questioning what you did when you came home from 'Nam. Expect it. They've largely been silent about it but they're gonna come after you for your war nonsupport, from that one through Nicaragua through this one.

I hope you've already focus-grouped the response.

GWM sks good govt in NJ

Another New Jersey officeholder has outed himself:

Hudson County Freeholder Ray Velazquez is so offended by the governor's handling of his legal troubles and so worried that the gay community will be hurt by the scandal that he is publicly acknowledging that he, too, is a gay elected official.

Most troubling, he said, is the allegation that Gov. James E. McGreevey put his lover on the public payroll.

"It's not enough to say, 'I'm sorry, I'm a gay man,' to cover up those things," Velazquez said this week at his Downtown law office.

"It sends the wrong message, and as a gay man who has worked his entire life and who feels an obligation to the gay community, I think it's best that he resign his office immediately. Being gay does not give you the right to abuse your public office.

"As the story continues to unfold, he's going to make us in the gay community feel bad," Velazquez said. "He's not my hero."

Velazquez, 40, who represents a section of Jersey City in the county's Fourth District, said he has been living openly as a gay man for 10 years. When he adopted his son five years ago, he said, both the child and the state's Division of Youth and Family Services knew about his sexual orientation.

"I have not been living my life as a charade," Velazquez said. "Until recently, I did not think my sexuality was an issue and I didn't feel like I needed to talk about it in public. But in light of what's happening with the governor, it's been difficult for me to remain silent."

But Ray Velazquez, you are displaying something the public needs more of: integrity. By thinking through the possibility of what voters or the party might do and speaking up this way, you're displaying a lot more of what's missing in political office. Thank you.

Looking for work

wow. i didn't hear about this one yesterday: 300,000 apply for 3,000 dockworker jobs

A rare shipping industry cattle call for lucrative temporary dockworker jobs drew more than 300,000 applications for a special lottery Thursday to fill 3,000 slots at the nation's largest port complex.

other articles say that they've received between 300,000 and 700,000 cards applying for the jobs, and that they'd only expected to get 10 applicants per open position.

i wonder if this will be a wake-up call to those who keep saying that the economy is improving as much as they claim it to be. actually, i wonder if any of them will even notice.

seeing how it plays out

the new rules governing overtime go into effect on Monday.

here's a quick look at the changes:

-Workers earning $23,660 annually or less are eligible for overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week. The department says about 1.3 million workers will be newly eligible.

-White-collar workers earning $100,000 or more a year are newly exempt from overtime pay.

-Changes to duties that determine whether an employee is a professional, executive or administrative and exempt from overtime will result in "very few, if any" workers losing overtime. Critics disagree, saying 6 million could lose overtime.

- Union workers covered by contracts will not be affected by the change.

- People identified as generally exempt from overtime pay include pharmacists, funeral directors, embalmers, journalists, financial services industry workers, insurance claims adjusters, human resource managers, management consultants, executive and administrative assistants, purchasing agents, registered or certified medical technologists, dental hygienists, physician assistants, accountants, chefs, athletic trainers with degrees or specialized training, computer system analysts, programmers and software engineers.

emphasis mine.

we'll see how the reclassifications affect people's lives. remember, the administration toyed with trying to classify fast food jobs as manufacturing jobs, at least for a little while.

When you're in a hole, stop registering

College Republicans are opting out of voter registration drive organizations because too many of their peers are planning to vote for Kerry.

Now they'll be conducting seances, hoping to resurrect Ronald Reagan.

kicking the little guy

United Airlines, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, seems to be going ahead with plans to terminate its existing pension plans and replace them with less generous ones as a means of cutting costs to help them come out from under Chapter 11.

the fact that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp asked the bankruptcy court last week to reject United's (illegal) plans to stop funding their pension plans altogether may have something to do with this. PBGC also says their current plans are already underfunded, and they shouldn't be allowed to stop contributing, because they will have to partially fund the pensions no matter which of these options UAL chooses.

saddest thing is, the big jump in oil prices seems to be the nail that blew out UAL's estimates for what it would take to get out from under Chapter 11, and they see this as their only other concession to get back "on budget" or whatever.

either way, many of those UAL employees won't get all of their money, and i'm cynical enough to believe that most of the executives won't be hurting financially in their dotage as many of those employees might be.

how can you lose $8.8 billion?

Senators Ask Where $8.8 Bln in Iraq Funds Went

At least $8.8 billion in Iraqi funds that was given to Iraqi ministries by the former U.S.-led authority there cannot be accounted for, according to a draft U.S. audit set for release soon.

The audit by the Coalition Provisional Authority's own Inspector General blasts the CPA for "not providing adequate stewardship" of at least $8.8 billion from the Development Fund for Iraq that was given to Iraqi ministries.

The audit was first reported on a Web site earlier this month by journalist and retired Col. David Hackworth. A U.S. official confirmed the contents of the leaked audit cited by Hackworth (www.hackworth.com) were accurate.

getting funding for 74,000 guards, but only being able to account for 603 that actually did any work? they should be demanding, loudly for an accounting of all of that money. they should be making a scene on the Senate floor if necessary. think of what that missing $8.8 billion could do to rejuvenate our educational system.

asking Rumsfeld for an explanation of what happened to the money isn't going to get them anywhere. they need to check Cheney's wallet, er, Halliburton, but apparently they are not cooperating with requests for audits.

Deserving of more investigation

Ben, via Ampersand, looks into a possible lynching.

After Michael Donald and Harold Mansfield
and James Byrd, Jr, I keep hoping against reality there'll not ever be another.

I don't know if I can blog more today. Things like this just physically revulse me because of the anger that wells inside. And the murders at Abu Ghraib are no different at all.

Liars For Hire

Capitol Hill Blue finishes the takedown of the Swiftboat Nabobs of Bullshit-For-Hire.

Venezuela

I googled an old college friend from Venezuela last night. His name appeared on a list of counter-revolutionaries. That's not a big surprise, because although he was very liberal, his family was part of the oligarchy. His father held an important post in the state security police force until he had a falling out with the President in the Eighties. Then things became tough for the family as the father's old bureaucratic enemies turned a blind eye to the looting of the family's property.

I lost track of him about ten years ago, but it's possible given the nature of oligarchies, that my friend sided with those who opposed Chavez, even if many of them were rightists and the very people who disgraced his family. Class is very important in Latin America.

I don't know as much as I should about Venezuelan society and politics. As my remarks above suggest, I believe it's as stratified in terms of class as Mexico and the Central American countries. I could be wrong.

Given this bias on my part, I've been inclined to support Chavez as a defender of the poor and disenfranchised. I've doubted much of what has been printed about him, because it's the same rhetoric I've heard from the oligarchs in San Salvador, Managua, and Mexico City. The fact that Otto Reich despises him also suggests that he might be someone we should embrace.

However, after seeing my friend's name on a list of counter revolutionaries, and, indeed, learning that such lists exist, I'm beginning to wonder about Chavez. It's time I learned more about Venezuela. I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have in regard to articles and books on the subject.

Update: Upon further research, I found that my friend is a major Chavez backer. The list was put out by the opposition because he holds an influential position in the State oil company. They're angry with him because of his actions during the company's shut down after the attempted coup. It's interesting to see the oligarchy brand its enemies as being counter-revolutionaries.

Soccer to me

"How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women?" Manajid told me. "He has committed so many crimes."

Thus sayeth an athlete unhappy with being used in a campaign ad. (via Steve of Illruminations)

Ungrateful? No, not really. Had we knocked the Ba'athists from power, removed Hussein & his family, poured money into the reconstruction that put unemployed Iraqis to work, and maintained a level of accordance with international law somewheres above indefinite detentions, torture and humiliation, maybe it could have worked without so much pain and death and bitterness.

Few think we can walk away now. They may be right. But they thought that about Vietnam and the Soviets thought that about Afghanistan. And in the end, walking away was the only option left.

For the Iraqi soccer team, such answers remain unknown. But the man using them in his ads should listen, and leave them alone.

Setting a good example for the children

It's important that American children have the right role models and I can think of none better and wiser than our very own President.

Consider who his party is using as a keynote speaker, via Pandagon.

Consider the intelligence background used by Karl Rove in choosing one of the Bush campaign's religion advisers, via Jeanne. Kevin Drum adds a gambling addict to this group.

Legal advice is provided to Bush by these guys, per the Washington Post.

His biggest campaign donor for years has been this guy, per CNN/Money.

His Vice-President worked for this company according to the Sunday Herald, but the appearance of wrongdoing by the Vice-President hasn't been proven.

The guy on the right was known to have used poison gas on enemy soldiers when the man on the left shook his hand, says Common Dreams. (Which one has killed and maimed more Iraqis? Nobody knows.)
And the Vice President said he's the best the nation's ever had, per the Boston Globe. It's true since this other guy was obviously a Communist, per Wikipedia.

Double agents get to sit by the First Lady and keep the billions they get paid by the Bush administration per Newsweek.

He supports honorable veterans who support him in return, per Josh Marshall.

Fortunately, the family values of the President go without question, per the Dubya Report.

Family values have a rock solid foundation in the Bush family, per the New Hampshire Gazette.

Which is why he was so qualified to bring American democracy to Iraq to save them from a madman, per Robert Fisk.

And his supporters are properly indignant when anyone suggests it's about the oil, per the Dept of Energy, the California Energy Dept, the corporate site of Exxon, and the Daily Star.

His opponents keep suggesting he's not an honorable man, then he reminds them that he gets to talk to God and God tells him what to do, per Google. So he stands tall to defend America, per the Moynihan Institute.

And where do men of virtue who stand up for the other kind of American values go? Digby says they go to hell.

So if you need more upright moral people in your life or working for you, you can always recruit them from the same list where the president found them, per anyone with half a brain.

Oh this is so Gross

Perhaps I'm late discovering one blogger who I've found to be pretty quick with a well-honed snark. Mathew Gross of Deride and Conquer hails from New Hampshire and a good example of his skills can be found in his takedown of Rummy and Star wars.

That one almost sounds like something our General J.C. Christian would say.

I'd known of Mathew's works before, just never caught this particular blog. (Hey, I read kazillions of blogs, but a few escape me that shouldn't)

Welcome Mathew and keep up the good works.

Addendum: Also via Mathew, it's good to see Zogby add more states to the swing column. But I identified those four at ReachM High Cowboy Network Noose a year ago.

Zogby had better do some catching up. My definition of swing required one of two things. After adding Gore and Nader voters together, a red or blue state required a 10% lead. If the leader also had 55% of the overall vote, I considered it 'solid', meaning it was unlikely to go the other way.

Now, admittedly, all polls are not created equal. In the past four years, the two closest pollsters have been American Research Group and Zogby. But I consider Gallup, SurveyUSA, Research2000, Harris, Quinnipiac, Pew to be credible. Mason-Dixon's acceptable, largely because they poll in places the others miss, not because their numbers are closest to voting results. And I'm not yet sure of Rasmussen as their numbers sometimes vary appreciably from others.

However, by my definitions, the blue state of Hawaii may have slipped into swing state area, though I wish it was a pollster I'm familiar with that put it at 48%-41%. And Connecticut has fallen in range, too. On the other side, South Carolina has definitely slipped into swing territory and teetering on the edge is Georgia. None of these four is closer than 7%, so I remain a little skeptical, though South Carolina's employment losses under Bush may put it in play yet.

Of the original 20, only Louisiana looks like it's too far off for Kerry to capture. But in 2000, Bush carried 12 and Gore had 8. Without aggregating Nader, FL, IA, NH, NM, OR, and WI were dead heats, decided by 1% or less.

Today, AZ, LA, NV, TN and VA are the only ones in that 20 where he leads by more than 1% and only in LA is his lead larger than 3%! NM and WI remain in the 'tied zone, while FL, IA, NH, OR have shifted Kerry's way. AR, CO, MO have shifted into the 'tied' zone. FL and NH have shifted to Kerry in a big way, while OH and WV have also moved to Kerry by smaller margins.

While the trends favor Kerry, our incessant chatter about the polls is not to make predictions because the clearest signs don't emerge till they've had their first debate. So why do we bother? Simple. Polls trends provide a perception that can sway a few undecideds. More importantly, they can make the status-quo-oriented national media recognize that the national mood is changing. It forces them to question their own biases and ask harder questions of the incumbent. Moving the national media to a more centrist objectivity benefits voters in their assessments.

Maybe he should have said he was related to the Bin Ladens

Scout's eagle eyes picked up a reassuring tidbit. Though the Radical Right won't believe it, Ted Kennedy has been determined to be NOT a terrorist.

Now think of it. Trained screeners, relying on a 'no-fly' list, are confronted with one of the nation's most recognizable politicians, complete with aides and proper identification. Not once, but three! times!

This is your democracy America. Use it or lose it.

1. Hate

Have you noticed that conservatives have suddenly become very concerned with the tenor of the political discourse? Alerted by Fahrenheit 9/11 that there are actually opposition forces out there beyond the echo chamber, they are now deeply, sadly concerned that liberals have become impolite.

Here in very blue Portland, Oregon (where 50,000 people attended a Kerry rally last week), a local magazine ran an editorial on this subject titled--cleverly--"The Politics of Hate." The mag is a mouthpiece for the very wealthy, very well-connected, and very conservative (making it, I guess, a counter cultural publication). Here's a particularly juicy passage:

Now come reports of golfers with political stickers affixed to their golf bags. Is nothing sacred? Or there’s the case of the bicycle group with dueling stickers on their fenders, turning a recreational outing into a personal political battle. Car bumpers, once reserved for positive campaign stickers, now routinely display vulgar, negative political messages.

I'm going to restrain myself to one comment here--though the extremely thick irony of the golf reference could carry me on a thousand-word rant--because there's actually a larger point to be made. The one comment: despite legions of hate mongers spilling the most violent kind of personal assaults through right-wing TV and radio stations, newspapers and magazines, think tanks and PACs, the pinhead who wrote this article is offended by actual citizens freely expressing their views. For the radical right, the only valid view is one funded by a fanatic millionaire. Citizens should keep their mouths shut.

The price of racial and financial injustice

University of Las Vegas Criminal Justice professor and author Randall Shelden recently wrote an article about the dual standards of justice for white, white-collar crime, versus lesser crimes committed by non-whites.

Crime fills the newspapers and occupies the television airwaves every single day and night. A close look at this reveals something very important and often overlooked: there are two kinds of crimes and two kinds of criminals. The kind we see and read about every day is typically a black or Latino male, who more often than not is pictured with his shirt off, lying on the ground, being handcuffed. Their crimes are usually minor in nature---a petty theft, possession of “illegal” drugs, or just standing around in the wrong place at the wrong time. True, they commit a lot of what we normally think of as “serious” crime---murders, robberies, assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft, and rape. These crimes are pursued relentlessly by often supercharged and overeager prosecutors trying to make a name for themselves. One result is that we have more than 2 million people in jails or prisons and the overwhelming majority are racial minorities.

These “traditional” crimes cost the country about $10 to $13.5 billion each year. There are roughly 20,000 murders and 850,000 assaults each year. Here is, however, another type of crime and another type of criminal. The perpetrators are white males occupying the highest seats of power in the country and they represent a legal fiction known as the corporation. We call this corporate crime and the costs range (depending upon the estimate and the source of the data) from around $150 to $500 billion each year.

As I recall, these perps were last seen hanging around a house of ill repute at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

When "Shut Up" is Not Enough

The Portland Tribune published this picture on its front page. Ordinary Bush supporters outdo O'Reilly!

Caption: An unidentified supporter of President Bush tries to silence protester Kendra Lloyd-Knox (right) outside Southridge High School in Beaverton. Elsewhere in Portland, supporters of Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., rallied on the waterfront.

Kerry and Bush came to Portland on the same day last week. I suspect the Bush team slid him in when there was a Kerry rally thinking it would draw the Bush protesters away. It was a slick strategy: Bush couldn't get into this metro area otherwise without drawing thousands of protesters, and sometimes things get out of hand enough to draw all the media attention.

Kerry Reponds to Bush Smear -- And it's GOOD!

Kerry finally responded directly to Bush's "Swift Boat Veterans" smear. And he did well. I hope this is just the start of a coordinated response that takes it straight back to Bush, making Republican smears an issue in this campaign.

There is a new ad that addresses the smear itself. To see it, go to the Kerry website and watch "Rassmann." The ad is good, addresses one of the main points by saying "Today he still has shrapnel in his leg from his wounds in Vietnam." This is a good approach. The ad itself doesn't get bogged down in detail, it just puts the lie to the heart of the smear that his wounds were not real. If he still has shrapnel in his leg, that makes Bush a liar for smearing his Purple Hearts. Short, simple, forest (big picture) not trees (details). The Kerry website is stressing the response, as well as a strong press release that details the lies, AND the money behind the smear. Definitely worth a read! (This is the right place for details, where those who care can find them.)

The Wayback Machine visits Israel

Kerim at Keywords passes on the good news for Palestinians and Israelis alike: Gandhi's coming.

I hope he doesn't get shot or blown up.

A Perfect Fit of Public Morality

A zillion investigations conducted by terribly serious men asking terribly serious questions about lots of dead and maimed people and a hundred billion or more blown, and all the serious investigatin' produced numerous verdicts of "We agree this was bad and we promise not to let it happen again, but really, no one at all is responsible."

That makes this story especially ironic by comparison.

It has been impossible to ponder the issue of public morality in America these past few months without wondering whether we aren't living in weird parallel universes. In the first, 2004 has been the year in which the United States was caught torturing prisoners in Iraq, was accused of lying about weapons of mass destruction, and was deemed to be violating the US constitution and international law by holding so-called "enemy combatants" indefinitely without trial.

In the second universe, none of these matters one jot: not as moral issues, anyway. In this universe - the province of cable television, talk radio and the strangely hermetic corridors of power in Washington - there has been only one noteworthy moral outrage in 2004, one thing to offend the consciences of decent citizens and make them despair of the nation's moral fibre.

We are talking, of course, of Janet Jackson's prime-time breast exposure during the Super Bowl...

Credit Michael Miller for bringing that story forward. And isn't it stunning, when put into perspective that way, how truly immoral this administration is? Even our attorney general had to take a stand, covering up the Justice Dept statue titties.

Such a display of public prudery is something I expect from the Taliban. From our government, a greater respect for democracy and liberty and human rights is not just an ideal. It's my demand. It should be our minimum daily requirement.

Jews for Jesus: A Dishonest Name And A Misguided Purpose

cross posted from chuckcurrie.blogs.com

A conservative evangelical Christian group that goes by the misleading name “Jews for Jesus” is set to launch a new campaign targeting DC area Jews for conversion to Christianity. Christians are deeply divided over the campaign. The Washington Post reports on the controversy:

The ancient debate over Jesus's claim to be the Jewish Messiah is being renewed in Washington this week as hundreds of evangelists seeking to convert Jews take to Metro stops, parks and college campuses -- along with protesters from the Jewish community.

Jews for Jesus, a San Francisco-based group, said it trained more than 600 local volunteers to evangelize the region's 220,000 Jews as part of a worldwide campaign called "Operation Behold Your God...."

A core belief of Jews for Jesus and other so-called messianic Jews is that one can remain Jewish and accept Jesus as the messiah. As proof, they and other evangelicals often point to the early church, which was filled almost entirely with Jewish believers in Jesus.

But Jewish leaders call that claim "deceptive" and "deeply offensive."

"What we are asking for is a little truth in advertising," Hillman said. Jews for Jesus is "dressing up fundamental Christianity and saying it's Judaism. . . . "Just because Jews are involved in an enterprise doesn't make it Jewish. Jews worshiped the golden calf -- that didn't make [idolatry] Jewish. It was condemned."

Evangelical mega-churches like McLean Bible Church are supporting the effort with money and volunteers:

The Rev. Lon Solomon, senior pastor of McLean Bible Church, was born Jewish and became a born-again Christian in the 1970s. He explains his support for Jews for Jesus in part by pointing to the book of Romans, in which the Apostle Paul wrote that the Christian Gospel was "first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."

"To be honest with you, there are a lot of churches that don't have the courage to stand up and take the heat and criticism that the Jewish community is going to generate," Solomon said. "And we just figured some church is going to have to do that, and why not us."

Jewish groups and the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, whose executive director is a Presbyterian minister, have condemned Jews for Jesus.

In November 2002 members of the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations rejected the historical Christian notion that Jews must accept Jesus as their savior. The statement found some support in the United Church of Christ. A United Church News article from 2002 reports:

Rejecting a centuries-old hall mark of Christian teaching on salvation, an ecumenical group of Christian scholars in September said Jews can be saved without coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

Claiming "Jews are in an eternal covenant with God," 21 members of the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations challenged the traditional Christian view of Jesus as savior for all humankind. Because faithful Jews are already in right relationship with God, they said, "We renounce missionary efforts directed at converting Jews."

"We know there has been a long tradition of anti-Judaism within that Christian tradition," says Joseph Tyson, chair of the scholars group and professor emeritus at Southern Methodist University. "It's based on certain misperceptions of history, and it's theologically invalid ... We're convinced that a re-thinking of Christian attitudes toward Jews is central, indispensable and sacred."

The 10-point statement, "A Sacred Obligation," marks the latest in a series of attempts to bridge historic enmity and divisions between Christians and Jews. It comes in response to "Dabru Emet," a call from Jewish scholars in September 2000 for Jews to rethink their understanding of Christianity. It follows also on the heels of an Aug. 12, 2002, statement in which Jews and a committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said attempts to convert Jews are "no longer theologically acceptable."

UCC reaction

In the United Church of Christ, despite general support for the sentiment expressed, UCC voices take issue with certain specifics.

Dale Bishop, Executive Minister for the UCC's Wider Church Ministries, says that many in the church would not join the scholars in conferring special salvation status upon Jews in God's economy. Nor would many consent to tenet nine in the statement: "We affirm the importance of the land of Israel for the life of the Jewish people."

"We recognize it to be a part of their tradition," Bishop says, "but that doesn't mean we incorporate it into our theology or belief system."

The Rev. Martin Duffy, son of a Jewish mother and now a retired evangelical UCC pastor in Easton, Pa., agrees that Christians shouldn't target Jews for conversion, because such "pressure" has caused undue harm through history. But he refused to join scholars in asserting that "Jews are in a saving covenant with God."

"Everyone has to be spiritually reborn to enter the kingdom, and that's not something you get from your genes or your blood," Duffy said. "At some point, you have to make a personal decision for Christ ... That's what Jesus taught, and he was a good Jew. He's my rabbi."

Are non-Christians doomed to the fires of hell for their lack of faith in Jesus? No. I can say that Jesus is the truth and the light and feel confident that I’m hearing God’s word. However, God is obviously bigger than human understanding and I feel confident that God speaks through many religious traditions. Christians have as much to learn from other faiths as we have to share.

Christians Should Be Democrats

My 86-year-old Mom wrote the following piece. My parents are the kind of people that you should think about when you hear the word "Christian." They've been good-hearted all their lives; always helped the poor, sick, elderly, and less fortunate; stood up for the underdogs; raised self-supporting civic-minded children; and donated a lot of money to worthy causes while living a fairly modest lifestyle. People like my parents live everywhere. We need to remember that Christianity isn't a monolithic religion any more than Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, or Paganism are.

My parents live in North Dakota, which is a Very Red state. Mom sent this op-ed piece, which is considerably longer than a standard letter to the editor, to most of the major newspapers in the state. Most of them have printed it. Since my Mom can out-Bible anyone (she preaches when the minister is on vacation), she enjoys sparring with the fundamentalist emailers who have responded to her. And they have! If you'd like to send her a note, she's at wgreen (at) gondtc.com

Who Will Speak for the Poor?
Doris Greenleaf

In this election year, religion seems to be an important issue. Just the other day, there was a news story about President Bush courting the Protestants, especially those labeled Evangelicals. There is a cacophony of voices about abortion, homosexuals, and family values coming from many in that group.

What bothers me as a Christian is that I hear no voices from them concerned about the poor, the  homeless, the starving children and the elderly. The theme of justice runs throughout the entire Bible. We are admonished to care for those known as  "the least of these."  In the early days of Israel, prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Micah were sent to warn the Israelites that they would be punished, because they not only had neglected the poor, but they had "trampled" on them to gain riches for themselves. They were punished--they were sent into exile for that reason among others.

Going on with Bible 101, in the New Testament, Jesus brought a new commandment of love: love your neighbor as yourself.  He  was exasperated with the Pharisees, who were sure they knew the Bible (the Law), but their rigid interpretations sometimes led them to be cruel and negligent in their dealings with the disadvantaged. Jesus, on the other hand, associated with all types of  people: the poor, the prostitutes, the tax gatherers, and the lepers. He helped them all.  

If we are true Christians we will be SO concerned about the poor that we will be advocates for them and see that our government cares for them. Biblically, nations are responsible. Examples are the warnings of the prophets mentioned above and Jesus’ judgment against nations who did not feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick in prison.  (Matthew  25:31)

It concerns me that while taxes are being cut for the rich, who are already rich, programs for our disadvantaged are being cut drastically. While corporations are downsizing their workforces, CEO's are receiving bonuses in the millions. Jobs are being sent overseas, where labor can be hired cheaply. Sometimes it is even child labor. Executives are getting richer.

I don't think God objects to people being successful, but it's a matter of how you got your money. Was it acquired honestly? Was it made on the backs of the poor? Did you pay living wages? God's also concerned about what you do with your money. Do you share it with those who need it?

The definition of a Christian is one who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. His teachings admonish us to take care of those suffering and in need. So, please, my Christian friends, add some strong voices of concern for the poor, loud and clear, so that we will have TRUE compassion for the elderly, sick, hungry and homeless; not "Conservative  Compassion" that is more concerned about the CEO's getting the big bucks and accumulating more than they will ever need. If you are truly concerned, you might have to do what I once did, switch allegiance from the Republican to the Democratic Party, because of what scripture said to me through the prophet Micah:
  
"He has showed you, O Man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

Our Kash ain't nuthin' but past

Lower capital gains, another tax cut, interest rate cuts whose benefits flow to the largest property owners and borrowers, a foreign policy guaranteed to skyrocket oil prices, no-bid contracts, massive defense spending and now, Star Wars.

I just wish he'd show a little sympathy and do something to help the overburdened rich for a change.

(yes, I realize some of those choices were good and necessary props for the economy and defense against actual enemies, like the interest rate cuts and the cost to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda.)

Sanity is contagious

Is this the first conservative columnist to declare support for Kerry? His scorn for Bush is immense:

I have sadly come to the conclusion that President Bush is merely a front man, an empty suit, who is manipulated by the people in his administration. Bush has the most dangerously simplistic view of the world of any president in my memory.

It's no wonder the president avoids press conferences like the plague. Take away his cue cards and he can barely talk. Americans should be embarrassed that an Arab king (Abdullah of Jordan) spoke more fluently and articulately in English than our own president at their joint press conference recently.

Make a call for justice

Why are reporters being threatened with jail on the Valerie Plame story except the reporter who actually leaked the story? Paul Heller has the answer; it's all about the judge. He thinks we should call them and conveniently provides the phone number.

Market Moves on Iraqi Ex-Lax

"We set ablaze an oil well in Amara. This is a simple warning to the government of (Prime Minister Iyad) Allawi and to occupation forces, that we will bomb the main south oil export line if they do not leave Najaf within 48 hours and end the siege," said the Internet statement dated Aug. 16 and signed by The Secret Action Group of The Imam Mehdi Army. [link]

If I was a CEO of an oil company, I'd be tempted to write such notes, too. I bet the Saudi economy is booming these days, too...

(This message has been brought to you by the It's-Not-About-The-Oil-Committee.)

Quotes of the Day

"Some have suggested that if we had gotten involved just a little bit -- for example, if we had shot down a few helicopters -- it would have changed the outcome of the conflict. I think that is a misguided notion. One of the lessons that comes out of all of this is we should not ask our military personnel to engage “a little bit” in a war. If you are going to go to war, let’s send the whole group; let’s make certain that we’ve got a force of sufficient size, as we did when we went into Kuwait, so that we do not suffer any more casualties than are absolutely necessary.

I think it is vitally important for a President to know when to use military force. I think it is also very important for him to know when not to commit U.S. military force. And it’s my view that the President got it right both times, that it would have been a mistake for us to get bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq."

Source: Speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Apr 29, 1991

Speaker: Dick Cheney, the same gent who:

killed a number of major weapons systems, most notably the Navy’s A-12 Stealth fighter-which, at $30-$60 billion, was the biggest program ever terminated by a defense secretary. He also tried to kill the V22 vertical take-off aircraft, the F14D fighter jet, and the Seawolf submarine. But Congress restored them to the budget. Cheney also moved to cut the armed forces by a half-million troops, and to shut down more than 40 military bases that, as a result, would no longer be needed. He also held the B-2 Stealth bomber program to 20 planes, when the Air Force wanted at least four times that number.

Signs of the Apocalypse

Atrios notes that the numbers in different demographics display a sinking feeling for Bush.

He's failed to secure the Latino vote, the Jewish vote and may lose some support among the Cuban-Americans that the GOP usually depends on. And he notes that Bush is moving to the center, away from his fundamentalist base.

In comments, much gloating & snarking ensues.

Now I'm familiar with the Oregon event referred to. While Kerry gathered up Leonard Dicaprio and Jon Bon Jovi and gave a rally to 40-to-50 thousand Oregonians (the largest of his campaign and the largest gathering in Oregon in 20 years...), Bush was nearby, speaking to a couple of thousand screened & selected supporters, not daring to risk a truly public speech where cameras could catch dissenters and protestors. Call that what you will, but it's not the epitome of strength.

So am I happy about the numbers? Yes, to a degree. But I'm hardly delirious.

The upside: of all the 18 states I identified as swing states, Bush appears to have only locked up one: Louisiana. Four states that weren't swingers in 2000 are within the swing range now. Two red ones: SC, NC, and two blue ones: ME, HI. But Kerry's lead in the blues is still quite strong while NC is very close to going Kerry's way. Many swing states have shifted into 6%-7% comfort zones for Kerry, while Bush has only SC and LA in that zone or higher.

As Atrios noted, the demographics are all favoring Kerry. The sole base visible yet is white Christian fundamentalists, who are likely to turn out in higher numbers than 2000, for Bush. He will likely win the military vote but by a narrower margin than the GOP got over the last few Dems.

The downside: Some polls are conflicting rather dramatically. I review about 10 polling sites several times weekly, so I spot trends beginning. Outside of the comfort zone in at least one poll are: PA, OH, MO, WI, AZ, VA, MN, NC, TN, AR, IA, CO, ME, WV, NV. Inside Kerry's comfort zone, odds are good he'll carry HI, OR, NM, MI (which Gore carried) and gain FL, NH over Gore's 2000 effort. But FL and NH wouldn't compensate if PA, WI, MN, IA and ME switched to Bush. It ain't over till the fat Veep cusses.

Bush's convention will be 20% veterans and a large Christian contingent will be embedded. I'm glad I'm not in NY.

The upside: I saw a report of Edwards campaigning in... North Dakota, a strong GOP state. It's good to see them reaching past the strategy zone to remind others that their message is for them, too, though this was surely the most apocalyptical sign I saw that the world's about to end or something.

The downside: The RNC awaits with a strong likelihood of the biggest protests since Chicago of '68. A lot of folks could be swayed the wrong way if some loonies act too mental. AND DON'T FORGET THAT ROVE COULD SEND OUT SABOTEURS & MOLE-LIKE OPERATIVES TO LEAD THEM LOONY WAYS. With potentially a million protesters making the scene, I pray the spirit of Woodstock visits to mellow their harsh.

Antiwar folks should think twice about excessiveness, remembering that soldiers' families and families of 9-11 victims could be deeply hurt by folks going overboard.

The upside: If all the political lefty bloggers each get twenty people registered in Sept and offer to give rides to voters on Election Day, we can win this thing.

The downside: If we get stupid, arrogant, cocky and lazy, instead, we won't.

Thousands of actual lives depend on you now. You could spell the difference between them living or dying. So are you just gonna sit there or what?

That's the important demographics, the demographics of YOU.

Defeating the Greater Enemy

After the terrible losses we endured on 9-11, some were quick to say we deserved it. A few nutball televangelists suggested one sin or another had boomeranged back at us as God's punishment. (I forget which one. It was gay pregnant women having the audacity to think and chew french fries at the same time or something). Others pointed to past US government blunders that harmed other countries and suggested that was what needed fixing first. Clearly, we needed to slap such sanctimonious twits silly, first.

Salman Rushdie covered this quite well on 2 October 2001, concluding with the perfect reminder:

The fundamentalist believes that we believe in nothing. In his world-view, he has his absolute certainties, while we are sunk in sybaritic indulgences. To prove him wrong, we must first know that he is wrong. We must agree on what matters: kissing in public places, bacon sandwiches, disagreement, cutting-edge fashion, literature, generosity, water, a more equitable distribution of the world's resources, movies, music, freedom of thought, beauty, love. These will be our weapons. Not by making war but by the unafraid way we choose to live shall we defeat them.

How to defeat terrorism? Don't be terrorized. Don't let fear rule your life. Even if you are scared.

Rushdie should know. He was compelled by a terrorist death threat to live underground for several years, anonymous and guarded. If anyone knows how soul-robbing fear can be, it's him.

I'm amazed to this day by letters written to newspaper editors, asserting that one politician or another has been weak in the fight against terrorism, apparently forgetting nearly a half century of 'Cold' War military interventions to stop the Commie terror from spreading. Looking back, I can't recall a single president of either party who cowered from that fight.

Isolated incidents stand out as exceptions.

The Symbolic Politics Olympics

With so few tangible achievements to note, I expect Bush to start flogging the issues over which a president has no control instead. Get ready to start hearing a lot from the Bush campaign about Florida's voucher program.

A Florida law that allows students at failing public schools to attend private religious schools at taxpayers' expense is unconstitutional, a state appeals court ruled Monday. The 2-1 decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal upholds a ruling by a trial judge saying the state constitution forbids the use of tax money to send youngsters to religious schools.

"Courts do not have the authority to ignore the clear language of the Constitution, even for a popular program with a worthy purpose," Judge William Van Nortwick wrote in the decision.

How clear is that language? Florida State Constitution, Article 1, Section 3: "No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution."

"No revenue...ever...directly or indirectly...any church." You really can't put it more plainly than that. Florida can't run this program unless they amend their constitution. As much as I sympathize with parents in bad schools, there's a basic principle at work here: the state doesn't tax your church and in return, your church gets no state funds. Give unto Caesar and all that. The right of individual states to refuse to fund religious programs constitutionally and statutorily was upheld most recently 7-2 by the Supreme Court in February (Locke v. Davey).

The legal reasoning in both the Washington and Florida cases is air-tight, and if you can't get more than two votes out of this Court, you'll not be seeing it overturned in the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, that won't stop this from being picked up, oversimplified, and recast into a campaign issue - Guv'ner Jeb and Big Brother POTUS going to battle for Jesus and poor parents against the wicked, vote-counting Florida Supreme Court and hammer-and-sickle-wielding teachers' unions. Check your watches; it should be starting any minute now.

Leave aside the fact that reviews of the Florida voucher program so far are decidedly mixed. Leave aside the ugly racial history of school vouchers in the South. Leave aside the facts that the private schools get to cherry pick their own admissions and that the programs are overwhelmingly dominated by middle-class families. The real issue in both states is that funding religious programs is expressly against the law and has been for longer than any of us have been alive.

Bush has to run on something. The economy isn't cooperating. Iraq is a nightmare. Osama bin Laden has become He Who Must Not Be Mentioned. We are detested and distrusted around the world as never before. Karl Rove's vaunted slime machine hasn't made a dent in Kerry's support. The grand juries are heating up. Gay marriage and fear of Arabs are about his only cards left, and that's a shaky scaffolding on which to construct an electoral majority. However, nuanced constitutional arguments that can be misportrayed as Pope Dubya protecting the flock from liberal secular humanist judges, well, now he's playing on his home field. Never you mind those pesky states' rights notions Republicans once touted so fiercely. That was before they owned DC, don't you know. And after, one presumes.

I can't imagine the strategy will ultimately work to sway voters, but Bush seems to be banking on getting out his base instead, as independents keep breaking hugely toward Kerry. Look for the voucher trial balloons and related winks and nods to the fundamentalist base over the next few weeks while the Party plays all friendly and moderate for the convention cameras.

When Will the Bush Bubble Burst?

Bush's Brain and his braintrust are betting that he can get elected without ever having to come before real voters and certainly never having to come face to face with any protestors. As I've written before, the bubble surrounding Bush could lead to the Bushies severely underestimating the focused opposition to their candidate. Last Friday, NPR reported that Bush felt that things were going very well with his campaign and they replayed Bush's response to a question on the Larry King program where he said the America he sees isn't polarized.

"But I just don't see it. When I travel the country, and I've been traveling a lot, there are thousands of people who come out and wave, and they are -- you know, they respect the presidency. Sometimes they like the president, but I have this -- I don't have a sense that there's a lot of anger."

Once more, how much of this obtuseness is due to not knowing the real state of the country (maybe Condi Rice and Andy Card are keeping this information from him?) and how much is just a belief that if one stubbornly refuses to admit something, it didn't happen? Do you think we have an ostrich for President?