July06

Select a link to read the post below:
Good Fences, Good Neighbors: A Christian Nation? The New Imperial Presidency or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Big Brother Hurt-Johnny Cash Do It For Paris Brother Can You Spare a Gallon War?!? What War?!?



Good Fences, Good Neighbors: A Christian Nation?
7/31/06 dconlay

There was a reason that the founders of our "Christian Nation" included the idea of a separation between the church and the state in our constitution; this separation protected both the state **//and the church//** from undue control from the other. Historically, theocracies of any type have tended to become bloody and tyrannical, no matter the initial benign purpose. Yes, there is a culture war brewing here in the United States--let's be clear on what is at stake. For a good understanding of some of the issues from an evangelical minister's perspective, check out the following:

> “When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses,” Mr. Boyd preached. “When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross.” > Mr. Boyd says he is no liberal. He is opposed to abortion and thinks homosexuality is not God’s ideal. The response from his congregation at Woodland Hills Church here in suburban St. Paul — packed mostly with politically and theologically conservative, middle-class evangelicals — was passionate. Some members walked out of a sermon and never returned. By the time the dust had settled, Woodland Hills, which Mr. Boyd founded in 1992, had lost about 1,000 of its 5,000 members.

Read more [|here.]



The New Imperial Presidency or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Big Brother
7/31/06 dconlay



Once upon a time in the US we railed against the idea that any one man was above the law. We revolted against the idea that any [|one man could hold absolute power over the government and people of a country.] Thank you Senator Arlen Specter for showing us the error of our ways.

> With one piece of legislation, Sen. Arlen Specter seeks to expand the Bush administration's radical theory of executive power beyond the wildest dreams of Dick Cheney or even John Yoo. Just when it looked as though some semblance of checks and balances was being restored, Specter -- the Pennsylvania Republican who masqueraded for months as a tenacious opponent of the White House -- offers a bill that would strike an immeasurable blow for the Bush vision of an imperial presidency.

[|read on...]



Hurt-Johnny Cash
7/29/06 dconlay

Sure it's painful, but it's about as beautiful as it gets. Give it a listen.

Oh, and read [|this]

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Do It For Paris
7/29/06 dconlay

The minimum wage hasn't been raised in ten years. According to the US government's own figures, a minimum wage earner working full time for a year will only make around $10,000 (about 8,000 less than the official poverty line). Congress's solution? Tax breaks for the wealthy--'cause Paris needs a new boat (she's gonna need it for some get-away-from-it-all time now that she's decided to focus more on herself). You can read about it [|here] and [|here].

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Oh, and a little shout-out to the good Christian brothers on the Right: here's a blast from the past, [|Luke 16:19-31.]



Brother Can You Spare A Gallon
7/27/06 dconlay



Yesterday it was announced that Exxon Mobil recorded record profits, [|again], earning $10.36 billion in the second quarter. Apparently it's the second largest recorded profit for a publics traded US company. Want to guess who has the [|highest recorded profit]? (Read more [|here.])



Of course, this might not actually be too bad if it weren't for the our government's interesting quirk of giving [|billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks] to the self-same oil companies that are recording record profits. Once again, it might just leave that familiar in your tummy.



War?!? What War?!?
7/19/06 dconlay

If you you want to actually know what's going on in the world you can turn to CNN's World News, the BBC, or, as usual, The Daily Show. (Although to be fair, I should point out that research shows viewers of TDS tend to have a heightened awareness of politics that sometimes makes them irritable and somewhat more knowledgeable when voting. No joke, read about it [|here,] and [|here.])

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Oh, and in case anyone's missed it, over one hundred civilians in Iraq are [|dying each day] as we're continuing to debate [|what to call this mess in Iraq]