SATAN, AKINOLA & SEXUAL ORIENTATION

One of the public figures I have poked fun at is a certain United States Senator from Wyoming for his so-called "restroom" behavior. I do that because of his hypocrisy. But all of that seriously pales in comparison to the extreme actions of Archbishop Peter Akinola as revealed in the Atlantic Magazine.

The Archbishop as you may remember called the ordination of the gay Bishop Gene Robinson satanic. But "Satan" was truly at work when Nigerian Archbishop Akinola's organization, "had a prominent role in the slaughter of Muslims. Not only did his thugs shoot children."

Written by Eliza Griswold, the daughter of former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and entitled God's Country, it is an in depth report on the tensions between Christianity and Islam in Nigeria. "They (Christians) burned mosques, raped pregnant women, burned corpses in the streets and forced Muslims to eat pork and drink booze. Akinola incited the mass violence with a speech in which he proclaimed: 'May we at this stage remind our Muslim brothers that they do not have the monopoly of violence in this nation'."

It is hard for me to even fathom things like this, or for that matter even make a comment on it. But I do wonder what the former United States Episcopal Bishops and congregations who have aligned themselves with the archbishop will say now.

Really folks, in the realm of importance, where does someone's sexual orientation stand? Nothing puts it all in place than news like this.

PRESIDENT BUSH AND YARDDOG'S GAS PRICES

The Washington Post report today that "the House of Representatives brushed aside threats of a White House veto yesterday and voted 236 to 182 in favor of an $18 billion tax package that would rescind a tax break for the five biggest oil companies and use the revenue to boost incentives for wind and solar energy and energy efficiency.

"The Bush administration, Republican lawmakers and big oil companies condemned the bill, which they said would raise fuel prices for consumers..."

Who exactly is Mr. Bush trying to fool? Gasoline at my local station is $3.49 for regular. Is he nut?

CAN HE TAKE IT?

If Senator Obama is going to be President, he is going to have to go through these kinds of debates. He is debating one of the best. If he can take everything she "throws" at him and come out a winner that will bode well for November.

IS THIS PAY BACK? NO, IT'S DISGUSTING

Senator John McCain has no one to blame,. including the New York Times, for the trouble he is in with reference to his alleged "affair" than the right wing religious party base he now seeks to bring back to the "fold." The extreme hyper awareness about sex, or anything related to it, is ridiculous.

But I'll be completely honest and say, seeing yet another Republican, rightly or wrongly, dealing with another public "sex issue" is nothing more than payback for the absurdity the Clinton "sex scandal."

All of this however is disgusting. DAMN IT!

ATTACT DOGS ALREADY AT IT.

Several months ago I lemented that the Republican attact dogs where try everything in their power to distroy Senator Obama. I did not have to wait long. Here a few examples of what lays ahead.

John McCain can point out that Obama wanted to make it a felony if your gun is stolen from your residence and used in a crime, if the government determines you did not “securely store” the weapon.

John McCain can point out how Obama opposes a ban on partial birth abortion ban, and who voted against a bill that would require medical care for aborted fetuses who survive.
John McCain can point out how Obama was the only state senator to oppose a law that prohibited early prison release for sex offenders.

John McCain can point out that Barack Obama has been rated the most liberal lawmaker in the U.S. Senate by National Journal.

Damn it! Take a partial truth and make it fact! Damn it!

IN THE BACK OF MY MIND

I got the most amazing political piece in my inbox this morning. It was from a guy named Mitch Steward who is Senator Barack Obama's Texas Field Director. He asked me if I wanted to travel to Texas for a March 1st volunteer training session for the Obama campaign.

“No prior experience is necessary.” He says, “Whether you’re a first-time volunteer or seasoned veteran, you’ll have the experience of a lifetime organizing for Barack on the ground.” Think of it, he wants me, not my money!

It’s no secret that Mr. Obama spent three years as a community organizer in Chicago. My friend Peter Dreier recently wrote in The American Prospect that it is: “Obama's campaign that most clearly embodies many of the characteristics of a social movement -- a redemptive calling for a better society, coupling individual and social transformation.”

When some white guy in California gets an email asking him to join the Obama team in Texas, his point is well taken. I actually felt those stirrings, the old rabble rouser, the guy who like to watch political transformation happen in real time -- this guy got excited.

But having run political campaigns, I know that running a campaign is only part of the job. The other half of the question is, "Can the candidate be the officer holder?"

Recently my friend Diana ran for Assembly against the local political machine. Her adversary was given all the perks that machine had to offer like party email lists and he used some dirty tactics like “push-pull” phone calls. He was not the most qualified person of all the candidates, yet he won.

In office he has not advocated for the issues he talked about during the campaign and his sole claim to fame seems to be his ability to raise money. It was reported that he was considered for the Speaker's position because he could “raise money.”

What’s that all about?

None of this will prevent me from supporting Mr. Obama but there is a part of me that worries about whether of not he is up to it. It is the same type of “in the back of my mind stuff” I have for Senator Hillary Clinton. I guess if he can pull off an election, he can become president. Let's face it, it's not easy and certainly not the same thing as a local Assembly race.

And as I have said before either one of them would be better than the radical conservatives or religious wackos the Republicans are offering up.

BLANT SEXISM & CRUDENESS...

"The wife" and I have agreed to disagree with regard to the two remaining candidates in the Democratic primary. But one thing we absolutely agree on is the subtle and not-so-subtle (as in blatant) sexism and crudeness surrounding Senator Hillary Clinton that has emerged in the public discourse.

She points to an example in a "Letters to the Editor" in our local paper several weeks ago. It read, "Are Americans naïve enough to vote for a dame who thinks she’s a guy? Can someone who is so confused about her own identity coherently run the greatest nation on earth? I, for one, shudder at the prospect.”

What would happen, she asks, if that same letter were to read: “Are Americans ready to vote for a Black who thinks he’s (fill in the blank with an offensive remark)? Can someone who is so confused about his own (fill in the word 'race') coherently run the greatest nation on earth? I, for one, shudder at the prospect.”

The challenge is, that is really subtle compared to the vulgar internet jokes, barroom cracks and toxic conservative talk show chatter I've heard. And Senator John McCain's "non-response" to the "How do we beat the B****?" question posed to him during a campaign stop does not bode well for the up-coming general election.

How would Mr. McCain feel if that question were directed at his mother, wife or his adopted daughter? And where does this irrational fear of Senator Clinton come from?

There is talk about hope these days; about a better America. I hope that also means a change in the political discourse. Personally I'd like to thank the women in my life who make this man more aware.

POLITICAL TRIVIAL -- the smiling kind.

One of Washington's most feared columnists and top journalists, Dana Milbank, has written a new book on the government called Homo Politicus. In it he recounts President Bush’s October 2006 visit to the city of La Plume in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Bush was there to campaign for Rep. Don Sherwood (R-PA) during the week Bush proclaimed, “National Character Counts Week.”

"I'm pleased to be here with Don Sherwood," said a smiling president pictured in the S. John Wilkin Associated Press picture above. Bush told the congressman's loyal but dispirited supporters at a luncheon fundraiser, "He has got a record of accomplishment."

Why were the supporters dispirited? President Bush failed to mention that Rep. Sherwood had acknowledged having an "extramarital affair,” or that he had "repeatedly chok[ed]" and "attempt[ed] to strangle" Cynthia Ore, his former mistress, 35 years his junior.

In court Sherwood admitted to the five-year extramarital affair and settled a 5.5 million dollar lawsuit in which he did, indeed, admit to choking her. He denied he abused her and aired a campaign commercial asking his constituents to forgive his infidelity!

I wonder, just wonder, what just what is Mr. Bush's defination of: "character"?

NEGATIVES ...

I have finally figured out what the pollsters mean by “high negatives.” And it’s something that is missing from the objective commentary on the Clinton/Obama race. As much as I admire them, a lot of ordinary “yaller dog” Democrats simply do not what to relive the disappointments, frustrations and imagined scandals of the Clinton era.

Now I want to be very clear, I cried when President Clinton took that long drive away from the White House ... but in the back of my mind I kept thinking, “Why didn't he keep his pants up?” And I have a few Republican friends who have an irrational hatred for anything "Clinton" ... it is part of their DNA.

Early on in this campaign season I caught a glimpse of what it would be like to have a woman as President ... and that is a wonderful thing. But that excitement just does not get me beyond the fear of having to relive the negatives that the Clinton's bring with them this election season.

When the Republican attack dogs seek to destroy Obama, as they undoubtedly will, the "victim" in Obama is young, energetic, passionate, and principled and has already layout a response. “There they go again." Isn't that old? Isn't that tired? Is that what America is about? That is in the past.

And there are no old memories, no disappointments.

XENOPHOBIA & The Papal Ring

There is so much political commentary this election season. One sticks in my mind; it will not go away; it ties together two of my passions, history and politics. Let's call it “The Papal Ring” comment.

So first a question: Who was the Democratic candidate for President in 1928? And what is the common reason given for his loss?

The answer is New York Governor Alfred E. Smith. In Associated Press picture (above) at the National Archives he appears every bit “the happy warrior” that was his nickname. And the reason attributed to his defeat is his Roman Catholic faith. Latter historians have said it was lucky for him, and his faith, that he lost; otherwise they both might have been blamed for the Great Depression. And I will add, it was lucky for his party as well.

But clearly Governor Smith’s lost was due to an irrational distrust of the immigrants, most of whom were Catholic, who arrived in this country at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. When they arrived those newcomers discovered a white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant establishment that was Republican, anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic.

Those “establishment” attitudes overwhelmingly denied Smith the 1928 election. Perhaps nothing typifies the culture of the time more than a remark by the nationally know Methodist Bishop, Adna Wright Leonard. “No Governor,” he said, “can kiss the papal ring and get within gunshot of the White House.”

It can be said that the implications of that remark remade American political history. It firmly drove immigrant Roman Catholic communities into the Democratic column for the following 70 years.

That same xenophobic political and social phenomenon drove Governor Pete Wilson of California (R) to push a 1994 anti-immigration ballot measure that sought to deny state assistance to undocumented immigrants. In 2002 GOP national Chairman Marc Racicot called the initiative, Proposition 187, a mistake that portrayed Republicans as "not as sensitive" as they should be toward Hispanics.

After listening to this year’s Republican debates, it seems they have learned nothing from long or short term political history. And in fact, I am willing to bet that Republican xenophobia will cause them to lose the bulk of the Hispanic vote not only this election cycle but for the next 70 years.

DOG LESSONS

Lessons we can learn from a dog - from an emai...

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

OBAMA - A SECOND LOOK

Karl Rove is warning the Republican base that his political creation of religious anti-gay bigots, Southern racists, and riffle totting NRA Westerners should not crackup; that they should “calm down.” The GOP's demise isn’t imminent; after all now the anti-immigrant group has joined us. The race has only begun, he says.

My great hope for our country is that Mr. Rove’s deeply flawed view of America and her people will once and for all be proved wrong and that he and others like him will become just a bad memory; relegated to history’s dust bin.

There is a better America, one that welcomes the stranger, whose laws are just and revered by the world, that cares for the poor, that educates all its children and seeks peace as its number one objective. And there is an America that seeks to include all of its citizens not just a few, not just the wealthy.

I can not say I know which of the Democratic Parties candidates is better. I just know that one of them has a vision of moving us beyond the internecine atmosphere of the last 35 years. And that vision alone is enough for me to vote for Barack Obama.