BREAKING NEWS: SOTOMAYOR APPOINTED. 31 REPUBLICANS VOTED NO. POLITICS AS USUAL. GOOD LUCK SONYA.
Looks like we will have a "Latina" justice on the court (supreme, what else?) by the August august recess. The 3 days of hearings were interesting, though no light was shed on the candidate. But boy did the Republicans shine!! Playing to their base (and basest) they really looked like small-minded wingers. Oh, I forgot, they are small-minded wingers. So the composition of the court will probably not shift much with Sotomayor's appointment (I hope) so what we liberals (really middle of the roader here) can hope for is a resignation of one or more of the conservatives, or maybe even the moron, so that Obama can do to the court what Bush desperately wanted to do: solidify it for years to come. Only not in favor of the zealot religious fanatics (oops, my bias is hanging out. Wait. Zipppp. There.) or should I say the right wing ideologues. Lets get some left wing ideologues on the court and keep Roe v Wade the law of the land. And lets get marriage on a level playing field while we are at it.
And, oh yeah, and while we are at it, that very controversial (look up McCain's rant on the Senate floor) hate crime legislation, let's get that past. What? Only tortured and killed a queer? Tut tut McCain . What? Only attacked a legal immigrant with a baseball bat who was walking with his arm around his BROTHER'S shoulder (a cultural thing in the country he was from, obviously a killing offense in America). The Republicans need to get a life. Thank god McCain didn't win.
Bye for now.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
A follower!!!
Thankyou G. for being the first ever follower. I hope you enjoy the random thoughts that will issue forth from these pages (are they really pages?). Feel free to comment. But remember, I know where you live :). W.
Thoughs on blogs
I am not sure about blogs. That is exactly what they are supposed to be. I guess the answer probably is "anything you want them to be". I am more comfortable with rule-based situations and these don't come with rules. A journal? A soapbox? A place to explore? A thousand other things?
Journals always seemed to me to be personal, not to be shared, sort of an old friend that will never tell. "Blogging" seems to be to often be ranting about something without substantiating anything. That works for venting frustrations but isn't really informative. So I'll get my feet wet slowly. Post some things like the "Jesus" piece because there isn't really anywhere else to put it, and I would like to share it. Comment on the world sounds like a good place, too. Opinion is unavailable for edit. It just is. Brought to mind is the old saw "I don't know anything about art, but I know what I like" and the answer is "So does the monkey in the park!!". Uninformed opinion can be really dangerous, no? If taken for fact, or if believed based on the confidence of the source? Well, my opinions are usually informed by some sort of rational fact base, but as often as not are also liberally sprinkled with emotion and just plain personal biases.
Is this a blog? Well, it is a beautiful morning, the pond is clear, the juvenile black racer is gone for the moment and all seems well with our world.
Sadly, more troops died in Afghanistan yesterday, so all is not well with the world writ large. Leave that for another day.
Journals always seemed to me to be personal, not to be shared, sort of an old friend that will never tell. "Blogging" seems to be to often be ranting about something without substantiating anything. That works for venting frustrations but isn't really informative. So I'll get my feet wet slowly. Post some things like the "Jesus" piece because there isn't really anywhere else to put it, and I would like to share it. Comment on the world sounds like a good place, too. Opinion is unavailable for edit. It just is. Brought to mind is the old saw "I don't know anything about art, but I know what I like" and the answer is "So does the monkey in the park!!". Uninformed opinion can be really dangerous, no? If taken for fact, or if believed based on the confidence of the source? Well, my opinions are usually informed by some sort of rational fact base, but as often as not are also liberally sprinkled with emotion and just plain personal biases.
Is this a blog? Well, it is a beautiful morning, the pond is clear, the juvenile black racer is gone for the moment and all seems well with our world.
Sadly, more troops died in Afghanistan yesterday, so all is not well with the world writ large. Leave that for another day.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Evolution of God: Thank you Diane Rhem
Well, this morning Diane once again had a great guest on. His name is Robert Wright, author of several books and articles on religion and science. His new book "The Evolution of God" is a well though out and researched discussion that bears reading. The link below will take you to the introduction and first chapter on amazon.com. Worth reading. I'll have more to say about it when I read it myself.
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/LITTLems/The_Evolution_of_God_WRIGHT_ROBERT_0316734918.pdf
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/LITTLems/The_Evolution_of_God_WRIGHT_ROBERT_0316734918.pdf
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Thoughts on Jesus
Why is Jesus a cool guy?
Consider the issue of a historic Jesus. In other words, was there really a man that lived, was named Jesus and was considered by others or himself as a messiah or prophet? When he died was he really resurrected? There is no agreement on these questions to the level of certainty. So if we suppose that there was such a person, what could we know about him? The New Testament claims to document some of the known life of this prophet. No real-time transcriptions of his utterances are known, and most are reconstructions well after the fact. Could they be perfectly remembered, misremembered, made up entirely or “inspired” after the fact? Possibly any or all of these could be the case.
Taking the Jesus as represented by all that is written (no, I don’t know all that is written, and many people are quite willing to ignore documents that don’t fit their model, like the newly discovered Gospel according to Judas) he seems to have been a holy man, a philosopher, a healer, a teacher and a peace-bringer. His teachings seem consistent over his life. Tolerance, love, inclusion, caring and nurturing are among his reported philosophies. He is seen as opposing oppression and fighting for good and righteous causes. He is seen as a common man, living simply and doing good works. He could be a formidable enemy too, and was not afraid to speak and act his mind. He spent his short life in the service of others, as a Rabbi in later life according to some. What about a personal relationship with this guy? All you need to have a personal relationship with anyone is knowledge of what you think they want, stand for, believe and who they are. A personal relationship is one in which you “know” the other at some level and believe (share) in the same core values, or in some cases do not. For example, you may have a personal relationship with the devil in daily struggles but not accept the core values ascribed to that entity. So, personal relationship can and must be individual and derived from one’s own sense of the other.
OK. So that brings us to Jesus’ core values. We all understand them, I think, as love and what emanates from love. He seemed to care about and accept everyone at a personal level without distinctions. He seemed to want everyone to be saved from the sin and evil of the world. He was ready to sacrifice himself to achieve that goal (possibly).
He was most definitely not a sappy simpering sanctimonious preacher. He was aflame with passion and angry with much of the world he saw. He spoke out in the face of hate with love, a very dangerous thing to do.
Often asked: WWJD? I know what he would do. He would speak out against intolerance, hatred, wrongfulness and bigotry. He would rail against the false prophets (as are most of them at one level or another) and take the high ground of love, peace, forgiveness and redemption. He would support the rights of all against the oppression of them by others more powerful. He would not tolerate meanness, treachery, lying, cheating, stealing or other common attributes of public figures and clergy. He would be at all times ready to embrace and love others. He would move among us with ease and be one of us without striving for gain or glory. He would speak against religious practices and arguments that separated, segregated or denied others full inclusion in life. He would surely be killed for his teachings.
Consider the issue of a historic Jesus. In other words, was there really a man that lived, was named Jesus and was considered by others or himself as a messiah or prophet? When he died was he really resurrected? There is no agreement on these questions to the level of certainty. So if we suppose that there was such a person, what could we know about him? The New Testament claims to document some of the known life of this prophet. No real-time transcriptions of his utterances are known, and most are reconstructions well after the fact. Could they be perfectly remembered, misremembered, made up entirely or “inspired” after the fact? Possibly any or all of these could be the case.
Taking the Jesus as represented by all that is written (no, I don’t know all that is written, and many people are quite willing to ignore documents that don’t fit their model, like the newly discovered Gospel according to Judas) he seems to have been a holy man, a philosopher, a healer, a teacher and a peace-bringer. His teachings seem consistent over his life. Tolerance, love, inclusion, caring and nurturing are among his reported philosophies. He is seen as opposing oppression and fighting for good and righteous causes. He is seen as a common man, living simply and doing good works. He could be a formidable enemy too, and was not afraid to speak and act his mind. He spent his short life in the service of others, as a Rabbi in later life according to some. What about a personal relationship with this guy? All you need to have a personal relationship with anyone is knowledge of what you think they want, stand for, believe and who they are. A personal relationship is one in which you “know” the other at some level and believe (share) in the same core values, or in some cases do not. For example, you may have a personal relationship with the devil in daily struggles but not accept the core values ascribed to that entity. So, personal relationship can and must be individual and derived from one’s own sense of the other.
OK. So that brings us to Jesus’ core values. We all understand them, I think, as love and what emanates from love. He seemed to care about and accept everyone at a personal level without distinctions. He seemed to want everyone to be saved from the sin and evil of the world. He was ready to sacrifice himself to achieve that goal (possibly).
He was most definitely not a sappy simpering sanctimonious preacher. He was aflame with passion and angry with much of the world he saw. He spoke out in the face of hate with love, a very dangerous thing to do.
Often asked: WWJD? I know what he would do. He would speak out against intolerance, hatred, wrongfulness and bigotry. He would rail against the false prophets (as are most of them at one level or another) and take the high ground of love, peace, forgiveness and redemption. He would support the rights of all against the oppression of them by others more powerful. He would not tolerate meanness, treachery, lying, cheating, stealing or other common attributes of public figures and clergy. He would be at all times ready to embrace and love others. He would move among us with ease and be one of us without striving for gain or glory. He would speak against religious practices and arguments that separated, segregated or denied others full inclusion in life. He would surely be killed for his teachings.
You don't have to believe in the God to practice the principles. You just have to know Jesus. A very cool guy.
Image: Osiris Resurrecting: http://www.daytonartinstitute.org/exhibits/egypt/images.htm
a first
Well I'll be damned. I may actually get a foot in the "blogosphere". Don't know where this will lead, probably to some fun, some reflection, some ranting, some pontificating. We will see.
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