Christianity
What Did Jesus Say? Individual & Corporate Discernment
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My gratitude to mainstream institutional religion is ironic. I have always been on the side of those the church persecuted: mystics, heretics, and other nonconformists.
Politics & Society
What's the Matter with White People? A Look at Data from the "Race and Recession Survey"
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The Washington Post reports that according to a recent survey, “fully half of all whites without college degrees identify as Republicans or are GOP-leaning independents, and 42 percent call themselves conservatives, more than other groups.” How can this be? Why would presumably working class whites support the party of Big Business that favors outsourcing, benefit-cutting, and other policies that immiserate working people? Indeed, it was Republican policies that got us into this economic mess, and the GOP is currently trying to make things worse with their job-killing budget cuts and cold-hearted attempts to shred what little remains of the safety net. Is it time to revive the term “false consciousness”?
Politics & Society
Take Action to Stop Gaddafi's Brutal Assault on Libyan Civilians
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It’s time for bolder international action against the ruthless dictator of Libya who is killing his own people. Military jets, helicopter gunships, and mercenaries with machine guns are indiscriminately attacking unarmed demonstrators while heads of state just make statements. Only a vigorous global response can help prevent the situation from spiraling into greater violence. Please ask the US to play a leadership role in forcing the UN Security Council to act. There are peaceful and effective international actions that could save lives in Libya.
General News
Tikkun's 25th Anniversary Bash
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The Spring 2011 issue of Tikkun is in the mail now to subscribers. Here’s the top half of the back cover:
Michael Lerner always puts on terrific events and this will be no exception. We will hear from each of the honorees above, as well as from Michael and Peter Gabel, who has guided Tikkun with Michael from the start. There will be energizing and spiritually deep music in between speeches. So if you can hop a plane, car or bike and come along, don’t miss it!
art
Chapter & Verse / Poems Of Jewish Identity
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Two things just brought this new collection to my attention. Our friend the poet Adam David Miller came by with a review of it, and two of the poets, Rose Black and Melanie Meyer, let us know that the first San Francisco reading from it will take place next Tuesday evening, February 22nd, at Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco (details here). “Five Bay Area writers, Rose Black, Margaret Kaufman, Melanie Maier, Susan Terris, and Sim Warkov, all published poets, invited five additional published poets, Dan Bellm, Chana Bloch, Rafaella Del Bourgo, Jackie Kudler, and Murray Silverstein, to contribute to this collection of poems of Jewish identity.” Chapter & Verse: Some notes and observations
By Adam David Miller
When Rose Black handed me a promo sheet for Chapter&Verse I read “Five Bay Area…poets, invited five additional…poets…to contribute to this collection…,” I wondered what manner of work was this. With the thin-skinned, fragile, ego-driven, fractious nature of many poets I wondered how they even got the book together.
Empathy
The Valentine's Day That Never Was
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I always think about Timmy around Valentine’s Day. He was my first boyfriend, or he would have been had he not gotten his head bashed in with a bat. Tim came into my life late one night through my bedroom window. We were twelve. Tim, like my ten year-old brother, was short, blond and scrappy.
Politics & Society
Mubarak Resigns! What Comes Next — Democratic Transformation or Military "Stability"?
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Jews and spiritual progressives of every religious community are rejoicing at the triumph of the democratic uprising in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities and at the resignation of President Mubarak. But we have no illusions that the struggle for democracy has been won. We are fearful that the United States and others who seek “stability” rather than democracy may accept a new autocratic regime under the leadership of Vice President Omar Suleiman (the U.S. ally who played a significant role in the torture operations in Egypt) or under the leadership of a “soft” military coup in which the Army becomes the primary force in Egypt. Nor would we welcome a government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, though they have a legitimate role to play in any new government. It remains to be seen if a genuine democratic process takes place, or merely a process controlled by the military and security forces resulting in elections that reflect the desires of the military, which might continue to control the media.
Healing Israel/Palestine
Don't Blame ‘Zionism’
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When addressing the World Union of Meretz about five years ago, the dovish Israeli writer A.B. Yehoshua argued a truth that should be better known than it is: that Zionism is not a single movement or ideology but a common platform or framework shared by political parties and philosophical currents from widely divergent places along the ideological spectrum. Zionism was a grassroots Jewish reaction to the most pervasive and pernicious bigotry of recent Western history. Nineteenth century nationalist movements in much or most of Europe reignited virulent antisemitism, which eventually culminated in the slaughter of a majority of Europe’s Jews and one-third of all Jews worldwide. Palestine was a beacon of hope for an embattled people that saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Although before my time, my sympathies (and some roots of the left-Zionist forces I support today) would have been with the bi-nationalist Zionists—e.g., Hannah Arendt, Albert Einstein, Martin Buber and Hashomer Hatzair.
Media Tools
Al Jazeera's Moment
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The protests in Egypt have captured the world’s attention since tens of thousands of protestors began gathering in Cairo’s Tahrir square on January 25th. Footage of the sheer numbers of protestors in the square has provided a sense of both how widespread and how peaceful is popular opposition to the Mubarak regime. Millions of viewers have seen these images thanks to the reporting of Al Jazeera’s English-language service. American news anchors preface news on Egypt with “Al Jazeera reports,” and those who want live, streaming footage can get it online at Al Jazeera English’s (AJE) Live Stream or on Al Jazeera’s YouTube channel. [youtube: video=”V3FYooOO9lQ”]
Jeff Jarvis writes at The Huffington Post that “vital, world-changing news is occurring in the Middle East and no one — not the xenophobic or celebrity-obsessed or cut-to-the-bone American media — can bring the perspective, insight, and on-the-scene reporting Al Jazeera English can.”
General News
Where's the Heat? Rio Arribans Grill NM Gov Over Gas
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For most of the country, last week’s winter storm is old news. But for residents of Rio Arriba County, one of the nation’s top gas-producing counties, last week’s storm has not passed. Residents of Rio Arriba County remain without natural gas for cooking and heating in frigid weather nearly a week later. And another Arctic front is on its way. Last night, the Board of Rio Arriba County Commissioners summoned Governor Susana Martinez to explain the debacle.