From the Mountaintop

The Powers That Be

2006-10-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

Deep thoughts from the world of deeply thinking baseball fans:-----------------------------------------------Hand:Be careful what you wish for.I was diagnosed with a cancer in summer 2002. I didn't seem that serious because it was caught real early, but I still made a vow that I wasn't leaving these mortal bleachers until the Giants won a World Series.Several months later the Giants took a 3-2

How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb?

2006-10-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

Sent to me from a friend:How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb?Charismatic: Only 1Hands are already in the air.Pentecostal: 10One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.Presbyterians: NoneLights will go on and off at predestined times.Roman Catholic: NoneCandles only.Baptists: At least 15One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve

A Little Lone Star Theology

2006-10-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

There were four churches in a small, Texas town: the Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Methodist Church.Each church was overrun with pesky squirrels. The Presbyterians called a meeting to decide what to do about the squirrels; and after prayer and consideration, they determined the squirrels were predestined to be there and they shouldn’t interfere with

Save the Children

2006-10-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

Bono is at a U2 concert in Glasgow when he asks the audience for some quiet.Then in the silence, he starts to slowly clap his hands.Holding the audience in total silence, he says softly and seriously into the microphone ..."Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies......"A voice from near the front pierces the silence: "Well, fuckin' stop doin' it then!"

Why Conservatives (Still) Can't Govern

2006-10-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Dani,Some brief responses to your reply.The Founders’ idea of an elite republic was doomed from the start. Had the country never expanded off the Eastern seaboard we probably would have gone through the same fights about expanding the franchise as Britain. Kentucky and Tennessee changed that. The small landowners who settled and then organized the over-the-Appalachian states weren’t about to

Nihilist Rules!

2006-10-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

My man for governor:http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A227292

Why Conservatives Can't Govern

2006-07-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

For a great discussion of the inherent contradiction of conservative government:http://www.geocities.com/leroys_dad/conservatives_cant.htm

The Case for California Secession

2006-06-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Will Durst says it best:http://www.alternet.org/story/14531

God and Walmart in Arkansas - Oy vey!

2006-06-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

From the Interfaith Coalition:Wal-Mart Transforms Arkansas Town Into Multi-Faith Mini-Metropolis“Residents of Benton County, in the northwest corner of Arkansas, are proud citizens of the Bible Belt. At last count, they filled 39 Baptist, 27 United Methodist and 20 Assembly of God churches.For decades, a local hospital has begun meetings with a reading from the New Testament and the library has

Democratic Panel Limits New Primary States

2006-06-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

by HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press WriterPublished 12:13 pm PDT Thursday, June 22, 2006CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A Democratic National Committee panel considering changes to the presidential primary calendar voted Thursday to allow just two other states to join Iowa and New Hampshire in voting early in 2008. If the full DNC adopts the recommendation, one state would be allowed to hold a caucus between

The Longest Day

2006-06-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

Left - partygoers greet the summer solstice at Stonehenge.Pagans have all the fun. They party when the sun comes up. They party when the sun goes down. They party when the moon comes up. They party when the moon goes down. They party when the days get shorter. They party when the days get longer.It’s truly a testament to Christianity's sheer persistence that it won out over these folks in

Sign of the Times

2006-06-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

Seen on a Sacramento area bumpersticker yesterday:"I'm already against the next war."

Father's Day

2006-06-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

It’s cool being a dad today. No one expects you to do anything so anything you do makes you look like Mother Theresa in boxers.I loved driving around Oakland with Leroy, playing with him in the park, reading to him in the library and hanging with him in coffee shops. I got loads of “ooh, ahh!” looks, free snacks and coffee. “Be a dad and get stuff!” What a slogan.Nothing beats changing a

The World (yawn) Cup

2006-06-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

The photo to the left of two passionate supporters of Sweden's World Cup soccer team is all you need to know about why the US will never take the Cup as seriously as the rest of the planet. We simply can't meet this standard of devotion.Not that I care. I honestly don’t care. I’m sick and tired of being told that I should care because Botswana, the Ukraine and Honduras care. If they want a

San Francisco Uber Alles

2006-06-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

A shameless cross-post, but relevant:---------------------------By Garrison KeillorJun. 07, 2006 / People who live in mud huts should not throw mud, especially if it comes from their own roofs. As Scripture says, don't point to the speck in your neighbor's eye when you have a piece of kindling in your own.I see by the papers that the Republicans want to make an issue of Nancy Pelosi in the

School's Out

2006-06-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

Whew. I never knew the end of the semester could come with such a rush. And I don't even go to school.Last Friday was the last day of my son Leroy's second grade year. It was a good year, too. His record card was good, he's got a crew of buddies who want to get together over the summer and the P.E. teacher still calls him a model student. So why am I pooped?I feel like I've just left my second

In The Year 2026

2006-05-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Republican president, in the second year of his second term and needing a win, decided to take on immigration policy reform, to win a victory for his “legacy”, something to be remembered by. Presidents usually don’t have much political capital to spend at this point, so a win here would go far in the eyes of the pundits and historians.The proposed measure was built around amnesty for illegal

Family Ties

2006-05-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

Ohio candidate's sons cost him county raceThe Associated PressPublished 4:55 am PDT Thursday, May 4, 2006 CASTALIA, Ohio (AP) - You're both grounded!Two voting-age sons of a northern Ohio candidate didn't go to the polls Tuesday, and their father's race ended in a tie.William Crawford, trying to retain his seat on the central committee of the Erie County Democratic Party, and challenger Jean

The Summer of 1970

2006-05-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

A letter to SF Chronicle reporter Steve Tady, aka The Betting Fool:The Fool Wrote:A MAYS-ING MEMORY:The year was 1970. I was getting close to reporting to sixth grade at Portola grammar school in Los Altos, but I went to a ton of Giants games that summer.On July 18th, I saw Willie Mays poke a grounder to left past Montreal's Coco LaBoy for his 3,000th hit. Ron Hunt was hit by a pitch, Gaylord

'Trek' Revisited

2006-04-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

From Variety.comTrekkies have a new leader 'Star' treatment for J.J.By DAVE MCNARYJ.J. Abrams is becoming the next Gene Roddenberry.Paramount is breathing life into its "Star Trek" franchise by setting "Mission: Impossible III" helmer J.J. Abrams to produce and direct the 11th "Trek" feature, aiming for a 2008 release. Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk, Abrams' producing team from "Lost," also will

Down Home Politics

2006-04-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

COMMENTARY: Utah Senator’s Contributions Come From Alcohol, Tobacco, Gambling?“ (from the Interfaith Alliance)For almost 30 years, Orrin G. Hatch has been an influential representative of Mormon-dominated Utah. Yet he has accepted campaign contributions from wealthy sinners in the alcohol, tobacco and gambling industries -- a fact that may surprise some residents.These have not been token

The Fall (GOP-style)

2006-04-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

There will be calls that the party has lost its way. The party, we will hear, has lost its way. It has lost its connection to the American public, and must suffer the consequences if it doesn’t find new vision, a new commitment to its principles. There will be calls for new leaders to step forward to re-ignite the fire of principle tied to action, to build a new path to political glory. Or

Rendering Unto Caeser

2006-04-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

COMMENTARY: Jesus Was Original Proponent Of Church/State Separation“There is no such thing as a "Christian politics." If it is a politics, it cannot be Christian. Jesus told Pilate: "My reign is not of this present order. If my reign were of this present order, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews. But my reign is not here" (John 18:36). Jesus brought no

Now Batting: A Nice Colored Guy

2006-04-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

I don’t think Barry Bonds is being picked on just because he’s black. I don’t think the feds and the media and all that are snickering to themselves, “we’ll get that black guy, heh, heh, heh …”.I do think he’s getting more heat because he’s black, though.Not directly. Indirectly.Barry Bonds is an immensely self-involved critter who insists on having it his own way and living by his own rules.

Opening Day

2006-04-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

One of the many things I just love about Northern California is that we know how to keep things in proper perspective. We know what's really important.From the local papers, covering the SF Giants Opening Day:"Anything short of murder or kidnapping", said Bay Area attorney Peter Rendstrom, echoing the sentiments of the majority of the fans in attendance "and we're going to support one of our

April Fool

2006-04-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

So my seven-year-old son decided to play a late April Fool's prank on dear old Dad.What did he do?He changed my password on my Windows XP login.I sat there tapping away at the keyboard over and over, wondering what the heck happened.He started laughing. He shouted "April Fool!" and laughed some more.So I went in to his login and took away administrator privileges.That'll show him. Spare the rod,

Groupthink

2006-04-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

There were three ATM’s in a row on the side of the bank, situated on the side of a busy community shopping center parking lot. There was one line of average folks waiting to use them. I noticed that the ATM in the middle of the three wasn’t being used, although it was clearly open for business. So I took my place in line, fourth from the front and awaited further developments.One of the ATM users

Where I Hope to Be in Fifty Years

2006-04-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Toward the end of the service, the Minister asked, "How many of you have forgiven your enemies?" About 80% held up their hands.The Minister then repeated his question. All responded this time, except one small, elderly Lady."Mrs. Jones?" asked the Minister. "Are you not willing to forgive your enemies?""I don't have any," she replied, smiling sweetly."Mrs. Jones, that is very unusual. How old

The Book of Daniel

2006-04-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

Georgia Bible Bill Heading For Governor’s Desk“Public school students will be able to take state-funded courses devoted to the Old and New Testaments under a bill that received final legislative approval Monday, making Georgia the first state in the nation to legally sanction Bible classes. "I am confident that the course will pass constitutional muster," Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams (

Huddled Masses

2006-03-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought national politics couldn’t get any duller, same ol' war in Iraq, same ol' deficits, same ol' Republican lying and corruption, along comes the Bush administration’s push to reform immigration policy.This one’s great, a true breath of fresh air. It’s got everything.It’s got liberal churches offering to shield illegal immigrants and liberal labor unions wanting to stop them

Let's Do The Time Warp Again ...

2006-03-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

Found on the Internet:Here's what Republicans said about Clinton and Kosovo:Why did they second-guess our commitment to freedom from genocide and demand that we cut and run?"President Clinton is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not

Firefly

2006-03-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

I once dated myself by mentioning offhand at a Star Trek Trek convention that I was one of the kids who saw the original series when it originally aired back in the ‘60s. All conversation around me stopped. Then one fellow looked at me quizzically and asked, “How old –are- you?”It was an article of Trekkie religion at the time was that almost no one watched the original series (a claim since

March Madness

2006-03-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

Ah, March Madness is here. And I have to care.I don't really care. I didn't go to a college with a real basketball team, I've never followed the Warriors or Kings very closely and I can't hit a free throw unless I'm three feet from the basket.But I'm a tall, African American guy so every stranger assumes I'm following the tournament.It started years ago while I stood waiting for the bus or train

How to Make A Statement

2006-03-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

Here's why the antiwar movement can't gain traction. It needs to come up with more interesting forms of political expression, like some folks south of the border:CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- More than 1,500 Venezuelans shed their clothes on a main city avenue Sunday to pose for American photographer Spencer Tunick, forming a human mosaic in front of a national symbol: a statue of independence hero

Xtians on the Down Stroke

2006-03-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

From the Interfaith Alliance newsletter:Momentum, Numbers Wane At Christian Conservative’s Activist Weekend“In a sanctuary decked with red, white and blue banners, hundreds of Christian activists will gather at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale starting today to rally around a common goal: claiming America for Christ. These lobbyists for Jesus want more than souls. For two days,

The Luck of the Irish

2006-03-17T13:13:00.000-08:00

I’ll never understand the phrase “the luck of the Irish”. It always sounded more like a curse.The Irish. Before the English arrived to make them miserable they fought with the Vikings who made them miserable before which they fought among themselves making themselves miserable. In the meantime, they turned self-medicating the misery into a high art form.What luck? In the movie “The Commitments”

Blue State/Red State/Kurd State

2006-03-15T21:19:00.000-08:00

So everyone's now wailing that Iraq is in a state of awful civil war.If so, it ought to tell us something.That they simply don't wanna live together. So let them live apart.There's nothing sacred about Iraqi nationhood. The country only exists because Winston Churchill thought it was a good idea. There is clearly little sense of nationhood today. So let 'em go. Split the country up into three

Barry Bonds

2006-03-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

My dear wife finds this inconsistent with my generally high moral nature, but I’m all that aroused over revelations of Barry Bonds’ steroid use.First, it’s not news to me. I’d long assumed he’d used ‘em during the late ‘90s and early ‘00’s, at least. He confirmed it to me when he publicly admitted he’d used them, but without his knowledge. Smart man, I thought. He was obviously setting himself

The McCain Factor

2006-03-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

One of the weirdest things going on around Liberaldom these days is admiration for Senator John McCain.“Oh, he’s so –principled-!”, I hear.Yeah, but in this governing coalition that really doesn’t require working very hard.John McCain has one of the worst voting records in Congress. Why the love?Is it simply fear that anything’s better than whatever the Bush White House anoints as successor

Walmart to the Rescue

2006-03-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Walmart's response to the recent spate of health care laws targeted at them is to say that it's time for government to do something about health care costs and coverage.I say it's time to welcome Walmart about the progressive bandwagon on this issue.When national health care policy finally arrives, it'll do so riding on the backs of the capitalist owner class. The choice for them is simple.

In Defense of Biblical Marriage

2006-02-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

The Presidential Prayer Team is currently urging us to: "Pray for the President as he seeks wisdom on how to legally codify the definition of marriage. Pray that it will be according to Biblical principles. With any forces insisting on variant definitions of marriage, pray that God's Word and His standards will be honored by our government."Any good religious person believes prayer should be

Roe vs. The Mount Rushmore State

2006-02-23T08:44:00.000-08:00

More from the Interfaith Alliance:Supreme Court Says Church Can Use Hallucinogenic Tea"The U.S. Supreme Court, saying law enforcement goals in some cases must yield to religious rights, ruled that the Bush administration can't block a New Mexico church from using a hallucinogenic tea.In a unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the court said the 1993 Religious Freedom

Blowback

2006-02-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

From the Friday, Feb 17, 2006, Interfaith Alliance newsletter:Evangelist Travels US Aggressively Teaching Views Of Creationism“Evangelist Ken Ham smiled at the 2,300 elementary students packed into pews, their faces rapt. With dinosaur puppets and silly cartoons, he was training them to reject much of geology, paleontology and evolutionary biology as a sinister tangle of lies. "Boys and girls,"

Condi for President

2006-02-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

I think that Condoleezza Rice has a great shot at becoming the next President of the United States.She offers everything the Republicans need.She’s attractive for a politician. Americans like pretty people.She apparently has no ideas of her own. At no time during her time at Bush’s side has she ever said anything which resembles an original thought. Nor are there any initiatives or policy

Field of Schemes

2006-02-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

There’s just something about sports stadiums and arenas which turn ordinarily sensible public officials' brains into goo.Back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s some of these people actually said that “Without the Giants, San Francisco won’t be a ‘major league’ city.” I guess the stunning scenery, the fantastic weather, the high culture, the cable cars and the history means nothing without a major

Chickenhawk

2006-02-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

From elsewhere in cyberspace ...The administration has decided that there is too much political wrangling going on in Washington and is beginning a program to smooth over relationships. In the spirit of this new "kindler and gentler" political atmosphere, Vice President Cheney has invited Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to a quail hunting vacation in Texas next weekend.----------You

The 23rd Qualm

2006-02-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

The 23rd Qualm(Reportedly written by a retired Methodist minister. )Bush is my shepherd; I dwell in want.He maketh logs to be cut down in national forests.He leadeth trucks into the still wilderness.He restoreth my fears.He leadeth me in the paths of international disgrace for his ego's sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley of pollution and war,I will find no exit, for thou art in

Hamas

2006-02-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

Back in college, I wrote a paper on the success of the Italian Communist Party in the mid-'80s,, then one of the largest democratic Communist parties in Western Europe. They were uncorrupt, hard-working and responsible for managing northern Italy's largest and best-run cities. Yet they couldn't achieve national power.The answer to an Italian was simple. Ask why they voted to have the Commies run

Emotional Distress

2006-02-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

Found on the news wires ...Finally, reports Court TV , an Alabama man is suing an AOL chat-room pal for inflicting "severe emotional distress and physical injury that is of a nature no reasonable man could be expected to endure it."-------------Couldn't he just sign off?

Super Bowl XL

2006-02-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I was one of the millions and millions of people glued to my set for the Super Bowl. And why not? It’s been a month since the holidays ended. A long, cold, dark month which produces equally dark nights of the soul, where spring is just a rumor and a soul will do just about anything to reach out, even root for football teams he couldn’t care less about two weeks earlier.Actually, it was a

The New (Old) Right

2006-02-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

On February 1, Useless Eaters said..."Socialist Right"?--------------------------------Yep, the “Socialist Right”. The title fits, and any resemblance to the name of any other current or past group is intentional.What’s frightening and too familiar about the Socialist Right and similarly named groups out of recent history is how they can manage to make themselves victims of a vicious conspiracy

Righteous Justice Dept.

2006-02-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

According to the AP:The idiot fan shown here being corraled by a Steelers linebacker after interrupting a Steelers - Browns game by running on the field will be jailed over Super Bowl weekend without access to radio or TV.Ah, now, that's knowing how to make a really good judicial butt-whoopin' hurt. We need more of this.

God of Storms

2006-02-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

So the idiot mayor of New Orleans says that God punished the country, etc. for supposed sins by sending Hurricane Katrina and blah, blah, blah.You know, maybe the problem isn’t that the Old Testament God is mad at us. Maybe the problem is that we’re sucking up to the wrong god in the first place.The problem is storms. Big storms, bad storms, storms that knock out cities and seacoasts. We’d like

Old School

2006-01-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

Soul star Wilson Pickett, best known for "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour," died Thursday, CNN confirms. -------------------------One of things I used to love about soul/R&B back when I was a kid was the feeling of superiority it gave me over the white guys.They had acid-rock, KISS and bands who worshipped Satan. We had the blended sounds of the Temptations of love, the rousing voice of

St. George

2006-01-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

Overheard at the water cooler:President George W. Bush was scheduled to visit the Methodist Church outside Washington as part of his campaign to get his programs through Congress. Bush's advance man made a visit to the Bishop, and said to him, "We've been getting a lot of bad publicity among Methodists because of Bush's position on stem cell research and the like. We'd gladly make a contribution

MLK

2006-01-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

Every MLK Jr. Day brings me back to the good ‘ol religion church my momma and daddy raised me in. I find the reminiscences interesting in part nowadays because I compare them to the general assumption that anyone with a heavy dose of community religion and a politically involved minister has to be a right wing Bible thumper. My folks had both and were about as yellow dog Democrat as one can

Dem vs. Dem

2006-01-13T17:32:00.000-08:00

There’s a whole lot of yakkin’ going on about how the Democrats are fighting among themselves and not keeping a coordinated message and how there needs to be more discipline and all that. The idea is that if there One Great Leader with One Great Message, the Reps would be toast in the upcoming general elections and on the way, the Dems could win back a position in the national government.I don’t

The War Between the (Blue vs. Red) States

2006-01-12T17:23:00.000-08:00

On January 8, "Useless Eaters" commented:If secession occurred then goes for the Canadians would be doubly true for us albeit without beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, streams.Have you thought what a Red State Nation would be like? Its not like they'll be stewing quietly in some weird collective fundamentalist gated community. These are the folks who want to hasten the Rapture by whatever

Shock and Outrage

2006-01-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

The American Decency Association (???!!) is outraged over the Detriot Lion's "dance team", a.k.a cheerleaders, supposedly racy and immoral calendar spread.This correspondent scoured the Internet for a sample of said shamelessness, but alas, the Internet let me down. (On the other hand, I was absolutely amazed to find so many young women in college apparently meeting the tuition bill with a broad

Life and Death

2006-01-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

It was about this time last year that my then-six-year-old son's pet rat died after we had him just a few weeks, and I've never found out why. He had a respiratory problem before we got him, that may have been it. My son found him and was trying to "fix" him after he apparently died.When I asked my son how the rat died, he thought a minute before answering."He died from not being alive," he

The Rose Bowl

2006-01-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

This was a great game although it was mighty hard for me to figure out who to root for.As Californian I can't root for Texas. As a Northern Californian I can't root for Southern California. As a loyal Brother I should root for the team with the black QB. But as a good football fan I hate these running backs disguised as QB's. But Vince Young can also throw the ball. Sheesh!It weren't easy. So I

Jehovah, a.k.a. "The Torpedo"

2006-01-05T21:05:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Television evangelist Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza."God says, 'This land belongs to me, and you'd better leave it alone,'" he said.------------------Funny. I thought the land belonged to Israel, and they were turning it over to the Gaza Arabs. I mean, the Israelis did have a

The Perspective Bowl

2006-01-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

Every year we hear about how the nation “needs” a true college football national championship and how some type of playoff system is needed to make sure there’s no doubt whose number one at the end of it all. Dump the bowls, they say, and bring on an NFL-style playoff system.Humbug, I say. Humbug!The great thing about the bowl system is that everyone wins. Get a bowl invite and you’ve done well

The Best Things in Sports - 2005

2005-12-31T13:46:00.000-08:00

Ah, what a year in sports.1. Two teams which were not named New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox played in the World Series.2. One team, the Chicago White Sox, made the nation's second-most self-absorbed fans, Cubbies, feel even worse.3. Major league baseball created the "World Baseball Classic" so that Latin American players who play in the U.S. most of the year earning millions of American

The Best Thing That Happened in 2005

2005-12-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

2005 opened up with President Bush at a seeming all-time political high. He won re-election by a far easier margin than seemed likely just a few weeks before Election Day. His party’s congressional majority was stronger. The political world, it seemed, was his oyster. For believers in truth, justice, peace and the real American Way, it seemed a dark, dark time indeed. What nefarious horrors would

Kwanzaa

2005-12-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

Kwanzaa starts today, which means I have to look forward to a week of people asking me if I celebrate Kwanzaa.Black people never ask me this. Only white people do.It seems to be one of those “defining” questions. Conservatively included white folks seem to assume that telling them that I don’t celebrate Kwanzaa indicates a blanket rejection of all things “black” or “African American.”

Peace on Earth

2005-12-25T12:05:00.000-08:00

A few words from the ages on this birthday celebration of a very wise spiritual teacher:From those who foretold the teacher's birth:“’There is no peace for the wicked,’ says my God.” Isaiah 57:21 (New Living Translation Bible, NLT)… from those who carried on the teacher's work:“Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible.” Romans 12:18 (NLT)… and from the mouth of the

Merry Birthday!

2005-12-24T10:50:00.000-08:00

Every year, someone decides to run a story about the poor, unfortunate souls who were unlucky enough to be born near Christmas. This year, the local Sacramento Bee drew the lot (go here for the article). They didn't do a half bad job but it still stands for me to set the record straight.I'm a Christmas (Eve) birthday babe. And I like it.It's a great time to have a birthday. Everyone's already

The Green Street Reds

2005-12-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's note about a UPN show spilling the beans on Santa Claus reminds me of what's probably the greatest faux pas in anti-Santa history.In December 1983 a SanFrancisco teevee news program decided to run a report on the presumably evil activities of the local Soviet Consulate, on Green Street in the Marina District (a toney neighborhood overlooking the Bay; you'd think the vanguard of the

Yes, Virginia ...

2005-12-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

Excerpted From CNN.Com ...Chris Rock show gives away Santa secret'Everybody Hates Chris' earns a few complaintsNEW YORK (AP) -- Yes, Chris Rock, there is a Santa Claus.Parents with young children who happened to watch "Everybody Hates Chris" in the past week had some explaining to do when the character of Rock's brother suddenly told his younger sister that Santa doesn't exist."Everybody knows

I Spy

2005-12-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

For several years now I’ve been telling people asking me to sign petitions to “Impeach Bush!” to go away and leave me alone. “But he –lied-!”, they said.Big deal, I replied. Politicians stretch reality every day of the week. It’s our job as citizens to sift the truth from the crap and vote, write letters, protest, whatever fits. But impeachment is something else.Impeachment was set up in the

'Tis the Season

2005-12-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, around my lovely hometown …Wal-Mart Confronted on 'Happy Holidays'By TOM CHORNEAU, Associated Press WriterSACRAMENTO, Calif. - A group of religious protesters demonstrated outside a Wal-Mart superstore Saturday, hoping to turn away customers by calling attention to the retailer's decision to use "happy holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas" in its seasonal advertising.But even

The Federal Republic of Earth

2005-12-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

It was a minor scene in Star Trek: Enterprise, the speaker noted, but it said everything about where the show believed that we can and will go in the future.The famous starship captain had just finished a call-in interview from space with a grade school class back on Earth. “Now class, let’s say the pledge”, the teacher said. The class replied, “We pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the Federal

Rising to the Occasion

2005-12-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

Even the major news magazines are taking Bush to task for “living in a bubble”, surrounding himself with cronies and sycophants tell him just what he wants to hear. He needs to break out of this, the pundits opine, and put more challenging people around him. As some say, you know, like Lincoln did during the Civil War.The Lincoln comparison comes out of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s recent book “Team of

10 Things In Football

2005-12-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

10 Things In Football That Sound Dirty1. The hole closed on him before he could penetrate it.2. He's off to the sidelines for a quick blow.3. It's a game of inches.4. When you get down in this area, you just gotta start pounding.5. He's gonna feel that one tomorrow.6. He found his tight end.7. He had to stretch to get it in.8. He could go all the way.9. He goes deep.10. He found a hole and slid

Molecules

2005-11-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

The good news is that "intelligent design" got voted out in Dover, Pennsylvania, where, as one successful school board candidate put it, "there's a church on every corner."The bad news, according to one numbskull preacher, is that God will surely throw some disaster Dover's way for allegedly voting Him out of the classroom.This explains the socialist right's frustration with the federal

10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage Should Be Illegal

2005-11-13T09:15:00.000-08:00

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can

Conan vs. California

2005-11-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

"Crom count the dead!"It makes for a good description of Arnold Scharzenegger's ballot measures after yesterday's special election in California.I knew Schwarzenegger was toast right after his election in 2003. He promised California voters that he could provide the same level of public services while rolling back a vehicle license fee by finding efficiencies, waste, blah, blah, blah, in the

The Real Meaning of All Hallow's Eve

2005-10-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

Garrison Keillor says that Halloween as a Republican holiday. Why?You try to scare folks to death while grabbing all the goodies that you can!I wonder if garlic and holy water will run them off. I'd suggest wooden stakes and silver bullets too but the Secret Service might have a problem with that.

What's a little Death between friends?

2005-10-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Donors setting up funds from beyond graveBy SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press WriterPublished 10:52 am PDT Friday, October 28, 2005WASHINGTON (AP) - Dozens of political donors are reaching beyond the grave to support candidates and parties, setting up their estates to continue giving campaign money long after their deaths, a study released Friday found.Presidential and congressional candidates and

Foxification

2005-10-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Steve Tady, a.ka. "The Betting Fool" recently bemoaned what he described as the "Foxification" of sports broadcasts, using the example of the World Series. This process requires ridiculous camera shots, massive overuse of graphics and things like the "Right Now!' box, which tells you in big box print what you're already looking at. Read the sage wisdom at:

Rosa Parks

2005-10-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I attended college so I forget the guy's name right now. He was a tall, sharp fellow who served with me at the campus Amnesty International group and we took some political science and international relations classes together.One day we were discussing civil rights and all and I mentioned the Montgomery bus boycott which set off the modern movement. It started, I said,

Re: One Day at Home Depot

2005-10-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

Frank,Maybe she’s a Red state agent, trying to subvert our beautiful Blue state progressiveness. She’s just not very good at the job.California Red staters are feeling mighty oppressed these days. The best they can do is a rock star governor who’s really not very good at his job and who avoids the (kaff!) “culture war” nonsense like the

One Day at Home Depot

2005-10-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

It was a lazy late afternoon on a typically warm Sacramento fall day. Temps hover at highs in the mid-'80's these days, and to my now-acclimated soul, it's quite pleasant. I took some time to mosey over to my local Home Depot for a little shopping.You meet all kinds at a large store like Home Depot. This one is located at a large shopping near the junction of two major interstate highways, so

Re: The Left Hand of God

2005-10-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

Frank, He isn’t. They just –think- he is. This is why De Lay Republicans can be certified legally insane. After all, people who hear voices in their heads should be put away for their own protection, right? So when dear Tom is put away for a long, long time, it’s for his own good. He might hurt himself. Terry PrestonFrom: Frank Hay [

The Left Hand of God

2005-10-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

"He [God] has been walking me through an incredible journey, and it all comes down to worldview ?He is using me, all the time, everywhere, to stand up for biblical worldview in everything that I do and everywhere I am. He is training me, He is working with me.""It never ceases to amaze me that people are so cynical [that] they want to tie money to issues, money to bills, money to amendments."For

Re: Good Work!!

2005-10-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

Frank:Actually, they’re not being hypocritical. They are being consistent, in a sick way.For years, they kept telling us that government is inherently evil and that public servants were liars, thieves and scalliwags. When you set such your standards for public service so low, you’re bound to hit them when you finally get your turn.From:

Good Work!!

2005-10-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when the following conversation took place: GW Bush: “I need to reassure my radical base about Miers but I can’t do it myself. Get down to Texas and ask some of the cronies to front for me.” Soon after, several judges insist that Miers’s religious beliefs will require her to overturn Roe v.

"Houston, we have a problem ..."

2005-10-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Last night’s National League championship series game showed once again why baseball is the supreme sport.Every other sport requires a clock. The game is played on a rectangular field with the goal of getting the ball or whatever into a goal at the respective ends of the field within a defined time. Fun, but overall pretty derivative.Baseball is over when a certain

The Fall Classic

2005-10-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

Our long national nightmare is finally over. We don’t have to hear any more about the Yankees or Red Sox. It was fun last year, even for the overwhelming majority who don’t live in or who didn’t grow up in the Northeast. We heard about the Curse, and the Rivalry and the big dollars on each side. And the passion. And the tradition. It was almost a fairytale ending

Re: Columbus Day

2005-10-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

Frank, Just imagine how different history might be had Mrs. Columbus been along on the trip. From: Frank Hay Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 3:53 PMSubject: [From the Mountaintop] 10/12/2005 03:49:51 PM "The English brought wives."And their wives made them ask for directions!(Time to warm up the chow mein . . .)

Columbus Day

2005-10-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

Today is Columbus Day (celebrated). Or Indigenous Peoples Day (in Berkeley).The irony over the annual tussle over what Columbus Day means, whether it’s a celebration of a bold pioneer or genocidal imperialism, is that the holiday initially set out to show Americans that Italian-Americans weren’t all bad. Times were hard for a lot of

Re: Splish, Splash

2005-10-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

Frank,Winner has to buy the loser a fresh copy of Al Franken’s “Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot.”Terry PrestonFrom: Frank HaySent: Sunday, October 09, 2005 7:00 PMSubject: [From the Mountaintop] 10/09/2005 06:56:30 Good for you, Terry. Want to race? :)--

Us vs. the Caliphate

2005-10-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

President Bush sought Thursday to revive waning public support for the war in Iraq, accusing militants of seeking to establish a "radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia" with Iraq serving as the main front. Islamic radicals are being sheltered by "allies of convenience like Syria and Iran," Bush declared in a speech before the National Endowment

Splish, Splash

2005-10-06T16:32:00.000-07:00

It’s been a busy month. I’ve been organizing a Walk to School Week for my son’s school. I went to grade school in San Francisco, where we literally had to walk uphill both ways to get to school. My momma would have thought I was nuts to ask her to drive me to school. “Boy, you got feet!! What do you think God gave ‘em to you for?”, is what I’m sure she’d say. But

Po' Folks

2005-09-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

The question of the hour right after Katrina hit was, “Why didn’t they (po’ folks) just leave?” The silly people, a.k.a. conservative commentators, said it was because they’ve been all welfared out and just expect the govt to take care of them. Makes sense. Why ask local, state and federal disaster officials to have a good plan and put it into action when needed? I guess if we do that, then the

Spin City

2005-09-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

One of most interesting things I've read recently is a missive by conservative iconoclast Paul Weyrich on why he supports public transit.It's an odd thing to see at first. Public transit is supposed to be the darling of kill-your-car hairy legged tree huggers. Car travel represent the American Dream, the thrill of independence and individuality, rock-solid conservatives values. So what's a

Labor Day

2005-09-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Ran into an interesting piece in, of all places, USA Today. It described how the labor movement is changing tactics to fight off Wal-Mart anti-unionization and help workers gain a better life.Instead of going through the long battle for union certification and the rest, they're organizing worker "associations", simply voluntary groups which allow workers to meet, plan and lobby for better pay and

Welfare Reform = Socialized Medicine

2005-09-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Again, one of my favorite themes in politics is the unintended consequence.It turns out that Medicaid is being turned into the nation's health care safety net for the working poor as a conscious effort to help folks stay off the welfare rolls.The full story here:It makes sense, and amazingly, the Republicans have been both practical and thoughtful. As one said, "The original sin of social policy

Print vs. Video

2005-09-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

Like most people, I've been glued to the new media for updates on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Unlike a lot of people, most of this was radio, print and Internet reporting. I missed the teevee coverage.So I was pretty surprised to find that the "big" story for several days on teevee was the looting of what remains of New Orleans. Young Negroes scurrying around with items which didn't