Paul Wilczynski's Observations: May 2006

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Brookline, MA votes to impeach Bush

The Town Meeting of Brookline, MA voted to impeach the president of the United States in a 104 to 52 vote that was greeted with an eruption of applause and cheers.

Let me add my silent cheer.

MyFootprint

MyFootprint.org says that it takes 31 "biologically productive" acres to sustain my lifestyle, compared with the US average of 24 acres. "If everyone lived like you," the website tells me, "we would need 6.9 planets."

Youch. They sure know how to hurt a guy.

Top 50 most influential churches

The Church Report has published a list of what they call the Top 50 Most Influential Churches. Interestingly, they seem to define "influential" as "the nation’s fastest growing churches and churches with more than 2,000 weekend attendance".

To my mind, size doesn't equate to influence. I'd expect there are a lot of smaller churches that have more influence ("a power to affect persons or events" according to one web site) than some of the larger churches.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

NYT: Gonzales Said He Would Quit in Raid Dispute

The New York Times (registration required) reports ...

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, the F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, and senior officials and career prosecutors at the Justice Department told associates this week that they were prepared to quit if the White House directed them to relinquish evidence seized in a bitterly disputed search of a House member's office, government officials said Friday.
Mr. Gonzales was joined in raising the possibility of resignation by the deputy attorney general, Paul J. McNulty, the officials said. Mr. Gonzales and Mr. McNulty told associates that they had an obligation to protect evidence in a criminal case and would be unwilling to carry out any White House order to return the material to Congress.

Way cool.

Interview with Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery

Here's a short interview with Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery. He has been at the fore of every major civil rights event or activist epoch since the 1950s. In 1955, he founded the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and served as its president from 1977-98. One quote ...

The religious right has been more aggressive in defining religion while the progressives have been tentative, indecisive and sometimes confused. The children of darkness are more vociferous, better organized, better capitalized and absolutely better televised...Their claims have been simplistic and cater to the prejudices and convenience of the gullible and undiscerning.

Oberlin College reunion

Got back from my 35th Oberlin College reunion Monday evening. (Technically, it was the my 36th anniversary reunion, but they cluster 3 years together at a time.)

I really enjoy going to my reunions - I've been there every 5th year since I graduated. I think the geography of the place has imprinted on me; I don't remember much at all about my education there, but that's more than made up for by friends and other activities. Examples include WOBC, the radio station, and the fact I learned computer programming there. I'm sure the college would officially be horrified by that -- the last thing they'd want to be thought of is a trade school.

I'm very surprised that the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship doesn't seen to actively try to get students to attend. The liberal orientation of the school meshes so well the the orientation of most UUs.

There was a pretty small turnout from my class - less than 40, I believe. That surprised me, because it's probably less than 10% of the class.

I was very pleased that my wife came with me. Because she wasn't a student there, she doesn't have the same connection to the college or the town, but she very much understands how much pleasure I get out of going back. She liked the fact that people pretty much walk all over the place there instead of riding in cars.

Two of my best friends attended. One of them, Jim, hadn't been back since graduation. Was a bit of a shock for him to see the new buildings. Another friend, Mark, had been there 5 years ago. A couple of others couldn't make it, and one deliberately chooses not to attend because he wants to remember us and the college as we were in 1970 and not later. None of us know quite what to make of that.

The food service, regretfully, has never gotten appreciably better than it was when we were there. It occasionally gets a little better but, after eating a really overcooked steak Friday night, this was apparently not one of those times.

Clergy for Fairness opposes marriage amendment

Clergy for Fairness has a web site opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment. It includes an online petition.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

UUA Professorship Established at Harvard Divinity School

High-level academic attention to liberal religion took a major step forward today when the UUA and HDS announced the creation of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Professorship of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. This significant advance was made possible by the generous contributions from a number of individual UUs and UU organizations. The press release on the Professorship, jointly issued by Harvard and the UUA, says, in part:

On the 203rd anniversary of Ralph Waldo Emerson's birth, Harvard Divinity School (HDS) and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) have announced the completion of funding for the Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Professorship of Divinity at HDS. In recognition of the historical importance of Harvard Divinity School in preparing ministers in the Unitarian Universalist tradition, and a contemporary responsibility to educate the next generation of scholars who study this distinguished tradition, the professorship will advance studies in liberal religion, with particular attention to Unitarian Universalism. Two recent financial commitments from W. Lowell and Janice Steinbrenner and the late Rev. Dr. J. Frank Schulman and his wife Alice have provided the final $500,000 to endow the professorship fully. These funds will be combined with previous donations since the late 1980s from the UUA, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, on Long Island, N.Y. (formerly the North Shore Unitarian Universalist Society), the Liberal Religious Charitable Society, and other individuals and organizations. "This new professorship will enable Harvard Divinity School to devote much-needed scholarly attention to Unitarian Universalism and related religious and philosophical traditions, especially in North America, and will bring to HDS a scholar who can share her or his expertise and insights with our students and with the broader field of religious studies," said William A. Graham, Dean of Harvard Divinity School. "We are honored to accept this joint gift, and look forward to appointing a scholar of distinction to this position." The Rev. William Sinkford, President of the UUA, said: "The creation of the Emerson professorship not only recognizes the historic relationship between Harvard Divinity School and Unitarian Universalism but will also be a foundation on which that relationship can deepen as we look to the future. Unitarian Universalism has always been committed to the development of a learned ministry for liberal religion, and the generosity of the Shelter Rock congregation and the Steinbrenner and Schulman families significantly advances this commitment. And there is no better place than Harvard Divinity School to carry on Emerson's legacy of incisive and wide-ranging scholarship." The Emerson Professorship is the result of a relationship between HDS and Unitarians and Universalists that dates to the early days of the School's history. In fact, the Address of Dedication for Divinity Hall in 1826 was presented by William Ellery Channing, who a few years earlier had become the acknowledged leader of what he called "Unitarian Christianity." Much of the subsequent ferment of Unitarian culture and, indeed, the broader ferment of nineteenth-century transcendentalist thought, were played out at the School. Although HDS has always remained firmly nondenominational, it is recognized by the UUA as one of three principal schools providing theological training to Unitarian Universalist students preparing for ministry. A search committee for the inaugural Emerson Professor will be convened later this year, with an appointment targeted for the fall of 2007 or soon thereafter.

For complete information on this story, including the press release, please visit http://www.uua.org/news/2006/060525_emerson_hds.html .

Aerial views

Whenever I want to see a satellite picture, I typically go to Google Maps. But I just discovered the equivalent service from Microsoft called Windows Live and, at least looking at my house, it's much clearer.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Lakoff on "The Framing of Immigration"

George Lakoff of "framing" fame and Sam Ferguson write about The Framing of Immigration. The summary of the entire article (which appears on the site) says ...

Framing is at the center of the recent immigration debate. Simply framing it as about “immigration” has shaped its politics, defining what count as “problems” and constraining the debate to a narrow set of issues. The language is telling. The linguistic framing is remarkable: frames for illegal immigrant, illegal alien, illegals, undocumented workers, undocumented immigrants, guest workers, temporary workers, amnesty, and border security. These linguistic expressions are anything but neutral. Each framing defines the problem in its own way, and hence constrains the solutions needed to address that problem. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we will analyze the framing used in the public debate. Second, we suggest some alternative framing to highlight important concerns left out of the current debate. Our point is to show that the relevant issues go far beyond what is being discussed, and that acceptance of the current framing impoverishes the discussion.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Your cubicle

If you work in an office, or know someone who does, you have to listen to this. It's an exceedingly well done parody song.

From Islam to Unitarian Universalism

An article in UU World tells about the author's gradual conversion.

Like most of the women who tell their stories in Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak, I did not begin to seriously question the religion I was taught until I reached my late teens. I was a devout believer. My experience mirrored that of Samina Ali, who writes: “[M]y girlfriends and I spoke in earnest of how lucky we were to have been born into our religion, for all those outside of it were born blind and would, by their own choosing, die blind.” I had a beautiful childhood, and my adolescence, while plagued by loneliness and a depression I kept hidden from everyone, was innocent and full of dreams. But in young adulthood, as I became exposed to more and more Muslims, and to the rise of an emerging, strict interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism in the United States, an uneasiness developed in my heart. ...

Friday, May 19, 2006

NYT: Religious Left Struggles to Find Unifying Message

The New York Times (registration required) reports

They had come to All Souls Unitarian Church, 1,200 of them from 39 states, to wrest the mantle of moral authority from conservative Christians, and they were finally planning how to take their message to those in power.
After rousing speeches on Wednesday by liberal religious leaders like Rabbi Michael Lerner of the magazine Tikkun and Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun, participants in the new Network of Spiritual Progressives split into small groups to prepare for meetings with members of Congress on Thursday. ...

And

... Turnout at the Spiritual Activism Conference is high, but if the gathering is any indication, the biggest barrier for liberals may be their regard for pluralism: for letting people say what they want, how they want to, and for trying to include everyone's priorities, rather than choosing two or three issues that could inspire a movement. ...

Are objections to the Da Vinci Code all about the sex?

Cathleen Falsani, a religion writer for the Chicago Sun Times, interviewed Rev. Debra W. Haffner, who thinks that's where most of the objections come from: it's all about the sex.

Reactions to a church on fire

Happy Cindy passes along a slightly tweaked analysis on how different religions respond to the church being on fire. Being a Unitarian, I have to quote this one:

The Unitarians held a discussion of the usefulness of fire as a symbol of cleansing and whether or not one needed to believe in fire in order to respect it.

George W. Will: Who Isn't A 'Values Voter'?

George W. Will, in the Washington Post, says "values voter" isn't synonymous with "conservative".

An aggressively annoying new phrase in America's political lexicon is "values voters." It is used proudly by social conservatives, and carelessly by the media to denote such conservatives.
This phrase diminishes our understanding of politics. It also is arrogant on the part of social conservatives and insulting to everyone else because it implies that only social conservatives vote to advance their values and everyone else votes to . . . well, it is unclear what they supposedly think they are doing with their ballots. ...

A tip of the hat to The Revealer.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Steve Young: What Part of "Illegal" Don't They Understand?

Steve Young says

We're a country of laws, damnit! And if these people flouting our laws aren't going to adhere to them, I say, trow out da bums.
Let's not quibble. It's obvious that we need to get these illegals out of the country. All of them.
From now on, those who have entered the U.S. illegally will be forced to leave the country IF...

Town meeting in Brookline [MA] toys with Bush impeachment

The Boston Herald reports ...

A Brookline resident is targeting next week’s Town Meeting as the launching pad for the impeachment of President Bush. ...

Wish I were a member of the Brookline Town Meeting so I could vote for that proposal - binding or not.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The Happy Feminist: What Unitarians Believe

The Happy Feminist gives her version of what Unitarians believe.

new US map is mostly blue

There's a new map of the US divided into red states and blue states and, according to published numbers, it's now mostly blue.

ABC News reports its phone calls are being tracked by the government

An ABC News blog reports ...

A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call in an effort to root out confidential sources.
"It's time for you to get some new cell phones, quick," the source told us in an in-person conversation. ...

Being a liar sometimes better than being a Wiccan

Especially if you want to be a Boy Scout in the troop sponsored by the Holly Grove United Methodist Church in Anacoco Louisiana.

The camp is going well so far. Boy Scouts have gathered from around the area in khaki button-ups and red scarves, eager to earn their God and Country badge.
The leader in a room of about 20 Scouts decides to break the ice by showing how religiously diverse the gathering is.
By a showing of hands, he asks who belongs to the Baptist Church, the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, continuing on until two boys are left who have not raised their hands. One of the brothers is called out to tell the group what church he attends. He replies, "I'm Wiccan."
Little did 12-year-old Cody Brown realize how much that answer would affect his life. ...

Monday, May 15, 2006

Expanding the Stilton brand

I really enjoy Stilton cheese, but I'm not at all sure that I'd like this.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Let It Be A Dance

This past Sunday, my church had a 15 minutes of hymm singing before the service began. One of the songs we sang was Let It Be A Dance, #311 in the Singing The Living Tradition hymnal.

I absolutely love that song. Heard it for the first time in the Charleston, SC Unitarian Church around 6 months ago.

A question with no easy answer

Who is stupider: someone who asks to be hit by a car, or the person who hits him at 25 miles per hour, leaving him in fair condition?

The Norman Rockwell Code

Check it out ...

A famous museum... a shocking murder... a distinguished symbologist... an alluring cryptologist... secrets written in code.
No, it's not that "other" story.
When the curator of The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is murdered, the police desperately need help with the investigation. Langford Fife, Professor of Symbology at Stockbridge Community College and the son of a certain Deputy Sheriff from Mayberry, North Carolina, is called to the scene. He may have received his degree in symbology through a correspondence course but he's "just as competent as those high-falutin' professors from Harvard with their fancy sheepskins from accredited schools."
With cryptologist Sopha Poisson of the Quebec Secret Service, Langford sets out to uncover the clues hidden in the paintings of Norman Rockwell... clues which will lead them to a secret society, a legendary bloodline and a battle with sinister forces.

Soon to be released ... at a production cost of a few thousand bucks :)

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Gene Stone: Finally, the Homosexual Agenda, in Five Words or Less

In case you were having a problem wrapping your arms around that elusive phrase homosexual agenda, here's what it (apparently) really means ...

There's been a great deal of talk over the last few decades about something the reactionary far-right wing calls the "homosexual agenda." This agenda seems to have many differing and apparently, to the right wing, confusing points, so it's time to clear up exactly what the homosexual agenda is -- in five words or less.
Alan Sears, president of the ultra far-right group called the Alliance Defense Fund has written a book (titled, not surprisingly, The Homosexual Agenda) about the goals behind the gay activist movement, and reveals that the homosexual agenda is: to destroy the American family. ...

A vote for nature over nurture

The Boston Globe reports in an article entitled Lesbian brains react like men's in study ...

Lesbians' brains react differently to sex hormones than those of heterosexual women.
An earlier study of gay men also showed their brain response was different from straight men -- an even stronger difference than that found in lesbians.
Lesbians' brains reacted somewhat like those of heterosexual men, a team of Swedish researchers said in today's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...

Dan Harper: The bad ol’ religious right and us

Dan Harper suggests religious liberals look at ourselves in a mirror before we criticize the religious right too much ...

“And what about you, Mr./Ms. Religious Liberal? Do you go to church nearly every Sunday, year-round? Do you give ten percent of your income — your gross annual income — to your liberal faith? Do you actively invite people to your liberal church, people whom you know would benefit from liberal religion? Do you tell others how your religious faith calls you to make this a better world? ‘Cause that’s what the Religious Right does with their faith. And if you’re not willing to be as devoted to your liberal faith as they are to theirs, then you better not be complaining about the power and influence of the Religious Right.”…

I don't do most of what Dan suggests - do you?

Monday, May 08, 2006

NYT: 4 same-sex union proposals in Colorado

The New York Times (free registration required) reports that "Colorado is set to become a bruising and confusing battleground over marriage and same-sex unions this year, with up to four conflicting proposals competing for a spot on the November ballot."

It's very confusing. Read the article.

The other mother in the delivery room

An article in UU World reminds us that being the "other mother" is still very often not accepted.

I promise Annie I’ll be right back, race down the hall into the elevator and down to the post-op area, but I’m stopped by a nurse with a clipboard.
“Who are you here to see?”
“Julie Goodridge.”
“Who are you?”
“Her partner.”
“Immediate family only.”

It's going to take a lot of work to broaden the meaning of "immediate family".

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Myspace

I just joined myspace.com for either of 2 reasons:

I didn't want to be the last person in the known universe to join
I wanted to be the oldest person to join

Take your pick.

The Independent: Iraqi police 'killed 14-year-old boy for being homosexual'

The Independent reports ...

Human rights groups have condemned the "barbaric" murder of a 14-year-old boy, who, according to witnesses, was shot on his doorstep by Iraqi police for the apparent crime of being gay. ...

That's horrible, of course. Assaulting and killing people because they're gay is absolutely and totally wrong.

But please answer this question: is this worse than killing Iraquis because they're Sunnis or Shias?

Changing the name of my church

A few people at my church want to change its name from a unique one to one shared by dozens and dozens of other Unitarian Universalist Churches. (In case you can't guess, they want the new initials to be "FPC"). They put this out 2 weeks before our annual meeting. Grrrr. I am so upset. I like our name.

Friday, May 05, 2006

BostonChannel: Judge Says N.H. Gays Face Discrimination

TheBostonChannel.com says ...

In a major ruling, a judge has ruled that New Hampshire discriminates against gay state employees by denying them family benefits.
Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Kathleen McGuire ruled this week that because the state bars gays and lesbians from marrying, requiring its employees to be married to get family benefits is discriminatory. ...

Perhaps most interesting is this:

The ruling reverses a decision by the state Human Rights Commission.

Perhaps the New Hampshire state Human Rights Commission needs new members. They don't seem to be doing a great job at supporting human rights.

Thoughts about liberal religion (I'm a Unitarian Universalist), liberal/progressive politics, and increasingly more other subjects.

: Name: Paul Wilczynski; Location: Asheville, North Carolina, United States

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