Paul Wilczynski's Observations

Princeton University Exposes Diebold Flaws

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 10:05 AM 0 comments

Are you a biconceptualist?

When pundits talk about "moderates," or "the center," or "centrists," what exactly are they talking about? And why does the answer matter?

There is no single, consistent worldview, or set of ideas, that characterizes any of these terms. The terms instead refer to what we have called "biconceptuals," people who have both conservative (strict) and progressive (nurturant) worldviews, but apply them in different domains of life. The question is, Which worldview will they apply in voting?

A given political worldview can be activated by language. Thus, conservatives talk to "the center" the same way they talk to their base. The idea is to use conservative language to activate the conservative worldview in the brains of such voters. Progressives should be doing the same, talking to the center the same way they talk to their base. The worst mistake they can make is to "move to the right" on the rationale that "that's where the voters are." Here's the explanation. ...

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 9:13 AM 0 comments

CUUMBAYA: Stop the politics

I say we should leave politics to the politicians, and return to the issues people turn to churches for: philosophy, spirituality, and morality. I believe that even in the short term we’d have far more impact by trying to get people to do the right thing than by sending out yet another flurry of hot faxes from the Washington Advocacy Office.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 10:33 AM 0 comments

All Souls Unitarian, NYC

President Bush said yesterday that he senses a "Third Awakening" of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as "a confrontation between good and evil." Bush told a group of conservative journalists that he notices more open expressions of faith among people he meets during his travels, and he suggested that might signal a broader revival similar to other religious movements in history. . . .

"A lot of people in America see this as a confrontation between good and evil, including me," Bush said during a 1 1/2 -hour Oval Office conversation on cultural changes and a battle with terrorists that he sees lasting decades. "There was a stark change between the culture of the '50s and the '60s—boom—and I think there's change happening here," he added. "It seems to me that there's a Third Awakening."

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 7:36 PM 0 comments

Most Corrupt Members of Congress

I'll let you read the article to see what political party each one belongs to.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 2:02 PM 1 comments

A way around the Electoral College

John R. Koza's plan "would commit a state’s electors to vote for the candidate who wins the most national votes, even if the candidate loses in that state.".

Such a bill has been approved by the California legislature and the governor has to decide by Sept. 30 whether to sign it

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 9:53 AM 0 comments

Voter Suppression

One of the cornerstones of the Republican Party’s strategy for winning elections these days is voter suppression, intentionally putting up barriers between eligible voters and the ballot box. The House of Representatives took a shameful step in this direction yesterday, voting largely along party lines for onerous new voter ID requirements. Laws of this kind are unconstitutional, as an array of courts have already held, and profoundly undemocratic. The Senate should not go along with this cynical, un-American electoral strategy. ...

(Bill, I know you're going to disagree ... :))

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 9:01 AM 1 comments

Church workshop

As a former leader of my church, I've been to many more workshops than I care to admit. The thought of another couple of hours during which people write their thoughts on different colored stickies and put them up on a Big Board to Get Consensus makes me wanna ... not go.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 7:43 PM 1 comments

Reactions to the Pope

I'm sure in some universe that makes sense.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 7:38 PM 1 comments

New Pew Center Survey Released

The Democratic Party continues to face a serious "God problem," with just 26% saying the party is friendly to religion. However, the proportion of Americans who say the Republican Party is friendly to religion, while much larger, has fallen from 55% to 47% in the past year, with a particularly sharp decline coming among white evangelical Protestants (14 percentage points). ...

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 2:20 PM 0 comments

2/3 believe U.S. is a Christian nation

That is, why is there such a brisk book trade in re-examining the founders’ lives? For the religious conservatives, the fight is about proving that America was set up as a Christian nation. And their efforts to rewrite American history are paying off, since a recent Pew Forum survey found that 67 percent of Americans believe this falsehood.

A cottage industry pushes the false argument that the founders intended virtually no separation between church and state, and this industry (authors such as Dee Wampler, James Kennedy, Gary Demar and David Barton; WorldNetDaily.com; and, especially, FOX News) has been very consistent in pushing the no-separation and Christian-nation messages. ...

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 4:52 PM 1 comments

Lakoff: Thinking Points: Communicating Our American Values and Vision

You, the grassroots progressive community, have expressed a need for a short, easy-to-read systematic account of the progressive vision, for the morals and principles that apply across issue areas, and for all the essentials of framing. That, along with extensive argument analysis and an important new explanation of the so-called political center, is what we've written. We are confident that this book will empower progressives to express themselves in an authentic, values-driven fashion.

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 4:52 PM 1 comments

The End of Faith

In his best-selling book, The End of Faith, Sam Harris takes a dim view of the consequences of religious belief. “As long as it is acceptable for a person to believe that he knows how God wants everyone on earth to live,” he writes, “we will continue to murder one another on account of our myths.”

If Harris had limited himself to demonstrating how the faith of some Muslims has led to suicide bombings, beheadings, and the mass murders at the World Trade Center, his thesis would not be terribly controversial in the United States. But his critique of religious faith is much broader—and hits much closer to home. ...

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 9:00 AM 0 comments

Olbermann spanks Rumsfeld

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 4:56 PM 0 comments

Books online

If you go there and search on, for example, Unitarian, or Unitarian Universalist, you'll get a mixture of books which can be purchased (which say something like "Limited preview" or "snippet view". There are also complete books, called "Full view". Some of these may be downloadable as .pdf files.

You can use the Advanced Book Search option at the top of the page to choose, for example, only Full view books. Good luck and have fun reading!

posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 10:20 AM 1 comments