H4PJ Blog

After over 60 years of being a Southern Baptist, former President Jimmy Carter has left that church over how they treat women. He called their attitude “repugnant".
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/07/20/jimmy-carter-leaves-church-over-treatment-of-women/?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicsdaily.com%2F2009%2F07%2F20%2Fjimmy-carter-leaves-church-over-treatment-of-women%2F

The truth about the war in Iraq is finally being told but I’m not sure anyone is listening. This is the closing line in a Time Magazine article by retired General Ricardo Sanchez:

In the meantime, hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars were unnecessarily spent, and worse yet, too many of our most precious military resource, our American soldiers, were unnecessarily wounded, maimed, and killed as a result. In my mind, this action by the Bush administration amounts to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty.

The entire article can be read here http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1736831-1,00.html

Ever wonder just why Texas executes more people each year than most countries?
This PBS article is informative and depressing. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/execution/readings/texas.html

Lynn Walters: Director of Programming

I finally saw the film about Harvey Milk on New Years Day. Wow! is my first thought. The film isn’t about just one person, but how a group of people, with faith (or confidence) can challenge the status quo and win.

Milk wasn’t in office long, but his influence is still felt. When I saw the pictures of San Francisco City Hall, what I remembered was not the tragedy that took place later in the movie, but the line of same sex couples getting marriage licenses in 2004.

Despite the tragedy of Proposition 8, the movie demonstrates how far we’ve come. In 1978, who would have guessed that in 20 years, same sex marriage would even be a possibility?

That doesn’t mean, of course, that we stop working towards it. It’s not inevitable. But, in another 20 years, the arguments against same sex marriage will, I hope, be as outdated and wrong as Anita Bryant and her crusade against homosexuals in the 1970s.

Lynn

Lynn Walters: H4PJ Director of Programming

This afternoon, my husband and I went to a protest against the Israeli attack on Gaza. There were around 1500 people, mostly Muslim. I was thrilled to see so many people protesting the violence on both sides. However, there were far too few Christians and Anglo-Americans.

How can we have peace on earth if we cannot join with our brothers and sisters of different races and faiths to achieve it?

What is happening in Gaza is not an isolated incident. Israel’s continuing blockade finally cut off food aid from the UN and other organizations in November and gas for the generators needed to power the city. As one sign I saw said, “Empty stomachs know no peace". We cannot stand by and expect that such actions will create peace.

We cannot honestly confront Iran for providing arms to Hamas or Hezbollah while we provide arms to Israel.

Peace will not come without justice for the oppressed. Justice will not come if we do nothing.

Lynn