“What Jesus WOULDN’T Do” Jim Wallis writes: “Much of the religious right's agenda is in direct contradiction to Christ's own teachings – and most devout Christians know it.” How did we allow the values of Jesus to get so turned around? If we don’t turn them back around who will?

Matthew Rothschild explains how, the Bolton nomination is yet one more example of why Dick Cheney is the one we ought to really fear in this Administration.

If you are looking for some alternative sources of news to offer some balance to Fox et al you might check out Common Dreams or Alternet.

And if you are looking for a valuable, though alternative view about Social Security and other issues of concern to the LGBT community you might check out Log Cabin Republicans.

Amnesty International is just one of many human rights organizations who have condemned the U.S. practice of outsourcing torture.

ACTION Alert...

Dear Friends,

Like most progressive people in this country, I read the news almost every day and shake my head, thinking that I have fallen through a rabbit hole. Surely we are not the only ones who think that our country has taken leave of its common sense.

I spent the morning screaming at NPR, though it really wasn’t their fault. They were just reporting that the credit card lobbyists had actually written the text of most of the new bankruptcy laws. This, despite the fact that their 18% or more interest rates and their $30 billion in profits are a major cause of bankruptcies. Although the cost of medical treatment is a major source of bankruptcy, it is not exempted because many people have to put their medication and even hospital stays on their credit cards. The United States is one of the only western nations where health care is NOT a human right. I’m no longer expecting justice, but where is our national sense of decency?

Then talk about putting the fox in charge of hen house security...the Administration nominated John Bolton, a protégé of Jesse Helms, to be our representative to the United Nations. Bolton is the Radical Right’s leading critic of the U.N. Shortly after the events of September 11, 2001, he said, "If the U.N. building in New York lost ten stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference." When the Bush administration failed to persuade the U.N. to back its war in Iraq, Bolton observed that this was "further evidence to why we should not pay our U.N. dues." After a trip to try and mend fences with Europe, the President could not have possibly made an appointment more designed to alienate the rest of the world or to signal that we have no intention of to cooperating with other nations. This is like putting Jerry Falwell in charge of marriage in Massachusetts.

The New York Times reported this week that not only are we sending jobs overseas but we are now outsourcing our torture. While the president has said clearly that the U.S. would not tolerate torture like that which took place at Abu Ghraib, what does it say that we are perfectly willing to turn prisoners over to other governments, like Saudi Arabia, who have no qualms about using torture to extract information? Our new Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, has explained that when we send prisoners overseas our constitution no longer applies. And that makes it acceptable?!? Why is the silence on this so deafening? Have we sold our very souls for the pretense of security?

And with friends like these...why is it that not a single Democratic leader has even suggested that one of the things that needs to be fixed about Social Security is the way it discriminates against lesbian and gay taxpayers? The Religious Right has tried to make marriage a values issue. The truth is it is an issue of justice, discrimination and fairness. This fall my partner Bill and I will celebrate our 25th anniversary. Although we pay the same taxes as any heterosexual couple in our neighborhood who might have been married 25 days, if something happened to one of us, the other would NOT receive any Social Security benefits. The Democrats ought to be advocating that ALL American taxpayers be treated the same. Since when was equality a radical and politically unpopular position? I don’t actually care if the government thinks Bill and I are married; what I do care about is that, like every other lesbian or gay couple, we are victims of discrimination. In fact, we are being discriminated against in about 1,100 different ways.

No, we haven’t fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole; this is the reality in our country these days. At least, it is the reality until we change it. You and I are the ones who must make it different; otherwise, we are as responsible as the Radical Right for the direction of our country. Here are just a few things you can do:

	TAKE ACTION TODAY:	^-top-^

• Write and email like crazy. Set aside a time one night a week (maybe tonight) and set up an email distribution list. Then, on a regular basis, write or email your representatives and every media outlet you use and let them know how you feel. Apparently they don’t think that there are any progressives left or that any of us care. We have to start to change THEIR cultural perceptions.

• Forward this e-letter. Oh, I know we may not all agree on every issue, but dialogue is vital to democracy. If the Karl Rove-manipulated media is the only source of information then only one side of every issue is ever considered, and that is a mental dictatorship.

• Get involved. Find an organization you can give to and/or volunteer for. We cannot abandon the dreams of freedom and justice for all. If (some say when) another terrorist attack occurs our country will move even further to the right. We must make every effort now to correct our course, or it may be too late to reclaim our country in our lifetime.

• Pray. I agree with President Lincoln (who was a Republican) that the question is not if God is on our side but whether or not we are on God’s side. The purpose of our prayer is to ask God to make us strong and resolute in working for the good of the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized.

	RELATED ITEMS :	^-top-^

Jim Wallis	The politics of Jesus is a problem for the religious right. In Matthew’s 25th chapter, Jesus speaks of the hungry, the homeless, the stranger, prisoners, and the sick and promises he will challenge all his followers on the judgment day with these words, “As you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.” MORE...		Log Cabin Republicans unveiled an ambitious 2005 legislative agenda of reform. "There is a clear opening for real reform in the 109th Congress. There is a tremendous opportunity for gay and lesbian Americans and our allies to play a key role in the important debates on Capitol Hill and to benefit from the enactment of many Republican reform proposals," said Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Guerriero. MORE...
John Bolton	I hope you're enjoying the second term of the Cheney Administration.If you needed any more evidence that Cheney and the neocons are running the show, look no further than John Bolton. Bush just nominated Bolton--on Cheney's wishes, according to The New York Times, to be US ambassador to the United Nations. MORE...		Amnesty International warned today that, while the Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are consistent and comprehensive, the Bush Administration's practice of "rendering" detainees to countries that the report cites as having abysmal human rights records, runs the risk of turning the report into a guide to overseas torture subcontractors. MORE...
Congratulations to our allies in the fight for justice. Both the Human Rights Campaign and Family Pride Coalition have new Executive Directors!
	Joe Solmonese brings preeminent political, strategic and communications skills that have been tested in campaigns around the country where the work of EMILY’s List has led to the election of women to the United States House of Representatives, the Senate, to governor and to state legislatures.		Will Halm and Allison Bauer, co-chairs of the Family Pride Coalition board of directors, today announced that Jennifer Chrisler has been selected to serve as the organization’s new executive director. Chrisler will begin her tenure in April. She replaces Aimee Gelnaw, who served as head of the organization for four years.

	It's been said that dreams are our roadmaps to the future. If so, where are we headed? Common Dreams is a national non-profit citizens' organization working to bring progressive Americans together to promote progressive visions for America's future.
	AlterNet is a highly acclaimed Internet information source that provides readers with crucial facts and passionate opinions they can't find anywhere else. Since its inception in 1998, AlterNet has grown dramatically to keep pace with the public demand for independent news and now provides free online content to over 1.5 million readers every month.