Dobson (again....sigh)

Well, our man Dobson has done it again.
He apparently is, has or knows the litmus test that determines if someone will be a good president, and even if someone is a Christian.
Speaking about Fred Thompson in U.S. News and World Report, Dobson said this:

"Everyone knows he's conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for," Dobson said of Thompson. "[But] I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression."

What is a Christian, according to Dobson's spokesman? "We use that word—Christian—to refer to people who are evangelical Christians."

In the old days, preachers mounted the pulpit with fear and trembling because of the awesome responsibility to preach the word of God correctly and call people to repentance. Nowdays that doesn't happen much anymore.

Dobson takes an awesome responsibility upon himself to judge the heart of a man he doesn't know, and make his judgement public, based on an impression. I think his knees should be shaking.

Dobson's phone call to U.S. News senior editor Dan Gilgoff Tuesday was unsolicited, reports the article.

Imagine.

Republicans

Those Republicans...

"Rudy Giuliani has defended Newt Gingrich, saying it's okay Newt had an affair and that no one is perfect. That's when you know the Republicans are in trouble -- when a guy with three marriages and an affair is defending the guy with three marriages and two affairs, so they can team up and beat a Clinton."

--Jay Leno

Proposal

It is a reasonable proposal.
At least he can pronounce it.

Casualties of War

Zbigniew Brzezinski

You can tell I like Jon Stewart.
In this clip, his guest is Zbigniew Brzezinski.
Articulate, smart man, who has good things to say about how the last three presidents have squandered the opportunity to really do something in the world after the fall of the Soviet Union.
If you have the time, take it to watch this clip.
If I were in the U.S. I'd buy the book.

Bush in South America

Dead before you die

This quote found on this blog:

Psychological studies reveal that Americans live in less than forty percent awareness, as though our minds and spirits cringe before the banality and ugliness of national life. Such studies imply an enormous waste of potential lost to trivial pursuits - game-playing, fantasizing, daydreaming, television, self-pity, brooding, boredom, gluttony in food or drink. Lost is the prospect of personal and social renewal, reading, study, meditation, prayer, teaching, service to the poor, justice, peacemaking, and non-violent resistance to power-mongering government and corporations. The scripture likens such crippled attentiveness to death - death before one dies.
Philip Berrigan

Newt Gingrich

Well, Newt Gingrich has admitted to having an affair at the same time he was heading up the impeachment procedings against Bill Clinton for perjury.
He is well educated, and is clear about how he could do that while carrying on an affair. He attempted to impeach Clinton because of perjury, not because of sexual immorality. So his own personal immorality played no rol in his efforts.
Technically he is correct.
When one divorces twice and has at least one affair, he has to lie more than once. There is no other way.
A liar is a liar is a liar. The room in which it happens doesn't make much difference. Courtroom or living room.
Certainly Christians with a moral conscience know that.

Gingrich has been interviewed on Focus on the Family radio by James Dobson.
One of the things Dobson said in his introduction: "We have often talked about pro-family issues that we care about so deeply."
I think it is scandalous for Dobson to overlook Gingriches' morality in this way, and help him prepare for a possible presidential run.

The Right and the Religious Right are seeming to make fools of themselves without thinking twice about it.
President big-smile-I-am-the-decider-I-am never-wrong Bush has mislead our country and dumped us into a mess of historic proportions and has been incompetent in almost every area of his presidency.
Dobson focusses on a couple of moral issues, promotes war and hate langauge and thinking, and now supports Gingrich who has a horrible moral record, not to mention the ethical questions which caused him to leave his post in Wshington.
The Right's most popular talk radio host has been divorced three times, is a (ex?) drug addict and was recently caught with Viagra in his handluggage while coming into the U.S.

It boggles the mind.

Bono

Bono's speech at the NAACP has received a lot of attention.
If you haven't seen it, you can see it here.
A couple of quotes:

Martin Luther King: A man who refused to hate because he knew love would do a better job.
Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die.
This is not a burden, this is an adventure.
We can be the generation that ends extreme poverty.

Nukelar

There's a very well written blog by Cynthia Huddleston called Prodigal Aspersions.
She wrote a piece about George Bush, Iraq and the way he says "nukelar".
A little bit of it here to whet your appetite.
Click here for the rest.
I got to Cynthia via Real Live Preacher. Also a well written blog.

Most of us had no idea George Bush would be president this long. (Stop a minute... Breathe...) Heck, George Bush probably didn't think that far ahead either. He said nukelar because that's the way he is...a Texas good ol' boy. He probably never realized that folks would find it incorrect or uneducated or misinformed. He always said nukelar, so nukelar it will ever be. Even if he now sees that it might look a mite rubish, what can he do?

George Bush cannot just start saying nuclear, as if he had always done so. That might point out the embarrassing fact that he has said nukelar about a million times...wrongly. What...wrong? Never. Gee folks, it was cute the first hunnerd times, but, ok, no more nukelar. Heh, heh..or more improbably... I was wrong. Can you imagine him saying it the right way just once and the story of it not leading the nightly news shows on all channels?

He cannot admit he was wrong. He just can't. It is not in him. He can't risk public ridicule by suddenly starting to say the word correctly. So he will just continue to say nukelar. You know he will. He will chuckle at it occasionally. Heh, heh. That's my nature. (Big grin)