Clipmarks | debbyski's 'religion' clips

Lipstick Fascism

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:31:20 GMT

clipped by: dulios
clipper's remarks: "This is the path that America is on with Palin and McCain. The election of 2008 is a choice between the United States Constitution and Lipstick Fascism."

Frank Schaeffer is the author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The
Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

We have seen the next Mussolini and she's wearing a skirt.

Sarah Palin is the face of a post-democracy America, post-constitutional and post-freedom America. She is the home town "little Austrian" vice presidential candidate to a cancer-riddled old man who, chances are high, won't see the end of his first term in office if he becomes president due to illness and old age. The woman who said that we don't need to read people their rights may well be the next president.

mock and belittle your opponents, nibble at the edges of the rule of law, promote violence,

grasp at a weird religion of "destiny" (their version of American exceptionalism) with an "us" against "them" mentality, blame others,

intellectual classes and the media, pit the working people against the perceived elite (Jews in Europe and today's university-educated Democratic Party leaders in America), take power based on grievance and fear and then set aside the constitution altogether based on claimed threats by outsiders.

Tags: palin, mccain, republicans, fascism

Things Americans don't like to talk about

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:36:06 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Read the whole article, it is illuminating to say the least. I thought this passage said it best:

"

If you listen to a lot of conservatives, they'll tell you that the difference between them and us is that conservatives love America and liberals hate America.... They don't get it. We love America just as much as they do. But in a different Way. You see, they love America the way a 4-year-old loves her Mommy. Liberals love America like grown-ups.

To a 4-year-old, everything Mommy does is wonderful and anyone who criticizes Mommy is bad. Grown-up love means actually understanding what you love, taking the good with the bad, and helping your loved one grow. Love takes attention and work and is the best thing in the world."

Clip Source: dneiwert.blogspot.com

One of the oddities of the emerging media meta-narrative about Jeremiah Wright is the way it is now readily assumed by the broad range of talking heads that Wright's recent comments have only proven the charge that he is deeply "anti-American," embodied in the endlessly repeated "God damn America" sound bite.

But it's also apparent that the larger context in which Wright condemns American behavior -- the reason he shouts "God damn America" -- in fact reflects hard historical realities that Americans, and the American media especially, really don't want to talk about, let alone confront the present-day consequences thereof.

And doing so, evidently, is now proof of being "anti-American."

-- The genocide committed against Native Americans.
-- Slavery.
-- The "lynching era" and Jim Crow.
-- Sundown towns.
-- The forced incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.

Tags: history, truth, wright, religion, obama, politics, america

Everyone I Know Goes Away In The End

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:34:34 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.mothersdaypoems.info

The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Ants In Our Pants

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:39:31 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "Though Dr. Wilson is a fighter when necessary, he is also a conciliator. In his most recent book, “The Creation,” he calls for scientists and religious leaders to make common cause in saving the natural life of the planet. He has addressed major meetings of Mormons and Southern Baptists to ask for their help in protecting biodiversity. Of the differences between science and religion, he says: “Stop quibbling — I’m willing to say ‘Under God’ and to hold my hand to my heart. That’s recognition of how this country evolved, and that we are using strong language to strong purpose, even if we may not agree on how the Earth was created.”

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Ants are Dr. Wilson’s first and enduring love

Dr. Wilson, changing his mind because of new data about the genetics of ant colonies, now believes that natural selection operates at many levels, including at the level of a social group.

It is through multilevel or group-level selection — favoring the survival of one group of organisms over another — that evolution has in Dr. Wilson’s view brought into being the many essential genes that benefit the group at the individual’s expense. In humans, these may include genes that underlie generosity, moral constraints, even religious behavior. Such traits are difficult to account for, though not impossible, on the view that natural selection favors only behaviors that help the individual to survive and leave more children.

“I believe that deep in their heart everyone working on social insects is aware that the selection that created them is multilevel selection,” Dr. Wilson said.

The Letter

Sat, 24 May 2008 13:26:20 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

The ongoing debate over whether religion and science comfortably coexist got more ammunition this month, and on both sides of the argument.

This ammunition took thought-provoking forms -- a foundation dedicated to exploring provocative questions, a letter written in 1954 by Albert Einstein and a Vatican astronomer who said it's OK to believe in space aliens.

Speaking with the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Father Jose Gabriel Funes said it's possible life exists elsewhere in the universe.

Next, a debate:

This month the foundation asked, "Does science make belief in God obsolete?" The answers may be read in their entirety at http://www.templeton .org/belief/

Almost Heaven?

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:14:46 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: *sigh*
Not everyone from WV feels like this. But enough people do to make my life a living hell at times.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

In grim times, a bitter Hillary clings to bitter voters who in grim times supposedly cling to guns, religion and antipathy to people who aren’t like them.

The story quoted Victoria Switzer, a retired social studies teacher, who could take only one night on an Obama phone bank in the nearly all-white Susquehanna County, Pa.: “One caller, Switzer remembers, said he couldn’t possibly vote for Obama and concluded: ‘Hang that darky from a tree!’ ”

Charlie Peters, the legendary former editor of the liberal Washington Monthly who ran Jack Kennedy’s campaign in Kanawha County, W. Va., said Obama should study how J.F.K. managed to win there despite raging anti-Catholicism.

Peters says Obama needs imagination and a “tremendous effort” to dispel bias in West Virginia, and quickly, “because once it’s set in concrete, you’ll have a hell of a time.”

Rural America - Bastions of Hate`

Mon, 12 May 2008 22:22:06 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: What's up with rural Americans? They can't be this easily led or this abjectly ignorant. Or can they? Yes, racism and bigotry are alive and thriving in America.

Clip Source: andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

"I heard that Obama is a Muslim and his wife's an atheist," - Leonard Simpson, a West Virginia Democrat. Then this:

Josh Fry, a 24-year-old ambulance driver from Williamson, insisted he was not racist but said he would feel more comfortable with Mr McCain, the 71-year-old Vietnam war hero, in the White House. "I want someone who is a full-blooded American as president," he said.

This guy is a muslim trying to take over religion, rights, gunns, and lastly our country.

Does anyone remember 911. He's cunning and a racists. He is connected with dirty money and bad connections in the rest of the world.

Obama's got his work cut out with these people when he gets the nomination. A summer of engaging and listening with rural non-college educated white folk would help - why not hold a series of town hall meetings in rural America? I don't think any region should be written off by any candidate, especially if the major objections seem racial or religious.

Tags: bigotry, racism, politics, ignorance, clinton, obama

Penguin Tale Tops Lists Of Challenged Books

Thu, 08 May 2008 15:13:11 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: Why does SEX bother the same people who seems so at ease with KILLING people? What is going on here??? Sex between two consenting adults who care deeply for each other is a beautiful, wonderful, and awesome thing. And sexual orientation is fixed and CANNOT be changed through prayer or counseling, and it's NOT a matter of choice. Why do some people want to interpret the question of immorality with reference to themselves as far as sexual orientation is concerned?

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

NEW YORK - A children's story about a family of penguins with two fathers once again tops the list of library books the public objects to the most.

"And Tango Makes Three," released in 2005 and co-written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, was the most "challenged" book in public schools and libraries for the second straight year, according to the American Library Association.

"The complaints are that young children will believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle that is acceptable.

Other books on the ALA's top 10 list include Maya Angelou's memoir "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," in which the author writes of being raped as a young girl; Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," long attacked for alleged racism; and Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass," an anti-religious work in which a former nun says: "The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake."

Beyond Intractability

Sat, 19 May 2007 20:18:21 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: A free knowledge base on more constructive approaches to destructive conflict. In today's world of wars, some knowledge and understanding of how and why conflicts arise, and what we can do to solve them etc, can only be helpful. LOTS more at the site for all aspiring "peacemakers". .

Clip Source: www.beyondintractability.org

A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict

Understanding Conflict

Core Concepts

Intractable Conflicts Defined

Principles of Justice and Fairness

Underlying Causes of Intractable Conflict

Identity Issues

Religion and Conflict

Scapegoating

Oppression and Conflict

Oppression and Conflict: Introduction

The Nature and Origins of Oppression

Forms of Oppression

Maintaining Oppression

Overcoming Oppression: Awakening the Sense of Injustice

Overcoming Oppression through Persuasion

High-Stakes Distributional Issues

Globalization

Moral or Value Conflicts

Justice Conflicts

Human Rights Violations

Social Psychological Dynamics of Conflict

Psychological Dynamics

Emotions

Escalation/De-Escalation

Tags: conflicts, resolutions, emotions, justice, ethics, religion, peace, security, law, rights

You Reap What You Sow

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 13:25:08 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: What you think you create, energy is never lost only transformed etc. Even quantum physics seems to suggest there is some sort of karma. What exactly IS karma, if it exists at all? Divine retribution / reward of sorts, or just actions / reactions? Hmm...

Clip Source: web.tickle.com

Historically, karma is a topic associated with reincarnation. However, today more and more people are beginning to use karma as a moral gauge for living their lives — even if they believe they only have one life to live. There are a variety of popular expressions based on the ideas of karma, including: "You get what you give," "You reap what you sow," and "What goes around comes around."

Karma is the basis of eastern religion. It also runs through western religions, perhaps most closely resembled by the Judeo-Christian ethic of "Do unto others as you would have done unto you." However unlike the Golden Rule, the laws of karma equate actions and their repercussions more directly.

Regardless of your spiritual faith, the concept of karma is a useful one in determining how to lead a good life. By monitoring your intended thoughts, words, and actions, you can see for yourself how much good you're putting out into the world, and thus how much you can expect to receive in return.

Tags: karma, fate, destiny, religion, ethics, morality, consciousness

The Scary World Is Her Banquet

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:16:35 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

When King David, in the Bible, says that “fearfulness and trembling are come upon me,” is he suffering an anxiety attack?

Everywhere and nowhere, anxiety, Ms. Pearson writes, is “unbearably vivid yet insanely abstract.” In many cases it is the fear of fear itself, a free-floating, nebulous entity that, like a mutant virus, feeds on any available host. Reason is powerless against it.

Ms. Pearson argues, in fact, that rationalism, intended to banish superstition and fear, has instead removed one of the most effective weapons against anxiety, namely religious faith and ritual.

That, in a nutshell, is her situation, one that she addresses through therapy, pull-up-your-socks willpower and a blend of religion and the insights of writers like the cultural geographer Yi-Fu Tuan

Tags: im, on, a, diet

THIS is McCain's "Spiritual Advisor?"

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:28:46 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "Parsley claims that Islam is an "anti-Christ religion" predicated on "deception." The Muslim prophet Muhammad, he writes, "received revelations from demons and not from the true God. And he emphasizes this point: "Allah was a demon spirit." Parsley does not differentiate between violent Islamic extremists and other followers of the religion"
Parsley, who refers to himself as a "Christocrat," is no stranger to controversy. In 2007, the grassroots organization he founded, the Center for Moral Clarity, called for prosecuting people who commit adultery. In January, he compared Planned Parenthood to Nazis. In the past Parsley's church has been accused of engaging in pro-Republican partisan activities in violation of its tax-exempt status."

Clip Source: www.motherjones.com

Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.

McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."

In this work, Parsley decries the "spiritual desperation" of the United States, and he blasts away at the usual suspects: activist judges, civil libertarians who advocate the separation of church and state, the homosexual "culture" ("homosexuals are anything but happy and carefree"), the "abortion industry," and the crass and profane entertainment industry. And Parsley targets another profound threat to the United States: the religion of Islam.

In fact, I will tell you this: I do not believe our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam

Parsley is not shy about his desire to obliterate Islam.

Tags: god, help, us, all

Will the Clash of Faiths Go on Forever?

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:15:45 GMT

clipped by: Rasmus
clipper's remarks: Religious conflict rages on, despite claims we live in a "secular age" -- two authors explore the clash of beliefs.

This article reviews:

Divided by Faith: Religious Conflict and the Practice of Toleration in Early Modern Europe by Benjamin J. Kaplan

God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 by David Levering Lewis

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

religious zealotry is out of control and ought to be reined in. The question is how to do it. On one side of the debate are the hards, those militant atheists who argue that the problem is not so much religious discord as religion itself, an idea that has given rise to repeated horrors not because it is misapplied or misunderstood but because it is false and therefore a poor guide to reality. Bad theories lead to bad outcomes, which is why the best way to deal with theism is to do to it what Copernicus did to Ptolemy, or Darwin to Lamarck -- finish it off as quickly as possible so the world can move on.

On the other side are the softs, those nice ecumenicists who contend that

Religion is

tolerable as long as it's not used as a justification to harass thy neighbor or condemn him to hell over minute theological differences.

Kaplan's version of how people got along in between the era's great battles and confrontations is not unimportant.

Tags: divided by faith, religion, zealotry, clash of faiths, ecumenism, religious tolerance, religious intolerance, christendom, islam, history of relgions

The Stuff Of Myth And Religion

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 11:28:09 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Virgin birth, known to biologists as parthenogenesis (from the Greek, “parthen” meaning virgin or maiden and “genesis,” beginning), has been seen in other species over the years.

The big question these virgin births raise is this: If some females can get along without males, why does any species have males? The reason is simple. With virgin birth, hatchlings are simply genetic duplicates of the mother. In a world of clones, there would not be enough variation for populations to adapt. Virgin birth, then, is a great stopgap measure to ensure the survival of a species, but works against it in the long haul.

The Challenge Of Finding Peace

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:09:24 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: Peace.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The challenge of finding peace in Lourdes

Lourdes is a massive Roman Catholic pilgrimage site

So, when I arrived at my very tired-looking hotel, which appeared to be perfumed by the socks of last season's pilgrims and saw its lobby, packed full of gaudy Virgin Mary memorabilia, you will forgive me when the words "Good God!" escaped my lips, and not in any laudatory way.

Surely the "magic of Lourdes"

had to be more than this.

"It is a constant balancing act between faith and science for me," he said.

I met a young Austrian woman who told me she was seriously ill.

"I have come to ask Him to look after me,"

"I need to get better. I need the miracle."

I told one of the visiting British priests

how uncomfortable I felt witnessing such scenes of despair.

Father Bob

threw back his head and laughed.

Don't you worry

Peggy's not come for a miracle. She has just come to find peace."

I sat quietly for a while before the shrine

Before I left I lit a candle for the sick Austrian woman.

You just never know.

Tags: peace, faith, religion, science