progressive involvement

Lectionary blogging: Luke 1: 39-56

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

⁴⁶And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵²He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” ⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Translation:  In those days, Mary arose (and) went with haste into the hills into a town in Judea, and she entered into the house of Zechariah and embraced Elizabeth.  And it happened, just as Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child in her womb leaped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  And she exclaimed a loud cry and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And from where (is) this to me, that the mother of my Lord might come to me?  For behold, just as the sound of your greeting happened in my ears, the child in my womb leaped in joy, and blessed is she who trusted that there will be completion of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

And Mary said, "My life magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, that he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant, for behold, from now on, all generations will bless me, for the Powerful One has done great for me and holy his name, and his mercy (is) into generations and generations, to the ones fearing him.  He has done power in his arm.  He has scattered the proud ones to the thinking of their hearts.  He has destroyed (the) powerful from thrones, and exalted the lowly.  He has filled the hungry ones with good, and the rich ones he has sent away empty.  He has laid hold of Israel his child, to be remembered with mercy, just as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed into the eternal."  But Mary remained with her about three months and she returned into her house.

Doublecross

Apparently, Joe Lieberman (CT-Lieberman, Party of One) told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will filibuster health care reform if it includes a Medicare "buy-in," a concept that has met with fairly wide approval, and one which cannot easily be subverted by Republicans who, after all, have posed as great defenders of Medicare.  It's pretty hard to argue against the expansion of a program that you've been touting. 

Reid says Lieberman "voiced support" for the idea when it was first floated.  Which figures--especially for a guy who got on his high horse and could hardly wait to be the first Democrat to slam Clinton on the Lewinsky episode, who then sold Al Gore down the river in the aftermath of Florida 2000, who then ran for President and got mad at the Democratic Party because they only gave him, like, 2% support--"Joe-mentum!"--which, in any case, was 2% more than he deserved, and he's been bitter about it ever since. 

Ah, "the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars"--or in the Democratic Party--"but in ourselves, that we are underlings," and Holy Joe is the "underlinigiest" of them all.  If Lieberman double-crossed Reid, which would be just like him, how can the Democrats not strip him of his committees and kick him out of the caucus?

Random factoid

The word "filibuster" comes from the Spanish filibustero which means "pirate."

Presidents who used "Season's Greetings" on their Christmas cards

Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama.  The only time anybody got freaky about it was in the case of Clinton and Obama.  Why is that?

Comment around the ELCA

Otagosh wonders about the future of those congregations who wind up leaving the ELCA.

Peace Pastor asks, "Would Jesus withhold mission support?"  Musings on Faith on the same subject.

Joelle comments on the resolutions recently passed by the Northeast Iowa Synod, as does Cyber Spirit Cafe, and as does Lutheran (True) Confessions which also has a post regarding the proposed anti-gay law in Uganda, noting that no Lutheran had signed the letter of protest.

Obie Holmen speculates on the future of Lutheran Core, and comments about Bishop Hanson's town hall meeting.

Randi Reitman is proud of the ELCA on Minnesota Public Radio.

Madelene's Egg comments on staff cuts at ELCA headquarters.

Erik Ullestad has his dad's--Bishop Steve Ullestad--pastoral letter to the Northeast Iowa Synod.

Sarcastic Lutheran has her sermon up from the Sunday following the assembly.

Something they might try in Washington

Citrus-scented Windex encourages ethical behavior.

Harper's, Jan. 2010, p. 80

It is Scotland, after all

Scientists took a submarine into Loch Ness looking for the famed Loch Ness monster.  They didn't find him, but they did find hundreds of thousands of golf balls.

Ireland poised to enact civil unions law

Dáil Éireann, Ireland’s parliament, has read and debated the Civil Partnership Bill 2009 which had been introduced by Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern.  The Bill would, if passed, grant same-sex couples rights in relation to domestic violence, residential tenancies, succession, refugee law, pensions, medical care, access to state benefits and immigration.

Ahern's bill contains no "freedom of conscience" clause, which means that any organizations offended by homosexuality, such as the Roman Catholic Church, for example, would not be able to exempt themselves from the law.  The bill is backed by opposition parties and is expected to pass later this month.

Supply side Jesus

Note to Calvinists and advocates of the so-called "prosperity gospel":  This is satire!

Sounds about right

College professors rated as more ethical than pastors.

Quote of the Day

Cong. Alan Grayson (D-FL) when asked if it was appropriate for Pres. Obama to bow to the Japanese Emperor:

What about Bush Junior? I remember Bush Junior kissing Prince Abdullah on the cheek, and then holding his hand for an extended period of time. Maybe if he'd let him get to second base, gasoline would be a dollar a gallon.

Random factoid

Neither Matthew nor Luke say anything about animals being present at the birth of Jesus.  It was St. Francis of Assisi, great lover of nature and animals, who first included animals in the manger scene.

Sarah Palin has apparently written more op-eds than she's read

Sure, I've defended her a few times, but that doesn't mean that Sarah Palin has all-of-a-sudden started making sense.  She who could not name a newspaper she reads has weighed in on the Copenhagen climate change talks in today's Washington Post.

She hangs her whole argument on the flap generated when hackers broke in to the electronic files of the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in Britain--isn't that against the law?--and found some emails which said unkind things about climate change deniers.  Some at East Anglia also didn't want climate change deniers' research to be published in peer-reviewed journals.  Says Palin:

The e-mails reveal that leading climate "experts" deliberately destroyed records, manipulated data to "hide the decline" in global temperatures, and tried to silence their critics by preventing them from publishing in peer-reviewed journals.

Actually not, as the Post's own reporting, and this piece in Popular Mechanics, shows.  Yet climate change deniers have seized upon this as evidence that climate change is all--pardon the pun--"cooked up." 

Somebody sends a snarky email and this is supposed to mean that the glaciers aren't melting, the ice caps are where they've always been, sea levels are stable, Lake Titicaca is not drying up, Kilamanjaro still has snow, and the great forests of Colorado aren't dying.  Egads, the stuff you have to believe to be a climate change denier. 

I've always believed that policy should be based on sound science, not politics. As governor of Alaska, I took a stand against politicized science when I sued the federal government over its decision to list the polar bear as an endangered species despite the fact that the polar bear population had more than doubled.

Oops, this isn't true either.  Polar bears will be extinct within 70 years, and perhaps much sooner.  Palin apparently got this particular talking point from Fox News which mentioned rising polar bear populations in the 1970's, but neglected to tell people that the increase was because Alaska outlawed sport hunting of polar bears back in the 1960's.  Naturally, if you're not getting shot at, your numbers will rise, at least in the short term.

Now, however, the polar bear population faces a much larger problem than hunters.  Their population is in decline because of the diminished amount of sea ice due to global warming.  Last summer alone, arctic sea ice was diminished by an area the size of Alaska and Texas combined.  Without sea ice, the polar bears cannot find food. 

Palin says she doesn't like "politicized science," but "politicized pseudo-science," or just flat making things up, is apparently all right.

Bushleague

The US House of Representatives uses voting cards.  You put them in the slot and record your vote.  It's simple, easy, and quick.

Alan Grayson (D-FL) started noticing that an awful lot of GOP House members seemed to be misplacing their voting cards.

They’d all walk to the front of the House and, laughingly and jokingly, put their arms around each other’s shoulder like it was some kind of clownish fun. And they did this over and over to make sure every vote took half an hour. That’s how low things have gotten. I could give you countless examples just like that. They’re simply obstructionists and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Major league baseball has an expression for this.  It's "bushleague."  "Bushleague" is play or behavior that is amateurish, second-rate, not up to professional quality, of the type found in the "bush leagues," which are minor league teams of mediocore quality.  Example:  "That was a bushleague call, ump."

The US House of Representatives are the major leagues of American politics, but, sad to say, it seems to have its share of "bushleaguers."  

Clintons beat the Kennedys again

Martha Coakley, endorsed by Bill Clinton who did robocalls on her behalf, won the Democratic Senate primary yesterday in Massachusetts by pulling 47% of the vote.  Michael Capuano had 28%, Alan Khazei (said to be the Kennedy's choice) had 13%, and Stephen Pagliuca 12%.

This follows upon the senatorial appointment, earlier this year, in the State of New York, which went to Clinton-supporter Kirstin Gillibrand instead of Caroline Kennedy, which, in turn, follows upon Hillary's landslide win in the Massachusetts primary last year.

Department of Unintended Consequences

Man chucks two tomatoes at Sarah Palin at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.  He missed her and hit a police officer instead.  He was charged with assaulting an officer.

Kansas Senate primary effectively tied

Todd Tiahrt has made up some ground in the Kansas Senate primary race on the Republican side.  He now trails Jerry Moran by only about three points, which means the race is effectively tied.  Plus, Tiahrt has some reason for optimism.  He beats Moran among women, and yet 34% remain undecided.  If he can reduce that undecided number and bring them to his side, which it appears he has some potential to do, then Moran may be in trouble.

Here's the funny part.  Tiahrt leads among conservatives, Moran among moderates and liberals.  (There are liberal Kansas Republicans?)  Yet, both of them are the staunchest of conservatives.  Moran is kind of like Lindsay Graham (R-SC) in that respect.  He appears moderate at times, but he never actually deviates from conservative orthodoxy.  How Kansas Republicans can distinguish a difference between the two of them requires a level of intensive scrutiny that would surpass even that of German theologians.

What a difference a year makes

A year ago, Markos was saying that Hillary Clinton wasn't even a real Democrat.  Yesterday, he said:  "Of course Obama and Clinton had similar platforms. They're both mainstream Democrats!"

Lectionary blogging: Luke 3: 7-19

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” ¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Democratic prospects in Colorado on the basis of an incisive analysis of the speakers at the Colorado State Democratic Central Committee meeting yesterday

The Colorado Democratic Party's Central Committee met yesterday at the IBEW hall in north Denver.  The main agenda of the meeting was to approve the delegate selection process for next year's state convention.  The other agenda, the one most people came for, was to hear the leaders of the party rouse them to noble efforts and humanitarian deeds. 

Gov. Ritter led off.  He said it was going to be a difficult year, which was echoed by several of the other speakers.  This seemed a bit...defensive.  It made me appreciate the remarks of House Speaker Terrence Carroll, whose attitude was more along the lines of "let's take 'em on" and Senate candidate, Andrew Romanoff, who said, "The point of getting power is not to keep it, but to use it."  Dang straight.

Surprisingly, Ritter named his opponent, which usually isn't done, especially this early.  If you're going to name your opponent, then you need to follow that by either making a case against him, or zinging him with some deft one liners, neither of which Ritter did.

Lots of people think Ritter's in trouble, and I do too, but I still expect him to pull it out.  This is a bad year for governors.  Every state has had to cut back and lay off, which wins few friends, but influences many people.  Organized labor doesn't care for Ritter, and for good reason.  On the other hand, that wins him some points on the other end, so who knows? 

His opponent, Scott McInnis, has a powerful political operation, including big money.  He virtually swatted Josh Penry (R-Grand Junction) aside.  Tom Tancredo then thought he'd toss his hat in the ring, then quickly pulled it out.  For sheer muscle, McInnis stands astride the GOP like a colossus!

The flip side is that McInnis has the whiff of the "operator" about him.  Plus, he got cross-ways with the "tea-baggers" and the hard-core conservatives have their doubts about where he stands on some of their issues.  "You don't know where he stands," again to quote House Speaker Terrence Carroll.  Ritter can take McInnis, but it's going to be a battle in the trenches.

Diana DeGette (D-CO1) spoke after Ritter.  She said that our slogan this campaign year should be "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs."  Some people might think this is a point of vulnerability for Democrats, and the Republicans surely will try to make it so.  The problem for them is that people don't trust the Republicans on jobs, and, historically speaking, they are right to make that judgment.  Secondly, the jobs situation was truly catastrophic in the last year of the Bush administration, and has undeniably gotten at least some better in the past 9 months.

DeGette gave a brief rundown of health care reform, and hit all the right notes.  She seemed to be enjoying herself.  As she closed, she made reference to herself, somewhat jokingly, as the "Dean of the Democratic Congressional Delegation."  She has not only earned that designation through longevity, but seems to have grown into it as well.   

State Treasurer Cary Kennedy unloaded the most memorable factoid of the day, and one certainly appropriate to the times:  "Last year, the American people spent more on bank overdraft fees than they did on vegetables."  She also said, and I frankly wonder if this can be right, but this is what she said, "The amount of money 'bet' on derivatives was ten times more than the economic output of the entire world."

As she made her spot on remarks about the banking crisis, it occurred to me that this gathering was mainly working class, or sympathetic to the working class.  In my view, Pres. Obama's biggest political challenge will be to resolve the disconnect between this core of the Democratic Party and its Wall Street wing.

Treasurer Kennedy and I go way back, incidentally.  We sat next to each other during now President Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention last summer.  The home state delegation traditionally gets the seats that are front-and-center.  The Obama campaign, however, awarded that honor to Illinois.  Colorado was shift slightly to front-and-right center, which was actually better because you had better sight lines.  In any case, we were right down on the front row.  Eat your heart out, Bob Uecker.

Andrew Romanoff gave a good speech.  He opened by noting that, no, he did not teepee the Governor's Mansion, which got a laugh, then said that Gov. Ritter told him he knew it wasn't a Democrat who did it because the quality of the toilet paper was too luxurious for a Democrat, which also got a laugh. 

Romanoff can be inspiring, especially when he echoed Diana DeGette that jobs should be the central priority of the party.  He even called for bringing back the Roosevelt-era Works Progress Administration--the WPA--a remark which was warmly received by all, including me.

Susan Daggett spoke on behalf of her husband, and Romanoff's opponent, Senator Michael Bennett.  Bennett was in Washington over the weekend for health care reform work.  It so happened--they said--that Senator Bennett called his wife at precisely the time she began her speech.  This more or less fizzled because nobody really believed that, and because they had difficulty making Bennett heard through the public address system.

After an unimpressive start, Romanoff has started to score some points on Bennett.  His refusal to take PAC money highlights Bennett's out-of-state PAC contributions, and Romanoff recently added a couple of highly regarded Obama campaign organizers to his staff. 

For his part, Bennett seems to have raised his profile in the health care reform debate.  He was given high marks by some for his response to the question of whether he would risk his Senate seat on a vote for health care reform.  He answered yes--of course.  How could you answer otherwise?  What he should have said was, "I'm not risking my Senate seat by voting for health care reform.  I'm proud to vote for it, proud to run on it, and proud to win on it."