Sunday, December 28, 2003

Headscarves and Crosses and Yarmulkes, Oh My!

The separation of church and state is one of the great geniuses of the bill of rights (okay, they're all pretty great). And, while we don't get it right all the time, we have a pretty decent working model. France, however, has gone a little bit too far on this one. Fearing an unassimilated and growing muslim minority, the French have decided to outlaw headscarves, yarmulkes and "large" crosses in public schools. But, let's be honest, it was all about the headscarves. Some of the motivation for this edict is also the growing anti-semitism in France. And, I'll be the first to admit that I am frightened by the growing anti-semitism in France and elsewhere. But oppression of religion is not the answer. The separation of church and state is a two part equation. Part one: no establishiment of religion (i.e. no national religion). Part two: free exercise of religion. So, the French need a little work on part two.

Although I have also heard that the Spanish need help with part one. Although only 19% of the population in Spain consider themselves church-going Catholics, the teaching of Roman-Catholicism is now mandated inthe country's schools. Hmmm, I guess I shouldn't get so grumpy about the national Christmas Tree (which is a pagan symbol anyway).

The Democrats and God

In an Op-Ed in today's New York Times Jim Wallis admonishes the Democrats for avoiding religion, morality and god. "Allowing the right to decide what is a religious issue would be both a moral and political tragedy." It was not surprising to read that "people who attend church more than once a week vote Republican 63 percent to 37 percent; people who seldom or never attend vote Democratic by 62 percent to 38 percent." But talking about religion and morality is not just a strategic move, it's the right move. Democrats are afraid to talk about religion. "They stumble over themselves to assure voters that while they may be people of faith, they won't allow their religious beliefs to affect their political views. For too many Democrats, faith is private and has no implications for political life. But what kind of faith is that? Where would America be if the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had kept his faith to himself?" Wallis reminds us that faith is not just about abortion, the Ten Commandments, gay marriage, and school prayer. "How a candidate deals with poverty is a religious issue, and the Bush administration's failure to support poor working families should be named as a religious failure. Neglect of the environment is a religious issue. Fighting pre-emptive and unilateral wars based on false claims is a religious issue (a fact not changed by the capture of Saddam Hussein)." And, he continues, "Rather than suggesting that we not talk about 'God,' Democrats should be arguing -- on moral and even religious grounds -- that all Americans should have economic security, health care and educational opportunity, and that true faith results in a compassionate concern for those no the margins." Amen! If Bush is such a good christian, he should prove it.

Scarier than Godzilla

Mad Cow Disease. Yep, folks, in case you haven't heard, we've got Mad Cow Disease, right here in River City. The government is trying to calm our fears by telling us that it's only one cow, and that the tainted feed probably came from Canada. (South Park had it right, I guess: when in doubt Blame Canada!) While I have been racking my brain trying to remember the last time I ate a hamburger, I have also been studiously avoiding either reading about this or eating red meat. As a former vegetarian I'm already neurotic about meat... I usually wash my hands at least 27 times with antibacterial soap if I'm making chicken for dinner. But, perusing the New York Times's Week In Review, I was drawn to the article, Probability, Luck and One Mad Cow. Well, let's just say it will be a long time before I'll be eating a hamburger. According to the article, the lone cow was probably infected four and a half years ago. So, we didn't anybody now about it? Because, this article argues, the Agriculture Department's testing is seriously flawed. The fact that this lone cow's brain was even sent for testing at all was a fluke. The cow was a "downer" cow, one that can't walk. "Though the inability to walk can be a sympton of mad cow disease, in this case it was attributed to her having ruptured while giving birth. In the end it was not clear why the animal's brain was sent to departmen't lab in Ames, Iowa." Although last year European countries tested 10 million animals for the disease, the U.S. only tested 20,526. This is a vast improvement from five years ago when it only tested 219. Just as shocking, "the cow's brain arrived in Ames on Dec. 11, but was not tested until Monday, and tested again on Tuesday. As of Friday, the department couldn't say how much of its meat had been sold and eaten." Want fries with that?

So, now that we've all got 20/20 hindsight, can we agree that maybe, just maybe, it would have made sense, even economically speaking, to have better regulation and testing in the first place than face the crisis looming ahead? Is this really good for the economy? I, for one, will not be running out and buying any cattle futures or stock in McDonald's. And, if this lone cow contracted the disease from tainted feed, do we really believe that there's only one Mad Cow?

A confession...

Last night my husband chose the movie. (note: this is not the confession) Usually we come to some sort of agreement about movies, although we may take turns following each other's suggestions. Last night, though, he chose, with little input from me. Friends of ours, upon hearing the movie choice, declined to join us (and were more than a little shocked that my husband will go see Godzilla but has no interest in seeing the Lord of the Rings... and were also shocked that I knew all this before I agreed to marry him). So, we went... alone. The movie was "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah." (I believe it was released in Japan earlier this year) I went under protest. I insisted on sushi for dinner (which was appropriate since the movie was made in Japan... but also because it is my favorite food and I felt I need it if I was going to have to sit through "Godzilla et. al."). Confession: I loved it! The movie bears striking resemblance to the old fifties Godzilla movies that used to be on television on Saturday afternoons... Godzilla still looks like a big plastic lizard and the other monsters are not much more "realistic." Baragon, the baby of the monsters looks like a cross between a gremlin and a triceratops. Mothra is quite striking actually, an overgrown moth with beautiful wings. And, of course, there is King Ghidorah, a golden dragon with three heads. The hero is an intrepid young woman, Yuri, who is looking to make her break and become an accomplished and respected professional who will be taken seriously. And, of course, the theme of atomic energy, or, more importantly, the A-bomb is still present. It is not great film... this is no Rashomon. It ranks high on the unintentional comedy scale... which is why it was the perfect movie for the evening. So, keep an eye out for it in your local theaters... and, if you live in the Boston area, it's playing at the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square.

Wednesday, December 24, 2003

Last line of defense...

I have decided that some of the judges in this country are our last line of defense against that guy living in the white house right now. I have just read that Court Blocks E.P.A. Rule Changes on Industrial Pollution Though the shrub has opened up the Alaskan forest to roads, development and logging, I hope that each and every victory just keeps getting under his skin until he takes his marbles and goes back to Texas.

Aha!

I have long thought that God is not a right-wing zealot... and it turns out others agree. Hurrah for the religious left. This article from Salon.com is about the Rev. Albert Pennybacker is "a Bible Belt preacher with a drawl who's urging people to support 'basic religious values.'"

"It's 'wake-up time' for religious liberals and moderates disenchanted with the current White House, Pennybacker tells Salon. He sees a historic moment for progressive religious leaders in the tradition of liberal clergy who led protests during the civil rights and Vietnam War eras. 'One of the gifts of the present administration is the summons -- or call to arms -- for progressive religious people,' he said in a recent interview. "

Tuesday, December 23, 2003

It's about time

In First Amendment News, New York Governor George Pataki gave comedian Lenny Bruce a post humous pardon for an obscenity conviction over 40 years ago.

Hybrid television

So, I was flipping channels last night... and stopped when I saw a beautiful, shiny red, Honda Insight. Hurrah! So, hybrids have hit the main stream. My husband and I have one (it's silver and it's name is Iggy) and we love it. It gets 60 miles to the gallon. No joke!

If you haven't figured out what to do with that holiday bonus, or if you're just tired of that gas-guzzling old clunker you've been driving around, go out and buy a hybrid. And if you do it now, you get a whopping $2000 tax credit. (Next year it will go down To $1500 thanks to our favorite president). Honda makes the Insight and the Civic Hybrid. Toyota makes the newly redesigned Prius. Happy shopping!

The Elephant Upstairs

I think my upstairs neighbor has been cast under an evil spell. By day she is a friendly, and quite petite young woman, a freelance journalist who recently relocated from New York City. But, as darkness falls, the transformation occurs... she turns into a restless elephant who apparently wears clogs. You think I'm joking? Then you try sleeping as she paces throughout the night! If anyone knows of an antidote, something that can reverse the spell, please let me know. I'm thinking of getting her a nice quiet fuzzy pair of slippers in the meantime.

Friday, December 19, 2003

Keep 'em comin'

Thank you New Jersey! And the endorsements keep rolling in. Madonna can endorse Clark all she wants. Dean is the one for the job.

Religious left, or.... Jesus was soft on crime

I have never been one to revel in "God talk." Raised by two lefty-liberal atheist Jews who gave me a sense of culture but didn't believe in organized religion, I tend to shy away from the religious, particularly the openly religious and especially the religious right. However, as a lefty-liberal practicing Jew (some mix of Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Renewal with a healthy dose of Workmen's Circle thrown in) I've come to the conclusion that it's time to take back the "God talk" because god and morality do not belong to the religious right. In fact, lefty-liberal religious action has been around for a long time. The Catholic Church, Judaism, Episcopalians (for example) all have long traditions of working for social change. [Dar Williams has a great song about the priest Daniel Berrigan]

Maybe it's the holiday season, or the capture of Saddam, or Anne Lamott's column today on Salon.com... Okay, I'll admit it, it was Anne Lamott's column... but the time has come to embrace that tradition and learn to speak the language. Because, in theory, that is the language that so many people in our country speak. We should not let moral authority come from so-called good christians like our dear president. Because, though I don't know much christian theology, he doesn't strike me as one of the good ones.

And while we're sort of on the subject, Chanukah starts tonight... the celebration of the miracle of conservation: one night's oil lasted eight nights. So, go out today and buy a few cfl's (compact fluorescent light bulbs) to replace some of the regular bulbs in your house. They last 10 times as long. They save a ton of energy (4 times more efficient than regular incandescents)... and also some money on your electric bill. And, if everyone replaced three regular bulbs with three cfl's it would eliminate about 23 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions (carbon dioxide is one of the leading causes of glogal climate change). That equals taking 18 million cars off the road.

Thursday, December 18, 2003

not surprising...

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I'll be brief...

Yesterday's Boston Globe reported that the SJC was soliciting briefs for an advisory opinion (requested by the legislature) on whether a civil unions bill would comply with its decision in Goodridge. Well, then, here's my brief: the decision said marriage, not civil unions.

The 180 days given to the legislature was not for the purpose of erecting a separate but equal system called civil unions. The decision clearly states that the plaintiffs properly focused on the statute M.G.L. 207 which governs the granting of marriage licenses because that is the gateway to all the rights/privileges etc. that come with marriage (because you can't get married without one). And, the court said, as it is written now, though gender neutral, the statute does really mean "one man and one woman." Therefore, the statute must be rewritten to reflect the court's opinion that limiting marriage to heterosexual couples is unconstitutional.

The legislature has to amend the statute to say something like, "two consenting adults whoaren't related and don't have syphilis." Under the current statute, the department of public was accurate in not granting the licenses to the plaintiffs... it was the statute itself that was unconstitutional. And, the legislature would not only have to rewrite that statute, it would have to review all the laws granting rights to married people to make sure that each and every one of those laws was constitutional under the Goodridge decision.

So, to those in the state legislature, stop looking for wiggle room, get to work... the clock is ticking.

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

dashing through the snow...

Hurrah for Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan!! Though the forces of evil and hypocrisy (yes, that would be the Bush administration) consistently attempt to gut any regulations that protect the environment, they have met with defeat on this one. So, put your snowmobiles away and go get some snow shoes or cross-country skis instead. It is so difficult to track all the insidious ways Bush is tearing apart our country. And the new attention on the capture of Saddam will just make that more difficult.

Hypocrite

Read more about Bush's hypocrisy. Not that I'm really surprised. Bush is opposed to gay marriage. That was a no-brainer. But, it is not his place to criticize the SJC. Moreover, he said, with a straight face (albeit a weasely one) that he believes in judicial restraint?! Puh-leeze! If he and his cronies believed in judicial restraint, Al Gore would be in the White House.
Amen!

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Where's Waldo

I know I'm not the first (nor, I hope, the last) to say it but, the fact that they found and captured Saddam does not justify the war. Yes, he has done many horrible things and, yes, it is good that he has been captured. But, how many countless innocent lives, American lives, Iraqi lives, were lost in the process? And does the administration know how to safely put the pieces of a demolished nation back together? And, by the way, wasn't the original goal to find the weapons of mass destruction? Has the fallen leader lead us to them? Have we all forgotten about Afghanistan? Where is Osama? Wasn't this war against terror supposed to root him out? And, how is the United States doing in putting that nation back together? Our president has a very short attention span. The rest of us, however, have a responsibility to keep our attention focused.... focused on the shortfalls of the administration, focused on the commitments our country took on, focused on the harms that were done in our name.... And, we have to remind each other to keep that focus, so that when next November rolls around we are not blinded by this victory.

Friday, December 12, 2003

Taking Back the White House

For those of you who live for each weekly installment of the West Wing and dream of the day when a democrat will be back in the White House, check out Bob Herbert's Op-Ed in today's NYTimes. He pretty much sums up my fears about the democratic party's knack for self-destruction.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

Snow and Slush

I have been listening to the snow melt and drip drip drip off the roof and onto my windowsill. And so it begins, the long winter of new soft white muffled snow followed by days and weeks of gray slush. Despite my muscles, only recently recovered from this weekend's bout of shoveling, I'm looking forward to a new snowfall. Is this because my memory of my irritation at the snow and it's accompanying inconvenience fades so quickly? Or, is it merely because I need something to cover the grey? Or, simply, because I have decided that, in the end, it is worth dreary grey and the drip drip drip and the slush and the aching arms for those moments of new snow?