When Christians Attack!

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Tuesday July 17, 2007 · 5:20 PM PDT

2007/07/17 · 17:20

The High Point, N.C. City Council meeting is not normally a hot ticket. The only other time I’ve attended was as a correspondent for a magazine, and there were perhaps a dozen people watching, and not very attentively at that. But Monday night was different. A local pastor had thrown down the gauntlet to the City Council in the form of a letter to the editor. He and his flock would be there to represent Jesus in the meeting. I felt it was my civic duty to at least get a look at them, so I headed down to City Hall. Conveniently enough, my husband works there, so I was able to hand off the baby on my way up to Council Chambers.

The history of the dispute is pretty straightforward. Apparently, the council had been opening with prayer that included Jesus until an unnamed troublemaker called the ACLU. According to the local paper, this happened in November, but it seems to have come to a head in the past couple of weeks. The city obtained legal advice which resulted in a policy of non-sectarian prayer until the ACLU’s lawsuit against a nearby local government is settled. After that, High Point’s council may change the policy again if it seems prudent.

The crowd gets ugly...after the jump.

AngelinNC

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Wednesday October 19, 2005 · 8:23 AM PDT

2005/10/19 · 08:23

Nonbelievers in government, that is.

Let me make a confession: I believe in government. When the trash man comes, as he did this morning, or when I drive on a newly paved street, I see where my taxes are going. This time of year especially, I love to visit the Blue Ridge Parkway. I love seeing new books on our library shelves. I love seeing public school-educated kids go off to big-time colleges on academic scholarships. At its best, government enhances our community and makes us all feel a part of something larger; It gives us a sense of togetherness.

Please make the jump, wherein I take off my rose-colored glasses.
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In Defense of the Anti-War Movement

AngelinNC

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Tuesday August 30, 2005 · 10:24 AM PDT

2005/08/30 · 10:24

Coming soon to my local paper:

Lately there has been a healthy debate on our editorial page about the legitimacy of the anti-war effort brought to the headlines by Cindy Sheehan. Those of us who have supported her have been called bin Laden sympathizers, traitors, even (gasp!) Jane Fonda. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that those who favor war as a means to solve problems should declare verbal war against us peace-lovers.

To which my response is, bring it on. If it makes you feel better to call us names, here's my other cheek. But there is one line of reasoning that raises my hackles: to say that anti-war folks are demoralizing to the troops and offering aid and comfort to our enemies.

The rest is below the fold. I'm just looking for a little feedback before I turn it in tomorrow. Have at it!
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Love is for Wimps

AngelinNC

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Thursday August 11, 2005 · 6:01 AM PDT

2005/08/11 · 06:01

I write an op-ed column for my local newspaper once a month. Last Saturday, my column focussed on loving your neighbor. It's been something knocking around in my head for awhile. I even diaried some of my earlier thoughts here.

Here's my last graf:

The appropriate response to violence, Gandhi believed, is non-violence. Some may think that non-violence is the easy way out, but nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus taught us to love our enemies. He loved his enemies to the point of dying for them. Until the death of a child in Baghdad, or even a bomb-throwing insurgent, touches us as deeply as that of an American soldier, we are feeding the very terror we seek to obliterate.

AngelinNC

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Friday July 15, 2005 · 10:30 AM PDT

2005/07/15 · 10:30

Andrew Sullivan, of all people, got me thinking about whatever happened to the concept of nonviolence. He has some good analysis of the latest Gitmo report here.

Didn't Jesus say to turn the other cheek? I mean, my God, what are these people thinking when they're treating a person like vermin? How could any thinking human being come to believe that torture might work if engaged in enthusiastically and long enough?

And what is it doing to the soldiers who are asked to do these heinous things? We'll be locking them up in padded rooms when they get to come home. Read More

Frank Rich reviews Bush=God movie

AngelinNC

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Thursday September 30, 2004 · 5:26 AM PDT

2004/09/30 · 05:26

Git over there and read it.

Rich is always a terrific read, and he doesn't disappoint here.

"A Newsweek poll shows that 17 percent of Americans expect the world to end in their lifetime. To Karl Rove and company, that 17 percent is otherwise known as 'the base.'"

You know, I grew up Southern Baptist. I got over it. I used to think of them as nutty but harmless. I'm over that now, too. Read More

"Skin to rip and blood to flow" from Repub campaign

AngelinNC

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Wednesday September 15, 2004 · 7:10 AM PDT

2004/09/15 · 07:10

This morning, I almost deleted an e-mail from the Erskine Bowles campaign because the subject line looked like spam. But, no, it was an actual quote from Bowles' opponent in his U.S. Senate race, Richard Burr.

As quoted in The Hill, Burr lays out how he plans to counter Bowles' thoughtful, non-partisan plans to create jobs and provide healthcare to his future constituents. Read More

Mr. Rumsfeld, it's time to take responsibility for Abu Ghraib

AngelinNC

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Monday September 13, 2004 · 7:38 AM PDT

2004/09/13 · 07:38

Am I the only one wondering if anyone is ever going to take responsibility for Abu Ghraib? Anyone above the rank of private? Back in May, Rumsfeld said the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the prison in Iraq "occurred on my watch, and as secretary of defense I am accountable for them, and I take full responsibility." Read More

Bush, of all people, uses language against us

AngelinNC

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Friday September 10, 2004 · 6:17 AM PDT

2004/09/10 · 06:17

Harold Meyerson has a thought-provoking (and butt-kicking) piece over at the American Prospect about Bush's use of the word "opportunity." This caught my eye because I once worked at a Ritz-Carlton hotel, and we were trained to use the word "opportunity" in place of "problem." For example, "We have a real opportunity up in Room 810." Read More

My angry rant on Zell's angry rant gets in my local paper

AngelinNC

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Thursday September 09, 2004 · 11:52 AM PDT

2004/09/09 · 11:52

How satisfying. My house will probably get fire-bombed, but hey, such is the price of speaking up, right? I'm glad my phone number is unlisted.

Miller reveals nature of GOP (their title)

"It's ironic that it took a turncoat Democrat to show the country just what the Republicans are up to. Theirs is the politics of hate, and Miller's speech demonstrated rabid hatred better than any dyed-in-the-wool Republican ever could."

more below the fold... Read More

Don't forget who Dole really is

AngelinNC

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Tuesday August 24, 2004 · 9:38 AM PDT

2004/08/24 · 09:38

Matthew Yglesias reminds us that, just because his self-effacing humor is appealing, just because his age and military service are worthy of respect, Dole is really no better and probably a lot worse than most Republican thugs.

Yglesias has been scathingly terrific lately, and this is a great example: Read More

Molly Ivins rocks

AngelinNC

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Wednesday August 18, 2004 · 8:49 AM PDT

2004/08/18 · 08:49

Last week I went to hear Molly Ivins speak at an ACLU fundraiser in Greensboro, N.C. I am a huge fan of her smart, funny, literate style, and her always spot-on analyses of the Bush administration. As a Texas political reporter, she has had a birds-eye view of Bush and his family for decades. I think that if 537 more people had read Shrub, we could have been spared this national nightmare. Read More

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When Christians Attack!

U.S. government controlled by nonbelievers

In Defense of the Anti-War Movement

Love is for Wimps

Nonviolence, Empathy, Toddlers, etc.

Frank Rich reviews Bush=God movie

"Skin to rip and blood to flow" from Repub campaign

Mr. Rumsfeld, it's time to take responsibility for Abu Ghraib

Bush, of all people, uses language against us

My angry rant on Zell's angry rant gets in my local paper

Don't forget who Dole really is

Molly Ivins rocks