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nrdc update: 37 wolves killed

Posted on May 2, 2008 | Filed Under politics, the natural world

An update from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on what has happened since protections for wolves were lifted in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana …

The government-sanctioned massacre of wolves is now under way.

A mere 30 days after the Bush Administration stripped Yellowstone’s wolves of their Endangered Species protection, the Northern Rockies have been turned into a killing field.

Thirty-seven wolves are already dead. Hundreds more are being targeted by Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, which have waited years for this chance to put their plans for extermination into action.

But today there is reason for hope: America’s …

i applaud jimmy carter

Posted on April 22, 2008 | Filed Under peace, politics

I applaud Jimmy Carter for his courage, for engaging the leadership of Hamas in dialogue, for searching out any avenues for moving the peace process forward.

He has been criticized for meeting at all with Khalid Meshaal, by both the Bush administration and the Democratic presidential candidates. Dialogue should be absolutely contingent, they argue, on Hamas’ recognition of Israel and renunciation of violence. But it seems to me if the goal of a peace process is made a precondition to dialogue, then the process will surely go where it has always gone … nowhere.

Start talking! Explore options! Get the people who …

on earth as it is in heaven

Posted on April 9, 2008 | Filed Under faith, politics, spirituality

N. T. Wright is right! The separation of religion from “real life,” the separation of faith from politics, from the push and pull of the everyday decisions that impact the lives of persons and communities of persons, is artificial and contrary to the “way” to which Jesus calls his followers. Faith is not just about “then,” but about now, not just about “there,” but about here. Hope is not just about “waiting it out” until we go to “a better place,” but about believing God can and will make this world a better place, with us and through us. The …

putting the wolf in danger

Posted on March 29, 2008 | Filed Under beauty, politics, the natural world

The gray wolf has just been de-listed from the Endangered Species list in three states: Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. All three states are already making plans to authorize wolf kills.

It’s a bad idea, turning back the clock on the successful recovery of wolf populations and the restoration of better-balanced ecosystems. Wolves are, at worst, a minor nuisance, destroying a few livestock each year. They are, at best, a critical contributor to the health and diversity of the ecosystems of which they are a part, and, for us, a reminder of a wild …

obama on his pastor

Posted on March 18, 2008 | Filed Under faith, politics, ucc

I have been thinking about how best to respond to folks who ask about the flap over Barack Obama and his former pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But Obama himself has provided the best response in a speech delivered today in Philadelphia. It is a remarkable speech, putting our nation’s “original sin” of racism in broad historical context, and challenging us as Americans — of all races and political persuasions — to find a way to move beyond the divisiveness that has so dominated and damaged both our political discourse and our common destiny. Here …

the president we want … in a word

Posted on December 13, 2007 | Filed Under politics

We hosted a pre-caucus house party this evening at our home during which I asked our guests to express what it is they are looking for in a presidential candidate in one word. Their answers make quite a list!

integrity
compassion
inspiration
honesty
justice
humility
diplomacy
reconciler
character
change
moral

I do hope and pray that our next president will be marked by attributes like these!

torture is not a partisan issue

Posted on November 6, 2007 | Filed Under politics, torture

Torture is not a partisan issue. It is an issue of conscience. It’s not about citing extreme circumstances, but about applying a universal standard of human ethics. It’s not about finding ways to win the war on terrorism, but about not losing our souls in the process.

Torture is not a partisan issue. Consider the comments of Lindsey Graham, Republican senator from South Carolina, during the confirmation hearing for Michael Mukasey:

If we allow our executive in certain rare circumstances to use techniques like waterboarding, then what do we say when a downed airman is in the hands of another enemy in …

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