It’s nice to see that, in spite of his gladhanding with W’s dad for Katrina donations, Clinton can still stir up some dust.
I have to wonder, though, why his spouse isn’t speaking so plainly? Why aren’t other leading Democrats just coming right out and saying what needs to be said? Am I missing it […]

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Quick disclaimer: I realize there is still a lot of rescuing, grieving, and hard work to do in the Gulf coast. I respect the city of New Orleans, and its people. This post is just me thinking out loud about a bigger issue, possibly prompted mainly by my “corruption” in English Lit grad school.
I […]

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When I first started hearing the rhetoric right after 9/11/2001, that we were in a “war on terror,” I really didn’t want to be difficult. I mean, it was a horrible thing, people were passionate and grieving, and yeah I wanted revenge, or justice, or something.
But when I heard that, I thought, “I hope […]

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The Uses of Disaster (Harpers.org)
And when we look back at Katrina, we may see that the greatest savagery was that of our public officials, who not only failed to provide the infrastructure, social services, and opportunities that would have significantly decreased the vulnerability of pre-hurricane New Orleans but who also, when disaster did occur, put […]

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It’s worth doing a little reminding of the major roots of what has become pop-mainstream Protestant culture in the US. Once again, Wikipedia rises to the challenge.
Dispensationalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dispensationalism is criticized for other reasons. It teaches that Christians should not expect spiritual good from earthly governments, and should expect social conditions to […]

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I have a theory. And that theory is that a huge percentage of the deaths and misery connected with Katrina are directly attributable to the health-care system in the US.
In a nutshell: lack of healthcare keeps the poor in poverty, because if you’re already poor and you can’t afford to fix your teeth or […]

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No need to comment on this. It speaks for itself.
From an article in September 2004:
And indeed, some in-need areas have been inexplicably left out of the program. “In a sense, Louisiana is the flood plain of the nation,” noted a 2002 FEMA report. “Louisiana waterways drain two-thirds of the continental United States. Precipitation in […]

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The Onion nails Intelligent Design with this bit of satire. What I find disturbing is that the story sounds completely believable, which only illustrates how crazy the real situation is to begin with.
The Onion | Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New ‘Intelligent Falling’ Theory
“Things fall not because they are acted upon by some gravitational […]

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Great interview with Stephen Colbert
AlterNet: MediaCulture: A Super Straight Guy
COLBERT: First of all, I am a super straight guy. I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and I am perfectly comfortable in blue blazers, khaki pants, Brooks Brothers suits and regimental striped ties. It’s just genetic. I love a cocktail party with completely vacuous […]

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Great interview with Stephen Colbert
AlterNet: MediaCulture: A Super Straight Guy
COLBERT: First of all, I am a super straight guy. I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and I am perfectly comfortable in blue blazers, khaki pants, Brooks Brothers suits and regimental striped ties. It’s just genetic. I love a cocktail party with completely vacuous […]

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Wachovia Completes Research
Under this otherwise unassuming title is a press release stating that Wachovia did research into its history to find which of its ancestor institutions might have owned slaves.
Earlier this year, Wachovia contracted with The History Factory, a leading historical research firm, to conduct research on the predecessor institutions that, over many years, […]

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Just saw this editorial reprinted at Common Dreams: Who’s Taking Blame for Christian Violence?
How do our current religious leaders think Jesus would react to the concept of collateral damage?
I’d love to see somebody ask that question in a press conference.

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