Good old Mike

This quote from Mike Huckabee deserves to be spread about...

As easy as it is for those of us who are white to look back and say, "That's a terrible statement," I grew up in a very segregated South, and I think that you have to cut some slack. And I'm going to be probably the only conservative in America who's going to say something like this, but I'm just telling you: We've got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told, "You have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can't sit out there with everyone else. There's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office. Here's where you sit on the bus." And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had ... more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.
- Mike Huckabee, offering his perspective on the preaching of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. (Source: MSNBC)

Now I want to see the creeps on FoxPropoganda and the other commercial media obsess over that, and play it again and again, for hours on end...

Peace, Warren

Prayer?

Now that Lent is over, it's a good time to talk about prayer (everybody talks about prayer during Lent). Now, everyone is talking about The Final Four or the start of baseball season, so I'll talk about prayer. We often understand prayer as telling God things He ought to know, pay more attention to or do. But prayer is just as much a listening to God. So here is a prayer I read just a little while ago which is God's prayer to us:

"Please, just start anywhere."

Amen

What we don't talk about....

As a counselor, I'm trained to listen to what a family/couple/individual talks about; but I'm also listening to what they're NOT talking about. There is often a lot of important information in the latter.
We're in an ordeal of an extended presidential campaign and there are three things we're generally not talking about. We're not talking because they're the three biggest issues our country is facing and we have no answers. We simply have no answers.

Those issues are:
1 What to do with our appetite for drugs. Drugs are killing us.
2 What to do with our sexuality -- the crisis in masculinity and femininity, durable couples' relationships, workplace relationships, homosexuality, abortion, fidelity, pornography, tolerance, what to do with strong women leaders, incest and molestation, feminism -- the whole spectrum. Our sexism and sexual confusion is killing us.
3 Race. The legacy of our slavery, our imperialism toward Indians, our abuse and manipulation of poor whites and its ugly aftermath continues to this day -- not just in the South but everywhere in this country. A powerful spiritual lesson for anyone interested in learning about the enduring, violent consequences of trying to build wealth at the expense of others. This includes our pathetic and deplorable treatment of Hispanics. Our racial tensions are killing us.

We have no answers. We have jingoistic, silly slogans and simplistic, bigoted outbursts. But we have no answers. We tried, "Just Say No." Cheap and simple, it didn't work. We tried, "Christ is the answer." We've tried all manner of psychological fixes. None have shown good results.

The economy? No big deal. It will fix itself. Iraq? We'll muddle our way out somehow. Health care? Some structure will work a little better.

The ill-chosen outbursts of Barack Obama's former pastor forced Mr. Obama to address the issue of race head-on. So he did. It was an outstanding speech; thoughtful, understanding, fair and courageous. We need that. We need more of it. If Jeremiah Wright triggered that, then so be it. Again and again, we're hearing people say of Barack, "He spoke to us as an adult to adults." Remarkable. Unheard of in presidential politics. I hope you will find Barack Obama's speech on the internet and listen attentively, or find the entire text and read it carefully.

I'm not looking for a president who has all the answers. I don't trust anyone who claims to have all the answers. I'm not looking for a president who says, "I, I, I." I'm looking for a president who knows how to say, "We." "Yes we can." And who listens. I'm looking for a president who acts like an adult, who treats us like adults. A president who will gather us together and hold us together while we work our way together in this clumsy democracy toward answers that none of us, no group of us, alone, can yet imagine or express. I'm looking for a president who holds out hope; hope that we can and will move forward on these issues together.

To begin, we have to hear, then talk about what we're not talking about. The hard stuff. The impossible issues. Find the speech. Read or listen to the speech. Think about it. "Yes we can."

Peace, Warren

what men are like

It so happens that yesterday (Wednesday) and a week from yesterday (wednesday) are the days when the most vasectomies are scheduled of any day(s) of the year. The reason? March Madness, the NCAA Basketball Tournament, begins the next day. (well of course!!) An NPR segment featured a particular vasectomy clinic (in Portland, I believe) which adds staff and extends hours on these days to accomodate the increased demand. What better way to spend the next 4 days, waiting for the swelling to go down? The particular V-Clinic of the interview issues each patient an "aftercare kit" consisting of a TV schedule, a bracket, and a bag of frozen peas -- to be placed you-know-where. Turns out a bag of frozen peas is an ideal tool to reduce post-op swelling of those tender parts. So for you guys sitting at home today, watching first round action, with your peas you-know-where, enjoy the games. Remember: if some kid from your team throws in a 40-foot buzzer beater to win by one, don't spill your peas. For those of us who tragically went through this rite of passage prior to this notable advance of science, wasting some other weekend, or enduring that dreaded swelling because we were macho and didn't listen, hey, it's the price we pay.

Now aren't you glad we have National Public Radio? You'll never find this on Good Morning America....

Peas, bro

Magic bowl

The little boy appeared in my office door, motionless but very active -- taking in everything with his eyes. So I did what any civilized person would do: "Won't you come in?" He did, shyly, like Bambi stepping into an unexplored woodland glade. "What's your name?" "Hunter." "Oh. Do you hunt things?" "No." "Well, I like the sound of your name." Hunter's gaze fell to the ancient Tibetan singing bowl on my desk: "What's in there?" "Sounds! This bowl has wonderful sounds in it." I picked up the striker and rubbed the rim with the leather striker. That wonderful, low pitched moaning ring came forth, calling us to mindfulness. "See?" Hunter's eyes grew even wider with expanded wonder. He took it in for a moment, then dashed next door to his mother's office: "Mama, this man did wonderful magic, with this bowl that has sounds in it!"
"Except as you become as little children..."
Peace, w