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the way he was

I am thinking about keeping this in my foyer with Rev. Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" in constant play. An eternal flame for the old Barry.

virginia is for lovers (of barack)

On the evening of Election Day, Barack Obama spoke in front of half a million people in Chicago, while others all over the world huddled around radios or were watching on TV. At 4:30 pm in a cold garage in Fairfax County, Virginia I spoke to the final group of canvassers, many of whom had been out in the rain all day, all of GOTV weekend, or all election season.

The group was diverse. An elderly white woman stood next to a young black woman. The gay middle-aged man shared his umbrella with the pregnant immigrant. They were all neighbors in the precincts in which they were about to talk to voters for the final time in this election. I looked at these eighteen volunteers and thought about what they needed to hear. They eagerly looked at me for direction. Throughout my life, I have been part of the democratic process at various levels in different places. On Tuesday, with very little sleep, and while dressed in a strange Norwegian sweater donated to me by one of the canvassers, I rededicated myself to the bread & butter of the political process, and of this campaign: the effectiveness of neighbors talking to neighbors.

I told them that the 21 months of voter registration, identification, persuasion, financial donations, stress, and dedication in the field - would all be for naught if Getting Out The Vote failed. And the only way - the ONLY way - GOTV will not fail in Virginia, would be if we cranked it up and turned it out in Fairfax County. The next two and a half hours of their lives came down to the answer of one question: would there be a President McCain or a President Obama? Therefore, I told them, it was time to do one thing and one thing only, to get bodies to the polls. I told them not to come back to see me with any information until 7:00pm, and that I only wanted a number of people who had definitively delivered a vote for Obama. I said I don’t want you coming back here to tell me about how many yard signs or dogs a house has even though you couldn’t find away to get a hold of the people living inside. I want you to be married to your turf for the next two and a half hours because this is your last chance. This is not about ANYTHING other getting voters to immediately go and vote for Barack. The people on your list are your responsibility. And mark my word, we will lose Virginia if we do not turn out Fairfax County at a historical margin. If we win Virginia we don’t need places like Florida and Ohio. So, it’s all you. Keep your head in the game. You don’t get to redo these 2.5 hours tomorrow.

Before I knew it, it was 9:30 pm and I was at a fancy cocktail party at The Willard in downtown DC. The TV said we were losing Virginia, and I knew that Fairfax had not reported yet. When Virginia went blue for the first time in 44 years, I received calls and texts from a couple of those canvassers exclaiming things such as, “wow! You were right about Virginia! I am so glad I was out there this weekend!”

In my mind, the most invigorating thing about politics and of this campaign in particular, is that all the experts and operatives in that room at The Willard would be nothing without the labor of people like those whom I spoke to in the cold garage.

With hope,
Kate

rip congresswoman tubbs jones

Stephanie Tubbs Jones, before a joint Congress, January 2005:

"I, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a representative from Ohio, and Ms. Boxer, a Senator from California, object to the counting of the electoral votes of the State of Ohio on the ground that they were not, under all of the known circumstances, regularly given. I, thank God, that I have a Senator joining me in this objection. I appreciate Senator Boxer's willingness to listen to the plight of hundreds and even thousands of Ohio voters that for a variety of reasons were denied the right to vote.

Unfortunately objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate avenue to bring these issues to light. While some have called our cause foolish I can assure you that my parents, Mary and Andrew Tubbs did not raise any fools and as a lawyer, former judge and prosecutor, I am duty bound to follow the law and apply the law to the facts as I find them. It is on behalf of those millions of Americans who believe in and value our democratic process and the right to vote that I put forth this objection today. If they are willing stand at the polls for countless hours in the rain as many did in Ohio, then I can surely stand up for them here in the halls of Congress.

This objection does not have at its root the hope or even the hint of overturning or challenging the victory of the President; but it is a necessary, timely and appropriate opportunity to review and remedy the most precious process in our democracy. I raise this objection neither to put the nation in the turmoil of a proposed overturned election nor to provide cannon fodder or partisan demagoguery for my fellow Republican Members of Congress. I raise this objection because I am convinced that we as a body must conduct a formal and legitimate debate about election irregularities. I raise this objection to debate the process and protect the integrity of the true will of the people. Again, I thank Senator Boxer for joining me in this objection to the counting of Ohio's electoral votes due to the considerable number of voting irregularities that transpired in my home state. There are serious allegations in two lawsuits pending in Ohio that debate the constitutionality of the denial of provisional ballots to voters (The Sandusky County Democratic Party v. J. Kenneth Blackwell) and Ohio's vote recount (Yost v. David Cobb, et al.). These legitimate questions brought forward by the lawsuits, which go to the core of our voting and Democratic process, should be resolved before Ohio's electoral votes are certified.

Moreover, as you are aware, advancing legislative initiatives is more challenging when you are in the minority party in Congress. However, this challenge is multiplied when you are in the minority in the House of Representatives because of House rules, compared to Senate rules. Voting irregularities were an issue after the 2000 presidential election, when Democratic House initiatives relating to election reform were not considered. Therefore, in order to prevent our voices from being kept silent, it is imperative that we object to the counting of Ohio's electoral votes and debate the issue of Ohio's voting improprieties. There are just over 1 million registered voters in Cuyahoga County - which of course includes the Greater Cleveland area and the 11th Congressional District which I represent. Registration increased approximately 10 percent.

The beauty of the 2004 election was that more people were fully prepared to exercise their right to vote - however on Election Day hundreds and even thousands of individuals went to the voting polls and were denied the opportunity to have their vote count. In my own county where citizen volunteers put forth a Herculean effort to register, educate, mobilize and protect the vote there were people who experienced irregularities. Poor and minority communities had disproportionately long waits - 4 to 5 hours waits were widespread. Election Protection Coalition testified that more than half of the complaints about long lines they received, came from Columbus and Cleveland where a huge proportion of the states Democratic voters live. One entire polling place in Cuyahoga County (Greater Cleveland) had to shut down at 9:25 a.m. on Election Day because there were no working machines. Cuyahoga County had an overall provisional ballot rejection rate of 32 percent. Rejection rates for provisional ballots in African American precincts/wards in Cleveland, Ohio averaged 37 percent and ranged as high as 51 percent.

Thousands of partisan challengers - concentrated in Cuyahoga County's minority and Democratic communities - effectively served to intimidate voters and confuse poll workers. There were both inconsistent and illegal requests for photo identification. There were problems with absentee ballots including incorrect information provided to voters by the Secretary of State and, consequently, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections telling voters they could not vote in their precinct effectively disenfranchising hundreds and more likely thousands of voters. This objection points out the inadequacy of a great election system which permits 50 Secretary's of State to administer a federal election and impose so many different state laws regulating the election.

In Ohio, the Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell who served as Co-Chair of the Bush re-election campaign, issued a bizarre series of directives in the days preceding the 2004 Presidential election that created tremendous confusion among voters in Cuyahoga County and across the state of Ohio. For example; on September 7, 2004, Secretary Blackwell issued a directive to local boards of elections mandating rejection of voter registration forms based on their paperweight 80lb text weight. Mr. Blackwell's issuance of this directive which he ultimately reversed by September 28, 2004 - resulted in serious confusion and chaos among the counties and voters. My objection points to the need to implement across this nation standards that apply to all states. We need to enact legislation that will: Allow all voters to vote early - so that obligations of employment and family will not interfere with the ability to cast a vote. Establish a national holiday - Election Day to bring attention to the importance of the vote. Require those who work in the voting booth to be fairly compensated, adequately educated and sufficiently supported such that the job importance will be elevated. That will provide equipment - whether it is the traditional punch card or the more modern electronic machines that are properly calibrated, fully tested for accuracy and provide a paper trial to ensure a verifiable audit of every vote.

What happened in Ohio may well have been repeated in counties across this country. Yet that is no excuse for us to push the irregularities behind us and go on with the business of the day. These incidents are a call for us to clean up, clear up and implement policies and procedures that will protect each citizen's precious right to vote. If in fact we see it is our obligation to secure democracy around the world to monitor and oversee free and fair elections in other countries surely we must ensure, protect and guarantee the right to vote right here at home."

i know it is not john wayne

blog posts suspended

Per my employment contract with Obama for America and the Indiana Campaign for Change, I am suspending my blog for a while.

Until later.

Barack the vote.

This was the moment

Tonight, Senator Ted Kennedy watched Barack Obama's speech from his hospital bed, as a 76 year old man and a day after major surgery. He watched it on the eve of the forty year anniversary of the devastating assassination of Bobby Kennedy. Forty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King a black man has taken the plunge to serve as the Democratic candidate for the Presidency. He already beat the Clintons, and he will beat John McCain in November. His speech tonight was superb, and his explanation of the massiveness of this hope for change was compelling. Forty years from today, people like Luke Treanor will ask me, "Where where you when Barack Obama ran for and won the presidency?" And I will say, "I was in Divinity School at Vanderbilt in the south, and when he won, I was running a hospital in Haiti." ("And before my PhD, I worked in his administration!")

Ok, so here were my favorite parts:

• Michelle Obama gave her husband "a pound" with her fist, on stage, and then a kiss.
• Barack Obama embodied Christianity: He praised and confronted, - - Hillary Clinton and John McCain respectively.
• Obama acknowledged a "known" for those of us in international poverty and health studies: Americans are generous.
• He never talks about his death threats, although the absence of his children and the presence of federal police officers prove the presence of such threats.

Barack Obama is going to be the first black president of the United States. On MSNBC Chris Matthews read some words from Bishop Desmond Tutu. I would like to share some other words from Desmond Tutu: "I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights."

final season for Bush

hillary and obama

my favorite type of conversation

This is great. Important. Right on. This proves that church life and theology are fantastic ways to confront societal issues such as poverty and race. Linda Thomas teaches at Vandy.

Click here and then click on "Listen Now"

Then read Cone's book, God of the Oppressed.

to be a witness and an actor

"I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories of survival, and freedom, and hope became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about memories that all people might study and cherish and with which we could start to rebuild." - Barack Obama, today

Today at Starbucks, my friend spoke of how liberation theology became embodied for her at the recent ordination of our colleague Darius. She said, "sometimes liberation theology is just so structured and I just can't feel the person in it." While listening to Obama, today and nearly everyday - a human face is exposed in the black church experience. Black, white, female, male,gay, straight - may we all seek to confront the ethnic imperialism of the white, Protestant, heteronormative experience.

twas better to die 'neath an irish sky

Like any good Irish lass, I have been known to have a Guinness (or five), and hop on small stages at places like Nanny O’Briens to sing along to joyful ballads about famine, theft, and well, . . . drinking five or more Guinnesses. Like any good Irish lass, I have read the poetry of my ancestors who mastered a language that was forced upon them. I have a stomach made for bland starches, and the skin for staying inside. I will probably have bagpipes at my wedding, exclusively for the purpose of making people with red faces and white hair weep. My DNA-given skill of implementing the silent treatment is both a blessing and a curse. Sure, I look good in green, and I find miniature, magical men with beards to be cute. But for me, being Irish has really always been about something more.

At an early age, my parents taught me that with being Irish comes the responsibility of living a life that honors the story of my ancestors. They taught me that what is most exciting and obligatory about my being Irish is my blood-given right to stand in solidarity with those who have been killed and oppressed by systematic political and military powers. My parents taught me, at a very young age, that being Irish was about the Foggy Dew. St. Patrick's Day is a good reminder for me, about what it means to be Irish.

“The Foggy Dew,” An old Irish Ballad about the Easter uprising of 1916:

As down the glen one Easter morn to a city fair rode I

There Armed lines of marching men in squadrons passed me by
No pipe did hum nor battle drum did sound its loud tattoo
But the Angelus Bell o'er the Liffey's swell rang out through the foggy dew

Right proudly high over Dublin Town they hung out the flag of war
'Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or Sud-El-Bar
And from the plains of Royal Meath strong men came hurrying through
While Britannia's Huns, with their long range guns sailed in through the foggy dew

'Twas England bade our wild geese go, that "small nations might be free";
Their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves or the fringe of the great North Sea.
Oh, had they died by Pearse's side or fought with Cathal Brugha*
Their graves we'd keep where the Fenians sleep, 'neath the shroud of the foggy dew.

Oh the night fell black, and the rifles' crack made perfidious Albion reel
In the leaden rain, seven tongues of flame did shine o'er the lines of steel
By each shining blade a prayer was said, that to Ireland her sons be true
But when morning broke, still the war flag shook out its folds in the foggy dew

Oh the bravest fell, and the Requiem bell rang mournfully and clear
For those who died that Eastertide in the spring time of the year
And the world did gaze, in deep amaze, at those fearless men, but few,
Who bore the fight that freedom's light might shine through the foggy dew

As back through the glen I rode again and my heart with grief was sore
For I parted then with valiant men whom I never shall see more
But to and fro in my dreams I go and I kneel and pray for you,
For slavery fled, O glorious dead, when you fell in the foggy dew.

5th Anniversary of Rachel Corrie's Death

Over the past 40 years, Caterpillar bulldozers (due to a lucrative contract with Israel) have been used to demolish 18,000 Palestinian homes in Gaza and the West Bank. 5,000 of these homes have been demolished since 2000. Caterpillar continues to sell armor plated D9 bulldozers directly to the Israeli Defense Force, despite awareness that they are used to commit war crimes, and human rights abuses, - - killing and maiming innocent civilians in their homes. For twenty years, human rights groups have condemned Caterpillar. The wall between Palestine and Israel which prevents Palestinians from access to water, other resources, and jobs is also being built by Caterpillar machinery. On March 16, 2003, American activist Rachel Corrie was murdered by a D9 bulldozer while she stood as a human shield protecting children. Caterpillar has accused her middle class parents in Washington State, of being "terrorists." Recently the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian (USA) Church have both called for divestment from Caterpillar. Yesterday, Caterpillar announced an expected expansion of profits up to 30% in the next two years. Business is good for Caterpillar, Inc.

~
After a lovely visit with my friend Brian in Portland, I drove north, back to Seattle, and I saw the sign for Olympia. Impulsively, I decided to trust that perhaps it was time to make my pilgrimage of healing. I did not know what would come of it, but I trusted, and decided to follow the sign. It had been six years since I set foot in Palestine, and that day in April 2006 in Olympia, Washington, - - I sensed that I was crossing another check-point.

Pulling off the road into quaint Olympia, I drove downtown, parked, and went into a coffee shop. On the walls were photos of Palestinians screaming and crying. I thought, “maybe this is where Rachel Corrie worked as a barista.” I asked the manager. He said, that she worked down the street at a different coffee shop. I purchased the first of many lattes for the day, and made my way on foot. This was one of those days where with every step, the powers of God are not hidden. It was a rare day when I felt the complete presence of a guiding force, when I knew that I was simply along for the ride.

I went into another coffee shop, and another coffee shop, and another coffee shop. In a journalistic manner, I talked with a florist who had just made deliveries to the Corries on the anniversary of Rachel’s death. She cried, and told me that the community still suffers tremendous pain in light of Rachel’s murder. The man at the used book store told me about her (lack of) study habits. The overcast sky ceased from resembling the typical spring cover of the northwest, and began to serve as a veil of mourning. The lump in my throat repeated- “it could have been you” - as I know that I too have made creative use of my little blue passport to speak for visceral compassion, to stand in solidarity. She and I were the same age; we both worked in the West Bank with Palestinian children; we both watched home demolitions, and saw the outrageous insanity of children running away from bulldozers. But so what? Did I “over identify” with Rachel’s martyrdom? Why would I pray and write about Rachel Corrie when thousands and thousands of Palestinian civilians have been wiped out by Israel’s genocide? Did I see myself in them, as much as I saw myself in Rachel? If we are all God’s children, why was I hung up on the white girl from the US?

Continuing on the pilgrimage, it was suggested that I visit Evergreen College, her alma mater. I spoke with her favorite professor. I bought a sweatshirt in the book store. I stumbled upon a little memorial in the corner of a conference room on the 6^th floor of a small building. The room was full of Japanese students, studying English. I made my way past them and to the couch adjacent to a table full of Rachel’s things. I sat near this silent spring. I knew that my hours and hours in Olympia were only to reach the silence of this place, and to sit in my loneliness. Picking up her journal, I read some of her last entries. In memorial, others had written letters to her in the back of the diary, so I proceeded to as well.

I thanked her for attaching meaning to her death. The ultimate success, I think, is to conquer the living of life so well that even in one’s death there retains meaning, hope, and political agitation.

Driving back up the highway to Seattle, I felt a freedom on behalf of Rachel, - - as one of her surrogates in the world of those living toward a future of justice.

~

I sent this email a year ago; today the story remains the same except now Rachel would be 29. No justice, no peace.

March 16, 2007

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Classmates:

This morning, as I drove by the Caterpillar Financial headquarters on West End Avenue, I couldn't help but think of the Caterpillar bulldozer used by the Israeli government exactly four years ago today to kill Rachel Corrie. Rachel, a native of Olympia, Washington attended Evergreen College and worked at a coffee shop. She died while attempting to protect three children of a doctor during a routine Israeli home demolition in Palestine, on March 16, 2003.

With his group Rebuilding Alliance, my friend from Palestine, Rabbi Jeremy Milgrom has rebuilt the home Rachel sacrificed her life in order to protect. On the anniversary of Rachel's death, I encourage you to support the work of Rabbi Jeremy and Rebuilding Alliance:

http://www.rebuildingalliance.org/

Rachel Corrie would be 28 years old next month.

With hope, Kate Burke, MTS '08

the unnecessary death of carine desir

Last week, a 44 year old woman died on an American Airlines jumbo jet from Haiti to New York. Apparently, Carine Desir was having difficult time breathing. She asked for oxygen but was denied. Two oxygen tanks were later attempted to be administered, but were found to be empty. Doctors on board became involved and a defibrillator was administered, just before Carine Desir died. American Airlines is now engaging in plenty of CYOA.

I have flown on a hand-full of American Airlines flights between Haiti and the United States. The bathrooms on those planes were falling apart; there was little or no security; and often people were standing up during take-off. The case of Carine Desir is the result of either intentional negligence, or a severe lack of diligence due to distractions and diverted attention. Members of the diplomatic community in Haiti have been writing to American Airlines for several years, expressing their concerns about their use of junky planes, and lack of professionalism toward Haitians, and Haitian-Americans.

A brief survey on the relationship between Haiti and the US yields plenty of support for the claim that the use of sub-par machines with empty oxygen tanks for the Haiti flights is in fact an example of the to the lack value placed on Haitian lives by the American corporate and government powers. There is a long history of disregard and abuse of Haiti and the Haitians at the hands of US policies, and firm behaviors. The recent US overthrow of President Aristide occurred after he doubled the minimum wage to $2.00 a day, harming corporate interests in Haiti. This was just after Bush blocked a major IDB loan to Haiti which was to provide for things like clean drinking water to children. But the anthropology of the relationship between the US and Haiti goes way back to the fifteenth century. The relationship has never been a conversation with two equal partners.

With respect to the case of Carine Desir, a more compelling inquiry surrounds asking what might have been distracting for the flight crew on the flight that would cause a thorough check of the oxygen to fall to the wayside. How is it possible that before a flight, the crew might have been busy attending to things other than the check list of cleaning bathrooms and checking oxygen tanks?

This answer is less historical, and more about a mutual lack of cultural understanding between American Airlines and Haitians.

Aside from the very few in the upper class, very few Haitians fly and if they do they do not frequently fly more more than once or twice in a life time. Sitting in the airport in Port-au-Prince, there is a "night-before-Christmas" excitement in the air. Haitians are dressed to the nines, proudly carrying their passports and visas around. The security process for getting on the plane is nothing like what the TSA has administered here. There is always a lot of confusion in the boarding process. Perhaps a bag will be left unattended or left behind and an announcement goes on, but then they just let the bag on anyway, because they know it probably belongs to some Grandmoun who is finally going to Miami to visit her family after waiting years and years for a visa and has no idea what is going.

I once sat with two Grandmothers on a flight back to Port-au-Prince. Because they can not write or read, I filled out their visa forms for them. When the hawkish attendant came by to fill out their visas, certain that they are illiterate, the women proudly asserted that they were able to do it on their own. The attendant grabbed the visas from their hands and marched off.

There is a lot of suspicion about how the plane works, and one of the Grandmothers sitting beside me was obviously quite afraid. The attendants made one of their usual announcements in French (not the language of Haitians, only the elite know French), - - “ok, everybody, this is going to get very loud, and then we will be going up in the sky. It is important that you stay seated during this. Please stay sitting down.” So, during this flight, the attendant predicted correctly: the plane was loud, we were up in the sky, and then bam: one of the nearby small, luggage compartment doors popped open. The Grandmother began pointing to it and screaming as if she had seen the face of Lucifer himself. Wailing and rocking, over and over, “Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh!”

Also, children in Haiti often draw airplanes and helicopters in their artwork. There is a fascination by the notion of flight.

I am not making broad claims about Voudon, technology or science in relation to the average Haitian. Rather, I believe that a particular level of care is necessary in this sphere and the burden lies on the service provider, American Airlines. Because I believe that the attendants would like oxygen for themselves if necessary, I suspect that the problem in the case of Carine Desir is one of expended resources. If the attendants are busy filling in gaps with a metal box full of folks, half of whom have never flown before, and come from a world that is more African than Floridian, I can see how some of the material essentials could become neglected. Perhaps that is why these planes have fallen into the shape they are in, as well.

American Airlines should make immediate changes to the physical quality of the planes, as well as numbers of attendants on board. Furthermore, the cultural sensitivity of the crew on these Haiti-US routes must be addressed.

ask cashier for details

Two months after I moved to Tennessee, Angela came to Nashville and the two of us went on a road trip heading south. About forty miles outside of Nashville, Angela and I stopped to get some gas. As we approached the Flying J, Angela pointed out a sign prominently placed above the door: "The terrorist threat for today is yellow. Ask cashier for details." Like a good American, I do what I am told, because I love freedom.

After all, I moved from Washington, DC our nation’s capital, and I will never forget watching the Pentagon burn for two weeks after 9/11. If they are monitoring the terrorist threat many years later in Tennessee – something must be up.

While paying with American currency for the package of Swedish fish and the bottle of French spring water, I said, "So, I am interested in getting the details. The sign outside said that I should ask you for details about the terrorist threat. Is everything ok?"

The cashier seemed caught off guard and replied, "I don't know."

I asked, “Is that sign posted for the benefit of truck drivers en route? Like, is it a heads-up?"

The truck driver in a few people in line behind me piped up. "That sign is for us all," (que National Anthem), “that sign is for anyone who walks into the Flying J."

“Ok, well I guess that’s why I am asking for the details. It says to ask for details,” I said.

"It helps us stay aware," the truck driver said, nodding with an aura of pride "it helps you stay aware."

Angela joined the line to purchase her Elvis mug, and post cards. Upon hearing the scuffle, she approached me with a nervous giggle and asked that I join her in the back of the line, curious as to what in the world I was getting myself into, I told her, "I was just asking for the details!"

Approaching the front of the line again a few minutes later, I turned to the cashier and asked, "So, how often does the sign get changed?"

Like an honest patriot she leaned over the counter as if to share a secret, "To tell you the truth, I have been here three months, and that sign- it ain't changed once."

I pressed on, "Do you think if Iran or North Korea are about to nuke us, the details - - whatever they are - - will change and the color level will also be changed to maybe orange? Or red?”

Irritated, and before wishing me farewell, the cashier pivoted toward me in a very soldier like manner and said, “Look, all I know, is--- yellow, is good. It's always been yellow here.”

no less than

I spend a great deal of my free time critiquing Christianity. (Don't worry - this post is not about the hundreds of things that I think about the thousands of things I have come across pertaining to the vast subject of "Christianity." I might save those conversations for the poor soul sitting beside me on my upcoming 17 hour plane flight to Dubai.) But really, it is no secret that I find enjoyment in studying, deconstructing, and teaching aspects of the theology, history, and practice of Christianity. It is also no secret that I am not much of a Christian apologist. But there is one thing I stand by to no avail: Jesus lived with an apocalyptic sense of urgency and he lead a political movement in which he inspired people personally, so much, that 2,000 years later Jesus, (and of course that which has been attributed to him by architects of the church), is remembered daily by billions of people while other messianic movements and magical people from that very place and that time are not.

There is a reason why some people stick.

When people are oppressed, and disengaged from the causes of the circumstances of their lives as the people of Israel were at the time of Jesus, there's only room for certain things to stick. Not every Joe Schmoe is going to inspire a revolution, or a movement, or a belief that the kingdom of God will reward those suffering at the hand of Rome. And today, it seems difficult for a movement of empowerment to resonate with those who are economically oppressed, or with those who feel that their voices, VOTES, and lives have been ignored and harmed at the hands of politicians who love war, are eons away from the economic conditions of most Americans.

Barack Obama has stuck.

This is not by chance, and no matter what happens from here on out in this election, the wave of change associated with the hope and faith represented by and placed in Barack Obama, are not soon to go away.

Here is a video that really stuck with America, and the international community. When the video came out in March, it became a "who done it" story because so, so, so many people understood and agreed with the message. And even if those very people are not voting this cycle, their sentiment was voiced in this video, - no less than the sentiment Jesus voiced for a group of people in the Galilee, and no less than the voice Barack Obama has taken on for so many of us. Thanks, Phil.

a vision for the future, not a sense of personal entitlement to it

Barack Obama won the South Carolina Primary by an astounding 28 points last night, and he gave a phenomenal speech. I have posted the second half of the speech at the bottom of this post. 28 points. As predicted, the Clintons are acting like South Carolina did not even happen. Despite their campaign's heated efforts in South Carolina, they have deemed that the voices of South Carolina not to matter. Among many efforts, Clinton had staffers there for a very long time working 18 hour days, (I know how this goes), and Hillary Clinton did not have the dignity to get on stage in South Carolina in order to say "thank you" to their faces, and to the faces of her campaign's volunteers. This hurt my heart, even as a big Obama supporter. It was just another cruel reminder of the Clintons' arrogance, attitude of entitlement, and lack of class.

Last night's vote was not just a counter-response to the weeks of negativity from the Clinton campaign; rather, last night was about giving life to a vision. Caroline Kennedy wrote about this vision in the New York Times, and I hope you will take time to read it.

In this election the Republicans have been put on notice that Clinton is beatable, and the American public does not look lightly upon unethical attacks on Obama. Furthermore, Democrats have noted that the party requires a candidate that will not alienate voters like me, and the African-Americans the party turns to and remembers once every four years. Despite how the Clintons will spin it, South Carolina is not a special case. If Obama is the national candidate for the Dems, turn out WILL be high. Let's vote for someone who is truthful about being against the war. Let's vote for someone who is still in conversation with the poor and working classes. Let's vote for someone with a vision for the future, not just a sense of entitlement to it. Let's take some risks, let's challenge ourselves to be better than what it is that we are told to believe about ourselves. Let's make this happen.

- - -

A President Like My Father

By CAROLINE KENNEDY

Published: January 27, 2008
New York Times OPEd

OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.

Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.

Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.

I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.

Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.

I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

---
And from Barack Obama's victory speech in South Carolina last night:

We are up against the idea that it’s acceptable to say anything and do anything to win an election. We know that this is exactly what’s wrong with our politics; this is why people don’t believe what their leaders say anymore; this is why they tune out. And this election is our chance to give the American people a reason to believe again.

And what we’ve seen in these last weeks is that we’re also up against forces that are not the fault of any one campaign, but feed the habits that prevent us from being who we want to be as a nation. It’s the politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon. A politics that tells us that we have to think, act, and even vote within the confines of the categories that supposedly define us. The assumption that young people are apathetic. The assumption that Republicans won’t cross over. The assumption that the wealthy care nothing for the poor, and that the poor don’t vote. The assumption that African-Americans can’t support the white candidate; whites can’t support the African-American candidate; blacks and Latinos can’t come together.

But we are here tonight to say that this is not the America we believe in. I did not travel around this state over the last year and see a white South Carolina or a black South Carolina. I saw South Carolina. I saw crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children. I saw shuttered mills and homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from all walks of life, and men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. I saw what America is, and I believe in what this country can be.

That is the country I see. That is the country you see. But now it is up to us to help the entire nation embrace this vision. Because in the end, we are not just up against the ingrained and destructive habits of Washington, we are also struggling against our own doubts, our own fears, and our own cynicism. The change we seek has always required great struggle and sacrifice. And so this is a battle in our own hearts and minds about what kind of country we want and how hard we’re willing to work for it.

So let me remind you tonight that change will not be easy. That change will take time. There will be setbacks, and false starts, and sometimes we will make mistakes. But as hard as it may seem, we cannot lose hope. Because there are people all across this country who are counting us; who can’t afford another four years without health care or good schools or decent wages because our leaders couldn’t come together and get it done.

Theirs are the stories and voices we carry on from South Carolina.

The mother who can’t get Medicaid to cover all the needs of her sick child - she needs us to pass a health care plan that cuts costs and makes health care available and affordable for every single American.

The teacher who works another shift at Dunkin Donuts after school just to make ends meet - she needs us to reform our education system so that she gets better pay, and more support, and her students get the resources they need to achieve their dreams.

The Maytag worker who is now competing with his own teenager for a $7-an-hour job at Wal-Mart because the factory he gave his life to shut its doors - he needs us to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship our jobs overseas and start putting them in the pockets of working Americans who deserve it. And struggling homeowners. And seniors who should retire with dignity and respect.

The woman who told me that she hasn’t been able to breathe since the day her nephew left for Iraq, or the soldier who doesn’t know his child because he’s on his third or fourth tour of duty - they need us to come together and put an end to a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged.

The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It’s not about rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is not about black versus white.

It’s about the past versus the future.

It’s about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and drama that passes for politics today, or whether we reach for a politics of common sense, and innovation - a shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.

There are those who will continue to tell us we cannot do this. That we cannot have what we long for. That we are peddling false hopes.

But here’s what I know. I know that when people say we can’t overcome all the big money and influence in Washington, I think of the elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day - an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside. So don’t tell us change isn’t possible.

When I hear the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latinos can’t join together and work together, I’m reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized with, and stood with, and fought with side by side for jobs and justice on the streets of Chicago. So don’t tell us change can’t happen.

When I hear that we’ll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who’s now devoted to educating inner-city children and who went out onto the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Don’t tell me we can’t change.

Yes we can change.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can seize our future.

And as we leave this state with a new wind at our backs, and take this journey across the country we love with the message we’ve carried from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire; from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast; the same message we had when we were up and when we were down - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope; and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people in three simple words:

Yes. We. Can.

live the call of your own dexter avenue

Coretta Scott King and her husband, a leader and martyr of the Civil Rights movement, - were heroes among heroes. She was a mother and an activist. She was a dignified widow who continued her husband Martin’s work. She had faith that could move mountains. Through my political work, and Washingtonian social relationships I have had the pleasure of meeting numerous historical figures, celebrities, and writers - but meeting Mrs. King was one encounter that I will always remember.

My sophomore and junior years in college, I was very involved with a student lecture series on campus at American University called The Kennedy Political Union (KPU). As Director of Logistics, it was my responsibility to “make sure the trains run on time.” Before each event, I would often spend a week coordinating all of the on and off campus entities pertinent in making a lecture happen. During my time with KPU, we hosted a wide range of historical and political icons including His Holiness the Dali Lama and Charleton Heston.

It was October of 1998 when Mrs. King was our guest speaker. In preparation, her handler - a very protective assistant - was quite particular about how things would need to be on the day of her speech. The arrangement we agreed upon with her assistant was as follows: On the day of the speech, she (and her assistant) would have cocktails at President Ladner's house before heading over to campus. Upon her arrival, we would greet hold a small meet and greet for KPU members with Mrs. King. Then, the officers would escort the President, his wife, Mrs. King, (and her handler of course), by elevator, down to the stage. Mrs. King would speak for however long and then return for a private reception with the members of the Kennedy Political Union. It was essential in the handler’s orders that Mrs. King not encounter any one other than KPU staff before and after the speech. This may have been a security measure.

For an hour or so before this, I arranged that the elevator essentially go into “lock” mode so no random American University folks could possibly get on board and interrupt our journey with Mrs. King down to the floor of the gymnasium where she would walk to the stage for speaking. As back up, I placed a student with a walkie-talkie on every single floor with the explicit instructions "do not let anyone on to the elevator.” When it was time, I sent the message to them all via walkie-talkie that Mrs. King, the Ladners, and the Officers have gotten into the elevator. Things were going smoothly. We rode in silence. Then the elevator stopped on floor seven. "Why is the elevator stopped, what is happening?” It is holds for a few seconds. The doors open and a sweaty, stinky, gross guy on rollerblades wearing a bizarre hat gets right on!!

I was tempted to say “hey- stop - you can’t get on,” but I didn’t want to appear ungracious in front of a woman who had allowed the most gracious act possible – the sacrifice of her husband, and the father of her children. Derrida says the only true gift is the gift of one’s life. I stood in an elevator with a woman who had given a sacred gift for our country, and prevailed not in silence but with a voice. Appearing to be absolutely unaware of the serious-looking and dignified Mrs. King in a bright red suit, along with the President of the University and his wife dressed to the nines--- this guy rollerblades right into the elevator and journeys with us all the way to the gym floor.

It was difficult for me to hold back the laughter. With in a few seconds that seemed to pass like hours- the doors opened and Mrs. King exited – arm in arm with her handler, who gave the stare of death to the poor kid on the gym floor with the walkie-talkie.

After a most inspiring speech to nearly two thousand people, I visited with Mrs. King at the private reception upstairs. With a big lump in my throat, I approached her, and I felt such humility. She was sitting down, resting in a chair. I walked over and thanked her for her work, and for the inspiring speech. With her left hand she squeezed my left hand. I looked down at her wedding ring, and thought about her husband. She continued to hold my hand for longer than I expected and she said, "Soon, you will be doing this too. You will be doing the work my husband and I dedicated our lives to.”

That moment and those words are so accessible and fresh in my memory. Yet, it was almost a decade ago. Reflecting, I think about how I have most certainly failed in the covenant I made on that day. But I also think of the old adage that says - if you are not backsliding then your standards are just not high enough.

I took this photo in 2006 on a mini-pilgrimage to Montgomery, Alabama. The Kings lived in this house from 1954 to 1960 while Rev. King was ministering at Dexter Avenue. He initially took the position at Dexter Avenue thinking it would be a quiet place to work and finish up his PhD dissertation, but the black domestic workers and cooks were organizing. They were waiting for him. And he arrived.

the punishment of ayiti

Begin watching at minute 9:50 for Randall Robinson's discussion with Charlie Rose, on the continual occupation of Haiti and the United States' sympathy for the rich, and punishment of the poor.

anastasis

(skip to minute 4:00)