SUNDAY MORNING HYMN: Mumford & Sons - Ghosts That We Knew (Live On Letterman)

SUNDAY MORNING SERMON: Walter Brueggemann The Power of Lament (Psalms)

SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER-THE PLEA

Ok. I got to face it. I need your help. I’m getting mired down in all the hate, all the craziness, all the negativity. My soul feels like it’s shrinking. I once thought we could overcome racism, sexism, war, guns, violence, hatred. I thought we could feed the poor, house everyone, get health-care to the sick, treat our elderly with respect and see that they get would they need. But I’m not so sure about any of this anymore. God, I need you to open my heart to new possibilities today. I need renewed hope and strength to keep moving forward toward what I believe you want us to be. Now I know I can’t do it alone. Take my hand and lead me.

Amen

SUNDAY MORNING HYMN: Mumford and Sons - Awake my Soul

OUR PRISON SYSTEM

A CAGE WENT IN SEARCH OF A BIRD.

Franz Kafka

THE TIME IS NOW AND THE PLACE IS HERE. END THE PATRIOT ACT

THE PATRIOT ACT NEEDS TO END. SCARE MONGERING IS OLD NEWS. THE INVASION OF IRAQ UNDER FALSE PRETENSES AND THE PATRIOT ACT HAVE CAUSED MUCH OF THE WORLD TO DISLIKE US. TOGETHER THEY HAVE CREATED TERRORISTS WHERE THERE WERE NONE.

'The Challenge of Journalism… Is to Survive in the Pressure Cooker of Plutocracy'

'The Challenge of Journalism… Is to Survive in the Pressure Cooker of Plutocracy'



WORTH YOUR TIME TO READ.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”
Oscar Wilde

PEEVER LAW #37

EVENTUALLY, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO DEATH AND DYING.

Remember This on Memorial Day: They Didn't Fall, They Were Pushed

Remember This on Memorial Day: They Didn't Fall, They Were Pushed

SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER

OH FATHER, WE BESEECH THEE, HEAR OUR PRAYERS. SEND HELP.
AMEN

SUNDAY MORNING HYMN: Grace Potter and Joe Satriani cover Cortez the Killer

SUNDAY MORNING MIRACLE: 'Historic Tactical Win Against Surveillance' as USA Freedom Act Fails in Senate

'Historic Tactical Win Against Surveillance' as USA Freedom Act Fails in Senate



PRAISE THE LORD AND WAIT FOR THE HEAT TO BE PUT ON THE DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN SENATORS VOTING AGAINST THE PATRIOT ACT. MAY 31ST WILL LIKELY SEE A REVERSAL OF THIS VOTE. MONEY WILL COME INTO PLAY. LOTS OF IT FOR THOSE WITH A CHANGE OF HEART.  

PEEVER LAW #58

SINGING THE RIGHT SONG AND WAVING THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE DOES NOT A GOOD CITIZEN MAKE.

No Debate Equals No Democracy: The Folly of Fast Track

No Debate Equals No Democracy: The Folly of Fast Track



I GUESS MAYBE WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PROTEST SUCH THINGS. SO MUCH FOR DEMOCRACY.

The TPP Is a Grave Threat to Climate Action

The TPP Is a Grave Threat to Climate Action



READ CAREFULLY.

PEEVER LAW #66

THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH MEDICINE WHEELS IN THE WORLD.

I'M RUNNING OUT OF FAITH. BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TELL.

• I move to Arkansas just in time for it to turn right-wing, tea-bag Republican. We got a state legislature out of the Dark Ages. And we elected a U.S. Senator who is about a half a dollar short.  I'm guessing it's some kind of trick the Devil is playing on me. None-the-less, it's very disheartening. The first time since reconstruction that the state legislature is Republican. Looks like  the state has succumbed to gross stupidity for the second time. And I have to be here to witness it.
• I thought Obama would do a much better job than he has. I really thought we were poised to move forward. I can imagine the various pressures a President must be under, but I never thought he would turn Republican over them. What we get is a health-care plan that no one can understand; a movement from occupational war to remote war; 24 hour a day spying on all of us; rigorous prosecution of anyone who dares to tell the truth about what is going on behind the scenes of our government; doing nothing to change the tide from the rich getting richer and the poor just plain getting it; and secret trade deals that may in fact ruin us. To say I've lost my faith is to dramatically understate it. I'm holding on to the knowledge that he is better than Romney would have been, but that's starting to wear real thin.
• Where are all these right-wing Christians coming from? I didn't think so many people could be so stupid most of the time. Politics plus religion seems to be adding up to morons capable of doing anything, including electing people who are going to put them in the poor house. Christ wouldn't put up with these jokers for a second. I'm losing my faith over them, but be careful who you tell. They'll think I'm a Muslim.
•  Manning was sentenced to years in prison for telling the truth. Out of a duty to his country, he exposed what the government was doing in Afghanistan. No make-believe. No doctored pictures. He was found guilty of espionage. Snowden did the same with information regarding the government spying on citizens and listening to private conversations. Noting made up. All simply the truth. He is now living in Russia to avoid arrest. That leaves the rest of us wondering what we can say about our government when it is found to be doing something against our better interests? This results in a gigantic step away from democracy. It leaves me running out of faith, but I'm going to be careful who I tell.

Jim Hightower | Obama's ugly show of Presidential petulance

Jim Hightower | Obama's ugly show of Presidential petulance



WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT OBAMA COULD BE SO WRONG?

WAYS TO EXPLAIN THE DOWNWARD TREND OF HUMANITY

1. It could be the fluoride in the water.
2. I personally think things started going to hell when Jack Benny died.
3. Wal-Mart.
4. Blame the monkeys. If that don't work, blame the politicians. But I repeat myself.
5. Too many people, not enough disease.
6. Perfumed toilet paper. Makes even assholes smell good.
7. The decline of intelligent sperm.
8. The increasing gap between the rich and the poor. And the rich and the richer.
9. We got too many right-wing Republicans with too many crazy ideas.
10. If it's not the monkeys, the fluoride, Wal-Mart,  the right-wing Republicans,, or perfumed toilet paper, then it must be, oh forget it, I'm pretty sure it's the right-wing Republicans.

THE SUPREMES

 Corn can't expect justice from a court composed of chickens.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes, if they know that that knowledge will help set you free.”  

Assata Shakur

Citing Soaring Student Debt, Sanders to Pitch Tuition-Free Higher Education

Citing Soaring Student Debt, Sanders to Pitch Tuition-Free Higher Education



MAKE THE RICH AND THEIR CORPORATIONS PAY TAXES, AND THIS WOULD BE NO PROBLEM.

SUNDAY MORNING SERMON

     It was a tense, turbulent time in the 1^st century. The Jewish people were once again under the rule of a foreign government. The Roman Empire was the most powerful the world had seen. They ruled with an iron hand. No one questioned the authority of the Emperor, least of all a poor, Jewish, preacher from Nazareth.

     Jesus was roaming the countryside, proclaiming a new day. This was an apocalyptic message that things were going to be different under God’s new way. The Old Law was going to make way for the New Law, one proclaiming love, compassion, equality, and freedom. Freedom from slavery, sexism, lack of health care, illness, and loneliness. And it was he, Jesus, who was going to lead us to this promised land.

     For obvious reasons, the Roman government was not happy with this. From the very beginning, those in power saw Jesus as a threat to their continued rule. From his birth to his death, we was a threat to the Roman government, who viewed him as a revolutionary, and would eventually hang him on a cross, with the inscription “thief”, meaning “subversive,” nailed above his head, hanging him between two Zealots, also seen as revolutionaries and a threat to the Roman government.

The Roman government thought they were tough, and that they had solved the matter. Then, the impossible happened. From death, Jesus defeated the all-powerful Roman Empire. He triumphed over repression, hatred, racism, sexism, military might, the powerful money people, and even death. Despised and thought of as a traitor by the Jewish people as well as the Roman government, he ushered in a new day. Hope and victory over each of our impending deaths would prevail in the new age.

     Now, here we are once again listening to the apocalyptic messages of climate experts, political experts, and even honey bees, warning us of impending doom.  If we claim to be Children of God, we have to take these messages seriously. We would be called to give our all towards a day of freedom, celebration, and triumph over despair, evilness, and darkness. We need to understand that in calling ourselves Christians, we are doing so in the name of Christ, who never once flinched in proclaiming a new day, one where we are all equal in God’s name, and given an equal chance to become the best persons we can each become.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“There is a common misunderstanding among the human beings who have ever been born on earth that the best way to live is to try to avoid pain and just try to get comfortable. You see this even in insects and animals and birds. All of us are the some. A much more interesting, kind and joyful approach to life is to begin to develop our curiosity, not caring whether the object of our curiosity is bitter or sweet. To lead to a life that goes beyond pettiness and prejudice and always wanting to make sure that everything turns out on our own terms, to lead a more passionate, full, and delightful life than that, we must realize that we can endure a lot of pain and pleasure for the sake of finding out who we are and what this world is, how we tick and how our world ticks, how the whole thing just is. If we are committed to comfort at any cost, as soon as we come up against the least edge of pain, we’re going to run; we’ll never know what’s beyond that particular barrier or wall or fearful thing.”
Pema Chödrön

PEEVER LAW #101

YOU CANNOT BE COMFORTABLE AND LEAD YOUR LIFE THE WAY YOU NEED TO.

I DON'T WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN IF I CAN'T GET IN

FIGURE IT OUT. WHAT'S THE CHANCES?  I GOT MY SPEECH READY, JUST IN CASE. ST. PETER CANT BE ALL THAT WITH IT. HE'S REALLY OLD. I'M GOING TO OPEN UP WITH THE STANDARD: I DID MY BEST. NOT REALLY A GOOD ARGUMENT, BUT I NEED TO KEEP HIM AWAY FROM SPECIFICS. I DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER FOR, DID I HELP THE POOR ENOUGH, OR DID I GIVE ENOUGH FOOD TO THE HUNGRY, OR DID I SHELTER THE HOMELESS. I GOT TO STICK WITH MORE GENERALITIES, LIKE I REALLY FEEL BAD ABOUT ALL THAT, BUT I JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME. I'M FIGURING HE'LL FALL FOR IT, CAUSE IT CAN'T BE ALL THAT CROWED UP THERE. ADMISSIONS ARE PROBABLY LOW, AND I AM A PRETTY GOOD TALKER.

Victory for Grassroots as Fast Track Goes Down in Crucial Senate Vote

Victory for Grassroots as Fast Track Goes Down in Crucial Senate Vote



ANYTHING DONE SECRETLY IN A DEMOCRACY DESERVES TO GO DOWN IN DEFEAT. OBAMA CONTINUES TO DISAPPOINT. WHEN EXACTLY WAS IT THAT HE TURNED INTO A MODERATE REPUBLICAN? I BLAME IT ON RIGHT-WING ZOMBIES.

THINGS YOU SHOULD AVOID IF AT ALL POSSIBLE

• High on my list is hospitals.
• Don't get in any discussions about politics, religion, or same-sex marriages. (This is do as I say, not as I do).
• Don't, under any circumstances, over-use a credit card. They will get the hook in you and not let you go. It doesn't hurt to want, but it does hurt to have to pay for it.
• Stay away from churches that claim their way is the only way. One would wonder how they can be so certain?
• Don't use any of the title credit companies. Their intention is not to help you. It is to take your car.
• Never, ever, allow anyone wearing a white, long-sleeve shirt in 90-degree weather to enter your home.
• Finally, avoid mirrors if you have any reason to think you might be a vampire, or a right-wing Republican. But I repeat myself.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We are
Born like this
Into this
Into these carefully mad wars
Into the sight of broken factory windows of emptiness
Into bars where people no longer speak to each other
Into fist fights that end as shootings and knifings
Born into this
Into hospitals which are so expensive that it’s cheaper to die
Into lawyers who charge so much it’s cheaper to plead guilty
Into a country where the jails are full and the madhouses closed
Into a place where the masses elevate fools into rich heroes”
Charles Bukowski

Why the Rich Don't Care About Jobs for the Rest of Us

Why the Rich Don't Care About Jobs for the Rest of Us



THE RICH DON'T CARE ABUT ANYTHING BUT MONEY. LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY.

Patriotism at a Price: US Military Paid NFL Teams to 'Honor' Soldiers at Games

Patriotism at a Price: US Military Paid NFL Teams to 'Honor' Soldiers at Games



PATRIOTISM, BOUGHT AND PAID FOR. WITH MY TAX DOLLARS.

WAITING FOR BREAD...AND FOR GOD'S FUTURE

WE ARE STRANGE MIXTURES OF LOSS AND HOPE.

AS WE ARE ABLE, WE SUBMIT OUR LOSSES TO YOU.
   WE KNOW ABOUT SICKNESS AND DYING,
                        ABOUT DEATH AND MORTALITY,
                        ABOUT FAILURE AND DISAPPOINTMENT.
    AND NOW FOR A MOMENT WE DO OUR
              FAILING AND OUR DYING IN YOUR PRESENCE,
              YOU WHO ATTEND TO US IN LOSS.

AS WE ARE ABLE, WE SUBMIT OUR HOPES TO YOU.
WE KNOW ABOUT SELF-FOCUSED FANTASY
                        AND NOTIONS OF CONTROL.
                   BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT OUR FUTURES
                        ARE OUT BEYOND US,
                               HELD IN YOUR GOOD HAND.

OUR HOPES ARE FILLED WITH PROMISES OF
         WELL-BEING, JUSTICE, AND MERCY.
MOVE US THIS DAY BEYOND OUR FEARS AND ANXIETIES
          INTO YOUR LAND OF GOODNESS.
                    WE WAIT FOR YOUR COMING,
                     WE PRAY FOR YOUR KINGDOM.
          IN THE MEANTIME, GIVE US BREAD FOR THE DAY.

Walter Brueggemann, Prayers for a Privileged People
                   

Big & Rich - That's Why I Pray (Official Music Video)

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The way things are supposed to work is that we're supposed to know virtually everything about what they [the government] do: that's why they're called public servants. They're supposed to know virtually nothing about what we do: that's why we're called private individuals.”  

Glenn Greenwald

NSA Phone Surveillance Illegal, Federal Court Rules

NSA Phone Surveillance Illegal, Federal Court Rules



FINALLY.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“NC passed a law against global warming science, therefore it's not happening. So I'm ignoring Twitter's 140-character limit, so it's not happ”
Stephen Colbert

HOW TO TELL IF YOU ARE A RIGHT-WING, WHITE, CHRISTIAN, REPUBLICAN

1. You take everything in the Bible literally, except the part about not killing.
2. If anyone suggests there might be other relevant religions besides Christianity, you turn homicidal.
3. You get Moses and Charlton Heston confused.
4. You think Rush Limbaugh is a prophet.
5. You figure the American flag might well have been the original shroud.
6. Everyone should own a gun. You never know who you might need to shoot.
7. Anyone who don't think like you is the enemy.
8. Liberalism has this hopeful, compassionate, caring quality to it that you despise.
9. You picture God as a white male, about age 58.
10. You're looking to maintain a position of ignorance and close-mindedness.
11. Look in a mirror. If it doesn't cast a reflection, don't say I didn't warn you.

THE DAY AFTER KENT STATE-CIRCA 1970

I'll finish off my memories of Kent State on a personal note. I was attending Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Ill. The day after the killings, a group of us took over the Presidents office. There were not a lot of radical students at Edwardsville. Probably less than a 100 of us. We walked up to his office, and asked him to leave. It really was no big deal. He was cooperative. I remember us all taking turns sitting in his seat and putting our feet up on the desk. There was a photographer from the school paper taking pictures, but I never saw one. It seems trivial at the moment, but was a big deal then. While it wasn't much, it was something. For Edwardsville, it was big. That was the start of three years of continuous protesting for me. Ann and I married and moved to Chicago in 1971, where I went to seminary. Most of the protesting against the war I did was in Chicago. I don't regret any of it. In fact, I am proud that I was on the right side of the issue. History is a bitch.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young "Ohio"

Four Dead In Ohio

Four Dead In Ohio



IT'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTER. THEY BOYS HATE IT WHEN WE DISAGREE WITH THEM.

Big and Small, Near and Far... The Drones Are Coming

Big and Small, Near and Far... The Drones Are Coming



TOY'S FOR THE RICH MAN. STAND CLEAR.

DAMN HARVARD'S EXTROVERSION. LOUD IS NOT ALWAYS RIGHT

“I'm not anti-social. I'm just not social.”
Woody Allen

SOME MONDAY THOUGHTS ON TUESDAY

-I've been crawling my way towards sanity an inch at a time. It's a slow trip.
-I've seen the light. Or it could have been the light pollution coming from Little Rock.
-If you've crossed this path before, you're hopelessly lost.
-The Alchemist wasn't near as smart as I am. He tried to change lead to gold. I change the status-quo to chaos. Makes gold more valuable.
-The Arkansas Electric Coop keeps lobbying us to tell legislators that we need to continue burning coal in order to have cheap electricity. So I guess we have a choice: cheap electricity now, or doom future generations to climate disaster. I don't have any grand-kids, so.........
-We could elect more dummies to Congress, but there aren't many left.
-The great AA slogan: One Day at a Time. I'm down to One Hour at a Time.
-Heaven is up there, hell is down there. I don't buy it. They are both right in front of you. Make the choice.

CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Calls on Journalists to Tell ‘Full Story’ of US Torture

CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Calls on Journalists to Tell ‘Full Story’ of US Torture



TODAY'S JOURNALISTS DON'T KNOW THE TRUTH. MOST ARE BOUGHT BY THE STATUS-QUO.