The Progressive Blog Alliance HQ

By PaulEdward Snyder
2004 C.E.

A garbage pail
Black on a street of pastel
Brimming with trash
And the leavings of trees
Alone on a curb of shaven green grass

A sad lonely bucket
Reminding the dusk
That others will come
Clatter and clank
Then silent and surly
Sprouting like mushrooms
Silhouettes in the night

Just before dawn
Clashing and clanging
First far away
Grows louder
Crescendo
Descends into distance

Silhouettes no longer
They’ve whisked out of sight
Furtive
Ashamed
Exposed by the light

Leaving the trash basket
Unlidded and emptied
To again stand alone
And blemish perfection
Inspiring this poem

Meanwhile in Heaven a long way away
The One Who Creates
Opens the gates
Allowing to enter one single sinner
Reminding the rest
That He is God
And they the blest

When I am asked if I believe in God, I feel defensive. I feel as if I have been cornered and there is no escape. I feel that if I answer yes I am not being truthful and if I answer no the person to whom I am answering will assume something about me that is not true. It is a quandary with which I have struggled most of my life. I have resolved it by answering no and accepting the stigma of being an atheist which technically I probably am, though in fact I am not.

I’ll try to explain. I have a relationship with God even though I see no evidence that there is a God. This relationship is partly one I have come to recognize and partly a decision I have made. There is deep within me a realization that I am not alone. There is me and there is not me. This not me is an all encompassing not me but not in a kind of inside outside relationship. It is more an ego alter ego relationship extended to what is outside of me and way beyond. In answering the resulting question of where did this extended alter ego come from, I am forced to make a decision. Is it real or is it imagined?

I am sure most of you have been to a musical performance where the sound level is gradually increased without you even realizing it in order to prepare you for the main event. I call it the concert theory. Looks like it can be applied to other arenas as well.

The further the administration drops in the polls the more threatening the rhetoric around dissent becomes. The statements Donald Rumsfeld has been making are a few decibels higher these days.

For instance: Rumsfeld had this to say on America's moral superiority and blameless innocence in world affairs.

Rumsfeld:

"Can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America — not the enemy — is the real source of the world's troubles?"

The message here is clear. The act of self-examination, of either self or your country is destructive to America.

I know I am but what are you.

It’s a playground classic. Accuse your adversary of the very thing you are guilty of.

Fascism is fascism is fascism no matter where it comes from or how it is wrapped. The unbounded greed of corporate America, invading the world one economy at a time. The Christian fundamentalist breaking down the separation of church and state. The Islamic jihadist blowing themselves and others up for Allah. They all want the same thing.

Power.

The power to control the lives and resources of others for their own benefit.

In America we have called it:

Indian Reservations. Slavery. Immanent Domain. Spreading democracy. National Security. The War on Terror. Foreign policy.

Middle of the East---Raging gangs of protesters tore through streets, burning buildings, torching vehicles, wreaking havoc across the Middle East today, protesting what they see as the growing global threat of Cartoonism. The lastest victims of this vile philosophy are innocent fundamentalist Muslims. A spokesman for these Muslims spoke to reporters Wednesday---"We were just standing around one day minding our own business as we often do, when all of a sudden we were assaulted by a radical group calling themselves "The Looney of the Tunes".---"They hit us over the head with big wooden bats, they blew us up with bombs, they dropped 10 ton Acme weights on our heads"--- "Many of us saw cute little birdies flying around and around and around"---"The leader of the group calling himself something like "Bugs of the Bunny" kept screaming continuously throughout the attack---What is up with the doc? What is up with the doc?"---"We don't know what he meant by these words all we know is that we are greatly offended by it!"

Flaming Mouse!

So, some 81 year old American idiot threw a mouse into some burning leaves right... and the mouse ran into his house which caught fire! The place and contents were totally destroyed. How cool is that? It's hilarious as well mind: poetic justice. I'm serious: check it.

The sad truth of the matter though is that far from learning a lesson about cruelty, if the daft old bastard is at all like what our society would seem to suggest the vast bulk of westerners believe in, he'll make it his life's mission to eradicate mice from the face of the earth.

It'll be "The war on Rodentism," New Mexico stylee, "Tough on mice, tough on the causes of mice." By extension of course, that means vegetarians also, the pinko cheese eating liberal scum! In fairness, i'm one and i'm eating a cheese and onion pie right now. So there we have it: a clear link between vegetarians and Al Chaeseda: a militant underground network of state sponsored rodentism!

Oy Vey! by Jesus

Christian Fanatics in the United States are becoming very busy with all the battles they're fighting these days---They have the War on Christmas to fight, there are Holiday trees to chop down, they're also busy defending one of their own, President George Bush, who was caught spying on U.S. citizens, and then there's the War on Terror and the War in Iraq, all of these confrontations, that they started themselves, are now becoming tiresome. They're battling the courts to allow their version of how the world came into existence, they've started Culture Wars, Christmas Wars, Foreign Wars all in the name of the Prince of Peace; all of which they seem to be losing. Oh yeah, let's not forget the firestorm of protest over the removal of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Courthouse and Gay Marriage, two more battles they have no business fighting. With all these self imposed distractions how could they possibly have time to focus on feeding the World's poor or providing homes for the homeless, they could at least be using the media time they use on these "Wars" to make the plight of the homeless a major issue in the U.S., but instead they would rather bring to the attention of an entire Nation the fact that the world's largest retailers aren't using the word Christmas during their season of greed. It's ok if children are being retarded by Capitalism as long as you call it Christmas and put a smiley face sticker on it.  What about battered women or child abuse? They simply don't have time for such non-sense, If I didn't know better I'd think they worship a god of War, Intolerance, Confrontation and Death---oh but wait, I do know better!

Crossposted from The Republic of T.

Take a good look at these five guys. They are the face of compassionate conservatism, or at least one of its faces. They are the five Ocean County freeholders who denied lesbian cop Laurel Hester's request that her pension go to her partner Stacie Andree. Hester is dying of lung cancer, and her pension would allow Andree to keep the home they have shared. One of these guys, John Kelly, said earlier that granting Hester's request, and thus allowing Andree to keep their home, would “violate the sanctity of marriage.” The five have refused to make further comments, but issued a statement claiming “cost considerations” in the denial of Hester's request.

You can send them a message about their stance on “morality” and “values” in Hester and Andree's case, by contacting the Clerk of the Board at (732) 288 7777 or, from outside the USA +1 732 288 7777, or via email at CountyConnection@co.ocean.nj.us

http://surrogate.tblog.com

(The commercial ends and the theme music comes back up. We here Don Pardo's voice)

"The Tenth annual P.U.K.E.E. awards have been brought to you by Glade Air Fresheners - clinically proven to eliminate certain specific rancid odors better than the competition. Once again, here's your host... surrrrrrogattttte."

(Fanfare! surrogate walks back onto the stage while looking back to the wings and smiles at an inside joke. He takes the hand-held mike from the model holding it for him next to the podium and then watches her a little leeringly as she walks off.)

"Thanks Bubbles. Give her a hand folks. Isn't she great? I hired her after carefully auditioning 500 other gals for the job!" (he gives a thumbs-up and winks while the audience snickers, playing along.)

Good evening Boys and Girls,

surrogate here.

Drove back from the other side of the state today and had a rider.

First stop after a quick meal? Starbucks.

I got a Venti (large) Sumatra. Jesus got a Caramel Latte with an extra shot of expresso, and a Rice Crispy Bar.... and a Jones Soda.

And the new Sheryl Crow CD, which he then gave me some crap about regarding allowing me to upload it into my computer when we got back here tonight.

I mean, geez, I picked him up at the airport, bought lunch, all this crap at Starbucks since all he had was a bunch Pound Notes and Euros. But he's real persnickety about copyright law and he refused to let me copy the damn CD. As it turned out, I wouldn't have had time anyway.

He'd just come in from Heathrow and I was really just a taxi since within ten minutes after we arrived back here, another friend stopped to take him on to Chicago for a few days. So, at best, all I was going to get today was the two and a half hours or so between the Airport and here. I'd really wanted to pick his brain for a while, and I'd been looking forward to doing just that. Unfortunately though, he slept half the trip even after draining that coffee. But man it was good to see him, even though he looked more tired than I ever remember seeing him.

Crossposted from The Republic of T.

The story of Zach and LIA/R has long since taken on a life of it's own, to the point that I haven't been tracking it very closely for a while now. So I missed the news this weekend that LIA/R failed to clear its first major hurdle in its lawsuit against the state of Tennessee, as a judge refused to allow LIA/R to continue "treating" people.

A federal judge has refused to allow Love In Action ministry, which counsels gay clients to turn straight, to continue treating people who are mentally ill and require prescription medication. An injunction was sought against an order from the state Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, which found that the group's two Memphis facilities were controlling patients' access to prescription medication and thus needed to be licensed as a mental health facility. Love In Action International Inc. has sued the state to oppose being required to get a license. It claims that the facility did not restrict access to medication but kept it in a central location to prevent theft and tampering.

Representatives from LIA/R say they're still hopeful that the courts will rule in their favor. And they could be right. After all, the Salvation Army found a judge to say it's just fine for them to get government funds and discriminate on the basis of religion and sexual orientation. If LIA/R can't find a similar judge in a state as "red" as Tennessee, then don't even deserve to be wingnuts. They'd have to be something dumber.

Crossposted from The Republic of T.

What some people do to their children in the name of their allegedly loving “god” ought to be a crime. When I saw the review of Julia Scheeres' memoir Jesus Land on DailyKos (written by Mrs. Kos), I knew I was going to read it. In fact, I reserved a copy at the nearest bookstore the next day, picked it up, and added it to my “stash.” I wanted to read it for a number of reasons. Like me, the author grew up in the 80s, during the Reagan era, and in a household so hyper-religious as to make my own look downright secular. But the book also promised a rare “behind the curtain” look at the foot soldiers of the religious right; not just into their politics (in a letter to missionaries, the author's mother praises Ronald Reagan as a “Christian leader” who “leads the country toward The Light”), but behind the closed doors of their homes.

It didn't disappoint. Two days after picking it up, I finished it. Scheeres' compelling voice, as she unwinds her tale of how she and her brother -- David -- survived the brutality of their home and the “christian boot camp” their parents sent them to, draws me to their side and keeps me there. Maybe it appealed to the parent in me. I found these two kids (though I'm roughly the same age group as Julia and David Scheeres) facing all manner of horror, and I couldn't leave them alone in it.

God had a choice when he created us and our reality. He could create us from His own substance and separate Himself from that substance. We would therefore be perfect and good, but two perfect beings would seem to be a contradiction. I am convinced that God could have done this if He wanted, but it seems unlikely that He would. God already is. There would be no reason to create another. His second choice could have been to create us and our reality as part of himself. We would live out our lives in paradise and we would be part of God and parts of God would be us. Some of us predict such an event on our death. I suspect this is wishful thinking. Since we were not created part of God, there is little reason to suspect we would become part of God when we die. I could be wrong of course. You may be able to suggest other possibilities or you may believe He actually did make one of the above choices.

Take the Falwell-Robertson-bin Laden quiz and find out...

(Cross-posted at skippy the bush kangaroo...) 

Crossposted from The Republic of T.

And posting to his blog, apparently. I received notice from MySpace this morning that Zach's blog had been updated, and visited to find that he'd not only written a new post, but also deleted all of his previous posts. I held off posting about it, and just left a supportive comment of my own, because I wanted to see how things went. Sure enough, he expanded the post, which had previously consisted of just the first two paragraphs. You can read it for yourself.

As for me, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. He sounds basically like a 16 year old kid who's been through a lot of overwhelming stuff, and it handling it remarkably well, but still needs time to sort it out. There's is one thing that kind of gave me pause, and it was when he referred to LIA/R as being "misrepresented." I thought for a minute that maybe Zach had absorbed some of LIA/R's program, but now I think it's too soon for anyone -- including him -- to tell.

Crossposted from The Republic of T.

Easy, you might say. They don't. But you might be underestimating. I came across this yesterday, and spent much of the evening digesting it. I thought it was maybe sarcasm or paraody, until the author finally got down to business (ironically, right after the 2004 elections) explaining just how fundamentalists -- christian fundamentalists, specifically -- think.

The truth is, having been raised baptist and in the south, there isn't anything here I haven't encountered before or that I didn't already know on some level. But this writer has clearly thought about it, and I could not have put it all together as well as he's done. Probably because I rejected it so young that I never fully absorbed it. (Which, by the way, is fine with me.)

Crossposted from The Republic of T.

Well, not yet, but soon. This week’s Washington Blade runs a story about Zach’s impending release from Love In Action/Refuge (LIA/R). The article, for the first time in any gay publication I’ve seen, uses Zach’s surname. It also notes the interview Zach’s dad gave to CBN, and his dad’ s confirmation that Zach was enrolled in the program at LIA/R. A disappointment, perhaps, to those who claimed (and continue to claim) that Zach’s story was a hoax.

Early last month, a Love in Action administrator said that two male teens in the program were both enrolled for six-week stints in the “ex-gay” camp, and last week in an interview broadcast on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Zach’s father, Joe Stark confirmed his son’s identity as one of Love in Action’s clients.

Cross posted from The Republic of T.

Coverage of Zach's story seems to still be causing trouble for Love In Action/Refuge (LIA/R.) The facility is still under investigation by the state of Tennessee, over allegations that it may be operating without a license, and that counselors may be performing therapy for which they are not licensed.

Still no word from Zach, but the right wing media is now starting to pick up on the story. From AgapePress:

...A Christian group that tries to help people escape from homosexuality is again drawing attention from state investigators. Tennessee's Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities wants to know if Love In Action International is conducting improper counseling sessions with unlicensed personnel. Love In Action recently was investigated by the Department of Children's Services on a child-abuse complaint that was found to be unsubstantiated. John Smid, Love In Action's executive director, says his group does not provide psychological, drug or alcohol counseling but helps people overcome homosexuality through faith in Jesus Christ. Love In Action's work, particularly with teenagers, has drawn protests from pro-homosexual advocates. [AP]

CBN.Com also has a story up that actually includes the last name of Zach's family. It also includes several quotes from Zach's father. Not a word from Zach himself. What it also doesn't say is whether Zach is accepting LIA/R's teachings or not. It doesn't say whether their attempt at reparative therapy is taking or not. If the article is any indication, we won't be hearing from Zach until at least after his time with LIA/R is finished. He's not allowed internet access while he's in the program. On a somewhat positive note maybe this article, coming as it does from right wing source, will silence people who are still saying that Zach and his story are hoaxes.

Crossposted from The Republic of T.

Via the Washington Blade and ABC News comes word that the Tennessee Dept. of Childrens Services investigation of “Love In Action” on allegations of child abuse has ended, without findings of abuse.

From the Blade.

Tennessee said Monday it has found no evidence to support child abuse allegations against a Christian group that works with gay teenagers.

The group, Love In Action International, believes instilling strong Christian beliefs can keep gays from acting on their gay sexual desires.

Holy Cow. I’ve been blogging about Zach’s story for almost two weeks, and the latest news just about knocked me off my feet. Word is that Love In Action — the place that runs the camp Zach is attending — is under investigation for allegations of child abuse.

The state of Tennessee has begun an investigation in response to allegations of child abuse at Love in Action, a Memphis facility that advertises homosexual conversion therapy for adolescents, according to the state department of health.

K. Daniele Edwards, a spokesperson for Child Services at the Tennessee Department of Health, confirmed an investigation is underway but declined to comment on the details. She noted that she presumes the Love in Action program would require licensing by the state.