Sunday, February 27, 2005

Yesterday, more than 20,000 people perished of extreme poverty

The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: Thousands Died in Africa Yesterday: "Yesterday, more than 20,000 people perished of extreme poverty"

This country is going to spend more than $400 billion on the military this year, and another $100 billion or so for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But that amount is never going to buy Americans peace if the government continues to spend an anemic $16 billion - the Pentagon budget is 25 times that size - in foreign aid that addresses the plight of the poorest of the world's poor.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matt. 25:40

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Bipartisan Study Assails No Child Left Behind Act

The New York Times > Education > A Bipartisan Study Assails No Child Left Behind Act: "bipartisan panel of state lawmakers that studied the effectiveness of President Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative assailed it today as a flawed, convoluted and unconstitutional education reform effort that had usurped state and local control of public schools."

The Secret Genocide Archive

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: The Secret Genocide Archive

The time for action on Darfur is now. Please write to your congressmen/women and demand we pull our heads out of the sand.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Free Mojtaba and Arash

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Chuch Hunting

a badchristian blog... - reasons I like our new church

Brandon at Bad Christian has been updating us on his quest for a new church home. We too have begun a search of other churches. This is a very difficult thing for us. We've (my wife and I) attended our current church for the last 13 years, and I've been there for 25. There are many ties; we were married there, my wife and children were baptized there, many family members work and attend there as do many friends.

But . . .

Over the last year or so I've struggled. It's hard for me to describe how I feel so please bear with me. I've struggled with being comfortable. Being comfortable is not always a bad thing, we've come to know many of the in's and out's of our church and there's a level of feeling safe in our seats, we know the routine. We've tried different things to "shake it up" a bit, I was in choir for the past several years (I even played the role of Jesus in our Easter production), tried sitting in different seats, etc. Yet still, we've been feeling restless. It's not that I have many complaints about our church, I think there's a lot of good stuff happening there, but I can't help but feel like something's missing for me.

I've found myself struggling to move on Sunday morning to get to church. It has not been uncommon for us to arrive 30 minutes late - just in time for the message. . . skipping the lengthy (sometimes too lengthy, in my opinion) "praise and worship" singing time.

I know it's more a problem with me (us). Church is not here to give to me, but I should be looking to give to it. But, I can't help but feel like it's time to look around.

So we did. This morning. It was great.

We attended Vineyard church on the northeast side of Grand Rapids this morning. My wife's brother and family have been attending there for the last 3 years and really like it, so we thought we'd give it a try. Now there's probably a good deal of the excitement of something new, fresh, and different that played a role in our enjoyment of the service, but I don't care, we LIKED it!

There was something going on inside that I haven't felt in a while. . . excitement. I'm actually looking forward to next Sunday. I haven't felt that way in a long while. Will this excitement last? Is it case of "the grass is greener" in this church and I'll soon feel the same way? Just what am I looking for?

One service doesn't make a church, so we'll be attending for the next several weeks to find out more. Please pray with us as we seek.


Wednesday, February 16, 2005

God's Earth is Sacred

God's Earth is Sacred Theological Statement February 14, 2005: "We have listened to a false gospel that we continue to live out in our daily habits-a gospel that proclaims that God cares for the salvation of humans only and that our human calling is to exploit Earth for our own ends alone. This false gospel still finds its proud preachers and continues to capture its adherents among emboldened political leaders and policy makers. "

Sunday, February 13, 2005

On to Iran

While at church this am I ran into a former student of mine (I'm a teacher) who has just returned home on leave from the Air Force. We've been in touch since her graduation from high school and she is just a neat kid. Our conversation went something like this:

L: Hey Mr. M!
B.S. : Hi L! It's great to see you again . . . etc, etc.
B.S.: So, what's the plan? Where to next?
L: I'm not exactly sure . . . they told me that I'll be sent within two years to either South Korea or Iran.
B.S.: You mean Iraq, right?
L: No, Iran.
B.S.: But we don't have any bases in Iran. Do we?
L: No, but they seem to think we will soon.
B.S.: What! You mean invasion?
L: shrug of shoulders

So, Iran. But we've been assured by Condi that we've no plans for attacking Iran. How can this be? Get ready folks - four more years of lies and war. I'm so glad we've got Bush and God on OUR side.

sigh.

Monday, February 07, 2005

Stories From the Inside

WWJT? Who would Jesus Torture?

Dubya is spreading "freedom" and "liberty" far and wide . . .

We know that people were kept in cells that in some cases were the equivalent of animal cages, and that some detainees, disoriented and despairing, have been shackled like slaves and left to soil themselves with their own urine and feces. Detainees are frequently kicked, punched, beaten and sexually humiliated. Extremely long periods of psychologically damaging isolation are routine.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Stories From the Inside

Bush Budget Raises Prescription Prices for Many Veterans

Out of one side of mouth: "Support our troops!"

Out of the other side: "only if it doesn't cost too much . . . we have to make those tax cuts permanent!!"

The New York Times > Washington > Bush Budget Raises Prescription Prices for Many Veterans

Saturday, February 05, 2005

The Emperor's New Hump

Why am I not suprised by this article?

The Emperor's New Hump