Jefferson’s First Draft – Subjects vs. Citizens

Preservation scientists at the Library of Congress have discovered that Thomas Jefferson, even in the act of declaring independence from England, had trouble breaking free from monarchial rule. In an early draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote the word “subjects,” when he referred to the American public. He then erased that word and replaced it with “citizens,” a...

American politics finally jumps the shark

It’s no surprise to anyone who pays attention to the news that the partisan bickering in Washington DC has grown to epic levels.  Unfounded accusations are thrown around on talk radio, the Sunday News programs, and by members of Congress.  It seems that civility and rational discourse have gone and left bickering 3 year olds in charge. Markos Moulitsas, founder of DailyKos, recently commissioned Research...

What’s killing the American Church, and should we care?

I stand in two very different worlds.  I have one foot firmly planted in the traditional, or institutional, church (IC), and my other foot planted firmly in the  emergent church (EC).  It is definitely an interesting place to stand, and one that is not for the feint of heart.  There are times when I can see how the two work in concert with each other, and there’s times where I clearly see the discord...

Orly Taitz and the "birthers" get walloped in court…..again.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, there is an ugly undercurrent of mildly-cloaked racism in American politics today.  It’s visible in blog postings, on twitter, in signs carried at the teabagger parties, in the poutrage on display during the health care town halls, on conservative radio, and even from some members of Congress. Although they’ll deny it with their last dying breath, there...

President Obama’s 6 month scorecard

Via Political Tiger @ Democratic Underground # Signed executive orders to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, ban torture and end the CIA’s secret overseas prisons and define treatment of Detainees. # Reversed restrictions on stem cell research. # Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Reducing discrimination based on gender, age, religion, or race. # Signed an executive...