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Author Archive
When President Obama took questions from Congressional Republicans recently, he spoke about Republican characterizations of his health-care reform plan as something akin to a “Bolshevik plot.” There was a smattering of applause. I did not know what to make of…
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Tags: bob dole, Capitalism, christian ethics, dailykos, dictators, dictatorship, dictatorship of the proletariat, discourse, Economic, economic system, economic systems, europe, extreme left, government, health care bills, History, howard baker, ideological spectrum, karl marx, Liberal, liberation, liberation theology, means of production, oppressed, ownership, political discourse, President Obama, reform, Republican, socialism, United States, utopian ideal
My measure of a good State of the Union address is whether or not I am able to stay awake through to the end. I am still awaiting the president who will say at the beginning, “please hold your applause…
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Tags: big government, bipartisan, civil liberties, Conservative, Conservatives, Democrats, discourse, government, government interference, government takeover, Health, health care, libertarians, partisan, Partisanship, Politics, President, President Obama, progressive, public option, public policy, reform bills, Republican, slogans, state of the union address, United States, vision
Life and the body require exertion. There was a time — and this is still the case in some places on earth — when eating required physical effort. Human beings hunt, fish, forage, plant, reap, or shop every day. It…
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Tags: cardio vascular health, discipline, Ethics, exercise regime, exertion, fast-food, food, good health, Health, industrialized nations, metabolism, physical activity, physical discipline, physical effort, Religion, rich, sedentary lives, Thanksgiving, water, wealth
The people of Massachusetts already have near universal health care. Too many of the rest of us do not. The loss of the senate seat formerly held by Senator Edward Kennedy to a Republican who opposed the Senate health-care bill…
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Tags: America, Children, Democracy, Democrat, distributive justice, Drugs, Edward Kennedy, Election, Ethics, Health, health care, health care bill, health care reform, Healthcare, healthcare reform, house of representatives, insurance companies, justice, leadership, legislation, Medicare, medicare doughnut hole, neighbor, neighborhood health clinics, Politics, prescription drugs, President, President Obama, provision, public policy, referendum, Republican, United States, universal health care, Vote
My mother loved food.
She loved it from the garden to the table. She enjoyed feeding people and all of creation. In the winter she and my father would feed the birds and the squirrels in the backyard and then watch…
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Tags: Africa, Children, cooking, Farmers, food, grain, Health, meal, mediterranean diet, mother, overweight and obesity, Poor, relationship, soups and stews, tradition, water, whole grains, Workers
Please God, save us from hyper-partisanship and hyper-media in perpetual election mode selling us a hyperbolic public discourse. Not everything is a crisis setting off alarm bells in a red hot explosive firestorm that may cost someone the next election. …
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Tags: 2008 Election, African-American, America, Apartheid, Barack Obama, Black, Campaign, candidate, class, Families, Family, injustice, justice, light skin, Media, mixed race, Partisanship, Politics, President, Race, racial, racist, Republican, Republicans, Segregation, segregationist, senate majority leader, senate majority leader harry reid, senator strom thurmond, senator trent lott, strom thurmond, trent lott, United States, White
I do not remember where I learned the idea that the hand represents a pattern of prayer. I do not recall my mother or other teachers teaching it to me. I cannot cite the source of it in a book…
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Tags: Christmas, dexterity, fingers, Holidays, Jesus, middle finger, opposable thumb, pointing finger, Politics, power, Prayer, relationship, ring finger, romans 8, teaching, Worship
Biblical wisdom teaches us to “give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (I Thessalonians 5:18). This is a syntactic ambiguity that makes us ask the question: is the circumstance the…
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Tags: access to health care, Advent, ambiguity, biblical wisdom, citizens, debate, Democrat, Democrats, europe, europeans, God, gratitude, Health, health care, hebrews, hebrews 11, Hope, legislation, medical bills, Politics, primary care, Republican, Republicans, romans 8, system, United States, universal health care
Tags: atrocities, conflict resolution, context, cooperative, Democracy, development, diplomacy, economic security, engagement, Ethics, gandhi, Genocide, Glen Stassen, God, golden rule, grassroots, human, Human Rights, humanitarian, injustice, International, international unity, Just Peace Theory, just war, Just War Theory, justice, national unity, nobel peace prize, nonviolent sanctions, Nuclear Weapons, offensive weapons, opportunity, oppression, pacifism, peace, Peacemaking, President Obama, rape, Repentance, repression, security, status quo, system, UN, United Nations, War, weapons
The decision has been made. The orders have been signed. The first wave of the 30,000 additional warriors heading to Afghanistan is scheduled to arrive before Christmas. President Obama has made a difficult and controversial decision. In his speech at…
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Tags: 2 corinthians 10, Afghanistan, biblical, Christian, christian ethics, climate change, Ethics, faith, heaven, Hunger, peace, peace activists, pray, Prayer, President Obama, sacrifice, solidarity, Violence, War, weapons, weapons of our warfare, wisdom, world health organization
The United States is a country that is at once overweight and hungry. There are those among us who are overweight and obese. There are those among us who live with food insecurity. There are those among us who are…
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Tags: agriculture, America, blessing, culture, Economic, employment, feast, food, food security, food stamps, fruits and vegetables, Health, health care costs, households, Hunger, insecurity, overeating, paradox, Thanksgiving, tradition, unemployment, United States, united states department of agriculture
 The gospel according to Aretha Franklin says: “R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me.”
Biblical wisdom teaches: “Give everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then…
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Tags: America, Asia, dignity, Emperor, generosity, gesture, History, justice, peace, Peacemaking, Politics, power, President, President Obama, symbol, Trade, tradition, United States, War, wisdom
There comes a moment when we can say a word or speak a concept so often that it loses meaning and simply becomes sound. The concept becomes exhausted, thin, one-dimensional. Such was the case with the word and the concept…
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Tags: affordable health care, America, coercive power, common good, debate, equality, federal government, freedom of speech, freedoms, government, government takeover, Health, health care, health insurance, house of representatives, individual freedom, isaiah berlin, jean jacques rousseau, legislation, paradox, pathos, patriotism, philosopher, power, United States
In the wake of Tuesday’s elections where the Democrats lost governor’s races in New Jersey and in Virginia, some observers are advising President Obama to scale back his agenda. Health care and energy and education and banking reform and war…
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Tags: Afghanistan, African-American, America, Democracy, Democrats, economic justice, economy, Elections, gradualism, letter from birmingham jail, Martin Luther King Jr., Military, President Obama, recession, speech, United States, universal health care, urgency, war in iraq
We continue the roller coaster ride that we hope will end with universal or near universal coverage for health care in the United States. Those of us who favor, at the very least, a public option had reason to be…
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Tags: affordability, America, caucuses, common good, Congress, Connecticut, Debt, Democrats, Ethics, filibuster, government, Health, health care, health insurance, health problems, insurance companies, joseph lieberman, national debt, New York Times, obstacles, pay, paycheck, policy details, Politics, polls, primary care, profit motive, public option, reform, Religion, Republican, Role of Government, senate majority leader harry reid, single payer, system, United States, wage, wages
Just peace theory proceeds from the premise that peace is a day by day effort. It is a process that requires vision, skill, and courage. The Nobel Committee awarded its 2009 Prize for Peace to President Barack Obama. He had…
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Tags: Afghanistan, African-American, America, candidate, diplomacy, engagement, Ethics, foreign policy, General Assembly, hate, Inauguration, International, Iraq, Just Peace Theory, Martin Luther King, Muslim, muslim world, mutual interest, mutual respect, mutuality, nobel peace prize, nobel peace prize winner, nuclear proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, peace, Politics, President, President Obama, presidential campaign, security, un general assembly, United States, vision, War, weapons, wisdom
Tags: Bible, bible scholars, blessing, Christ, Christian, christian ethics, compassion, condemnation, Conservative, conservative bible project, conservative ideology, creation, death, Ethics, God, Gospel, hell, Jerusalem, Jesus, lake of fire, Lazarus, lazarus and the rich man, life and death, lucifer, Nero, philosopher, Politics, Poor, relationship with god, Religion, rich, teaching, teachings of jesus, theologian, Worship
What is health care?
Is it a human right, civil right, privilege or market commodity? Is it a public good, moral obligation, government obligation, job benefit, or individual responsibility? Ought it be subject to the profit motive and or to government…
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Tags: America, american convention on human rights, bankruptcy, body politic, choice, citizens, consensus, Democracy, Depression, dignity, employment, federal unemployment, government, government takeover, Health, health care, health care system, Healthcare, healthcare system, Housing, human dignity, Human Rights, image of god, international covenant on economic social and cultural rights, market, market commodity, medical care, medicine, mental health, mental health care, moral obligation, Politics, president herbert hoover, Privilege, profit motive, public housing, public option, public schools, Religion, socialism, socialized, socialized medicine, unemployment, unemployment relief, United States, universal access, universal declaration of human rights, universal health care, Work
Every dawning day we wake to the news of human violence against humanity. We see images of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who’ve traveled a long way from home to fight terrorists. We hear the news of a roadside bomb…
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Tags: anger, attack, bomb, calluses, Chicago, churches, classmates, Community, death, Ethics, Family, honor roll student, Jesus, killing, love, murder, oppression, peace, power, Prayer, Religion, sacrifice, sin, stranger, structural violence, teenagers, Terror, terrorist, Violence, weapons, young men
Just peace theory is the middle way between pacifism and just war theory. It recognizes the moral force of nonviolence and the goal of a world that solves its disputes through nonviolent means. At the same time, just peace theory…
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Tags: conflict, Democracy, destruction, dignity, disarmament, Forgiveness, General Assembly, glen h stassen, Global, global economy, grassroots, Human Rights, injustice, International, Just Peace Theory, just war, Just War Theory, justice, moral force, Nonviolence, offensive weapons, pacifism, Peacemaking, pillars, Politics, President Obama, Religion, Repentance, security, speech, United Nations, united nations general assembly, vengeance, Violence, violent response, War, war principles, weapons
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