All of the great progressive political leaders were smiling down on the US last night as the House vote tally flipped to the magical number of 216.   JFK, RFK. LBJ, FDR, MLK, Harry, Truman, Teddy Kennedy and Roosevelt, and yes, even Richard Nixon, must have been saying its about time.   I sat rivited most of the day to the debate on the floor of the House wating for information as to how the votes would break.  The leadership had expressed confidence for days but you never know when it comes to actually voting. 

After all the zig and zags of legislative sausage making, after all the comments from the pundrity and the blogosphere, after all the vitriole and falsehoods coming from the Right, Health Care Reform and its coverage of 32 million more Americans, and its limitations on the horrendous excesses of the insurance industry are now put into law.  Americans will now join the rest of the civilized world in assuring its citizens access to health care. 

 I had another one of the conversations with a conservative Christian about gay marriage. I have had this conversation a million times with fellow Christians and have no problem having it again and again. My latest iteration is probably the most succinct I have been able to be.
First, if you read the Bible from a fundamentalist, literalist perspective, its tough to have much of a conversation. But the truth is even fundies interpret the Bible, even if they don't want to admit it. Homosexuality is case in point. 

What a difference a year makes.   January 20th, 2009 was a day filled with hope and unbridled expectations as the nation's first African American President would take over the reins from a President who left the nation in near financial ruin, and at history's first judgment one of the worst President's in US history.  

The last day of the first year of Obama's administration was marked with a stunning defeat for Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts eliminating a filibuster proof Senate.  The election may not have a repudiation of health care reform (Massachusetts already has reformed with mandates and supports for working families) or the President himself, but it certainly captures the general mood of the country given 10% unemployment, a housing market that has yet to right itself in many areas, and a continued fear that big corporations and big government are in cahoots draining the treasury to maintain the lifestyles of the few on Wall Street. 

My conservative friend posted a question on my facebook page tonight in response to the video of King's last speech the night before he died.  He said it makes you wonder how the world would be different if he had lived.

We do have some inklings of course.  At the time he was organizing the Poor People's Movement and was planning on sitting in on the Capitol until the government agreed to eliminate poverty and jobs. Such a movement seems almost unimaginable in the current political climate, even with Obama as President. Had he lived on he would have continued to been a force in American politics, and he would almost have assuredly continued to be attacked verbally and physically by conservatives who stood against him on civil rights and then against him on the war in Vietnam and poverty. Remember he was in Memphis supporting the sanitation workers right to organize a union and to strike if necessary to get fair wages. The unionization rate was nearly a third in 1968 and after a concerted effort of undermining worker organizing, the unionization rate is now its under 10 percent of the workforce.

Given Pat Robertson's ridiculous recent comments on Haiti's being cursed by the Devil, I figured it was time to dust this one off about his previous nonsense.

Originally posted on crossleft.org on 08/24/2005.

Pat Robertson's comments go beyond inflamatory, they incite violence. His description of graphic violence has yielded his television program unfit for children. The FCC should take action to fine the 700 Club and act to put a warning label for future broadcasts to ensure that parents can protect their children from hearing the encouragement of such horrific acts.

The quote: "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it," said Robertson Monday. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."

The Recording Industry has its warning label (after being pushed by Tipper Gore and the Christian right) that speaks directly to this quote:

"The Parental Advisory is a notice to consumers that recordings identified by this logo may contain strong language or depictions of violence, sex or substance abuse. Parental discretion is advised."

I wrote this almost a decade ago and figured I would dust it off, revise it a bit and repost. I still think its relevant today. In my hometown of Philadelphia, over 70,000 people will use the day off tomorrow to volunteer.

Given Pat Robertson's latest gem about Haiti making a pact with the devil, I figured I would post a blog I wrote a number of years ago about similarly judgmental comments.  Its clear that Mr. Robertson has a long track record of saying wildly idiotic things, yet somehow still maintains a following.  If you are one of the people still watching the 700 club, please stop.  Don't give this man a platform any longer. 

Originally posted on crossleft.org on 11/11/05

Luke 7:42 "How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?"