Shortly after the shootings yesterday, cable news anchors began to report that the suspect had a “had a Muslim sounding name”. I immediately felt a sense of dread not only for those killed and wounded or the possibility that this assault was an organized terrorist act, but also for all of the Muslim Americans who might find themselves having to defend their allegiance to America due to the act of one man. One man who was clearly troubled.
The latest news is that Major Nidal Malik Hasan yelled “Allahu Akbar” as …

This Associate Press article chronicles the trials, tribulations and jubilation of Philadelphia’s Temple Beth’El. On March 29th, the Temple dedicated a Torah of its own. The Torah is an ancient scroll central to the celebration of Jewish faith. Read on:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The jubilation in Temple Beth’El’s packed sanctuary overflowed into the aisles, with members dancing, clapping and singing as they welcomed their first Torah from Israel.
A new sacred scroll — the holiest object in Judaism — is cause for celebration in any synagogue. But for this congregation, it meant …

Push past the "swagga", the mind swirling name changes and the amped up persona as the musical King of Bling, and you’ll that Sean Combs is brilliant. In a quietly riveting new interview pegged to the 12th Anniversary of the death of Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher Wallace, blogger Barry Michael Cooper conducts a wide ranging interview that gives those of us watching an up close look at what excellence and creative vision looks like. We learn how Combs’ mind works and his process is illuminating. This segment on the Making …

Here’s my beef. If you equate every perceived transgression in the world with the worst of the Nazis or the Klan then we can easily become desensitized to the horror of the acts actually committed by these organizations. As a dog lover, and proud Mama to two rescued, mixed breed, furry children, PETA sure as heck has ‘harshed’ my mellow when all I was trying to do was enjoy a little canine shenanigans. Here’s what happened:
The animal rights group, which every year stages a protest at the Westminster Kennel Club …

So just who is looking at the face of the race card? Not Republicans, of that you can rest assured! Michael Steele, the former Lt. Governor of Maryland, was just elected as the head of the RNC. I was watching a call in show covering the event on CSPAN and noticed that all of the Republican callers were commenting on how great it was to have a leader who is a tireless advocate and well versed on the issues, an individual who is steadfast …

The morning after Barack Obama announced that he had selected Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration, I found myself in an interesting argument between bites of sumptuous soft scrambled eggs. I sat down to breakfast and began ranting about how disappointed I was that a man who staunchly opposes gay marriage and compares it to incest, would be featured so prominently at such an historic “celebration.”
My mate reminded me that Obama ran (and won) on a platform of inclusion.
I snapped back that Warren, at least this …

Bob Jones University has issued an apology for racist policies that persisted right up until the year 2000. According to a statement, Bob Jones University acknowledges that it’s policies such as refusing to admit black students and then refusing to allow interracial dating, were rooted in polarizing cultural rules of the day not biblical scripture.
For almost two centuries American Christianity, including BJU in its early stages, was characterized by the segregationist ethos of American culture. Consequently, for far too long, we allowed institutional policies regarding race to be shaped more …

I had a hard time sleeping last night, I kept thinking about mothers of missing children this Thanksgiving week. My blog amigo Yobachi asked me if I knew anyone here on the west coast who could spearhead an effort to get the word out about Chioma Gray, a beautiful, smart, kind and ambitious young girl now missing for almost a year. I don’t know anyone like that, but I can lend my voice to the effort to find Chioma Gray and to bring her home to her family. Here is …

Is Barack Obama the needed bridge between blacks and Latinos? Maybe.
One of the most “YES!” inducing moments of last Tuesday’s election dissection, was learning that my Latino hermanas y hermanos had come out in a large majority (2 to 1) to support Barack Obama. In 2004, President George Bush garnered 44% of the Latino vote and pundits everywhere declared that “Hispanics” were conservative, and might provide a growing base of support for the Republican party going forward. It was a reasonable hypothesis, I guess. But what no one saw coming …

You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.
Anne Lamott
Hat Tip – Grandpa Caligula

What kind of person fans hatred as a get out the vote (GOTV) strategy? Whether you like Barack Obama and Joe Biden or not, I have to believe most Americans are appalled when the phrase "kill him" is shouted out at Palin’s rally and "terrorist" is shouted out at McCain’s when Barack Obama’s name is mentioned. McCain and Palin just smirked when this hatred was spewed and continued on with their speeches. I refuse to believe this is the kind of America most Americans want to live in or have …

L ‘Shanah Tovah!

…We believe just as strongly that Mrs. Clinton will be making a terrible mistake — for herself, her party and for the nation — if she continues to press her candidacy through negative campaigning with disturbing racial undertones. We believe it would also be a terrible mistake if she launches a fight over the disqualified delegations from Florida and Michigan.
The United States needs a clean break from eight catastrophic years of George W. Bush. And so far, Senator John McCain is shaping up as Bush the Sequel — never ending …

I don’t believe that Rev. Jeremiah Wright intentionally kicked off the Jeremiah Wright Show Tour to deliberately “hurt” Barack Obama. Now, I don’t think Wright cared if his spectacle had that effect, but I don’t believe that was Wright’s primary reason for exploding out of silence now. What I see is that Rev.Wright saw his legacy of decades of service boiled down into nasty, seconds long sound clips which were then dismissed as the “understandable” rants of an angry old black man. Wright, obstinately defensive, decided to take action to …

From The United Church of Christ website:
Jeremiah Wright to be interviewed by Bill Moyers
In what will be his first interview since snippets of his preaching became a central issue in the U.S. presidential campaign, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. will speak publicly to veteran journalist and fellow UCC member Bill Moyers.
The interview will be broadcast on Friday evening, April 25, on Bill Moyers Journal, a PBS news series that airs nationally. Check local listings at www.pbs.org/moyers.
Wright retired in March after 36 years as senior …