Comments on: The 12th Carnival of the Liberals http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html NIGHTTIME IS FOR DREAMING. DAYLIGHT IS FOR ACTION. Tue, 6 Jan 2009 12:42:12 +0000 By: charlieahern http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1943 charlieahern Mon, 22 May 2006 05:41:13 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1943 Having recently discovered the Carnival, I'm still digesting it and visiting your blogs. Thanks to all from a newbie. For those of you who don't think religious progressives have done enough, I suggest that you visit a local Unitarian-Universalist congregation on Sunday morning. You might meet a woman who recently struggled with the California National Guard to keep a homeless shelter open in one of their armories...and won. Or you might meet a member who is running for county commissioner, as the first GLBT person who served on the city council. Or maybe meet a member of the Raging Grannies, who show up in big hats and dresses to sing at peace demonstrations. Or you might see your State Assembly member at a congregational meeting being asked about minimum wage and Clean Money legislation. Or you might have heard my homily on MLK's 'Letter from the Birmingham Jail.' You won't see these folks on Fox News, but they are taking care of business. And while you're at the service, please throw $20 in the basket. They may be collecting for an indigenous NGO in Darfur. Hope to see you soon. Having recently discovered the Carnival, I'm still digesting it and visiting your blogs. Thanks to all from a newbie.

For those of you who don't think religious progressives have done enough, I suggest that you visit a local Unitarian-Universalist congregation on Sunday morning.

You might meet a woman who recently struggled with the California National Guard to keep a homeless shelter open in one of their armories...and won. Or you might meet a member who is running for county commissioner, as the first GLBT person who served on the city council. Or maybe meet a member of the Raging Grannies, who show up in big hats and dresses to sing at peace demonstrations. Or you might see your State Assembly member at a congregational meeting being asked about minimum wage and Clean Money legislation. Or you might have heard my homily on MLK's 'Letter from the Birmingham Jail.'

You won't see these folks on Fox News, but they are taking care of business.

And while you're at the service, please throw $20 in the basket. They may be collecting for an indigenous NGO in Darfur.

Hope to see you soon.

]]> By: Diane Silver http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1740 Diane Silver Fri, 12 May 2006 11:55:53 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1740 I actually agree with you that religious liberals haven't done enough. The biggest complaint I have is with progressive and even moderate Christians who have been silent while the religious right has defined their religion. Some of that is the bias of the media, and I say that somewhat lovingly and with much irritation as a former newspaper reporter. Some of that is the fact that progressive Christians have not spoken out as much as they should. However, I'm seeing a real change in that. Interestingly enough, the right's push to ban same-sex marriage has helped organize moderate and progressive clergy in several places, particularly in Kansas. (I worked with clergy during the campaign to defeat the ban, and they were among the gay community's most enthusiastic supporters.) Out of last year's fight, two new organizations of moderate clergy and people of faith were created and are beginning to make waves. If this can happen in Kansas, it can happen anywhere. For more details on this, look <a href="http://hopeandpolitics.blogspot.com/2006/03/taking-back-kansas-mainstream-clergy.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://hopeandpolitics.blogspot.com/2006/03/kc-star-misses-story-clergy-organize.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. I actually agree with you that religious liberals haven't done enough. The biggest complaint I have is with progressive and even moderate Christians who have been silent while the religious right has defined their religion. Some of that is the bias of the media, and I say that somewhat lovingly and with much irritation as a former newspaper reporter. Some of that is the fact that progressive Christians have not spoken out as much as they should. However, I'm seeing a real change in that.

Interestingly enough, the right's push to ban same-sex marriage has helped organize moderate and progressive clergy in several places, particularly in Kansas. (I worked with clergy during the campaign to defeat the ban, and they were among the gay community's most enthusiastic supporters.) Out of last year's fight, two new organizations of moderate clergy and people of faith were created and are beginning to make waves. If this can happen in Kansas, it can happen anywhere. For more details on this, look here and here.

]]> By: Ebonmuse http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1728 Ebonmuse Fri, 12 May 2006 03:32:41 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1728 Hi Diane, You're most welcome! And thank you very much for submitting your post; out of all the entries I got, it was my personal favorite. I apologize for your comment's not appearing earlier, my spam filter flagged it for some bizarre reason. I should make it clear that I don't doubt that religious progressives exist. On the contrary, I know that they're out there. But I do think they haven't done nearly enough to organize and get their message out, which is why cretins like Falwell and Dobson dominate the news and have essentially become, for better or for worse, the public face of Christianity in this country. Efforts like the UCC's Accessible Airwaves are a good start, but they're only a start, and a great deal remains to be done. I do appreciate those links, though - I've not come across either of them before. Hi Diane,

You're most welcome! And thank you very much for submitting your post; out of all the entries I got, it was my personal favorite. I apologize for your comment's not appearing earlier, my spam filter flagged it for some bizarre reason.

I should make it clear that I don't doubt that religious progressives exist. On the contrary, I know that they're out there. But I do think they haven't done nearly enough to organize and get their message out, which is why cretins like Falwell and Dobson dominate the news and have essentially become, for better or for worse, the public face of Christianity in this country. Efforts like the UCC's Accessible Airwaves are a good start, but they're only a start, and a great deal remains to be done. I do appreciate those links, though - I've not come across either of them before.

]]> By: Diane Silver http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1723 Diane Silver Thu, 11 May 2006 23:37:14 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1723 Thanks so much for posting the Carnival, and thanks even more for posting a link to my story. I found your comments about the posts and what it means to be a liberal to be great. However, I found your comments about the lack of religious progressives to be, well, fascinating. I offer the following insights with a somewhat bemused chuckle. While I’m not exactly a Christian, at least not in any traditional sense, I am a member of a church (in Kansas of all places), and I do consider myself to be deeply spiritual if not down-right religious. Committed to science, I am also a firm believer in mysticism and things you can’t always see and measure. And yes, I guess that puts me firmly in the camp of the elusive religious liberal. To understand my perspective, take a look at <a href="http://hopeandpolitics.blogspot.com/2005/11/lesbian-and-fundamentalists.html"> The Lesbian and The Fundamentalists.</a> There I write: <blockquote>I am a lesbian, feminist, single mother whose spirituality is closer to New Age and Buddhism than Christianity. This spring I battled the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions in Kansas. Imagine my surprise when I realized how much I have in common with fundamentalists.</blockquote> To find some more very politically active religious progressives online go to <a href="http://www.talk2action.org/">Talk To Action</a>, which includes a mixture of folks like Mainstream Baptist and very secular bloggers. Also check out the <a href="http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/">Network of Spiritual Progressives.</a> Thanks so much for posting the Carnival, and thanks even more for posting a link to my story. I found your comments about the posts and what it means to be a liberal to be great.

However, I found your comments about the lack of religious progressives to be, well, fascinating. I offer the following insights with a somewhat bemused chuckle.

While I’m not exactly a Christian, at least not in any traditional sense, I am a member of a church (in Kansas of all places), and I do consider myself to be deeply spiritual if not down-right religious. Committed to science, I am also a firm believer in mysticism and things you can’t always see and measure. And yes, I guess that puts me firmly in the camp of the elusive religious liberal.

To understand my perspective, take a look at The Lesbian and The Fundamentalists. There I write:

I am a lesbian, feminist, single mother whose spirituality is closer to New Age and Buddhism than Christianity. This spring I battled the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions in Kansas. Imagine my surprise when I realized how much I have in common with fundamentalists.

To find some more very politically active religious progressives online go to Talk To Action, which includes a mixture of folks like Mainstream Baptist and very secular bloggers. Also check out the Network of Spiritual Progressives.

]]> By: Pharyngula http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1720 Pharyngula Thu, 11 May 2006 18:56:56 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1720 The Week in Review, and an open thread Flitting about as I have lately means I've been missing this, that and the other thing. So here's a quick summary. Tuesday night I was at the Café Scientifique in Minneapolis, where UMM's Timna Wyckoff gave a talk on antibiotic... The Week in Review, and an open thread

Flitting about as I have lately means I've been missing this, that and the other thing. So here's a quick summary. Tuesday night I was at the Café Scientifique in Minneapolis, where UMM's Timna Wyckoff gave a talk on antibiotic...

]]> By: Lucky White Girl http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1706 Lucky White Girl Thu, 11 May 2006 00:40:17 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1706 Carnival of the Liberals #13... ... will be here on May 24th! It would be my first time ever hosting a blog carnival but I signed up for this a long time ago and as it turns out I will be in Costa Rica that Carnival of the Liberals #13...

... will be here on May 24th! It would be my first time ever hosting a blog carnival but I signed up for this a long time ago and as it turns out I will be in Costa Rica that

]]> By: TheLastChance http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1700 TheLastChance Wed, 10 May 2006 19:37:01 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1700 The second I saw the "In This Moment" article I thought one thing: <u>1984</u>. Anyone whose read the book can see the clues: The only difference between the Party and the Chrisitan Right is that the latter will force people to attend church. Once I saw that article it all clicked... I doubt Orwell intended this, but, in reality, it all fits: God is our Big Brother. Off to read the rest of them! The second I saw the "In This Moment" article I thought one thing: 1984. Anyone whose read the book can see the clues: The only difference between the Party and the Chrisitan Right is that the latter will force people to attend church. Once I saw that article it all clicked... I doubt Orwell intended this, but, in reality, it all fits:

God is our Big Brother.

Off to read the rest of them!

]]> By: Doctor Biobrain http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1699 Doctor Biobrain Wed, 10 May 2006 19:18:39 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1699 Ok, I've gots to know: Did I miss the deadline, or do you just hate me? I don't need to read any of these to know that <a href="http://biobrain.blogspot.com/2006/05/when-hatred-was-holy.html" rel="nofollow">my submission</a> was clearly the most deserving to win. So it's got to be something personal. If you hate me, just say so. I understand. I'll hold it against you forever and make you suffer at some undisclosed time in the future; but I certainly understand. So far, I've only lost this thing twice, due to my own lax standards towards deadlines; and I just need to know if this was yet again my fault, or if I finally have an enemy to destroy. Ok, I've gots to know: Did I miss the deadline, or do you just hate me? I don't need to read any of these to know that my submission was clearly the most deserving to win. So it's got to be something personal. If you hate me, just say so. I understand. I'll hold it against you forever and make you suffer at some undisclosed time in the future; but I certainly understand. So far, I've only lost this thing twice, due to my own lax standards towards deadlines; and I just need to know if this was yet again my fault, or if I finally have an enemy to destroy.

]]> By: tng http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1694 tng Wed, 10 May 2006 18:47:36 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1694 There's a lot of great reading in this edition. Thanks for all your hard work. There's a lot of great reading in this edition. Thanks for all your hard work.

]]> By: Carnival of the Liberals http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1689 Carnival of the Liberals Wed, 10 May 2006 17:15:54 +0000 http://www.daylightatheism.org/2006/05/carnival-of-the-liberals-12.html#comment-1689 Carnival of the Liberals #12 has arrived! A very thoughtful 12th edition of Carnival of the Liberals has been posted by Ebonmuse over at Daylight Atheism. Many new faces this week, along with some old CotL friends we haven’t seen in a while are tackling church-state separation issues and th Carnival of the Liberals #12 has arrived!

A very thoughtful 12th edition of Carnival of the Liberals has been posted by Ebonmuse over at Daylight Atheism. Many new faces this week, along with some old CotL friends we haven’t seen in a while are tackling church-state separation issues and th

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