The World Around You

According to the NY Times, Gay Bishop Wins in Episcopal Vote, Threatening Split

The Episcopal Church approved the election of its first openly gay bishop tonight, reaching the historic decision after rejecting accusations of sexual misconduct against him that had suddenly halted the vote on Monday.

After being called back to the floor of the House of Bishops this afternoon, 62 of 107 diocesan bishops voted to approve the bishop-elect, V. Gene Robinson. Moments later, more than a dozen conservative bishops, their faces grim, marched slowly to the front of the House to denounce the decision as an affront to church teaching that would split the worldwide church in two.

I just wonder how much of the vote at this point was based on defiance versus conviction. How many bishops voted in favor of this man simply because of the public outcry for them not to do it?

My only wish is that each person who voted, voted based on what the people he represented desired, or what that individual personally believed was the right thing to do. I am a not a member of the Episcopal church, and I certainly respect their desire to make decisions for themselves. They wouldn’t be the first religious entity to become split over such an issue.

Judge orders Ten Commandments Monument Removed

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge ordered Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore on Tuesday to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama Judicial Building within 15 days.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson of Montgomery, who has ruled the 5,300-pound monument violates the constitutional ban on government promotion of religion, lifted a stay he had previously issued while Moore appealed.

Moore, whose stand was rejected by an appeals court, has said he plans to turn to the U.S. Supreme Court with his argument that the monument should remain in the judicial building.

An associate of David Duke runs a white supremacist church? I’m shocked!

NEW ORLEANS, La. (Reuters) - A car crash in a town near New Orleans revealed that a building thought to be a home improvement business was actually a white supremacist church, police said on Friday.

The vehicle smashed into the brick storefront in Chalmette, Louisiana, after colliding with two other cars and came to rest amid stacks of racist books and pamphlets, including Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” they said.

A sign proclaimed the building the “Southern Home Improvement Center,” said Lt. Mike Sanders of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Department, but investigators found out it was the New Christian Crusade Church and headquarters of the Christian Defense League.

Both organizations were the projects of building owner James Warner, a founder of the American Nazi Party and associate of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard and Republican gubernatorial candidate David Duke, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate groups.

Krugman hits the nail on the head yet again. The problem of “shading” information toward pre-formed opinions is not restricted to the CIA or the EPA, it’s occurring in the Treasury Department.

And even if you aren’t bothered by an administration that systematically misleads the public, you ought to be worried about the decisions of an administration that systematically misleads itself. A leader who is told only what he wants to hear is all too likely to make bad decisions about the economy, the environment and beyond.

That is it. That is what is truly disturbing. We have certainly had many a political leader who only tells the people what they want to hear. In fact, we expect that. What does it say about a leader when he does not want all the information, unfiltered, in order to make his decisions, or doesn’t know the difference?

The latest statements from Roy Moore and his spokesperson have just about pushed me over the edge. I think we have just about reached the point of needing to mobilize a campaign to remove Roy Moore from the State Judicial Building along with the monument.

Chief Justice Roy Moore told a federal judge Monday that the U.S. District Court has no authority to order the Ten Commandments monument removed from the state judicial building.

Moore’s lawyers filed a two-paragraph statement with U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson against any new orders to remove the monument or lifting the stay the judge issued on Dec. 23.

“The federal district court has no jurisdiction, power or authority to remove this public acknowledgment of God, which is authorized in the constitution of the state,” a spokesman for Moore said.

Apparently Roy continues to believe that as long as you don’t cross state lines the federal government has no say in what you do. He thinks that if he commits an act that violates the federal constitution, but does not violate the state constitution, the federal government has no jurisdiction. His wake-up call will come soon enough. I, personally, am counting the days.

UPDATE: Mac and I agree on this point.