Earth-based Religions

It's Literally the Water of Life — Use it Sparingly

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Today we celebrated our annual water service at First Unitarian Society. Pouring water together that we had brought back to Madison from vacations in other spots, we celebrated our community gathering again after a summer spent apart. Like rivers running to the sea,/We’re coming home… (UU hymn)
The worship service also commemorated water as the holy necessity it is in our lives: the sacred water that runs through our veins, the water we drink to maintain our lives, the water that brings the earth alive, the life-giving liquid flow that cycles through the clouds, the rain, the springs, the lakes, the streams, the rivers, finally streaming to the oceans, where it evaporates to become rain again. Without water, there is no life.

Politics & Society

Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last?

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Van Jones (right side of photo) resigned last night after an onslaught of attacks led by Fox News’ Glenn Beck. Being involved in the peace movement, and specifically the anti-war movement, since soon after September 11th, I’ve had many opportunities to hear amazing people speak. Van Jones was one of those people. The first time he spoke he was promoting “books not bars,” a movement to consider alternatives to the prison-industrial complex that cost so much money per prisoner and provided such dismal outcomes. He talked about models being used in other states and countries that dealt with youth crime but, instead of turning out adult criminals at the end of imprisonment, were turning out productive citizens who didn’t end up in jail again.

Health

Boy who survived brain surgery wants all children to have access to health care

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“I came here because I have health issues and I want other kids, ones that aren’t as lucky as me, to have access to health care.” We had asked his mother why they had come to San Francisco City Hall today and she pointed at the kids and said “Ask them.” Her older son, munching on the addictive kettle corn on sale at the City Hall Farmer’s market quipped “I was hungry” and then her younger son had talked about his health issues and why he worried about other kids not as lucky as him. “Health issues” Mom piped in, “He had brain surgery, spent two months in Children’s Hospital, the bills were staggering even though we had insurance…. my husband had lost his job, and we got sent to collections.

Earth-based Religions

Thomas Friedman a Wiccan?

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I don’t normally read Thomas Friedman’s op. ed. pieces. But this one — “Connecting Nature’s Dots” — drew my attention, probably because of the word “Nature” in the headline. Practicing Wicca attunes me to nature, since to me it’s sacred.

Culture

Crusade for Women or Women's Crusade?

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Today after returning from a delightful vacation in the Adirondacks, I’ve been immersing myself in the Sunday NY Times Magazine. This week to my utter astonishment, the entire magazine section of the Sunday Times has been devoted to the international issues surrounding women’s rights. It’s entitled “Saving the World’s Women.” The cover story, “The Women’s Crusade” by husband-and-wife team Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, begins by enumerating several of the causes for women’s oppression in China, South Asia, and Africa — sexual slavery, lack of employment opportunities, lack of education, even lack of food and medicine for girls (but not for boys) — and how some of the women affected by these issues have turned their lives around through microfinance. These are wonderful stories, inspiring and perceptive about women’s situation in the developing world.

The Economy--Wealth & Poverty

Observations from the Woodstock Peace Economy Forum

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‘Peace Rose’ by Peter KuperI had the pleasure of attending the recent Woodstock Peace Economics Forum, held in the town of Woodstock NY (yes, it’s THE Woodstock) on the 40th anniversary of the original Woodstock concert. The theme seemed to be “Turning Swords into Wind Turbines.” There was a lot of interesting talk about the impact of the military on our economy, environmental issues, and the state of activism in general. While some participants seemed to have been stuck in old arguments and rhetoric that hasn’t changed much since the 1969 concert, there were some interesting new facts and approaches. Economist Robert Pollin gave the following information from a recent study about the impact of federal spending on job creation.

Inter-Culturalism

Debunking the Myth of Post-Racial America

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Every time a journalist refers to “post-racial America” and our “post-racial age,” a wave of anger and sadness hits me. How can they say the United States has moved beyond race in this age of anti-immigrant violence, racial profiling, residential segregation, school funding disparities, and the mass incarceration of black and Latino men? We aren’t going to make any progress in fighting racism if we aren’t able to acknowledge that it continues to exist on both the interpersonal level and the structural level. Overt, interpersonal racism is on the decline in many places, but it’s far from dead. At a recent Netroots Nation panel on this topic, blogger Annabel Park shared the following video about anti-immigrant organizing in Manassas, Virginia.

Politics & Society

How We Survive: Resisting Foreclosures

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After reading several of Dave Belden’s posts about his experiences trying to help save a local family from losing their home to foreclosure, I’d been on the lookout for ways to help. This week, my friends at Making Contact, an international radio program, are focusing on the foreclosure crisis and with their permission I’m pleased to make their broadcast available right here at Tikkun Daily. Click here to listen to the program (or right-click to download it to your computer). Here’s all the information about this program from our friends at Making Contact:
How We Survive: Resisting Foreclosures
It’s been a couple of years since the mortgage crisis first broke. And there is little to indicate that the financial picture will be improving anytime soon.

Politics & Society

Home Defense Defeat

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Back in May I posted in Home Defense Victory about how a group of people kept the sheriff away from Tosha Alberty’s foreclosed home in Oakland, CA. The week before last Tosha called a bunch of us to come at once. The sheriff had arrived unexpectedly. I couldn’t get there. I don’t know how many did.