(from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/us/politics/trump-mass-shootings.html
". . . a 21-year-old white man is accused of opening fire in a Walmart in El Paso, killing 20 people and injuring dozens more after writing a manifesto railing against immigration and announcing that “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”. . . The suspect wrote that his views “predate Trump,” as if anticipating the political debate that would follow the blood bath. But if Mr. Trump did not originally inspire the gunman, he has brought into the mainstream polarizing ideas and people once consigned to the fringes of American society. . . While other leaders have expressed concern about border security and the costs of illegal immigration, Mr. Trump has filled his public speeches and Twitter feed with sometimes false, fear-stoking language while welcoming to the White House a corps of hard-liners, demonizers and conspiracy theorists shunned by past presidents of both parties. . ."
(https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/unusual-statement-disputing-cia-filled-exclamation-points-trump-backs-saudi-n938526)
". . . Trump. . . said Tuesday that his administration would stand by Saudi Arabia's rulers and take no actions against them over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. . . the extraordinary statement . . . called the "crime" against Khashoggi "terrible" and "one that our country does not condone.". . . But. . . stopped well short of pointing blame at Saudi Arabia — despite NBC News and other reports last week that the CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's killing — and cast questions over who killed the journalist. . . "
(from Howard Bess)
"Vic Kohring lives in Wasilla, Alaska, the city made famous by Sarah Palin. He served seven terms in the Alaska State House of Representatives. He was convicted of accepting illegal gifts. He served his sentence in prison and has completed his parole/probation without violations of any kind. All his rights as a citizen have been restored. He now wants to run for a seat on the Wasilla City Council.
Bob Filner is the mayor of San Diego, California. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served with distinction, but chose to leave Congress to run for the office of Mayor of San Diego. It has come to light that he has been a habitual sexual harasser of women with whom he worked. The charges are credible and there has been a loud cry for him to resign from his office of mayor. He has apologized for his behavior and has no intention to resign. He wants to be mayor of San Diego.
Anthony Weiner was elected to the U.S. House of Representative seven times. When he was charged with inappropriate sexting on the internet, he resigned from Congress and returned to New York City. When Weiner returned to New York City he continued his sexting activities under a different name. He has decided that he wants to be mayor of New York City.
He has apologized for his sexting activities and promises never to do such things gain. People are calling for his dropping out of the mayoral race. To date Weiner refuses to be a drop out.
I do not approve of Vic Kohring accepting illegal gifts. I do not approve of Bob Filner’s sexual behavior. I do not approve of Anthony Weiner’s sexting. However, if I dwell on the things that upset me, I will be a miserable human being. The Israelite/Christian tradition makes it abundantly clear that all human being are flawed and fall short of the potential of their lives.
Some well-intentioned human beings are hung up on cleaning up everyone’s flaws except his/her own. I am very skeptical about “clean up the mess” politicians and am even more concerned about “clean up the mess” religious leaders. I love the list of the fruits of the Spirit that Paul enumerates in his Galatians letter. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I find no reference to judging and whistleblowing. Judging and whistleblowing do have a spirit behind them, but it is clearly not the one that Paul calls the “Holy Spirit.”
What to do about what is wrong in the world is a major topic in the Bible literature. There is disagreement about what should be done. There were devout people who thought their God advocated killing or seriously penalizing the wrong doer. Several of the Old Testament prophets disagreed, and for Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, punishment was counterproductive. He was much more interested in restoring, reclaiming, and making the flawed persons whole.
Of all the stories that Jesus told, the one of first importance is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I would place the parable of the wayward son in the second spot. The son blew family money on riotous living and made a fool of himself with women. When he came to his senses, he went home where his father welcomed him and restored him to the family. To accomplish this, the father had to extend an abundance of grace. The extension of grace to the unworthy is an essential part of the Christian tradition.
Kohring, Weiner and Filner made fools of themselves, but that does not mean that their value as human beings has been discarded. It may be that Vic Kohring will be a good city council member. Weiner may make an excellent mayor of New York City and Filner may do a good job as the head of the government in San Diego. Is there a place for grace in American public life?
The United States is a nation of law. However, it does not mean that we cannot be gracious within the framework of law. Right now the mood of America is not to extend grace to anyone. We have taken discretion from our judges and substituted mandatory sentences and absurd laws such as “three strikes and you’re out.”
One of the great hypocrisies of Christians and their churches is their finger pointing and judging. The foundation of the Christian Faith is not being right and pure but being gracious. Our Faith calls us to be witnesses about a different way to live. That way of life is gracious and restores the fallen.
If grace is good for any of us, it has to be good for all of us. All of us must include Kohring, Weiner and Filner."
(The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives In Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net)
(from The Nation, Ryan Devereaux, September 29, 2010. . . )
". . . As a candidate, Barack Obama opposed the Bush administration’s embrace of the state secrets privilege as tactic for deflecting litigation as part of his argument for greater transparency in Washington. He maintained the position, at least rhetorically, following his election. In a memo discussing the Freedom of Information Act in February 2009 the president wrote, “A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency.”
In an 18-month review of President Obama’s record on human rights, national security and civil liberties entitled “TheNewNormal,” Jaffer and Wizner praise the early accomplishments of the administration—including its release of crucial information regarding the Bush administration’s torture regime—but they also warn of a potential pitfall on the horizon. “There is a very real danger that the Obama administration will enshrine permanently within the law policies and practices that were widely considered extreme and unlawful during the Bush administration. There is a real danger, in other words, that the Obama administration will preside over the creation of a ‘new normal.’”
The Obama administration has invoked the state secrets privilege for the second time in less than a month—most recently in an effort to shut down discussion on the targeted killing of a US civilian who has not been charged of any crime—the new normal may have just arrived. . . "
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Colorado Gun Sales Surge After the Aurora Massacre
By Caroline Winter on July 24, 2012 Tweet Facebook LinkedIn Google Plus 10
Background checks for people wanting to purchase firearms in Colorado spiked more than 40 percent this past weekend, after a gunman opened fire in a suburban Denver movie theater, killing 12 people and wounding 58 more.
During the three days following the July 20 shooting, gun dealers submitted 2,887 requests for state background checks, compared with 2,012 during the same period a week earlier, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Booming gun sales following mass shootings are not unusual. Immediately after a Glock-wielding gunman killed six people at a Tucson shopping center in January 2011, for example, one-day sales of handguns in Arizona jumped 60 percent, to 263, according to FBI data obtained by Bloomberg.
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. . . how we can ever stop such ridiculousness as the Terry Jones/Koran-burning/Afghanistan riot/killing or whatever you want to call it.
The situation provides a vivid illustration of what can be achieved when ignorance and reactionary violence are combined. . . death. Of course some parties involved not only have no objection to the resulting death, they actually welcome it.
Since I clearly see which side of THIS argument is the correct one - NEITHER side - I won't belabor any point here at all. I only want to use it as another opportunity to repeat what I believe to be a lesson learned, or more importantly, a preventative measure to such nonsense-induced tragedy - EDUCATION.
Take the time to LEARN. I mean real objective LEARNING. This would and should entail the consultation of MULTIPLE sources (and not merely or exclusively one or another 'holy' book), discussion (objective, non-emotional discussion) followed by some REAL thinking. . .
although I wonder now if the number of human beings truly capable of such educational endeavor is, of late, dwindling. . .
