Congress Stumbles, and the Weird Westboro Baptists

I am 100% in support of our troops, and believe we should fund them and send a surge…into Afghanistan, and Pakistan if necessary, to find Bin Laden. I am also in favor of supporting the troops in Iraq… by bringing them home. So I am really pissed that the house and senate gave the president another blank check. $100,000,000,000. That much. Well, 95 billion anyway. 120 billion if you add all the other spending tacked on to the bill.

Are you listening, New Orleans? Are you listening, south Mississippi and Alabama? Are you listening, Kansas? Are you listening, 47 million uninsured Americans? Think of the ways that money could be used.

Is this what the electorate wanted when it voted last November and returned power in congress to the democrats? No. And now watch Bush’s ratings go up after congress caves in to his demand to leave out the timetable for withdrawal. At least Representative Artur Davis voted against the bill, saying earlier yesterday that he wanted a definite timetable for withdrawal of troops. But I have a question. If he was so sure he was going to vote against the bill, how come when I called his office before the vote, they wouldn’t tell me that, only saying they did not know how he felt about it? They say this every time I call, and I know other representative’s staff members will report whether they oppose or support a measure, but Artur's always seem to be in the dark.

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In other national news Shirley Phelps-Roper of Westboro Baptist Church says that Americans are doomed to eat their children. “You’ll eat your kids, you hateful people,” are the words the church members sing in their parody of “We Are the World.” “No, we are not being metaphorical,” she says, basing her beliefs on a verse in Deuteronomy which says “Thou shalt eat…the flesh of thy sons and daughters.” BhamNews

DNC Chairman Howard Dean in Birmingham

Civic Center workers scrambled to set up more tables as the crowd grew larger than anticipated for Governor Howard Dean’s appearance in Birmingham this morning. The Democratic National Committee chairman drew applause for several minutes as he took the stage. The loudest applause may have been when he said we need to “end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home with honor.” It is so encouraging to see people in Alabama echoing this opinion. Governor Dean emphasized that you are not being patriotic when you send young men and women over to Iraq to fight, and then forget about them when they return as has happened at Walter Reed.

He spoke of three democratic values that we need to remember. First is fairness. For example, we don’t need to be leaving children behind in education or in health care as the current administration is doing. Second is toughness, and it is possible to be both tough and smart when it comes to security and defending our country. Third is fiscal responsibility and we know that the current administration has not been responsible in this area. Leaving a debt for our children and grandchildren to manage is not being responsible.



Here the chairman is sporting his new Brite Blue Dot cap. Get yours at http://britebluedot.com/index.c.html.









Here in Bessemer where The Western Tribune pointed out this week that there are no water restrictions (we have our own water supply), there are still some irises blooming and the daylilies are continuing to open.

The Western Tribune

The Western Tribune this week contains my column regarding the resolution of inclusion recently passed by Birmingham's City Council. To my knowledge, this is the first gay positive column or report pubished in a Bessemer newspaper in history. I know there are homophobic people in western Jefferson County, I ran across several while I was campaigning, but whether they read the Trib or not I don't know. But just in case, it would be nice for the Tribune to hear from readers of this column (and the paper) who support diversity in our community. I am sure they will hear from those who don't. Dan titled my column "One Vote for Diversity in Bessemer." Mine may be the first vote, but I am sure it is not the only one. Let them know. The mailing address is The Western Tribune, 1530 Third Avenue North, Bessemer, AL 35020, and their email is thewesterntrib@bellsouth.net. For those who do not have the newspaper (you can subscribe at 425-7171) the column is repeated here:

One Vote for Diversity in Bessemer

A few weeks ago I was critical of the Birmingham City Council because they failed to pass a resolution of inclusion proposed by Councilperson Valerie Abbott. The resolution would promote tolerance and respect for all residents and visitors and condemn racism, bigotry, homophobia and other forms of discrimination, and would encourage the city of Birmingham to embrace diversity.

Birmingham’s history, like Bessemer’s, does not always shine when the issues of tolerance and inclusiveness are brought forth. The words of intolerance and division that filled the chamber just weeks ago are evidence of a past that lingers, one of mistrust and hatred.

A city that has been divided has no business promoting intolerance when wounds are still healing and fences are still being mended. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” And Coretta Scott King echoed her husband’s feelings by saying “Like Martin, I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others” when she was speaking against discrimination against gays and lesbians in 1994.

On May 15 Birmingham righted this wrong by passing, unanimously, a modified version of the resolution for inclusion. The council members who had voted no the first time realized that voting to exclude people because of who they are presented a negative image for their city. One councilor who changed his vote, Steven Hoyt, said this was the right thing to do, after doing some research and having discussions with spiritual leaders. By voting now to reverse that decision, all residents and visitors can feel welcome and appreciated.

I wonder if the Bessemer City Council, if presented with a similar resolution, will behave like the Birmingham Council did in March with hateful speech and divisive votes, or will they show unity with a progressive vote for inclusion and tolerance. With the contributions that gays are making toward improving our city, I would hope for the latter. Bessemer is a diverse community and has been mentioned more than once by the Birmingham News as a community where gays are helping to revitalize the city by preserving their historical homes and contributing to efforts to bring cultural events and art shows. And history shows that revival of fading communities across the nation is often heavily influenced by the contributions of gays in those communities.

Resolution or not, let’s hope the leaders and followers in our community appreciate the efforts of everyone to improve our city.

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Pensacola On My Mind

We are back from our little trip, and Pensacola Beach was very nice. There is still so much evidence of Hurricane Ivan’s destruction (2004) that one wonders how they will handle the crowds on their big weekends, including Memorial Day weekend when thousands of gays flock to Pensacola, and the Blue Angels weekend in July when thousands of everybodies flock to the island. We visited there in 2005, just months after Ivan for the 4th of July and Blue Angels and they handled the crowds then, so I guess they will do OK. The road to Ft. Pickens is still closed, and the road to Navarre is closed a couple of miles in to Gulf Islands National Seashore, but I assure you that is where the crowd will be this weekend. In fact, the road is washed away, with parts of the blacktop and center stripes lying on top of the sand a few yards inland from where the cracked and rumpled under layers of the road are still visible. I guess the Park Service on both ends of Pensacola Beach either are in no hurry to repair their roads or can’t find construction workers to do it since they are all building condos and repairing existing commercial properties.



Anyway, even a week before Memorial Day, you see this kite flying and you know you the area has been staked out for gays and gay friendly folks. Need information: http://www.memorialweekendpensacola.com/




Remember the Tiki House? Their sign proclaimed it “A 50’s Place” and it is where Bobby and I met (not in the 50’s). This is all that remains, the motel site is now used as a staging site and parking for condo construction that is going on across the street












This crab kept trying to creep up on us. Nosey little critter.

Next weekend there will be a hundreds of these rainbow colored umbrellas lining the beaches. Not this year for us though.

Tomorrow I will post my weekly column from The Western Tribune, Bessemer's newspaper. And any news I might have about the pot boiling over.

Pensacola is Better than Blogging

Why I am not posting this weekend:

What I would be posting if I were:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Former President Carter says President Bush's administration is "the worst in history" in international relations, taking aim at the White House's policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CARTER_BUSH?SITE=OHRAV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Stirring the Pot, and the Melting Pot

I can not go into detail, but let me tell you the pot has been stirred in Bessemer, the fire is hot, and the stew is about to boil over.




This is nice. The sign looks like it has been spruced up for the 2007 season.

And the beach ball welcomes visitors.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked me what I like about President Bush, implying there must be at least one thing. I did not reply, but I knew right away what my answer would be. Although not in agreement 100%, I come real close to agreeing with him on his immigration policy. Like the saying goes, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Well, Bush is not right that often, but...

The agreement reached yesterday by key senators and the white house certainly has my approval. No, it’s not perfect, but as Senator Diane Feinstein says, “Please, please, please, please, don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” No plan is ever going to be acceptable to everyone.

Critics say the plan with its merit system does not consider family ties when allowing certain foreigners to immigrate. At first I thought this was significant, but USA Today states “In a historic shift, it also would eliminate some of the preferences given to adult children and siblings of U. S. citizens applying to immigrate and create a merit-based point system designed to promote immigration by workers whose skills are in demand in the U. S.” I was concerned at first it might mean minor children would be denied, but adult children? It does not bother me at all that certain adults are denied entry since adult partners and same sex spouses (that might have legal marriages from other countries) of U. S. citizens are denied entry, often even when the foreign partner has advanced skills. That needs fixin’.

This is not amnesty. Detractors will call it that, but they won’t be satisfied until we round up all the illegals at gunpoint, house them in “double Guantanamo” (Mitt Romney’s term) and deport every one of them. Of course, they don’t look forward enough to know that we might not have any lettuce or oranges to eat (never mind the bee shortage and the effect of that on produce), or that construction would slow down significantly (and rise in cost), or that your golf course might not be kept green, or your hotel beds not made each day, and your favorite restaurant might have to close (and this includes more than just Mexican restaurants). The immigrants in our country, whether legal or illegal, do affect our economy in a HUGE way, and its not all negative.

So come on, support this plan. It can be modified later if need be, but let’s get something going.

This is Just Bad

Remember how you felt the first time you heard about Fred Phelps? He was probably in the news protesting the funeral of a homosexual, parading around with signs with suggestive drawings of homosexual sex and slogans such as "Fags burn in Hell." If you are gay, you probably thought he was a nut, or disrespectful, or just another example of Baptist hypocrisy. If you are straight, you should have thought "This guy needs to shut up, he's going to give Christianity a bad name."



Then Phelps and his clan began to protest at the funerals of American service members killed in Iraq, because the U. S. is enabling homosexuals he says and Clinton and Bush allowed the service to be filled with "fags and dykes" by executive order. By that time people who previously ignored Phelps began to think he was being disrespectful. After all, who cared if he protested at the funerals of gays, but hey, these are our soldiers who died for our country.



Now this is unbelievable. It's enough to cause Tinky Winky to roll over in his grave (he's not really dead) and Sponge Bob to wet his Squarepants. Westboro Baptist Church is going to protest at the funeral of Jerry Falwell. This has been reported on alablawg and Birmingham Blues and other blogs, but I feel compelled to share it with my readers. I am not going to link to WBC's web site, I'm sure you know what it is, but this came off of it:

To save you time, from wikipedia, with all its links: Zeitgeist (help·info) is originally a German expression that means "the spirit (Geist) of the time (Zeit)." It denotes the intellectual and cultural climate of an era.

So they think Falwell is responsible for the current cultural climate, and I can't totally disagree with them. He is somewhat responsible for the anti-gay, bigoted views of many evangelicals in our culture.

Also, from wiki: Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought in Protestant Christian theology founded by the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius. Its acceptance stretches through much of mainstream Protestantism. Due to the influence of John Wesley, Arminianism is perhaps most prominent in the Methodist movement.
Arminianism holds to the following tenets:
Humans are naturally unable to make any effort towards salvation
Salvation is possible by grace alone
Works of human effort cannot cause or contribute to salvation
God's election is conditional on faith in Jesus
Jesus' atonement was for all people
God allows his grace to be resisted by those unwilling to believe
Salvation can be lost, as continued salvation is conditional upon continued faith

If nothing else, this is educational. I am a Methodist by tradition and upbringing, so I guess Arminiansim is in my background. Who knew? This should not be confused with Armenian, being from Armenia, although, coincidentally enough, Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion.

Just so you know, I would not condone protesting at anyone's funeral. Not that Falwell and his family are not used to him being protested against, but during a funeral respect should be shown, and who is going to get a postive message from a protest like that anyway.

With that, I am off to Pensacola.