This page lists all reports and commentary from June, 2007

Registration for the conference is $180 until July 1, then goes to $190. 

For more information about the conference >>

For anyone interested in where the American public really stands on the big issues that distinguish progressives from conservatives – including the issues at the forefront of today’s political debates – "The Progressive Majority: Why a Conservative America Is a Myth" offers hard facts and analysis based on decades of data from some of the nation’s most respected and nonpartisan public opinion researchers. This is the evidence that political leaders have a mandate to pursue bold, progressive policies.

This report by the Campaign for America’s Future and Media Matters for America shows that in study after study, solid majorities of Americans take progressive stands on a full spectrum of issues, from bread-and-butter economics to the so-called "values" issues where conservatives claim preeminence.

On Health Care: 69 percent of Americans think it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have access to health coverage; 76 percent find access to health care more important than maintaining the Bush tax cuts; three in five would be willing to have their own taxes increased to achieve universal coverage.

On Energy Policy: 52 percent of Americans believe "the best way for the U.S. to reduce its reliance on foreign oil" is to "have the government invest in alternative energy sources"; 64 percent are willing to pay a higher energy tax to pay for renewable energy research; 68 percent of the public thinks U.S. energy policy is better solved by conservation than production.

On the Economy: 77 percent of Americans believe Congress should increase the minimum wage; 66 percent believe "upper-income people" pay too little in taxes; 53 percent feel the Bush administration's tax cuts have failed because they have increased the deficit and caused cuts in government programs.

On Government's Role: 69 percent of Americans believe the government "should care for those who can't care for themselves." Twice as many people (43 percent to 20 percent) want "government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending" as want government to provide fewer services "in order to reduce spending."

On Immigration: 62 percent of Americans believe undocumented immigrants should be given a chance to "keep their jobs and eventually apply for legal status." 49 percent believe the best way to reduce illegal immigration from Mexico is to penalize employers, not more border control.

The Presbyterian Layman reports:

In a series of stunning votes, commissioners to the 27^th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church on Friday morning overwhelmingly approved a plan to create non-geographic, transitional presbyteries to receive congregations seeking to join the denomination.

[From your WebWeaver:  We’re not quite sure what was "stunning" about the votes, but anyway ...]

The rest of the story >>

Here’s another report, from The Christian Post >>

A note from your WebWeaver:

This formation of a new "place to go" for congregations leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) is regrettable in many ways, but it seems important that Presbyterians who are not involved in this exodus pay attention to it, and seek to understand it.

Shannon O’Donnell, PC(USA) volunteer in mission in Jerusalem, has sent this note, enclosing a very good glimpse into the realities in Gaza 

Hi Church,

The polity struggles continue
Is some resolution emerging?

Witherspoon Issues Analyst Gene TeSelle recently surveyed some of the ways presbyteries have begun to defy the Authoritative Interpretation adopted by the 217th General Assembly last summer.

He predicted that the various Permanent Judicial Commissions would not look favorably on these attempts by presbyteries to create their own creeds, or make selective interpretations of the Constitution, or prejudge matters that call for subtle discernment in particular cases. Now two decisions by synod PJCs suggest that his prediction was accurate.

The situation in Gaza is dire, and also confusing for many. JVP has assembled this newsletter to help clear some of the fog surrounding current events. Click here for an abridged version of a longer article by JVP's Director of Education and Policy, Mitchell Plitnick, offering an analysis of the events in Gaza.

You may remember that in the months leading up to the 217^th General Assembly in the summer of 2005, a number of progressive groups relating to the Presbyterian Church (USA) joined to create a shared website. Our purpose was two-fold:

First, we wanted to share progressive concerns and views with commissioners and others attending the Assembly, and with anyone else who was watching from afar. While some of our groups focus on one area of concern and others are more general in their focus, we are all committed to the wholeness of our world, which we understand to involve justice and peace and the well-being of all people; and we are committed to the wholeness and health of our Church and its witness and service in the world.

And second, we wanted to get better acquainted with commissioners and others interested in the Assembly, and to serve your concerns and needs in any way we could.

This website has been out of commission for a couple months now due to various little technological challenges. But we’re back, and we hope to add new material as it becomes available.

This may include news and announcements from the sponsoring groups, and reports and commentary on the 2006 GA, as well as articles looking toward the 218^th Assembly, to be held in San Jose, California, June 21 - 28, 2008.

The Rev. John Shuck, whose always-interesting blog we’ve mentioned before, has just written a super-condensed survey of the state of the Presbyterian Church (USA), putting our current struggles in clear perspective.  John is pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, TN.

He begins:

Here is a little introduction to church politics in the Presbyterian Church (USA). The so-called "Culture Wars" blaze through various church denominations. I thought I would take this time to introduce you to one of the movements in the Presbyterian Church. It has its cousins in other denominations such as the Methodist and Episcopal churches. On one hand, it is about internal denominational politics. But on the other hand, it is a larger part of a move toward theocracy in the United States.

Situation report from CWS, June 18, 2007

Amid tentative signs that the situation in Gaza Strip was emerging from a crisis situation after a week of violence and uncertainty, the European Union said it plans to restore humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Palestinian Authority. That follows the Fatah-allied government's move to cut off ties with the radical faction Hamas, which now controls the Gaza Strip.

Runs on markets in Gaza in the wake of fears of food shortages had subsided with assurances from Israel that some humanitarian assistance would go into Gaza, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported today.

Still, as Action by Churches Together (ACT) International reported, the coming days and weeks could see a deepening instability in economic and social conditions, translating into thousands of families having no access to food, cash, medical care and other needed essentials, particularly as the new school year approaches.

Last week's fighting left more than 100 dead and hundreds more wounded, with extensive damage done to an already weak infrastructure. Hospitals became battlegrounds and medical staff members were unable to report to work.

Jim Boushay and Rickey Sain, writing about a month ago in The Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest (IL), did a nice job of putting the sexuality question in perspective. They begin:

The rest of the article >>

Presbyterian Outlook reports that efforts by the Presbytery of Sacramento to nullify the action of the 2006 General Assembly, which affirmed the right of conscience for candidates for ordination. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Pacific ruled that all four policies adopted by the presbytery either violated the spirit of the Authoritative Interpretation adopted by the Assembly, or violated basic principles of Presbyterian Church such as connectionalism, respect for individual conscience and for the discernment exercised by individual congregations.

See the report on the Outlook website >>
Registration is required to see the complete story – but it’s free.

We all said we would not forget our brothers and sisters in New Orleans after Katrina. Now HERE is a chance to make good on that commitment! You and members of your faith community can join the National Council of Churches as they mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by participating in a week-long work project. Interested? Here's more:

Last night at 11:52 PM, Congress defeated the McGovern/Lewis amendment to cut the funding for the SOA/WHINSEC by a margin of six votes.

From the Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture

Wherever you may be on June 26, there will be opportunities to tell your members of Congress that you want U.S.-sponsored torture to end:

Have you and your delegation members registered with NRCAT? If not, click here to do so.

For details of the day, go to the Metro New York Religious Campaign Against Torture website.

Call your Members of Congress or their staff by phone at their DC offices on June 26 or anytime during Torture Awareness Week, June 25 - 29. For more information about your elected members of Congress and contact information, click here.

Wherever we are on June 26, it is important to call on our Members of Congress to:

"Immigration, Identity, and God's Providence"

Witherspoon member Dr. David True offers a very helpful theological look at the current debate (or as he calls it, "shouting match") on immigration. He notes that "[t]his is a strange debate; one in which the word ‘amnesty’ has become a form of slander. Fear and loathing seem the order of the day."

One problem is that three different languages are being used here: "the moral languages of law and order, cultural cohesiveness, and liberation and compassion." Further, "One of the striking things about this debate is the nearly complete absence of talk about God. The dominant languages have been content to focus instead on human identity. ... The lack of God-talk reflects our failure as people of faith to reason together about what our fundamental convictions have to say about our situation with respect to immigrants. More specifically, belief in God's providence ought to cause us to at least question appeals to fear and anxiety."

This failure is because we have reduced God’s providence "to an individualized spirituality in which God functions as a personal fetish. ... [W]e Americans are big fans of a personal Jesus, but we seem to lack any sense of God's fundamental goodness, benevolence, or love expressed in a providential care for the natural world, including the peoples of the earth. This loss of faith or confidence makes it difficult to resist the language of fear, which helps explain why so many citizens of the world's sole remaining super-power talk, organize, and vote as if we were literally under siege from our neighbors to the south. The recovery of a fuller notion of God's providence would aid in forming a more accurate interpretation of our circumstances and responsibilities."

This essay is being published shortly in the journal Political Theology
But right now, with Dr. True's kind permission, you can read it here >>

David True is Assistant Professor of Religion at Wilson College, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He also serves as one of the editors of the international journal Political Theology. His interests include twentieth-century figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Reinhold Niebuhr, and Walter Rauschenbusch. Currently he is working on several projects including an essay on immigration and another comparing Michael Walzer and Reinhold Niebuhr. He is also doing research for a book on the political theology of twentieth century progressive Protestants. He earned a PhD at Union-PSCE in theology and ethics and is an ordained minister in the PC (USA). 

An Action Alert from ActionAid USA, Oakland Institute, & Washington Office on Latin America

Each year millions of tons of food are shipped from the United States to developing countries as food aid. But a dirty little secret is hiding in the food aid system.

U.S. food aid policy is primarily geared towards the interests of multinational agribusiness and shipping companies. All food provided by the U.S. food aid program must be produced in the United States and shipped abroad at great cost. This preference given to in-kind food produced in the U.S. and the U.S. shipping industry makes U.S. food aid unnecessarily expensive. In addition, the U.S. procurement requirement delays delivery of emergency food aid by nearly five months on average.

A proposal to allow one quarter of emergency resources to be used to purchase food grown by local or regional producers is being considered in Congress. But Members of Congress need to hear from constituents that this is an issue they care about. Call your Senators and Congressional Representatives TODAY to support the proposed change in the 2007 Farm Bill which would allow for 25% of emergency food aid purchases under Title II to be provided in cash for local and regional purchase rather than as commodities purchased in the United States and shipped to developing countries.

CALL

Senate: 202-224-3121 (Operator assistance); House: 202-225-3121 (Operator assistance)

Urge Congress to ensure food aid goes to those in need, not corporations!

New York State Assembly votes 85-61 to pass bill; no action scheduled in Senate

ALBANY, NY – After more than three hours of impassioned debate, the Assembly on Tuesday night approved a bill to allow same-sex marriage in New York.

Even though the bill is not slated for discussion in the Senate, proponents said the Assembly action was an important first step if New York is ever to legalize such marriages.

"I'm very proud of my colleagues," said a buoyant Daniel O'Donnell, D-Manhattan, an openly gay lawmaker who carried the bill on behalf of Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The bill passed 85-61, more than he'd expected.

Aaron Shuman has recently posted a long article detailing his charges of a long-standing effort of government spying on the protest movement SOA Watch.

He says that "for years, former school instructor Ken LaPlante ran a counterintelligence operation against SOA Watch while working as a subcontractor for the Department of the Army. LaPlante's activities — and those of William Willoughby, a civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army who says he reported to LaPlante — raise questions about the use of contractors and the infrastructure of the Army to spy on protesters against the School of the Americas, and possible ties to the White House. This comes as the U.S. Senate considers legislation reauthorizing intelligence gathering."

Aaron Shuman attended the 2002 protests of the School of the Americas as a journalist, participated in the 2004 protests, and did four months in federal prison in 2005.

His article appears on "Narcosphere," a site supported by The Fund for Authentic Journalism.  The site began in 2000 as a place for independent reporting on the "drug war," and now provides space for journalists to post their own reports on other subjects as well.

Witherspoon member Mary Louise Ellenberger, a retired minister living in Maryland, has forwarded this message to us from TrueMajority.org

Right now, Senate leaders are drafting their spending bill that could terminate the nuclear weapons program entirely. The House has already cut the funding for new nukes, but it will only stick if the Senate follows suit. This is our best shot to end funding of new nuclear weapons. Email your Senators and tell them to support an Energy and Water Appropriations bill that cuts all spending for new nuclear weapons.

The Senate should follow the lead of the House by cutting all funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) Program in their spending bill. We should be working to make the world a safer, more peaceful place, not funding and building more nuclear weapons.

Decisions about this bill are being made now. So be sure to email your senators today and ask that they do everything they can to call for a bill that cuts funding to the nuclear warhead program.

 We have a real chance to end funding for nuclear weapons, but the Senate needs to hear from as many of us as possible. After you've taken action, be sure to send this message onto your friends so they can get involved.

The Rev. Carol Wickersham, of No2Torture, reports on bits of good news, as the courts act to limit the President's power to label people as "enemy combatants" beyond the reach of US laws and rights, new evidence is given of the existence of US-run secret prisons, and much more. 

She also reminds us that legislation to repeal the Military Commissions Act and restore the constitution has gained numerous sponsors in the Senate and the House. More are still needed! You can do something!  

And on June 26 thousands will gather in Washington, DC from around the country for "The Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice"  Check out this web site to get involved.

Also, this month Carol was elected to the Board of the National Religious Coalition Against Torture, which represents over 100 faith-based organizations.

Here are some helpful sources for information on the legislative issues

Witness in Washington Weekly, published by the Presbyterian Washington Office, covers these vital issues in the June 18, 2007, edition:

Well, the Southern Baptists offer one perspective.

Baptist Seminary Homemaking Classes for Wives to Rescue Culture, Church

Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, offers a delightful (or appalling) look at one way to defining women’s role in the church

This liberating story was forwarded to us by Witherspooner Bill Knox.

The Whale

If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle [in December, 2005], you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate ) and radioed an environmental group for help.

Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her

This past weekend was brightened (or burdened, depending on your point of view) by an important step in the current Presidential campaign. Initiated largely by Jim Wallis of Sojourners, the three leading Democratic candidates – Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards – appeared together on CNN, where each responded to several questions from journalists and religious leaders about the intersection of faith and politics. The stated topic was "Faith, Values and Poverty," reflecting Wallis’ conviction that poverty must be seen as the major issue in this campaign.

So, how did it go?

We bring you comments from Jim Wallis himself, Peter Steinfels of the New York Times, Brian Lewis wrote in the Springfield, MO, News-Leader, and Sister Joan Chittister -- with perhaps the most provocative of the responses.

What 'These People' Contribute Remains America's Saving Grace

Pierre Tristam, writing in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, calls the current raging against undocumented immigrants just what it seems to be: bigotry. That’s what led to the defeat of the immigration bill in the US Senate. "The defeat is attributable to one thing: Americans don't want more Mexicans and other brown-skinned people here. ‘These people came in the wrong way, so they don't belong here, period,’ was how one Monique Thibodeaux ... summed it up in the Sunday paper."

But, he argues, "these people" are largely responsible for the United States’ population growth over recent decades, and therefore its economic growth as well.

He continues:

The full article >>

STOPPING TORTURE

Torture Awareness Month is June 2007    More >>


SUDAN Advocacy Works!

But right now ... Help is needed in the US Senate:

Erin Swenson and Jack Rogers will serve as two of the keynote speakers at the National More Light Presbyterians Conference, being held August 31 - September 2, 2007 in Atlanta, GA. Each of them will also offer thought-provoking educational workshops.

The Rev. Dr. Jack Rogers was Moderator of the 213th General Assembly, is a Presbyterian minister, Professor Emeritus of Theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary & Fuller Theological Seminary, and author of the best-selling Jesus, the Bible & Homosexuality, Explode the Myths, Heal the Church.

The Rev. Dr. Erin K. Swenson is also a Presbyterian minister, and is a pastoral counselor, transgender educator and inspirational speaker. She was the first minister in mainline Christianity to maintain pastoral credentials after gender transition. She is co-founder of SAGE, the Southern Association for Gender Education, and recently served as Co-Moderator, National MLP Board of Directors.

Norman Finkelstein, the political scientist whose bid for a permanent position at DePaul University stirred up charges of anti-Semitism, personal vendettas and outside interference in the hiring process, was informed Friday [June 8, 2007] that he had been denied tenure by the university.

The full report in the New York Times >>

The Chicago Sun-Times reported on Friday >>

The Chronicle of Higher Education notes that DePaul University’s president, the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, affirmed the decision against granting tenure, adding that the intense outside interest in the case "was unwelcome and inappropriate and had no impact on either the process or the outcome of this case."

Anyone who denies the long arm of the powerful Israeli lobby in America need only to note today that distinguished Professor Norman Finkelstein of De Paul University was denied tenure. Without any doubt this was due to his outspoken criticism of Israeli policies. This was a great triumph for leading Zionist scoundrel Alan Dershowitz and his crusade to have Finkelstein denied tenure. Finkelstein's great sin has been his defense of the Palestinian people and his criticism of Israeli policies toward them. Because Finkelstein's family were Holocaust survivors and his Jewish credentials impeccable his courageous stance for justice was intolerable for the likes of Dershowitz and the Israeli lobby.

The greater shame is that of the Catholic university of De Paul for knuckling in to the pressures from the Zionist lobby. I have attended Finkelstein's brilliant lectures and treasure his autographed book.

This is a disgrace and a violation of academic freedom. The excuse given for tenure denial is limp and contrived. Shame on De Paul.

Click here to read Dr. Finkelstein's letter to Commissioners to the 217th General Assembly, discussing the issue of Israel and divestment as they prepared for the Assembly.

For background on the attacks on Finkelstein because of his criticism of Israel >>

Witherspooner Betty Hale recently told us of the commencement address by Cornell's president, David Skorton, calling for the creation of a "New Marshall Plan" to alleviate the gaps between rich and poor nations, and much more.  He urges universities to spearhead this move, using their capacities for research and innovation to benefit a world in crisis.

At the same time, the Network of Spiritual Progressives is putting forth a similar call, rooted not in academia but in the growing conviction among people of faith that the world must begin learning to operate on the basis of generosity rather than selfishness and fear of the other.

Could an influx of foreign aid to Mexico solve America's immigration problem?

James Ridgeway, writing for Mother Jones magazine, says:

For all the talk about immigration reform on the Hill, there has been notably little discussion about what is driving Mexican immigrants to pour over the border into the U.S., let alone any debate about measures that might go to the root of the problem.

According to Laura Carlsen, the director of the International Relations Center's Americas Program, the reason behind the "massive out-migration" is fairly clear. Put simply, she wrote not long ago, "Mexico is not producing enough decent jobs for its people—and the United States is hiring." It would seem, then, that one potential answer to the United States' so-called immigration problem would be an effective development policy toward Mexico (whose citizens make up 56 percent of America's undocumented population, according to the Pew Hispanic Center), including both private investment and foreign aid. As it stands, Mexico receives the bulk of its aid not from the U.S. government or corporations but from immigrants themselves.

The Horrors We Bless: Rethinking the Just-War Legacy, by Daniel C. Maguire, Fortress, 2007.

The Rev. Betty Hale, of Roxboro, NC, writes:

Daniel Maguire, who is Professor of Moral Theological Ethics at Marquette University, aims "to challenge the seductive power of war that so grips and hobbles our imaginations." A major cause, he argues, is "Just-war" Theory. Its original purpose – to limit, control, and even avoid warfare – now is commonly subverted to justify and "baptize" it. The burden of proof intended to rest upon the warrior now rests upon the conscientious objector.

Maguire has the gift of truth-telling in such a way that you can see. Noting how we have sanitized the idea of war, Maguire observes: "War can even be a form of armchair spectator entertainment. It is acceptable for people to become 'Civil War buffs,' or 'Revolutionary War buffs.' If people were to announce themselves as 'prostitution buffs' or 'necrophilia buffs,' their perverted absorption in such human disasters would raise eyebrows."    The rest of her book-note, and a link to order the book >>

Soon after we posted Michael Adee’s comment on the death of Bill Silver, we received this note from Tim Leadingham, a Witherspoon member living in Coulee Dam, Washington:

The following quote is from Michael Adee in eulogizing Bill Silver:

Amnesty International has issued its annual report on the state of human rights around the world. The theme of the report is the "politics of fear" which is being used by some many governments and leaders – the US being one of the primary examples.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has signaled to the White House that an infamously abusive secret CIA program to interrogate high-level al-Qaida types may have to be scrapped, given "the damage the program does to the image of the United States abroad." It is a stinging rejection of a program that President Bush late last year called "one of the most successful intelligence efforts in American history" and comes as administration lawyers are reportedly crafting new, secret rules to govern it.

This comes from NRCAT, the National Religious Coalition Against Torture.

If you’re not near Washington, point 5 suggests possibilities for you.

Dear NRCAT Participating and Endorsing Members:

The big day to stand with other people of faith and human rights leaders against torture is just around the corner – Tuesday, June 26^th. Two- to three-thousand people will gather for an 11:30 a.m. rally on Capitol Hill and in the afternoon lobby their Members of Congress to end torture. We hope that you will be able to come and that you will encourage the members of your organization to attend as well. This is a very important NRCAT effort and one we hope will be very successful – with your support.

Rich Killmer, Executive Director, NRCAT, 207-846-1614, rkillmer@nrcat.org

LEGISLATE AGAINST HATE BY ’08
a call from The Interfaith Alliance

You can send this message to your colleagues and other religious leaders.

June 5, 2007

But we’re only one third of the way there. Now our fight moves to the Senate and the White House. Religious Right lobbyists, stung by their failure to block this bill in the House, are claiming to represent all people of faith as they attempt to derail this bill. That’s why we need your help to drive religious leaders—especially clergy—to visit www.clergyagainsthate.org and sign the petition to proclaim that hate is not an American, or moral value!

From Michael J. Adee, M.Div., Ph.D., National Field Organizer for More Light Presbyterians

With sadness, a sense of pathos, and with thanksgiving for the life of Bill Silver, those of us within More Light Presbyterians recognize the life, ministry and witness of William David Silver, and his recent death as noted in today's New York Times obituary.

Bill Silver is remembered as one of the pioneers of the welcoming and affirming, More Light Movement in the Presbyterian Church (USA), along with his friends and colleagues who preceded him in death: David Sindt and Rosemarie Wallace.

Click here for a summary of Freeman's essay >>
... or here for the complete paper >>

We have received a comment from Prof. Dr. Earl Tilford, a Presbyterian elder, retired military officer, and professor of history at Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

You may be interested to read Dr. Tilford’s earlier exchange (if that’s the word for it) in the spring of 2006 with Beth Pyles, a Presbyterian member of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Iraq, after the kidnapping and killing of one of their group, Tom Fox.

Dr. Tilford begins by quoting from Ambassador Freeman:

Doug:

"The center of the problem of 'terrorism' is 'the brutal oppression of the Palestinians by an Israeli occupation that is about to mark its fortieth anniversary and shows no sign of ending.' We must unshackle ourselves from Israel and its increasingly aggressive policy towards the Palestinians."  You asked for a comment. Here it is. Fiddlesticks. I'm being polite.

The rest of the note >>

Among the major articles:

Former Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS. Ret.), speaking to the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs on May 24, 2007, asked how the US managed so quickly to lose its global leadership, and how it might be restored.

How did we lose it? He mentions things like our betrayal of our own values of democracy and human rights, our proclamation of an endless war against a foe that is largely of our own imagining (“a nonexistent ideology of ‘Islamofascism’”), and aiming for unreachable objectives.

More points from his talk >>                 The full article >>