Stone Cupid Real - rapture_index_0

Cindy Sheehan, living saint.

noreply@blogspirit.com (Julie CHRISTENSEN) — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 21:30:00 -0700

Here is the flashpoint for the resurgence of an anti-war movement. Thank you, Cindy. You are very brave.
Camp Casey updates and videos 24/7 on Truthout.org
"I have a broken heart. And I shouldn't have a broken heart."--Cindy Sheehan to George W. Bush
TODAY (August 17th) IN THE NEW YORK TIMES... Doesn't it seem with all of W's neighbor's complaining, he could just do the neighborly thing and TALK TO CINDY??? No, because he will never be able to look her in the eye.
Here is her letter from California, TODAY, Saturday, August 20th. She's with her mom, who's had a stroke.

This image is not Cindy Sheehan, This is another protester at Camp Casey in Crawford, picking up the pieces from Monday night's attack on Arlington West... And here's a letter up on Truthout TODAY, Saturday, August 20, from a retired Sergeant who lost two soldiers in Iraq to the Texan who mowed those crosses down...
You Mowed Down His Cross
By Perry Jefferies, First Sergeant, USA (retired)
t r u t h o u t | Letter

Thursday 18 August 2005

Mr. Northern:

I am a Veteran of the Iraq war, having served with the 4th Infantry Division on the initial invasion with Force Package One.

While I was in Iraq, a very good friend of mine, Christopher Cutchall, was killed in an un-armored HMMWV outside of Baghdad. He was a cavalry scout serving with the 3d ID. Once he had declined the award of a medal because Soldiers assigned to him did not receive similar awards that he had recommended. He left two sons and a wonderful wife. On Monday night, August 16, you ran down the memorial cross erected for him by Arlington West.

One of my Soldiers in Iraq was Roger Turner. We gave him a hard time because he always wore all of his protective equipment, including three pairs of glasses or goggles. He did this because he wanted to make sure that he returned home to his family. He rode a bicycle to work every day to make sure that he was able to save enough money on his Army salary to send his son to college. At Camp Anaconda, where the squadron briefly stayed, a rocket landed inside a tent, sending a piece of debris or fragment into him and killed him. On Monday night, August 16, you ran down the memorial cross erected for him by Arlington West.

One of my Soldiers was Henry Bacon. He was one of the finest men I ever met. He was in perfect shape for a man over forty, working hard at night. He told me that he did that because he didn't have much money to buy nice things for his wife, who he loved so much, so he had to be in good shape for her. He was like a father to many young men in his section of maintenance mechanics. They fixed our vehicles with almost no support and fabricated parts and made…

Mother's Day Post-Mortem

noreply@blogspirit.com (Julie CHRISTENSEN) — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 14:05:00 -0700

I found all this great stuff at my daily digest here at truthout.org

Making the Most of Mother's Day
This great piece by Rebecca Ephraim from Alternet includes great reminders about a stellar daughter, Marla Ruzicka, and why Mother's Day (for Peace) was created by Julia Ward Howe in the 1870's after our own Civil War:

Making the Most of Mother's Day
By Rebecca Ephraim AlterNet Saturday 07 May 2005.

This Mother's Day, why not follow in the tradition that Julia Ward Howe set and Marla Ruzicka exemplified.
I grudgingly admit that the big things I wanted when I was a young adult were fame and fortune.
Yes, I can rationalize that I wasn't alone in my youthful lust for more, more, more for me, me, me.
But then there's the audacious northern Californian, Marla Ruzicka, whose stirring death in Iraq last month,
at age 28, was an elegant reminder of how stuck we can be in our boundless self-interests.

It's as if her bigger-than-life role as a long-time advocate for the victims of war was a giant finger poking
at the tightly woven cocoon many of us have spun (consciously or not) that insulates us from acknowledging the ravages of armed struggle on the lives of ordinary people in other lands. Yes, she did the heavy lifting for a lot of us.

Ruzicka, by dint of personality and pluck, sought out politicians (for aid money), U.S. soldiers (for clearing
landmines) and the media (to cover the plight of civilian Iraqis) so she could assist displaced families and orphaned children who were either bombed by mistake or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ironically, this woman who had made helping victims of war her life's work was "collateral damage" herself when a car bomb meant for another target, killed her and two others on April 16. She was on her way to help an Iraqi child. I recall I was on my way to the mall.

It was a stunning realization that this smart and pretty blonde -- 20 years my junior -- had done more at her age, as Vermont's U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy put it, "than most people do in a lifetime."

Yes, Marla Ruzicka was a daughter any mom could be proud of. "She cared about people and gave people her love and help," her own mother, Nancy, was quoted as saying following her daughter's death. "I'll remember the love she spread around the world and the good ambassador that she was for her country."

In one sense -- and not as tacky as it sounds -- Marla Ruzicka's death comes just in time for Mother's Day. Her acts of compassion in war-torn countries renew the importance that Julia Ward Howe gave to the act of honoring mothers in the late 1800's. You could say Mother's Day was her brainchild; but flowers and chocolates didn't figure in.

Julia Ward Howe is probably best known for writing the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Yet, like Marla…

Liberal Bible Thumping

noreply@blogspirit.com (Julie CHRISTENSEN) — Sun, 15 May 2005 11:15:00 -0700

Nicholas Kristof in the NY Times talks about fighting fire with fire. If we are going to get into it with these self-righteous wing nut Christians, we have to get our ammo together. There ARE good things about what Christ had to say as a teacher, so that's why they always throw that back in the liberals' / progressives' faces, managing to hobble and demonize us no matter or spiritual path. Some good reference material for which I plan to provide linkage is Thich Nhat Hanh's Living Buddha Living Christ (also available on audio tape read by Ben Kingsley.) And The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ, as well as all sorts of literature that the right wingnuts would ban that they've never read...JC

Even aside from his arguments that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and that St. Paul was a self-hating gay, the new book by a former Episcopal bishop of Newark is explosive.
John Shelby Spong, the former bishop, tosses a hand grenade into the cultural wars with "The Sins of Scripture," which examines why the Bible - for all its message of love and charity - has often been used through history to oppose democracy and women's rights, to justify slavery and even mass murder.
It's a provocative question, and Bishop Spong approaches it with gusto. His mission, he says, is "to force the Christian Church to face its own terrifying history that so often has been justified by quotations from 'the Scriptures.' "
This book is long overdue, because one of the biggest mistakes liberals have made has been to forfeit battles in which faith plays a crucial role. Religion has always been a central current of American life, and it is becoming more important in politics because of the new Great Awakening unfolding across the United States.
Yet liberals have tended to stay apart from the fray rather than engaging in it. In fact, when conservatives quote from the Bible to make moral points, they tend to quote very selectively. After all, while Leviticus bans gay sex, it also forbids touching anything made of pigskin (is playing football banned?) - and some biblical passages seem not so much morally uplifting as genocidal.
"Can we really worship the God found in the Bible who sent the angel of death across the land of Egypt to murder the firstborn males in every Egyptian household?" Bishop Spong asks. Or what about 1 Samuel 15, in which God is quoted as issuing orders to wipe out all the Amalekites: "Kill both man and woman, child and infant." Hmmm. Tough love, or war crimes? As for the New Testament, Revelation 19:17 has an angel handing out invitations to a divine dinner of "the flesh of all people."
Bishop Spong, who has also taught at Harvard Divinity School, argues that while Christianity historically tried to block advances by women, Jesus himself treated women with unusual dignity and was probably married to Mary Magdalene.
Christianity may have become unfriendly to women's rights…

COURAGE TO RESIST

noreply@blogspirit.com (Julie CHRISTENSEN) — Wed, 04 May 2005 12:55:00 -0700

www.CourageToResist.org

Call for a National Day of Action for GI Resisters on May 10, 2005

May 2, 2005

We urge you to join us in a "National Day of Action for GI Resisters" on Tuesday May 10, 2005. This is the day before the US military is planning to bring sailor Pablo Paredes and soldier Kevin Benderman before military court martial tribunals for their opposition to the Iraq War. They face forfeiture of pay and benefits, and military jail time.

On December 6, 2004, Navy Petty Officer Pablo Paredes refused to board his ship as it left the San Diego Naval Station in support of the Iraq War and occupation. At the time of his refusal, Pablo said he hoped his protest might inspire other GI's to refuse to take part in the war.

On January 5, 2005, Army Sgt Kevin Benderman refused to deploy for a second tour of duty in Iraq with the Army's Third Infantry Division. At the same time seventeen other soldiers from his unit went AWOL, two tried to kill themselves and one had a relative shoot him in the leg to avoid deploying.

Both men applied for discharge from the US military as conscientious objectors. The military has wrongly rejected both claims.

It's time for us to escalate public pressure and action in support of Pablo, Kevin and the thousands of other courageous men and women who have followed their conscience to uphold international law and to take a principled stand against the unjust, illegal war and occupation of Iraq. It's time we had their backs.

Objection and resistance by military servicepersons is a healthy and important assertion of Democracy in a country where the decisions to invade Iraq, to maintain an occupation, and engage in widespread human right violations and torture were made undemocratically in violation of international law and based on continuing lies and disinformation.

Please join us by organizing a public demonstration, vigil or rally of support on May 10. Every action, no matter how large or small is important.

Also,

Send letters of support and donations to cover legal fees to Pablo and Kevin via their websites listed below.
Come to San Diego, California (Pablo) or Fort Stewart, Georgia (Kevin) to show your support during their trials.
Write letters to the editor, and help educate your organization, church, union, school, co-workers and community.

Resisting illegal occupation and war is not a crime! The right to conscientious objection is being systematically violated by the military. Those objectors who are publicly asserting their rights are being singled out for punishment. We demand that military personnel retain their right to follow their conscience, publicly dissent and that their basic democratic rights be respected.

A better world is possible.

More info about Pablo Paredes:
www.SwiftSmartVeterans.com
More info about Kevin Benderman:
www.BendermanDefense.org

Left: Pablo Paredes refuses to ship out in support of the Iraq War at the San Deigo Naval Station pier. Right: Monica and Kevin Benderman outside of Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Initial signatures

Monica Benderman…

Mission NOT Accomplished

noreply@blogspirit.com (Julie CHRISTENSEN) — Mon, 28 Mar 2005 14:10:00 -0800

I awoke today depressed. Jesus didn't die and rise for MY sins. I haven't believed that since I left Iowa 30 years ago. I study zen, and I practice compassion and service, but living in a beautiful valley full of smug SUV-driving homeowners who, despite recent cuts in arts education, are finding it in their pocketbooks to fund it anyway, often gets me feeling guilty... Like, "don't get too complacent, because there's always some issue to distract us from the fact that the world's a mess because WE'VE BEEN TAKEN OVER A CULT." Click on this site: Mission NOT Accomplished and you may feel more relaxed, too.

Save the Arctic Wildlife Refuge!

noreply@blogspirit.com (Julie CHRISTENSEN) — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 16:00:34 -0800

Save the Arctic Wildlife Refuge!

In a Nation of Pharisees, Be a Nonviolent Troublemaker!

noreply@blogspirit.com (Julie CHRISTENSEN) — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 10:35:00 -0800

Now, I'm a student of zen, and in the aftermath of this election I have to think of the old zen saying,"Even the painted cakes are real" but there is action, non-action, and NON-VIOLENT action. This is a sermon at election time from Father John Dear, an activist Jesuit priest...

November 6, 2004

"Getting Into Trouble for Peace and Justice:
The Next Step on the Path of Discipleship to the Nonviolent Jesus"
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

A Talk by John Dear at the Call to Action Conference, November 6, 2004.

Click here or here to order tapes or cds of this talk or Phone 1-800-776-5454,

audiotapes of the talk are item# CTA/04071/411
cd disks of the talk are item # CTA/04071/cd411

Good morning and thank you all for all you do for peace and justice and the church and Jesus. Last month, I spoke at a Baptist College in Pennsylvania to 2,500 college students about the Beatitudes, and I said to them, “Now, let me get this straight: Jesus says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ which means he does not bless the warmakers, which means we are cursed if we make war, which means that to follow Jesus we have to be
about making peace, which means we cannot support this awful evil war on Iraq.”

With that, the place exploded and 500 people stormed out and the rest started chanting “Bush, Bush, Bush.” That was the end of my talk. So I’m not at all surprised about the recent election. Like you, I’m deeply concerned about the church, the country and the world.

When I was invited to speak, I didn’t know where to begin or what I might offer, but I thought I could speak about the one thing I’m good at: getting into trouble for peace and justice. So I want to do three things 1) tell you some stories; 2) look at the Gospel, and 3) offer some suggestions about the next step on the path of discipleship to the nonviolent Jesus.

I’m 45, and have been at this for 25 years now, and my whole life experience in the church, in the Jesuits, in America is about causing trouble, getting into trouble for Jesus. When I was an altar boy and lector, after many years, we got a new pastor and he called a meeting of all the servers in the parish, but I couldn’t make it that afternoon, so a few days later, I received a letter in the mail which said, “Dear John, I regret to inform you. You’re services are no longer needed by the church.”

I was 13 when I was first fired by the church. When I entered the Jesuits in the early 1980s, I was told that if I participated in a civil disobedience demonstration, I would be dismissed. After 2 years of discussions, I was arrested at the Pentagon for a peace protest and the novice master told me I was dismissed, but then later the provincial told me I could stay,…