update: here is the webcast – A New Approach to Capitalism in the Twenty-first Century
..at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland.
http://www.weforum.org/en/index.htm
There is a good article about this in this on the Wall Street Journal here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120113473219511791.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Bill Gates calls for a revision of Capitalism.
Filed under Social Justice
More than 5,000 American pastors gave standing ovations to the former Baptist preacher turned politician Mike Huckabee Monday night during his speech defending moral and social issues at a conference in Florida.
Republican presidential hopeful, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, greets supporters as he arrives at a rally and press availability after arriving in Orlando, Monday, Jan. 21, 2008.The “Rediscovering God in America” pastor’s conference, hosted by the influential American Family Association, featured Huckabee Monday and will present former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich as Tuesday’s keynote speaker.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080122/30934_Thousands_of_Pastors_Applaud_Huckabee.htm
Filed under 2008 Election
Racine Sophomores Discover Asteroid
RACINE, Wis. — Three Racine sophomore students were notified on Monday that a celestial body they discovered during a science project had been verified as an asteroid.
The students at Racine’s Prairie School will be able to name the asteroid, temporarily identified as “2008 AZ28,” in about four years, according to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass., the international authority on known objects in the solar system.
Sophomores Connor Leipold, Tim Pastika and Kyle Simpson were able to make the discovery thanks to technology provided from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., which is also the alma mater of the science teacher, Andrew Vanden Heuvel, school spokeswoman Susan Paprcka said.
To the Moon wonders why the teenagers have to wait 4 years until they get to name the asteroid. Is the Minor Planet Center afraid that the students will name it something silly? How old do you need to be to name an asteroid? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.
Filed under Astronomy
Barack Obama gave a very good speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta – the church of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that is worth reading here:
http://www.barackobama.com/2008/01/20/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_40.php
As a white evangelical Christian, I believe it is time that we take deliberate action to break down the institutional divides that exist in America today – in institutions like the church and in the work place. I agree with the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. and believe that it is consistant with what Jesus and the New Testament teaches. We need to come together with all races and economic classes and agree that there is only one right and wrong and repent of our racism and our greed. We need to go to church and fellowship together, work together, eat lunch together, pray together, and be together on making the United States truly equal and free.
I am very thankful for my church and for my black brothers and sisters who labor, pray and fast so hard for the cause of Christ!
Filed under 2008 Election, America, Christianity, Religion, Social Justice
Here is the top 5 Pazz and Jop albums of the year 2006 with “To The Moon” youtube video selections of the bands. This critics poll appears in the Village Voice. I agree that Modern Times was the best album of 2006!
5. Gnarls Barkley, St Elsewhere
4. The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America
3. Ghost Face Killah, Fishscale
(these rapper videos require parental consent to watch. This is a family blog, so you’ll have to look them up yourself 🙂
2. TV on the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain
(double click video to go to youtube site)
1. Bob Dylan, Modern Times
(double click video to go to youtube page)
One hallmark of Jesus’s ministry was to proclaim freedom to prisoners and to set them free, yet George Bush has one of the worst Presidential Pardon rates of United States presidents since WWII. He has only pardoned 113 people. His dad is the only one with even a worse pardon rate. George H. Bush only pardoned 74 people. FDR was the most “Christ-like” in this regard pardoning 2819 people. Here are some of the other numbers:
The power for presidents to pardon is enshrined the US Constitution in Article II, Section 2
source: 2008 Scott’s Miscellany, p 304
Filed under America, Bible, Christianity, history, Religion, Social Justice
Read about the life and death of this modern day saint here:
Filed under Uncategorized
http://www.ugandalobbyday.com/
this is sponsored by world vision, invisible children, gulu walk and other organizations. one of the speakers will be carolyn davis of the philadelphia inquirer. here is an editorial she wrote on the subject – http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/carolyn_davis/20071030_Without_Borders___Bush__Museveni__Step_up_.html
Memo to President Bush and Ugandan President Museveni:
Good morning, gentlemen. I’m glad you two could get together today in Washington. A loud and clear statement that you are squarely behind the fitful negotiations to end the war in northern Uganda, a war almost two decades old, could score you welcome political and public relations victories.
You could justify stepping up your support for the talks with the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony, simply on humanitarian grounds. Nothing is more indecent than 30,000 children kidnapped and forced to become soldiers and concubines during the war.
And think of the precious foreign-policy victory of gaining peace in northern Uganda through the talks being held in South Sudan, which already have temporarily halted fighting.
President Bush: You would no doubt please the GOP bloc of religious conservatives, who are powerful advocates for human rights. Press your friend Museveni to use his government’s and foreign donors’ resources to improve the quality of life for the people of northern Uganda. He should be keen to listen to you, considering all of the foreign aid we give his country.
President Museveni: Your hands are not exactly clean in this. It takes two to wage war, after all, and with your large army, it is hard to understand how this band of rebels, once so small, has been able to hurt so many civilians for so long. Some say you prefer instability in the north, where the majority Acholi people are not among your fans. Prove them wrong. Say loudly, clearly, often: You will pursue peace through negotiations, protect civilians, and put sufficient resources and a transparent effort into comprehensive relief and recovery plans. Extend a hand of peace and equity from Kampala to the Acholi and Lango people. Say the time to end disparity and division has come. Of course, you would have to back up those words.
Both of you: Say, loud and clear, what Uganda’s minister of foreign affairs told me: “The best way is the peaceful solution.”
If negotiations address all the issues, economic prospects for Uganda will grow. A 2002 analysis found that the first 16 years of fighting cost at least $1.33 billion – about 3 percent of Uganda’s gross domestic product for that period. Mr. Museveni: The economic improvements you have shepherded in other parts of Uganda have been impressive, but your legacy will be spotty without the north’s sharing in them.
True, Kony and his inner circle have committed mass atrocities, as detailed in International Criminal Court indictments. But LRA leaders won’t lay down their arms if they think they are walking into the arms of prosecutors at The Hague.
There are other ways to hold the rebels accountable. Negotiations center on the agenda item that deals with justice, accountability and reconciliation. The ICC indictments can be stayed, or if an acceptable Ugandan justice mechanism is established, lifted. Domestic trials could blend judicial and traditional proceedings – a good way to go, because if the Ugandan process breaks down, international proceedings could widen to investigate crimes committed by all combatants. You don’t want to go down that road, Mr. Museveni.
A military victory may be appealing, and if the rebels don’t negotiate, tougher action may be necessary at some point. But vanquishing them through force hasn’t worked in 21 years. Besides, if legitimate grievances among northerners aren’t addressed, another warlord will just replace Kony.
In politics as in life, everything has its moment and its risk-benefit ratio. The moment for planting peace in northern Uganda is now, and the balance is in its favor.
Filed under Uncategorized
The PetitionPetition to President George W. Bush and the United States Congress
Dear President Bush and Leaders of Congress,
As citizens of the United States of America we hereby affirm that:
Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest moral leaders of the twentieth century. His vision of compassion, nonviolence and freedom is as necessary today as it was more than four decades ago.
King symbolizes the triumph of love over hatred, of nonviolence over violence, and of community values over money values.
Andrew Jackson never deserved to be on the twenty-dollar bill. As a slave trader, Indian hunter, and President, Jackson is famous for Indian Removal Act that evicted 70,000 Native Americans from their homes so their land could be used for slave plantations. The Act led directly to the infamous Trail of Tears, where four thousand Cherokee men, women and children died in a forced march west.
The Supreme Court went so far as to declare the Indian Removal Act illegal. But after Chief Justice John Marshall handed down the decision Jackson brazenly disobeyed it and thus violated the constitution.
We urge you to pass and sign legislation into law that replaces Andrew Jackson with Martin Luther King, Jr. on the twenty-dollar bill.
http://www.putkingonthe20.com/petition.php to sign the petition.
Filed under America, history, politics, Popular Culture, Social Justice
To the Moon 