Jesus-ing Up The Party!

If I had a party I'd want Jesus to be there. I'd have him hanging in the kitchen doing signs of the cross over jugs of Arrowhead until his hand cramped.

So far be it from me to damn the Democratic party for bringing in Jesus and his mentor God. As is now regularly seen, The Dems are doing what they can to get over the "God Gap" by clearly menioning their faith in stump speeches.

Good ol MSM wonkadonks CNN has more here:

Tired of being seen by religious voters as too secular or even hostile toward religion, the Democratic Party and its presidential candidates have launched an all-out effort to win their votes.

Democratic presidential candidates John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at a recent Sojourners forum on religion and politics.

This effort is apparent on the stump, where many of the Democratic candidates speak openly of religion and God and present moral justifications for their policies. It's also going on behind the scenes, with presidential campaigns hiring strategists to coordinate their outreach to religious communities and holding weekly conference calls with religious leaders.

"It has to be authentic. This is not about Jesus-ing up the party, so to speak ... It just won't work if it's seen as a cynical ploy," said Mara Vanderslice, a Democratic strategist and evangelical Christian.

Godless America: Ira Glass is a TROOPer

I was combing the This American Life site, an incredible radio show from the folks at NPR, and came across this 2005 show titled, "Godless America," in which host Ira Glass offers a few distinct example of how meddlesome politics can be in religion and vice versa.

Stream the show for free or download via iTunes here: "Godless America" Link

Here's a taste...

At a time when House Majority Leader Tom Delay calls for enacting a "Biblical world view" in government, when Christians are asserting their ideals in the selection of judges, in public school science classes and elsewhere, This American Life spends an hour trying to remember why anyone liked the separation of church and state in the first place.

Two stories about people who suddenly realize they're the only ones around who value the separation of church and state. Paul Williams, a city councilman in Janesville, Wisconsin, wants to make sure a Salvation Army built with public money doesn't proselytize. Soon he's getting attacked in the local press ... and by President Bush. And a Georgia teacher finds that by teaching what she's supposed to teach — evolution — she turns her school against her.

I Have Sinned... I'm A Bad Blogger

Yes, I have heard the wrath of your comments and emails. I have been a bad blogger. A bad, bad blogger. No controversy. Just being lazy and not getting to the site nearly enough.

The blur between Church and State continues to get fuzzier and fuzzier. I will try to do penance for my sins and blog a whole hell of a lot more and keep pointing it all out.

If you have any tips, please feel free to share. Always appreciated.

Louisiana GOP Senator David Vitters mixes Religion with Politics and adds a lil' Prostitution

Check out this Chris Kelly blog from today on The Huffington Post. Kelly skewers Louisiana GOP Senator, David Vitters, for dragging his Catholic school upbringing into his current mess with hiring prostitutes. Kelly goes on to show an example of how Ken Starr used Easter Sunday in his report on Bill Clinton's blowjob prob to flame the fire in every way he could.

Ken Starr understood how to use the high holy days to push Christian buttons in a sex scandal. That's why his report (What was he investigating again?) went out of its way to say -- not once, but four times -- that one of the Clinton/Lewinsky encounters happened on Easter. Here's the juiciest one:

After this Easter Sunday conversation, the President and Ms. Lewinsky had a sexual encounter in the hallway, according to Ms. Lewinsky.(318) She testified that the President touched her breasts with his mouth and hands.(319) According to Ms. Lewinsky: "I think he unzipped [his pants] . . . because it was sort of this running joke that I could never unbutton his pants, that I just had trouble with it."(320) Ms. Lewinsky performed oral sex. The President did not ejaculate in her presence.(321)

The same day Jesus rose from the you-know-what! Try substituting the words "April 7th" (or "Jackie Chan's birthday") for "Easter Sunday." It's just not half as tawdry. I mean, if you were raised right.

From Politico: "Is Religion a No-Win Scenario for the Democrats?"

From Politico.com, Richard Allen Greene, in his first post covering for Ben Smith's blog, had the rosary beads to ask: "Is religion a no-win scenario for Democrats? How should they handle this?"

Right on, Richard... It's a fair question to ask. And a worthwhile answer to reach for the Democratic party. Is it a no-win scenario? Seems like it.

So fight "moral superiority" with moral superiority and unite in taking religion out of politics. The Dems have so much juice now that this is the perfect time to carve out a fresh new path in which Democrats make the separation between Church and State actual revered and respected. Politicians of every stripe need to shine a light on every weird, dirty tactic used by Karl Rove, including using the American people and their religious faith to pump up numbers at the polls.

Am I wrong? Rove the Architect isn't even a Christian to boot! He doesn't go to church, even on Sundays. So shouldn't the Religious Right (RR) feel used rather than proud to be so entwined within the political system. I'm not talking about the RR's obvious puppetmasters (Dobson, Robertson, Wildmon) - of course they want religion to be wrapped around politics like the snake around the apple. I'm talking about average citizens who love their gods and keep their faith and still want trustworthy politicians in office. Any politician using its citizens' religion to capitalize on the inherent emotion, fear, passion that such a personal belief holds so powerfully should be ashamed of themselves. They give politics a bad name and are assisting in sabotaging the great potential that public policy has on our lives.

Clinton: I'm Christier than Thou

Hillary speaks out about her faith in this article in NY Times. Another wasted 2,000 words in my opinion. Was it of interest? Somewhat. In that same way I'd love 2,000 words on what's in her pantry, what kind of shampoo she uses, what books are stacking up on the nightstand, etc. Stuff. Fluff stuff. Always of interest but a waste of space compared to the precious time that was shoved aside that could have been devoted to real issues that shape a President of the United States.

You can argue that one's religion is a GUH-REAT indicator of how they would act as president. Fine. Then let's share that info. But do we have to debate over it? And question each other's faiths over it. The same way we tighten the thumbscrews on Iraq, health care, poverty, immigration, etc?

It's a waste of space folks. And anyone saying otherwise is just trying to distract from the real issues. Religion is personal. It is for me. I think it is for everyone that is truly faithful to their religion. Those looking to pimp their spirituality on others for power or gain are just sinners.

TROOP: The Resurrection!

Ahh, we're back. Not in 3 days like J-Cee but more like 9 days after a lovely honeymoon in Bora Bora. Yes, TROOP got deployed to French Polynesia after a wonderful wedding and got to spend numerous Net-less days reading, thinking, swimming and doing nothing else.

The one media outlet I had was CNN International and some French news channels that were rarely understood. Though whether it be CNN Int'l or Le Fraunch, I did not hear one word or see one image about any politicians religious propensities. Kind of like how the rest of the civilized world ignores "SEX IN THE MEDIA" or Hollywood or videogames or other salacious headlines produced to sell papers or pump up ratings or pit one man's morals on another in the public news arena. They ignore it and thereby they cut the issue off at its ankles and lessen the weight it might wield.

Well after beling back for less than four hours I've already been assaulted with articles a plenty that show Religion Incorporated is still the lobbyist with the most-ist in our Party Politics. Oh God, if it's gonna be that kinda party, I'm gonna... Well, nevermind

More to come...