FYI, I’m blogging about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and teh Fellowship of Reconciliation today over at http://forpeace.net/tag/mlk
Please come visit!
“The universe is on the side of justice”
Here are some thoughts to get you warmed up for Monday, Martin Luther King Day.
King’s notion of nonviolence had six key principles. First, one can resist evil without resorting to violence. Second, nonviolence seeks to win the ‘‘friendship and understanding’’ of the opponent, not to humiliate him. Third, evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed. Fourth, those committed to nonviolence must be willing to suffer without retaliation as suffering itself can be redemptive. Fifth, nonviolent resistance avoids ‘‘external physical violence’’ and ‘‘internal violence of spirit’’ as well: ‘‘The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him.” The resister should be motivated by love in the sense of the Greek word agape, which means ‘‘understanding,’’ or ‘‘redeeming good will for all men.” The sixth principle is that the nonviolent resister must have a ‘‘deep faith in the future,’’ stemming from the conviction that ‘‘the universe is on the side of justice/”
– King Encyclopedia: Nonviolence
And here’s a scan of Dr. King’s application to become a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation:
Twittering about the caucuses
Last night I sort-of half-assed live-blogged the caucus results, but I did it on Twitter instead of on my blog. Here’s a collection of my caucus tweets from the last 16 hours, you can also read them at http://twitter.com/ruby.
Deleting literally hundreds of messages in my inbox about Iowa. 22 minutes ago
@mistersugar I think Huckabee is the most Bush-like candidate in the Republican field, especially re: religiosity. AR seems coincidental. 27 minutes ago
@levjoy Fuck yeah! Kucinich has a lot to say and nothing to lose. about 12 hours ago from twitterrific in reply to levjoy
CNN: Biden drops out! about 12 hours ago
Sounds like Stevie Wonder on at Obama HQ. about 12 hours ago
Thinking of how I was inspired the first time I heard Obama speak (at the 2004 DNC). Now I find him sort of… affected. Less authentic. about 12 hours ago
OMG I think they’re also playing U2 @ Obama party. Nice to see his daughters for a change. Michelle’s dress is a bit distracting. about 12 hours ago
Huck: “This election is not about mii, it’s about wii.” about 13 hours ago
Chuck Norris on stage with the Huckster, who is speechifying now. about 13 hours ago
CNN confirms: Dodd is dropping out. about 13 hours ago
Hacked
Trying to put thing back and upgrade the blog now…
Why yes, you did hear me on your NPR station last Thursday!
And here’s the proof: Marketplace: Giving goes online, too
I thought Janet Babin’s story was quite good, and she effectively got the point across that nonprofits need to do more to put their supporters in the driver’s set. She even pronounced my name right! I have just two small clarifications:
1. I am not a consultant, but in fact a full-time employee with benefits, etc. at the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and
2. In the second clip, I was not saying that “we” FOR don’t get this, but that “we” nonprofits in general don’t get the need to open up and trust our supporters.
Overall an excellent story, and I hope I get the chance to work with Janet again! Read on for a transcript, or click here for an MP3 of the segment.
Continue reading “Why yes, you did hear me on your NPR station last Thursday!”
Kermit: Once in a Lifetime
This video is making me so happy, I just have to share it:
I just wish I could take the f-ing Disney bug out of the corner. 🙁
Hateful homophobes picked on the wrong guy
My good friend Mark Kleinschmidt is an anti-death penalty attorney and a twice-elected member of the Chapel Hill Town Council. He is also gay. This last fact qualified him for membership on a list that is making the rounds on hate sites called the “National List Of Openly-Homosexual Public Officials.” (And no I am not going to link to these fools, you can probably Google it.)
Mark discovered this list and posted about it on his blog: Anti-gay hate sites target gay elected officials. Since Mark linked to a couple of the sites hosting the lists, they found him and linked back, sending readers over to Mark’s blog where they are posting hateful comments and generally exposing themselves as the ignorant trolls they are.
I have a great idea about how to counter this. I have pledged to donate $5 to Mark’s re-election campaign* every single time someone posts a hateful or derogatory comment on or link to Mark’s blog. That means these creeps have already raised $25 to keep this gay man in elected office. Let’s see how much more they can raise!
Won’t you join in this campaign? You can pledge any amount you like. Just post a comment on Mark’s blog that you are taking up Ruby’s Challenge to let others know what impact they are having.
* If Mark chooses not to run for Town Council again in 2009, he can keep this money for a future campaign. I’m sure there will be one in his future. 🙂
Update: You can now donate right here or on Mark’s blog (As I did).
Abstinence-only sex ed still doesn’t work
lag4peace: Don’t Iraq Iran
Tomorrow a large coalition of activists is organizing a series of events in Second Life to raise awareness about preventing a war with Iran. I’m really excited about it and I will be there most of the day helping out as a media contact. This event also inspired me to add some Iran info to the virtual office for my organization the Fellowship of Reconciliation (seen at left).
There is a whole day of events, but if you don’t want to be there all day, please come and check out the keynote and opening rally at 11:45am EST. It will be at the Commonwealth Assembly Area which can hold over 300 avatars (a lot for SL!).
Full info about the day of events is below. Sorry to post the entire press release, but this info doesn’t seem to be online anywhere else.
Continue reading “lag4peace: Don’t Iraq Iran”
Blogs and politicians
I haven’t been blogging here much lately, but I’m still at it at work and on OrangePolitics. I’ve also been busy with lots of other things like this: Brian and I are hosting an informal gathering for local activists and bloggers to meet US Congressman Brad Miller. The main topic will be blogs and politics, but Brad also loves to talk about science and I will continue to bend his ear about peace and militarism issues.
If you’re on Facebook, get details and RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6180362982
If not, check out the deets below: