Jesus Saves- Quote of the Day 8/13

"[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she's just trying to save the planet. We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet -- we didn't need Nancy Pelosi to do that."

- Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) on why we don't need to worry about global climate change.

How Would Jesus Vote? Nation Re-Considers

Last night at Notre Dame, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne began his lecture with the same story that opens his book, Souled Out:

Mrs. O'Reilly was dutifully being taken to the polls on Election Day by her son [Bill?]. Mrs. O'Reilly always voted straight Democratic. Her son, a successful member of the upper-middle class, had become an Independent, and often voted Republican.

As was their routine, the son asked his mother how she would vote, and, as always, Mrs. O'Reilly responded, "Straight Democratic." The exasperated son replied, "Mom, if Jesus came back to earth and ran as a Republican, you would vote against him." His mother shot back, "Aw, hush, why would he change his party after all these years?"

Later, Dionne declared, "The era of the religious right is over." Although Dionne acknowledged the movement's death knell has been rung incorrectly before, a true testament to its power of "resurrection," he insisted that this time is (mercifully) different.

Democrats like Barack Obama and Tim Kaine feel comfortable talking about their faith publicly, in a way their predecessors did not a generation ago.

Dionne, a liberal Catholic, also foresaw a shift in the way divisive topics like abortion are dealt with in this country. For 35 years, Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land, ensuring a woman's right to have an abortion. For just as long, the religious have sought to criminalize the practice and looked to the Republican party for salvation.

Yet, after millions of votes, dollars and volunteer hours, Roe does not appear to be going anywhere. And even if it did, Dionne notes, the number of abortions is very unlikely to fall. So the best way to tackle what Christians consider to be an immoral practice, is to focus on why there are more abortions here than in other countries where they're legal, and to try and reduce the number.

Additionally, the American religious have refocused on economic morality. The widening gap between rich and poor is at frightening levels (one British paper said it's caused another Great Depression), and Republicans still push capital gains tax- cuts and trickle- down theory. As a result, the Democratic tent bulges with the faithful, intent on a greater commitment to issues like poverty, climate change and third- world relief.

Even the most socially conservative Republican in the '08 field, Mike Huckabee, talked about economic responsibility. As Arkansas governor, he raised taxes for what he claimed were "moral" reasons, and got no endorsements from traditional Christian leaders, but found surprisingly ample support from voters.

Overall, Dionne's take is cutting edge, and his assessment is well- grounded.

So, while Jesus might never change parties, it appears some of his followers have.

Enough is Enough

So there is yet again another uproar over a picture depicting the prophet Mohammed. This time a Swedish artist drew the head of Mohammed on the body of a dog. Conservative Muslims (is there a such thing as liberal Muslims? And if so, could they please become more vocal?) believe that dogs are unclean animals and Islam forbids any depiction of the prophet. When the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons of Mohammed back in September of 2005, the Muslim world reacted with hysterical furor. Death threats were issued and protests were chock-full of signs which portrayed not only the irony of the situation of the very real intolerance and obedience expected from many Muslims across the globe. The rest of the world reacted cowardly and shamefully and refused to stand up for the artists' and the newspaper's freedom of speech, a right that we supposedly hold very dear here in the U.S. of A. While this Swedish artist was being purposely provocative, the reaction from the Muslim community, which has become increasingly typical, is nonetheless unacceptable. Enough is enough. It's all well and good if Islam teaches that it is a sin to depict the prophet, but not everybody is Muslim! Believe any of the crazy things that you want to but leave the rest of us out of it. While we keep hearing over and over again that "Islam is a religion of peace that has been hijacked by extremists," it is simply not the case. From the Salman Rushdie incident to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the reaction from the Muslim world has been the same. Enough is enough. The rest of the world needs to stop acquiescing every time there is Muslim outrage. We hold our rights to freedom of speech and press as dearly as they hold their religious beliefs. Don't make the same cowardly mistake we made during the Danish cartoon incident. Stand up for this man's right to free speech. No one deserves death threats for drawing a picture, certainly not from a "religion of peace."