What a "christian" could be like

Greetings, fellow sometime church goers, or not.

I am on a sabbatical due to the inevitable disappointments.

I saw what it means to me to be a "christian" in a single question and a single answer Friday night on Bill Moyer's Journal.

The answer was "Because that's what you do."

The question was (highly paraphrased)"Why, when you've lost your home and you don't have money, are you putting everything you can into this radio service?"

The radio hero, Brice, is on disability checks, $500 a month. He runs a low power radio station largely by himself near the gulf coast. During Katrina, he braved the hurricane to keep broadcasting as his own home was destroyed. Emergency services moved him to the county building so he could continue telling people where to get water, ice and food. His was the only broadcast on the air during the emergency.

Brice has next to nothing, but he wants to share because "That's what you do."

For the story, see http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08242007/profile3.html.

And just in case this link goes away, here's a quote:

August 24, 2007

"I cannot replace my house. I don't have the money to do it...in a way, that's why I'm in this level of service to my community. Because when you're left with a last resource, you share it with your friends, you share it with your family and you share it with each other."-Brice Phillips

America the Watched

Jose Padilla should have been released when his right to a speedy trial had been violated.

When you get rid of a "bad guy's" constitutional protection, you get rid of your own. Very risky business.

What if you were picked up by the police on a tip by a person who didn't like you, denied access to a lawyer and your family, sent to Guantanomo for three years, and tortured until you were unbalanced mentally?

And then there are the prisoners who were found innocent YEARS later because dna testing proved they weren't the guy?

It isn't always the "bad guys" that get picked up and mistreated.

The problem with a police state is people start getting picked up and thrown in prison because their opinions and their influence on opinions is disliked by the government. We by and large haven't had to live in fear of this because of our constitutional rights.

So don't throw them away! If Jose Padilla can be treated like that, so can you, and you'll have the same recourse. How are we going to restore our rights? Perhaps repealing the PATRIOT act, that odious law that has the FBI snooping around our library records, would be a fine first step.

Keep your chin up, and remember, only YOU can prevent bad government, contact your legislator.

Auriel