Truth? Yes. But, Reconciliation?

Last week, the White House released memos dating back from the previous administration proving that the government promoted the use of extreme interrogation tactics. These tactics, as described in the memos are easily considered torture. The memos have been read and analyzed by many in the media and you can find many reviews in a lot of places. I will not continue that discussion today.

Instead, I want to touch on a question that a lot of people have been asking: “What next?” How will we respond to this information as a government and a people? How should we punish those responsible? Who is responsible, exactly?

With all this uncertainty and murkiness, it seems like a truth and reconciliation commission similar to what happened in post-apartheid South Africa should occur. Through that process, we can find who is truly culpable and create closure on this gruesome period in our history. It makes sense for the Unitarian Universalist Association to call for truth, reconciliation, and repair since we are attempting to use that model in concerns of our racial history.

However, this model may not be the correct one in this case of a government sponsoring and endorsing torture of their prisoners. Traditionally, truth and reconciliation (T&R) commissions are reserved for societies where there is no government able to investigate, try or prosecute those responsible. In cases of failed democracies, such as South Africa, or in non-nation state-based communities, such as religious bodies, T&R allows a community to admit wrongs, forgive or punish as they see fit. An important element of T&R procedures is restorative justice where the suspected perpetrator is allowed to admit their deeds and apologize to the offended parties. By apologizing and receiving forgiveness, they receive amnesty and immunity from a prison sentence. It is a process that is long, grueling, and spiritually draining, but ultimately healing. It allows a community to admit their communal mistakes and receive a “do-over” with everything out in the open.

In the case of the Bush-era torture, the culpability is easily investigated. There is already a short list of people who could be caught red handed. Just off the top of my head, I would personally send to the witness stand: President Bush; Vice- President Cheney; CIA Director George Tennet; Secretaries of State Rice and Powell; Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld; White House Counselors Yoo and Meirs; and Attorneys General Gonzales and Ashcroft. In this case, we still have a justice system that works. The DOJ and courts still function and Congress still sits. A truth commission followed by a trial can be completed easily.

The ultimate question at hand is: “Can we reconcile torture?” Is this a time in which we can just forgive heinous and murderous actions endorsed by our government? When I read about actions inflicted on prisoners and the way these techniques affect the performers of the actions, and considering what could have been accomplished without these techniques, I think that we cannot just forgive it away. There seems to be no reconciling this--as long as we can really punish those responsible. It is important here to note that reconciliation and forgiveness are not always the same thing. One can reconcile differences without forgiving and vice versa. And even proponents of T&R would admit that the process is not for every one or for every situation.

What we have here resembles the Nuremburg Trials of the 1940’s. Now, I am not one to fall into populist rage and I consider myself pretty even handed. I am also not one to compare folks to the Nazis unless they have been responsible for the attempted annihilation of an entire race of people. That being said, we have a clear chain of command responsible for a specific action that has a concrete set of documents proving their intention. If that is not worth investigating and punishing, I am not sure what is. And so, by calling for a truth commission and a war crimes trial, we use the systems in place to resolve the problem at hand. That is why we at the UUA, along with our partners at UUSC, TASSC and NRCAT, are calling for a truth commission and justice for the victims—including the soldiers who were ordered to inflict these deeds. It is the very least we can do. To learn more and join our call for a truth commission please visit our partners at NRCAT.org.

100 Days in Office

Today marks the 100th day in office for the Obama Administration. To recognize the event, the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy has made a report card for the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress.

The Washington Staff is also recognizing the event by sharing some of the things we accomplished in the past 100 days.

Alex-
Worked in my garden and made compost
Read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Read Eboo Patel's book Acts of Faith
Watched the entire first season of Mad Men on DVD
Made vegan macaroni and cheese
Went to the US National Arboretum
Co-founded a non-profit for UU young adults called the UU Volunteer Service Core

Lisa-
Began to incorporate fasting once a month into my spiritual practice
Read Eboo Patel’s book Acts of Faith twice
Enjoyed the famous D.C. cherry blossoms
Traveled to Chicago, Boston, New York City, Durham, and Pittsburgh
Made up a (brilliant, I’m telling you) series of “walked into a bar” jokes that all end with “You can put it on my tab,” spoken by a can of Sprite, a computer keyboard, and a file folder
Accepted admission to law school for this August
Emailed every nonprofit that solicits donations from me to tell them that I plan to be broke for at least the next three years

Orelia-
Moved three times
Learned to love Brussels sprouts
Started a new job
Turned 28
Bought my first suit, which came from a consignment shop
Took 6 trips on airplanes
Organized a national conference on comprehensive sexuality education

Adam-
Got engaged
Got inspired at the Convocation on Theology of Justice and Ministry
Conducted an Inspired Faith Effective Action training in Chicago
Got accepted into law school
Deferred law school admissions to keep working at the UUA for another year
Read Eboo Patel’s Book Acts of Faith
Traveled to Boston four times
Bought my parent’s Prius named “Tyler” and sold my Dodge Neon named “Awesome”
Was totally impressed by the participants at the 2009 Sexuality Education Advocacy Training
Hiked in Asheville with my siblings
Conducted a workshop at the National Center for Transgender Equality’s Religious Leaders Summit
Spent as much time as possible in my garden
Watched the Office and 30 Rock every Thursday

The 2009 Transgender Religious Summit

Yesterday I was privileged to co-lead a workshop for the National Center for Transgender Equality’s annual Religious Summit and Policy Conference at All Souls Church, Unitarian. This year, for the first time, the Religious Summit is being held in conjunction with the organization’s lobby days in Washington, DC. Adam Gerhardstein from the UUA Office for Advocacy, Steven Baines of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and I spent the morning with about 20 brave and dedicated transgender religious leaders, their family members and friends discussing the basics of lobbying and the important impact that people of faith can have on public policy.

Conference participants also attended the church service on Sunday at All Souls, and it felt wonderful to work with this group of passionate leaders and to welcome them into the sanctuary that I am learning to call a spiritual home. I feel deeply blessed that my congregation truly strives to be a place for all souls who seek refuge there.

During Sunday afternoon’s keynote address at the conference, Kate Bornstein spoke of the pain that arises when people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, particularly transgender people, are not seen as legitimate members of their own religions because their lives and appearances do not seem to match up with traditional religious expectations. Kate has coped with this exclusion by continuing to do the work that is required of all Jews: performing mitzvahs. According to Kate, a mitzvah is an act that fulfills the Jewish commandment to do God’s work by selflessly helping others who are different from you.

In my experience, Unitarian Universalism welcomes me as a whole person and a “real” member not just despite, but because of my queerness. I have been blessed and lucky to encounter others who see my unique existence and perspectives as cherished and sacred. People in my religious community have never made me feel less or wrong because of who and what I love or desire. I am also deeply aware that many of my fellow humans have not experienced the same welcome. I feel an obligation, as a member of a religion that claims to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person, to work towards the day when our Unitarian Universalist institutions and congregations truly reflect our radically inclusive and justice-seeking values. We have worked hard, but much remains to be done.

I’ll step down off of that soapbox for the moment.

Today, the 150 or so participants in the Religious Summit and Policy Conference combined lobbied on Capitol Hill sharing their personal histories, stories, and their conviction that everyone deserves full and equal protection under the law in their communities and workplaces. They are asking their members of Congress to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLHCPA) and the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Take action today, and add your voice to theirs.

A Move Forward towards Equality for Trans people--Colorado Jury's Historic Decision

Reflections from Keith Kron, Director of UUA Office of BGLT Concerns

Today, a Colorado jury became the first in the nation to find someone guilty of a hate crime against a trans person. Up until now, people were able to use a "trans panic" defense, saying that they were deceived and panicked when learning the person they were meeting was transgender. See a news report on the story.

This is historic and can now help prosecute other hate crimes in other states that are trans related. Colorado is one of 11 states that includes trans people in its hate crime legislation.

Many UU congregations observe the National Transgender Day of Remembrance (Nov 20th), and the UUA has resources to help.

The decision comes down days before the National Center for Transgender Equality hosts its Lobby Days where many, including many UUs and the UUA, will gather to support a federal legislation to support trans inclusion in hate crime and nondiscrimination laws.

There is still much work to be done before we see full equality for trans people, but today's decision is a significant step in a better direction. The decision begins to signal that being afraid of trans people will not excuse violence toward trans people. It's high time.

Arpaio discusses immigration enforcement on The Colbert Report

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Joe Arpaio
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Gay Marriage Commercial

Unfortunately, I fell asleep before Stephen Colbert interviewed Sheriff Joe Arpaio on The Colbert Report this past Monday night, but Alex and I watched a clip of their conversation online this afternoon.

Over the course of a seven minute exchange in which Colbert did most of the talking, the discussion touched on law enforcement, racial profiling, and the border wall. Sheriff Arpaio responded to Colbert's questions clearly and professionally, and even with a certain measure of grace--especially in light of the fact that a crowd of picketers was outside the building, protesting his treatment of undocumented immigrants.

Watching the interview, it was obvious that Sheriff Arpaio possesses a great deal of knowledge, experience, and passion for law enforcement. But I was troubled by how the pragmatism of his answers glossed over the human costs of his immigration enforcement practices.

For example, when the conversation turned to racial profiling, Arpaio said that identifying undocumented immigrants on sight is "pursuant to [his and his officers'] duties" in enforcing immigration laws. And while that may seem on the surface like a logical answer to the question asked, for me it misses the point.

Arpaio's response, though calm and seemingly logical, left unacknowledged the suffering that his methods have created in immigrant and Latino communities by spreading fear and dividing families.

We need strong law enforcement, but first we need to be sure that the laws that we're enforcing are good--that we have policies that work. Currently, our immigration policy is overwhelmingly broken. Enforcing broken laws is dangerous as well as ineffective.

We need pragmatism in our law enforcement, but our pragmatism absolutely must be anchored in compassion and respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every human being.

Watching the interview reaffirmed my belief in how important it is that Unitarian Universalists practice advocacy. The compassionate perspective is so very important, and that's what we, as people who value both human diversity and interconnectedness, bring to the table on issues of social justice.

What do you think? Please feel free to share your comments and reflections on the video here.

Sherrif Arpaio to appear on the Colbert Report tonight

Tonight, this man . . .


. . . will take on this man . . .



on Comedy Central. 11:30 PM/10:30 C.

I might have to stay up past my bedtime.

(Who are these men, anyway? Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report, photo by DJOkatu on Creative Commons, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix, Arizona, photo by lanceold on Creative Commons. Colbert is the host of mock news show The Colbert Report. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is being investigated for civil rights abuses against immigrants.)

Conference call for UU Immigrant Justice Advocates this Tuesday

In the latest of a string of experiments in finding new ways to connect and inform the UU immigrant justice community, the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy is hosting a conference call this Tuesday, April 21st, from 4 to 5 PM Eastern Standard Time. The call will briefly cover:

* Legislative developments
* May actions including May 1st and the May 12th Day of Remembrance
* May 2009 Action of the Month: Crash Course for Immigrant Justice materials
* The new UUA Immigrant Justice presence on Twitter, Delicious, and Facebook

To participate, send an email to lswanson [at] uua.org. I'll email you the call-in number, access code, and agenda on Tuesday morning.

Photo by Darwin Bell, Creative Commons.

Random Acts of Kindness

Working in peace and social justice can be incredibly exhausting. To work for peace is an exercise in making what Reinhold Niebuhr called the "impossible possibility." To trudge chest deep in pain, suffering, war, genocide, and famine can lead to fatigue and burnout.

There are always those inspiring stories, that seem too far and in between: people overcoming violence to do great and heroic things. And those stories are important. Then there are the stories of people who stand up in the face of injustice and work to right past wrongs. Those stories are important as well.

But sometimes, what really makes me most hopeful are random acts of kindness. To see people stand up and make a gesture to help a stranger with no need of recognition or compensation. Rather, they just help because they can.

There is a short video going around in the Do It Yourself community about Tweenbots. These little robots travel in a straight line at a constant speed with a flag asking for a push in the right direction. They rely on the kindness of strangers to get to where they are going.

The creator then follows the robot with a hidden camera. And the footage is pretty amazing. Perfect strangers in midtown Manhattan stopping to point a little robot in the right direction.

It warms my heart.


I think we need more stories of random acts of kindness in our daily lives.

Sharing Global Faith

Sharing Global Faith gathers Unitarian and Universalist voices from around the world in a unique devotional e-resource. Reflecting on various aspects of faith life, participants share spiritual insight into the stories and thoughts that fuel their ministerial call. Distributed monthly from April until September 2009, the publication seeks to deepen international connections and nourish the individual spirit.

In the inaugural edition, three global luminaries explore the meaning of DIGNITY to our faith tradition by reflecting on an excerpt from Emerson's Essay on Friendship. We are honored to include the following contributions:

• Rev. Brian Kiely (Unitarian Church of Edmonton, Alberta - Canada; President of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists) locates human dignity in everyday stories of courage and goodness.
• Mr. Alex Szeto (President of the Unitarian Universalists of Hong Kong) rejoices in the heart's inner wealth of kindness and love, which grows to fruition in this 'healing tradition.'
• Rev. Jill McAllister (People's Church in Kalamazoo, MI) turns to Buddhist teachings to emphasize the importance of cultivating a non-judgmental, generous sensibility towards other human beings.

Continue to read the inaugural edition, or sign up to receive future editions by email!

Mulling about Family Values

Finally, it comes to this: It’s nice to be included. It’s nice to believe that we matter. That’s the sense of worth that so many of us struggle to find throughout our lives--if we didn’t get it in early years, it’s an uphill climb to claim it later.

This week, I’m aware of many friends who have been at the White House egg roll with their kids. Their beaming photos are posted throughout my facebook page and meetings here in DC are punctuated with adorable tales of things done and said by cute kids on the White House lawn. Everyone who went was delighted to be there, but for the glbt families, being specifically invited was something like breaking a spell. One family I read about at home flew here from Minneapolis just to go! Looking at glbt family photos on the White House lawn brings up both joy and grief for me—my daughter was four years old in 2000, when George W. Bush came into the White House. He immediately eliminated the White House liaison to the glbt community, and told families like ours in every way possible that we weren’t welcome as part of his country. (The proposed federal amendment to the Constitution that he advocated, which excluded us from “We the People” was the most direct statement, but all the smaller things hurt, too.)

The reason that I knew my 12 year old could not miss the Inauguration festivities was so that she could see that her country wanted a President who wanted us to matter again. Every family wants that simple acceptance. Now, the egg roll, she would not be caught dead attending, of course. But I’m delighted to see other kids who are the age she was in 2000 having such a different experience of belonging in their country.

Meanwhile, we struggle with a pre-teen issue around exclusion: As I posted recently, ever a counter-cultural family, we are actually acquiring a few items in this “Shopping is Dead” time. Last week, to reward my daughter for making it through a very tough time, we bought her a Kindle, the electronic book created by Amazon. It was her most desired item; she is constantly hauling heavy books in her backpack and who can argue with a kid’s love of reading? So when the tax refund arrived, that was our splurge.

I have never shopped at Amazon.com in my life. Ironically, the women’s bookstore in Minneapolis is Amazon Books, and I order all of my books through them…support your local bookstore! So, how bizarre that the very week that I give Amazon.com a huge chunk of change, they would publicly act out in a homophobic manner. (NOTE TO UNIVERSE: You think this is funny perhaps?)

I am wrestling with whether or not I even mention this to my daughter. At age 12, here’s the deal: If she loses a treasured gift because her parents care about justice, her anger will not be directed at Amazon.com’s homophobia. Rather, it will be directed at her lesbian parents, and the fact that once more she doesn’t get to have the easy, privileged, life of her friends with straight parents. (Never mind that I will tell her that straight friends who share our values are also telling Amazon.com where to get off—at 12, all anger defers to parents.) And I feel whiney about it myself: Couldn’t we just enjoy SOMETHING without homophobia contaminating it?

So this is how family values really sort out. The dozens of conversations we navigate or don’t choose to have, products we buy or return, events we get invited to or don’t, legal privileges we count on or can never acquire—all of these create meaning out of the otherwise random events in our lives. I suspect I’m going to vent my spleen at Amazon.com and keep my mouth shut about it at home. The mantra of every parent of every sexual orientation: Choose your battles. Meanwhile, how bout those cute kids on the White House lawn?

Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?

I do. I just returned from a week of dancing the night away to funk and zydeco, from eating my weight in gumbo, boiled crawfish and jambalaya, and from listening to some of the best jazz I’ve ever heard in my life. I just returned from a week of seeing entire neighborhoods still empty and destroyed nearly four years after the events that caused this damage. I just returned from a week of hard work and learning in communities that have been traumatized fragmented and displaced. My teachers were people who come from some of the oldest and most culturally rich neighborhoods in this country and who are committed to reconstructing their lives and their city. My teachers were the strong residents of New Orleans and those who are still working against many odds to help them come home.

The work of repairing damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continues, even though it’s no longer in the media spotlight. I traveled with a group from All Souls Church, Unitarian that has worked for the past three years with local organizations, including the New Orleans Rebirth Volunteer Center housed in the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans and the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal. I heard from New Orleanians who appreciate knowing that the rest of their country has not forgotten about them. They wanted me to come home and tell everyone I know what I saw, and that at least, is something that I can do for them.

I started the week at a community center in Treme, one of the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans and the main neighborhood of free people of color during the antebellum period. Treme remains an important center of the city's African-American and Créole culture, and many musicians live and work there. It was also the location of a large public housing development that was dismantled after Katrina, even though it was left undamaged by the storms. The people of Treme have not experienced the same level of media attention and support as those from the lower ninth ward, and many houses in the neighborhood, though still standing, are uninhabitable.

My crew worked to help paint a community center kitchen, and although our counterpart representing the local organization working on the center was pleased with our work, I couldn’t help but notice the mold and peeling water damaged walls that would not be remedied by a coat of paint. The community center in Treme is one of 20 damaged by Katrina. Three of those centers are currently functioning, but they have by no means resumed providing all of their pre-storm services. I watched dozens of people file in for the meal after a funeral, an almost daily occurrence according to neighborhood residents. Looking down from the second floor I saw the pool where area kids used to have swimming lessons waiting to be restored.

(All Souls Church Intern Minister Walter Leflore stands outside of the Treme Community Center)

The rest of my week was spent at a community garden that’s being built by a nonprofit called lowernine.org . In response to people’s expressed needs for fresh vegetables, (there are no grocery stores currently open in the lower ninth ward) lowernine has leased a plot of land where they plan to grow vegetables to be sold at a farmers market and distributed to community members in the neighborhood. As we worked to build a tool shed, planting and the irrigation setup were being finalized, and the garden should be producing food within a couple of months. You can learn more and stay updated about its progress on the garden’s blog and read more about what’s happening in Holy Cross, another neighborhood where some members of our group helped to rebuild homes.

The work is far from done and the devastation from the 2005 hurricane season continues to affect peoples’ lives in New Orleans and many other communities all over the Gulf Coast. Please follow the links in this post and sign up for Gulf Coast Updates, a joint project of Greater New Orleans Unitarian Universalists (GNOUU), New Orleans Rebirth Volunteer Center, Unitarian Universalist Association, and Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, by clicking the link above, entering your information and checking the box next to Gulf Coast. We can all contribute to the work of Gulf Coast rebuilding and recovery.

All Souls Church - Hiroshima Children's Drawings

On Sunday, April 5, All Souls Church (Unitarian) in Washington DC celebrated an important chapter in its history. In 1948, inspired by the sermons of the Rev. A. Powell Davies, children at All Souls collected school supplies to send to children in Hiroshima, Japan. In appreciation, the school children in Hiroshima created original works of art in crayon, water color, pen, and calligraphic brush, which they sent back to All Souls as gifts. Sixty years on, the church has had these precious creations restored. The April 5th Service marked the opening of an exhibit about them at All Souls.

During the service (mp3) the congregation was joined by the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Ichiro Fujisaki as well as The Shizumi Kodomo Dance Troupe, Kyoko Okamoto (Koto player), and the All Souls Tulsa Youth Choir.

The Art Work will be on display at All Souls Church for two months. During the UUA General Assembly in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Art Work will also be on display in the International Organizations Booth in the Exhibit Hall on Thursday, June 25, 2009.




From The History of the Drawings

The story began on November 10, 1946, when A. Powell Davies, the Minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian, of Washington, D. C., denounced the obscenity of featuring an angel-food cake in the shape of an atomic-bomb explosion at a celebration honoring the atom-bomb task force. The day before, the newspapers had carried "an utterly loathsome" photograph of two smiling admirals in full regalia and a fancily-dressed wife cutting a three-foot mushroom-shaped cake made of angel-food puffs.

The sermon received publicity around the world and was seen in a Japanese newspaper by Dr. Howard Bell, an official with General Douglas MacArthur's provisional government. Bell wrote Davies that his invective was not quite forceful enough but he understood that Davies "had to make some concessions to the proprieties of pulpit utterance."

And he described the plight of the Japanese children, like those of the Honkawa Elementary School of Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945, although most of its children had earlier been evacuated to the country, 400 remaining students had come to school at eight o'clock in the morning, clutching their little tins of rice. "They had just got down to work when the blast baked them to sleep."

The writer went on to say that, in spite of the horror of the devastation, a year later the children of the Honkawa School were eagerly trying "to learn democracy" in the skeleton of a reinforced concrete building, six of them huddled to each 10-foot bench, with no heat to warm their blue cheeks and purple hands, and most with no school supplies, not even pencil stubs. He had used all the money he had available to get them benches and a table, but his efforts to persuade the American authorities to provide school supplies and athletic equipment had been fruitless. He wished that the children of America would clean out their desks and send pencils and spare notebooks to the Japanese children.

So it was that on February 13, 1947, Dr. Davies presented the request in his sermon, "In Reply to a Letter from Japan." In the weeks following, the children of the church collected over half a ton of pencils, crayons, paper, erasers, paste, paper clips -- and shipped them off to Japan. They arrived shortly before Christmas of 1947 and were distributed to the children of two schools and an orphanage.

In appreciation, the Japanese children sent gifts of their own artwork -- watercolors, crayon drawings, rag dolls, and colored comic song books from the children of the Honkawa Elementary School; 75 letters of appreciation written by the children of the Fukuromachi School of Hiroshima; and a letter from the Ninoshima Orphanage. Every letter was answered by an All Souls child and the gifts were displayed not only at the church but throughout the country by the U. S. Government. (from the All Souls Church website)

April's Action of the Month and a Call to Action for Environmental Justice

When the Advocacy and Witness staff group was planning out our Actions of the Month - deciding which issue we would focus on each month - it was a given that April would be devoted to environmental justice. Earth Day is second probably only to Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as the highest of holy days in our UU liturgical calendar.

It was also a no-brainer that we would partner with UU Ministry for Earth and UU Service Committee on this action, as all three organizations are working to do environmental work through the lens of social justice - acknowledging and addressing the disproportionate impact that environmental issues have on women, the poor, and communities of color. Often times, such issues get forgotten in the struggle to preserve the environment. As people of faith, it is up to us to keep in mind that the interdependant web of existence does indeed include humans and their/our needs as well.

So, the UUA, UUMFE, and UUSC have partnered to bring you April's Action of the Month: Environmental Justice. If you follow the link provided, it will take you to a page full of resources for learning, reflecting, and taking action on environmental issues in ways that are mindful of the impact on the most marginalized among us. And of course there are worship materials for Earth Day Sunday, the Sunday closest to Earth Day, provided by the UUMFE. Please feel free to use the resources provided during April and beyond.

As I said in the beginning, April is the time when UU congregations are often most thinking about environmental issues. So it is a pleasant synergy that there just happens to be a great piece of environmental legislation on which to take action. Introduced on March 31st by Representatives Waxman and Markey, the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009," while not perfect, is the most comprehensive and strongest bill to date. It will create millions of jobs, increase energy efficiency, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, restrict greenhouse gas emissions that cause global climate change, and could eventually lead our country to an economy that is both more green and more equitable. But only if we can get it passed, and passed as a version that has not been watered down.

Now is our best change to enact climate change legislation that is both effective and just. A good bill has been introduced to the House by two strong allies. President Obama has indicated that he wants to be able to sign climate change legislation into law this year. And next year's midterm elections could potentially make legislators more cautious and susceptible to industry lobbyists. Urge your representative to support the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

Wanna multiply your voice? Download the PDF version of this action, print it out and take it to church with you. Get your fellow congregants to sign the form. And then enter their information on the action page provided above. The site will automatically send emails to your congregation's Representative on behalf of the signatories. And of course, let us know about it! (environment@uua.org)

President Obama Takes a Long View on Military Policy.

When President Obama left Istanbul on Tuesday, he hosted a town hall meeting with Turkish students. He was asked a lot questions about the U.S.'s relationship with the world. One student asked the President how he was different than his predecessor, George W. Bush.

That is a question a lot of folks in the United States are asking these days with Obama as Commander in Chief.

Since the President entered the Oval Office, we have seen him taking a firmer stand on Afghanistan. He has committed to an increase of 51,000 American troops as well as 5,000 NATO troops to the region. We have also seen several bombings of Al Qeada camps in Pakistan, with more scheduled soon. This should not come to any one as a surprise as the President campaigned with a platform that was tough on Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The President also issued a 19 month plan to bring an end to the war in Iraq. But the plan includes 50,000 troops to stay in the region as peacekeepers for an additional two years. For many who want to see an immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, these plans have us stay in these lands for far too long.

But the President told the Turkish student that he is looking to the long term on military policy and people of the United States and the world should do the same.

While in Prague, in the Czech Republic, the President pledged the United States to be the moral example in ridding the world from nuclear weapons. He promised the United States and Russia would enter negotiations by the end of the year to reduce their nuclear arsenals.

Many people note that the President has increased the military spending budget by over $20 billion compared to last year's Bush Administration budget (from $513 billion in FY09 to $534 billion in FY10). I would agree this is a disturbing trend that should be reversed. But I take pause and rethink this when I find this spending increase would help give benefits to soldiers and vets and would include improvements in the lagging Veteran's Affairs and hospitals.

In fact, the President has told Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to cut out costly and unnecessary weapons systems. Secretary Gates passed the message to the Pentagon and told Congress to resist the urge to increase military spending in the budget. Many Republican Congress Members, including Saxby Chamblis (R-GA) expressed their dismay that the Pentagon would no longer be buying F-22 stealth jets (a plane never used in combat).

In January of this year, Secretary Gates said, "...the spigot of defense spending opened after 9/11 is closing."

In the short run, I am extremely disappointed by the President's military policy. I think the troops should come home and a surge of diplomats, engineers, and educators should help secure Afghanistan and Iraq. But in the long term, I am thrilled.

I hate knowing that my tax dollars are wasted on useless missles systems, jets and nuclear warheads. I think these changes are crucial steps to reversing the out of control spiraling military budgets.

Populist Rage

It’s good to be part of a trend. My family has been countercultural for so long that it’s a nice change. We have shopped exclusively at thrift stores for years and squinted to watch a tiny old TV…then just when shopping was flatly declared a thing of the past, we finally sprang for the giant flatscreen we’d been saving up for, as well as that MacBook. Always against the grain.

But now, finally, a trend emerges which I am solidly part of. Populist Rage. I haven’t been following the media in order to learn more about this, so I don’t know what the rest of the populist is most enraged about, but I’m there. I’m enraged.

Since I haven’t followed the actual news stories on right-wing or mainstream media outlets, I’m not sure if I actually qualify as populist. I know that often in right wing radio I am part of the liberal elite, the non-real America, so pardon me if I’m not sure if my rage is real American rage right now. Certainly, the problems I have are the problems of a privileged person, a person with dollars and hours to lose without ending up on the streets as some people would. So maybe, once again, I’m against the grain.

I think of Agnes Angst, the punk rock character that Lili Tomlin brought to life in the 1980’s, who said, “No matter how much contempt I have for society, it is nothing compared to the contempt society has for me.” It’s hard to feel I can generate enough rage, populist or otherwise, to meet the forces that enrage me.

I’m not even particularly focused at Bernie Madoff, the greedy Wall Street bankers, or any of the other targets of rage du jour. I’m still processing rage that’s been building for decades!

Today, for instance, is April 8. It is also the first day I have woken up knowing that the phone service for which I have been paying BOTH Qwest and Comcast since February 15 finally, actually, works. That someone could call me on my primary phone line and reach me. People will no longer leave baffled messages on my cellphone or email saying, “That number you gave me just rings and rings.” Never mind that I will never know how many people gave up on trying to find me. Because, hey, Comcast has offered me $50 for my trouble.

Repeated calls to both companies have taken me dozens of hours—lunch hours, evening hours, work hours. My AT&T cellphone minutes were over last month for the first time ever—I haven’t studied the bill but I’d be willing to bet I know why.

But where would I turn to alleviate this anger? To another big company? I was a loyal Verizon customer for about seven years, paying my cellphone bills on time each month. When I finally changed providers, I had a heart to heart talk with the woman on the phone, telling her I was leaving for AT&T ONLY because I wanted an iPhone but I had really loved Verizon’s service. She commiserated, told me that she wanted an iPhone herself. I thought we were friends. Was I surprised to receive a $500 bill for terminating my service a week early—it turns out a minor change I had made, unbeknownst to me, had extended my contract with them! Wouldn’t you think my dear friend might have mentioned this to me as we chatted? Again, hours of phone calls throwing tantrums netted me splitting the difference with them—after all, they said, I should have asked. No doubt I should have.

But I’m not singling out Comcast or Verizon. It’s all of them. When I bought my daughter an iPhone for Christmas and went to renegotiate our AT&T family service contract, it turned out that I’d been overbilled by almost a thousand dollars last year! Luckily a guy was honest enough to point this out to me, since I had obviously not tracked that I was paying twice a month in an obscure way too complicated to explain. But after he copped to it, his boss clearly chewed him out, so that after he went to the back room to meet with her, he came back looking quite guarded and told me the maximum they could reimburse me was $250. After all, I should have noticed. No doubt I should have.

So, here’s my rage: It comes from hour after hour of listening to muzak and recorded voices that tell me how much Fill-In-The-Blank Corporation cares about my patronage when I know from firsthand experience that they could care less about me. One of my most desperate, helpless, moments in my ongoing fights with Comcast was when I heard myself say, “I’m going to post this on my facebook page. And I have LOTS of friends!”

I’ll tell you this, which all of my facebook friends and everyone else I’ve ever spoken to knows in their cells and bones: Corporations and their lack of willingness to take responsibility for good service are the source, not the solution, of our rage. No one will be able to tell people like me, who have lost lunch hours and credit ratings and thousands of dollars because of their irresponsibility that our hope for a better life lies in continued favoritism for corporations and privatization of government services. Because we talk to our friends on or off Facebook, and we know better.

- from the mind of the Rev. Meg Riley

Sing Your Faith - A new hymnal published by the British Unitarians

The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (UK) has published a new hymnal - Sing Your Faith. It received high praise in a recent review in The Inquirer by Rev. Ant Howe.

Rev. Richard Boeke presents a copy of
Sing Your Faith to Joan Sparrow,
the organist at Horsham Unitarian Church

UUA Immigrant Justice takes the internet by storm . . . .

First there were webpages.

Then there was an email update list.

And now . . . . there's UUA_Immigration Twitter!

. . . And UUA_Immigration on del.icio.us.

--And last but not least, a new Facebook group called Another Unitarian Universalist Acting for Immigrant Justice on May 1, 2009.

Not sure how Twitter, del.icio.us, or Facebook work? Us neither. (Just kidding). (Sort of).

Why are you still reading this post? Go click on the links and explore!

Is this Heaven? No, It's Iowa!

Congratulations to ALL citizens of Iowa! The State Supreme Court of Iowa ruled today that section 595.2 in the Iowa Code limiting civil marriage to a man and a woman is unconstitutional under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Iowa Constitution, and pending the period allowed for appeals, it ordered county recorders to begin processing marriage licenses for same-sex couples that request them.

All language in Iowa Code section 595.2 defining civil marriage as the union between only a man and a woman must be stricken from the statute, and the remaining statutory language must be interpreted and applied in a manner that allows same-sex couples full access to the institution of civil marriage. (Read the full decision here)

This morning's announcement brought to mind that lovely scene in "Field of Dreams":

John Kinsella: Is this heaven?
Ray Kinsella: It's Iowa.
John Kinsella: Iowa? I could have sworn this was heaven.
Ray Kinsella: Is there a heaven?
John Kinsella: Oh yeah. It's the place where dreams come true.
Ray Kinsella: Maybe this is heaven.

Read more here:
An article in today's Wall Street Journal.
A joint statement on the decision from Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal and Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy.
UUA President William G. Sinkford's statement celebrating this remarkable victory.

U.S. and Iran Share Table at Afghanistan Meeting

This week The Hague, Netherlands, hosted a meeting to discuss the future of Afghanistan. Attendees included representatives from 73 nations, 11 international organizations and several observers from non-governmental organizations.

This meeting was very important and we at the UUA applaud the use of multi-lateral discussions and diplomacy to find a speedy and responsible end to the war in Afghanistan.

The UUA also approves of the United States and Iran joining together in dialogue over this cause. Iran has become an important ally in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At this meeting, Iran has agreed to strengthen its control of the Afghani/Iranian border to prevent the opiate and heroin trade.

Reports indicate that the U.S. Envoy to South Asia, Richard Holbrooke, shared a short conversation with the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mehdi Akhundzadeh. If this is true, this would signal a monumental shift in U.S. foreign policy with Iran. In previous years, Iranian and American officials never spoke with one another. A mending of relations between the United States and Iran after a thirty year rift is crucial to the progress and security of the Middle East. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the meeting between Akhundzadeh and Holbrooke was "cordial" but "unsubstantive."

However, today the Iranian government denied any such meeting happened. While Iran is committed to working alongside the United States to bring peace to Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian officials refuse to meet directly with American officials.

We encourage the Obama Administration to continue working with Iran and opening up relations between the two countries. As one of its legislative objectives for the 111th Congress and the Obama Administration, the UUA calls on the government to "...prevent armed conflict with Iran, through multilateral diplomatic engagement."

Watch tomorrow's hearing on state & local immigration enforcement & Arpaio

Tomorrow (Thursday the 2nd) at 10 AM EST, you can watch online as two Congressional House subcommittees hold a joint hearing on " the Public Safety and Civil Rights Implications of State and Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws," which will address Sheriff Arpaio.

Witnesses will include UNC-Chapel Hill law professor Deborah Weissman, who co-authored The Policies and Politics of Local Immigration Enforcement Law, George Gascon, Chief of the Mesa, Arizona police department, Pheonix resident Julio Mora, who was harassed by Sheriff Arpaio's deputies, and others.

The hearing will focus on general allegations of racial profiling in connection with 287(g) program, as well as specific allegations of unconstitutional immigration enforcement tactics by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, Arizona.

To watch, go to http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/calendar.html at 10 AM on Thursday the 2nd and click the second "Watch Video Webcast" box from the top. For back ground on 287(g) programs and Sheriff Arpaio, see:

• Advocates achieve success in Sheriff Arpaio abuses of 287(g)
• 287(g) Action Page
  

For more information about tomorrow's hearing, see:

• Hearing Information
• House Judiciary's Witness List
  

President Obama's Staff Asks for Our Help

Today, President Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel (seen at right), and the Director of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Rev. Josh DuBois, stopped by the Washington Office to see how the UUA is supporting justice and progress in the United States and the World.

We showed the Emmanuel and DuBois our Actions of the Month on Environmental Justice and Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

They expressed interest in our work on BGLT equality. And they wanted to learn more about the Social Justice and Advocacy Trainings we offer. They were particularly pleased with the results of the Sexuality Education Advocacy Training (SEAT) we hosted last month.

The workshops we are offering at General Assembly on environmental justice, immigration, and direct democracy were particularly exciting for them.

Overall, DuBois and Emanuel were extremely pleased with the work of the UUA and said they would report back to the President about our office immediately. Both look forward to working with us more in the future.

Oh, and Happy April Fools Day!