Do Leftie bloggers really hate Christians or their un-Christian attitudes?

Seems that I will always have material for weekend blogging as long as the local Radical Christian Right is on the job.

Harlan Edmonds wrote an op-ed in today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Mr. Edmonds has hit those pages before -- and hit them hard -- with screeds against abortion, Liberals, immigrants, RINOs -- you name it.

I don't mind screeds as I sometimes engage in those same tactics. But shouldn't they make sense or present some solid evidence for the Average Joe (or Mike) to latch onto.

His target is "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" day held Thursday at Cheyenne Frontier Days. On that day, burly dudes in pink wrestle steers and ride bucking broncos. In Thursday's parade, Gov. Matt Mead wore pink, as did Secretary of State Max Maxfield. Members of the CFD committee wore pink. This was a statement advocating increased funding for breast cancer research for all those women in our lives faced with the disease. The CFD's charity of choice on this issue is the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundations. Christian Right activists contend that some of the money donated to Komen MAY end up being donated to Planned Parenthood which MIGHT use it to counsel poor women to have abortions.

In the name of Christian purity, Mr. Edmonds and Mr. Wall contend that not a penny of our money should go to a wonderful charity which saves lives and will some day help to find a cure for women afflicted with breast cancer. They may be our wives or daughters or co-workers or someone we don't even know.

How very un-Christian of you Christian gentlemen.

But that's not the point, is it? Mr.. Edmonds will believe what he believes and logic will not shake him. He spends most of his column with ad hominem attacks local Christian minister and fellow Leftie blogger Rodger McDaniel. Mr. Edmonds says that the Rev. McDaniel "managed to squeeze more anti-Christian bigotry into a single WTE piece recently than Mullah Omar could fit in a four-hour fatwa."

I always like it when Christian fundamentalists try to equate Lefties with Muslim fundamentalists. As we all know, Fundies of all stripes believe in the same basic philosophy -- literalism. This is one of the reasons that some of my fellow Leftie bloggers label the American Christian Right "the American Taliban."

And I just did the same thing. Oops!

Lefties have learned a few things during the past 40 yars or so. Literalism is a dead end, whether it applies to the Bible or to The Communist Manifesto, the Koran or Mao's Little Red Book, the Book of Mormon or The Port Huron Statement. Living your life by the tenets of one little book penned by humans (and possibly inspired by God) eventually backs you into a corner.

It's also un-democratic (small "d"). The humanist principles upon which America was founded call upon citizens to continue to continually think and grow. Fundies, by nature, reach a dead end in their personal growth. All they are left with is a striving toward the End Times and eternal salvation. The hell with society. The hell with my fellow man and human. The hell with cancer cures and global arming solutions and universal health care.

In the end, they are anti-life.

In its efforts to aid humankind, CFD advocates life over death. I have a feeling that there are a few Christians within the CFD leadership ranks. And you can't swing a cat at a rodeo without knocking down a Christian cowboy or cowgirl. I know because I tried that last year and burly security guards wearing pink threw me out of the rodeo grounds.

SECURITY GUARD: "We don't cotton to your kind around here."
ME: "Leftie bloggers?"
SECURITY GUARD: "No, guys who swing cats."

I left, chastened.

Another thing I've noticed about fundamentalists, whether they be Mullah Omar or Harlan Edmonds -- they have no sense of humor.

I strive for humor and sometimes succeed. Maybe that's why I was inspired to wear pink fairy wings during my turn as emcee Thursday evening at the Atlas Theatre's old-fashioned melodrama. The pink wings looked great with my cowboy duds. "Tough enough to wear pink fairy wings!"

Take that, you close-minded fundies.

Let 'em buck -- but don't dress 'em in pink!

Local Radical Right scold Richard Wall writes an op-ed in this morning's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.

What is Richard incensed about now, you might ask?

I already knew, since his anti-Susan G. Komen letter to the CFD has been circulating for a week. It was first illuminated among the local blogosphere by the always-alert Jeran Artery at Out in Wyoming.

Mr. Wall's op-ed skills are quite good. He takes his time working himself into a lather over the real message. Condom posters in Frontier Park restrooms! Public drunkenness! Scantily clad photos of Miss Frontier and her Lady in Waiting! Dogs and cats, living together!

Forget the last one. I just had a "Ghostbusters" flashback.

Wall's main target is the relationship between Cheyenne Frontier Days, "The Daddy of 'Em All," and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. CFD works with Komen to promote the fight against breast cancer. To that end, Thursday's CFD activities carry to motto "Tough Enough to Wear Pink."

There were lots of cowboys and cowgirls wearing pink for cancer research the last time I attended the CFD rodeo. They looked pretty tough to me riding buckin' broncs and racing steeds around barrels at breakneck speeds.

Wall objects to Komen's alleged ties with Planned Parenthood and stem cell research. He contends that "25 percent of the money raised by its local affiliate go to Komen's national offices, which permits or takes part in these abuses." He is not clear what those abuses are, but he does say that it involves those "who respect all human life... must steer a wide berth around the Komen organization."

"Respect human life?" Code words for the anti-abortion movement. When they say "all human life," they mean "fetuses."  Once that fetus is actually born, they wash their hands of its fate unless its 80 years later and that sick and aging person is on life support (like Terry Schiavo) and should never be taken off to end the suffering.

These same people support the death penalty and pointless wars that kills innocent civilians including pregnant mothers and their fetuses. They also want to do away with the government's social safety net that prevents starvation in mothers and children. Every sperm is sacred!

They don't like gays either, dressed in pink or not.

How I do go on.

Please read Mr. Wall's screed and let CFD know that they shouldn't cave in to to the Radical Right, especially when our 115-year-old tradition carries such a proud legacy of supporting local causes.

O.K., CFD isn't perfect, especially if you're a vegan or a PETA member or Sheryl Crow or you just don't like mainstream country music. But if we're going to apply a purity test to CFD or any of our organizations, none will come up smelling like a rose. We Lefties are goofy on this too. We have shows such as "Portlandia" and numerous blogs to remind us how strangely human we all are.

Wall is human so give him a break, eh? I would, but he's attempting to insert his narrow-minded agenda into a place where it doesn't belong. Let him talk and write op-eds. But let's not let him bully our CFD.

Netroots Nation 2011: Waiting for Russ

Wisconsin's Russ Feingold

As we waited for Howard Dean and Russ Feingold, Pamela and I talked about Catholicism.

She grew up Catholic in Pittsburgh. She now lives and works in Arlington, Va.

I grew up Catholic in suburban Denver and rural Washington state and Wichita, Kan., and Daytona Beach, Fla. I now live and work in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Different backgrounds. Same era. And we share a common dilemma about Catholicism: do we stay or do we go?

She stayed. I went -- sort of. I called myself a Cultural Catholic, a term I've heard bandied about lately. She refers to herself as an Aesthetic and Cultural Catholic. She likes the ritual and tempo of the mass, the youthful memories of her incense-filled churches in the Irish and Slovak neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. She also stays actively Catholic because, when she travels, she can feel at home in churches around the globe.

All great reasons. I said that I don't go to any of the three Catholic churches in Cheyenne because they are too conservative. I grew tired of haranguing from the pulpit about abortion and Liberals, both equally evil in the eyes of narrow-minded 21st-century priests and deacons.

Pamela avoids going to mass in Arlington's Catholic churches for the same reason. She likes the D.C. churches, only a Metro ride away. I miss that about D.C.

She and I both wondered what happened to Democratic parishes and priests. She grew up surrounded by working people who were Democrats. The priests all seemed to be Democrats and only the bishops were mildly Republican so as to curry favor with politicians (churches pay no taxes and like it that way) and the well-to-do Catholic businessmen who might be Repubs.

I never knew whether my priests and fellow parishioners were D or R. And I liked it that way.

Another great thing about growing up Irish Catholic -- lively conversations with people who have red hair and Irish last names.

Pamela isn't a blogger. She volunteers and contributes to campaigns and causes. She heard about the conference and thought it sounded interesting. But she works for the government and doesn't think it's prudent to blast her opinions into the blogosphere. I've heard others say the same thing. Perfectly understandable, especially in this crazy era.

The lights went up on stage. Howard and Russ were on their way.

Will the "Circle of Protection" be unbroken?

On yet another Sunday morning when I don't go to church, I ponder a spiritual appeal called "Circle of Protection: A Statement on Why We Need to Protect Programs for the Poor." Long title for a simple document that asks Pres. Obama and our Congressional leaders not to balance the U.S. budget on the backs of the poor.

I read this copy of the proclamation on Sojourners, a site where I go to find solace and inspiration and talking points for my blog. Sojourners is all about social justice. The statement below carries signatures of 50 religious denominations and organizations. On the list is Jim Wallis of Sojourners. I signed a copy and sent it off to Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis, the seventh-richest member of Congress, who already has voted for the Draconian cuts in Rep. Paul Ryan's bill. Also sent a copy to Dr. Sen. John Barrasso, who was one of the Republican talking heads on TV this morning nattering on about the need to immediately slash Medicare and Medicaid. I am always amazed by The Good Doctor's audacious denial of his Hippocratic Oath: "I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm." Some points to ponder, Doc. Sen. Mike Enzi received a copy so he can contemplate his upcoming votes to enrich corporate healthcare companies at the expense of elderly Americans. Pres. Obama also got a copy, just in case he's thinking of backsliding in his push-back against radical Republicans.

I urge you to sign "Circle of Protection" and send it off to your Congressional delegation. And don't forget the Prez.

Circle of Protection: A Statement on Why We Need to Protect Programs for the Poor.

As people of faith, we are committed to fiscal responsibility and shared sacrifice. We are also committed to resist budget cuts that undermine the lives, dignity, and rights of poor and vulnerable people. Therefore, we join with others to form a Circle of Protection around programs that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at home and abroad. 

1. The nation needs to substantially reduce future deficits, but not at the expense of hungry and poor people.

2. Programs focused on reducing poverty should not be cut. They should be made as effective as possible, but not cut.

3. We urge our leaders to protect and improve poverty-focused development and humanitarian assistance to promote a better, safer world.

4. National leaders must review and consider tax revenues, military spending, and entitlements in the search for ways to share sacrifice and cut deficits.

5. A fundamental task is to create jobs and spur economic growth. Decent jobs at decent wages are the best path out of poverty, and restoring growth is a powerful way to reduce deficits.

6. The budget debate has a central moral dimension. Christians are asking how we protect "the least of these." "What would Jesus cut?" "How do we share sacrifice?"

7. As believers, we turn to God with prayer and fasting, to ask for guidance as our nation makes decisions about our priorities as a people.

8. God continues to shower our nation and the world with blessings. As Christians, we are rooted in the love of God in Jesus.

The work is in the poem, the poem is in the work

This week's news on the international front has been about Bahrainis and Libyans and Yemenis and Iranians protesting their home-grown despots. News on the home front has focused on the world of work. The Wyoming Legislature refused to take federal money for unemployment benefits. Legislators also tried to take away teachers' collective bargaining rights. Rich Republicans in Congress want to cut budgets and the jobs that go with them. Wisconsin teachers and city snowplow drivers and fire fighters went on strike and staged a huge protest at the state capitol. They were outraged that their multi-millionaire governor wanted to eliminate their union rights and their jobs with it.

We're in the middle of a class war. The rich want to turn us into low-paid drones. Some of us are there already, if we have a job. 

I've had so many jobs in my 60 years. I had paper routes in grades 6-8. In high school, I was a busboy and dishwasher and grocery store bagboy. In college, I had these jobs: fast-food clerk and cook, mower of lawns, construction laborer, assembly-line worker building roof trusses, hospital orderly, cafeteria cashier, photographer's assistant, free-lance writer and a few other short-term gigs. After college, I was a bookstore clerk, reporter for a Florida construction trade journal, warehouse order-puller, editor of a journal for a Denver real estate developer, editor of a weekly arts and entertainment weekly, sports reporter, free-lance writer, telephone solicitor, corporate publications editor, tutor, junior high paper grader, college composition teacher and editor of a literary magazine. In 1991, I went to work for the State of Wyoming and, for two years in the mid-1990s, worked for the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C. A public employee for 20 years. 

I know what work is. I'm a Democrat and a union member in a state with a shortage of each. I deeply resent the demonizing of public employees by Republicans. It must stop. If not, who will do the work?

This week, I'm featuring writing about work. Some will be mine, some will come from the anthology "Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Out the Jams," edited by M.L. Liebler. M.L. is coming to Cheyenne this time next week for a performance, workshop and judging of the Wyoming Poetry Out Loud competition, which is co-sponsored by my employer, the Wyoming Arts Council. One of my short stories is in the "Working Words" anthology. You can buy the book and read that and other fiction and essays and poetry about the world of work. I'm glad to be in the book. My payment for my submission was two free copies. This is typical for writers. We tend to be lousy capitalists. But I am very pleased to be included with M.L. and Philip Levine and Wanda Coleman and the late Walt Whitman and the very-much-with-us Eminem.

Here's an excerpt from a poem in the anthology. It's entitled "Work Work Work" and written by the late Trinidad Sanchez, Jr. (1943-2006), who grew up in Pontiac, Mich., and became a Jesuit brother who worked with juvenile offenders and prison inmates in Detroit. The excerpt:

Work, work, work, not easy to define

   but easy to delineate

by those standing in line

to punch a clock

to buy a sandwich off the truck

to catch a bus / to catch a bus

to cash a check...

easy to delineate

by those standing in long lines of unemployed, underemployed and food

stamp lines