Here is a version of the sermon I preached this morning for Ash Wednesday...
Suppressing the Vote
Conservatives are scared shitless, they are so scared for the coming of the 2012 elections and the liberal onslaught that they want college kids, the elderly and the disabled banned from voting!
This from Alan Colmes in it's entirety.....
Republican New Hampshire House Speaker William O’Brien is part of a nationwide effort to deny voting rights to students, the disabled, and the elderly. In O’Brien’s case, it’s becausecollege students tend to be liberal.
Warren Buffet and Bill Gates? Think Progress notes 22 statehouses in America where conservatives are similarly working to disenfranchise voters. Some examples:
OKAY, I know some will boo hoo this post, they will say this is liberal hysterics. But no, it is about conservatives realizing they can not win elections fair and square, there is just not enough Americans who vote republican, so they MUST suppress the vote! They do it every fuckin' time! This NH House Speaker is saying what he truly believes, young voters vote Democrat in hoards, and for 2012 this will destroy the GOP's plans to take the White House back from the evil liberals.
From a Yahoo news article..
Targeting students is nothing new: The "arguments against student voting" have been around for decades, says Susan Milligan in U.S. News & World Report. And they're still bunk. If students spend at least three-quarters of the year living, often working, and even paying taxes in their college town, they deserve the right to vote there. And that "lack of life experience" complaint? Funny you don't hear it when the GOP wants to send 18-year-olds off to war.
"New Hampshire Republicans wrong to attack college student voting"
Who's next... older voters? The GOP is right that "college students tend to be liberal and not think about consequences," says Alexandra Petri in The Washington Post. But so what? That's better than conservative elderly voters, who have "no incentive to make any sacrifices or enact any reforms, well, ever." So "where are the campaigns that scream, 'Don't let old people vote! They're conservative!'"
"Before limiting college students' voting rights, stop old people!"
This from Alan Colmes in it's entirety.....
Republican New Hampshire House Speaker William O’Brien is part of a nationwide effort to deny voting rights to students, the disabled, and the elderly. In O’Brien’s case, it’s because
He said that Plymouth, a college town, experiences 900 same-day voter registrations.
“They are kids voting liberal, voting their feelings, with no life experience,” he said.
So, “life experience” must mean you’re a conservative. Right, NORTH CAROLINA: Republican legislators have introduced a photo ID bill that the Institute for Southern Studies estimates will cost taxpayers more than $20 million…the legislation’s target is phantom “voter fraud” — even though in 2008 authorities reported only 40 voting irregularities out of 4.3 million votes cast.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Despite dying in the state senate last year, a bill requiring voters to present a photo ID has passed both legislative houses in contentious party-line votes. The two houses will now have to resolve their two different versions. One local NAACP official called the legislation “Jim Crow Jr.”
TEXAS: Despite facing a $10-11 billion budget shortfall, Gov. Rick Perry prioritized a voter ID bill as an “emergency item” last month — forcing the Texas legislature to act on the bill before dealing with the state’s budget crisis. Since then the Senate has passed a voter ID law that would be the most restrictive in the nation…
KANSAS: Monday the State Senate approved legislation, originally proposed by Secretary of State Kris Kobach, that would require proof of citizenship upon registering to vote…
TENNESSEE Two weeks a go, the State Senate passed a bill requiring voters to present a driver’s license before voting. The bill would create a significant burden to voting for the state’s more than 500,000 adults without a driver’s license.
Funny that with states crying poverty and the need for budget cuts that they are promoting voter ID plans that would cost millions of dollars.OKAY, I know some will boo hoo this post, they will say this is liberal hysterics. But no, it is about conservatives realizing they can not win elections fair and square, there is just not enough Americans who vote republican, so they MUST suppress the vote! They do it every fuckin' time! This NH House Speaker is saying what he truly believes, young voters vote Democrat in hoards, and for 2012 this will destroy the GOP's plans to take the White House back from the evil liberals.
From a Yahoo news article..
Targeting students is nothing new: The "arguments against student voting" have been around for decades, says Susan Milligan in U.S. News & World Report. And they're still bunk. If students spend at least three-quarters of the year living, often working, and even paying taxes in their college town, they deserve the right to vote there. And that "lack of life experience" complaint? Funny you don't hear it when the GOP wants to send 18-year-olds off to war.
"New Hampshire Republicans wrong to attack college student voting"
Who's next... older voters? The GOP is right that "college students tend to be liberal and not think about consequences," says Alexandra Petri in The Washington Post. But so what? That's better than conservative elderly voters, who have "no incentive to make any sacrifices or enact any reforms, well, ever." So "where are the campaigns that scream, 'Don't let old people vote! They're conservative!'"
"Before limiting college students' voting rights, stop old people!"
How to get more young people in church...
Thanks to Anna for pointing me to this: I had to share...
~~~~~
One of the most frequently asked questions I face as I visit parishes is, "How do we get young people to come to church?" I thought this week I would allow a genuine young person to answer that question. Tamie Fields Harkins served for four years as our chaplain to NAU Episcopal Canterbury Fellowship. Last week she had this to say about that question on her blog, which I share with you here.
~~~~~
One of the most frequently asked questions I face as I visit parishes is, "How do we get young people to come to church?" I thought this week I would allow a genuine young person to answer that question. Tamie Fields Harkins served for four years as our chaplain to NAU Episcopal Canterbury Fellowship. Last week she had this to say about that question on her blog, which I share with you here. +Kirk
Here is a step-by-step plan for how to get more young people into the church:
1. Be genuine. Do not under any circumstances try to be trendy or hip, if you are not already intrinsically trendy or hip. If you are a 90-year-old woman who enjoys crocheting and listens to Beethoven, by God be proud of it.
2. Stop pretending you have a rock band.
3. Stop arguing about whether gay people are okay, fully human, or whatever else. Seriously. Stop it.
4. Stop arguing about whether women are okay, fully human, or are capable of being in a position of leadership.
5. Stop looking for the "objective truth" in Scripture.
6. Start looking for the beautiful truth in Scripture.
7. Actually read the Scriptures. If you are Episcopalian, go buy a Bible and read it. Start in Genesis, it's pretty cool. You can skip some of the other boring parts in the Bible. Remember though that almost every book of the Bible has some really funky stuff in it. Remember to keep #5 and #6 in mind though. If you are evangelical, you may need to stop reading the Bible for about 10 years. Don't worry: during those 10 years you can work on putting these other steps into practice.
8. Start worrying about extreme poverty, violence against women, racism, consumerism, and the rate at which children are dying worldwide of preventable, treatable diseases. Put all the energy you formerly spent worrying about the legit-ness of gay people into figuring out ways to do some good in these areas.
9. Do not shy away from lighting candles, silence, incense, laughter, really good food, and extraordinary music. By "extraordinary music" I mean genuine music. Soulful music. Well-written, well-composed music. Original music. Four-part harmony music. Funky retro organ music. Hymns. Taize chants. Bluegrass. Steel guitar. Humming. Gospel. We are the church; we have an uber-rich history of amazing music. Remember this.
10. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
11. Learn how to sit with people who are dying.
12. Feast as much as possible. Cardboard communion wafers are a feast in symbol only. Humans can not live on symbols alone. Remember this.
13. Notice visitors, smile genuinely at them, include them in conversations, but do not overwhelm them.
14. Be vulnerable.
15. Stop worrying about getting young people into the church. Stop worrying about marketing strategies. Take a deep breath. If there is a God, that God isn't going to die even if there are no more Christians at all.
16. Figure out who is suffering in your community. Go be with them.
17. Remind yourself that you don't have to take God to anyone. God is already with everyone. So, rather than taking the approach that you need to take the truth out to people who need it, adopt the approach that you need to go find the truth that others have and you are missing. Go be evangelized.
18. Put some time and care and energy into creating a beautiful space for worship and being-together. But shy away from building campaigns, parking lot expansions, and what-have-you.
19. Make some part of the church building accessible for people to pray in 24/7. Put some blankets there too, in case someone has nowhere else to go for the night.
20. Listen to God (to Wisdom, to Love) more than you speak your opinions.
This is a fool-proof plan. If you do it, I guarantee that you will attract young people to your church. And lots of other kinds of people too. The end.
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