Annihilation

Continuing my theme from last week...

A Perfect Circle - Annihilation Lyrics (Old Version) excerpted

Annihilation is to one the means to an end
Armageddon the war to end all wars, the extremists' end
Annihilation self destruction
The streets are on fire, death in our wake
Cars overturned, bodies are raped
You go on
Preaching religious dogma, while paying for and sanctioning vicious murders
Annihilation annihilation annihilation praise
Destruction
You go on playing with people's lives
Using their minds, you want total control
Stay in line
Annihilation
Annihilation the judgement day
Armageddon armagedon are you going to let them blow you away

The REAL Eco-terrorism ...

Thank goodness, 200 more trees and I can clock out and have a beer at the lodge.

ECO-TERRORISM....

You want eco-terrorism? I'll show you eco-terrorism. Look at the picture above. What a great legacy we are leaving behind — the systematic and total destruction of our environment so that we can have pretty wooden doorknobs or pretty little wood knickknacks that we can place on our over-crowded shelves.

For the record, I do not support eco-terrorism. I believe that if we can't save the world without hurting people, then maybe the world is not worth saving. As an extension of that, I don't think we should harm people's property either.

But look at the guy with the chainsaw — he's engaging in the LEGAL rape, pillage, and destruction of the Planet. Yes, the one-in-a-billion Planet that sustains an incredible assortment of life. We HAVE to destroy it so that we can make money and satisfy our immediate needs. WE HAVE to multiply our human numbers to ungodly proportions, and then we have to RAPE the Earth even more to support all the added people. WE HAVE TO because that's the way we've always done it. The Earth is a giant, eternal resource, and it's ours for the RAPING, and TAKING, and ABUSING, and NEGLECT.

AND NOW FOR A "DEEP THOUGHT" BREAK....

People who cling to paradigms (just about all of us) take one look at the spacious possiblity that everything they think is guaranteed to be nonsense and pedal rapidly in the opposite direction. Surely there is no power, no control, no understanding, not even a reason for being, much less acting, in the notion or experience that there is no certainty in any worldview. But, in fact, everyone who has managed to entertain that idea, for a moment or for a lifetime, has found it to be the basis for radical empowerment. If no paradigm is right, you can choose whatever one will help to achieve your purpose. If you have no idea where to get a purpose, you can listen to the Universe (or put in the name of your favorite deity here) and do his, her, its will - which is probably a lot better informed than your will.

—An excerpt from Donella Meadows' classic essay, "Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System."

What? Donella Meadows is one of my great heros. In 2001, she died an untimely death from bacterial meningitis at age 59. What is she trying to say here? WHAT is she trying to tell the world?

Hmmm, to me this says that people are stuck on traditions, or "the way it's always been" and there's little momentum or energy to change things. And when you do try to change things, even if they are crazy wrong, you get great resistance from other people because: a) People don't like change and b) That's the way we've always done it, thus it is a TRADITION.

Allow me to give two examples:

• Holiday Cards - It's Christmas time and I get all these cards in the mail, often from vendors or people I hardly know. Okay, if you are going to send a photo of your kids or a nice end-of-year note, that's fine, but most of the cards I get simply say, "Merry Christmas, Jim and Terry." First of all, who the hell are Jim and Terry? Secondly, what a waste of a stamp, paper, and the Postal Service's energy. I mean, people spend lots of money and time sending off these Christmas cards, maybe because they've ALWAYS DONE IT or their PARENTS HAVE DONE IT, but what's the point? The recipient opens it, says "nice," and puts it in the pile with all the other cards. And there is no way the recipient can remember who sent what card — it just becomes a big blur. So, really, what is the point of this wasteful tradition?

• Smoking in Public Places - My God, we go to restaurants and suck in all this collective cigarette smoke and inhale numerous toxins. Why are so few cities and counties doing something about this? First of all, it amazes me that people are rude enough to smoke in a public building, but why isn't anyone stopping them? "Well, we keep the smokers in the smoking section," the restaurant manager says. My GOD, the smoking area is just an open area around the bar — do you think the smoke just hits some kind of invisible air wall and stays there? No way, you are poisoning every patron in the restaurant with that crap. WHY ISN'T ANYONE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT? So you call your local state representative, and they just kind of hem and holler that the restaurant owners and smokers might get mad. I mean, few politicians really want to take the lead on this, and they really don't want to stick their neck out, and they really don't want to piss off any potential voters. BUT MY GOD, THEY ARE POISONING US WITH THEIR SECOND HAND SMOKE!!!!!

So, the point is, people really don't like to change, even if their habits are wasteful, pointless, and even harmful. What Donella is saying above is that no one has a monopoly on "right." So, if you are trying to accomplish something, you can choose the "worldview" that works best. We shouldn't lock ourselves into an "it's always done this way" or "people might get mad" paradigm. Rather, we need to do what's right in our hearts.

After much deliberation, I cancelled my subscription to the newspaper. It has really reduced my supply of blogging material, but I got to thinking: A newspaper is a wasteful and inefficient way of disseminating information. Think of the trees, the energy used for the presses, and the gasoline used to deliver it. Crazy.

I challenge everyone who reads this blog to ask: "Why the hell am I really doing this? Does this make sense? Is what I'm doing helping to reduce my impact on the Earth? Is what I'm doing sustainable over the course of many generations?"

"Don't listen to that Canary, he's sick. "
— Dick Cheney

Escaping From This Crazy Society

My gosh, what is it? I dunno,
I think it's The One Right Way.

I just spoke with Paula who posted the ad about starting an intentional community. She is a self-described aging hippie, and she and her husband just inherited a fifty acre forest in Chilton Co. AL. That is where they would like to rehabilitate a run-down farm and start a ecovilliage with anyone who wants into it. ... They have not had much response
to the ad, but are still enthusiastic about the project.

Okay, I'm going to escape this crazy, dysfunctional, soulless society that I live in. I'm moving to Alabama to live in a self-sustaining community. I'm going to sell my house here in the Atlanta suburbs and build a little hut in Chilton Co., AL. I'll work on the farm and perhaps develop websites on the side for a little extra cash. I'm goin' baby — I'm escaping it all, especially my mother who tries to control me with her endless religious guilt trips. I'm gonna be free! Oh, but there's one problem. I have no idea where Chilton County is. Oh well.

But if I escape this World, then it is harder to save it. It is better that I take a stand, right here in Powder Springs, GA, and try to make a difference. The odds are against me, but if I can just help a few folks here and there, or if I can help to change just a few attitudes, then maybe it will be worthwhile.

Look at the bizarre situation our nation is in. We spend BILLIONS on health care. At the same time, the diseases caused by our affluence and by the thousands of chemicals we've released into the environment are keeping us sick. So, we spend BILLIONS to get better, and the money goes into the pockets of the massively wealthy medical industry. Then, we decide we want to live longer, so we give the medical establishment more BILLIONS. And in the meantime, the Baby Boomers are retiring by the millions and it's up to the American workers to support them, but we can't because our manufacturing base has moved to Mexico and China.

And what are Americans doing? My GOD, they are watching a Gilligan's Island remake on reality TV while the value of the U.S. dollar sinks, the trade deficit climbs, and the federal debt deepens. The will to resist and the desire to care has been beaten from our souls.

Our nation is ruled by a small but powerful clique who has learned how "to play the game" and they depend on the ignorance and apathy of Americans. They keep the masses in a drawer until they need their vote again. Then they pull out the little bobble-headed Americans and scream, "Guns, gays, abortion" and send them to the polls to re-elect the "righteous" politicians.

Our nation is so corrupt and spiritually crushed that the few who do resist are labeled "whackos" and promptly ignored. We have become a spiritless and cowardly mass. We go to our country club churches to pass out business cards and then we go to Hooters to eat onion rings, and we scream, "We need more values in this land." But our words are as hollow as our souls.

Perhaps one day soon I will give up on this crazy World or maybe I won't. At this point, I still have hope, at least a little.

Yellow Canary

What Have I Become?

Giddy up, go boy, whoa horsey.

There I was...

I was in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, walking the streets and talking to my friends, and everywhere I went there were homeless people asking for money. There are so many of them that after a while you don't even notice and you kind of get immune to it. And then as I was on the plane waiting to head back to Atlanta, it suddenly hit me, and I said to myself, "OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I BECOME?" It's like I just turned them off, and I didn't feel anything.

So now, for the past two weeks I've been feeling absolutely rotten. I've been giving a lot of thought lately as to how I can alleviate some of the misery in the world on a personal level, but God, there is so much of it.

But it's holiday time and many homeless will get a warm meal on Christmas Day and a little gift box filled with a toothbrush and comb. People, civic groups, and Churches will all do their good deed for the holidays. The rich will throw a couple of bent cans in the food box and then go on to their merry social events. People will give the Salvation Army guy a few bucks and feel really good about themselves for the next 10 minutes.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THEM? What about the poor humans who sleep in dumpsters and under bridges, while we are in our warm homes drinking our spiked eggnog and singing Christmas carols really off key?

With so much wealth in our country, why do have to accept a system where so many people live in misery? Why do we just walk past the homeless and think of them as part of the local ambience, as their desperate pleas for spare change are heard but ignored? What kind of people have we become and where is our compassion?

And I'm so troubled by people who say, "I give or volunteer because I'm a Christian." People should help one another NOT to get brownie points with God, but because it's the right thing to do. OF COURSE, God wants us to help others — you don't have to tell me you're doing it because you're a Christian.

Insensitivity...

I see it all the time ... people forgetting to tip a waiter, people abusing some poor store clerk, and people just being indifferent to others. I mean, I was at a dinner meeting two nights ago and everyone was so busy chatting that no one bothered to give the poor busboy some change. I mean, my God, this poor guy is human and deserves a couple of dollars. He has bills to pay too.

I believe it is the lowest among us who are the greatest among us. The humble people of the world who beg for food, change your hotel sheets, and wait on you at restaurants are the real heros, and they DESERVE your respect and reverence. Hell, man, show a little mercy. Give them some change even if they forgot to give you a lemon in your tea. Come on, they have FEELINGS. Just give them a few quarters before you jump back into your Lexus and return to your Alice in Wonderland life. Damn, I mean, come on, everyone deserves a little change.

Slavery and the Culture Prison

We bring you to America
to save your soul.

We Are Prisoners of Our Culture...

All we know is the world that we were born into, our traditions, what our parents taught us, and our surroundings. It's our culture, and it traps us and keeps us in a cage. We don't even think to break out of the cage because Mother Culture is all we know.

Mother Culture gives our our religion, our jobs, our traditions, our fashion styles, and we just go along with it. Whatever Mother Culture says must be true, and few of us question. But sometimes, some of us get this crazy sense that Mother Culture is doing things that are harmful, and we begin to question Her. When we do question, we receive a lot of criticism and mockery from those who support the status quo. It is the way it is, and you should not question, you little human!

A perfect example of this is the trend toward home gardens and organic foods. A lot of us are getting tired of all the chemicals thrown on our plants and injected into the animals we eat. A lot of us question the genetically altered foods, steroids, and other crap that we are asked to consume. But when we question or oppose this insanity, the Food Industry along with their spin doctors and minions, start screaming that we are anti-technology and that we want to take America back to the Hunter-Gatherer Age. See, people who profit from Mother Culture don't like those who question, and they sure as heck don't like change.

Ho, ho, what do you mean you won't
eat me? I'm a cross between a
strawberry and a Republican. The
food industry says I'm good for you.

A painful look back

Much to my regret, my great great grandparents owned slaves. This is something I'm ashamed of. The people who resisted this evil institution, like John Brown and Harriett Tubman are my great heros. If I was living in slavery times, I know I would resist, but I sometimes wonder if I would have the courage to risk my life.

Funny thing is, everyone in the South appeared on board with slavery — the state governments, the companies, AND THE CHURCHES! Naturally, the Christians justified this madness by saying things like, "We are saving their souls and keeping them from going to hell." The funny thing is, the slaves WERE IN HELL.

I urge everyone to question Mother Culture and break out of this prison that she has placed us in. She uses the churches, government, and corporations to beat us down and force us into conformity. Mother Culture claims she controls our finances, our security, and even our soul. But does she REALLY control all of these things? I know people who are resisting her everyday with co-op farming, bartering, and throwing TVs out the window.

If Mother Culture wasn't so destructive, I would just ignore her. But she is forcing us to live in a way that is not best for humans, and in fact, is self-destructive. She makes us live in such a way that keeps millions miserable and keeps our economy unsustainable. Unless you resist her, then you will deserve the fate she has in store for you.

My other great heros - the students of the White Rose



The following is a leaflet from The White Rose, a small group of German college students who resisted the Nazi government in 1943. Three members were executed. They are the greatest of heros.

Canary Sezs: This gives me goose bumps when I read it because I see so many parallels with the United States in 2004. Do you see the parallels?

Nothing is so unworthy of a civilized nation as allowing itself to be governed without opposition by an irresponsible clique that has yielded to base instinct. It is certain that today every honest German is ashamed of his government. Who among us has any conception of the dimensions of shame that will befall us and our children when one day the veil has fallen from our eyes and the most horrible of crimes - crimes that infinitely outdistance every human measure - reach the light of day? If the German people are already so corrupted and spiritually crushed that they do not raise a hand, frivolously trusting in a questionable faith in lawful order of history; if they surrender man’s highest principle, that which raises him above all other God’s creatures, his free will; if they abandon the will to take decisive action and turn the wheel of history and thus subject it to their own rational decision; if they are so devoid of all individuality, have already gone so far along the road toward turning into a spiritless and cowardly mass - then, yes, they deserve their downfall. Goethe speaks of the Germans as a tragic people, like the Jews and the Greeks, but today it would appear rather that they are a spineless, will-less herd of hangers-on, who now - the marrow sucked out of their bones, robbed of their center of stability - are waiting to be hounded to their destruction. So it seems - but it is not so. Rather, by means of gradual, treacherous, systematic abuse, the system has put every man into a spiritual prison. Only now, finding himself lying in fetters, has he become aware of his fate. Only a few recognized the threat of ruin, and the reward for their heroic warning was death. We will have more to say about the fate of these persons. If everyone waits until the other man makes a start, the messengers of avenging Nemesis will come steadily closer; then even the last victim will have been cast senselessly into the maw of the insatiable demon. Therefore every individual, conscious of his responsibility as a member of Christian and Western civilization, must defend himself as best he can at this late hour, he must work against the scourges of mankind, against fascism and any similar system of totalitarianism. Offer passive resistance - resistance - wherever you may be, forestall the spread of this atheistic war machine before it is too late, before the last cities, like Cologne, have been reduced to rubble, and before the nation’s last young man has given his blood on some battlefield for the hubris of a sub-human. Do not forget that every people deserves the regime it is willing to endure!

What I Learned This Year

Okay, Mr. Canary, start from the beginning.
Could you please tell me again about
those really freaky dreams you're having.

Another Year Is Coming To An End...

When you get older, the years become blurs, but this one wasn't. It seemed like a LONG year and so much happened. Good things and painful things took place this year, and I learned a LOT!

If you're like me, life is about capturing experience in little sound bites. You read something here, you hear a lecture there, then you see something on the History Channel, and everything combines to widen your mind.

The Story of 2004...

I did keep a journal during my last two summers in college. Now, this year, 22 years later, I started keeping an electronic journal again at the beginning of the year. In May, I converted my journal to an on-line blog. It is more fun to blog knowing that anyone in the world can read my thoughts. I'm sure that as I write this, President Bush is in his private study in the White House, sipping on coffee, reading my blog, and going, "What the..."

Moments of Epiphany

There were many this year, but I'll just hit the two biggies:

• Humans Are Not Flawed - I heard this at an Ishamel presentation in September. The famous book by Daniel Quinn, I would say this is the single, most important work of the past 20 years. Growing up in a fundamentalist Christian household, all my life I was taught that there was something wrong with humans. But look at your dog, look at your pet bird, go to the zoo and view the animals. Is there anything "flawed" about them? No. Is there anything flawed about humans? NO! We are what the Creator made us, and we should rejoice in that; not spend our entire lives feeling guilty. Yet, even though we are NOT flawed, are irresponsible ways surely are.

• I Am Not A Bad Person - Once again, dealing with all the fundamentalist Christian guilt buttons that were installed in me has been the greatest struggle of my life. The objective is to make you feel like a rotten person whenever you don't conform to the "correct interpretation" of the Holy Bible. So, all this time I've been feeling like a bad human for questioning the religion and culture that I was born into. But then just two weeks ago I read an article in the Faith section of the newspaper, which was written by the ministers of five local churches in a community of Atlanta called Druid Hills. The theme of the article is that ALL Christians shouldn't be stereotyped by the vocal Religious Right. When it comes to the war, abortion, and other critical issues, these ministers appeared to have a similar outlook to myself. So, I squealed with delight because I realized that I may be a Christian after all — I just have a far different view from the traditional, Hard Right Christians. In fact, much of what I learned about compassion, unconditional love, and acceptance, I learned from my parents, my former pastors, and from the Bible. It's just to me, it appears that many in our country play the role of the Moral Christian, but their indifference on key issues and their brutal hypocrisy on other issues tells me a far different story. This is one of the main themes I've blogged about all year.

Humans are not bad and I am not bad!

Auto Industry Has Learned Well From Tobacco Industry

Little bird, what thee hell are
you trying to tell me???

President Bush has nominated a new Energy Secretary — a man after his own heart and soul. The so-called "plan" is to make the United States less dependent on energy from unstable parts of the world. The plan is boost domestic production by drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, weakening clean air laws, and increasing the use of nuclear and coal resources. There has not been ONE WORD about CONSERVATION because the President and Congress are afraid of angering the auto manufacturers, power companies, and other organization who thrive on making the world a dirtier place. Worse yet, there is NO TALK on how to curb our emissions to stop Global Warming. The theme in Washington continues to be "live for now — don't worry about tomorrow."

Hurray for California who is standing up to the Righteous politicians and Earth-destroying industries by introducing some tough new emissions laws. But rather than calling on their engineers to rise to the challenge, the pathetic U.S. auto industry has let their monkey lawyers out of the cage and sent them to Sacramento. The monkey lawyers are digging through law books to find any angle they can to justify their gas-guzzling and polluting automobiles. Right now, their latest angle is something to the effect that states are not allowed to mandate miles-per-gallon — only the federal government can do that.


The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is a trade association of nine car and light truck manufacturers including BMW Group, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Mazda, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota and Volkswagen.

God bless the greedy, rich, selfish auto manufacturers who stuff their pockets with cash, and sabotage any serious attempts at energy conservation and emissions reduction. With their monkey lawyers, monkey scientists, monkey lobbyists, and monkey spin-doctors, they have the resources to fend off any threat and to keep their puppets in Washington in line. Of course, when you even get near these people their little buttons go off and they start screaming, "Jobs, jobs, jobs, economy, economy, economy!" In other words, if you actually ask a company to be responsible and do the right thing, rather than talking about innovation and how they will rise to the challenge, they give you a sob story about how many jobs it will cost to clean up their act.

On to Mental Wonderland...

• So, I ask: Why are so many churches built of pre-fab materials?

• How come smokers throw their butts and cartons out the window? Is the world their personal litter basket?

• How come so many divorced people are screaming about "the sacred institution of marriage" as a front for bashing gays?

• When Churches talk about "family values" how come they don't oppose the rampant consumerism and materialism in our society? Are they afraid of offending their best tithers?

• How come the owner of a grading company, who spends his whole career flattening God's creation, donates money for a new sanctuary and is then hailed as "a great Christian?"

• How come little yellow birds are so darn cynical?

• Why can't Congress focus on anything other than getting themselves re-elected? Maybe it's time for the states to gather together, close the federal monster they have created, and create a new government — one that can better focus on the future instead of being obsessed with "instant gratification."

• If humans are so good, why do they do things that are so bad?

I Don't Understand

Here me is, just getting older and feeling that
all of us are in the final scene of great play.

Well, SO MANY things ...

...Have been floating around in my belgueared mind that I don't know where to begin. My, those organic organs inside our skulls are such complex mechanisms. So why were we given this incredible organ? So we can learn to throw litter out the window? So we can burn incense to the gods? Who really knows.

So WHAT am I thinking about?

I just can't get out of my head the incredible hypocrisy of the so-called Moral Majority. It troubles me greatly every day. If they weren't helping to destroy the environment and dragging us into wars, I wouldn't pay much attention to them. But they seem to hold the keys to the vault and they ain't handling it very well.

First off, I have stretched my mind, thought outside the box, and I cannot comprehend how ANYONE could vote for the current crooks, egotists, and opportunists who control the Republican Party. If you didn't like the Democratic candidates, you could have at least voted for Libertarians, or Ralph Nader, or you could have even done a write-in vote for Alfred E. Neuman. But why George W. Bush and his gang of crooked politicos in Congress? Why, why, WHY??

Let us review..

Let us look at what the Moral "Family Values" politicians have been up to lately:

• Federal debt increased by $413 billion, and the trade deficit is up to $620 billion.

• Republicans change their own rules to keep Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) in his post, EVEN if he is indicted for corruption.

• Much of our federal debt this year is courtesy of the $137 billion tax cut that Congress gave to businesses. Make a contribution to a Congressperson and you will be repaid generously.

• Even though the U.S. government is straddled with debt and deficit spending, Congress passes a spending bill that's full of pork. Hurray! Lobbyists received an early Christmas present from the God-fearing Republicans.

As mentioned before, I am a progressive Republican at heart, but the maggots who have infested the Grand Ol' Party are as corrupt as any Third World dictatorship. They scream, "God, pro-life, sanctity of marriage," and then we go jumping off to the polling places like bunny rabbits to give them our vote and our unquestioning allegiance.

More from the front...

A fellow Canary on the other side of town noticed an interesting sign recently. She investigated a little and here is what she found:

The week before the election I noticed a huge sign along the road about a lecture on the war, which read: "Come to this lecture, find out the truth about the war before voting." I thought maybe it was some cool anti-war people and got the name and phone number of a gentleman. I called him and politely asked him what the talk would be about. What I got from him is that he, (a VERY right wing evangelical) believes that the war in Iraq is God-ordained and is tied up in their belief that Israel is sacred to God above all else. They believe George Bush was "sent by God" to attack Iraq and this war will bring "final judgement," whatever that means to them.

Right, this explains everything. Okay, everyone - go sell your house!

Bob Barr Says Something Good...

Bob Barr, the the former conservative Congressman who led the impeachment effort against President Clinton has been behaving better lately. As my Congressperson, he and I were at odds because of his poor voting record on the environment and family planning. However, after leaving Congress he joined the liberal-leaning ACLU, where he has been working on privacy issues. He has been fairly cool in opposing the proposed gay marriage ban in the constitution. Today he was on the radio in a panel discussion with Neal Bortz. When a question came up about how gay marriage threatened the family, he said something to the effect:

The real threat to the family is not homosexuals. Rather, it's parents not spending enough time with their kids and their addiction to consumption and materialism (paraphrased).

Well, said Bob!

Sources: Tom Blackburn, columnist for the Palm Beach Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Reconciliation With the Right

It is heaven, but only thee conservative Christians
will make it up there. Or maybe not.

The Culture War Continues Even Among Christians

On the one side you have the Conservative Christians who see the big issues as abortion and homosexuality. On the other side you have the more Liberal/Progressive Christians who see the big issues as peacemaking, protecting Creation, and fighting poverty. It is the Liberal/Progressive side who are more open to reconciliation and "hearing out" their theological opposites.

As for me, and many others like me, I have nothing personal against Conservatives. In fact, some of the most wonderful people I know are Conservatives, including my own extended family. However, I am angry and frustrated at how they chose to embrace just a couple of moral standards and were quite willing to throw all the other standards down the drain. Sadly, during the recent elections there was little talk about the environment or poverty, or even long-term peacemaking. The Right did a better job of keeping their pet issues — abortion and gays — in the forefront and keeping the opposition on their toes.

I really would like to have talks with Conservatives to find common ground. I would love to give presentations at their places of worship and listen to what they have to say. I would enjoy talking about "big picture" issues like the future and sustainability.

However, I know that these good people are believers in "dispensationalism," which is a belief that the world will get continually worse and ultimately Christ will come to rescue all the people who "got it right." My belief is just the opposite. I believe that as responsible humans we each have a lifelong obligation to make the world BETTER. So, there is little common ground to begin our discussions with.

Teen Pregnancy - Just Get All Sides Talking

As I once mentioned before, in 1988 I had this crazy idea of getting all sides in the teen pregnancy issue to the table to talk. At least the Catholic representatives heard me out and gave me well-thought reasons of why they weren't going to participate. For that, I will always have respect for them. But then I remember talking to this founder of a Christian adoption ministry that tried to get pregnant women to give up their babies instead of having an abortion. At least he was calling me "brother" a lot, but he really chewed me out on the phone. Apparently, he was horrified that I was even associating with some of the other organizations, such as Planned Parenthood. Well, my whole idea fell apart. So much for the whole "common ground" thing.

And Now, a Message on Poverty

Poverty is a complex and age-old problem that I need to give more blog time too. I just wish the Republicans had brought up the topic more when they were screaming about "family values" and a "culture of life." Perhaps all the abortion/gay rhetoric was designed to divert attention from more endemic problems like poverty. Yes, gays can't get married and girls who have abortions will be thrown in jail, but what about the growing millions of Americans who are struggling financially every day?

I am a believer that problems should be addressed at the root level, and once again I must say that human overpopulation is a main contributor to poverty. For the past six years, population growth has been my main issue, but now I am seeing that help is also needed on a personal level. I'm not sure what my calling will be, but I would like to do something to help the poor and disadvantaged. In my past job I was editor of a citywide teen newspaper and I had the opportunity to help in an indirect way — by providing educational and work experience opportunities for inner city youth. But now I think more is needed — I feel there are people out there who are not even getting enough to eat.

GOP Is God - Deficit, Pork Barrel Spending Is Good

Boy, those lobbyists sure treat us good. Yes,
Mr. Congressman, they sure do. This therapeutic
horseback riding sure is fun.


Pork, Pork, Pork

With the federal deficit soaring and most Americans just struggling to get by, the infallible, perfect, God-like Republicans recently rushed through another sloppy spending bill that is LOADED with pork. Now, I'm usually opposing the Heritage Foundation on about everything, but now I'm agreeing with them on this:

As runaway spending pushes the cost of government over $20,000 per household and the federal budget deficit past $400 billion, Congress continues to pile an endless supply of special interest projects onto the backs of weary taxpayers. With the recently-passed fiscal 2005 omnibus spending bill (H.R. 4818), Congress is expected the break its own record — set in last year’s budget — for pork projects, with new grants for such items as therapeutic horseback riding and a school mariachi music curriculum. This performance is simply embarrassing and highlights the need for reform of Congress’s obviously broken budget process.

— The Heritage Foundation

Now, the thing that freaks me out about myself is that while I am a social liberal, I am strong conservative when it comes to fiscal policy. Since two of my heros are Teddy Roosevelt and Barry Goldwater, I MUST be a Republican. However, the GOP of today is so infested with religious zealots and so sold out to special interests, that I want no part of this beguiled and corrupted excuse of a Party.

Yeah, this is a REPUBLICAN budget. You know, the people you voted for because they hold the high moral ground. Yes, it's really moral to take your hard earned tax dollars and use it for special interest frill projects. Or better yet, it's even more MORAL to fund a project and make your KIDS PAY FOR IT, which is EXACTLY what Congress does every time they pass a deficit budget.

While you are struggling to make ends meet, your government is going into debt to finance a variety of pork projects around the country. Now, some of these projects seem worthy while others are off-the-wall, but the fact is our Government should NOT SPEND more than it makes — never.

"But the Republicans are against abortion and my preacher told me to vote for them."

But look, you can hardly afford to buy groceries and you aren't going to get much help from the Salvation Army because Target kicked them off their property this holiday season. But don't worry, that great Party you voted for is spending your money wisely.

A sampling:

$450,000 Baseball Hall of Fame
$25,000 Develop curriculum to study mariachi music, Clark County School District, Nevada
$350,000 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, Ohio
$150,000 Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program, Lady B Ranch, California
$950,000 Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

These projects are just a few at the top of the Heritage Foundation list, and if I list any more I will probably hurl. The point is, again, I'm really questioning all this talk about the Republicans being the protector of morals and family values. If they really cared about the "family" like they say, they would do things to benefit the FAMILY and not slick lobbyists wearing Gucci shoes.

Anyway, the point is that I remain disgusted at all the people who voted straight-ticket Republican just because the GOP is supposedly "pro-life" or "Christian." What you've done is simply strengthened the power of a vile and corrupt political party that does not give a damn about you unless you are a big corporate lobbyist, rich, or own a company. Believe me, you were deceived by this pack of the most immoral politicians we have seen in decades. The hypocrisy of this all makes me sick, sick, sick! But, right, you voted for a "culture of life." Right!

Guns & God - Are They the Same?

Blessed are the gun advocates.

Well, first I read the following in the newspaper:

Lonneil Octavis Wade, 20, was shot to death by four black males while walking home from work with a handful of groceries.

This is significant because it is the first murder of the year in my home town of Powder Springs, GA. Seems like Lonneil had been dropped off from work at the corner convenience store. He went in to get some groceries and was then walking home when a carload of boys randomly opened fire on him. Fortunately, the suspects were caught and are now in jail.

Now, if that's not bad enough, this incident, which happened a few days later, REALLY takes the cake:

Five Wisconsin deer hunters killed in tree stand shootout
BIRCHWOOD, Wis. -- A deer hunter who apparently intruded on private property killed five other hunters who had been staying in a nearby cabin and wounded three more during the opening weekend of deer season ... A 36-year-old man was arrested Sunday afternoon when he came out of the woods, sheriff's officials said. Deputy Jake Hodgkinson identified the suspect as Chai Vang ... The shooting started when two hunters returning to their rural cabin saw the suspect in one of their hunting platforms in a tree, Sawyer County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle said. Both of those hunters were wounded and one of them radioed friends at the cabin a quarter-mile away. Other members of their group responded and they also were shot, he said. "It's absolutely nuts. Why? Over sitting in a tree stand?" asked Zeigle. Zeigle said the suspect was "chasing after them and killing them," with a SKS 7.62 mm semiautomatic rifle, a common hunting weapon. Wisconsin's statewide deer gun hunting season started Saturday.

Okay, while this may be good news for the deer, it is very bad for humanity. First off, I've been told many times that GUNS don't kill, people do. So, in this case I suppose that without guns, Chai Vang would have chased down the five other hunters and found another way to murder them. Right. And in the case of the drive-by shooting in my home town, I'm sure those bad teens would have just jumped out of the car and murdered the guy with a knife or by hand instead of popping him with three rounds from a 9mm pistol. Yes, GUNS ARE GOOD, they are wonderfully good. It's just the people who are bad.



"These things actually don't kill people.
Only people kill people."

Federal ban on assault weapons expires
WASHINGTON (9/12/04) -- The expiration of the 10-year-old ban on 19 types of assault weapons Monday drove up business at some gun stores and set off sparks in the political world. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, said President Bush had failed tests of character and leadership. But the National Rifle Association lauded the demise of what it called a "misguided law, which had no effect on the actions of criminals, but penalized law-abiding citizens." Bush said in the 2000 campaign that he would sign an extension of the 10-year ban on the semiautomatic weapons. However, he did not press Congress to send him such a bill, and its Republican leaders never did.

So, when the President and other GOP candidates were busy working up their constituents by pushing the "pro-life" button, they forgot to mention that the assault weapon ban expired JUST PRIOR to the election. But where was our pro-life President? Where were the pro-life Republicans in Congress? Is this just another example of SELECTIVE MORALITY in our country? In America, "pro-life" means you oppose a women's right to choose, but it's okay to own an assault weapon that only has one purpose — killing.

But Christians have a right to defend themselves.

Right, but....

• Is your faith selective too? Don't you believe that God will protect you?
• Shouldn't Christians show courage and set an example by NOT owning a gun?
• Why would a God of love support a weapon of death?

If it's the fear that's bothering you, do you really think a gun will help? After the story above was published, another hunter died. So, one mad hunter takes out six hunters, several of which were armed. So, again, I ask, do you REALLY think your gun will protect you?

But we have a constitutional RIGHT to bear arms. What if our government turns on us?

Yeah, whatever. Let's look at it this way:

Christianity — Brotherly love, forgiveness, tolerance, faith.

Guns — Murder, violence, hate.

If the government outlaws guns, then only the criminals will own guns.

Maybe a different approach is needed. I think the best weapon for fighting crime is LOVE. Instead of filling your closet with assault weapons and Bibles, maybe you should go into the inner city and help at-risk teens. Maybe you can encourage them, spend time with them, and give them a sense of hope.

Here are examples of people I know who are really fighting crime, and these are the people I have incredible respect for:

• Several of my friends participate in the Sierra Club's Inner City Outings program. This is a program where you take urban youth on hikes and camping trips in the wilderness.

• My co-worker does volunteer work for a metro-wide teen newspaper.

• A leader at my church leads a ministry for youth at the juvenile detention center.

These are the people who are really making a difference, and I assure you your gun never will. So when you get in my face and lecture me about the evils of abortion, I only have one question: Where were you when it was time to renew the assault weapons ban? Were you writing letters to your representative? Were you leaving messages on the White House Comment Line? Nope, you were not.

So, please spare me the "pro-life" lectures. In America, I know what that really means.



Canary seys: "Why do those gun rights
people call themselves 'pro-life?'"

Public Wake Up - Your Earth is in Danger!

You Never Give Us Rest...

While most of us activists are still recovering from the election it's already time to get back into the fight. This week I received several urgent Action Alerts that involved violations against our environment. It seems the mighty grips of business are able to manipulate and control government almost at will. I see we environmentalists as the Thin Green Line — we are the only obstacle that keeps business and their lackeys in government from riding roughshod over what's left of our environment.
Oh, excuse me Mr. President. I think I found
your missing Weapons of Mass Destruction.

This week as I was driving through the so-called "countryside" I saw new housing developments going up everywhere. All the beloved woods that I so deeply love and grew up with GONE — GONE FOREVER! And I'm thinking, just how much do we need to grow? Just how much of our world needs to become Peopleland? Shouldn't there be a balance, and a sense of fairness, between humans and the natural world? Seeing the bulldozers crush every last tree in their zeal to asphalt America crushes my soul. For years now, every time I drive by a new development I scream "rape" and "murder." But no one listens, and no one seems to care.

First and foremost, I am amazed how ANYONE alive can NOT have a desire to protect our natural world. Come on, this world sustains us. If we foul our water and air and pave the last of our greenspace, how can we live a healthy life?

I especially hold religious people to a higher level of accountability. Come on, God created this Planet. Don't you feel an obligation to revere and protect God's handiwork? Are you assuming that God or the Government will take care of it?

Every person on this Planet, especially Christians, should do SOMETHING to protect our natural world, even if it's working at a pet rescue center or recycling aluminum cans. EVERYONE should help. If you don't, you are simply dumping the problems of the world onto your children and grandchildren. And please don't tell me "God will take care of it" or "it's part of God's plan" because that is simply shirking responsibility.

My dream is that the preachers at the pulpit, the talking heads on the TV screen, the business tycoons, the intellectuals, the working people, and the government bureaucrats will all WAKE UP and start protecting and preserving our Planet. Because right now when you don't do ANYTHING to protect the world, all you are doing is handing the keys over to the corporate piranas.

My friends in the development community
appear unwilling to talk with me about their
ongoing efforts to weaken environmental laws.

And when you pull up next to me in your massive SUV, with 20 fish and "W" decals pasted on the back, please don't tell me how good you are because you sing in the church choir, and what a lowly, scum wretch I am. Don't tell me to "get into the word," don't tell me "I've been brainwashed," and PLEASE don't tell me I'm a "wayward sheep." Because after a lifetime of wrestling with guilt and cognitive dissonance, I've come to the conclusion that I'm not the one who's messed up. Rather, I'm the little Yellow Canary who is vainly going "chirp, chirp" as the mechanized flotillas of bulldozers come my way.

But You Can Help...

I encourage every living person to help make a difference in some way, even if it means NOT flicking your cigarette butt out the window. There are dozens of excellent environmental organizations, and I encourage you to join the one of your choice. Help financially when you can, and get on various environmental Action Alert lists and respond to their urgent messages. I've heard several politicians say that they don't talk a lot about the environment in their campaigns because they don't HEAR MUCH ABOUT IT from the public. We have to change this. We have to jump up and down and make more noise than the well-dressed corporate lobbyists (you know, the ones with the bottomless pockets). Write letters, attend demonstrations, visit your elected representatives, and become an ADVOCATE FOR THE EARTH. And on a personal level, set the example by reducing your impact on the Planet and live in such a way that does not harm our future. Yes, you can do it!


"One With the Earth"

The logo design comes from my brother and friend Dan, a fellow activist in Pennsylvania.

About the Logo. The symbol defines all environmental concerns as interconnected parts of one overarching challenge, ensuring a livable world for our children and future generations. The symbol will be an ever-present reminder encouraging personal, corporate, and public responsibility for protecting the environment. It will increase support for sustainability efforts and build demand for Earth friendly policies and products.

Humanity is damaging and depleting Earth's resources faster than nature can renew them. The "One with the Earth" symbol was designed to be the universal visual shorthand for acknowledging this problem and for promoting the need for fundamental change in our relationship with nature. It is free for all to use. Symbol artwork is available at www.onewiththeearth.org. Also available are (in small quantities) free buttons, decals, and refrigerator magnets.

The Earth has limits. Prior to the industrial revolution, the Earth was able to renew itself faster than it sustained losses and damage caused by people, animals, and natural disasters. Now, for the first time in the history of the world, the situation is reversed. Living in harmony with nature, once an option, is now a global necessity.

What went wrong? There are two major factors. In just the past 100 years human population has increased from under 2 billion to over 6 billion. There has also been, during the same period, an explosive growth in wasteful consumption, toxic pollution, and careless use of new environmentally destructive technologies. The result is runaway destruction of ecosystems and depletion of natural resources — fish, arable soil, fresh water, wildlife, and forests.

Why isn’t more being done? Our political, religious and economic attitudes were formed over thousands of years during which time it was thought that resources would always be plentiful. It is therefore understandable that global conventions for living within Earth’s limits have yet to be established.

There is good news. There is sufficient technology and practical knowledge to solve the world’s environmental problems while actually increasing our quality of life. The bulk of the advancements took place during the past 30 years and mostly by private business and entrepreneurs.



The Canary Concludes...

And that is the message of Dan, myself, and a growing number of Yellow Canaries all over the world. You may not listen right away because much of what we say goes contrary to the way of living that you have always known. But, in time, my hope is that you will join us on our journey.

On Saving the World...

Day and night .... I am obsessed with finding the "secret" to saving the world. The picture of me above was taken 20 years ago. At that time, in 1984, I didn't know I was going to try and save the world yet, but I did know that something was terribly wrong.

Possibly one problem is that people have different ideas about what "saving" the world means. In the Middle East, "saving" the world means saving fundamentalist Islam from the evil infidels. In the U.S., Christian evangelicals believe that "saving" the world is all about saving human souls from hell and from saving our culture from worldly influences. Then there are the followers of Daniel Quinn's book Ishmael who believe that "saving" the world means saving it from our own, destructive culture. Oh yeah, and the environmentalists are trying to "save" the world from human pollution and destruction.

What Me Thinks....

To me, "saving" the world means living in such a way that doesn't degrade our future. It means, in effect, we need to live more for the future instead of catering to our immediate gratification. Right now a lot of our beliefs, especially religious, are damning the world because these beliefs create an atmosphere for violence, intolerance, indifference, and denial.

Conservative religious folks, for example, are dealing with the fate of the world by digging their head in the sand. Today I read an article about a great contemporary Christian musician named Steven Curtis Chapman. He and I are about the same age (now in our 40s!) and we both began our journeys in our early 20s. Right now he is on a new music tour that focuses on "renewal."

Yes, Steven, that's what we need — a "renewal." You and I are thinking alike. I agree with you that we need a spiritual awakening and renewal.

"Ultimately there is a day coming when there will be a new Earth and Heaven. Knowing that that's coming it's not just kind of a distant crossing my fingers and hoping it all works out .. I think that's really a lot of what's been stirring in my heart and what inspired me to write this album and this song for the tour."

Right on, Steven! I remember once when we used to play your hard rock songs in church and it would freak some people out. We thought WE were the radicals because we broke away from the choir robes and dusty hymnals and we played your music. You liberated us and helped create a new generation of more contemporary Christians.

Oh, but maybe not. Maybe you just created more yuppie Christians who believe that the "American way of life" and Christianity are synonymous.

And this talk about a "new Earth and Heaven" hits the very core of our problem. See, the conservative Christian feel this whole Planet is just temporary and that the world decline is a good thing, since it is a sign that Christ will return soon. If we're getting a new Earth, what the hell, why try to save this one?

But Stephen, I'm so sorry to say that there won't be a new Earth. I believe in God too and I'm a spiritual person, but in my 20 plus years of searching I've come to a different conclusion — this Earth is all we get. To focus on some new Earth is just shirking responsibility for THIS Earth.

"All of us need to hear that message, a message of renewal, and be encouraged in that. To know that God is a God who does make things new."

Well, God also made us responsible creatures, and it's not up to God to make things new — it's up to us, both in our individual lives and collectively on a global level.

"Every time we turn the news on the television, there are reminders that there are things that are declining. We look around the world, we see the AIDS crisis in Africa. I've spent time in China seeing how many orphans there are. I believe there's a Creator, a God who's saying this is what I do, I do renew things. There is a fallen world that we live in and the results and the effects of the fall are great, and we live with those and yet we're not powerless to respond to it. We can respond ... and he wants to use us in that process."

Bravo, I applaud you Stephen by saying we are NOT powerless to respond to it.

Next to Jimmy Carter and a few other folks, I've only known a handful of REAL Christians in my lifetime, and Stephen Curtis Chapman is one of them. See, after raising his own family, he adopted three little girl orphans from China. Stephen is making a difference on the personal level, and though he and I view things differently, I salute him and respect him deeply.

But, again, it is not God who is going to renew things — it is up to us. God gave us a brain much larger than all other animals, and I believe He expects us to use it.

It Ain't Wal-Mart's Fault

Well, they ain't all perfect. Wall-mart refuses to sell emergency contraception
pills in their pharmacy, so my Canary friends and me were protesting. Such
a policy only leads to more unintended pregnancies and abortions.

Let's Talk About Wally World!!!

When I heard about the PBS documentary on Wal-mart, I thought it was going to make me angry at the company, but SURPRISE — that wasn't my reaction at all.

The documentary, which aired on the show Frontline, essentially made the case that Wal-mart was forcing U.S. manufacturing jobs to move to China. There, in China, employees are paid 50 cents an hour for the same job that would pay $15 an hour in the U.S.

The TV documentary made the case that Wal-mart was putting so much pressure on vendors to keep their prices low that they were being forced to relocate their plants to China, which has become the "world's workshop."

Another Canary Shocker...

While I am a social liberal, I'm also a fiscal conservative and a big believer that capitalism is like evolution. If you want to learn how capitalism works, watch Wild Kingdom on TV. See, really, Wal-mart has committed no crime. No one has to work for them, no one has to sell to them, and no one has to buy from them. And blaming the loss of jobs in the U.S. on Wal-mart is silly because it is OUR fault and the fault of our tunnel vision government.

See, the main reason that Chinese goods are so cheap is NOT because of alleged subsidies or the alleged deflation of Chinese currency. The real reason is that there are MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of people who need jobs. Such a massive labor glut keeps prices low and it's SO CHEAP to manufacture in China that even with the cost of a long boat trip, Chinese goods are still a great deal. So when you buy those $9 dress shoes or that $9.88 toaster oven, think about those Chinese workers who eagerly work for 50 cents an hour because they have hopes and dreams of moving UP.

As for the United States, we are quickly following China's example. Our population is skyrocketing and is fueled by high immigration and an abnormally high teen pregnancy rate. Let us keep having our large families and when the grown kids fight for jobs we can say it's "God's punishment."

Specifically, China has a current population of 1.29 billion and the nation will reach 1.39 billion by 2050, which is an 8 percent growth rate. Meanwhile, back in the idyllic United States our population is 291 million now and will grow to 421 million by 2050, a 45 percent growth rate. (Source: Population Reference Bureau).

So don't worry about jobs going to China. As our U.S. population skyrockets and China's population continues to slow, the jobs will return to the good ol' USA. We hard working Americans will then be making nice TV sets and toasters for the Chinese, but we likely won't be getting paid much.

To add injury to insult...

Funny thing is that the United Nations Population Fund has programs in China that help to slow the population by encouraging smaller and healthier families. But in 2002, President Bush cut the U.S. contribution to this program, and he continued withholding the funding in 2003. The reason he has done this is the claim that some of the funds are used for coerced abortions in China. Several delegations to the country have proven this allegation to be completely false, but the White House remains firm on their position. The main person pressuring President Bush to withhold the funds is an anti-contraceptive zealot in Congress named Chris Smith (R-NJ), along with the Family Research Council, an extremist and Catholic-leaning group.

What an irony!

Hmmm, I guess President Bush is withholding family planning funds to China so that they can have more babies, and thus more workers, so that labor rates will remain low. Thus, Wally World can continue to keep prices low for American consumers and jobs will continue to flow to China.

So, no, I don't blame Wally World for this crises. They are just shrewd business people who are exploiting an opportunity in the system. And for all the bad they are supposedly doing, they are also doing good by keeping prices low, forcing vendors to be efficient, and probably single-handedly slowing inflation.

And yet another irony in this story is that the VERY NEXT day after the documentary aired, Sears and K-mart announced their merger. This is even more evidence that Wal-mart is not the bad guy because they are just as susceptible to new and unexpected market developments as any other firm. It is survival of the fittest, or as the old saying goes, it's EVOLUTION!!!

A Vote For Life Is A Vote For Death

All my life in church, I've continually heard pastors scream about "giving more and doing more." If everything is so RIGHT about Christianity, shouldn't people be willing to do this without constant coercion?

When the Pastors and Priests told you to only vote for "pro-life" candidates, did you know that you were also voting for:

• A pro-war, pro-death agenda?
• The rollback of environmental and labor laws to benefit big business?
• Tax cuts for the rich and continued neglect and indifference to the poor?
• Support of an American lifestyle based on comfort and greed, at the expense of our future and the rest of the world?
• A growing federal debt left for your children to pay?
• A sorry health care system that is designed to benefit rich, greedy companies and not people?

Oh, and one other surprise. According to one statistician, since President Bush took office in 2000, abortions have actually gone UP!

Yes, it's true. Dr. Glen Harold Stassen, who is also a Christian ethicist and pro-life supporter recently did some interesting research.

Statistics show that abortions in the U.S. steadily decreased in the 1990s, with an average decrease of 1.7 percent per year (Alan Guttmacher Institute). But then came George W. Bush in 2001.

"One would expect the abortion rate to continue its consistent course downward, if not plunge," Dr. Stassen said. "Instead, the opposite happened."

In a state by state analysis, Dr. Stassen found abortions up in three states that had data available for 2003. For 13 states that had data for 2001 and 2002, he found that eight of them showed a significant increase of 14.6 percent, while the remaining five saw a slight decrease of 4.3 percent.

"Under President Bush, the decade-long trend of declining abortion rates appears to have reversed. Given the trends of the 1990s, 52,000 more abortions occurred in the United States in 2002 than would have been expected before this change of direction," Dr. Stassen says.

The reasons why abortions are going UP under Bush?

Reason 1: More women say they cannot AFFORD to have their child (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life). This is due to the loss of jobs in our country and the nationwide decrease of average real incomes. Oh, and minimum wage has not been raised to match inflation for over seven years now.

Reason 2: Half of all the women who abort say they do not have a reliable mate. Men who are jobless typically do not marry. As male unemployment increases, marriages fall and abortion rises.

Reason 3: Women tend to worry about health care for themselves and their children. Since 5.2 million more people have no health insurance now than before the Bush presidency, abortion increases.

Adding to this, I, the Yellow Canary, would like to point out that President Bush is helping to increase abortions around the world by placing the "Gag Rule" restrictions on international family planning and removing the U.S. contribution to the United Nations Population Fund.

Conclusion: When You Voted For "Pro-Life" You Really Voted For More Abortions!

The real solution to eliminating abortion is not to throw desperate women in jail. Rather, we should work to provide these women with health insurance, jobs, child care, a decent wage, a responsible male mate, education ... and oh, the one thing that everyone forgot - love. Also, sex education and access to family planning services would ALSO help reduce abortion (yeah I know, those two things are evil).

Sure, the big companies and their minions behind the pulpits know how to "activate" their voter base. All I ask is that you do the research and really understand what you're voting for.

In the 2004 presidential election, a vote for "Life" was actually a vote for MORE abortions, MORE war, and MORE policies meant to appease the selfish masses, at the expense of everything else.

"But George Bush cut my taxes!" Yeah, right. I forgot — it's all about you.

Glen Stassen is the Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, and the co-author of Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, as well as other books and articles.