I Spy

I was sitting...somewhere...in my apartment this morning when I saw a very familiar yet unexpected sight in the newest issue of Newsweek.

I saw Raley Chapel.

For the uninitiated and un-baptist, that is the monstrous behemoth that serves as a place of worship at Oklahoma Baptist Unviersity in Shawnee, OK. And what did the my embattled alma mater make national news for? Here is a hint: Jerry Falwell and the heirs of Oral Roberts didn't do it, but Mark Brister (the school president) did. Answer: Let the Christian gay-rights group SoulForce visit campus peacefully and legally. Read about it here, and even see the picture.

Is anyone else surprised? Can anybody more informed than me offer some color to this most-unusual and unprecedented event?

Hate To Say It, But...

Somebody deserves a great big "I told you so" over the latest news from North Korea.

Evidently Kim Jong Il wanted everyone to know that George W. Bush does not have the market cornered on pre-emptive strikes. They, too, would strike pre-emptively with their nuclear arsenal if they felt a US attack was eminent. Whether or not they have a nuclear arsenal is a subject of debate, yet it is far more probable that North Korea currently has nuclear capability than it was probable that Saddam was even trying to arm himself with nuclear weapons. (ie: no recent weapons inspections, no recent devastating wars, a border with Putin's Russia, a recognizable and legitimate atomic energy program, etc).

I have been pretty political here recently, so now it is your turn to either tell me I am nuts or tell me that you think something is going wrong, too. Here goes:

Does pre-emptive war actually make us more safe? What do you think?

Live My Dream

I have one recurring dream that involves my greatest and most odd fascination:

Sharks

I am terrified of the ocean, hate the beach, and don't even really care to swim in lakes or rivers or even deep pools. I am not afraid of drowning. I can swim like a fish, or at least a wounded fish. And there is the problem... I always feel like shark bait. Being at the mercy of predators most at home where I am at an extreme disadvantage is not my idea of fun.

Yet I never miss a Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and I can quote lines from every Jaws movie made (Even Jaws 4. Really). I dream that I am being chased by a shark at least every six months. It starts out like any regular dream, but then wherever I am starts filling up with water. Then the shark arrives. You can guess the rest. So humor me for a few minutes.

Go here, be a shark for a few minutes. And be afraid. Be very afraid.

Three Long Years

March 13 is the three year anniversary of the "shock and awe" attacks that I was unfortunate enough to have witnessed live on television. Three years after CNN & FoxNews brought us the beginning of a war to either find WMD or topple Saddam Hussein and bring freedom & democracy to a terrorized people, all we have to show for it is this.

Are You a Felon, Too?

The House of Representatives recently decided that I am a felon.

The new stipulations included in H.R. 4437, the "Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005" makes the definition of alien smuggling so broad as to include the offering of any assistance at all when it is given to a known "illegal alien". Give them a cup of water? Hand out some food at a soup kitchen? Give directions at a stoplight? Offer information on how to legalize their status? Not unless you want to be committing a felony according to a new law.

According to this definition, I have committed a felony plenty of times already and plan to again. I am unwilling to turn away from someone in need just because they are not lawful residents. Illegal immigration is not reason for starvation or ostracism. If someone is in the United States, and their visa expires (like your driver's license sometimes does), no one can lawfully help you without committing a felony. If someone did come here without documentation intending to work anyway, and they are hungry or ill or lost or dying, it would be a felony to assist them. Churches, social services, anf refugee assistance organizations are now illegal enterprises. Join them at your own risk.

The bill also makes it a felon to be here illegally in the first place. This sounds good, of course, to those who want to end "illegal immigration" for felons are not allowed to ever come back. But should every violation, even an error in paperwork, be reason for permanent deportation? Furthermore, the bill calls upon local law enforcement agencies to carry out the work of apprehending illegal immigrants. At first glance, this sounds great as well. But what happens to the communities where these workers live? It is fine if one does not even want them to be here, but if they are afraid to go to the police when they are victims of a crime they will be repeatedly victimized and become targets for every kind of criminal. Rob them, beat them, kill them, and no one can go to the police. This is not how we should treat the alien, the immigrant among us. Especially when our own economic practices demand such low-cost labor to be available.

I could go on and on, and I already have. I am amazed at what we can ethically justify to ourselves under the banner of anti-terrorism. Our safety has become a liability not only to the rest of the world but to the least of these among us. Our treatment of the fatherless, the alien, and the widow must continue to be dictated not by our laws but by our convictions. May we all be good felons.

Check out the text of the bill and commentary.