The Unclad Soul

Steve Deace is a fledgling celebrity among religious right wing Republicans. He and them want to turn our system of government into a theocracy. He says that Newt Gingrich is like the Old Testament character King David in that Gingrich has messed up just as King David did, but, they both repented and as God used David mightily, well, so will God use Gingrich. In an article at alternet.org Deace is quoted saying, “Maybe the guy in the race that would make the best president is on his third marriage.” This of course is meant to be a sterling Christian endorsement of Gingrich. Deace is some sort of conservative radio talk show host out of Iowa. The tag line on his web page is, “Fear God. Tell the Truth. Make Money." He jokes on his profile page about barely getting through community college and says that since he’s not all that educated he “believes the Bible is literally true.” He claims that his real genius is “he knows way more about superheroes, Star Wars & Star T...

Dogs really are our best friends. Ingrid has a little Chihuahua named Brownie, because of course, that’s his color. Cutest little thing you ever saw. Every morning when I pick Ingrid up for school Brownie comes running to me. He goes to the sofa where he can barely jump high enough to get on, but he eventually makes it. He waits for our morning routine in which I rub his back and scratch behind his ears and tell him what a good boy he is. I talk to him while Ingrid is getting her backpack ready. He snuggles his little head against my leg and while he wheezes and wiggles I love on him a little bit. One day as I was taking Ingrid into her school she had on her heavy black coat. As I was brushing off some of Brownie’s hairs I said, “Hang on, sweetie; you have Brownie’s hair on you.” She said, “Oh that’s okay, Poppy. I want some of his love on me today.” Of course, why not? Leave those reminders of her little loving companion. Our pets give us so much comfort, don’t the...

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. ~ From J.R.R. Tolkien’s, “The Lord of the Rings” That is a great line, “Deep roots are not reached by the frost.” It speaks of allegiance, courage, self-determination. The people who really love this country will not be defeated by the cynicism of our current politics. Love of country can survive those who seek to belittle our Constitution with their obsessive greed and ruthless corruption. The Citizens United legislation that our right wing Supreme Court allowed, a Court completely sold out to their corporate cronies, is destroying our political system and the entire premise of the right to vote. By making it legal for corporations to dump billions of dollars into specific political campaigns with little or no accountability, we are then left with political outcomes that serve only the wealthy. They are the ones who ca...

"These days, Clarissa believes, you measure people first by their kindness and their capacity for devotion. You get tired, sometimes, of wit and intellect; everybody's little display of genius." — From The Hours by Michael Cunningham

“I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute -- where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote -- where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference -- and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him. I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish -- where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches, or any other ecclesiastical source -- where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials -- and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.” ~ President...

I saw him while I was sitting at a traffic light. He was an older man shuffling along a parking lot of a 7 Eleven just across the street from me. He was bundled in clothes too heavy for the warm day but I’m sure it’s what he wears every day in this winter season. There are no closets full of choices for the poor and the indigent. He was pushing a shopping cart full of stuff I couldn’t recognize…sacks and plastic bags of things he had collected along whatever journey of despair he was on that day. His pant legs hung over old ruined boots and dragged the ground as he moved. There was something about those droopy cuffs scraping the pavement that overwhelmed me with sadness. He looked so weary in the slow pace of his efforts. People got in and out of their cars around him coming and going to the convenient store to pick up this or that oblivious to this man’s hunger or illness or just weariness. He was simply a part of the tacky landscape of that part of town. None of us ever...