Existential Punk

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year!

It's been one hell of a year and i hope 2009 is good to EVERYONE! Have fun and be safe!

My Own Christmas Blessings For 2008

This year has been a blessing in so many ways despite a difficult year health-wise. My love and partner in life, Katryna, blessed me beyond belief this year on Christmas morning! Her mom and dad and sister also blessed me too! Here's the goodies i got today! i feel so very loved! Thanks honey and thanks to my little Texas family! i feel REALLY loved!

1. Scrabble Deluxe Onyx Edition from Barnes & Noble
2. Brookstone Sun Shade for my Land Rover
3. Sennheiser Wireless earphones so i don't keep Katryna awake at night whe watching TV in bed!
4. Chocolate colored Belkin CushTop for my laptop so i no longer burn my lap and hurt my neck!
5. Concert Tickets to see Thievery Corporation & Morrissey.
6. A Massage with Cisco when we visit Sacramento the end of January.
7. $100 Barnes & Noble Gift Card from Mom & Dad Anderson
8. $20 Barnes & Noble Gift card to share with Katryna from her sister, Shannon. 
9. Love Potion Number 9 Massage Oil
10. A smaller Adidas gym bag. Maybe i will get more motivated to go to the gym in 2009! :)

All The Holidays!

i want to wish everyone who stops by Existential Punk frequently, once in a lifetime, or every now and again a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAY, or ALL THE HOLIDAYS, depending on where you live on this big planet or your religious or non-religious affiliation!

i am so very grateful this holiday season to be blessed with a beautiful and generous wife, awesome friends and family close and far, in person and in cyberspace, and two loving dawgs i adore. Thank you ALL for enriching my life beyond belief! i am blown away by the beautiful community in my life.

May you all, despite any differences and similarities in thoughts and discussions over the past year have a very blessed and peace-filled day of being in the company of people and animals who love you!

Thanks to ALL of you who have made this space a great journey and space for interesting conversations. i am looking forward to seeing how 2009 comes together in the life of this blog. i look forward to more thought-provoking conversations and learning much from my readers.

Mucho Amore!

Existential Punk

Great Thanksgiving Dinner Conversations

This should be fun if you are so lucky! :) Happy Turkey Day! From 23/6:

Ten things to know if you're having Thanksgiving with Republicans

"Congratulations, liberal/progressive/terrorist! This is the first Thanksgiving in eight years where you represent the political majority. Because you know who voted with you? Oh, just fifty-three percent of the United States of America. HELL YEAH! Who's a member of the fringe lunatic this holiday season? Not you!

But what happens if your right-wing relatives still want to debate the outcome of the election? Defang your conservative loved ones with these ten helpful facts!:

   
President-elect Obama won by 8 million votes.


President Bush is probably drinking again.



Many media conservatives are furious with President Bush.



Experts say that Al Qaeda's recent video shows that the terrorists are afraid of President-elect Obama.



President-elect Obama is cocky enough to think he can pull this "economic miracle" shit off.



The "socialist" takeover of America's banks happened on Bush's watch.



The "Democratic" Senate has been working with a one vote majority, and that vote is Joe Lieberman. If they get to the "Magic 60," that sixtieth vote is still Joe Lieberman.



The majority of rich Americans voted to have their wealth spread.



President Obama will probably only get to replace liberal judges on the Supreme Court.



Cheer up, the GOP still owns the "racist belt!"

 

Obama & The Meaning Of Thanksgiving

i hope this Thanksgiving all of you have a blessed time together with your family and friends or friends who are your family. In spite of all the uncertainty in the world and my own personal life, i am very grateful this Thanksgiving. i think Obama succinctly nails the meaning of Thanksgiving in our current context. Be blessed!

WWII Vet held by Nazi's breaks silence

HT to CNN for this enlightening and sad Veterans Day story. Happy Veterans Day and a HEARTFELT THANK YOU to ALL our troops who bravely and selflessly serve our nation.

i LOVE what Anthony Acevedo says at the end of the article:

His message on this Veterans Day, he says, is never to hold animosity toward anybody.

 "You only live once. Let's keep trucking. If we don't do that, who's going to do it for us? We have to be happy. Why hate?" he says. "The world is full of hate, and yet they don't know what they want." 

Kids Discuss Race in Bronx School

This was an email from Michelle Obama that i received today:

Adele --

Today is the 40th anniversary of the tragic assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and I want to share a video that reveals how far we've come and how much this campaign owes to Dr. King's legacy.
Students at a high school in the Bronx, who had no real interest in their government, have found new hope. They were surprised by their own excitement and engagement, but to me, they embody so many reasons why Barack and I decided to get into this campaign.

It's truly moving to see young people inspired by a political leader -- someone who gives them hope and reminds them that they can be anything they want to be if they work hard.

Watch what these kids have to say about politics and race in this country:

40th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Special Message from the Executive Director of Soulforce

Dear Adele,

Today, on the fortieth anniversary of his assassination, we honor the tremendous impact of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy on our nation, even as we acknowledge that there is still much to be done to end racism and poverty in America. The life of Dr. King was cut short because he spoke truth to power and took justice to the streets through marches, vigils, rallies, sit-ins, bus boycotts, and other public demonstrations that exposed bigotry and discrimination. Many clergy leaders of that era tried to disguise the ugliness of their prejudices as "religious freedom" and repeatedly chastised King for his disruptive and uninvited interference.

But King understood that it was his moral obligation to get in the way of injustice. His constructive nonviolent strategies sought to create what he called "healthy tension" that forced a racist society to pause, reflect, and consider the indecency embodied in their discrimination. By exposing and dramatizing injustice so that it could no longer be ignored, King's direct actions forced the public to confront oppression and begin the necessary steps of negotiation toward full equality and freedom.

In his famous essay, Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King responded to religious leaders of his day who publicly criticized him for being "impatient" and "disruptive:"

       

"First, I must confess that over the last few years I have become gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season". Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

Sadly, it appears that most religious institutions and denominations have not learned much from history or from Dr. King's teachings -- when it comes to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, the church still prefers "order" over justice.

In just three weeks, Soulforce and concerned citizens from across the country will converge on Fort Worth, Texas, for the general conference of the United Methodist Church. We come determined to continue the peaceful march toward freedom we began at the UMC general conferences of 2000 and 2004. While LGBT people defend their own dignity and struggle toward liberation, there are those within the Methodist denomination who would seek to attack the disenfranchised and label them "disrespectful, disruptive, and self-righteous." Take a look at this resolution against the people of Soulforce that some Methodists are planning to introduce during the upcoming general conference (link to full text of the petition at the end of this email):

   

On Soulforce

...WHEREAS, Soulforce does not respect the right of religious bodies to make their own internal decisions concerning their beliefs and policies, but has become infamous for illegally disrupting and interrupting the activities of denominational conventions and religious institutions to demand that these religious denominations and institutions submit to allowing this outside group dictate a rewriting of their beliefs; and...

...WHEREAS, during a church trial for a self-avowed, practicing homosexual United Methodist minister in the Pacific-Northwest Conference in March 2004, dozens of Soulforce activists took illegal actions of "civil disobedience" to attempt to stop the due process required by our Book of Discipline, even physically blocking participating church leaders from entering the building where the trial took place (Melanthia Mitchell, "Wash. Trial Starting for Lesbian Minister," Associated Press, 17 March 2004; available from http://www.soulforce.org/article/54 ; accessed 17 October 2007); and

WHEREAS, Soulforce has loudly disrupted the 2000 and 2004 General Conferences of The United Methodist Church, taking valuable time away from our church proceedings to denounce our biblical teachings that sex is for marriage and to attempt to intimidate delegates to vote in line with their agenda; and...

...Be it therefore resolved, that the 2008 General Conference hereby declares its love for the United Methodist Church, even if Soulforce and some of its supporters may not love it; and

Be it further resolved, that we decry the disrespectful, disruptive, and self-righteous tactics of Soulforce as beyond the bounds of appropriate ways to express disagreement within religious communities; and

Be it further resolved, that we call on Soulforce to respect the right of The United Methodist Church to set its own standards of belief and policy without their uninvited interference; and

Be it further resolved, that we discourage all of our members from providing support to Soulforce.
In 1939, the Methodist Church told African Americans they were not welcome in the same church pews as whites and the Central Jurisdiction was formed as a racial compromise. During the years of Central Jurisdiction, blacks in the Methodist Church struggled for both desegregation in society and reform within the church. This insulting discrimination against African Americans was caused by the UMC's unwillingness to be one church. At their 2008 General Conference, the United Methodist Church will celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the end of Central Jurisdiction (it was eliminated by action of the 1968 General Conference). In doing so, the Methodist church is acknowledging that it once was on the wrong side of justice when it came to racial equality -- until it had a change of heart. Meanwhile, this same denomination seems unable to learn from history and apply those lessons to the liberation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people sitting in their pews. Rev. Jim Lawson, Rev. Phil Lawson, and Rev. Gil Caldwell, all leaders during the civil rights movement, will join Soulforce in Forth Worth to share their insights on the parallels between Central Jurisdiction and the current struggle for equality by LGBT people within the United Methodist Church.

Forty-five years ago, Dr. King said "So here we are moving toward the exit of the twentieth century with a religious community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a tail-light behind other community agencies rather than a headlight leading men to higher levels of justice..."

Today, Soulforce asks: In another forty-five years, will the United Methodist Church proudly recall a history of becoming a bold headlight toward justice, or will it look back with shame for choosing to remain a tail-light? We call on the United Methodist Church to live up to its motto and truly welcome and affirm all people with "Open Minds, Open Hearts, and Open Doors."

Please join Soulforce in bringing truth and justice to the United Methodist Church. Go to www.soulforce.org/article/1314 for detailed plans, the daily activity schedule, and hotel information. The last day to make reservations at our discounted rate for the hotel on Friday night and Saturday night is April 18, so be sure to make your reservations soon.

Stand with us in Forth Worth -- together we can continue Dr. King's legacy of seeking justice and equality for all people.

Blessings,

Jeff Lutes, MS, LPC
Executive Director
Soulforce, Inc.

Full Text of Petition # 81173
http://calms.umc.org/2008/ (enter Soulforce as the keyword)

St. Paddy's Day NYC Style!

It was so cool to be in NYC for St. Patrick's Day and celebrate by attending the parade and partying with NY"s FINEST NYFD!!! Katryna also got into the spirit! That's my girl! It was a very beautiful and sunny day in the upper 40's.