And Jesus Wept.

There is a heated political campaign going on here in Hawaii and a local “Christian” organization, the Hawaii Family Forum, has started running radio spots telling “Christians” why they should not vote for Neil Abercrombie for governor. The commercial says that if Neil is elected governor he will sign same-sex marriage into law and it further says that – horrors! – Neil has no personal religious affiliation.

First, how HFF knows what Neil’s personal spiritual beliefs may or may not be, they do not say. No matter, it’s still arrogance and bigotry.

Second, with respect to same-sex marriage, HFF conveniently neglects to say that some years back Hawaii voters passed an amendment to the State Constitution defining “marriage” as being between a man and a woman. So you see, as governor, Neil couldn’t possibly bring about same-sex marriage because our state constitution doesn’t permit it. So that statement by HFF is simply a lie.

Neil Abercrombie is a kind, decent, intelligent man who has given almost 40 years of his life to public service, including the past 20 years as a member of the U. S. House of Representatives. I am proud to call him a friend and, given the chance, he will make a truly excellent governor. To declare him unfit for public office using arguments that are bigoted, arrogant and based on a lie is most decidedly un-Christian. And that, in my book, means the people running Hawaii Family Forum are not only liars, but hypocrites as well.

And as to those folks who hear that crap and will swallow and follow? Well, that's probably why their “Christian” leaders refer to them as “sheep”.
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Life in Ha'iku, Maui, Is Not Easy!

I spent most of the morning yesterday hard at work weeding ... this photo, taken surreptitiously by my wife, should not be taken as evidence to the contrary. The mountain in the background is 10,000-foot Haleakala, Maui's dormant volcano.
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Confirming What We Have Always Known …

The News Corporation, parent company of Fox News, just made a one million dollar contribution to the Republican Governors Association.

These guys have recently been buying TV time here in Hawaii, by the way ... presumably to air spots promoting Duke Aiona, the Republican candidate for governor. The RGA also ran spots supporting Republican Charles Djou in the recent special election for Congress.

Got that? The owners of Fox News are giving money to a political arm of the Republican Party which, in turn, buys time on Fox stations to support Republican candidates. Cutting to the chase: Fox News is using their air to elect Republicans.

Oh ... but wait .. we already knew that, didn't we!

Think about that the next time you hear one of the Fox news readers utter the words “fair and balanced”.

And here’s a great line about Fox News that I heard recently: People watch Fox for ammunition, not information.
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Why In the World Do They Do It?

I haven’t posted here for quite a while and I’m not really sure why. Well, for one thing I was away for a bit over a week. First to Oakland for take in three games between the Red Sox and the A’s, then an overnight train ride on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight to Seattle, and three more games there – the Sox vs. the Mariners.


But that’s not much of an excuse. I’ve just been putting it off, for days now. Really, the problem is that I’ve become disheartened at the way the country seems to be drifting back to the right. What a bunch of wimps we are! Things are not going well, so instead of rolling up the sleeves and dealing with the problems, we bitch and whine and complain ... and look for someone to blame

Typical, isn’t it. God knows, we can’t be bothered to dig into all these knotty issues to figure out who’s really at fault. We just decide it’s whoever happens to be in office at the moment … and these days, that mostly means the Democrats.

And Obama, too, of course. Poor guy! He’s been in office for – what is it? – nineteen months, and he hasn’t managed to solve several of the biggest messes in anyone’s memory. So we’re down on him, too.

And just look at the headlines and check out the web sites that are politically oriented. The campaigns are nastier than ever. Decent men and women, who have had the courage to run for office, are vilified and subjected to the worst kind of personal attacks -- their professional accomplishments belittled, their public record distorted and their private lives invaded.

Still, they keep coming. Amazing, isn’t it. And – actually – it’s reason for some hope.
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