Say Goodbye to 2007

Another year is behind us. And what a year it has been. I have seen my thinking shift dramatically. Christ called us to be peacemakers, but I see very little peace in the world of the Right. We're on a "Holy War" to bring democracy and our capitalistic way of life to the world. There was a time when I would vote Republican straight down the line every four years. But that's not going to work anymore.

A few months ago I blogged about the Iraq war, and how I didn't understand how we could bomb Baghdad, while President Omar al-Bashir continued to slaughter his own people, without the attention of the international community. A good friend of mine shot me a scathing email the next day about how I didn't know what I was talking about. I proceeded to submit another blog containing somewhat of an apology about my views. But I'm going to recant that apology. This is a war that should not have been declared. If we live by the sword, we will die by the sword. We are called to love our enemies. Period. I don't know how - all I know is that this is what Jesus has commanded. Violence is for those that have lost their imagination. I'm sure that this will get some rebuke (if anyone is even reading this, that is).

And I don't believe that Saddam Hussein should have been executed. 2007 has been a year that saw my opinion of capital punishment change. We are teaching our children that it's okay to kill some people some of the time. It costs three times as much to put a person on death row and execute them as it does to give them life in prison. Capital punishment is our way of saying the criminal is beyond redemption. Every person alive is deserving of the same chance to turn from their wicked ways and accept Christ as savior and king of their heart. Even the murderer, rapist, thief and extortionist. This is the extreme grace God has called us into. I can't say that I've even had to look this kind of evil in the face and forgive. I can only pray that when/if I am, I will respond as Christ would have me respond.

Another thing that has changed this year is that I am no longer afraid to say "I don't know" when faced with a theological question. There was a time during my "Bible-thumping" days, that when confronted with any type of gospel-questioning opinion, I had to be prepared to recite a verse that would put my debate opponent down in the dirt. But I am beginning to see the non-importance of this ability. And the damaging affects of it. My life as a Christ-follower is a journey, and my companions and helpers on this journey can and should include those on both sides of the fence. And maybe there isn't even a fence. I'm not being nihilistic here, I'm simply going along with C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, who said that God is at work in us all, even those who do not know it.

This year has also seen my band Kicking Jackson get kicked to the curb. I like making music, but I don't like playing to drunk brides maids screaming "play White Wedding!" or "do some Alice in Chains!" Enough of the superficial Uptown yuppies without a clue about genocide or human trafficking. They're so busy trying to hook up that they can't see the guy sleeping in the gutter outside Buckhead Saloon. I'm going to keep writing music - I'm just going to be more choosy about who gets to hear it. Not that I'm a pro - there are just better things to do with my time.

As I'm writing this, I see the hypocrisy in my own words. I was just writing about loving my enemies, and now I'm having a difficult time loving those that live right next to me. Still learning how to love those that I really don't like. Only God knows how to do that.

Well, I guess that's enough ranting and raving for one day. I have our final KJ gig tonight, and I'm still fighting this crud in my chest. Pretty bad cold, but I'll survive. Please send me your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you. And have a safe, blessed New Year! I'll talk to you in 2008!!

OK, I'm an addict

Ever watched Current TV? If not, you have to get it! I can't stop watching it!! From environmental issues, to human rights activism, to Indie rock bands, to local yocals just giving their views - it's the greatest pulse on culture I've found anywhere. What's really cool is that current.com totally matches up with the programming you'll see on TV. News comes in what's called "pods," and viewers submit all the pods. So it's reality TV meets CNN. I'm not a huge Al Gore fan, but this is his baby. So I'm a bigger fan today than I was last year at this time. To be honest with you, last year at this time, I would have voted Republican straight down the line on my ballot. Today, however, that's not going to cut it. There are too many issues at stake to vote that way anymore. It's time for our government to be held accountable for its actions. Jesus said that "whoever lives by the sword, will die by the sword." If we don't get our act together, the sword is in our future. God, please help us to be peacemakers.

Trip to Darfur

I am waiting to hear whether or not I can go to Sudan at the end of January or beginning of February. I can't really give any details at this point, but I'd be providing clean water, food, and medicine to the Darfuri refugees living in the IDP camps south of the ceasefire line. Please pray that if God wants me there, it will happen and that his blessing & protection will be on the trip.

U.S. Trade Policy is not working

Free trade agreements modeled after NAFTA have not improved the standard of living at home or within partner countries, and have contributed to the loss of U.S. jobs, eroding labor standards, a growing trade deficit, and worsened inequality.

Despite mounting evidence of negative impacts and a call from the U.S. public to rethink trade policy, the Bush administration has refused to modify the NAFTA model of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). It has now submitted four new FTAs to Congress and is asking for renewal of "fast track", or trade promotion authority, to continue to push ahead with this seriously flawed policy.

It's time to change course in our trade policy. The first step is for Congress to declare an immediate moratorium on new free trade agreements. The moratorium should apply to the four FTAs that the administration rushed into the current session: South Korea, Panama, Colombia, and Peru.

This is a condensed version of what I recently read at Global Exchange. Click here for more information on FTAs and to sign a petition.

This is the time to make a difference. Please send a hand-written letter to your congressman/woman declaring your opposition to "fast track" and opposing any new free trade agreements.

Write and Call the President

The Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act would authorize state and local governments to divest from companies that support the Sudanese government at the expense of marginalized populations in Sudan and prohibit federal contracts with those companies. The bill was cleared unanimously by the Senate last week and House action is anticipated as early as Tuesday. Darfur activists have aggressively advocated this legislation, and the groups - along with Members of Congress - are urging President Bush's commitment to rapidly sign this measure into law and fully implement its provisions. Thus far, the administration has opposed this legislation. Please send a letter to the president and let him know that he must sign this into law!! And call him, too! President Bush has been so focused on the war in Iraq - and innocent victims in Darfur continue to die.

Mailing Address:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Phone: 202-456-1111

So much stuff

I was in Target the other day picking up some Thank You cards, and I heard these two girls screaming at their mom because she wouldn't give them the fancy schmancy blow drier they wanted, but, rather, gave them the next model down. And man were they fuming! I laughed to myself, thinking these girls don't have a clue. I can't judge them - I've been there, screaming to somebody because things didn't work out exactly the way I wanted them to. But as I looked around me, I couldn't help thinking of what Martin Luther King, Jr. called the triplets of evil: racism, militarism, and materialism. I stood for a moment and watched the dozens of people frantically pushing their shopping carts, fearful for their lives if they were unable to get that last Transformer board game on the shelf, and found myself looking into the eyes of the third triplet in the bunch. Then some [insert expletive] guy rammed his cart into my heel - felt great, by the way - trying to cut in front of someone, I'm sure, to secure the best place in line. Give me a [insert another expletive of your choosing] break. The more I read about the desperate, hopeless, hungry, dying people on our lonely planet, the less I care about stuff.

Burger King is a Scrooge!

Farm workers who toil to pick tomatoes for Burger King's sandwiches earn 40 to 50 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes they pick, a rate that has not risen significantly in nearly 30 years. Workers would have to pick 2.5 tons of tomatoes just to earn minimum wage for a typical 10-hour day.

But instead of joining other fast-food chains in paying an extra penny per pound for its tomatoes, this Christmas Burger King is working to undermine those chains' existing agreements with the Coalition for Immokalee Workers. As a result, tomato pickers in Florida are facing the prospect of losing the first significant raise some of them have seen in nearly 30 years.

Tell Burger King to stop being a scrooge and start paying farm workers fair wages!

Today's letter will go to Burger Scrooge - here's the address:

Burger King Corporation
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, Florida 33126

Why we do what we do

So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene.

- Isaiah 59:14-16

Thank our Senators

The Sudan Divestment and Accountability Act passed in the Senate by a unanimous vote!! Leading up to the vote, Senators received thousands of phone calls and letters from concerned citizens, who have decided that enough is enough - this killing has to stop!

If we ask our elected officials to do something, and they follow through and do it, we need to thank them. So today's letters will go to Senators Burr and Dole, thanking them for making this happen. I called to thank them, as well. Please call and write your Senators and do the same.

NC Treasurer

I wrote two letters last night - NC Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr. My hand started cramping, but there is something extremely satisfying about seeing a finished hand-written letter on your desk. Try it tonight! Nothing carries more weight than this type of communication - it tells your government you truly care.

I called Governor Easley's office this morning to discuss the state's position on divesting from Sudan. The person I spoke with referred me to the Treasurer's office, as they are the ones who do the investing. After placing another call, I got referred to their Website. I went to the site, and finally landed here. Turns out that NC divested from Sudan on November 1, 2006.

Today's letter will go to the Treasurer's office, thanking them for approving the divestment legislation. Please send them a letter, as well, thanking them for this critical piece in hitting Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir where it hurts: his wallet. Here is the address:

NC State Treasurer Richard Moore
325 North Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27603-1385

If you'd like to call and thank them, the number is (919) 508-5176.

Blogged with Flock

Write your Senator

On October 17th, the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act unanimously passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 21-0. Now, the bill must pass the Senate floor.

Urge your Senator to support the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act.

The Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act will:

• Protect states that divest;
• Prohibit U.S. government contracts with companies fueling the genocide; and
• Authorize states to prohibit contracts with companies fueling the genocide
  

This bill does not affect American companies and contains a provision that will take the legislation off the books when the genocide has ended.

States deserve protection for acting as responsible and moral market participants. Without this bill states are left vulnerable. For more information on targeted divestment, visit www.sudandivestment.org/divestment.

To see your senator's record on Darfur-related legislation, visit www.DarfurScores.org.

If you live in NC, here are the addresses for our senators:

Senator Elizabeth Dole
555 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Richard Burr
217 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Please join me and write your Senator today.

Write a letter a day - or close to it

There are plenty of people we can be writing. The human rights alerts change daily. I've decided I'm going to try to start writing a letter a day to officials all over the world. Please join me! Take 15-30 minutes of your day to take a stand against human rights violations around the world. We can make a difference, one letter at a time.

I'll post who I've written to each day, and will give general talking points so you can send similar letters. It's okay to sign online petitions, but nothing carries the weight of a hand-written letter. I will be writing my president, governor, representative, senator, president of China, presidents of corporations, etc.

Today I'm writing the president. US leadership was critical in getting UN authorization for a new peacekeeping force in Darfur. But the resolution will be pointless without the recruitment and deployment of soldiers to carry out the mission. The White House must push the Sudanese government to allow the peacekeepers on the ground, and impose targeted sanctions against senior Sudanese officials if they continue their obstruction of the peacekeeping mission. Please write the president today. Here's the address:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Call Congress Today

President Bush has requested $724 million in funding to put peacekeepers on the ground in Darfur and Congress is deciding this week whether or not to approve it. Why wouldn't they approve it??!! I'm sick of the arguments. I'm sick of politicians sitting around while more people die. One person every five minutes is dying!!! Why is it a difficult decision?! Please call 1-800-genocide now and urge your congressman to support the funding that is needed to protect the innocent people of Darfur.

We're just getting started

Charlotte Torch Rally 2007 is behind us. We had 400 people attend and sign letters to President Hu of China, the Chinese Embassy, and Senators Burr and Dole. The turnout was amazing. We will be posting photos at www.CharlotteTorchRally.com soon, but for now you can see some photos by going to www.Flickr.com and searching on Charlotte Torch Rally. It was a powerful day, very emotional for me. I had to get up and talk twice, and I really didn't think I was going to make it. About every 10 minutes I would get choked up and have to go behind the stage to get myself together. It is so humbling to be a part of something much bigger than yourself.

I have such a love for the people of Sudan. We cannot relent until this genocide is stopped. Please continue to call your elected officials. Call 1-800-genocide today and speak with your governor, congressional representative, senators, and president. Go to www.1800genocide.com for talking points. Please call every day and do not stop until the killing stops.

There is evil in this world. But love can overcome evil. "Justice at its best is love correcting all that stands against love." - Martin Luther King, Jr.