Faith and values have always motivated my work in politics, Congress, for nonprofits and foundations doing progressive advocacy work for 20 years. Before helping to create and launch RH Reality Check and becoming its Executive Editor, I was proud to bring my values to work securing rights for the terminally ill as Executive Director of the Death with Dignity National Center (2001-2005), the organization that passed, promoted and defended Oregon's Death with Dignity Law; fighting racism by helping produce and promote the Voices Special Forum at the U.N. World Conference Against Racism in 2001; and in my work to promote rights for people regardless of sexual orientation or HIV status at the Gill Foundation. My work communicating progressive vision was honed at Communications Consortium Media Center, Public Agenda, and working for Rep. Dan Glickman and on state and federal campaigns. Some of us get that it is life that motivates us to make the world a better and more inclusive place. Faith (writ large) and democracy, are being perverted by those who cannot tolerate anything outside of their narrow world view. We should all be aware that each life is precious, blessed with free will, and responsible for the choices we make.
MSNBC previews the Brian Williams interview with Sen. Barack Obama tonight, in which he discusses judicial philosophy. More on this after the final interview appears on Nightly News.
The far-right’s religious ideology pushed the Bush Administration to wage a war on science. Now 76 American Nobel Prize winners are citing that as a reason to endorse Obama.
With just six days to go, I think far-right social conservatives are running out of names to call their opponents, but don’t underestimate the power of nasty.
It appears the far-right will have to scramble to put Humpty together again as polling suggests the “Egg as Person” initiative is over, easy.
The McCain campaign thinks contraception is “irrelevant” as the Bush Administration is likely to make it more difficult to get later this week.
Social conservatives cannot complain that their issues have not been heard in the 2008 campaign, in exactly the fashion they wanted.
We must decide whether our democracy will be stronger moving forward articulating values where government remains neutral, ensuring rights, safety and providing reliably accurate information based on facts; or by putting the full force of the federal government behind one narrow interpretation of one religious ideology.
We all view life as sacred. We all view love and sexuality as sacred. We all know and respect the importance of transitions at birth and death. We rejoice in each, as we rejoice in each other. We celebrate life. We want it to be better for everyone. So if we agree on so many goals, maybe the only choice in this election are the tactics and strategies we think will best help us reach them.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of this mind-bendingly historic election cycle is that so many conservative Republicans are standing up to say they have had enough. They “aren’t leaving their party,” to paraphrase Ronald Reagan when he supported Barry Goldwater’s conservative movement, “their party is leaving them.”
A surge in egg donations and the health concerns for women who donate eggs is covered tonight by NBC Nightly News.
