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White House photo by Paul Morse

Bush preaches gospel of division in weekly radio address

Constitutional amendment seen as instant solution to marriage equality "problem"

Georgie-porgie is at it again. In his weekly radio address to the nation, he outlines his plan to damage our Constitution as he plunders forward in an attempt to be the first President in the history of the United States to advocate an amendment that reduces the civil rights of a minority group. From his Saturday 6/3/2006 radio address:

On Monday, I will meet with a coalition of community leaders, constitutional scholars, family and civic organizations, and religious leaders. They're Republicans, Democrats, and independents who've come together to support this amendment. Today, I want to explain why I support the Marriage Protection Amendment, and why I'm urging Congress to pass it and send it to the states for ratification.

So what do all these diverse people have in common? I think I know. I think we all know. And if we do, we must step up and move forward in resistance to the rising tide of bigotry before those who would codify hate into law restrict the liberty of the American people past the point of no return.

Having a go at the Constitution to fend off those horrible people that think LGBT citizens should have equal civil rights with other Americans is applauded on every televangelist program on earth. On the 1400 programs and networks that exist internationally, they hawk the way to righteousness regardless of the bloodletting it may cause. Why, the very thought of full citizenship for LGBT folks just makes a respectable Christian Nationalist shudder!

I am reading a book that I would highly recommend to anyone who is concerned about the sharp right turn our country has taken. "Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism" by Michelle Goldberg, senior political writer for Salon is absolutely delicious. Her thorough research and articulate rendering of what could be a very dry read carries the reader along as she points to the intricate details of the Christian Nationalist movement. I haven't read it all just yet, but I have seen enough to highly recommend her book.

At this point, I must note that Michelle does not capitalize the "N" in Christian Nationalism. I suppose it makes it *way* obvious that there are similarities to another, now thankfully dead, party - National Socialism. I am deliberately capitalizing the "N" in Christian Nationalism. Goldberg does not dos so in her book. I guess I fee the obvious analogy is valid. At least Fritz Stern thinks it is, and I'm not sure there is anyone who could address that issue better than Dr. Stern.

I'm also reading chunks of Stern's "Politics of Despair." It was written in the mid-60s and is a bit on the dry side. However the dazzling insights into our current political clime demand that this particular tome be given at least a general once-over by any respectable progressive or moderate in search of understanding the events now taking place on the national and international scene. Stern takes you step by step into an analysis of the psychosocial building blocks that formed the platform upon which German National Socialism blossomed in pre-World War II Germany. It is critical that we study this process in order to prevent repeating the horrors of the end result of that regime.

I must admit to being primed for these two current reads by "With God on Their Side" by Esther Kaplan. If you haven't read this one yet, read it first. It will help prepare you for Goldberg's conclusions, sobering as they are.