Female voters...were particularly generous to Clinton with their ballots on Tuesday. According to CNN exit polls, 71 percent of female voters backed Clinton, with a healthy 59 percent of men also supporting her.
Cultural issues also loomed large on voters’ minds. Thirty percent of those surveyed said Obama shared the views of his controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, at least “somewhat,” according to the exit surveys. Exit pools also had Clinton winning the support of 66 percent of those who said they attend church “more than weekly” and 60 percent who go to services weekly.
I never was a math whiz, but it seems to me that if Clinton won the state by roughly two-thirds to one-third, and she won churchgoers by the same ratio, that proves pretty much nothing, right? They weren't a particular strength or weakness for her - she just won them like she won everybody else. Somebody who understands statistics, straighten me out.
But there are other problems here:
Barely one-third of Clinton supporters said they would vote for the Illinois senator over McCain in the general election, according to exit polling conducted for the Associated Press and television networks. Just as many said they would vote for the Republican over Obama, while about 25 percent said they would not cast presidential ballots.
More than anything else, economic factors influenced voters in West Virginia, where the median family income is roughly $12,500 below the national median of about $58,500.
If economic factors influence voters "more than anything else," how can women and churchgoers "fuel" Clinton's victory?
More important than sloppy headline writing, what's the elephant in the room here? Race? Culture? Seems to me that such a stunning lack of support for an Obama candidacy among Clinton voters fairly cries out for more interpretation.
It's a beautiful spring afternoon. In a few minutes, I'll have to scoot over to school to pick up Sissy, and then we're off to gymnastics.
Earlier this afternoon, I set up the tent Aunt Becky bought the little boy for his birthday. He's out there now, alternately playing with his toys and shrieking whenever a bug comes anywhere near him.
As someone who works for a living on campaigns I know first hand of the value of volunteers and the hours that they put in on behalf of the candidate. They are the gears that make a campaign move forward. The more you have the faster your campaign is going to move and progress towards an Election Day victory.
That’s why I am thoroughly impressed with the new campaign initiative from Tom Perriello’s bid for Congress. They just launched a 10% tithe of volunteer hours to go back towards the community and service projects around the district (Devilstower beat me to it). The campaign kick started the idea with 42 volunteer hours over the past weekend by constructing a house for Habitat for Humanity in Charlottesville, participated in a food drive and serving food to the hungry at a church.
In the interview that I had with Tom a few weeks back I was struck by this:
Q: How has your faith tradition helped shaped your political and social views?
A: I grew up in a church that preached the social justice message of the Gospels and called me to the teaching of Mathew 25. Sunday was a time that we heard about poverty, torture, and war and our moral obligation to care for and love our neighbor. My political views and my efforts to live a life of service were shaped by the prophetic call in Micah to serve the least among us and to "do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." As a Catholic, I know I will always fall short of this aspiration, but it remains my guiding light.
With this new initiative it seems that Tom and his campaign are further practicing what they preach. They are actually taking time away from campaigning to help out in the community. Granted the community service is good publicity for the campaign and is in a way campaigning the overall effects are moving towards the common good in Virginia’s fifth district. I think it's a testament to the kind of representative that he would be in D.C.
Over the past decade, a new group of assertive atheists has done battle with defenders of faith. The two sides have argued about whether it is reasonable to conceive of a soul that survives the death of the body and about whether understanding the brain explains away or merely adds to our appreciation of the entity that created it.
The atheism debate is a textbook example of how a scientific revolution can change public culture. Just as “The Origin of Species reshaped social thinking, just as Einstein’s theory of relativity affected art, so the revolution in neuroscience is having an effect on how people see the world.
And yet my guess is that the atheism debate is going to be a sideshow. The cognitive revolution is not going to end up undermining faith in God, it’s going end up challenging faith in the Bible.
...
If you survey the literature (and I’d recommend books by Newberg, Daniel J. Siegel, Michael S. Gazzaniga, Jonathan Haidt, Antonio Damasio and Marc D. Hauser if you want to get up to speed), you can see that certain beliefs will spread into the wider discussion.
First, the self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships. Second, underneath the patina of different religions, people around the world have common moral intuitions. Third, people are equipped to experience the sacred, to have moments of elevated experience when they transcend boundaries and overflow with love. Fourth, God can best be conceived as the nature one experiences at those moments, the unknowable total of all there is.
Does any of this make any sense whatsoever? Does any of it make sense being on perhaps the most valuable real estate in all journalism? Do any of those four propositions contradict anything in the Bible?
My brain hurts. I'd go meditate, but according to Brooks, that would make me an apostate.
Please join our community in prayer. Just leave your prayer requests and pray for the requests of the community. I welcome all people to join in as the power of prayer/good energy is undeniable.
If you have any favorite prayers or passages or quotes or meditations, please send them to me to share, meeshka1@msn dot com
Please do not argue about the requests of others--you may do that elsewhere!!! If you wish to offer comments of support--please do so! If you choose to rate prayer requests, I like to use a "4" as an AMEN! If you disagree with a request, please just refrain from rating--this is a place where people need to feel they can reveal and unburden their hearts without being criticized. Should any trolls come our way, just surround them with prayer.
Prayer requests remain on the list based upon my judgment. Removing requests is my decision. I have no hard and fast rules--I simply act when the list seems to get too long or it seems the request no longer applies. If I take one off which you would like to remain, please simply request it again. If the request can be removed earlier, please let me know. I'm sure we all would appreciate an update.
John Hagee, the controversial evangelical pastor who endorsed John McCain, will issue a letter of apology to Catholics today for inflammatory remarks he has made, including accusing the Roman Catholic Church of supporting Adolf Hitler and calling it “The Great Whore.”
“Out of a desire to advance greater unity among Catholics and Evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful,” Hagee wrote, according to an advanced copy of the letter reviewed by Washington Wire. “After engaging in constructive dialogue with Catholic friends and leaders, I now have an improved understanding of the Catholic Church, its relation to the Jewish faith, and the history of anti-Catholicism.”
Bill Donohue, unlike every other lay member of the Catholic Church, is empowered both to speak for every other lay member of the Catholic Church and absolve sins:
“The tone of Hagee’s letter is sincere. He wants reconciliation and he has achieved it. Indeed, the Catholic League welcomes his apology. What Hagee has done takes courage and quite frankly I never expected him to demonstrate such sensitivity to our concerns. But he has done just that. Now Catholics, along with Jews, can work with Pastor Hagee in making interfaith relations stronger than ever. Whatever problems we had before are now history. This case is closed.”
Who says modern events can't be brought to bear on biblical exegesis?
Writes Hagee ...
I better understand that reference to the Roman Catholic Church as the "apostate church" and the "great whore" described in the Book of Revelation is a rhetorical device long employed in anti-Catholic literature and commentary. I hope you recognize that I have repeatedly stated that my interpretation of Revelation leads me to conclude that the "apostate church" and the "great whore" appear only during the seven years of tribulation after all true believers - Catholic and Protestant - have been taken up to heaven. Therefore, neither of these phrases can be synonymous with the Catholic Church.
“So was it a mistake to solicit and accept his endorsement?” asked host George Stephanopoulos.
“Oh, probably, sure. But I admire and respect Dr. Hagee’s leadership of the — of his church,” McCain said, later adding: “I’m glad to have his endorsement. I condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything.”
Welcome to Coffee Hour!! This is Prophecy Street's place where we grab a cup of something hot - or cold - and something sweet - or savory - to eat :-). But most of all, we get to chat with one another!! So pull up a chair, and tell me what's going on in your life!
I need to tell you all that I was almost the Worst Mother In The World. I mentioned last week that swim team starts "soon". Well, a half hour after I took Kid Brillig to school, I get the reminder notice that practice starts today. At 4PM. Meaning I have to retrieve KB from her afterschool program two hours early. On the one day of the week that her best friend attends the program and they get free play. I called the program and asked them to break the news to her, but they forgot... so when I arrived and said "time to go", she broke into tears. Yup, I am that bad.
But by the time we got to the car, she'd thanked me for getting her, since the first practice is where the coach makes intros and gives all the useful information. I knew she'd hate to miss it, and that if I'd not gotten her, she'd have thought me the Worst Mother In The World.
It's nice when it all works out that way. When have you ever had to do something that you knew would go over initially like a lead balloon, but would be appreciated later?
As always, this is an Open Thread, and we do care what you're having for dinner :-)
I recently sat down for a one on one interview with Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Instead of my typical interviews that are done by phone or email this one I was able to record it and would like to share it with you.
In the first part of the interview we spoke about faith in politics delving into how her Jewish faith informs her political values as well as Senator Obama’s active faith outreach. So take a look.
In later parts we discuss the war in Iraq, the 2008 elections and poverty which I will post on Faithfully Liberal in the coming days.
