Georgia

Get used to it Democrats. Whether we run a woman or a black this year, the nastiness from right wing idiots will get pretty bad. Look to what the Republicans did in the Tennessee Senate race in 2006 and you'll get some idea what we are in for.

Georgia is leading the way. Seems a bar owner in Cobb Co. Georgia who thinks he's so clever made up T-shirts with a picture of Curious George (registered trademark of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) eating a banana with the caption "Obama '08." When confronted by some uppity civil rights groups the bar owner insisted he wasn't racist. From a Daily Kos article because the original newspaper article keeps crashing Firefox:

The T-shirts are being peddled by Marietta bar owner Mike Norman at his Mulligan's Bar and Grill in Cobb County. They show a picture of Curious Georgie peeling a banana, with the words "Obama '08" underneath.

...

Norman acknowledged the imagery's Jim Crow roots but said he sees nothing wrong with depicting a prominent African-American as a monkey.

"We're not living in the (19)40's," he said. "Look at him . . . the hairline, the ears -- he looks just like Curious George."

Lowndes County Democratic Party Annual BBQ
Start Time:
Jul 7 2008 - 6:00pm

Knights of Columbus Hall
306 N. St. Augustine Road
Valdosta, GA, 31601
United States

Lowndes County Democratic Party Annual Barbecue draws hundreds of Democratic activists from across south Georgia. Lowndes County Democratic Party headquarters is located at 1008 Slater Street, Valdosta, GA 31601. For more information, call LCDP HQ at 229-241-1694 or email lowndesdems_at_bellsouth.net or visit our website at http://campaignwindow.com/lowndescountydemocraticcommittee

Democrats Help Green Atlanta with Trees Atlanta
When: Saturday, April 19th 2008, at 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Where: Green space on Muse Street
Muse Street SW and Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW
Atlanta, GA

Host: Young Democrats of Georgia, Mid Fulton Democrats, and Democrats Work
Contact: umkc67_at_mindspring.com
Info: Join fellow Atlanta area Democrats to help preserve trees on the model mile of the Beltline Arboretum. We will work with Trees Atlanta on this Atlanta Beltline service project. Just wear closed-toe shoes and bring some work gloves. Drinking water and Krispy Kreme donuts will be provided.

Come join the fun and show our community that Democrats Work!

Questions? Contact Suzann Settle at umkc67 [at] mindspring [dot] com or call 404-317-5569.
Notes: Directions to the project: Take I-20 West to the Langhorne exit; turn left on Langhorne and go to the 2nd light; turn right on Ralph David Abernathy and immediately turn right, almost a u-turn to the right on Muse Street. Meet at the green space on the left.

What is "The Beloved Community" and why should we care?

John Lewis wants you to know the answer.

First, the official explanation:

“The Beloved Community” is a term that was first coined in the early days of the 20th century by the philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce, who founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation. However, it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., also a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, who popularized the term and invested it with a deeper meaning which has captured the imagination of people of good will all over the world.

For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal to be confused with the rapturous image of the Peaceable Kingdom, in which lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony. Rather, The Beloved Community was for him a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence.

Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred. Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.

How does John Lewis tie in with that description of The Beloved Community, though?

It is always striking to me that those who speak the loudest about their faith are those who seem to feel that everything is a threat to their faith. To me this in no way illustrates a strong faith on their part, but rather an extremely weak faith.

One of the most ludicrous examples are those who feel threatened by fantasy books like Harry Potter. This issue has come up recently in Georgia schools because a mother with apparently very weak faith felt threatened by this book and wanted it banned. Thankfully the Georgia school board, in this instance, has been more reasonable. From Salon.com:

The Georgia Board of Education voted Thursday to uphold a local school board's decision to leave Harry Potter books on library shelves despite a mother's objections.

The board members voted without discussion to back the Gwinnett County school board's decision to deny Laura Mallory's request to remove the best-selling books.

Mallory, who has three children in elementary school, has worked for more than a year to ban the books from Gwinnett schools, claiming the popular fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft.

"It's mainstreaming witchcraft in a subtle and deceptive manner, in a children-friendly format," said Mallory, who is considering a legal challenge of the board's ruling. "The kind of stuff in these books -- murder and greed and violence. Why do they have to read them in school?"