Category: take action

politics, social justice and ways you can make a difference in the world around you.

Big steps taken in Little Rock

This is a few days past the official anniversary, but 50 years ago this week the schools of Little Rock, Arkansas were integrated.
NPR has had some great coverage on the historic event, including recent speeches from the nine students who entered Central High School on Sept. 25, 1957 with military escorts.
I’ve really enjoyed listening to their coverage throughout the month of September.

Listen to NPR’s All Things Considered coverage

Evo Morales on the Daily Show

Bolivian President Evo Morales was on the Daily Show this week and made some great points on equality and saving human life. Morales was a farmer without high school education and became the first indigent president of Bolivia.

“I understand we all have rights. It’s not just intellectuals or professionals who can become president. People who have other experiences, who have a working life as well can become president.”

I know that we’re different not only in our nations but among the nations… those differences among the nations must be respected. But what better among political leaders presidents or with social movement leaders than coming together to think about how we can support life and humankind. It is my sense that in this new millennium it should be the millennium of life. And from here or from Cuba, Venezuela, Europe or Africa we need to create and come together to save lives and humankind.
In recent days at the United Nations I have heard a lot of talk about global warming, climate change but they don’t say why and where all that is coming from.
There appear to be few political leaders or movements that say where is all this coming from. Perhaps from western culture. Perhaps excesses in relation to industry. Or perhaps because of excessive luxury, excessive consumption. And if we all think about humankind then we must figure how we can change the situation.
And I personally know there are presidents and countries who send troops abroad to save lives but there are also presidents and countries who send troops abroad to take away lives.
If we compare these two things and weigh these two things, surely we’re going to come to a conclusion that these policies must change and in this millennium the key guideline must be to save lives.
And please don’t consider me a part of the Axis of Evil.

29 Things you didn’t know about Mike Huckabee

From the special Vertical Day website for Mike Huckabee:

29 Things You Don’t Know About Mike Huckabee

  1. He narrated the Doctor Suess book, Horton Hatches An Egg in a high school play.
  2. He’s a big fan of The Three Stooges.
  3. He’s a great cook.
  4. He rides his bicycle to the grocery store.
  5. He likes Yarnell’s guilt free ice cream.
  6. He likes to snorkle.
  7. He likes the The Colbert Report.
  8. His favorite actor is Robert De Niro.
  9. His favorite actress is Meryl Streep.
  10. He reads a chapter of Proverbs every single day when he wakes up.
  11. He is not fond of heights.
  12. He’s like a kid at Christmas because he wants to open Christmas gifts early just so he can see what he got.
  13. He organizes his socks, and everything else.
  14. He prepares his own breakfast the night before to save time in the morning because getting up no later than 4:30 might not be enough time.
  15. He talks to “the Boys” (his three dogs) and thinks they are listening.
  16. He graduated from College magna cum laude with a 4 year degree in just over 2 years.
  17. His Dad picked him up from school once in a car that had no body, just a frame and wooden boxes for seats.
  18. He does great impressions of Billy Graham, Jimmy Stewart, Ronald Reagan, and Ross Perot.
  19. He was left handed but was made to write with his right hand in elementary school.
  20. He wanted to be an astronaut in first grade.
  21. He was a pretty shy kid.
  22. He can’t sit still. If there is ever a free minute he feels the need to get up and immediately start on a new project, for instance the minute a meal is over he has to get up and start putting things away and doing dishes.
  23. One of his favorite television shows is The Sopranos.
  24. His favorite snack food is movie style popcorn. And he likes it so much his wife Janet bought him a popcorn machine for Christmas.
  25. He gave Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones a pardon when he was Governor.
  26. He loves to play practical jokes.
  27. His favorite movies are To Kill a Mockingbird and Casablanca.
  28. His favorite church hymns are A Mighty Fortress is our God and In the Garden.
  29. One of his dreams is to watch a game in every Major League baseball park.

Find out more

Our faith makes us

It’s Vertical Day over at MikeHuckabee.com.
Lots of added discussion going on including Mike Huckabee’s thoughts on his faith as a Baptist pastor and the war in Iraq.

Recently, out on the campaign trail, a voter asked if my personal faith informed my decisions. My answer was simple, just as it always has been: my faith is my life – it defines me. My faith doesn’t influence my decisions, it drives them.
Real faith makes us humble and mindful, not of the faults of others, but of our own. Because of our faith, we become less judgmental in that we see others having the same frailties as ourselves. Faith gives us strength in the face of injustice and motivates us to do our best for “the least of us.”
Our forefathers birthed this great nation in a spirit of faith – not a mandate telling us what to believe, but an acknowledgement that divine providence pervades our world.
I firmly believe the greatness of our nation then, does not come from our government or politicians, but lies in the hopeful, optimistic spirit of everyday Americans. Americans who acknowledge that providence has set us apart.
At the beginning of our nation we were ill-equipped for revolution, yet we persevered and gained our independence. Our country was once divided by a costly Civil War, but we survived to heal and build a stronger union. Through the 20th century and into current times we have seen great conflicts and economic upheavals. However, the same spirit that guided the inception of our country continues to lead us out of times of trouble better than we went in. In spite of our trials we remain a people of hope, a people of faith, and we are stronger because of it.

The site shares a message Huckabee gave in Little Rock this past July.
Pretty interesting. Some of it sounds similar to some things Brian and Wayne said last summer (wish we had the podcast back then).
“What we do have to do in our culture is to live in such a way that we don’t try to change the rules so that we can win the game. Many Americans who think that that’s really the goal. If we can’t win the game as it is defined, just change the rules of the game so we can say that we’re winning it.”

And I love this quote from Abraham Lincoln:
“A government that can do everything for you is a government that can take everything from you.”

Get in on the discussion here on on the Huckabee Blog.

Monday is Vertical Day

Monday is Vertical Day.
What is Vertical Day?
From the Mike Huckabee campaign:

The focus of Vertical Day will be a discussion of the most important issues facing America. The plan is to promote my positions on these issues through video and personal blogs, and to have an online conversation with voters about our ideas, the solutions we see possible, our hopes for America and the challenges we face.

So check out the Huckabee campaign site tomorrow, Sept. 23rd and join in the conversation!