I was tipped off to this outstanding video from a friend who went to the same high school as the kid who did this video. Justin Benefiel is an 18 year old senior at Yukon High School in Yukon, OK, and will be attending NYU in the fall. He only recently moved to Oklahoma. Where did he live before but our own Leavenworth, KS.

While living in Leavenworth, Justin saw the school's gay/straight alliance and a teacher accused of pushing homosexuality onto students. The school board got involved. Amusingly enough, Leavenworth, Kansas is the hometown of my favorite singer Ms. Melissa Etheridge. (Can't be a real Kansan without giving props to Melissa.)

Justin made this film to educate the public about tolerance, which he says he "believe is losing its identity in today's society."

Few would argue that anything other than the economy will be the most important issue to voters in the 2008 presidential election. That’s politics, and it relates most powerfully to individual dissatisfaction and crisis. Yet as citizens, caring for the whole, nothing is more important than the reality that our military is under fire in a war that our own government initiated and cannot seem to win. Citizens in a democracy have no greater responsibility than to make sense of their nation’s wars.

John Edwards set the agenda for all the candidates in the early stages of the primary battles. He came up with the first and best comprehensive health care plan. He raised the issue of poverty as no leading politician has done for 40 years. His charisma, his abilities and his appeal to those voters Obama must win in November are beyond dispute.

Asked if the distribution of money and wealth in this country is fair or if they need to be distributed more evenly, about two-thirds of Americans agree with the latter response.

So, over the objections of some of my fellow parishioners, I started a food pantry right in the church sanctuary, giving away literally tons of oranges and potatoes and Cheerios around the very same altar where I’d eaten the body of Christ. We gave food to anyone who showed up. I met thieves, child abusers, millionaires, day laborers, politicians, schizophrenics, gangsters, bishops — all blown into my life through the restless power of a call to feed people.

Back when I was going to college, I watched a low budget film that was different from anything that I have ever seen. It was called She’s Gotta Have It and it inaugurated the film career of one of America’s most important filmmakers: Spike Lee. He was saying things in his movies that no one else was saying about race and class. Since that time, I’ve seen Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Inside Man, and When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. The films that I’ve seen of Spike Lee’s made me think about the complexity of the problems of race in America. He comes from a long tradition of American filmmakers, like Frank Capra, Charles Chaplin, and Oliver Stone, who used their films to comment on the ills of American society.

Not too long ago, I was describing part of my thesis project to a colleague after a conversation about the search and call process. “It’s a prayer shawl,” I told him, “with the names and images of the women I consider to be my saints, the cloud of witnesses that surround me.”

“Whoa,” he replied. “You’re going to have to tone down that crazy feminist stuff when you meet with search committees.”

Now, truth be told, I don’t consider myself a “crazy” feminist. I am a feminist, yes, in that I feel that men and women are equal and deserve to be treated as such. Perhaps I am a strong feminist, in that I believe that men are not the “default” humans, with women being an afterthought. I believe influential women should be celebrated in the same way influential men have been for millennia. I also believe that women have the same access to God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit that men do, and the same ability to share that with a parish community. If that makes me a “crazy feminist,” then I will proudly claim that title.

So, in honor of that, here are my top ten reasons I won’t tone down my crazy feminism...

At our May edition of the Urban Engagement Book Club, we looked into Paul Jargowsky's very important book, Poverty and Place: Ghettos, Barrios, and the American City. We were very fortunate to have Professor Jargowsky as a guest and he handled our "follow on" session following our book synopsis.

Jargowsky traces the demographic realities of poverty and the affect of poverty when concentrated in inner city neighborhoods. His original research, and his updates since the book first appeared, has been very helpful to urban planners, public policy officials, economists, business leaders and leaders of inner city renewal efforts.

Jargowsky demonstrates that when somewhere between 25% and 40% of a neighborhood's population falls into poverty, that community "tips" in a way that makes it impossible to renew without serious public policy change accompanied by large scale public engagement.

Over the weekend, I had occasion to be driving through far North Dallas and into Collin County, one of the wealthiest areas in the United States....

A truly interesting and extensive piece appeared over at the MAINstream Coalition's blog today that discussed an upcoming ballot initiative in Johnson County, Kansas that would move county judges from being appointed by a panel to being elected by the public.

The instigator of the ballot initiative is of course another wing-nut who thinks that by making judges become elected he would score a bunch of conservative judges - ignoring the fact that this will definitely not be the case, especially among the members of the Johnson County Bar Association.

The piece links to a 2007 AP story on Tim Golba as well as info on the specific bill.

"Tim Golba of Lenexa, who led the petition drive, said he wants fair judges but also believes they should be held accountable by the public for their decisions and have to explain their positions on such things as abortion or school finance.

"The way the system is right now, it leaves the people in the dark," Golba said. "If we are a government of the people, by the people, for the people, then I think the people ought to have a say-so in that part of our government."

Years ago (more than I'd care to admit), I discovered that in order to obtain a degree from Fort Hays State University in the discipline I'd chosen, I'd have to complete basic training in a foreign language. At the time, I was frustrated by another requirement and more money I'd have to spend in order to obtain a piece of paper that would eventually hang in an 8-by-11 frame on any given wall.

Looking down the list initially, I have to say that I was disappointed by the low number of language avenues that I could stroll down, but realistically understood why this was so...

After the Pennsylvania primary, various media sources told us why Senator Obama "couldn't close the deal." Now that Senator Clinton's campaign is on the ropes, we're hearing a similar story.

Let's be honest: the Democratic primary isn't the big event, it's the general election in November. And McCain may be the hot "new" candidate now, but there are 5 reasons why he just can't close the deal on November 4th...

When talking about our rights as individuals, it is nearly impossible to not quote Thomas Jefferson:

"Our citizens may be deceived for awhile, and have been deceived; but as long as the presses can be protected, we may trust to them for light."- Thomas Jefferson, 1799

It was all to protect us from tyranny.

Who needs ideas for columns when one has Mel Neufeld as Kansas Speaker of the House? Last year, Republicans elected one of the few legislators that could make one pine for the days of Doug Mays.

Under Neufeld's "leadership," the entire session has been held hostage by the coal issue. Although the governor has vetoed two bills already, and her veto has been kept from being overridden twice, guess what's holding up adjournment? You guessed it; a third coal bill, much like the two first bills. Gosh, I wonder what the governor will do with the third bill?

By the time you read this, the Legislature might be adjourned until Sine Die (I defined this term years ago. It's Latin for one last per diem/mileage check)...

I watched this video and found myself literally without words by the end of it; and in tears. There is anger, disgust, sadness, rage, blame, unfairness... and at first it was all directed towards these soldiers (obviously Bush) but in essence it's really the sadness of the situation as a whole.

I keep on trying to look at it from a higher, and higher perspective. It's easy to blame these soldiers for their abominable behavior, yes it is shameful, but I can only imagine the trauma and wounds that they are suffering being catapulted into such a vile environment at such a young age. How to look at Bush in this situation is truly challenging.

But his presence is also karmic and this is the role he's playing. I couldn't imagine being hated so much. You wonder if he feels that. The hopelessness in me wonders if he even feels at all? What is so wounded in him that he has lost all sense of humanity?

Before we move on to the big roundup in November, I want to give credit where credit is due:

Senator Clinton, you ran a good campaign. You were a tough contender and brought important issues to the campaign. While you may be out this time, it aint' over till it's over.