http://www.everydaycitizen.com/ en Copyright 2013 Thu, 23 May 2013 20:16:06 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss American Is In The Heart by Carlos Bulosan. Carlos Bulosan was a poet, writer and labor activist who used his writings to explore the gap between America's high ideas and the American reality for Filipino immigrant farmworkers and for other American minorities.]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/carlos_bulosan_poet_of_the_filipino_american_experience.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/carlos_bulosan_poet_of_the_filipino_american_experience.html Activism American Experience Carlos Bulosan Filipino American Immigrant Experience Labor Organizing Thu, 23 May 2013 20:16:06 -0600 Ken, thanks too for your blogs and your insights on religion and politics. I hope things are well in Kansas. http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/thank_you_too_ken_for_your_blogs.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/thank_you_too_ken_for_your_blogs.html Thu, 23 May 2013 08:34:00 -0600 Angelo, Randy, Diane & others: I appreciate your contributions and diligence in giving us some interesting and thought provoking articles. I wish someone would fix our "comment" feature to, both, Everyday Citizen and Kansas Free Press. Criticisms, encouragement, and recognition are important motivations to writers. Keep 'em coming, Ken http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/comments.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/comments.html Thu, 23 May 2013 07:26:32 -0600 One Today referred to the work of his parents to give him the opportunities he has today, the tragedy of the Newton shootings, and the land and the work that binds us as a nation. Blanco was the fifth poet to give a reading at a Presidential Inauguration. Each poet has given a description of the spirit of the nation of their time.]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/poets_at_presidential_inaugurations.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/poets_at_presidential_inaugurations.html Elizabeth Alexander Maya Angelou Miller Williams Poetry Presidential Inauguration Richard Blanco Robert Frost Wed, 22 May 2013 14:35:51 -0600 A few months ago I found on my facebook the good work of Progressive Christian George Koukouris. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Koukouris is a Greek Orthodox who has studied other religious traditions to know how they are all interconnected. In his facebook page, he states as his goal to get people to let go of whatever hinders our ability to connect and see one another face to face. He is one of the founders of the Indiana Center for Progressive and Contemplative Christianity, an inclusive, life affirming organization built upon the desire to know God through authentic theological education and practice. He is also the administrator of the Progressive Christians facebook page and the Progressive Christian Alliance. ]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/an_interview_with_progressive_christian_george_koukouris.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/an_interview_with_progressive_christian_george_koukouris.html Christianity Faith George Koukouris Greek Orthodox Church Progressive Christian Alliance Progressive Christianity Religion Tue, 21 May 2013 18:35:01 -0600 Climate Milestone: Earth’s CO2 Level Passes 400 ppm, Greenhouse gas highest since the Pliocene, when sea levels were higher and the Earth was warmer. America’s current reliance on oil poses significant economic and national security obstacles for us today and they are only expected to get worse (US Senate, 2010). Oil also endangers our environment through the steps that we must take in collecting it, transporting it, refining it and even in its use. Today, the Gulf Coast is still dealing with the negative impacts of the BP Oil Spill. For every mile of oil pipelines we build we escalate the likelihood of another major tragedy. Coal is cheap and domestically available, but has many of the same environmental hazards, plus the hazards faced by the miners who mine it. There is really no such thing as “Clean Coal” and there are many unintended consequences that come with the mining of coal. Natural gas is plentiful and cleaner than oil or coal, but it still has environmental hazards and, as its use is becoming more popular, the efforts to collect it are raising new concerns in the environmental sense. Fracking will inevitably infiltrate our drinking water with the fracking chemicals and other contaminates from the ground. There are also national security implications with natural gas and there is evidence that switching to natural gas would provide the United States with the same, if not worse, situation as we have with oil (US Senate, 2010). Iran is actually a large holder of natural gas reserves, as well as other nations with similar relationships with the United States. If we end up invading Iran, it would be interesting to see how quick we move to “secure” the areas with high natural gas concentrations. This could likely be a repeat of the Iraq quagmire. ]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/the_opulence_of_answers_to_our_energy_conundrum.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/the_opulence_of_answers_to_our_energy_conundrum.html Co2 Energy Independence Green Energy Renewable Energy Solar Sustainability Tidal Wind Tue, 14 May 2013 11:59:11 -0600 When I attended the Association of American Editorial Cartoonist convention last year in Washington D.C. I met many great cartoonists. One of the best cartoonists in the country is Gustavo Rodriquez, who is based in Florida. Born in Havana, Cuba in 1962, Rodriquez has been a cartoonist his entire life. In 2005, Gustavo entered the United States and has been a proud citizen ever since. He is a regular contributor to El Nuevo Herald newspaper, Martí Noticias and Yahoo! Noticias.]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/an_interview_with_editorial_cartoonist_gustavo_rodriguez.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/an_interview_with_editorial_cartoonist_gustavo_rodriguez.html Art Editorial Cartoonist Gustavo Rodriguez Political cartoonist Wed, 08 May 2013 14:35:13 -0600 The never ending controversy over religion continues! In the May 4 Salina Journal, Ariel, Koehler, and Martin responded to Prachta’s scathing criticism of their freedom of thought and privilege of sharing their minds with readers. Well —— this old farmer will share his mind on all four of them. I believe in God. My God created the world. How, when, or why is not of any great concern of mine. He created all those writers, me, you, and everyone else. He created us with a mind capable of memory and planning for the future. We are not robots. He didn’t permanently program us, but gave us free will to act on our own. Some of us want to be “Gods” and rule the world to suit our whims. Some of us want to be like Cain, as described in Genesis, and declare we are not responsible for anyone or anything. Some of us egotistically declare our selves know it alls who have the facts or truth in every situation. (You just be still and I’ll declare what is!) I’m no theologian and I have no advanced intellectual degrees. What I do have is a lifetime of experience dealing with family, community, and the world. It is quite evident that God, or whoever created mankind didn’t use a cookie cutter and decorate us with the same color and flavor of icing. Environment and culture is ever changing and reshaping us. Some of those changes have been to the good and some have not. What is good? Equal opportunity? Equal responsibility? Both those equalities are good, but, remember, we are not all the same color, same flavor, same size, same age, same gender, etc. Therefore, from birth to death we are subject to and dependent upon one another to sustain our finite existence. I’ll depend upon God (the one in whom I believe) to look after infinity and the hereafter. http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/religionchristianity_1.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/religionchristianity_1.html Beginning of Life Contraception Religious Freedom Sat, 04 May 2013 13:58:59 -0600 On May 1, 2013, I dropped by San Jose's City Hall after my work to attend a rally for immigration reform. The crowd was mostly Hispanic, but it also included white, Asian-American and African American individuals who are passionate about the issue. It was a very friendly and hopeful crowd, and when I asked if I could photograph individuals, they were always very happy to oblige. The speakers at the rally told the crowd that this is their time, that the recent elections in 2012 have given the Hispanic American population the political clout to pressure Congress to pass fair and meaningful immigration reform. I'll put on this blog some of the photos that I took of the event.]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/may_1_2013_immigration_reform_rally_at_san_jose_california.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/05/may_1_2013_immigration_reform_rally_at_san_jose_california.html Activism California Dream Act Immigrants Rights Immigration Reform San Jose Thu, 02 May 2013 20:07:59 -0600 April 15, 2013, Max Fisher wrote about the the Muslim world condemning the Boston Marathon bombings and the sense of dread that they held about the potential Islamophobic response as a result of the bombing. One has to be reminded of the decades of work of Christians, Jews and Muslims to reach out to each other and overcome a history of hostility to try to gain a new understanding and gain a greater respect for each other. One of the seminal events in the history of interfaith relationship between Christians, Jews and Muslims was the release of the document Nostra Aetate in 1965.]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/04/nostra_aetate_and_the_churchs_relationship_with_muslims_and_jews.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/04/nostra_aetate_and_the_churchs_relationship_with_muslims_and_jews.html Anti-Semitism Christians Interfaith Dialogue Islamophobia Jews Muslims Nostra Aetate Religion Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:42:12 -0600 documentary series on the women’s movement in America. As I watched, I saw that women had joined together in a movement that changed their lives, even the lives of those not directly involved in the movement, all over the country. My thoughts turned to the early 1990s, when Operation Rescue first came to Wichita to mount its weeks-long protest at the three abortion clinics here. I had moved to Wichita in 1985 and wasn’t involved in the local groups that worked for women’s rights in the state and around the country. I soon joined Wichita NOW, though, as it seemed to be a strong force against the OR tactics. I also joined with those who counter-demonstrated against Randall Terry’s mob of anti-choice extremists who brought chaos to the streets of Wichita and cost the city more than $600,000 in taxpayer money before they left town. After the outsiders left Wichita, local anti-choice extremists continued the harassment at the clinics, so many of us continued doing clinic support wherever we were needed. What came out of that period for me was not just the satisfaction of giving moral support to patients seeking to exercise their rights, but also the bonding that took place among the women who felt strongly about protecting those rights. I made many close friends during that time, most of whom I’m still close to today. Among those friends were men, as well, men who believed women had the right to control their own bodies. However, it was the women joining together that made me realize a sea change had taken place in America and in Wichita. Women were in charge of seeing to it that their rights were protected. ]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/04/becoming_a_feminist_part_ii.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/04/becoming_a_feminist_part_ii.html Abortion rights The Feminst Movement Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:27:54 -0600 ]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/04/jasper_and_homeless_bob.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/04/jasper_and_homeless_bob.html Homelessness Jasper the Cat Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:02:36 -0600 I haven't had much of a chance to do any Jasper the cat cartoons this year, but I have done a few quick color cartoons for the Cartoon Movement website that criticize the economic system. I've been influenced on my views on the capitalist system by the Papal encyclicals and by the writings of Charles Dickens. Both the Popes and Charles Dickens give a moral critique of the economic system, and both believe the flaws of the economic system lie somewhere in the root of the system. In their view, the flaws of the capitalist system are just a magnification of the flaws of human nature. I agree with that view. Any system based on competition and the pursuit of self interest will always be vulnerable to selfishness and greed.]]> http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/03/two_cartoons_on_the_economic_system.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/03/two_cartoons_on_the_economic_system.html Cartoon Movement Charles Dickens Economic Inequality Papal Encyclicals Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:50:38 -0600 Thanks Ken for the blog. I appreciate it. Many people do not think I'm a real Christian, and maybe they are right. I appreciate the fact that you treat me like a fellow Christian, even if we may have some theological differences. I'm still trying to figure out what I still believe right now, but I am grateful for how the best parts of Christianity has had a positive impact on my life. No amount of bad church experiences can take that away from me. I like what you wrote about intellectuals and practicality. We need both intellectuals and practical pastoral leaders. Hopefully the church will keep this in mind when picking the new Pope. http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/03/thanks_ken_3.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/03/thanks_ken_3.html Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:14:22 -0600 Angelo, I really like your cartoons. Their messages are straight forward and the illustratios are good. Is my opinion influenced by the fact that I very much agree with your idea of social justice and equity? We most likely have some theological differences, but that doesn't mean we can't work together for our ideals of justice and individual freedom. Who the next Pope is and what his agenda will be should be of great concern and interest to all people, Protestant Christians, Catholics, other religious identities and those who claim no religious identification. The new Pope will be the leader of approximately 2 billion people. The Catholic organization is not Democratic. The Pope will be appointed by a hyerarchy of only a few men at the top of the order. He has the 'bully' pulpit for 6 or 7 times as many people as the President of the United States. Your comments about him being more intellectual than practical or pastoral is true for many religious leaders of all faiths and denominations. Some folks will say that 'practicality' has no place in religious theology or doctrine. How does Scripture or any religious history have any real value if we can't see practicality? If the Christian cannot make a rational comparison of culture and time when a particular scripture was written, how can we make it relate to our present situations? That doesn't take anything away from the idea that all Scripture was inspired by God. The stories and messages were given to a particular people in particular circumstances. Basic human nature has not changed, but circumstances, cultures, and technology have changed and those changes are coming more rapidly every year. We need intellectuals to research and interpret history. Language changes are a tremendous challenge. Word meanings and phrases have done a lot of changing, just in my lifetime and can have great difference in application by regions. We, the common folks, have to rely on educated and dedicated research and interpretation. But, we also need dedicated pastoral leaders, who understand the real world of the present and leaders who can relate and communicate with all people of all faiths. http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/03/religious_leadership.html http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2013/03/religious_leadership.html Sun, 10 Mar 2013 20:59:40 -0600