I agree. While Warren's views on homosexuality are bigoted and offensive, it helps to bear in mind that he has the largest following of Christians in this country and his books are the best sellers of all time (excluding the bible, I suppose). Perhaps Obama is attempting something far more profound and radical than mere inclusion. As bright as he is, I suspect this is yet another indication that he will keep "enemies" close and seek to bring as many people into his following as possible. Truth is, he has an enormous task ahead to turn this country around, and will need everybody pulling to do so. He needs to shore up not just the Democratic base, but all the independents and those disenchanted with the way the Republicans have been running things. Let's give him the chance to show his true colors in the policies he enacts, rather than in symbolic gestures such as who gives the invocation.
I agree. While Warren's views on homosexuality are bigoted and offensive, it helps to bear in mind that he has the largest following of Christians in this country and his books are the best sellers of all time (excluding the bible, I suppose). Perhaps Obama is attempting something far more profound and radical than mere inclusion. As bright as he is, I suspect this is yet another indication that he will keep "enemies" close and seek to bring as many people into his following as possible. Truth is, he has an enormous task ahead to turn this country around, and will need everybody pulling to do so. He needs to shore up not just the Democratic base, but all the independents and those disenchanted with the way the Republicans have been running things. Let's give him the chance to show his true colors in the policies he enacts, rather than in symbolic gestures such as who gives the invocation.
As a former special education director, I can attest that the federal funds that are received to support SPED students must be allocated to serve them by law and that this is monitored; however, these funds only constitute a small percentage of the total monies needed to serve such students. The state funds make up the rest, and these funds do not in many cases have stringent criteria established to ensure that they are used solely for special education services. The majority of districts spend less serving special education students than they receive by both federal and state grants to do so, diverting the money off into the district's general fund. One way to reduce this problem would be to have the congress finally fully fund IDEA, which has never occurred since its inception and is what leads to states having to make up the difference.
I try to focus on animal welfare groups and environmental/social justice groups, since it seems that these two concerns are the least funded and supported by the government, foundation grants, and donations from private citizens. I think it is very important not to overlook how we care for other creatures and our planet while we are trying to make the world a better place for humans.
That sounds cool. I wonder about the sheer volume of citizens that will begin to participate. We are witnessing the birth of a new democratic institution :-)
While I understand your concern, I also think that the specific issues around which we can coalesce our conversations can be found under the agenda items on the website. This particular page is primarily about the forum itself, and the community building process. At least, that is my understanding. And, for the folks struggling with IE or their browser or system, it's working great for me on Firefox browser, FIOS connection, and Vista.
I just think it is wonderful to finally have the opportunity to engage in this civic dialogue. It can be a resurgence of genuine democracy and finally move our country forward to a place where we have a "government of the people."
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