Barack Obama is a Freakin' Political Genius

2 things happened this week with the Obama campaign that not only reassure me of the man's intelligence and political savvy; but also "embiggens" (to quote Jedidiah Springfield, of The Simpsons fame) my faith and hope that this election could be a real turning point for our country.

1> www.FighttheSmears.com is the new Obama website. What is different about this website is that he lays out all the rumors, innuendos and smears against him and BAM! debunks them on site! He is obviously not intimidated by the lies and falsehoods; he acknowledges them as existing and then he sheds light on them. This is incredible for a number of reasons.
First, for a supporter of Obama nothing is more satisfying than to know you not only have such a tool at your fingerprints, but it makes you feel like "Hell, Yeah! THAT is MY President." It keeps any lingering doubt from creeping up wondering what the truth is, or how the campaign will handle it. Second, for a generation that is more and more internet savvy and internet dependent, having a "political" SNOPES.com directly tied to the "urban legends" of your preferred candidate is pretty awesome, and yet a natural fit. Now rumors and "hidden emails" can be refuted as easily as a key-stroke--just like those other emails that filter through the office. Third, it is PRO-ACTIVE. He is putting it out there before he gets hit. He's drawing a line in the sand and saying "There will be no swift-boating this time." He is directly addressing the lies and rumors that Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity put forth in their passive-aggressive way. He's making sure they know he has their number.

2>Obama's campaign has started a new program called The Joshua Generation, it is directly aimed at reaching evangelical youth under 30 (probably under 25). It is aimed to reach them on their level, using the language they know, promoting the values they have chosen. It is aimed at that group of evangelical youth that have grown up on "youth group" and yet are in their college years. And its point is to work with them to see that their faith is more complex than gay marriage and abortion. Watch for this plan to be SUPER-successful.

So, again, Obama is a FREAKIN' political genius. I just hope that our country is ready for a smart president.

Religion and Sex

This entry will probably turn into a series of posts, but for now we'll start with one.

I am really convinced that a lot of issues find their root in the combination of these two topics.

I wonder what is the deal, and this is an area where Fundy's and evangelicals are certainly NOT alone, and neither is Christianity.

I do not pretend to be an expert on all religions, and feel free to fact check anything I say, but it does seem that every religion has some measure of hang-up when it comes to sex. Even the "pagan" religions from the NT or ancient middle-eastern religious with their "temple prostitutes" and "ordained sexual practices" obviously had hang-ups about sex, because they had to (pardon the pun) put it all out there.

In fact I think the only thing that is MORE regulated in the world's religions is actual freedom of thought.

Share your thoughts . . . there will be more posts on this, I'm sure.