The Mystery of the Hole

I am a regular reader of Joe Kissel's column "Interesting Thing of the Day" -- I receive a daily email from him and the latest one is from his archive, a classic piece of historical "science" about donut holes found at http://itotd.com/articles/314 .

(If you want to know more about Joe go here: http://alt.cc/jk/about-joe-kissell and one of the interesting tidbits about his life you will find there is that while he does not consider himself a religious person, he can often be found attending the First Mennonite Church of San Francisco.)

Anyway, its so ironic that just a few days ago I shared a story about donuts called "The Mystery of the Hole" during the worship portion I happened to be leading for the every-other-month meeting of my local (Central Disrict Mennonite) pastor-peer group. The story I found offers quite humorous insight on the spiritual ramifications and life application to Joe's own historical and "scientific" experiment about donuts and their holes! I am boggled by how well these two pieces complement each other.

I found "The Mystery of the Hole" in an Amazon book review (excerpt) of a collection of stories from the early part of the 20th century written by one of the greatest preachers of the day, William Barton. Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/8af26 but you'll have to click on the photo of the book then click 6 times on the arrow to the right to get to that particular story to read the excerpt. It can't be printed or copied off these Amazon book excerpts. But its worth going there because the story truly is "priceless."

This should be worthy for your Saturday morning entertainment - and who knows, for some of you it might even provide a sermon starter for Sunday morning!

Clair

Reflections: My Personal Experience During the Peace Rally/Celebration in Wash. D.C. Sept. 24

Some personal reflections composed Monday evening after I participated in part of the Sept. 24-26 "Support Our Troops - Bring Them Home Now" Peace Rally in Washington D.C. (held this past weekend):

I'm hearing very solid reports now that estimate about 300,000 of us were there at the March through D.C. on Saturday, in spite of Reuters' estimate of 100,000. The twelve hour chartered bus trip out Friday night, participating all day, and then trying to get some sleep on the same bus, riding it back all Saturday night was very physically strenuous, but so very worth it in spite of my weary bones. On Sunday, though back, I was wishing I was still there -- to join the Interfaith Peace and Justice Revival service sponsored by Clergy and Laity Concerned About Iraq: http://tinyurl.com/aw77u and on Monday I wished I could still be there for the civil disobedience actions they were preparing to conduct together. But I was certainly with them in spirit!

I had some very stimulating conversations on the bus on the way out Friday evening with a diversity of people from Goshen and all over southwestern Michigan. Then early on, during the march Saturday, first with a variety of other Mennonites (including a brief walk with fellow MennoLinker Duane Shenk and his daughter Celeste who also works for Sojourners now, as an editorial assistant), a very bright 13-year old boy among a large bunch of Quakers from Massachusetts whom I first thought had to be at least a college freshman - (he came up to me and talked about my sign reminding him of a quote from the philosopher Spinoza!)- a couple of ordinary citizens of D.C. whom I met in the Metro and asked me what difference I thought this march really would make, an Iraqi-American protester - one of whom gave me an an official Iraqi flag, students from all over the country, "Raging Grannies", Code Pink members, an extended conversation with the editor of the War Tax Resisters League, a Jesuit priest, several "centrist" progressives from Wisconsin who no longer trust the President, some socialist students from Holland, Michigan (on the bus with me) and some fellow peace activists from Kalamazoo I hadn't talked with for years. I could go on and on....

Here is what I heard that Cindy Sheehan said at the podium on Saturday during the PeaceMarch/Celebration: http://tinyurl.com/dk9rh -- her words, while certainly heartfelt, were not really that profound. Yet her courage, her perseverance, and her powerful persona have been a key spark plug to ignite the current peace movement. I experienced a powerfully moving moment when the Lakota (South Dakota) NativeAmericans presented and wrapped Cindy with their quilt, which a number of us got to sign last Thursday evening right here in Goshen as they made their way east with fellow Faith Mennonite Church members who are current Mennonite Central Committee workers at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota: Karl Meyer and Karissa Loewen.

I think the Peace Movement has recently been undergoing a process of rebirth/reconstitution, and I agree with some others who are expressing relief that most of the mainline Democratic Party leadership is staying out of this movement which is now gathering steam. The one prominent Democrat leader who did come and also spoke, Jesse Jackson, entered the march at the pivotal point in front of the White House, his body guards pushing their way through the marchers already there, so he could get his photo op in that spot. I didn't see this personally, but I sure heard about it from some disgusted students on the bus who did and who expressed they lost all respect for him and his antics that day. (One called him a real SOB.) Personally I'm not sure how I feel about all this. Cindy Sheehan herself certainly felt supported by him.

I took over 30 memorable photographs with my wife's Trio (cell phone/PDA/with built in camera) but later realized the resolution was so poor on them it would be an embarrassment to post them.

The most memorable speech for me, personally, came in the late afternoon, Saturday, in the midst of the concert sponsored and organized by United for Peace, which was interspersed with some rather moving oratory. I'll never forget how transfixed I was, indeed, how motivated I felt while listening to this one: (I acquired the transcript Monday evening from Democracy Now's website.)

--Clair

AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to NBA player Etan Thomas, among the celebrities who supported the protest this weekend. He's a basketball player with the Washington Wizards.

ETAN THOMAS: Giving all honor, thanks and praises to God for courage and wisdom, this is a very important rally. I'd like to thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts, feelings and concerns regarding a tremendous problem that we are currently facing. This problem is universal, transcending race, economic background, religion, and culture, and this problem is none other than the current administration which has set up shop in the White House.
In fact, I'd like to take some of these cats on a field trip. I want to get big yellow buses with no air conditioner and no seatbelts and round up Bill O'Reilly, Pat Buchanan, Trent Lott, Sean Hannity, Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush, Bush Jr. and Bush Sr., John Ashcroft, Giuliani, Ed Gillespie, Katherine Harris, that little bow-tied Tucker Carlson and any other right-wing conservative Republicans I can think of, and take them all on a trip to the 'hood. Not to do no 30-minute documentary. I mean, I want to drop them off and leave them there, let them become one with the other side of the tracks, get them four mouths to feed and no welfare, have scare tactics run through them like a laxative, criticizing them for needing assistance.

I'd show them working families that make too much to receive welfare but not enough to make ends meet. I'd employ them with jobs with little security, let them know how it feels to be an employee at will, able to be fired at the drop of a hat. I'd take away their opportunities, then try their children as adults, sending their 13-year-old babies to life in prison. I'd sell them dreams of hopelessness while spoon-feeding their young with a daily dose of inferior education. I'd tell them no child shall be left behind, then take more money out of their schools, tell them to show and prove themselves on standardized exams testing their knowledge on things that they haven't been taught, and then I'd call them inferior.

I'd soak into their interior notions of endless possibilities. I'd paint pictures of assisted productivity if they only agreed to be all they can be, dress them up with fatigues and boots with promises of pots of gold at the end of rainbows, free education to waste terrain on those who finish their bid. Then I'd close the lid on that barrel of fool's gold by starting a war, sending their children into the midst of a hostile situation, and while they're worried about their babies being murdered and slain in foreign lands, I'd grace them with the pain of being sick and unable to get medicine.

Give them health benefits that barely cover the common cold. John Q. would become their reality as HMOs introduce them to the world of inferior care, filling their lungs with inadequate air, penny pinching at the expense of patients, doctors practicing medicine in an intricate web of rationing and regulations. Patients wander the maze of managed bureaucracy, costs rise and quality quickly deteriorates, but they say that managed care is cheaper. They'll say that free choice in medicine will defeat the overall productivity, and as co-payments are steadily rising, I'll make their grandparents have to choose between buying their medicine and paying their rent.

Then I'd feed them hypocritical lines of being pro-life as the only Christian way to be. Then very contradictingly, I'd fight for the spread of the death penalty, as if thou shall not kill applies to babies but not to criminals.

Then I'd introduce them to those sworn to protect and serve, creating a curb in their trust in the law. I'd show them the nightsticks and plungers, the pepper spray and stun guns, the mace and magnums that they'd soon become acquainted with, the shakedowns and illegal search and seizures, the planted evidence, being stopped for no reason. Harassment ain't even the half of it. Forty-one shots to two raised hands, cell phones and wallets that are confused with illegal contrabands. I'd introduce them to pigs who love making their guns click like wine glasses. Everlasting targets surrounded by bullets, making them a walking bull's eye, a living piñata, held at the mercy of police brutality, and then we'll see if they finally weren't aware of the truth, if their eyes weren't finally open like a box of Pandora.

I'd show them how the other side of the tracks carries the weight of the world on our shoulders and how society seems to be holding us down with the force of a boulder. The bird of democracy flew the coop back in Florida. See, for some, and justice comes in packs like wolves in sheep's clothing. T.K.O.d by the right hooks of life, many are left staggering under the weight of the day, leaning against the ropes of hope. When your dreams have fallen on barren ground, it becomes difficult to keep pushing yourself forward like a train, administering pain like a doctor with a needle, their sequels continue more lethal than injections.

They keep telling us all is equal. I'd tell them that instead of giving tax breaks to the rich, financing corporate mergers and leading us into unnecessary wars and under-table dealings with Enron and Halliburton, maybe they can work on making society more peaceful. Instead, they take more and more money out of inner city schools, give up on the idea of rehabilitation and build more prisons for poor people. With unemployment continuing to rise like a deficit, it's no wonder why so many think that crime pays.

Maybe this trip will make them see the error of their ways. Or maybe next time, we'll just all get out and vote. And as far as their stay in the White House, tell them that numbered are their days.

AMY GOODMAN: Etan Thomas with the Washington Wizards, basketball player at the largest antiwar protest in Washington since the protest against the invasion of Iraq.
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Postscripts: Another writer apparently agreed with my assessment! Today, (Tuesday) the day after I wrote these reflections, I noticed an article posted on Common Dreams entitled "The Speech Everyone Is Talking About: Etan Thomas Electrifies Anti-War Washington" by Dave Zirin - http://tinyurl.com/cqzbj

...and here is someone else's first person story documenting experiences quite similar to mine: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/092505Z.shtml

...of course, there are always going to be detractors and naysayers -- saying this was just "a side show." This was often said during the time the Anti-Viet Nam War protest movement was heating up. Does this sentiment, from another political corner, sound familiar? : http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york200509260814.asp

Why its never "too late" to do the right thing...

I believe August 2005 will go down as marking another watershed moment in American history - when the Anti-Iraq War movement truly went "mainstream." George W. Bush, in another apparent lapse of good judgement, probably still has no idea what sort of movement he galvanized when he chose to ignore the likes of Cindy Sheehan camped out near his own backyard. The steadfast action and clear message Cindy's friends and supporters have sent in response, has unleashed a tremendous groundswell of unresolved grief, pent-up anger and frustration. Significant numbers of people from across mainstream America are now gaining courage to go public with their questions about this "noble cause."

Obviously, the potency of this theme - "support the troops by bringing them home now" - can be measured by who is leading the charge: not just the traditional leaders of the longstanding peace movement -- but this time, primarily, veterans groups and parents of the soldiers themselves - the "Gold Star" families, the most difficult sector of the American public to ignore!

Ray McGovern works for "Tell the Word", the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC, and is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. Last Wednesday, he arrived home in Arlington, VA, after five days in Crawford, and shared these poignant and powerful remarks with 300 neighbors at the close of a candlelight observance in honor of Cindy Sheehan, whom he refers to as "the Rosa Parks of Crawford, Texas" : http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0819-33.htm

I've also been rather impressed by the ongoing clips and reports from TruthOut, a great alternative soure to the mainstream media reports about what is really happening (and why) at Camp Casey: http://www.truthout.org/cindy.shtml

September 2005 holds great promise for a convergence of major proportions within the anti-war movement -- in Congress' own backyard of Washington D.C. I don't want to miss it this time around!

If you feel the same way, keep informed of transportation options and other organization details at: http://community.michiana.org/justice (if you are a local reader from Michiana) or http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=2845 (regarding efforts and talking points from "Clergy and Laity Concerned" and "United For Peace and Justice")

Clair

Follow-up regarding "Down the Rabbit Hole or Reality?"

Here is the gist of an e-mail dialogue with a questioning friend, along with some personal reflections, in response to my previous post. My friend asked: "I'm curious. What, exactly, do you consider the political significance of the alleged additional explosions in the WTC?

I responded with: Good question! Read this story and perhaps you'll start to get the bigger picture:

http://www.arcticbeacon.com/articles/article/1518131/28901.htm

By the way, regarding WTC #7 which fell at 5:20 pm on 9/11:

March 2, 2002: A New York Times article theorizes that a diesel fuel tank was responsible for the collapse of WTC Building 7. It collapsed on 9/11, even though it was farther away than many other buildings that remained standing. It was the first time a steel-reinforced high-rise in the US had ever collapsed in a fire. The fuel tank had been installed in 1999 as part of a new "command center" for Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. [New York Times, 3/2/02, Dow Jones News, 9/10/02]

What's curious, especially given all the Wall Street scandals later in the year, is that Building 7 was where the SEC stored files for numerous Wall Street investigations. All the files for approximately 3,000 to 4,000 SEC cases were destroyed. Some were backed up in other places, but many were not, especially those classified as confidential. [National Law Journal, 9/17/01]

Lost files include documents that could show the relationship between Citigroup and the WorldCom bankruptcy. [The Street, 8/9/02]

The Secret Service also lost investigative files. Says one agent: "All the evidence stored at 7 World Trade, in all our cases, went down with the building." [Tech TV, 7/23/02]

A few days later, the head of the WTC collapse investigation says he "would possibly consider examining" the collapse of Building 7, however, all the rubble has been removed and destroyed. [Committee on Science, House of Representativestestimony, 3/6/02]

Also, did you know that a great deal of the debris from 9/11 was quickly shipped off to China. Hmmmm? Is it any wonder why? --Clair

---------------

My friend replied: I think you're gonna have to spell it out for me. I'm picking up on some insinuations, but nothing solid. What do you think the "truth" is in regards to the alleged basement explosion?

And so I responded again:

OK, maybe this will give you something solid to chew on for a while: http://www.lewrockwell.com/reynolds/reynolds12.html

At least that did it for my father, who is quite mechanically minded -- it really sat him back on his haunches and stimulated some sober reflection and discussion, just like it affected me when I first read it. The logical conclusion I get from it all (and I join a host of others in this who have "been there" a lot longer than I have) is that, at a minimum, a highly secret and very professionally-designed controlled demolition, well planned ahead of time by a company with a contract to do "official business" of that nature, took the three towers down. The identities are still a secret but there are some clues. It seems logical to me, if that is the case, that "someone" (I honestly don't know who all) within very high levels of the government would have had to know, likely at a very high level in our current administration.

Some very rational persons conclude this does indeed imply a conspiracy to pull off an inside job -- the victims lives be damned -- to instigate a modern Pearl Harbor, fire up the war machine and insure world dominion by the rulers of this nation, according to the motives of the comprehensive PNAC plan. According to this theory, the control center for the operation on the twin towers was likely in WTC7 in a secret reinforced bunker inside that building that could withstand 160 mph wind, and then they took all that evidence down that evening at 5:20 pm.

The tragic results we experienced would had to have been expected -- coldly and shockingly calculated to provide an excuse to ignite support for the current war we now have -- so that a base for controlling (energy) oil reserves in the Middle East could be established long term. (By setting up a puppet government in Iraq and manipulating the fickle mainstream press Stateside just as we have seen them do.)

Whether or not there was collusion at high levels, it seems clear now that those perpetrating this war strategy didn't count on being stuck in it now like they are: waaaay over their heads in an impossible conundrum, with civilians in the administration trying to call the key shots and making mistake after mistake. Recently, one courageous general who was in charge of the Falluja operation came out publicly recently to say that he and his cohorts were absolutely appalled by their orders (with his impression that they came directly from the White House) to take Falluja down like they did. They knew what the long term fallout would be. The military didn't want to do it, but they had to follow orders.

If one only takes into consideration only the facts already established, published, "out there" in the mainstream press: the explosions, the aftermath of 9/11, then the build up and execution of war in Iraq -- and one can read the whole sweep of these all pulled together in one place on this excellent summary at: http://www.wanttoknow.info/9-11cover-up10pg -- from my vantage point the vast patterns of control and obfuscation come ever so much more sharply into focus.

Things were unraveling just a bit too much and too fast lately, so Bush gave that recent speech again: 9/11-Iraq, 9/11-Iraq, 9/11-Iraq...to keep the drumbeat rolling.

Now looking forward:

I guess we shall have to watch and see what happens, but in the meantime I believe we can collectively make quite an impact if we all do our part. I hope this blog contributes just one more little ripple to the collection in the big pond. There are many so very much better than mine.

I'm hoping that FINALLY the mainstream media, with the excuse that the bloggers are leading the way in investigative journalism, will have to unfold what has been so long suppressed among the masses of the American people, who still, for the most part, don't have a clue about what has been there all along in the alternative press. Europeans are being much more astute in these matters.

I predict that within the next year a quest for the truth behind this scenario will be sought by a bolder mainstream press, more former officials with great reputation and but nothing to lose politically will confirm more disturbing elements of this scenario, the story will increasingly unravel to a wider public, and the Bush administration is going to have its hands full - very full! If operatives within the current administration were somehow in collusion with the demolition theory, there are vast political implications indeed. (Although I admit, proving this may never be accomplished before Bush's term is over.)

At minimum, political progressives, in preparation for the next election, need to have someone in line powerful enough to call for investigation as to why the 9/11 commission deliberately ignored the testimony corroborating some of this information, and "clean house" at the higher levels of the FBI and CIA, if necessary. (I personally suspect the manipulation of Cheney and Rove, and the rest of the neocon/PNAC inner circle.) Perhaps George W. Bush was set up as a stool pigeon -- it seems obvious to me, at least up until now, that he's always been told what to say and do by the "omnipotents" Rove and Cheney. Of course, it could be that I undersell Bush and don't give him enough credit for being able to think for himself!

Either way, whether or not he is complicit in these dreadful actions, I do believe that our Commander-in-Chief is wholly incompetent -- and more and more American people are starting to see an emperor with no clothes on. I hope this makes just a smidgen of sense, and am glad for the push to articulate what I really feel and think about this subject.

Clair

Down the Rabbit Hole -- or REALITY? (The 9/11 Truth Movement)

[Preface: The recent London bombings, with clear evidence of "simultaneous exercises" being conducted by the authorities in the exact same places at the exact same time make one wonder who really is "in control" and gave a huge boost to the veracity of those within the "9/11 Truth Movement." Most people will think you have gone down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland, if you talk about these matters, unless they are willing to deal with facts and logic, based upon largely heretofore suppressed evidence -- like the following stories have to offer. There is more, plenty more actually, from a variety of "alternative news" websites, but I have tried to select only those sources with the highest of integrity, who utilize original, trustworthy sources themselves.]

If you haven't really heard of the "9/11 Truth Movement" yet, know that it is rapidly gathering steam across this land. In order to educate, I have provided below some links to pertinent news articles and video resources. They aptly illustrate just how pervasive and powerful the "control" really is, by high level leaders in the Bush administration, over the vast majority of the American people. They even explain the ways and means the neocons utilize to effect a massive cover-up in the mainstream press...but only thus far. For in recent times many retired public servants, now private sector citizens "in the know", are coming forward to share their corner of the truth with the hope of blowing this thing wide open. Yes, powerful forces may have, until now, been able to manipulate (via threat of ruined careers, financial incentives, or otherwise) the mainstream press regarding the truth of 9/11, but it is finally starting to bubble up. As we know, the truth itself can never, ultimately, be suppressed! And, obviously, the "alternative press" on the internet and in the "blogosphere" has been quite busy of late:

http://www.arcticbeacon.com/articles/article/1518131/28552.htm
(Headline: One-On-One Interview With Ray McGovern, Former CIA Senior Analyst For 27 Years, Who Warns U.S. Headed Down A Fascist Road And Highly Critical Of President Bush and Neo Con Explanations Of WMD, 9/11 And Manipulation of Intelligence Gathering)
Ray McGovern is now associated with ‘Tell the Word,’ a publishing ministry of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC; he writes and speaks for the arm of Tell the Word called ‘Speaking Truth to Power’ and many of his articles on intelligence issues have appeared regularly in national publications. A friend of mine, Audrey Metz, who works at the COTS Potter's House bookstore, told me she knows him personally, and can vouch for his total integrity.

http://www.arcticbeacon.com/articles/article/1518131/29242.htm
(WTC Maintenance Worker "hero" whose story was suppressed by the NYTimes and book publishers, announces plans for an upcoming national "9/11 Truth Speaking Tour" while appearing as a guest on the St. Louis Drive-Time Morning Radio Show.) He reveals about how after extensive interviews by the New York Times and others about his experience, they have left him out of the stories, the book, and other official accounts. Why? He's fed up and making noise -- lots of it.

http://www.arcticbeacon.com/articles/article/1518131/29392.htm
(Headline: Former Vietnam Combat and Commercial Pilot Firm Believer 9/11 Was Inside Government Job; An Experienced Boeing 757/767 Pilot, He Says 'No Way' Could a Novice Fly the 'Big Birds' He Knew So Well.) So, this expert pilot has decided he is no longer going to stay silent either! This interview would be a good one for someone steeped in the military or in aviation.

Many aviators have apparently known for some time that a Boeing 757 (as reported) could never have been the plane to hit the Pentagon. The hole was way too small, no wreckage of any plane was strewn about after the crash there, and a missile likely created that fire and hole, directed there by a small jet controlled by a very secret sector of the military. And how many realize what was reported in only a few places, e.g. the Boston Globe: http://tinyurl.com/6stmt

"In what the government describes as a bizarre coincidence, one U.S. intelligence agency was planning an exercise last Sept. 11 in which an errant aircraft would crash into one of its buildings. But the cause wasn't terrorism -- it was to be a simulated accident. Officials at the Chantilly, Va.-based National Reconnaissance Office [NRO] had scheduled an exercise that morning in which a small corporate jet would crash into one of the four towers at the agency's headquarters building after experiencing a mechanical failure. The agency is about four miles from the runways of Washington Dulles International Airport." [So, it was just a short hop for the NRO team to run over and secure the Pentagon. And, by the way, the NRO has a budget estimated to be three times that of the US State Department. And how plausible is it, really, that the Pentagon, the most highly protected building in the entire world, could undergo something like this without official "permission" at a very high level?]

The best overall summary of the issues from a Christian perspective, would be the 60 minute C-SPAN lecture that theologian David Ray Griffin gave at the University of Wisconsin (in Madison) in April, which has been rebroadcast a couple of times since then. Watch it online for free at http://www.wanttoknow.info/050504davidraygriffin and please don't miss the following 20 minutes of questions and answers. Some of those responses are "priceless" -- but I'm also warning that your perception of the truth just might get altered forever if you exercise your own logic at all and follow his argument. It's Griffin's new book which made a "believer" out of Ray McGovern! Far from being a crackpot, Prof. Griffin's bio is very impressive:
http://www.ctr4process.org/about/CoDirectors/CPSGriffin.htm

Anyone who wishes to invest further time, will benefit from more eye-openers and pertinent testimony, with links to original sources, summarized at this very well-organized blog: http://georgewashington.blogspot.com

If you've gotten this far, it will be more than enough to put chills down your back -- and certainly it does take some time to absorb -- at least it did in my own case, as I took this mental and emotional journey in recent weeks. Reading and pondering this stuff will either generate complete disbelief, or sober reflection. If its the later, I hope it will also generate the sort of inner call to action that is rooted in faith. I see signs of this gradually emerging in an organized way amidst various groups across our land calling for accountability and prophetic witness. I suggest measured engagement rooted in much prayer.

Many in other sectors of the world have gained a very good handle on these issues and can hardly believe what we are willing to put up with in America. Is it any wonder that the vast amount of general good will and trust in America invested by most other members of the international community has been almost totally squandered?

I think we have been duped as an American people -- duped about as much as the German Christians were during the early rise of Nazi-ism. I am convinced of tremendous spiritual forces at work in very high places in our country -- just not the kind the vast majority of evangelical American Christians think of when they so blindly "bless" and support the current Bush adminstration. (Lest people wonder, I consider myself an evangelical, in the classic sense of the word -- and at this point I'm neither Republican NOR Democrat!)

Let us hope and pray. Let us "be not afraid" to take faithful, symbolic, prophetic actions together. I'm banking on the hope that we have not already lost the opportunity to learn from history, and turn the tide from the tremendous momentum the neocons have so deliberately generated already. And most of all, I'm banking on the truth found in scripture where it says, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." JOHN 8:31-32 NIV (emphasis added)

(A final note: I do very much welcome others' responses below, pro or con, but only after readers have done the work to delve into some of these sources I've mentioned.)

Clair Hochstetler
7-18-05