Winds they are a blowing

I recently asked a friend what he thought the biggest issues of the day were that the public needed to be informed about. His response was so great I thought it needed to be posted. Thanks Axis of Evil.

#1) Judicial Filibusters
The neocons have everyone believing that the party opposing the president has always rubber stamped the president's judicial appointments. Some of the judges currently being blocked are up for seats that the Republicans held open for 8 years under Clinton. There is no difference between killing a nomination in committee and filibustering it on the floor. The net result is that the seat doesn't get filled. People need to hear the truth rather than all this spin from the right.

#2) Morality
This is where religion comes in. Someone needs to remind people that this country was founded on religious tolerance - not just Christianity. I'm really sick of hearing how morality was the big issue of the past election. What is moral or Christian about a minimum wage that is $5,000 below the poverty level for a family of just 3? What is moral or Christian about United Airlines being allowed (by a Republican appointed judge) to default on pension obligations to retirees? What is moral or Christian about logging national forests, drilling in wildlife refuges, and polluting the air and water throughout the country? I wish just for one week that so-called Evangelistic Christians would care about the living as much as they do about the unborn. The Democrats have got to get in front of this morality thing and now. This isn't a fight we should back down from - we have the winning issues. If you put Abortion aside (which I know is tough to do), we have the moral stand on most issues. The environment, poverty, social security, end of life decision making, education, freedom of speech, toleration and inclusion, stem cell research, and the list goes on and on. The other side has abortion (which they are wrong on), the polluters, the warmongering neocons, the drillers, the loggers, the pension plan defaulters, the holier than thou mouthpieces with closets full of skeletons (maybe we need to get Larry Flynt back in the game - he sure made them think twice about impeachment), the KKK, and the malitias that blew up OK city (they are still around and as crazy as ever). I don't profess to be an expert about Jesus, but I'm not familiar with any biblical text that speaks directly to abortion. But I'm sure there are plenty on caring for the poor and downtrodden. Christian democrats need to start quoting the bible in their arguments and those of us of other faiths need to start injecting our own morality into all of our arguments.

#3) Uniting Themes
We need to have a larger argument that resonates with ordinary Americans in the same way that W's so-called morality resonates with the religious right. We need to talk more about Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. We need to remind people that the true American legacy is freedom. Freedom to choose how you look, how you dress, who you love, what you think, what you read, what you believe. It also includes the right to die with dignity. This a winning issue - look at the polls on the Schiavo case. I also believe this is how we need to frame the abortion issue. We can all agree that abortion is not the best option, but if its abortion versus the power of the state to seize and possess the body of a female citizen, then we stand for freedom. We need to remind people that God doesn't judge anyone based on their citizenship. What makes Americans special is that we lead the world in freedom. We have more tolerance, more choices, more diveristy, and more respect for individual rights than any other nation in the world or throughout time. We cannot allow our legacy to be tarnished in the name of conformity or fear.