" Amy, Obama is the new kid on the block.
Everyone already knows & states the dirt on Billary & ChiCainery.
Life wouldn't be the norm, according to the public at large, if Obama were to pass through squeaky clean & actually accomplish something. "

" From the pastor of Hillary Clinton's church:

A STATEMENT CONCERNING THE REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an outstanding church leader whom I have heard speak a number of times. He has served for decades as a profound voice for justice and inclusion in our society. He has been a vocal critic of the racism, sexism and homophobia which still tarnish the American dream. To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage, and violence. Dr. Wright, a member of an integrated denomination, has been an agent of racial reconciliation while proclaiming perceptions and truths uncomfortable for some white people to hear. Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize. This is a critical time in America's history as we seek to repent of our racism. No matter which candidates prevail, let us use this time to listen again to one another and not to distort one another's truth.
Dean J. Snyder, Senior Minister
Foundry United Methodist Church
March 19, 2008
"

" Amy, it sounds as if you're saying in your letter that being concerned about environmental issues, hunger in the world, problems with education, healthcare and welfare--not to mention opposing war--are somehow anti-biblical. Perhaps you'd like to explain further? I assume you claim to believe the Bible; if you take time to read it, you'll see much more about social justice than you might like. Read Jesus' words; believe it or not, He was not a white Republican!

"Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize." I fully agree with Snyder's statement. However excessive Wright's comments were, they need to be heard; the feelings and history behind them need to be understood. Racism is still a problem in this country, as recent events make clear. "

" amy, you need to get away from the TV and faus news, and maybe think about getting a job.

oh yeah....did you see the big deal on last night's news about mccain's teleprompter?.....here's a HUGE secret i'm gonna let you in on amy...they all use the technology.

"

" a most interesting letter. May I infer that learning about Rev Wright did not change your opinion of Sen Obama?

While interesting, I am always more interested in learning things that cause people to change their perception of reality.

Thank you for your contribution "

" If you think the Democrats can WIN in November without a large portion of that 13% of black voters -- you are Dreaming.

By the way, you ATTITUDE toward the Minorities is OBVIOUS.

"

" Ok, I don't have much time - want to address a couple quick things and will be back with some more info. and answers later - as time permits.

Bob - I don't think I have time for another job since I already have 3 - in addition to being a homeschool mom! You see, even though the Democrats love to fork it over and make it readily available, I don't live on welfare - I prefer to EARN and PAY my own way! BTW, do you really think I could have gotten any of my info. on tv news - haha!

Coonbug - This has nothing to do with race although of course I knew that's what you would all want to make it about. You see, I have African American family members that I LOVE VERY MUCH! So, if you assumed otherwise, you were wrong! "

" We know where Sen. Obama's pastor stands on all kind of social, economic, political and race issues but what's missing is where the heck does he stand on God?

Pardon me for thinking a pastor should actually *think* about God but I guess I was just raised to think they do.

And as far as Hillary's pastor's statement regarding Dr. Wright, doesn't one wonder why *he* didn't mention a stand regarding God????

You don't suppose both of them actually think this pastor thing is about anything *other* than God, do you? Could they?

If preaching from the pulpit every topic in society *but* God is now the norm, I can see why people don't want pastors to talk about politics from the pulpit. It seems to me that politics is all some pastors talk about.

If I had a pastor that thought about everything *but* God - I'd leave that church. Before you ask, no, I don't agree with everything my pastor says and I still stay there. Just last week he said the ribs at Famous Dave's in Minneapolis were better than the Montgomery Inn in Cincinnati. That's epicurean blasphemy! But I stayed.

Now if he were to start preaching stuff about God that wasn't correct - yes, I'd leave. "

" Good post, and with some humor at the end. So, Mattooner at Heart, mind telling me where you attend church? (I won't tell anyone.) "

" Mattooner - Great point! But, I do think that when we hear where these pastors stand on other issues, we do see exactly what they think about God!

VTucker - While I believe that those issues are noble and worthy, I also believe that they are not something to be managed by our government. God calls us to care for those less fortunate and we should do that on a personal level. Obama's first bill as a Senator was a world hunger relief bill that would force the US to pay $900 BILLION MORE dollars on world hunger. Did he miss where Jesus said, "The poor you will have with you always"? Or, "Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth."
Denominations like Obama's are focusing on the social gospel, the economically poor rather than the spiritually poor.
When I read the Bible, that is the part that I see focused on and repeated!
BTW, I don't consider myself a white republican - at least not by today's standards. And, I would love to see us do away with all the party labels - I will vote for anyone who stands for what I believe this country was founded on!

Coonbug - You seemed to have missed the point - I totally believe Obama could win the election and what I said was since only 13% of the US population is black, that means clearly MANY other races are voting for him so, how can we still be making this an issue of race? "

" Amy, You are right on target with regards to B. Hussein Obama. For 20 years he chose to attend a church that teaches liberal theology and then when it became bad for his campaign, he threw his pastor under the bus. This is politics as usual. Father Bob - you're the one who needs a job. Do you do anything other than sit at your computer and respond to letters to the editor? "

" The problem with making cracks, such as the teleprompter one, is that they usually come back to haunt you, as was pointed out by the ever observant father bob. The real issue here, I suspect is that the Republicans want Hillary as the Democratic candidate. Why else would people like the Pied Piper Limbaugh be giving his lemmings marching orders to cross over in the primaries and vote for Hillary. Let's face it, they think she would be easier to defeat than the charismatic Obama. I can just see the debate between Obama and McCain. The distinction between the to candidates be much more clearer than in the Kennedy/Nixon debates. Actually it will look more like a handsome young, and articulate, movie star debating a sputtering old and angry Elmer Fudd. That's why the Republicans are pushing this preacher thing so much, but I'm predicting that even Fox news won't be able to stretch it out much longer. Yesterday's news is like old fish, and people get pretty tired of the smell after a while. They blew it on this one, as they should have saved it until just before election time. They want Hillary, but you don't see that in writing or being articulated by the right side anywhere, do you? "

" Mr. Andres - I am a native-born Mattooner, hence the pseudonym. However I now live in the Twin Cities in Minnesota so I attend a small non-denominational church here in one of the southern suburbs.

In our church, it's all about God and making God look good to those who don't know him and we know you can't do that through judgement, hatred and other hard-nosed approaches.

If my memory serves me correctly, though, you and I attended the same church several years ago. That is if you are the Tom Andres that attended a small church on the corner of 15th and Wabash. Could that be you? "

" Whether we want to admit it or not, race is a factor in the Primary Race. So is gender.

As I said before this General election is going to be close if you believe the current polls. McCain is neck and neck with either Hillary or Obama.

A difference of 1-8 pts difference depending on the day.

If Democrats alienate the black voters of 13% --- we WILL lose. Simple Fact. "

" Pew Survey: 23% of White Dems not for Obama Think He's Muslim, Disapprove of Interracial Dating....


"In particular, white Democrats who hold unfavorable views of Obama are much more likely than those who have favorable opinions of him to say that equal rights for minorities have been pushed too far; they also are more likely to disapprove of interracial dating, and are more concerned about the threat that immigrants may pose to American values. In addition, nearly a quarter of white Democrats (23%) who hold a negative view of Obama believe he is a Muslim."

Hmmm, I'm confused. I though conservatives were the intolerant, racist, Islamophobes?.....


"

" Four thousand military men and women have died in Iraq. Countless civilians have perished in the violence. Gasoline and heating oil becomes more expensive by the day. Drought, poverty, illness and human despair are increasingly ignored. U.S. debt is soaring, in marked contrast to other countries in the developed world. Personal privacy is diminishing. Dissemblers remain ensconced in the White House, capable of perpetrating further harm on America and the world before they depart.
Stressed-out, hard-working Americans have less time than ever to sift through the variety of printed and online news sources necessary to decipher what is truly going on in these and other important areas. Instead, they stagger home from work, put their aching feet up, and attend to a nonstop onslaught of, to borrow a phrase, blathering inconsequence.
They hear "newscasters" preface opinions and vilifications that could and should be attributed to specific sources, if uttered at all, with negligent, cowardly qualifying phrases such as "Some people think..." and "Some are saying...." Too cheap and lazy to conduct real research, they regurgitate the same gaggles of "journalists," "strategists" and "political experts" night after night, saving their parent conglomerates huge amounts of money at the expense of our edification.
They pose silly questions about the future -- as if we can really learn by repeating them -- whether Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will one day run on the same ticket -- whether the Democratic Party is self-destructing -- or whether criticism leveled by one Democrat toward another will enable John McCain to win the election.
— KATHLEEN REARDON "

" Steve Ditko, Democrats are not necessarily liberal--that seems to be a common stereotype. Where I'm from, Democrats are (or used to be) socially conservative but wanted government "to be for the working man." For example, they were strongly pro-union; labor unions led to wages that allowed them to support their families. They were in favor of strict governmental regulation; rules imposed by government on industry saved many lives. As a coal miner or factory worker, your life depended on labor union activism and governmental oversight. Since many of these people are still around and getting up in years, it makes sense that they would demonstrate the prejudice of decades ago. "

" 23% of white Dems think Obama is a Muslim. Hmmm...wondered who pushed that bit of propaganda? The right wing smear machine has been busy, haven't they? "

" It comes as little surprise ... that two things happened over the last couple of weeks. One, that Barack Obama was swiftboated by means of a bogus inference in order to make him look like an angry black radical. And two, that a lot of dumb voters went for it.
It was pretty inevitable, really. I mean, the guy was getting rather, um, uppity, if you know what I mean. Winning elections and all. Mobilizing millions of voters. And so on. Plus he's talking like he might actually, really, seriously, shut off the government teat of Iraq war no-bid contracts, NAFTA/WTO-based cheap labor, and massive tax transfers for the hyper-wealthy.
— DAVID MICHAEL GREEN
------------------ "

" MomTo3Ds, read Isaiah 58. The Old Testament and much of the New make it clear that God was (and is) very concerned with social justice. In an ideal world, people would give enough to care for the less fortunate, but this is far from an ideal world. People (in general) did not give before the government starting legislating social justice; they are certainly not going to start now.

It is wrong to stereotype the poor as being lazy. Certainly, some are--but there is an entire class of people, the working poor, who work diligently yet still cannot quite make it.

It was an ugly country before legislation was enacted to help the poor and working people. I urge you to read about what life was truly like back then. I personally am familiar with coal mining, the exploitation of those who worked endless hours in dangerous conditions to profit a few. The workers themselves remained poor, assuming they lived a normal life. Life was often cut short due to disease or injury. The intervention of government made life a little more bearable for these people, and union activism allowed them to make a living wage for themselves and their families.


"

" Mattooner at Heart, a small church on the corner of 15th and Wabash. Could that be you?" // That was probably me. Several years ago, I attended Faith Methodist a few times when visiting my mother in Mattoon, before moving back to Mattoon from the Quad Cities. It was never 'my church' but I visited. "

" Tom Andres - didn't you also attend that church when you were much younger? I'm almost positive I remember a Tom Andres from then and there. If you did, my mother was your Sunday School teacher. "

" Nah, when I was a young guy (through high school days), our family's church was at 16th and Charleston - United Methodist. The first minister I remember there was Dr Herrick. And I'm kind of embarrassed here, but I don't remember all my Sunday School teachers. Mr. Nelson, Mrs Seng, hmmmm, that's about it. Ha, but of course, I DO remember all the lessons. ;-). I also remember that the Presbyterian hay rides were more fun. // So, don't you remember who your mother was, or are you just trying not to give away your ID? LOL "

" Awww... Lookit TOM ANDRES, trying to humanize himself. Just because he has a problem with the existence of gay people and foreigners doesnt mean he isnt a down home lovable church goin local boy! Shucks! "

" I was known to have darkened the doorway of the Methodist Church at 16th and Charleston on occasion. Since the small church and 1st Methodist were pretty much the same, I went to 1st occasionally because there were more girls (I mean because the Holy Spirit was) there.

Maybe that's where I remember you from but I'm almost positive we knew one another. Send me an email at MattoonerAtHeart at gmail dot com and we can carry this conversation on through that. M@H "