COFFEE BREAK 68

+ updated at 4:17pm

+ I'm Christian. I'm Gay. Deal With It! offers "Triangle," a powerful poem in response to visiting the Washington DC holocaust museum.

+ Some of the criticism from the Left is just as tough as much of the criticism from the Right. I have to admit that Two Friars and a Fool, another blog I have recently begun to follow, makes some valid points in "The No-Peace Prize." Like this one: "Even if he were to end all our current wars and usher in the era of transparency he promised however, could he really be a credible dove? Could any president of the United States? We are the country that continues to spend almost as much on our military as the rest of the world combined. We sell about 70% of all arms worldwide. We are a perpetual warmongering state. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st we have moved continuously from war to war to war without break, all of them wars of aggression."

+ Recently I began following The Reformed Pastor and today I offered the following comment on a post critical of the Nobel Committee awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama:

I am one of those who is very concerned about the bitterness in our political conversation here in the USA. I refuse to watch Keith Olbermann any more even though I basically agree with him politically.

The mocking that I see here in the post and comments is typical of the lack of respect which is bringing our nation to the real possibility of Civil War.

What has Jimmy Carter said that makes him deserve the label of Anti-Semitic? What lies did Gore offer?

You dismiss people so easily with labels and name-calling when you do that.

I think Obama’s oratory and basic intelligence and wisdom is a significant change for our nation and our planet and the hope he is offering along with real policy changes has gotten the world’s attention and resulted in new respect for the USA. We the people finally got it right last year and the Nobel Committee gave us the Peace Prize. Praise the Lord. Alleluia.

Obama’s ideals and vision resonate with a world in desperate need of hope as it faces huge challenges. Peace is an attitude, a state of mind, and the world has a better chance to achieve it when its number one world leader has the right attitude, the right state of mind.

Obama is our President. It seems like a minority of Americans simply don’t want to accept him in any way.

They seem to want him to fail and cheer whenever he makes any kind of mistake. Sadly, this minority gets a lot of exposure in the Media and many Americans are misinformed and misled by some human beings who have forgotten how to be kind, decent, caring and respectful.

I hope my rhetoric doesn’t simply increase the bitterness. I am trying to be positive and respectful toward people on the Right but you are not making it easy with your mocking and your misinformation.

+ I received some comments at Facebook on the following status I posted yesterday:

YES! I do believe President Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. He has changed the global conversation significantly offering hope and constructive ideas and new policies.

Lowell wrote: "Oh, my..."

Jay wrote: I'm a BIG Obama fan, but I do not think he is deserving yet. Its not that he has not done some good things...but I think it cheapens it to give it to a man who has only been in office less than a year.

I wrote: I'm even more sure today that it was a wise decision. Even if it is just rhetoric ... and I think it's far more than that ... Obama's ideals and vision resonate with a world in desperate need of hope as it faces huge challenges. Peace is an attitude, a state of mind, and the world has a better chance to achieve it when its number one world leader has the right attitude, the right state of mind.

Letty wrote: The first step to peace is listening - and I think that President Obama is showing our country how to listen again. Everything might not be perfect, but listening without arrogance is a huge accomplishment.

+ Now the Red Sox have really dug a hole for themselves.