EMAILS - #9 "Don't buy it Don't use it"

Hi Guys!

Rabbi Arthur Waskow heads up the Shalom Center and always remembers Eid.... his 2008 email below was especially neat, I thought, so I'm passing it along too as a different take!

(The hearts & flowers stamp isn't U.S. Mule, but, as the stamp states, a custom one from Zazzle http://www.zazzle.com/stamps Can't read the signature to see who made it.

.....The 2001 official U.S. Eid stamp -- http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/2006/holiday/eid_hr.jpg -- has been reissued regularly over the past 9 years. The P.O. says: "The Postal Service recognized other special holidays when it issued its first Hanukkah stamp in 1996, followed in 1997 by its first Kwanzaa stamp, and in 2001 by the Eid stamp" http://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_pdf/ChristmasStamps.pdf#search='Eid%20stamp'

.....About the official stamp's translation, the P.O. says:  "...Muslims wish each other 'Eid mubarak,' the phrase featured in Islamic calligraphy on the stamp. 'Eid mubarak' translates literally as 'blessed festival,' and can be paraphrased as 'May your religious holiday be blessed.' http://www.usps.com/news/2001/philatelic/sr01_054.htm

.....Snopes says the first versions of this email started in 2002, and FactCheck lists additional official sites to check out --
http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp  
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/09/muslim-stamp/     )

Your ornery [friend] thinks the P.O. one is a neat stamp! ....& hopes it helps us get to know one another better....

Thanks and lotsa luv!!



Here's Rabbi Wascow (hope he's not too wild!! ....I colored a couple sentences red in case you're skimming):
[here used **asterisks & italics**]


Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2008 19:29:54 -0500 (EST)
From: Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Subject: Eid Mubarak & its Blessed Teaching: Don't Kill Your Children, Feed the Poor!
To:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7Of1Mcx5J6xuOFOs3KyMqe4SwjE0VSW%2B
A Prophetic Voice in Jewish, Multireligious, and American Life

Eid Mubarak! -- Don't Kill Your Children,

Feed the Poor!


"This (Sunday) afternoon, I spoke and led prayers at a Philadelphia Presbyterian Church along with an imam, a Mennonite minister, and a spiritual leader of the Cherokee Nation.

"I spoke about the Season of Peace that -

"began last Sunday with the Christian Advent,

"continues tonight with blessings of abundance, peace, and joy to those in the world of Islam who tonight begin celebrating Eid Al-Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice,

"and continues past Hanukkah and Christmas to January 19 and 20,

"when we remember Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (whose yohrzeit is on January 14) and Dr. Martin Luther King (whose birthday will be officially celebrated on January 19),

"and encourage a grass-roots American movement for peace, justice, and healing of the earth as it goes forward with the tasks of transforming America and the world during a new government, beginning January 20.

"Eid al-Idha celebrates Abraham's and Ishmael's willingness to obey God's voice, even when it called for Ishmael's death, and at the same time it celebrates God's change of heart, calling instead for Ibrahim to offer up a ram instead of Ismail.

"In memory of that substitution, today those in the Muslim community who can afford to buy a lamb or calf arrange to share its meat with those who cannot afford it

"Thus the message of Eid El-Idha has two levels: Tuning in to God's will to go beyond possessiveness, and then to celebrating the ultimate wisdom God commands: 'Do not kill your children; feed the poor!'

".... To carry forward the interfaith theme, let me invite you to click to the lead story on our web page at 'The Meaning of Mumbai.' http://www.theshalomcenter.org/index.php?q=node/1466

**"It not only reviews the widespread Muslim condemnations of those Muslims who claim to be killing in God's Name;** it not only includes the 'Mourners Kaddish in Time of War & Violence' -----

"It also includes a memo on what President-elect Obama could/should be doing to prevent further murders in the name of God and various religions.

**"Plus there's a memo to those who organized the 'World Interfaith Dialogue' in Madrid last summer, called together by the World Muslim League and the King of Saudi Arabia in his role as Guardian of the Two Sacred Places, about what they could do to prevent further 'religious' violence.**

"In honor of these varied religious festivals devoted to Peace and Light that come to us at this season, there are music, art, and books of teaching --- gifts to give a deeper meaning to Eid, Hanukkah, and Christmas.

"They transcend any one tradition and are available to you for purchase from The Shalom Center .... But most important of all, YOU can create real multireligious connections in your own neighborhood --like the one I spoke at today - and you can give them an organizing focus to move forward as communities working for peace, justice, and healing of the earth.

"Shalom, salaam, peace --
"Arthur"




****************
----- Forwarded Message -----

From:
To:
Sent: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 16:21:30 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Fw: Fwd: Don't buy it Don't use it

From:
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 3:25 PM
To:
Subject: Fwd: Don't buy it Don't use it


Subject: FW: Don't buy it Don't use it

Apparently the Post Office thinks that putting hearts and butterflies on the new stamp will make most people not realize that the rest is Arabic and probably not something we want to support.

New Stamp - the second one!!!

USPS New 44-Cent Stamp Celebrates a
Muslim holiday. If there is only ONE thing you forward  today, let it be this!

President  Obama has directed the United
States Postal Service to REMEMBER and HONOR the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a new commemorative 44-Cent First Class Holiday Postage Stamp.

REMEMBER to adamantly & vocally BOYCOTT this stamp, when you are purchasing
your stamps at the post office.

All you have to say is "No thank you, I do not want that Muslim Stamp on my letters!"

To use this stamp would  be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those MUSLIMS  whom
this stamp  honors.

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Pan
Am Flight 103!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in1993!

REMEMBER the  MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Military Barracks in  Saudi Arabia !

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa !

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on 9/11/2001!

REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks and the MUSLIM
terrorists who are anxiously awaiting opportunities to kill Americans!

Pass this along to every Patriotic American that
you know and get the word out! Honor the United States of America!

Attachment converted: [sorry I don't know how to copy this! see at http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp  ]


Received: from
by
Wed, 7 Jul 2010 21:09:34 +0000
Received: from [ (envelope-from )
(; Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:09:34 +0000

From:
To:
Subject: FW: Don't buy it Don't use it
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 17:09:31 -0400

From:
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 9:16 AM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: Fw: Don't buy it Don't use it

Apparently the Post Office thinks that putting hearts and butterflies on the new stamp will make most people not realize that the rest is Arabic and probably not something we want to support.

New Stamp - the second one!!!

USPS New 44-Cent Stamp Celebrates a Muslim holiday. If there is only ONE thing you forward today, let it be this!

President Obama has directed the United States Postal Service to REMEMBER and HONOR the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a new commemorative 44-Cent First Class Holiday Postage Stamp.

REMEMBER to adamantly & vocally BOYCOTT this stamp, when you are purchasing your stamps at the post office.

All you have to say is "No thank you, I do not want that Muslim Stamp on my letters!"

To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those MUSLIMS whom this stamp honors.

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Pan Am Flight 103!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon !

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Military Barracks in Saudi Arabia !

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa !

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on 9/11/2001!

REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks and the MUSLIM terrorists who are anxiously awaiting opportunities to kill Americans!

Pass this along to every Patriotic American that you know and get the word out! Honor the United States of America!



Attachment converted: Macintosh HD:Untitled 125 (JPEG/«IC») (003A6379)

Election '08 - Concerns

This letter from Pastor Randy Howard appeared in the community newspaper shortly after the election. My response follows his letter.


November 15, 2008
FROM PASTOR RANDY HOWARD
"A SAD DAY"

"I'm just a preacher; I'm not a politician or a pundit. However, I have to say that this election marks the saddest day since the attacks of 9/11. As a nation we have forgotten God and what God desires us to be.

"I certainly held no illusions that John McCain was a great choice for America. Nevertheless, I was equally dissatisfied with Barack Obama from a political standpoint since he obviously and unapologetically has a socialist view of taxing some to give to others. Since neither man was really what the country needed, I had to vote against the man most against my God and His Bible. That decision was clear for at least two reasons.

"Obama is a supporter of every extreme form of abortion ever created by man, including the barbaric act of partial birth abortion. Abortion is clearly a practice that goes directly against my God and His Word.

"Exodus 21:22 -- If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her; and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

"23 -- And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life.

"This scripture speaks of men fighting who accidentally bring harm to a woman's unborn baby that caused her to lose that child. If God felt that men should be punished, even with their life, for an accidental abortion, how do you think He looks at the intentional murder of unborn babies?

"Another issue is Obama's support of and push for the homosexual agenda. This is also clearly against what God states and what His Word commands.

"Romans 1:26 -- For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

"27 -- And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

"28 -- And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.

"God refers to men leaving woman and burning with lust toward one another. God says He gives them up to those "vile affections" and turns them over to a "reprobate mind." It sounds like God considers homosexuality a wicked and perverse sin.

"As I stated, the deciding factor between these men came down to which of them was most against the Lord and His standards. It is more than clear that Obama, just in these two examples is clearly not standing with God. This is not to say that McCain is a godly man, but Obama is certainly more against God than McCain.

"What makes this a sad day for America is that in the people's decision to choose Obama as the leader of this country, we have abandoned all pretense of being a Christian nation. We cannot claim that we are a nation of Christians on Sunday, but vote for those against God on Tuesday. Because we have ignored God's Word and God's Will, America will pay a price.

"God has made a promise to the nations that forgotten [sic] Him:

"Psalm 9:17 -- The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

"It is time we all become more concerned about what God thinks about our nation than what the rest of the world thinks.

"I pray that God gives Barack Obama wisdom as he leads this nation. I also pray that God speaks to the hearts of all politicians and people about the things that America stands for that God stands against.

"May God help our country and awaken our Christians."

RANDY HOWARD


The writer is pastor of Community Baptist Church



My response was published November 26, 2008

Thanks to Pastor Howard for lifting up vital concerns in our community [11/15/08]. I believe President-elect Obama is committed to finding the shared goals toward which people with different convictions can work together.

About abortion, he said: “I think it's always a tragic situation." -- “I am completely supportive of a ban on late-term abortions, partial-birth or otherwise, as long as there's an exception for the mother's health and life.”

He says, “there surely is some common ground when both those who believe in choice and those who are opposed to abortion can come together and say, 'We should try to prevent unintended pregnancies by providing appropriate education to our youth, communicating that sexuality is sacred and that they should not be engaged in cavalier activity, and providing options for adoption, and helping single mothers if they want to choose to keep the baby.’”

Evangelical leader Jim Wallis writes, “Three-fourths of women who have an abortion say a primary reason is that they cannot afford to raise a child....Recent research affirms that social and economic support for women and vulnerable families are effective solutions to lowering the abortion rate, including greater access to health care, poverty reduction, adoption reform, and pre- and postnatal care.” These are Obama’s goals, and reasons why he proposes to reduce taxes on the poor, while, after our economic recovery, reducing the tax cuts on incomes over $250,000 -- which was the context of the phrase “spread the wealth around.” (Rates on those higher incomes would still be lower than in the 1990’s.)

I believe Obama’s concern for the poor is biblical, both in voluntary giving and in structuring society. Jesus strongly warned people not to neglect the poor (e.g. the rich man and Lazarus). Ruth gathered grain behind the reapers, because Leviticus instructed farmers to leave the edges for “the poor and the stranger.” Today we use tools like the graduated income tax and social security. I believe Obama will work for the good of all. He recognizes, for example, that small business is “the engine of job growth in the economy.”

Many pro-life citizens endorsed Obama because they believed his overall policies -- from taxes to war and diplomacy -- best nurture life during the whole lifespan.

President-elect Obama supports full civil unions and federal rights for same-sex couples, saying, “It’s about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect.”

Many people of faith believe that the six places in the Bible said to proscribe homosexuality refer to ritual purity law, violent inhospitality, or promiscuity, not faithful couples.

My deep thanks to Pastor Howard for raising these concerns so vital in our lives together. I wholeheartedly join the prayer for wisdom and direction for our country.

Election '08 - Obama in Afghanistan: Fact Checking

August 1, 2008
Letter to community newspaper

[Community members] might be interested to know that a recent email about Afghanistan that's been making the rounds has been disproved by the Department of Defense; and the captain who wrote it told the NY Daily News: "After checking my sources, information that was put out in my email was wrong. This email was meant only for my family. Please respect my wishes and delete the email and if there are any blogs you have my email portrayed on I would ask if you would take it down too. Thanks for your understanding."

Now that we're deep into the season of political spin, fact, and error, I am thankful for careful fact-checkers who dig into ads and email from all parties -- like (1) FactCheck.org from the U. of Pennsylvania; (2) PolitiFact from the Congressional Quarterly and The St. Petersburg Times; and (3) The Fact Checker of the Washington Post.

Truth is indispensable for democracy. As Thomas Jefferson wrote: "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."  I am thankful that our community rejects rumor and insinuation and insists on being factually well-informed.

For [community members] without internet access or time, I wonder whether questions about ads and mailings could be submitted to the ...Times, with a request that the ...T reprint fact-check summaries? What other ideas would help?

With concern,