Christianity was a religion of pacifists

The earliest followers of Jesus rejected violence, tried to return good for evil, and tried to make friends out of their enemies (by caring for them, feeding them, praying for them and certainly refusing to kill them). This original form of Christianity, the church of the first generation after its founder Jesus and even most […]

Honor killings are murder not an Islamic teaching

Leading Muslim thinkers wholeheartedly insist that “honor murders” have no place and no support in Islam. “There is nothing in the Quran that justifies honor killings. There is nothing that says you should kill for the honor of the family,” said Taj Hargey, director of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford in England. “This idea […]

Social Justice Quiz 2012

Question 1. The combined pay of the 299 highest paid CEOs in the US is enough to support how many median salary jobs? 45,000? 83,000? 102,325? 2. The median net worth of black households in the US is $2,200. What is the median net worth of white households in the US? $4,400? $44,000? $97,000? 3. […]

The Iran Conundrum

The EU oil embargo recently slapped on Iran and the threats voiced by the US and other Western countries to come up with further sanctions against the country led watchers to conclude that an armed conflict between Iran and the West finally became imminent. The first potential scenario in the context is that the current […]

The 1% and the 99% as viewed by the American public

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, 77% of the citizens of the U.S. expressed the belief that the massive power imbalance in place in the nation is a direct result of the vast wealth inequity between the 1% and the 99%. In addition, according to a poll by Time Magazine, 86% […]

Reclaiming the essence of Christianity

From time to time, I read about condemnations of religion coming from non-religious groups, especially concerning the all-too-common violence perpetrated in the name of religious gods. Indeed there is plenty to condemn. Obvious examples include those portions of the three major war-justifying religions of the world: fundamentalist Islam, fundamentalist Judaism and fundamentalist Christianity. I use […]

The Federal Reserve does not print money

Here’s something you probably don’t know: The Fed doesn’t print money. Yes, that’s right, the Fed is actually not in the business of printing money. The actual, physical printing presses are owned and operated by the Treasury Department…not the Fed. So the Federal Reserve is actually not in the business of printing money…. the Fed […]

Citigroup Replaces JPMorgan as White House Chief of Staff

We’ve already made our choice for the best headline of the year, so far: “Citigroup Replaces JPMorgan as White House Chief of Staff.” There’s simply too much truth in that headline; it says a lot about how Wall Street and Washington have colluded to create the winner-take-all economy that rewards the very few at the […]

The Corporate States of America and the Pathology of Capitalism

An opinion expressed by Charles Sullivan, a Master Naturalist and community activist: The U.S. is an occupied territory that could more accurately be described as the Corporate States of America. The systems of power do not allow the voice of working people to be heard or their collective will to be acted upon. Despite the […]

US Marine who killed women and children gets 3 months

A Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children pleaded guilty Monday to dereliction of duty in a deal that will mean a maximum of three months confinement and end the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., led the […]