[Buddha-l] Faith-based initiatives - phase 2

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Thursday 25 September 2008 01:06:27 Dan Lusthaus wrote:

> While we sometimes hear calls for a more politically engaged Buddhism, and
> this list has its fair share of political positioning,

On buddha-l? Political positioning? I think you must have buddha-l confused 
with some other Buddhist discussion group. We only discuss dharma around 
here, Dan.

> here is the next 
> phase unleashed by the Bush-Cheney Faith-based initiatives. 

Spooky. While digesting that, here is another interesting morsel: there is an 
initiative to guarantee health care providers the right to refuse to dispense 
birth control products or information about them if they feel it conflicts 
with their faith.

http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/campaigns/240.htm .

What more evidence do people require that we need a WOMAN in the White House? 
So get out there, Buddhists, and back Sarah Palin for president. She deserves 
your vote even if her running mate John McCain is showing sings of advanced 
senior dementia.

And now for something about Dharma. There is a poster pasted to the wall near 
the elevator that I take to get to my office when I'm feeling too lazy to 
walk up five flights of stairs. It shows a fat Buddhist monk with a leering 
grimace on his face firing a monstor-sized machine gun. It got my attention. 
Turns out it's for a new board game called Playing Gods, the motto of which 
is "My god is badder than your god." Check out their web site for images of 
the machinegun-toting Buddhist firing away at Jesus getting ready to bash 
someone with his cross. Go to http://www.playinggods.com and keep clicking 
the screen refresh button to get the full range of drawings that confirm 
Bobby Dylan's observation that "It's easy to see without looking too far that 
not much is really sacred."

Anybody know the cost of a ticket to Mars? I'm ready to move there.

-- 
Richard P. Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico