Fresh Loaf

I’ll be the first to admit to being less than familiar with former Atlanta resident Dr. Joseph Lowery prior to yesterday’s stirring Inaugural benediction. By the time I started laughing through the tears he’d wrenched out of my otherwise cynical heart, though, I figured I should find out more.

A Civil Rights Movement veteran of the highest order, Dr. Lowery led the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965 on the request of Martin Luther King Jr., helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott after Rosa Parks’ arrest, and continued his involvement into the Free South Africa movement. He was among the first arrested in anti-apartheid demonstrations at the South African Embassy. Oh, and unlike that other Inaugural speaker Rick Warren, his notion of civil rights actually includes the LGBT community.

While Dr. Lowery’s closing remarks brought a lighthearted note to an otherwise somber ceremony, they also riff on a great song — Big Bill Broonzy’s country-blues classic “Black, Brown, and White.” Though Fox News is doing their best to stir up a controversy, I’m willing to bet they didn’t even get the reference.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Just out of curiousity, am I the only Rick Warren-loathing, gay-marriage-supporting atheist who is uncomfortable with the idea of protesting Warren’s appearance at Ebenezer Baptist Church today?

To put it politely, I vehemently disagree with Warren’s statements denigrating gay people. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to protest outside a church. How is protesting Warren at Ebenezer any more appropriate than Christians protesting outside a synagogue because the Rabbi won’t acknowledge Jesus?

Warren’s sickening statements prior to the passage of California’s recent anti-gay marriage initiative make him a powerful symbol of anti-gay discrimination. I get that. I just don’t think a Baptist church, or any church, is the appropriate venue for me to protest him.

Warren is scheduled to speak outside the U.S. Capitol tomorrow as part of Obama’s inauguration. When he does, I’ll mute the TV, mutter something nasty, and go check my e-mail.

If I were in the audience at the Capitol, I’d probably protest by turning my back to him. The Capitol is a public space. It’s my space. I’m more than comfortable protesting there. I feel obligated to protest his presence there.

But churches are private space. If he wants to be an ignoramus inside a church, I think that’s his business.

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As cold as Hoth … hmm not quite…

• Yes it’s cold, but it won’t last for long … so get over it.
• So, about that bailout … where did all the money go? … Apparently, that’s classified or something…
• Conspiracy theory: GOP IT guru Michael Connell, who had been accused of rigging the 2004 election in Ohio, died when his plane crashed over the weekend … he was, apparently, a source to journalist Larisa Alexandronva … and his attorney wanted him to be placed under Federal protection because of what he knew…
• Plane crashes before takeoff in Denver, and some dude tweeted the whole thing.
• Obama team to release a report on its dealings with Guv. Blagojevich … says Rahm Emanuel is in the clear.
• Rick Warren channels Obama’s inner bigot? Seriously?
• SEC in “complete panic” over revelations of Madoff ponzi scheme.
• Yes, it’s that bad … even the revered Asian automakers are facing tough times. Toyota says it’s expecting the first loss in its automaking business, and two Korean manufacturers are cutting sales forecasts.
• The high and mighty? Apple is now in the business of rejecting submissions to its application store for “objectionable content.”
• It’s alive!! … Windows XP that is … Microsoft is allowing its little OS that just won’t die to live another day (or a few months).
• Falcons make it to the playoffs

(Photo by brickplumber / Flickr – check out his whole set)

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