It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, August 19, 2024
Russia on mpox: No risk due to our ‘traditional values’
MISOGINY, HOMOPHOBIA
Russian official laughs off threat of disease formerly known as monkeypox.
“Considering the specifics of how mpox is spread, I am absolutely sure that in Russia with its traditional values this disease, which is an epidemic disease, is not something we need to be afraid of” Anna Popova said. | Yevgeny Biyatov/AFP via Getty Images
Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian consumer protection watchdog, said there is no risk of mpox spreading in Russia, hinting that's because incidence is higher among gay people.
“Considering the specifics of how mpox is spread, I am absolutely sure that in Russia with its traditional values this disease, which is an epidemic disease, is not something we need to be afraid of,” Popova said in a video published Monday by Russian Telegram channel Shot.
Popova’s comments come after WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency last Wednesday, saying that "a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”
The virus, previously known as monkeypox, is transmitted via contact with lesions of an infected person. According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the virus has killed more than 500 people so far this year, with more than 17,000 suspected cases across Africa.
On Thursday, the Rospotrebnadzor announced that there was “no threat of the disease spreading in Russia” and that the government was taking “all the necessary measures to detect the infection ahead of time.”
Russia reported its first case of mpox in July 2022 in a man who had recently recently returned from Portugal. He was then isolated in the hospital and, according to the Rospotrebnadzor, the infection was stopped.
Popova said that in Russia there have been three cases in total, all of which had been detected and contained on time. “For Russia this does not present a danger,” she said, adding: “We’re not expecting it to spread, it won’t happen.”
Solar overtook hard coal as energy source in EU in 2022
Imports of hard coal rose, with Russia remaining biggest supplier that year, says Eurostat
Ahmet Gencturk |19.08.2024 -
Turkiye's largest hybrid solar power plant ATHENS
Solar power overtook hard coal as an energy source for the EU in 2022, Eurostat announced on Monday.
“In 2022, hard coal for the first time was overtaken by solar energy in electricity generation in the EU,” the statistics authority said in a statement, noting that solar energy produced 210,249 gigawatt hours (GWh) for the EU that year, compared with 205,693 GWh for hard coal.
Brown coal, a type of coal with lower energy content, is used in electricity generation by nine member countries and was the source of 241,572 GWh of electricity, according to the statement.
During the same period, the union’s import dependency for hard coal reached its highest point at 74.4%, up from some 60% in 2021, likely owing to countries building up stocks of hard coal.
In 2022 – the year the Ukraine war began – Russia remained the largest supplier of hard coal to the EU at 24%, down from 45% in 2021, followed by the US with 18% and Australia with 17%.
Most young voters support Kamala Harris—but that doesn't guarantee they will show up at the polls
The narrative is the same this election cycle. There is a palpable excitement about the possibility of young people making their voices heard in 2024.
Young people, in particular, have broadly voiced their support for Vice President Kamala Harris, who will officially accept her party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024.
Both former President Donald Trump and Harris are trying to build on young people's excitement—through participating in livestreams with popular, young content creators and by copying some of the specific colors and themes that often come up in young people's online content.
The vibes suggest, perhaps, that a "youth wave" is coming.
Depending on the poll that you look at, if the election were held today, Harris would probably command about 50% to 60% of the youth vote, meaning people ages 18 to 29, or in some cases 18 to 34.
Trump would pull in only about 34% of young people.
That's a big difference. A person might see that difference and think that young people could, indeed, tip the scales at the ballot box in November.
Knowing exactly how many young voters Harris needs to win over to carry the election is difficult, but manypolitical pundits have argued that Harris needs to make sure that she secures a dominant majority of them.
But regardless of whether they support Harris in preelection polling, my research finds that many young people aren't likely to show up and actually cast their ballots.
Young people often don't vote
Young citizens' track record of participation in American elections is dismal. Although young people are the biggest group of citizens who are eligible to vote, they turn out at significantly lower rates than older Americans.
In the November 2022 midterms, for instance, only 25.5% of 18- to 29-year-olds cast a ballot, whereas 63.1% of those age 60 or older voted.
While it's hard to know how many young people will cast a ballot in November 2024, early indicators—such as the number of young people who say they plan to cast a ballot—suggest that this pattern of low youth voter turnout will continue.
Two main hurdles stand in the way of young people casting a ballot. One problem is that young people are not especially interested in voting. In recent polls, for example, about 77% of young people say that they plan on definitely voting in the upcoming November election.
For older citizens, that number is 90%.
However, a second—and a perhaps more consequential—problem is that young people who are interested in voting often don't follow through on their intentions.
By examining survey data and conducting interviews with dozens of young people in 2018, Hillygus and I found that many young people lack confidence in themselves and their ability to navigate the voting process for the first time.
Many told us that in their busy, hectic and ever-changing schedules, voting often simply falls by the wayside.
With school and work commitments, as well as a lack of experience filling out voter registration forms and casting a ballot, voting seems like an insurmountable burden for many young people.
What works to increase youth voter turnout
A common assumption of many youth advocacy groups seems to be that more young people would vote if voting were considered cool. We've seen that approach again this cycle, with advocates clamoring, for example, for celebrity endorsements from the likes of singer Taylor Swift.
The problem is that this approach doesn't square with the fact that young people care about politics—they just struggle to follow through.
The biggest hurdle for many young people, in particular, is voter registration. In 2022, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that only 40% of young people said they were registered to vote in the midterm election.
Programs that help young people register to vote can be particularly effective at getting them to cast a ballot.
It has also become increasingly common for political campaigns to help young adults make a plan to vote—by outlining when and where they are going to vote, as well as how they will get to their polling location.
Other methods, such as sending text message reminders, creating automated calendar reminders and offering transportation to the polls, are also effective at helping young people who want to vote actually do so. Though some of these strategies are being used in the 2024 election, many are not common.
Government policies that make registering to vote and casting a ballot easier would also increase youth voter turnout.
Same-day voter registration is particularly effective at encouraging young people to vote. Likewise, letting 16- and 17-year-olds preregister to vote before they turn 18 can also substantially increase the number of voters under 30. At present, 21 states, including California, Massachusetts, Florida and Louisiana, let 16- and 17-year-olds preregister to vote.
Ahead of Democratic convention, anger in Chicago's 'Little Palestine'
Bridgeview (United States) (AFP) – On the outskirts of Chicago, as enthusiastic Democrats gather for their national convention, some residents of "Little Palestine" have a different message for presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Issued on: 19/08/2024 -
Palestinian flags flutter in the wind, shops display signs in both Arabic and English, and posters call for demonstrations against steadfast US military support of Israel
"They won't be having our votes this year," said Ali Ibrahim, the manager of a Palestinian bakery in Bridgeview, Illinois, a pendant in the shape of historic Palestinian lands hanging around his neck. "And we do not want them in office."
Nestled by Midway International Airport and a soccer stadium, the Chicago suburb is home to the largest Palestinian community in the United States.
Palestinian flags flutter in the wind, shops display signs in both Arabic and English, and posters call for demonstrations against steadfast US military support of Israel as the death toll mounts in Gaza.
The kickoff of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, just 15 miles (24 kilometers) away in downtown Chicago, has only heightened divisions between Palestinian Americans and the national party, and comes amid similar fractures with the country's larger Arab community, once a reliable Democratic voting bloc.
"We are angry. We are frustrated," Souzan Naser, a 46-year-old professor, told AFP.
"You can't expect us to vote for you when your values, your policies, your principles don't align with ours."
'Betrayed'
President Joe Biden has stuck by Israel in its war in Gaza, sparked by an attack by Hamas militants on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Hamas also seized 251 hostages in the attack.
The Israeli military campaign in Gaza in response has killed more than 40,000 people, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, with the United Nations rights chief saying "most the dead" were women and children.
Swaths of the territory have been reduced to rubble, humanitarian aid has been blocked from entering the Strip and international observers have raised serious human rights concerns.
Amid the destruction, Gaza recorded its first case of polio in 25 years, with water infrastructure destroyed and civilians displaced in fetid conditions.
Biden and Harris "could have easily called for a ceasefire, had this war over a long time ago," said Ibrahim.
Naser, a member of the activist group US Palestinian Community Network, was born in the Palestinian territories and raised in Bridgeview.
Residents in the Chicago suburb worked hard to elect Biden in 2020, she said, "and now they feel betrayed."
For many, the war is more than a hypothetical question of foreign policy, she added.
"I had one student who lost 35 members of her family," she told AFP, her voice choking with emotion. "And couldn't reach others. Didn't know if they were alive or not." New candidate, new policies?
Harris has, at times, struck a different tone than her boss, calling for a ceasefire in March before she was running for president.
Harris has been largely vague on foreign and domestic policy so far, and it is unclear what sort of relationship she will strike with Palestinian Americans
Most recently, however, during her last-second campaign launched after Biden decided not to run for reelection, she rejected calls for an arms embargo.
"Has she done enough yet? No, will she? We hope," said restaurant owner Muhammad Baste, 38, insisting on a change in US government policy rather than just rhetoric.
It is possible the Democratic Party will have to go into November without votes from "Little Palestine" and other Arab-American communities -- including a large number of residents in nearby Michigan, viewed as a key battleground state.
"We know another Trump presidency would be a disaster," said Naser, while insisting that the Palestinian community has given "Biden ample time to change course."
Harris has been largely vague on foreign and domestic policy so far, and it is unclear what sort of relationship she will strike with Palestinian Americans -- but the vice president got off to a rocky start.
As anti-war protesters interrupted a speech in Michigan earlier this month, she shot back: "If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking."
Christians, evangelicals rally for Kamala Harris ahead of DNC
'Voting Kamala … (is) a vote against another four years of faith leaders justifying the actions of a man who destroys the message Jesus came to spread,' said Jerushah Duford, granddaughter of the Rev. Billy Graham.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at the Hendrick Center for Automotive Excellence in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
(RNS) — A diverse group of Christians is throwing support behind Vice President Kamala Harris’ White House bid, organizing fundraisers and Zoom calls in hopes of helping catapult the Democrat to victory in November — and, they say, reclaiming their faith from Republicans in the process.
Their efforts come on the heels of similar campaigns aimed at specific constituency groups, such as the recent “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom call that featured celebrities and grabbed headlines. John Pavlovitz, a liberal-leaning Christian author and activist, was on that call when he hatched the idea for a Christian-centric version and texted his friend Malynda Hale, a singer, actress and fellow activist.
“We had a conversation about how, specifically on the Democratic side of the political spectrum, you don’t hear a lot of people talking about their faith,” Hale told Religion News Service in an interview. “We wanted people to know that there are progressive Christians, there are Christians on the Democratic, left-leaning side, so that they didn’t feel alone.”
The result was Christians for Kamala, a part-fundraiser, part-virtual roundtable livestreamed event on Monday (Aug. 12). Featured speakers cited their faith as they praised liberal policies and personally endorsed Harris — who recently entered the presidential race after President Joe Biden bowed out — and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Over the course of the nearly three-hour event, the group raised more than $150,000 for the Harris campaign, a number that has climbed to just shy of $200,000 in the days since.
“It’s been really difficult to keep up with the flood of comments and connections that have been coming in,” said Pavlovitz, who said the only formal help he received from the Harris campaign was in setting up a donation system for fundraising.
A number of Christian groups — including evangelicals, a constituency key to former President Donald Trump’s base — have assembled similar calls in the lead up to next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Most have had little to no assistance from the official Harris-Walz campaign, which, barely a month old, has yet to announced a dedicated faith outreach director. The emerging grassroots coalition vies not only to bolster Harris but also to push back on what organizers say is a false assumption that to be Christian is to be a Republican — or a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
Signage is hung Aug. 14, 2024, on the exterior of the United Center in preparation for next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Christianity has long been associated with the Republican Party, which is more than 80% Christian, according to a 2022 survey from the Public Religion Research Institute. It has also been associated with Trump, who has benefitted from the consistent support of white evangelical voters.
But while the same PRRI poll found that 31% of Democrats are religiously unaffiliated, the majority — around 60% — still ascribe to various forms of Christianity. The difference lies in the types of Christians that make up each party’s ranks: Whereas 68% of the GOP are white Christians (with 30% of the party represented by white evangelical Protestants alone) only 24% of Democrats are the same, and they are primarily white Catholics (10%) and white mainline Protestants (9%), while white evangelicals only represent 4%. Meanwhile, Black Protestants — a key part of the Democratic base — constitute 16% of the Democratic Party, with Hispanic Protestants representing 3%, Hispanic Catholics 12% and “other Christians” rounding out the group with an additional 6%.
That diversity was on display during the Christians for Kamala call, which included a mix of faith leaders such as the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, and the Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., head of the nonprofit Hip Hop Caucus; activists like environmentalist Bill McKibben and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Charlotte Clymer; commentators such as CNN’s Van Jones; and politicians, including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Texas State Rep. James Talarico.
The speakers linked their support for specific policies, such as working to blunt the impacts of climate change or passing immigration reform, to their faith and Christian Scripture. Some rebuked conservative Christianity’s ties to the GOP, calling it a form of Christian nationalism.
“My faith in Jesus leads me to reject Christian nationalism and commit myself to the project of a multiracial, multicultural democracy where we can all freely love God and fully love our neighbors,” said Talarico, a Presbyterian Church (USA) seminarian who has been vocal in his condemnation of Christian nationalism in his state. “That same faith leads me to support Vice President Harris to be the next president of the United States.” Texas state Rep. James Talarico speaks on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives on May 24, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (Courtesy photo)
Although a member of a mainline denomination, Talarico was also a speaker on a separate “Evangelicals for Harris” Zoom call assembled on Wednesday evening. Organized by Faith Voters, a 501(c)4 organization, the effort was geared toward conservative Christians who have disproportionately sided with Trump. The call struck a different tone than Christians for Kamala: some speakers noted they had never endorsed a candidate before, and at least one pastor suggested he was risking friendships and relationships with his congregation by participating.
News of the event sparked blowback from conservatives, such as Sean Feucht, an evangelical worship leader and activist who once ran for Congress in California and has at least informally worked with prominent Republican strategists for his own initiatives. Feucht, who has also said he is in regular contact with Trump’s campaign staff, accused evangelicals who participated in the call of apostasy and heresy, deriding them on social media as “Heretics for Harris.”
In addition, the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of famed evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, decried a new advertisement produced by Evangelicals for Harris targeting swing state voters, saying it was “trying to mislead people” by using images of his father.
But call participants like evangelical activist Shane Claiborne appeared unmoved by the criticism, as was Jerushah Duford, a counselor who is also Billy Graham’s granddaughter and Franklin Graham’s niece.
“Voting Kamala, for me, is so much greater than policies,” Duford said. “It’s a vote against another four years of faith leaders justifying the actions of a man who destroys the message Jesus came to spread, and that is why I get involved in politics.”
Jemar Tisby, an author and historian who spoke during the call, told RNS that while he grew up in conservative Christian communities, he does not identify as evangelical himself, preferring the term “evangelical adjacent.” Even so, he felt compelled to participate because, he said, “we have the choice before us between democracy and authoritarianism, and I feel like this is a historic moment when people of conscience need to take a stand.”
Tisby, author of the forthcoming book “The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance,” also praised the diversity represented on the call, some of which was conducted in Spanish. He said it represented a broader understanding of evangelicalism than is often represented in U.S. politics.
“Many people of color, many women, many people who traditionally have not been platformed or been passed the mic, are now able to have their voices heard. I think that’s very significant,” Tisby said.
The call closed with remarks from former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican who drew backlash from fellow conservatives after he became one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Trump for insurrection connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He argued the current Republican Party does not resemble “conservatism or, frankly, Christianity,” and lamented “pastors and faith leaders that have sold themselves down the river.” Some of today’s support for Trump, he said, amounted to a form of idol worship.
There are “certainly a few things that can make God a little jealous,” he said, “and one of those is worshipping something other than Him. And that’s what you see in today’s GOP.”
The calls add to a slate of organizing efforts launched in recent days aimed at specific religious groups. Nearly 500 faith leaders have signed on to a letter endorsing Harris, a “Latter-day Saints for Harris” call was convened last week and multiple separate calls have been organized for Jewish Americans — including one on Thursday that targeted Jewish women and featured singer Barbra Streisand.
A separate “Catholics for Kamala” call, facilitated in part by the Harris campaign, was also slated for this week but organizers rescheduled it until after the Democratic National Convention, citing scheduling conflicts.
According to Pavlovitz, his group is already partnering with others, such as Catholics for Kamala, Christian Democrats of America and Vote Common Good. What form their collaborations take remains to be seen, but Pavlovitz said he is hopeful for whatever comes next.
“We’ve all begun talking as a part of this process about what these partnerships could look like moving forward,” he said. “There is talk about some, you know, collective expression of our spirituality, which is really what this was about.”
Opinion
Why I’m a Christian for Kamala but not a ‘Christian for Kamala’
Now is not the time to pledge blind allegiance. Now is the time to start making some demands.
Supporters display signs in the audience before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally, Aug. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas.
(RNS) — I watched the Christians for Kamala live event with a good deal of interest. For one thing, I’m a Christian. For another, I plan on voting for Kamala Harris in November. I guess that makes me a Christian for Kamala. Or does it?
The event, organized by John Pavlovitz and Malynda Hale, was a real success as these things go. It raised over $150,000 and brought in a murderers’ row of respected Christian leaders to rally the growing but still somewhat nebulous and unorganized religious not-right around the Harris/Walz ticket. Many of the featured guests were people whose lives and ministry have meant a lot to me — people like Diana Butler Bass, the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, William Matthews and the Rev. Dante Stewart. I’ve learned from these people and they made the Christian case for Harris with grace and conviction, highlighting her campaign’s inclusive and liberation-minded spirit, contrasting it with Donald Trump’s whole thing. It was, all told, a pretty convincing couple of hours.
So why was I left feeling unconvinced?
Let’s take a step back and evaluate the genuinely disorienting vibe shift we’ve all been through over the last month. After President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump, I felt the same spirit of bitter cynicism practically everyone to the left of JD Vance felt. The polls were all but unanimous: Biden was going to lose and nobody was surprised. “Here go the Democrats again!” “They’re addicted to losing!” “We hate life and ourselves! We can’t govern!”
Except this time, Democrats did something nobody could have seen coming: They took action. Thanks to what sure sounds like a dramatic, high-stakes few days of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering, Biden agreed to bow out of the race and endorse his vice president for the 2024 ticket.
Since then, the Harris campaign has been soaring on good vibes, huge rallies and coconut memes. This energy only got more juice from the addition of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose jovial demeanor and bawdy dressing-down of his opponents made him all but impervious to the right’s various attempts to smear his military record. Meanwhile, Trump the Campaigner is, for more or less the first time, on his heels. His famed bravado has been replaced by a meandering, listless desperation, and Sen. Vance’s efforts to blow some fresh wind into the sails have been dampened by a naked and charmless misogyny.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally, Aug. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
So, yeah. It’s been a vibe shift. And as a white Christian guy who has always found himself in the statistically unusual position of opposing Trump, I can’t say I’m mad about any of it. Trump’s reelection odds are looking mighty iffy, and goodbye and good riddance to them. But I don’t think that automatically makes me a die-hard Christian for Kamala either.
My politics don’t conveniently map onto either political party. I think most Christians feel the same way. Heck, I think most people feel the same way. This isn’t because I’m one of those faux-sanctimonious centrists who see staking out the middle ground between Republicans and Democrats as a worthy goal in and of itself. It’s just that a lot of things I’d like to see done politically are not being touted by either party.
For example, I’d like to see some action on climate change commensurate with the actual threat it poses. I’d like to see the U.S. stop sending strongly worded letters to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and actually shut off the endless stream of weapons that allow him to vaporize whole entire blocks and everyone on them. I’d like to see every American earn a living wage and have access to health care. I want well-funded public schools. I want strong unions. I want LGBTQ kids to live without fear. I want accountability for police and other authority figures who abuse their power, particularly where racial minorities are concerned. And so on and so forth.
These things are important to me, and while context clues suggest the Harris/Walz ticket comes a lot closer to achieving at least some of them than the Trump/Vance one does, that’s just an educated guess. Harris’ website doesn’t have a policy section and she’s been light on interviews with the press. I can live with that for a while, given the extraordinary circumstances of her apparent nomination. But given the Democratic Party’s track record, I’m a little skeptical. While the Republican Party of the last few years has staunchly opposed many of those goals, Democrats haven’t exactly been wildly enthusiastic about them either. Will Harris break with Biden’s blank checks to the Israeli military? I hope so, but I have yet to see any concrete evidence that she’ll try.
For these reasons, I’m less interested in being a “Christian for Kamala” than I am in being a “Christian with particular and occasionally even contradictory politics who is forced to make a strategic vote in this two-party system and will ultimately pull the lever for the candidate who seems more likely to hear my side out than the other candidate is.” (Not the catchiest name, but you get the idea.)
Based on what I know right now, that candidate is pretty clearly Harris. Of course, it’s at least conceivable that a third candidate would be more in line with my politics than Harris is. I know plenty of people sleep better by casting a symbolic vote for a third-party candidate or writing in their own dream option. I don’t begrudge anyone that, but it’s never been clear to me how these votes actually help struggling people. I’m all for working to disrupt the two-party system, but it seems to me that voting day is probably the least effective possible time to do so, especially if your overall goal is to put people in charge who can make the world a little better for people who are struggling right now.
But the reason I hesitate to call myself a “Christian for Harris” is that when we pledge allegiance to one political candidate, we surrender a lot of the power we have in a democracy. This is more than just semantics. Our political influence comes not just from who we decide to vote for, but how we use our voices in the intervening years between elections. A “Christians for Undocumented Immigrants” group has a lot more leverage to influence politicians and hold them accountable than a “Christians for (Politician)” group does, because the former isn’t beholden to a single flawed person who is susceptible to mistakes and lobbyists and squishy polling data and billionaire donors, but to a noble cause.
Anti-abortion protesters celebrate after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the federally protected right to abortion, outside the Supreme Court in Washington, June 24, 2022. The Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years, a decision by its conservative majority to overturn the court’s landmark abortion cases. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
For an example of how quickly these “Christians for (Politician)” groups go awry, look no further than Harris’ opponent. I personally spoke with many Christians in 2016 who admitted they found many things about Trump distasteful but voted for him anyway because of their opposition to abortion. Anti-abortion groups’ support for Trump turned out to be well-placed, as Trump’s GOP delivered a once-unthinkable Roe v. Wade overturn. However, Republicans now seem a little sheepish about this victory, as it has turned out to be a significant electoral liability. They’re so embarrassed about gutting federal abortion protections that they’re distancing themselves from all responsibility for this herculean accomplishment and omitting a pledge to ban abortion nationwide from the official party platform for the first time in 40 years.
Given this apparent reversal on the ostensibly all-important issue of abortion, have “Christians for Trump” withdrawn their support? Have these single-issue voters stood outside of Trump rallies and demanded he make his position clear on Florida’s abortion amendment? Has evidence that overturning Roe actually led to an uptick in abortion led these groups to find new ways to bring these rates in line with their stated goals? Current polling has observed no such break.
Once you’ve thrown in with a candidate, it’s much easier to shift your values to align with that person than to pressure the candidate to align their policies with your values.
I bring this up not to draw any moral or political equivalence between Trump and Harris, who are very different people. But I do think it’s a helpful illustration of the pitfalls that come from backing a politician instead of a political vision.
In the Gospels, Jesus proclaims a unique vision of the world — one where the meek inherit the earth and the mourning are comforted. I do not think either Trump or Harris is going to bring the kingdom proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount to reality. I do think Harris is likely to get us marginally closer, but not if all of us just put the entirety of our weight behind her, no questions asked.
Now is not the time to pledge blind allegiance. Now is the time to start making some demands.
(Tyler Huckabee is a writer living in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and dogs. Read more of his writing at his Substack. This column does not necessarily reflect the views of Religion News Service.)
Kamala, a common name in India, is associated with several deities and is a symbol of wisdom
Kamala, a Sanskrit word for lotus, symbolizes wisdom. Its rooted in the fact that even though the flower blooms in a swamp, it remains untouched by the dirt around it. Relief of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi from a temple in India. Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(The Conversation) — Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris became a presence on the national scene, her name – a common one for women in India – has attracted a lot of attention, most specifically for its pronunciation.
The three-syllable word should be pronounced “Come-a-laa” (Kamalā), with the final long “a” signaling a feminine noun in Sanskrit. In the United States, it is often enunciated with stresses placed on the first or second syllable.
However, the pronunciation of “Kamala” is the least interesting thing about this lovely name, which is only one of many words in Sanskrit for the radiant, fragrant, large-petaled pink lotus, or Nelumbo nucifera , that is ubiquitous in the Indian subcontinent. As a scholar of South Indian religions, I’d like to explain the deep symbolism and the many meanings of the kamala, or lotus, which are shared by different faith traditions in the subcontinent. The ‘kamala’ in Indian literature
that neither blooms nor withers. You are everything. You rule it all. If the king of the beautiful gods worships you, won’t it dim the radiance of your lotus feet?
In some cases, love, whether mystical or human, is described as a lotus that blooms in the day, responding to the warmth and brightness of the sun. At night, the lotus closes its petals, much as one might withdraw in the absence of the beloved. Equally, the lotus can be evocative of desire and intimacy, drawing a bee to drink from its nectar.
The lotus, both as whole flower or even a single curved petal, is a pervasive motif in Indian art. A famous 18th-century Indian miniature painting depicts the divine couple, Radha and Krishna, facing each other, clothed entirely in lotuses. The lotus’s divine symbolism
Goddess Lakshmi. Raja Ravi Varma, via Wikimedia Commons
Most significantly, the kamala, or lotus, is closely associated with Sri-Lakshmi: the goddess of sovereignty, auspiciousness, fecundity, wealth and good fortune, who is worshiped by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. In fact, Kamala is simply another name for Sri-Lakshmi. This goddess either sits or stands on a fully bloomed lotus and holds them in her hands as well.
In Hindu temples in Southern India, she will often be adorned in a garland of lotuses, so complete is her association with this flower. Lakshmi’s divine husband, Vishnu, is also closely connected to this flower. A lotus emerges from his navel to birth the god Brahma, who in turn births the whole universe.
Although Sri-Lakshmi’s association with the lotus is most obvious, the religious traditions of Jainism and Buddhism also integrate the bloom. Buddhist and Jain divine figures may hold the lotus in their hand, like the Buddhist goddess Tara or the male Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara. The sixth great teacher of the Jain tradition, Padmaprabhu, is named after a lotus, with “padma” being another name for the flower. Sometimes the lotus serves as a pedestal for the divine being in the Jain, Buddhist and Hindu traditions.
In all cases, the lotus is rarely a bud and almost always a lush, open bloom. This gestures to its deep meaning as a symbol of wisdom, of one’s awakening into knowledge from the torpor of ignorance. The kamala’s symbolic meaning is rooted in the fact that the lotus blooms in swampy waters but remains untouched by the dirt around it. Similarly, enlightenment and wisdom arise and blossom from the murk of desire and attachment. But when one attains wisdom, like the lotus, one remains above and untouched by the dirt of deluding ignorance.
That is why the kamala is always pictured and described not as a bud, suggesting only potential for wisdom, but as a large, open, unfurled flower.
Kamala Harris’ name is a reminder of its significance in these religious traditions. One could argue that a lotus by another name is still a lotus, but as these traditions show, it is also so much more.
(Archana Venkatesan, Professor of Religious Studies and Comparative Literature, University of California, Davis. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)
Opinion
The US has an opportunity to elect a female president. Our Scriptures would approve.
A female president would confirm women’s true portrayal in our varied Scriptures.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
(RNS) — The world is watching as Americans once again face the choice of electing our first female president, joining over two dozen nations already led by women.
Electing a female president would bring America in line with global advances in gender equality, reflect America’s rich ethnic makeup and prevent alienating voters who reject misogyny and racism. A female president would confirm women’s true portrayal in our varied Scriptures, inspire countless American women to participate in public service and demonstrate to the world that greatness is not bound by gender but by the pursuit of one’s mandate, personal or spiritual.
But Kamala Harris’ path to the White House will not be easy. She must persuade voters of her ability to lead and achieve desired policy outcomes. So far in that endeavor, she has chosen to not highlight her identity as a woman like Hillary Clinton did in her campaign for president. Yet even still, Harris has seen insults about her femininity from conservative Christian pastors who have compared her to the biblical Jezebel — a wicked, immoral and defiant woman unfit for the highest office.
Sadly, these attitudes are rooted in deep-seated prejudice rather than Scripture. They originate from patriarchal empires that prized military conquest and male traits while undermining femininity and compassion as weak. This cultural bias relegated women to subordinate roles, defining their primary function as reproductive and using this to justify their marginalization.
Statements like JD Vance’s derogatory remarks about some working women — “childless cat ladies” who are “miserable” — underscore this ongoing social bias.
Surely people of faith know that there are spiritual aspects of childlessness. For example, the Quran states, “He blesses whoever He wills with daughters, and blesses whoever He wills with sons, or grants both, sons and daughters, to ‘whoever He wills,’ and leaves whoever He wills infertile” (49:50). In Luke 23:29, Jesus states, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts which never nursed.”
Despite being childless, Moses’ adoptive mother was selected for a profound spiritual mission — to raise a prophet. Women like me, who have found a higher calling to serve humanity despite being childless, have achieved more than our critics could imagine. Many childless women are high achievers, making significant contributions to society, as evidenced by Kamala Harris, who is running for the highest office in the world as a stepmother but not a birth mother.
“Solomon and the Queen Of Sheba” by Giovanni De Min. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia/Creative Commons)
Scripture does not prevent women from assuming leadership roles. In Matthew 12:42, Jesus highlights the Queen of Sheba for recognizing Solomon’s wisdom. “The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s.” Similarly, the Quran depicts the Queen as an archetype of a wise political leader who accepts Solomon’s greater powers (27:44). As a politically and intellectually astute leader, she chooses peace over war.
In contrast, the Quran depicts the Pharaoh as a tyrant, who refuses to recognize Moses’ extraordinary powers and whose egotistical wrath is focused on women and children: “Kill the sons of those who believe with them [Moses] and keep their women” (40:25). This juxtaposition of a male and female leader highlights that gender is not a determining factor for effective leadership; rather, meritocracy is. An effective leader is someone who can exert influence in achieving goals, rather than someone who manipulates to lead.
Since the Quran describes a female political leader as an archetype of a leader, many extraordinary women political leaders emerged during medieval Muslim civilizations, whose political power had a tremendous influence on society. For example, in Yemen, Sayyida Hurra Arwa bint Ahmad al-Sulayhiyya (d. 1138 CE) stood as a shining example of political and spiritual leadership. For an astounding 70 years, she ruled the Sulayhid dynasty. She held the prestigious title of hujja (spiritual leader) and had the khutba (special Friday prayer) recited in her name, solidifying her authority.
Over the past five decades, 15 female heads of state have led Muslim-majority countries, highlighting the view that political authority is a sacred trust with inordinate responsibility. In stark contrast, the Taliban, who reject Islam’s principles of egalitarianism, dissolved the Afghan Parliament after their takeover in August 2021. This action led to most female parliamentarians losing their positions and effectively barred all women from public roles, whether political or civil.
In a world rife with war and conflict, a female leader can use an intuitive approach to consensus-building to overcome political gridlock, enabling Americans to rise above partisan loyalties, race-baiting and gender animus. Harris appeals to voters by emphasizing unity through forward-looking proposals and respectful engagement, in contrast to her opponents, who rely on outdated adversarial tactics.
By choosing candidates based on their ability rather than their identity, we can bridge ideological divides and address shared concerns more effectively. For starters, Harris emphasizes substantive issues such as health care reform and climate change. Her record highlights her advocacy on matters of national concern, including addressing student loan debt, securing COVID-19 relief, combating foreclosure abuses and working to eliminate private prisons.
After 9/11, a strong sense of duty drove me to leave my corporate career and devote myself to community work. This change gave me a unique perspective on women’s leadership to break down barriers and connect people.
More than ever, Americans are ready for a president who reflects the diversity of its people — a biracial woman with an interfaith family who embodies the unique strengths and confidence women bring to leadership. If Americans elect a female president, I hope she will lead differently, prioritizing social issues — like worker rights, child care and gun safety — and the welfare of all citizens. I also hope she will champion a vigorous pursuit of peace in the Holy Land, guiding the world away from conflict and toward a more prosperous and just future.
Tim Walz gave queer high schoolers a refuge. Those students are now campaigning for his White House bid
Before he was Kamala Harris’s running mate, the Minnesota governor was a geography teacher, coach and faculty adviser for a gay-straight alliance at Mankato West High School. His former students tell Alex Woodward about their unlikely ally, and why dozens are now campaigning for him
Mankato West High School students Jacob Reitan and Amanda Hinkle. Reitan founded the school’s first ever gay-straight alliance in the late 1990s. Former students at the school spoke of how VP candidate Tim Walz was an unlikely LGBT+ ally when he was a teacher and coach at the school (Courtesy of Amanda Hinkle)
A straight, football-coaching national guardsman wasn’t the LGBT+ ally that Seth Elliot Meyer expected.
But Meyer, who came out as queer in his freshman year of high school in 2000, admits he was wrong about Tim Walz.
“I just sort of naively believed that someone who was a big, masculine dude with a deep voice was never someone who’s going to be on my side,” Meyer says.
“As much as those younger students who were courageous enough to be out in those years, it was just as important to have those very kind of ‘normal,’ strong, straight, masculine allies backing us up.”
Before he was governor of Minnesota, before he was a member of Congress, and before he was a candidate for the next vice president of the United States, he was “Mr Walz,” a geography teacher at Mankato West High School, roughly 80 miles south of Minneapolis.
In 1999, Walz agreed to be the faculty adviser for the school’s first ever gay-straight alliance (GSA).
Walz and his wife Gwen, who also taught at the school, were a refuge for their LGBT+ students, alumni tell The Independent. Dozens of those former students are now campaigning for him to reach the White House.
Jacob Reitan is pictured with GSA faculty adviser Tim Walz, dressed as Santa Claus, and his wife Gwen Walz (Amanda Hinkle)
In 2018, Walz told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he felt it was important that he served as a GSA faculty adviser because “it really needed to be the football coach, who was the soldier and was straight and was married”.
There are now roughly 4,000 such groups, now known as gender-sexuality alliances, across the country.
“He was totally fine being a dude who would say, ‘Why the hell aren’t we all treated equal?’” Meyer, 38, tells The Independent.
“A lot of people have talked about how he’s genuine or not phony, and that’s true, but I don’t think that’s quite specific enough,” he says. “He just sounds like a human being before he sounds like a politician.”
At a Philadelphia rally earlier this month, Kamala Harris introduced her running mate by telling supporters how an openly gay student had asked Walz to serve as the group’s faculty adviser.
Tim Walz helped build a set designed by student Amanda Hinkle for Mankato West High School’s production of ‘The Nerd’ (Courtesy of Amanda Hinkle)
That student was Jacob Reitan, now a disability rights attorney and LGBT+ activist in Minnesota.
On his first day in Gwen Walz’s English class in 1997, the teacher “stood up and said that this was a safe place for LGBT students,” Reitan told MSNBC.
“It meant the world to me,” Reitan said. “I had never heard a teacher from the front of the classroom talk about gay and lesbian issues. My heart was literally beating out of my chest.”
In his junior year, Reitan and Amanda Hinkle, a senior at the time, made a banner to promote an “anti-oppression week,” with students using each day to recognize human rights abuses targeting race, religion, women’s rights, children and sexual orientation.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz on stage earlier this month in Philadelphia after Walz was announced as part of the Democratic ticket for the White House. (Getty)
Hinkle wrote in her high school journal, pages of which she shared with The Independent, that students threatened to leave school if they learned about LGBT+ issues, and “kids were tearing down signs that said stuff about gay tolerance”.
Mankato West’s GSA started small, and the size and membership ebbed and flowed over the years. After founding the group in 1999, Reitan became something of a “gay legend” among LGBT+ students who joined the school in the years that followed, according to Micah Kronlokken.
“As a teenager, you’re like, ‘Oh God, if I joined the GSA, that means that everyone’s gonna think that I’m gay and know that I’m gay, so I can’t do that,’” Kronlokken tells The Independent.
Walz, however, was a “safe person, and you knew that if you needed something, you could go to him, and he could help you with it”.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz giving his State of the State address in 2021, from his old classroom at Mankato West High School (AP)
“He understood that high school students are teenagers and need to be cared for,” Kronlokken says. “They can also grow by being treated a little more like adults and trusted to have tricky conversations, and that high school is a microcosm for our world at large.”
Walz coached Kronlokken in track and field in seventh grade, when he was “a young, closeted queer kid” more interested in music and the arts. (His parents bribed him into sports with a PlayStation.)
At one practice, Walz kept pace alongside him to ask him about his life and lessons he had learned from Chariots of Fire, a film that both Walz and Kronlokken loved. Two years later at Mankato West, Walz was an immediate friendly face in the hall.
“He just has this insane memory for people,” Kronlokken remembers.
Meyer attended his first GSA meeting in ninth grade in the fall of 2000 along with the handful of other group members, though he was scared he would be bullied.
Tim Walz taught geography at Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minnesota, from 1996 to 2006, before he ran for Congress (AP)
“You knew who your peers were and who your allies were among both students and faculty, and that’s when I really started to understand just how much of an important role that Mr and Mrs Walz played,” Meyer says.
“I knew that if I was having a hard time and needed to talk to someone, or if someone was giving me a hard time, and I needed someone to defend me, I knew who I could go to.”
If Reitan and others hadn’t started the group in 1999, “I don’t want to imagine what my high school experience would have been like,” Meyer says.
That welcoming message stands in stark contrast to a wave of Republican-driven policies targeting LGBT+ students, faculty and school staff, including legislation inspired by Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law taking aim at school discussion of LGBT+ people and issues. A lawsuit settlement earlier this year clarified that the law cannot be used to break up campus groups like GSAs.
Nearly 500 bills targeting LGBT+ people, including dozens of bills targeting students and young trans people, were filed in state legislatures this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Tim Walz makes first speech as Harris's running mate
Walz left Mankato West in 2006 to run for Congress, where he served until 2019.
The Walzes made sure that “every kid felt like they had a place, that they had community”, Hinkle says.
When Hinkle designed a set for a school production of the two-act play The Nerd, which called for a staircase to a second level in the script, Walz built it.
“He literally made my dreams come true,” says Hinkle, who graduated from the school in 1999 and is now a theater educator in New York. “This was the biggest thing that ever happened to me in terms of trying something, being encouraged by teachers to do it, and seeing it actualized.”
Richelle Norton, an art teacher who graduated from Mankato West in 2001, spent hundreds of hours with the Walzes during her junior year, when Tim Walz taught global geography and Gwen Walz taught advanced composition, American literature and an ACT prep course in the evenings.
Former students of Tim and Gwen Walz have launched a self-organized Mankato West Alumni for Harris-Walz group to campaign for Kamala Harris and her running mate (Richelle Nortan)
“They were really like the school mom and dad,” says Norton, who launched the Mankato West Alumni For Walz group.
“You don’t have to ask who the former Walz students were,” she said at a campaign launch event on August 14, while wearing a gray Mankato West football championship sweatshirt from 1999. “We will tell you, and we will not stop.”
Meyer is now a teacher in Atlanta, where he advises the school’s own GSA.
His students reported an increase in bullying during the city’s Pride in October. He shared with them what he learned as a scared teenager in Minnesota: “You didn’t do this just for you.”
“The message that I got — to bring this full circle to my high school and Mr Walz and the people who are visible allies — is it’s not about scoring political points,” he says. “It’s about showing people they can be comfortable being who they are.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz giving his State of the State address in 2021, from his old classroom at Mankato West High School (AP)
Tim Walz taught geography at Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minnesota, from 1996 to 2006, before he ran for Congress (AP)
Former students of Tim and Gwen Walz have launched a self-organized Mankato West Alumni for Harris-Walz group to campaign for Kamala Harris and her running mate (Richelle Nortan)