I’m no fan of Ann Coulter, so I don’t really want to be writing about her. But I came across this article from David Kuo’s blog and thought it made some points worth reading. While it is nothing new - nothing we don’t already know - perhaps it is still something many need to hear repeated.

The writing is actually not Kuo’s, but from theologian Darrell Bock. Kuo has posted a couple of times this week on Christians’ response to Coulter’s most recent comments, and Bock has responded to her (and those like her) quite well, imo. He addresses Coulter and her form of political commentary, and how Americans (and certainly those of us who wear the name of Christ) can and should do better.

And this is not, as Bock points out, unique to Coulter, or to those on one side of the political spectrum. There are plenty of others just like her on both sides. The initial focus on her stems from the fact that she is the one currently in the headlines and also seems to be one of the most visible of her ilk. Her outrageous and sometimes offensive statements usually draw a lot of attention (which, I believe, is her primary motive in what she does) as they have yet again this week.

Here is part of Bock’s response:

She needs to be called out for hiding behind an argument that “they do it, too.” This sounds exactly like something a five year old would say. It actually reflects very poorly on the cause she attempts to defend. More than that, she needs to be rebuked for arguing about how godless others are when the moral level of her own discourse relies on making fun of others using not so veiled personal attacks. Listeners clearly see such remarks as what they are – tasteless – while she attempts to say she really was not addressing the person directly. In my business, that is called a lie. It is a godless thing to do. If conservatives are going to try to argue for the high ground, they need to see that her type of argument cuts the ground from underneath them, as it smells of being hypocritical. Yes, it stinks to high heaven.

In the song “A Love That’s Stronger Than Our Fear”, from his newest album, Derek Webb sings about those who would “build the kingdom using the devil’s tools.” Sadly, as the post comments almost immediately bore out, some can’t hear Bock’s words and do indeed seem to suggest that even Christians must fight fire with fire, fight unkind words with more unkind words. Hopefully, though, as Bock suggests at the end of his comments, everyone who chooses to involve themselves in political discussion can grow up and stop acting like children, especially those who claim to follow Jesus.

Lewis Black’s weekly “Back In Black” segment on The Daily Show often makes me laugh out loud. This week was no exception. “Real news”… classic.

Update: The youtube video has been removed, and there doesn’t appear to be another one available. However, you can watch the video here.

My eMusic subscription provides me with 75 downloads per month, which usually amounts to around six full albums (not bad for $20.) Thanks largely to that subscription, I now have over 50 new albums this year alone. That’s beyond what I’ve ever acquired in a single year, most likely, much less in six months. I can already tell that, considering it may be close to 100 by late December, narrowing them down for my annual year end list will be more difficult than usual.

The other unusual thing about this year is that the majority of it is digital only. Of around 50 new albums this year, I only have an actual, physical store-bought disc of about a quarter of them. With the eMusic subscription and an occasional iTunes purchase, I’m just not buying many real discs anymore. I figure it won’t be too much longer before that’s true of everyone. How often do I look at liner notes anyway? Most of the info is available online, too, so what’s the point?

So, let me first say that this is not to replace my year end list, and that many of these will no doubt appear there in December. However, since I’ve acquired so much more music than I normally would have at this point in the year, I thought I’d go ahead and post a recommendation list from what I have so far. This, like my year end list, is not necessarily all brand new music from this year (although most of it is from this year or last), but rather my favorites that are “new to me” this year. I should also not that, in order to recommend the maximum number of artists, I chose not to include more than one album by a given artist, since I’ve gotten multiples by a few artists.

The list is strictly alphabetical by artist, not in any “ranked” order. And, since I’ve written about most of these already this year, I’m just providing some links of previous posts instead of writing more now. I’ve indicated which ones are available on eMusic with a ^e next to the title. So, here you go:

• Emotionalism - The Avett Brothers ^e
  It’s called “non-traditional bluegrass.” And it’s outstanding. I wouldn’t have thought I’d be listening to any bluegrass this year, but I love this album.

• Vena Sera - Chevelle
  Chevelle didn’t really break any new ground with this album, but I think I’ve enjoyed this more than anything they’ve done previously. If you like hard music, check it out.

• The Crane Wife - The Decemberists
  Excellent indie pop/rock. This was on a lot of “best of the year” lists last year, and for good reason. It was. Get it.

• So Much More - Brett Dennen ^e
  Excellent young singer-songwriter. I initially wasn’t crazy about Dennen’s voice, but after a few listens I didn’t notice it anymore. I only noticed what a great album this is.

• Hope & Other Casualties - Mark Erelli ^e
  This was one of the two albums I downloaded with my free trail when I first joined eMusic. A very good folk album, a great response to 9/11/01 in “The Only Way”, it’s worth checking out.

• Noise From Words - Michael McDermott ^e
  Get this now. No, I’m serious. Now. Today. Here. I’m finally ready to join Scott and Jason in saying this is the best album of the year. Why he isn’t more well-known is unfathomable and, in fact, unjust.

• The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance
  Sure, it’s a concept album about death, but I can’t stop listening to it. It’s just a great rock and roll album.

• Rival Factions - Project 86
  These guys are one of my favorite hard music bands, and this is one of their best thus far. It’s a little different at times from some of their previous stuff, but it’s a good kind of different.

• Five Score and Seven Years Ago - Relient K
  Power pop/punk at it’s finest. Relient K is always a lot of fun. This is their best (imo) since their sophomore disc, and the 11-minute album closer “Deathbed” is terrific.

• The Animal Years - Josh Ritter ^e
  Great singer-songwriter and another one that was often found on “best of” lists last year. After Michael McDermott, get this one.

And, here are some honorable mentions as well, several that I’ve had less than two weeks now but are already worth mentioning. Some of them may even move up given more time, but for now, here’s the second tier:

• So Divided - …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
• Nuclear Daydream - Joseph Arthur ^e
• Armchair Apocrypha - Andrew Bird ^e
• Who You Are - Cary Brothers ^e
• Leaders of the Free World - Elbow ^e
• Freedom’s Road - John Mellencamp
• Boxer - The National ^e
• Villain - Jamie Randolph ^e
• Rock Garden - Ty Tabor ^e
• The Ringing Bell - Derek Webb

And, finally, some links where I mentioned some of these previously:

• Project 86, Cary Brothers, The National, Andrew Bird & Jamie Randolph
• The Avett Brothers
• Michael McDermott, The Decemberists, Derek Webb, Brett Dennen & Joseph Arthur
• Chevelle, My Chemical Romance, Michael McDermott & Elbow
• John Mellencamp, Josh Ritter and Mark Erelli
• Ty Tabor & Mark Erelli

That’s it. That’s the list.

As a regular viewer of The Daily Show, one of the things I enjoy the most (besides the humor), is the frequency in which the nightly guest is an author/writer. Being one who loves to read, I’m always interested in the authors and their books that are featured on the show.

A few months ago, Jon Stewart interviewed Ishmael Beah. I was unfamiliar with Beah at the time, but after watching the interview, I was fascinated by his story and wanted to read his book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Beah is from Sierra Leone, and at age 13 was forced to become a child soldier in the conflict there. His book tells his story, including some of his background, his experiences in the war, and eventually being able to escape the war and Sierra Leone.

It wasn’t long after I watched the interview that a copy of the book was available at my local library, and I finished it a while back, but have neglected to post about it or recommend it since. So let me do that now - it was great and I highly recommend it. Check it out if you can. I read a review in Relevant magazine that I thought summed it up pretty well, and certainly better than I could, so here it is:

A Long Way Gone is the haunting memoir of Ishmael Beah, who was separated from his family at 12 and forced to fight in Sierra Leone’s bloody civil war. Beah, now a graduate of Oberline College, faced unspeakable horrors as he was forced to kill. In this beautifully written and oftentimes heart-rending account, he recounts his time as a child soldier. Beah maintains a perspective devoid of self-pity, bitterness or anger. He also manages to humanize those around him, giving the reader sympathy for the way desperate circumstances sometimes lead people to desperate measures, and showing how even people who are capable of brutality are also capable of puzzling and unexpected kindness. In the end, Beah’s story is one of hope. It is hope that humans are capable of overcoming horrific suffering without losing their humanity.

If you’re interested in Beah’s story, you can find out more about it at the website alongwaygone.com. The video clips of his interviews about his story (found in the Multimedia section) are all worth watching, especially the CNN piece. You can also read part of the first chapter in the excerpt available.

On The Sports Reporters yesterday morning, Mitch Albom mentioned Raphael Nadal’s win at the French a couple of weeks ago over Roger Federer, and Nadal’s dominance of Federer, and everyone else, on clay. Nadal has now won three consecutive French titles. He then spoke of Wimbledon, where, of course, Federer has dominated in recent years, having won four in a row. The last person to win five in a row - which Federer will be attempting to do starting today - was Bjorn Borg (76-80).

Albom speculated that for Nadal (and probably anyone else for that matter), the only thing worse than seeing grass under your feet is seeing Federer on the other side of the net. Federer is already considered by many to be the greatest men’s tennis player of all time. They believe that, by the end of his career, there will be no doubt. And, they very well may be right. Despite has failure thus far to win the French (and it will only get more difficult with each passing year), he already has ten grand slam titles - only four behind Pete Sampras’ record fourteen, and at 25 years old, he still has a pretty good chance at passing Pete. Pete, by the way, is also considered by some to be the greatest ever, and he never won the French, either.

Regardless of his place in history, I think Federer still has at least one more Wimbledon in him, and I think after falling to Nadal again at the French, he will come back strong on his best surface and get number five this year.

On Monday I mentioned Michael Moore’s new film Sicko and his recent appearance on Letterman. This morning I read this review of the film by Christianity Today magazine. Here are a few quotes:

Sicko continues Moore’s tradition of assailing power structures, but unlike his last films, there is no singular entity for his incisive scalpel, but rather a triumvirate composed of HMOs, pharmaceutical companies and hospital bureaucracy. Sicko traces the origins of HMOs back to Nixon’s White House with some jaw-dropping revelations, and insists that private health insurance companies are driven by pure greed. It is in the HMO’s best interest to pay out as little as possible. Each approval is money they lose; each refusal is cash in their pocket.

A former insurance worker admits that her career advanced further based on the number of people for whom she refused care. “You didn’t fall through the cracks,” another says. “Somebody made the crack and swept you toward it.”

We live in the richest country on Earth, Moore states, so why don’t we offer free, universal healthcare to those most in need? Other, poorer countries manage universal healthcare and do so spectacularly. An exercise in compare and contrast, Sicko leaves America behind for almost half its running time, traveling to Canada, Great Britain, France and even Cuba to examine how they take care of their sick. At each location, Moore visits with expatriates who offer him uniquely duel-sided views of the debate. One by one, he vanquishes the conservative myths that claim socialized medicine is destroying those countries that have adopted it. And with each visit, his premise that universal healthcare is doable is strengthened.

While Sicko includes facts, statistics and graphs, it’s ultimately much more interested in how this drama plays out on a human level. The question is not why this utopia does not exist, but why we don’t even care to try to make it so. For Moore, it is not about politics; it is about morality. Profit, he argues, should never enter into the equation where a person’s health is concerned.

It has been said that a country can be judged by how well it treats its poorest citizens. If that is true, America is in dire straits. Sicko is a David versus Goliath story, and anyone who doesn’t hear its clarion call to revolution isn’t paying attention.

Whatever else you want to say about him, Michael Moore seems to genuinely care about the people he includes in his films. He is consistently the champion of the underdog, the helpless, the powerless, and the marginalized. It is a calling that we should all recognize. Christ’s command to love and care for “the least of these” will continue to echo in your head long after Sicko has ended.

I’ve visited The Work of the People before, but it’s been a while. Here are a couple of videos they’ve posted recently that are worth watching. Check them out.

• The Worship Industry featuring Brian McLaren

• Eight Dollar Hot Dog featuring Chris Seay

One question they ask in the second post is: “How do we deal with this tension of living the American dream, but also living a life that God has called of all of His sons and daughters?” I wonder… is it even possible to “live the American dream” and live the life Jesus has called us to?

According to Wikipedia, the American Dream is “the idea held by many in the United States that through hard work, courage and determination one could achieve prosperity.” I’d say that describes it, for the most part, as I’ve always understood it. My question: is that compatible with living as a disciple of Christ? Aren’t there a lot of conflicts between living that dream and dying to self?

I suppose most Americans, and probably most Christian Americans, are at least attempting to live that dream, and I have certainly been among them. This all reminded me of Switchfoot’s song “American Dream”, where they talk about the American dream’s relation to money and the desire for living for something more. Here are the lyrics:

When success is equated with excess
The ambition for excess wrecks us
As top of the mind becomes the bottom line
When success is equated with excess

If your time ain’t been nothing for money
I start to feel really bad for you, honey
Maybe honey, put your money where your mouth’s been running
If your time ain’t been nothing but money

I want out of this machine
It doesn’t feel like freedom

This ain’t my American dream
I want to live and die for bigger things
I’m tired of fighting for just me
This ain’t my American dream

When success is equated with excess
When we’re fighting for the Beamer, the Lexus
As the heart and soul breath in the company goals
Where success is equated with excess

I want out of this machine
It doesn’t feel like freedom

This ain’t my American dream
I want to live and die for bigger things
I’m tired of fighting for just me
This ain’t my American dream

‘Cause baby’s always talkin’ ’bout a ring
And talk has always been the cheapest thing
Is it true would you do what I want you to
If I show up with the right amount of bling?

Like a puppet on a monetary string
Maybe we’ve been caught singing
Red, white, blue, and green
But that ain’t my America,
That ain’t my American dream

This ain’t my American dream
I want to live and die for bigger things
I’m tired of fighting for just me
This ain’t my American dream

So, is it possible to live “the dream” and live for “bigger things” at the same time? I say the answer is no. And it’s troublesome that so many Christians I know see no conflict there.

It’s not a secret that I love hard music. I first heard hard rock band Project 86 about six years ago on Webrock.net. They used to play the song “One-Armed Man (Play On)” in their regular rotation, and it quickly became one of my favorite songs. I acquired the album (Drawing Black Lines), which was very good, but it wasn’t until their next album, Truthless Heroes, that Project 86 became one of my favorite bands. They’ve continued to put out great albums since.

Since at least some of the members of the band are Christians, and they have been distributed by Tooth & Nail records, they are sometimes considered a “Christian band” and their discs can often be found in Christian bookstores. However, I’m not sure I would classify them as a CCM band, at least not in the traditional sense. Fortunately, they have found a following and been successful outside of the CCM market.

So, obviously, today is a big day, as their newest disc, Rival Factions, is being released. I look forward to having a copy either later today or within the next couple of days. You can check out a few of the new tracks on their myspace page, and here’s a video for “Evil (A Chorus of Resistance)”:

Since I’m on the subject of music, here are some samples of my final eMusic downloads for the month of June:

I’ve never seen any of Michael Moore’s work. I used to assume he was up to no good, largely because of my “everything not republican/conservative is evil” glasses I used to wear. However, I will probably see his newest documentary, Sicko, at some point. I doubt I’ll head to the theater to see it (mainly because I rarely go to the theater for anything), but I suspect I’ll manage a DVD or PPV rental when the time comes.

From what I’ve read, it is a look at healthcare in America, focusing on insurance and pharmaceutical companies and their practices. Since healthcare is one of the hot topics in politics these days and will likely be a focus of the 2008 elections, this is certainly a timely film.

Moore was on Letterman on Friday night talking about the film, including the investigation that the government has supposedly started into Moore possibly violating U.S. laws by illegally traveling and filming in Cuba. Apparently, they could have the right to confiscate the film - or at least the part filmed in Cuba. I believe I read elsewhere that Moore had taken the master copy (or at least a copy) of the film outside of the U.S. to protect it. As usual, Moore has managed to stir up plenty of controversy with this newest film.

And, despite being satirical, there’s often a lot of truth to articles over at The Onion. This one’s no exception, I’m sure:

Half Of Nation Outraged At New, Not-Yet-Released Michael Moore Film

WASHINGTON, DC—Though the film isn’t scheduled for release until June 29, a New York Times/CBS News poll found that nearly half the nation believes Michael Moore’s new health care documentary Sicko is “unpatriotic,” “disgusting,” and “ill-informed.”

“This film is absolutely tasteless and misguided, and I can’t believe theaters are even showing it,” said GOP presidential candidate Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), who, along with the rest of the nation, has not yet seen the film. “I thought the role of a documentary filmmaker was to be objective, but moviegoers are going to leave the theater thinking that there is something wrong with some part of the United States, and that is just flat-out untrue.”

The other half of the nation has praised Sicko, calling it a “real eye-opener” that would “challenge people’s preconceived notions.”

Staying busy again this week, little time to post. This may be it for the week. However, you can now see some of what I’m reading when I have a little time here and there in my “Recent Reads” section in the sidebar. Here’s a few other things…

Faith & politics

In the first part of this interview with Brian McLaren, he’s asked about the church’s involvement in politics. He says he believes the “Religious Right” has “hit its high tide” and could be on the verge of falling apart. He has two primary concerns, the first being that there won’t be any Christian alternative to take its place. Secondly, he says:

I’m also concerned that the religious right will have left such a bad taste in the mouth of both the political world and the culture at large that there will be a reaction against any expression of faith in the public sphere.

That may very well be the bigger concern. McLaren offers his own thoughts on how Christian politicians could make a difference:

What we should be asking is, how do we help our government be the kind of government that is pleasing to God? What I would hope is that people who are in the Republican Party who are followers of Jesus would use every bit of their energy and power to help the Republican Party reflect more and more the values of Jesus. And that Democrats who follow Jesus would do everything in their power to help the Democratic party do the same thing more and more. Now in that way, you are actually more aligned, you’re a stronger ally, with your fellow Christian in another party than you are with the people in the same party who have no higher allegiance than their partisan agenda.

Sounds great to me, but the next question is: are there people out there who are willing to do this?

eMusic update

I’ve added about a half dozen albums to my save for later, plus a few others that I want some singles from. I’ve downloaded 4 full albums this week, but I now have 14 on my list, so I’ve trying to decide what I’m going to do with my last 27 downloads.

Song of the year

One album I downloaded this week was All Star United’s Love and Radiation. One of the things I’ve always liked about All Star United is their sarcasm and poking fun at the Christian music industry and American Christianity in general. Not for the fun of it, but rather because certain things deserve it. ASU singer and songwriter Ian Eskelin reminds me somewhat of Steve Taylor, although Taylor was even better at it (and, by the way, I really miss him. I wish he would record music again. It’s been 14 years! But I digress.)

A song on their new album called “Song of the Year” questions the motiviation behind some Christian songwriters and suggests that for some it’s not really about what it should be. It’s about putting in the right buzzwords and topics for creating a hit, and not really about the One who (supposedly) inspired the song. I like it. Here’s the second verse, which made me laugh.

Testimony testimony
testimony testimony
I’ll never be the same
Holy holy worthy worthy
something something something something
That rhymes with Jesus’ name
That oughta do
Guess I’m through
Time to canonize
I like to write movies too
About Christian superheroes
who join forces to ward off
the anti-christ!

A later bridge says that “God’s still unimpressed with our radio success”, and the chorus ends with the line “something’s gone really wrong if we’re chasing the song of the year.” While I listen to a number of artists out the CCM industry, I do think there are a lot of problems with it, the first being it’s existence in the first place. I don’t think there even needs to be such an animal. If you’re doing good work, you should be releasing it to the general market. If not, you probably shouldn’t be releasing it anyway.

And, by the way, are there any old, unattractive Christian musicians out there? Everyone I see appears to be young and good-looking. Is that the image Christians want to project to the world? Oh, wait. The world isn’t seeing or hearing any of it, because it’s only on “Christian radio.” So, then, is that the image we want to show young Christians who are listening to this music? God wants you to be thin and attractive?

Sorry if this is rambling on. I’m tired and have a lot of things going on right now. Anyway, just something that bothers me a little.

By the way, other downloads this week - Jamie Randolph, Andrew Bird, and my favorite this month, The Avett Brothers. I’m really wearing it out. Check this out - a recent performance by The Avett Brothers on Conan O’Brien’s show:

The reservation

I watch Seinfeld reruns whenever I see them on, and I saw “The Alternate Side” (episode 28) last night. This has always been one of my favorite scenes from the entire series.