It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of
a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into
privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing
algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the
planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times. Reason #1088 to Boot Bush: A vital part of the Bush Administration's faith-based initiatives policy is the taxpayer-funded Compassion Capital Fund, which is designed to "help faith-based and community organizations increase their effectiveness." Indeed, it is the only Bush Administration effort that has specifically disclosed the recipients of faith-based funding. Although Jewish, Muslim, and other non-Christian religious organizations applied for Compassion Capital Fund funds from the Bush Administration, none were granted funding as of April 2004. (Sources: United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families website, Frontline, "The Jesus Factor," April 2004) Return to the Irregular Times Main Page
Read our Blog Archives
|