My previous post began with an intent to talk about how thankful I am for the Al Franken show (on Air America Radio), but when I started to say how it helps me to deal with my depression and disappointment over the election, I launched into the litany of my fears. The point is, is that all these are very real, and based on information (aka “reality based”) that I have been earnestly reading since July 4th. I have certainly always been against the policies of George W. Bush, but after a lunch with a couple of guys in my family, in which we really got into it (they are both Bush supporters), and where I became extremely exasperated, and a bit offended by accusations of “your concern for the Iraqi people is phony” —- aka “you are completely partisan in your motivations for this “concern”—- I have avoided since then any breach of the topic of politics.

Since then, I have poured myself into the stories , from books like Against All Enemies, The Price of Loyalty, Plan of Attack and Bush at War, House of Bush, House of Saud (which I read after seeing Farenheit 9/11), BushWhacked, Campolo’s Speaking My Mind, and in all that, I came across the Audio book of Al Franken’s Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. After hearing this, and hearing Franken interview Campolo on his show (which I had learned about through one of the blogs), I was entirely impressed with Franken’s presentation of what I consider to be facts and stories about those facts.

It is a way for me to “participate” in the dialogue about the national interests that has been taking place in this country, really since the Dean campaign began to enliven and awaken the people to the call of politics. (Oh yeah, another book I read was Joe Trippi’s book “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”). IN one sense, it is sad that there is NOTHING in the Church for me on this topic. There are only “pockets” here and there, and this is what makes the blogs so valuable to my sense of community in the Kingdom of God, that would be very hard to keep in touch with if it weren’t for the blogs and new friends I have found through posting and reading and subscribing to RSS feeds.