Why observations are important
Ani Moller:
I saw Ladytron last night at the Academy. It was pretty awesome. Their new album, Witching Hour, is really good. Afterwards, we went to a gay bar called Queer. It was full of homosexuals.
Matt Friedeman, PhD:
"We have now sunk to a depth," George Orwell once wrote, "at which re-statement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men."
Call Ron Sider an intelligent man. He states an incredibly obvious truth that pollsters like Barna and Gallup have been trumpeting for years. And here it is: we are in trouble – Christians, the nation, the world – because of the Church. As so-called believers we do not act as we ought. And it is costing our witness, big-time.
Dr. Sider, president and founder of Evangelicals for Social Action and professor of Theology and Culture at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary is a man who is frequently labeled as “evangelical left.” His commitment to a strong biblical orthodoxy is not seriously questioned. His politics, however, tend to lean Democrat....
The difference between the Church and the world is precious little, and sometimes we even act worse (like getting more divorces, as Barna has suggested of “born-agains”). As much as the world does, we seek pleasure, wealth, self-aggrandizement and sexual thrills outside of the confines of marriage. And, incredibly, where white evangelicals are the most concentrated, we are most racist. We are poor givers, have rejected the foundation of a biblical worldview, and have committed blatant, on-going disobedience to known scriptural imperatives.
Rosie Winterton, MP:
I'll begin by restating the obvious (as Errol Francis has just made clear).
Black and minority ethnic patients have worse access to, experience of, and worse outcomes from mental health services than the white majority population. In other words there is discrimination - direct or indirect - in mental health services.
From North Coast Journal in 2001:
Once again, the national press has told us something we already know: The North Coast is a great place.
Eureka/Arcata was chosen as one of Outdoor Magazine's "Ten Dream Towns." (Never mind that they are two towns, thank you very much.) The article's author waxes poetic about the redwoods, the mountains and the fog. There's even a favorable reference to the "fishy warehouses" of Eureka.
Of course, familiar Arcata stereotypes are sprinkled throughout the article: Visitors are advised that ordering a cup of coffee without bringing your own mug is "unthinkable." Everyone in town either stocks groceries, works at Humboldt State University or agitates for leftist causes.
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