U.S. President Barack Obama "Less Than Diplomatically" Helps The Emerson Avenger Extend A Hand To UUA Leaders And Other U*Us In His Inaugural Address

Newly sworn in U.S. President Barack Obama *could* have been "less than diplomatically" acting as a spokesperson for, and/or speaking out on behalf of The Emerson Avenger when he uttered these "less than diplomatic" words in his Inaugural Address today:

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand*if* you are willing to unclench your fist."

Everybody knows who The Emerson Avenger is thinking about.

Rev. Peter Morales And A "Perfect Storm" For The U*U "Ship Of Fools" aka Unitarian*Universalism aka U*Uism aka All Wet U*Unitarianism

The following is a typo and spelling error corrected, but otherwise verbatim, version of a comment that I left on the Peter Morales Opening Speech at UUA Presidential Candidate Forum post of the jUUggernaut blog about 4 months ago. It was initially "memory holed" by the blog owner Martin Voelker but I resubmitted it and he has since allowed it to remain visible.

UUA Presidential candidate Rev. Peter Morales said -

"It’s a perfect storm - and a fabulous opportunity if we take it."

It’s also a "perfect storm" that may well sink the U*U "ship of fools" if you don’t mind me using that term too much. If you find it offensive all I can say is that U*U clergy, including Rev. Peter Morales it seems. . . use fairly offensive, to very offensive language, in their public and private statements about other religions. It is refreshing however to see Rev. Morales leveling some fairly strongly worded blunt criticism at the U*U "religious community" itself. All too often U*U clergy stridently point the finger at the failings or problematic aspects of other religions will conveniently ignoring serious failings of the U*U community, sometimes failings that are all but identical to the failings they are railing about in other religions.

Rev. Morales has declared that unspecified other religions are "obsolete" "created for another time" and contributing to "the darkness" of fear, prejudice, and hatred etc. etc. Although he does not actually name these "obsolete religions", it is clear from the context of his "stump speech" that he means Judaism, Christianity and Islam, if not some other major world religions. Does Rev. Peter Morales really believe that Unitarian*Universalist "society" is free of forces of fear and ignorance and greed that lead to hatred, marginalization and other injustices and abuses? Does Rev. Morales have the moral courage and conviction to responsibly acknowledge that U*Us themselves quite regularly contribute to "the darkness" in their own way?

I call upon Rev. Peter Morales, Rev. Laurel Hallman, other U*U clergy and UUA Trustees to "come out" and responsibly acknowledge the skeletons that clutter U*Uism’s "closet" and then take steps to responsibly and adequately redress any and all injustices and abuses that have been perpetrated and or perpetuated by Unitarian*Universalists. The UUA has a terrible track record when it comes to dealing responsibly with clergy misconduct of all kinds, including clergy sexual misconduct, and it has abjectly failed or even outright refused to provide genuine restorative justice to victims of clergy misconduct, again including victims of clergy sexual misconduct. This is but one example of the injustices and abuses that Unitarian*Universalists are responsible for, but refuse to accept responsibility for and adequately redress. Most people can smell hypocrisy a mile away and, until U*Us responsibly clean up their own act, they are not in a position to pretend that other religions are "obsolete" or that U*U do not do their own fair share of contributing to "the darkness".

If Rev. Peter Morales is serious about U*Uism "housing" the "religiously homeless" and feeding the "spiritually hungry" Unitarian*Universalists are going to have to deal seriously with the anti-Christian and more broadly anti-religious intolerance and bigotry that is found in too many U*U "churches". The vast majority of Americans believe in God and I expect that this is especially true of what U*Us call "people of color" if U*Us want U*Uism to grow in any significant way they are going to have to actually live up to their seemingly empty, if not outright fraudulent, "covenants" to "affirm and promote" "acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations." That means that U*Us must not only "accept" God believing people in any and ALL U*U congregations but must genuinely encourage their spiritual growth within a theistic framework.

This does not mean that atheist U*Us need be unwelcome in U*U congregations but atheist aka Humanist U*Us must be genuinely welcoming towards God believing people in any and ALL U*U congregations. Those "Humanist" U*Us who can be justifiably described as "fundamentalist atheists", and even Atheist Supremacists, who quite regularly make God believing people feel anything but welcome in U*U congregations are disregarding and violating U*U principles on an ongoing basis. The anti-Christian, and more broadly anti-religious, intolerance and bigotry of Atheist Supremacist "Humanist" U*Us is a serious problem within the U*U World that significantly contributes to U*Uism being "a tiny fringe, relatively elite, and sadly declining part of American religious life". In fact, in my informed opinion, it is one of the top three factors that has caused U*Uism to become "a tiny, declining, fringe religion" if not Suspect Number One. This problem that "repels" no shortage of visitors to, to say nothing of God believing members of. . . U*U congregations, must be firmly and forthrightly addressed by UUA leadership including the current and future President of the UUA, the UUA Board of Trustees, and other UUA staff. The anti-religious intolerance and bigotry of Atheist Supremacist "Humanist" U*Us must similarly be firmly and forthrightly addressed by U*U clergy and individual U*U congregations even though it is glaringly obvious that some U*U clergy, some "Humanist" dominated U*U congregations, and indeed some UUA leaders. . . are themselves guilty of either perpetrating or perpetuating the anti-religious intolerance and bigotry that causes the marginalization of God believing people in U*U "churches". Please forgive me for being blunt again, but U*Uism hasn’t got a snowball’s hope in Hell of becoming "the religion of our time" until this serious problem is responsibly resolved and U*Uism deals seriously with the concept, and indeed reality, of God. Unless Unitarian*Universalists, including atheist U*Us, learn to "swim" with God the U*U "Ship of Fools" will sink in the "Perfect Storm" that Rev. Peter Morales prophesies is coming to the U*U World in the foreseeable future.

A Reality Check For The UUA And Unitarian*Universalist U*Us U*U World-Wide

Will David G. Markham *Play* Dick Cheney To The George UU Bush Of President Reject Robin Edgar aka The Emerson Avenger In UUA Presidential Elections?

Just asking. . . ;-)

What Is Rev. Peter Morales *For* As UUA President If He Is *Actually* S*Elected As President Of The UUA?

As a late coming Dark Horse candidate in the UUA Presidential campaign as part of the 2009 UUA elections *I* personally have not yet developed a Presidential platform. While I, in close consultation with *my* advisors, am busy figuring out exactly what *my* platform for President Reject of the UUA will be, in *order* that Unitarian*Universalists aka U*Us and *even* non-Unitarian*Universalist U*Us can very freely and irresponsibly excorcise their proverbial "right of conscience" if not *rite* of conscience. . . by actually voting for me, I feel that it can't hurt *too* much to yet again U*Unilaterally and U*Universally ask some questions that *I* put to UUA Presidential candidate Rev. Peter Morales quite some time ago, indeed the better part of 6 months ago, by posting them as comments on his moribU*Und aka langU*Uishing, to say nothing of "less than U*User friendly", Along the Campaign Trail blog.
To date, well more precisely. . . to *this* date, UUA Presidential candidate Rev. Peter Morales has not answered a single one of these questions to *my* 'Satisfaction' yet for the *simple* reason that he has not answered any of them at all. . .


I would like to ask you a few more questions about your campaign for President of the UUA, including a few questions about some rather problematic public statements that you made in your U*UTubed "stump speech" announcing your candidacy for UUA President. I will draw up a modest list of questions and send them to you, or post them publicly as an "open letter" blog post, in the coming days or weeks. I do however have a few important questions that just came to mind within the last few days that I will ask you now. I hope to receive adequate and detailed answers to these questions ASAP and I expect many U*Us would want to hear your response to these important questions. In your "stump speech" you quite justifiably describe Unitarian*Universalism as a "tiny, declining, fringe religion" but you then go on to say that you believe that U*Uism "can be the religion of our time." Indeed it would appear that your campaign slogan is,

"We can be the religion of our time."

Here are my questions that arise out of those public statements -

Do you genuinely believe that Unitarian*Universalism can actually become "the religion of our time" or is your campaign slogan just empty campaign rhetoric intended to help you to gain votes and win the UUA Presidential election?

What specific conditions do you believe would need to be attained and sustained for Unitarian*Universalism to credibly be able to claim the status of being "the religion of our time"?

How do you propose to transform Unitarian*Universalism from the "tiny,declining, fringe religion" that it currently is to "the religion of our time" within a reasonable time frame, let's say 25 years?

Please provide detailed and realistic answers to the latter two questions which are obviously posed on the assumption that you do genuinely believe that Unitarian*Universalism actually can become "the religion of our time."

Needless to say you need not answer the latter two questions if your campaign slogan is simply over-the-top campaign rhetoric that you don't genuinely believe in.* I look forward to seeing your detailed answers to these three important questions in the coming days. Let's say a week or two at most. I expect that a good number of Unitarian*Universalists would be very interested in seeing your answers to these important questions as well.

Sincerely,

Robin Edgar


* Brand spanking new candidate for UUA President Reject Robin Edgar aka The Emerson Avenger cannot *help* but take note of the fact that it is now the better part, if not the worse part. . . of six months since *We* quite reasonably and rationally, albeit just a tad "less than politely" aka *bluntly* asked UUA Presidential candidate Rev. Peter Morales that question. So. . . perhaps in his own special way Rev. Morales has answered *that* particular question.

Will Rev. Beth Miller *Really* Get Slapped Upside The Head aka *Director* By The Emerson Avenger If He Is Elected As President Reject Of The UUA?

The following is the better part, or worse part (depending on how U*Us *care* to look at it), of a comment that I *will* be posting to the 'Will Robin Edgar, aka, Emerson Avenger, run for UUA President' blog *post* of U*U psychotherapist David G. Markham's "less than perfect" but really quite excellent 'U*U A Way Of Life' blog. I am posting it here and now because it provides a clear aka *transparent* indication of how I will deal with certain UUA administrators *If* and when I am democratically elected as President Reject of the UUA -

The word verification code of the above comment was sphetabl which I was about to say "Whatever that means?" about, until I popped it into Brendan's On-Line Anagram Generator and saw that its #8 aka #*, *lowest level*, aka *bottom* result *suggested* in the ALL CAPS "shouting" of internetese -

SLAP BETH

Been there. . . Done that.

If, and indeed *when*. . . I am very democratically elected President Reject of the UUA, Rev. Beth Miller, Executive Secretary of the UUA's very aptly named Ministerial *Fellowship* Committee *and* the "less than brand-spanking new" Director of the UUA’s Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group will have qU*Uite a lot of explaining to do, and will be given ample U*Unrestricted aka U*Unlimited as well as U*Uncensored opportunity to do so. . . If in all her dU*Ubious explaining "less than U*U Soul satisfying" U*U minister Rev. Beth Miller (no relation to U*U Rev. Diane Miller?) *prU*Uves* to be chronically U*Unready, obstinately U*Unwilling, and *evidently* qU*Uite U*Unable to provide satisfactory answers, aka U*U Soul satisfying *ministry*, to *my* very serious questions I just might be obliged to exercise my right and *dU*Uty*, to say nothing of executive *privilege*. . . to U*Use a little "Fire Power" in my capacity as the "less than democratically" s*elected Commander-In-Chief of the U*U "Ship of Fools" to say nothing of SU*Upreme Commander of the U*U Jihad Navy. I am particularly interested in asking Rev. Beth Miller about the "firewall" around what, from my *perspective* at least. . . seems to be a rather corpse-cold U*Unitarian* heart that she seems to be inordinately proU*Ud of, or at least "less than concerned" aka U*Unconcerned about.

BTW The word verification code for this post *was* exuatchi. U*Us have my *permission* to interpret *that* automatically generated *gibberish* any way they like.

P.S. David, may I very respectfully suggest that this particular if not pecU*Uliar U*U Way of Life blog post, which is semi-serious aka satirical from the get GOd be allowed to be something of a free-for-all?

i.e. a genuinely free, but not necessarily all that *responsible* forum for any and all people who care to post comments here, with the exception of completely off-topic non-U*U spammers who might get by Blogger's "firewall"

Testing. . . Testing. . . One, TU*Uo, Three. . .

Reserved for future U*Use

Sunday, 7 December 1941

Hello U*U World!

I’m staking out this place for *possible* future unprofessional U*Use.

Don’t bother getting U*Upset yet. :-)

The Emerson Avenger aka The Dagger of Sweet Reason aka *The* Rev. Dr. Eric Cartman III aka GOdKnowsWho* aka drat in all this excitement I seem to have temporarily forgotten my real name.

But, don't worry U*Us, I am very confident that it will come back to me eventually. . .



*typo intended. . .

Hilarious Google search results my "less than chosen" fate. ;-)

Google *is* on my side!