So, we’re giving away free stickers to anybody who wants to show their support for this new movement for economic justice (click here to get yours).

Is Jesus also with the 1%? Of course. But In a world that too often makes demi-gods of the ultra-rich, and politicians are telling tell struggling Americans to “blame themselves,” we all could use a reminder that Jesus paid special attention to the powerless and vulnerable in society and sharp words for the wealthy and powerful.

The ads take a passage from Isaiah to remind the candidates that governments have a responsibility to ensure justice for all people – especially the poor. As questions about economic policy take center stage in the Presidential debates and during Super Committee negotiations in Washington, the reminder is more urgent than ever.

You can read and endorse Faithful America’s Real Values Agenda here.

By 1966, Dr. King had moved from his familiar message of nonviolence and racial equality to a more radical attack on the foundations of American life. “When I say question the whole society,” he says in his speech “Where Do We Go From Here?”, “it means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together.” In pushing this message, King aligned himself with views–black nationalism, left-wing redistributionism and radical pacifism–that were wildly at odds with the views of most Americans.

Of course, many of those views remain widely at odds with most Americans, which is why we don’t hear much about them.

Bouie continues:

Like all saints though, we’ve had to diminish Dr. King’s message to inoffensive platitudes to make him acceptable to the country at large. The Martin Luther King Jr. memorial depicts a defiant King, but the King we celebrate isn’t the one who declared, “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” It isn’t even the more palatable King who explained justice as “power correcting everything that stands against love.” The Martin Luther King Jr. that we celebrate is more akin to the George Washington who never lied than any person who actually existed.

King’s work for Civil Rights is most certainly praise-worthy, and we absolutely should memorialize the person, and the movement that helped this nation move so far away from the violence of Jim Crow. But in failing to lift up economic justice and pacifism – which King saw as inextricably linked – we lose a vital part of his legacy, a loss which is particularly noticeable as right-wing commentators like Glenn Beck attempt to appropriate his memory in support of conservative policies King would have never endorsed.

In a time when working class families and the social safety net they depend on are under unprecedented attack and the war in Afghanistan is about to reach its 10th anniversary, it’s clear we need more than a stone monument honoring Dr. King. We need movements to address the work for justice that’s not yet finished.

Photo Credit: Jason Rosenberg, Flickr

Too often – and especially in elections years — “values” are treated as the sole territory of the Religious Right.

While FPL and others have done a lot of work to show exactly why this is not the case, progressives and people of faith concerned about social justice need to continue to work hard to make sure their voices, and values, are heard.

Enter Faithful America’s Real Values Agenda which calls on people of faith to stand up for basic values such as economic justice – much needed pushback when leading figures on the Right are advocating for shifting more of the tax burden to the poor.

Check out the Agenda and endorse it here.

Real Values Agenda

• We stand for integrity in word and deed, holding our elected leaders accountable and advocating prophetically for what’s right. We do not tolerate the abuse of faith to score political points or using lies and smears to promote an ideological agenda.
• We believe the moral measure of America is judged by how those who have the least are treated, not Wall Street profits. It is not compassionate or responsible to expect wealth to “trickle down” while children go hungry and parents can’t pay their medical bills. The wealthiest should pay their fair share before struggling families are asked to sacrifice even more.
• We believe we’re all in this together, and that real leaders put the common good ahead of self-interest. Our communities and nation are strongest when we keep our promises to seniors, protect safety nets that save lives and create jobs that honor the dignity of work.

Both videos are worth a watch but the second clip is especially hard-hitting:

Back at FPL Headquarters, here’s what we’ll be watching in tonight’s debate on Fox News and over the weekend at the straw poll:

• As the economy remains front and center, what role will divisive social issues play in the straw poll? Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum were the only candidates to sign a controversial pledge pushed by the Iowa Family Leader that disturbingly implied that African American children were better off in slavery in 1860 than they are in 2011, based on respective family structures. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney joined Bachmann and Santorum in signing National Organization for Marriage’s pledge stating that as president, they will oppose same-sex marriage. Tim Pawlenty has also gotten into the act, participating in a bus tour opposing same-sex marriage and abortion and advocating for “religious liberty”. (See John’s take on the tour, organized by Religious Right Organizations and opposed by members from Faithful America, who stood up for their values and pushed the Religious Right for not representing mainstream people of faith.) Clearly divisive culture war issues remain alive and well among Iowa conservatives, though not without pushback from progressive and moderate people of faith.
• Which Herman Cain shows up? Is it the anti-Muslim Cain demanding an unconstitutional religious test for holding public office or the more Muslim-friendly Cain who, at least outwardly, is trying to build bridges with the Muslim community?
• What happens after Rick Perry jumps in the race? Given that the Texas Governor essentially kicked off his Presidential bid with a controversial prayer rally, one can only imagine that Perry will continue to invoke religion as he makes a play for socially conservative evangelical voters.
• Will candidates’ inconsistencies on fiscal and economic issues make a difference? In contrast to their small-government, anti-tax rhetoric, it’s recently come to light that Michele Bachmann has repeatedly tried to steer federal stimulus funds to her district, and Mitt Romney, while governor of Massachusetts, told Standard & Poor’s that his tax increases proved Massachusetts was worthy of a higher credit rating.

While the term “kosher” most often refers to choosing food that has rabbinic supervision or that follows Jewish dietary restrictions, it can also refer to practices or institutions that are “unfit” in an ethical sense. By claiming that Hyatt’s hotels are not kosher, the rabbis are pronouncing the hotels “unfit” in an ethical and spiritual context and urging Jews to avoid contact with Hyatt.

These rabbis aren’t shy about making the explicit connection between Jewish ethics and the struggle for just working conditions at Hyatt. An editorial in the Jewish Daily Forward cheers their efforts:

The extensive documentation and textual support in the rabbinical report is a welcome addition to a growing number of efforts to link Jewish law and scholarship to timely social concerns. Advocates for the environment, labor, sustainable agriculture and development policy increasingly use Jewish language and teachings to frame their arguments. The rabbinic report on Hyatt calls social teachings on labor “the best kept secrets of our religious tradition.” Not anymore.

So far, Hyatt has responded to protests from housekeepers and other workers about these unjust working conditions by cracking down and digging in their heels. Particularly given that Hyatt was for many years owned by a prominent Jewish family, a message that hinges on Jewish ethics seems particularly relevant to the unfolding debate.

You can read more about the campaign and the full report here, as well as learning how you can help with their efforts.

“I don’t see it happening. I’ve never seen or smelled a whiff of it. It’s a non-existent issue as far as I’m concerned.”

Johnson is correct, and our nation would be much better served if state legislatures followed his example and listened to the facts, rather than the dangerous conspiracy theories of self-appointed (and often woefully uniformed) Sharia law “experts”.

Ben Affleck: I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is. You can never ask me about it later. And we’re going to hurt some people.

Jeremy Renner: Whose car are we going to take?

Apparently, Allen West was so inspired, he got up and said, “I’m ready to drive the car!”

Now, perhaps the House Republicans don’t make the connection between their policies and the scene from the movie, but the truth is the GOP debt plan is going to “hurt some people.” A lot of people, actually.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the House GOP plan is poised to produce “the greatest increase in poverty and hardship produced by any law in modern U.S. history.”

We’re all hoping (and praying) Congress comes to its senses before America takes another economic beating.

This is a real victory for women, families and those seeking common ground on abortion. Access to contraception is one of the best ways to avoid unintended pregnancies (and thus many abortions).

The report also noted unintended pregnancies are riskier:

Women with unintended pregnancies are more likely to receive delayed or no prenatal care and to smoke, consume alcohol, be depressed, and experience domestic violence during pregnancy. Unintended pregnancy also increases the risk of babies being born preterm or at a low birth weight, both of which raise their chances of health and developmental problems.

Healthier women, babies and families is a goal people of good will can — and in fact do — support. Despite what the religious right might want you to think, contraception is popular.

Last fall, pro-choice and pro-life leaders came together in support of contraception access, and poll after poll shows the people in the pews are right there with them. Yes, even the Catholics and evangelicals.

Religious right leaders often claim to be the defenders of “the family,” but every time they come out in opposition to commonsense, common ground measures like this, it seems more and more the only thing they’re protecting is an outdated, rigid ideology.