From "Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains" (2007)

The Man From Plains makes a startling announcement:

Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God.

I HAVE been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries.

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

Read on...

You know, Jimmy Carter gets such an unfair rap in this country over his presidency, but this is my definition of a brave human being--taking a stand over what is right and moral not for any political calculation, but because it's right and moral.

I only wish more people would look in their heart and make the same kind of stand--one that champions equality and harmony instead of divisiveness and oppression.

Bravo, sir. Bravo.

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(Things were heating up with China)

For a lot of people, the name Jawahralal Nehru conjures up a deep-distant past of India during its struggle for independence from Colonial rule. Nehru was a close associate of Mohandas Gandhi and it was Nehru who delivered the historic "Tryst With Destiny" address on the eve of India's independence. But Nehru was a substantial figure in India's rise to power, committing it to a policy of industrialization - largely responsible for what it has become today.

But in 1961, Nehru had come to the U.S. on a State Visit and to meet with President Kennedy regarding the recent resumption of Nuclear testing. Nehru wanted an outright moratorium of nuclear weapons testing for all parties, both Western and Iron Curtain, even though the prospect seemed unlikely. India would have its own conflicts shortly - war with China would erupt a few months after this broadcast. The question about China is asked, but it's carefully danced around, in true political fashion.

Oh Mama! Happy Mother's Day Eve, and may all the moms out there have a great Sunday.