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The New York Times
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April 27, 2009
Op-Ed Contributor
What Happened to the Ban on Assault Weapons?
By JIMMY CARTER

Atlanta

THE evolution in public policy concerning the manufacture, sale and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons like AK-47s, AR-15s and Uzis has been very disturbing. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and I all supported a ban on these formidable firearms, and one was finally passed in 1994.

When the 10-year ban w… Continue

Communication for Peace

Last Sunday, our pastor preached a wonderful sermon on the gospel of John chapter one. He used an illustration I will never forget: two little girls in Nigeria grew up as friends, one a Christian the other a Muslim. They lived next door to each other and did everything together. They loved each other and were indeed very best friends. Unfortunately, a riot occurred in their city and Muslims burned churches while Christians burned mosques and many people were killed.

Aft… Continue

Listen

social justice is not a button to wear
this kind of justice
doesn't come and go like a fad
disregard of injustice
has brought down kingdoms
ancient and present

not knowing whether or not God can cry
the sound of his heart breaking
must tear time and space

perhaps we live in the dust of His love
but like a little child chasing the particles
caught in a beam of sunlight
we only ever so briefly
tug at Truth
only to fall back into
at best
a twilight of understanding
His compelling call to… Continue

I had a strange dream the other night:

“A bunch of young, first time voters at a church young peoples’ meeting were talking excitedly about their great opportunity to vote and wondering how it all went and whether it was even worth voting in America today. They wanted to be responsible voters and realized that they needed some good advice on how they should go about the whole voting process.

One of them said, “Let’s ask the newspapers!” So they wrote to 7 different papers and got 21 different… Continue

Rust and Moths

We actually were on a long planned vacation to France when the stock market fell 700 points. I had hoped that we could forget about the news and enjoy the incredible history and ambiance of southern France. We did enjoy it but could not escape the news. International newspapers were full of articles on the global credit collapse; people (that we could talk to in English) almost immediately asked us what was gong on in America. Was our economy going down for good? Did we know that… Continue