CHRISTIANS WON'T BE USED BY BUSH

We've become accustomed to Bush's staged town meetings and rare prime time addresses serving as his political soapbox. Now add to the list college commencement ceremonies (read a summary from this article):

The White House asked if Bush could speak at the commencement ceremony of Calvin College this past weekend. The choice of the 4,000-student Christian college led to speculation that the president wanted to reach out to his evangelical base in this Midwestern state. But some associated with the college noted the school's Christian background does not make it part of the conservative Christian movement. Several dozen people protesting outside the event and a few graduates at the ceremony wore stickers that said: '"God is not a Republican or Democrat." A third of the college's faculty members signed a letter protesting his visit. The letter, published Saturday in a half-page ad in the Grand Rapids Press, said: "As Christians, we are called to be peacemakers and to initiate war only as a last resort. We believe your administration has launched an unjust and unjustified war in Iraq." Another letter of protest from students, faculty and alumni appeared in a full-page ad in the paper on Friday. "In our view, the policies and actions of your administration, both domestically and internationally over the past four years, violate many deeply held principles of Calvin College," that ad in the Grand Rapids newspaper said.

I offer a resounding AMEN to all those faculty and students who not only recognized and spoke out against their being used for Bush's political gain but also for demonstrating that being Christian is not a prerequisite for towing the neo-Christian line.