I don't know that I can agree with all the damning and praising of Jimmy Carter. I don't agree with a lot of his politics, especially his support for nuclear power. But he is the only ex-president with a strong human rights agenda that he actively works to support. For that, I believe he deserves our support.

The US human rights agenda is under attack by right wing secularists and fundamentalist Christians. We too often equate right wing political extremism of the Cheney sort, with the right wing religious fundamentalism of the Dubya sort. It is easy enough to do because of their making common cause with one another under the umbrella of the Republican party. But we need to also remember that there are still Republican moderates (though only a handful still in political life) who oppose the ways the current incarnation of the Republican party has combined religion with politics to promote a greedy capitalist agenda disguised as an extreme fascist politico-religious ideology.