This month I preached on the gospel passage about the Last Judgment, in which the sheep are separated from the goats.

You know the story: the sheep (compassionate people) get to spend eternity with the angels, and the goats (hard-hearted people) are cast out to live with creatures just like them – demons.

And, coincidentally, there’s a lot of goat-like rhetoric these days coming from some of those who purport to be among the sheep.

In recent discussions, for example, I’ve heard capital punishment celebrated. I’ve heard pride expressed over the execution of hundreds of Americans, including mentally retarded and juvenile offenders.

Ironically, of the nine countries that have held executions so far this year, only one – the United States – is a so-called “Christian nation.” The others? Our good friends Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, North Korea, the Palestinian Authority, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh.

Well, it goes without saying that the people who end up executed are, for the most part, underprivileged “least of these” types whose life circumstances – poverty, mental illness, unemployment, abuse, neglect, poor nutrition, illiteracy, discrimination, etc. – have a whole lot to do with why they got in trouble in the first place.

Individuals with power, privilege and wealth are not the ones occupying cells on death row.

I’ve heard a wealthy Christian claim happily that we don’t have a health care problem in our country. The proof: Sheiks from Saudi Arabia come all the way to America to visit our world-class doctors.

Wow; so foreign millionaires can get health care here in the “Land of the Free,” while our own citizens cannot? And this is something to celebrate? Does this sound like America?

Is it really in God that we trust anymore, or have we evicted him and allowed money to occupy that formerly sacred place?

I know: Let’s change the flag salute from a hand over the heart to a hand over the wallet!

I’ve heard Christians condemning the Occupy Wall Street movement as it converges on cities and spreads across the nation. Yet the thing that they should condemn is the disease of fear that has infected and occupied the hearts and minds of too many in this country.

Fear can cause even the best sheep to turn into a selfish, hard-hearted goat, and the thinner America’s collective wallet becomes the worse it gets.

Isn’t it ironic that God has already judged this disease and found it to be hazardous to our health? How many prophets had to speak this same message to deaf ears?

Tens of thousands of Americans in the streets apparently agree with the prophets and the Good Shepherd: Compassion has got to be returned to its rightful occupation in our society.

Yes, the sheep are, as they have done throughout history since the time of Moses, rising up against the demons of greed and oppression.

Yes it's messy and time-consuming. Yes, it results in the powerful sending out their finest chariots to stop the rebellion.

But really, if the Red Sea couldn't even hamper an exodus, what’s a little tear gas?

Gale Tompkins-Bischel attends United Christian Parish in Lakeport, Calif., and is in the Masters of Divinity Program at Pacific School of Religion.

When they sent those born from 1925 to 1945 off to war in Korea we went quietly, not bothering to ask why.

In high school, when they showed us “Reefer Madness,” we sat quietly and watched it, a good many of us wondering why they were telling us about this drug we had never heard of before.

It would be some decades before we began to question authority, but when we did we produced some of the country's most persuasive spokespersons.

There were many musicians including all of the Beatles. Noam Chomsky, Richard Dawkins, Hugh Hefner, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Gloria Steinem – well, you can go look them up in Wikipedia as easily as I can.

Today we are not the most noticeable of the people who support the concept of legal medical marijuana, but we may be the largest group which quietly uses it to ease pain in our aging bodies.

And we wonder what all the fuss is about among somewhat younger people who passionately and very loudly take a position, pro or con, in public hearings, radio talk shows and the comment section of the online news media.

Most of us want medical marijuana to continue being legal. In fact, many – if not most of us – think the prohibition on recreational use is pretty silly when recreational use of alcohol is legal.

Recently, however, it's been getting tougher to support the people who argue for more liberal laws for marijuana dispensaries and cultivation.

In public testimony they've asked for what seemed to be very large numbers of dispensaries. When the county Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance allowing five dispensaries in the unincorporated areas of the county they immediately started gathering signatures demanding a referendum vote.

San Jose, a city with nearly one million population, recently limited the number of MMDs to 10, after a proliferation of them opened in the city. That makes five dispensaries in a county of about 65,000 people seem pretty generous. And we have two cities which can adopt their own regulations.

The Lake County supervisors on Oct. 4 unanimously approved the first reading of the revised cultivation ordinance written by Community Development Director Rick Coel and Sheriff Frank Rivero.

The ordinance allows each qualified user to grow a maximum of six mature or 12 immature plants, with three patients able to grow up to 18 mature or 36 immature plants on properties one acre or larger, and still larger grows allowed on properties five acres or larger with a minor user permit.

Since I don't plan to grow it really doesn't matter to me, but I wonder how and when the growers will decide plants have become mature and what they'll do with the six extras.

Because so many of the questions about growing at home are complaints about the smell from a variety known as skunk, I wonder why people don't just grow less smelly varieties.

The ordinance will have its second and final reading and a final vote today.

The referendum group has already promised to seek a referendum on cultivation if they don't like the final version of that ordinance.

One of their tactics in arguing against the ordinances has been to call them “draconian measures.” The term refers to the very harsh laws of Draco, a 7th-century Athenian statesman and lawmaker, and his code of laws, which prescribed death for almost every offense.

The Lake County supervisors may be getting a little testy about the constant objections to their decisions but they have yet to suggest any harsh treatment of the critical citizens, much less a death sentence. It's probably time to retire the hyperbolic draconian argument.

Sophie Annan Jensen is a retired journalist. She lives in Lucerne, Calif.

Many factors contribute to good health, and traffic safety is one of them. Lives are too often cut short by motor vehicle accidents, and many survivors of accidents suffer long-term consequences of their injuries.

Statistics help us understand how we are doing as a community. The numbers for Lake County tell us that we have our work cut out for us.

The Lake County Community Health Needs Assessment 2010 (http://health.co.lake.ca.us/Assets/Health/Public+Health+Division/Health+Needs+Assessment+Dec+2010.pdf) noted that the three-year average for years 2006-2008 showed 16 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, and an age-adjusted death rate of 22 per 100,000 population, more than twice the age-adjusted rate at the state (10 per 100,000) and just under twice the national rate of 14 per100,000. Although the rates are considered “statistically unstable” due to the small numbers, they are enough to raise concern.

Similarly, the 2011 County Health Rankings http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/california/lake) reported that the Lake County’s motor vehicle crash death rate (for the years of 2001-2007) was 28 per 100,000 population, more than twice both the national benchmark and the California rate, both of which were 12 per 100,000.

The best rate of 6 per 100,000 was in Marin County and the worst rates ranged up to 54 per 100,000 in small counties where the numbers were not statistically reliable.

So we know that we should be concerned, but what are the reasons for our troublesome rates? The numbers tell only part of the story.

Lake County has some fairly unique characteristics when it comes to traffic safety. Can we really compare ourselves to Marin County when it comes to driving conditions?

Options for travel around Clear Lake and into adjacent counties are limited to a very few highways, of which only approximately seven miles are defined as freeway.

Local traffic blends with vacationing tourists and travelers who are just passing through on their way to other destinations.

Other local roads range in quality, but include many that are unpaved and some that do not include a full lane for each direction of traffic. Sidewalks are sporadic and bike lanes tend to be narrow or absent.

As a rural area, road lighting is rare (the lack of “light pollution” is much appreciated by star gazers), and drivers must be ever vigilant in watching for deer, raccoons and other wildlife that unexpectedly cross in front of traffic.

Winter weather brings snow to some areas and black ice to many others.

And even though our emergency medical services provide excellent response for our rural setting, ambulances face the same driving challenges as the rest of us and major injuries often result in a helicopter ride to major trauma centers located 60 or more miles away.

If this paints a picture, it is a far cry from Marin County.

 How can be we better understand how to address Lake County traffic safety needs? The key is to find better information about the details of our own accident patterns.

One of the great strengths of people in Lake County is their resourcefulness and ability to help themselves. Unexpected partnerships foster creative methods and solutions. A perfect example is the traffic accident mapping feature launched by Lake County News.

What better way to educate ourselves about traffic safety than to have current information about the location and nature of accidents that take place in Lake County?

We have an opportunity to gather data about the characteristics of accidents that allow us to focus on solutions that make the most sense for our conditions.

Although we may not be able to obtain all the information we’d like to see, we’ll be able to learn more than we could ever extrapolate from raw numbers relating to traffic mortality.

Unlike traffic fatality data available through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Trends/TrendsGeneral.aspx), locally gathered data will include non-fatal accidents and other information of interest.

Here are some thoughts on what we might find helpful:

• Where are the accident “hot spots?” Can they be improved with better road maintenance, design, visibility, or other engineering approaches?

• How old are the vehicles involved in accidents? In today’s economic environment, are older cars lacking current safety features being driven? Is deferred maintenance of tires, brakes, and other needed repairs factoring into the occurrence or outcomes of accidents?

• Are very small vehicles, such as electric cars or motorcycles involved?

• Are there patterns that relate to the age and experience of drivers?

• Is distracted driving a continuing problem?

• How often do drivers involved in accidents lack valid drivers’ licenses?

• Do most accidents involve Lake County residents, or are they more likely to involve visitors, tourists, or people just passing through?

• We know that alcohol intoxication leads to accidents, but do other drugs, including both illicit and prescription drugs, play a significant role?

• How often do animals or other roadway hazards (ice, rocks, mudslides, etc.) contribute to local accidents?

• How often is transport of motor vehicle accident victims to a local hospital or out-of-county trauma center required?

While this list may be a bit ambitious, any information we can gather to better define the nature of traffic accidents in Lake County will allow prevention efforts to target the causes. In fact, simple awareness of accident “hot spots” will likely promote more cautious driving in those areas.

As Lake County’s public health officer, I am appreciative of the initiative shown by Elizabeth Larson and Lake County News in bringing a new traffic accident mapping project forward. The map can be seen at http://bit.ly/VxtrK0 .

In the process, we are strengthening collaborations among the media, California Highway Patrol, the Lake County/City Area Planning Council, and Lake County Public Health.

Good, locally relevant information allows us all to mobilize action steps to protect and improve the health of our community.

Dr. Karen Tait is the public health officer for Lake County, Calif. She served as an advisor on Lake County News' recent five-part series, “Hazards Ahead,” focusing on the county's high vehicle collision rate and its effects on the health of county residents.

Remember that scene?

“The Wizard of Oz” was perceived as a giant terrifying disembodied head. Even Dorothy was fooled, until her dog Toto barked at a curtained alcove. The man inside the alcove shooed Toto away, while speaking into an amplifier: “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

Today, thanks to thousands of plucky kids occupying Wall Street, America is looking away from the Big Giant Head. Instead we are finally focusing attention on what is behind the curtain.

Many have criticized the tender years of the Occupy Wall Street protesters, sneering, “These kids still live with their parents.”

Well, who else COULD stage a weeks-long sit-in … ?

The rest of us are chained to jobs. We are chained to dependents (children, elders, pets). We are chained to mortgages. We are chained to credit card debt. We must wait for accumulated vacation days (if we are lucky enough to have a job) and then have the boss's permission to use them.

It is the young, who have not yet been chained, who can take the lead, in times like these.

So, the kids are sleeping in a cramped urban park, enduring police brutality, being maced, beaten, hand-cuffed and arrested, and they have been doing this for weeks now. They are doing it because no “leader” seems capable of protecting or serving us, the majority of Americans, the 99 percent.

The corporate-owned media is near-unanimous in its disdain. “They don’t have a clear message!” (5,000 people chanting “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out” … ? Only a media pundit could fail to find a clear message there.)

The Media would rather we continue to be suckers for Corporate America’s favorite brainwashing tool, distraction. “Politicians cause your problems! Vote for different politicians, if you want change.”

In other words, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

Congress has become almost a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corporate America. One hundred percent of Republican politicians are owned outright, and at least half, or maybe two thirds, of Democratic ones.

Thanks to the corporate-stacked Supreme Court, the wealthiest 1 percent now enjoy unbridled control of our political system.

Here’s more corporate spin: “OWS attacks success itself” or “they hate successful people!”

Sorry to disappoint, but no one is against success.

We ARE against crooks, criminals and liars.

We are against a system that has been gamed and rigged to continuously channel money to the 1 percent, while making the 99 percent poorer. Fair markets? Fair playing field? You won't find these in America today.

OWS has pulled back the curtain. They chose the right spot and the right time. Wall Street is the epicenter of financial earthquakes and tsunamis that have damaged the entire world’s economy. OWS points straight at the people who caused economic disaster, and says “You stand accused!”

Wall Street does not like the attention. Wall Street spends a great deal of money on PR firms, politicians, lobbyists, media pundits and talk radio, to avoid this kind of attention.

Bottom line: In 2008, nearly twenty percent of America’s net worth, accumulated over 200 years, disappeared. The criminal banksters responsible would prefer people not stare at them.

In the words of a Holly Near song, “We are a gentle, angry people, and we are singing for our lives.”

Thanks to OWS, our nation is finally beginning to hear the people’s voices.

Thank you, Occupy Wall Street, for pulling back the curtain.

Thank you to all Occupiers across America.

Those “crazy kids” started the ball rolling. Will you help keep it going?

To learn about Occupy Together events in Lake County, including two occurring on Saturday, Oct. 15, in Lakeport and Clearlake, visit www.occupytogether.org or www.ruralvalues.org.

Deb Baumann lives in Upper Lake, Calif.