Philip Munger
Encyclopedia
Philip Munger is an American composer
, music educator, political blog
ger, and environmentalist
living in Alaska. He is perhaps best known for "The Skies are Weeping
", a seven-movement cantata
written in tribute to Rachel Corrie
, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement
killed in 2003 by a bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces
while she tried to prevent a house demolition in the southern Gaza Strip
during the Second Intifada. He currently lectures on cultural history
at two campuses of the University of Alaska Anchorage
and occasionally teaches tuba
at the main Anchorage campus. He was born in 1946 and attended Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Washington, where he studied musical composition.
, and helped start of first volunteered search-and-rescue unit on Prince William Sound
. He directed the largest halfway house
in Alaska. He has performed thousands of hours of service in the community
including coaching little league baseball and youth soccer and volunteering as an assistant Cub
and Boy Scout
leader. He describes himself as a serious environmentalist and claims to have been called "Alaska's most notorious composer" due to his classically-based protest musical works. He directed a community band for 13 years. Philip Munger lives in on Neklason Lake near Palmer
with his wife.
Munger currently serves on some boards, including Friends of Mat-Su as Secretary of the Board, Anchorage Civic Orchestra as Vice President, Alaskans for Ethical Government as board member and Alaska Democratic Party as District 13 and Mat-Su Area secretary.
, where he studied musical composition
. "Throughout his 47 years of composition, Munger has sought to use a variety of techniques to communicate with audiences." He moved to Juneau from Seattle in early 1973, and in 1973 spring he moved to Cordova
then in October 1976 to Whittier, Alaska
. During 10 years living on Prince William Sound
he wrote little music. In October 1983, after moving to the Mat-Su Valley
, he began writing what would eventually become nearly 100 compositions, many describing the natural wonders of Alaska, while others addressed various social, humanitarian, ecological/environmental and political issues not generally considered the subject matter of classical compositions.
Mnger has been recipient of several grants, prizes, and honors, with his works being performed at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Juilliard Institute
, Cornish Institute
, Warsaw Conservatory, the National Gallery
, the National Cathedral, and other notable venues.
In 2004 Philip Munger composed a cantata
titled The Skies are Weeping
, in seven movements for a soprano soloist, chamber choir, and percussion ensemble. The cantata memorializes Rachel Corrie
, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement
killed in 2003 by a bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces
while she tried to prevent a house demolition in the southern Gaza Strip
and Tom Hurndall
, a British
photography
student and ISM activist, who was shot in the head in the Gaza Strip
by an IDF sniper
, Taysir Hayb
, on 11 April 2003 then died 9 months later without having regained consciousness after falling into a coma
during the Second Intifada. The work's first public performance was scheduled take place on April 27, 2004 at the University of Alaska Anchorage
. A public meeting to address objections of members of the Jewish community and others who believed the cantata was one-sided and unfair to Israel failed to resolve disagreements. Following the forum, Munger announced that the performance had been "withdrawn for the safety of the student performers", on his request, citing the "orchestrated" hatemails and threats he and publicly known performers had received (although Mr. Munger said he never turned in the emails to the Police because the alleged emails had been deleted). The cantata eventually premiered at the Hackney Empire Theatre
in London, England on November 1, 2005.
In January 2005, he has awarded "For Valor" decoration and named to the Department of Veteran
s Affairs Bugler Hall of Fame, by the service organization called Bugles Across America
, for his 5 minute composition titled "Shards" which has been premiered on Jan 23 at the UAA music faculty benefit concert for the local student chapter of Music Educators' National Conference (MENC), 2005, for "honoring America's Afghanistan and Iraq Wars' dead". His subsequent "Shards II," for bugle, electronics and six instruments, premiered in Sitka, Alaska in August 2007. "Shards III," for bugle, electronics, tenor and bass trombones, premiered at UAA in April 2008.
He collaborated Crosssound Festival's concerts in Juneau
twice, in 2006 and 2007.
In May 2008, he was awarded a Rasmuson Foundation
Fellow
ship to finance composition of six new works. Philip Munger, plays trombone in the UAA Wind Ensemble.
as secretary of Mat-Su Democrats and of District 13 (Greater Palmer). He worked on the 2008 campaign of Diane Benson for Alaska's U.S. congressional seat. In August 2008, with the selection of Alaska governor Sarah Palin
as John McCain
's vice-presidential running mate, Munger began a series on his political blog Progressive Alaska entitled "Saradise Lost" heavily critical of Palin. Readership of his blog went from 2,800 readers during the week prior to Palin's pick, to 92,000 readers in the week leading up to the November 2008 presidential election. "Saradise Lost" was later used by Eric Boehlert in his 2009 book on political bloggers, Bloggers on the Bus:How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press, as the title for the chapter on Alaska political blogging, which discussed Munger's blogging activities along with those of other prominent Alaska bloggers credited with pioneering reporting on Palin's candidacy.
magazine declared, eight scientists as heroes and two as villains, under "Science heroes and villains of 2008" title, while Munger is listed within the "3 non-scientists who deserve special mention" along with Claudia Castillo and Barack Obama
, for "for doing his bit to counter creationism
" by confirming US Republican
nominee for vice president
Sarah Palin
's beliefs on "dinosaurs and humans coexisted 6000 years ago".
In his September 28, 2008 article titled, "Palin treads carefully between fundamentalist beliefs and public policy", Stephen Braun stated, after Sarah Palin
elected as mayor
of Wasilla, Alaska
, she startled University of Alaska Anchorage
musical teacher and local resident Munger who "regularly criticized" Palin in recent years on his "liberal political blog called Progressive
Alaska" by her creationism beliefs during their casual conversation, which are related to the "popular strain of creationism" which claims the "Young Earth" that God created about 6,000 years ago and where both dinosaurs and humans coexisted, while most scientists say 65 millions years of time passed after extinction of dinosaurs over earth and first primitive humans. In June 1997, after watching her speech in a graduation ceremony for small group of home-schooled students at the Assembly of God, where the college band playing was conducted by Munger, he asked her "Sarah, how can you believe in creationism -your father's a science teacher" she replied they "don't have to agree on everything". And after he "pushed her on the earth's creation, whether it was really less than 7,000 years old and whether dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time" about prehistoric fossil
s and tracks dating back millions of years, she replied yes, "she'd seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them" which means dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time, against scientific views, according to Munger. While Bill McAllister, Palin's chief spokesman
as governor, claimed "he never heard Palin make such remarks about dinosaurs and that Palin preferred not to discuss her views on evolution publicly." Munger further claimed he asked Palin if she believed the doomsday
scenario which Messiah will return while earth is in total chaos, called End of Days, "She looked in my eyes and said, 'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'"
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, music educator, political blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, and environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
living in Alaska. He is perhaps best known for "The Skies are Weeping
The Skies are Weeping
The Skies are Weeping is a cantata by composer Philip Munger. The cantata memorializes Rachel Corrie, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement, who was killed in 2003 by a bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces when she tried to prevent the demolition of a house in the...
", a seven-movement cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
written in tribute to Rachel Corrie
Rachel Corrie
Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement . She was killed in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defence Forces bulldozer when she was standing or kneeling in front of a local Palestinian's home, thus acting as a human shield, attempting to prevent the IDF from...
, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement
The International Solidarity Movement is an organization focused on assisting the Palestinian cause in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict using nonviolent protests. It was founded in 2001 by Ghassan Andoni, a Palestinian activist; Neta Golan, an Israeli activist; Huwaida Arraf, a...
killed in 2003 by a bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
while she tried to prevent a house demolition in the southern Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
during the Second Intifada. He currently lectures on cultural history
Cultural history
The term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its subject matter.Cultural history, as a discipline, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural...
at two campuses of the University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....
and occasionally teaches tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
at the main Anchorage campus. He was born in 1946 and attended Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Washington, where he studied musical composition.
Life
Philip Munger was born in 1946 and attended Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Washington, where he studied musical composition. Since moving to Alaska from Seattle in 1973, he has worked as a commercial fisherman, was a blue water mariner for several years, and worked for almost thirteen years in the various fields of the justice system. He helped to expand the Whittier Boat Harbor, started the Prince William Aquaculture CorporationEsther Island (Alaska)
Esther Island is an island in the northwestern part of Prince William Sound of the Gulf of Alaska in the state of Alaska, USA. It has a land area of 127.336 km² and a resident population of 31 persons as of the 2000 census. The island is the site of the South Esther Island State Marine Park,...
, and helped start of first volunteered search-and-rescue unit on Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
. He directed the largest halfway house
Halfway house
The purpose of a halfway house, also called a recovery house or sober house, is generally to allow people to begin the process of reintegration with society, while still providing monitoring and support; this is generally believed to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse when compared to a...
in Alaska. He has performed thousands of hours of service in the community
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
including coaching little league baseball and youth soccer and volunteering as an assistant Cub
Cub Scout
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The movement is often referred to simply as Cubbing...
and Boy Scout
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
leader. He describes himself as a serious environmentalist and claims to have been called "Alaska's most notorious composer" due to his classically-based protest musical works. He directed a community band for 13 years. Philip Munger lives in on Neklason Lake near Palmer
Palmer, Alaska
Palmer is the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the state of Alaska, USA. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 5,937....
with his wife.
Munger currently serves on some boards, including Friends of Mat-Su as Secretary of the Board, Anchorage Civic Orchestra as Vice President, Alaskans for Ethical Government as board member and Alaska Democratic Party as District 13 and Mat-Su Area secretary.
Musical career
Philip Munger attended Oberlin Conservatory and the University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, where he studied musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
. "Throughout his 47 years of composition, Munger has sought to use a variety of techniques to communicate with audiences." He moved to Juneau from Seattle in early 1973, and in 1973 spring he moved to Cordova
Cordova, Alaska
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,454 people, 958 households, and 597 families residing in the city. The population density was 40.0 per square mile . There are 1,099 housing units at an average density of 17.9 per square mile...
then in October 1976 to Whittier, Alaska
Whittier, Alaska
Whittier is a city in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of 2006, the population was 177. The city is also a port for the Alaska Marine Highway.-Geography:...
. During 10 years living on Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
he wrote little music. In October 1983, after moving to the Mat-Su Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley
Matanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 35 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska....
, he began writing what would eventually become nearly 100 compositions, many describing the natural wonders of Alaska, while others addressed various social, humanitarian, ecological/environmental and political issues not generally considered the subject matter of classical compositions.
Mnger has been recipient of several grants, prizes, and honors, with his works being performed at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Juilliard Institute
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, Cornish Institute
Cornish College of the Arts
-Library:The library at Cornish College specializes in art, dance, design, music, performance production, and theatre. As of 2011 it holds 4700 CDs, 40,000 books, has 2,200 videos, and subscribes to 154 periodicals...
, Warsaw Conservatory, the National Gallery
National gallery
The National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom.National Gallery may also refer to:*Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan*Australia:**National Gallery of Australia, Canberra...
, the National Cathedral, and other notable venues.
In 2004 Philip Munger composed a cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
titled The Skies are Weeping
The Skies are Weeping
The Skies are Weeping is a cantata by composer Philip Munger. The cantata memorializes Rachel Corrie, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement, who was killed in 2003 by a bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces when she tried to prevent the demolition of a house in the...
, in seven movements for a soprano soloist, chamber choir, and percussion ensemble. The cantata memorializes Rachel Corrie
Rachel Corrie
Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement . She was killed in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defence Forces bulldozer when she was standing or kneeling in front of a local Palestinian's home, thus acting as a human shield, attempting to prevent the IDF from...
, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement
The International Solidarity Movement is an organization focused on assisting the Palestinian cause in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict using nonviolent protests. It was founded in 2001 by Ghassan Andoni, a Palestinian activist; Neta Golan, an Israeli activist; Huwaida Arraf, a...
killed in 2003 by a bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
while she tried to prevent a house demolition in the southern Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
and Tom Hurndall
Tom Hurndall
Thomas "Tom" Hurndall was a British photography student, a volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement , and an activist against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. On 11 April 2003, he was shot in the head in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defense Forces sniper, Taysir Hayb...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
student and ISM activist, who was shot in the head in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
by an IDF sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
, Taysir Hayb
Taysir Hayb
Idier Wahid Taysir Hayb is an Israeli sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces who shot International Solidarity Movement civilian activist Tom Hurndall while on duty in Gaza on April 11, 2003. Hurndall died in January 2004. Taysir Hayb was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter. His sentence was...
, on 11 April 2003 then died 9 months later without having regained consciousness after falling into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
during the Second Intifada. The work's first public performance was scheduled take place on April 27, 2004 at the University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....
. A public meeting to address objections of members of the Jewish community and others who believed the cantata was one-sided and unfair to Israel failed to resolve disagreements. Following the forum, Munger announced that the performance had been "withdrawn for the safety of the student performers", on his request, citing the "orchestrated" hatemails and threats he and publicly known performers had received (although Mr. Munger said he never turned in the emails to the Police because the alleged emails had been deleted). The cantata eventually premiered at the Hackney Empire Theatre
Hackney Empire
The Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney, built in 1901 as a music hall.-History:Hackney Empire is a grade II* listed building...
in London, England on November 1, 2005.
In January 2005, he has awarded "For Valor" decoration and named to the Department of Veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
s Affairs Bugler Hall of Fame, by the service organization called Bugles Across America
National moment of remembrance
The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans, wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day, to pause in an act of national unity for a duration of one minute. The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms...
, for his 5 minute composition titled "Shards" which has been premiered on Jan 23 at the UAA music faculty benefit concert for the local student chapter of Music Educators' National Conference (MENC), 2005, for "honoring America's Afghanistan and Iraq Wars' dead". His subsequent "Shards II," for bugle, electronics and six instruments, premiered in Sitka, Alaska in August 2007. "Shards III," for bugle, electronics, tenor and bass trombones, premiered at UAA in April 2008.
He collaborated Crosssound Festival's concerts in Juneau
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
twice, in 2006 and 2007.
In May 2008, he was awarded a Rasmuson Foundation
United States Artists
United States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
ship to finance composition of six new works. Philip Munger, plays trombone in the UAA Wind Ensemble.
Political activism
Munger currently serves with the Alaska Democratic PartyAlaska Democratic Party
-Introduction:The Alaska Democratic Party is the primary Democratic Party political organization in the state of Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage....
as secretary of Mat-Su Democrats and of District 13 (Greater Palmer). He worked on the 2008 campaign of Diane Benson for Alaska's U.S. congressional seat. In August 2008, with the selection of Alaska governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
as John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
's vice-presidential running mate, Munger began a series on his political blog Progressive Alaska entitled "Saradise Lost" heavily critical of Palin. Readership of his blog went from 2,800 readers during the week prior to Palin's pick, to 92,000 readers in the week leading up to the November 2008 presidential election. "Saradise Lost" was later used by Eric Boehlert in his 2009 book on political bloggers, Bloggers on the Bus:How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press, as the title for the chapter on Alaska political blogging, which discussed Munger's blogging activities along with those of other prominent Alaska bloggers credited with pioneering reporting on Palin's candidacy.
Anti-creationism efforts and Sarah Palin case
New ScientistNew Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
magazine declared, eight scientists as heroes and two as villains, under "Science heroes and villains of 2008" title, while Munger is listed within the "3 non-scientists who deserve special mention" along with Claudia Castillo and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, for "for doing his bit to counter creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
" by confirming US Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
's beliefs on "dinosaurs and humans coexisted 6000 years ago".
In his September 28, 2008 article titled, "Palin treads carefully between fundamentalist beliefs and public policy", Stephen Braun stated, after Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
elected as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla, Alaska
Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census...
, she startled University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....
musical teacher and local resident Munger who "regularly criticized" Palin in recent years on his "liberal political blog called Progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
Alaska" by her creationism beliefs during their casual conversation, which are related to the "popular strain of creationism" which claims the "Young Earth" that God created about 6,000 years ago and where both dinosaurs and humans coexisted, while most scientists say 65 millions years of time passed after extinction of dinosaurs over earth and first primitive humans. In June 1997, after watching her speech in a graduation ceremony for small group of home-schooled students at the Assembly of God, where the college band playing was conducted by Munger, he asked her "Sarah, how can you believe in creationism -your father's a science teacher" she replied they "don't have to agree on everything". And after he "pushed her on the earth's creation, whether it was really less than 7,000 years old and whether dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time" about prehistoric fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s and tracks dating back millions of years, she replied yes, "she'd seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them" which means dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time, against scientific views, according to Munger. While Bill McAllister, Palin's chief spokesman
Spokesman
A spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
as governor, claimed "he never heard Palin make such remarks about dinosaurs and that Palin preferred not to discuss her views on evolution publicly." Munger further claimed he asked Palin if she believed the doomsday
Doomsday
Doomsday may refer to:* End times, a prophesied time of tribulation that would precede the Second Coming of the Messiah in Abrahamic religions-Fiction:* Doomsday , a 1927 novel by Warwick Deeping* Doomsday , a DC comic book character...
scenario which Messiah will return while earth is in total chaos, called End of Days, "She looked in my eyes and said, 'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'"
See also
- Rachel CorrieRachel CorrieRachel Aliene Corrie was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement . She was killed in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defence Forces bulldozer when she was standing or kneeling in front of a local Palestinian's home, thus acting as a human shield, attempting to prevent the IDF from...
- The Skies are WeepingThe Skies are WeepingThe Skies are Weeping is a cantata by composer Philip Munger. The cantata memorializes Rachel Corrie, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement, who was killed in 2003 by a bulldozer operated by the Israel Defense Forces when she tried to prevent the demolition of a house in the...
- My Name is Rachel CorrieMy Name is Rachel CorrieMy Name is Rachel Corrie is a play based on the diaries and emails of Rachel Corrie, edited by Alan Rickman, who directed it, and journalist Katharine Viner. Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American Evergreen State College student and member of the International Solidarity Movement who traveled to...
- Phil GoldvargPhil GoldvargPhilip Michael Goldvarg was an American poet, activist and member of the Zapatista Solidarity Coalition.- Personal life :...
- Linda McCarristonLinda McCarristonLinda McCarriston, and holding dual citizenship of Ireland and the United States, is a poet and Professor in the Department of Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Alaska Anchorage, teaching Creative Writing and Literary Arts since 1994.-Life:McCarriston had completed her Master of...
External references
- The Lionel Show "Lionel welcomes Philip Munger, editor of the Progressive Alaska blog" radio recording
- Burning it up at both ends ClubHooligan.com
- The Juneau Symphony
- Anchorage Youth Symphony REVIEW Anchorage Daily News December 2, 2008
- Alaska artists put shows on the road Anchorage Daily News, Published, October 16, 2005, by Mark Baechtel
- An interview with composer Phillip Munger by Tamra Spivey and Ronnie Pontiac published in Newtopia Magazine 'Ideology' - Vol.III, Issue 18 September-October 2004
- The Skies are Weeping Biography of Philip Munger
- The Skies Are Weeping - The November 1, 2005 London Performance Protest Music of Philip Munger Lyrics and Recordings available at Philip Munger's blog
- GarageBand Knik Philharmonic Orchestra Recordings of Knik Philharmonic Orchestra uploaded by Philip Munger
- Philip Munger's Statement October 9, 2005
- Blue America Welcomes Philip Munger January 3, 2009, Autobiography at firedoglake.com