Owner: the mindful mission URL:http://www.mindfulmission.com Join Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:34:02 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: One white, middle-class male's attempt to reconcile the deep inequalities of the world. the mindful mission looks at the intersection between faith, politics, culture, and justice. Site statistics:Click here
Dangerous Cities 2006-10-30 21:47:28 The annual study taking a look at the most dangerous cities in the country have been released.
Here are this years "Top 4" (i.e. most dangerous):
1. St. Louis, MO
2. Detroit, MI
3. Flint, MI
4. Compton, CA
The good news in this is that Camden, NJ, having sat at the top of the list for the last two years, has dropped from the top four. I have written a good amount related to Camden, having visited there twice in conjunction with my thesis research. I am not sure why the violence in Camden has been reduced, though I am sure that many will point to the newer gentrification of the down town area. And of course not being in the top four is not the same as saying violence has been reduced. Instead it is only saying that the cities in the top four have had rates of violence that increased more than what has occurred in Camden. But nonetheless, Camden's improve place on the list is good news.
Of course, each of those in the top four (along with Camden) are places of great poverty. D Read more:Cities
Taxing the Rich/Poor 2006-10-31 17:21:41 Go take a look at Ezra's post on Taxing the Rich.
The issue that jumped out at me was this.
The "Right" often claims that the the wealthy are overtaxed while the poor are undertaxed. But they often solely look at income (instead of wealth). Take a look at this pie chart (from here):The bottom 50% of America make up 2.8% of the wealth in this country. Now that is disturbing in itself, but that is a different issue. The issue here is that the bottom half's tax burden is 3.4%.
In talking about taxation, income, and wealthy, rarely is wealth even considered. But I believe that any conversation about taxing the poor/rich needs to also include the wealth involved. The wealthy can often live off of previous earnings (or inheritances) while the poor live paycheck to paycheck. The wealthy still may pay taxes on the interest that they make, but it causes little interruption in their every day lives.
Wealth matters, probably even more so than income. Ezra summarizes it like this
Keep him in the minors 2006-10-31 16:42:43 I couldn't resist posting this (click on image for larger cartoon) [from an e-mail via Kevin, so I don't have an original source]: Read more:minors
Book Review: The Innocent Man 2006-10-31 18:22:22 [***Contains Spoilers***]
From The Innocent
Man's cover flap:If you believe that in America you are innocent until prove guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.I have long been a fan of John Grisham. Growing up, I would also make sure that I had his newest book read as soon as possible after its release. And then I would read it again. And again. I am pretty sure that I have read The Firm more than any other book. And A Time to Kill would probably be second. But soon after I began college I somewhat abandoned pop-fiction. I would still read the occasional novel, but it would always be classic. Needless to say, that meant that I stopped reading John Grisham. My interests had led me elsewhere.
But everything always seems to come back around.
John Grisham recently released The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. This
Happy Halloween! 2006-11-01 00:01:25 By the way...HappyHalloween
!
And Buck wants to know if there are any neighbors handing out LSD-laced Candy.
Not sure why... :) Read more:Happy Halloween
Another Exoneration 2006-10-31 22:59:21 Again, DNA frees a convict [hat tip Injustice Anywhere...]:DNA testing is unlocking prison doors for another wrongfully convicted Dallas man on Tuesday, bringing to 10 the number of felony exonerations in the county after such tests in the last five years.
After maintaining his innocence for more than 25 years, Larry Fuller, 58, is expected to be released from custody without any opposition from prosecutors after an afternoon hearing. He was convicted of aggravated rape in 1981 and sentenced to 50 years in prison based on a sexual assault victim's identification of him.And it continues.
And people still believe in our justice system.
Some will point to this as a reason why the system works. But lets be honest. Most prisoners' claims of innocence are ignored, regardless of the circumstances. Prosecutors often challenge DNA testing, not wanting to be forced to admit that a mistake was made.
Yet the system continues.
And this same system kills people.
Doesn't that make y
Comment Spam and Captcha 2006-11-01 01:54:40 Just an FYI for my commenters...
I have added a plugin that forces you to enter in chracters in order to comment.
I tried to avoid this, but I have been getting hit by comment spam pretty hard lately so I am going to try this out.
Let me know if there are any issues. Read more:Comment
, Captcha
, Comment Spam
(Red)emption - Reminder 2006-11-01 00:39:44
Hey all...just a reminder about Mike Todd's (Red)emption Campaign.
$10 is all we ask for. I have had over 1,000 hits since I posted about this last week. Just think if each of you would have sent in $10.
Also...post about this on your blog. The more people involved the better.
How much is ten dollars? Not very much for many of us. Think about skipping 2 or 3 Starbucks visits, 2 trips to McDonalds, a 12 pack of beer, a movie ticket, or not buying (half of) that CD that you wanted. It may not be very much, but it can go a long way.
The goal is to have 1,000 donors of $10 each.
Become one of the 1,000. Read more:Reminder
China Death Reform 2006-11-01 18:08:04 Why is is that China
can see the need to death penalty reform, but the United States cannot?
China Alters Rule on Death Penalty:China's highest court must approve all executions under legislation enacted Tuesday, prompting human rights activists to express hope that the country will reduce its use of the death penalty.
The amendment to China's capital punishment law follows reports of wrongly convicted people being executed and criticism that the death penalty has been imposed arbitrarily by lower courts. Read more:Reform
Oaxaca, Mexico 2006-11-01 17:52:37 Things do not look good in Oaxaca
, Mexico
.
To be fully honest, I know very little about the situation down there. But Majikthise has some of the best coverage around.
Here is a summary of what is going on from Wikipedia:In May of 2006 a teachers strike calling for higher wages led to the occupation of many buildings and streets in Oaxaca's capital city. On June 14, 2006, the Oaxaca Teachers Union was evicted. By October of 2006, supporters of the strike had grown to tens of thousands calling for Oaxaca governor Ulises Ruíz Ortíz to resign. Demonstrators launched a widespread campaign of civil disobedience and took over the state-run television station. On October 27, 2006, paramilitary forces fired on a crowd of protesters, killing three: Esteban Zurrita and Emilio Alonso Fabian, two locals involved in the demonstrations, and Brad Will, an American journalist who had been videotaping the protest. On October 28, 2006, Mexican President Vincente Fox ordered riot police
Appropriate? 2006-11-02 00:44:52 I am just going to quote Kyle on this one:
"Joking that students who don't do well in school end up in the military: inappropriate.
Threatening to beat a fellow senator to death unless he apologizes: appropriate.
I feel like each election season is more intolerable than the last."
Irreparable Harm 2006-11-02 17:43:07 Federal judge blocks town's crackdown on illegal immigrants:A federal judge blocked the city of Hazleton from enforcing a pair of tough ordinances targeting illegal immigrants, just hours before the measures were to go into effect.
The measures, approved by City Council last month, would have imposed fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and denied business permits to companies that give them jobs. They also would have required tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit.
U.S. District Judge James Munley ruled that landlords, tenants and businesses that cater to Hispanics faced "irreparable harm" from the laws and issued a temporary restraining order blocking their enforcement.This is great news, but I am not sure that it will hold up in the courts.
But it appears fairly obvious that the landlords, tenants and businesses would face "irreparable harm." And my guess it that the economics will help maintain the block.
But sadly, few people will reall
Haggard Resigns 2006-11-03 17:29:16 I was going to try and avoid this story, but this is pretty big.
Ted Haggard
, senior pastor at 14,000-member New Life Church and president of the National Association of Evangelicals has resigned due to allegations of a gay affair and drug use. Interim pastor has said there is at least some guilt:The church's associate pastor said Haggard had offered "some admission of indiscretion" to the church leadership -- though "not admission to all of the material that has been discussed."I have written about Haggard before, both positively (based on his thoughts on faith and politics) and negatively (due to his embrace of the view that Christianity equated with Capitalism). Haggard is obviously a key leader among the Religious Right, saying that he has a "direct line" to the White House. He has also been adamant about his anti-homosexual views.
James Dobson, the Godfather of the Religious Right, has given clear support to Haggard among the controversy:Ted Haggard is a friend of mine, an
a-store 2006-11-03 19:39:33 In my continued effort to sell out as much as possible, I am finding new ways to monetize my website.
In turn, I have created an Amazon Store where you can buy some of the books (and other related things) that I believe everyone should read.
Don't miss out!
Ney Resigns 2006-11-04 16:44:21 Hmmm...just when you thought that it could not get any worse for the Republican Party right, you get this headline: Rep. Ney of Ohio Resigns From Congress:Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio, who pleaded guilty last month in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, resigned from Congress on Friday.
The Ohio Republican, who had been pressed to quit by fellow lawmakers, sent a letter of resignation to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, according to Ney's chief of staff, David Popp.
...
Ney pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to conspiracy and making false statements, acknowledging taking trips, tickets, meals and campaign donations from disgraced lobbyist Abramoff in return for official actions on behalf of Abramoff clients.
Ney has been in trouble for a long time, and this was long expected. But the timing is incredibly odd. Why would the GOP wait until four days before the election for this to happen?
All I know is that this is just one more scandal for the GOP.
I was going to say that this is one m
A Prayer? 2006-11-04 17:31:32 John Grudem, conservative theologian, has an article at Townhall about the upcoming election. Let me start out by saying that I have a strong dislike for Grudem's theology after having read some of his writing. But this article tops all of it.
He calls this article a prayer, or at least "about prayer and the upcoming election."
I am continually amazed that people clearly cloak their conservative politics with their conservative theology, even when the two have little in common.
This article is not a prayer. It is a politically conservative political speech aimed at getting more votes for the Republican Party. And to call it a prayer is ridiculous.
It is one thing to have conservative theology and conservative politics. It is an entirely different thing to call a blatant political speech a prayer. Read more:Prayer
Book Review - God Laughs and Plays 2006-11-04 17:10:52
Full disclosure: I recently received this book in the mail with the expectation that I would review it here. I have done this a couple of times before (here and here), and if you read those reviews, you could tell that just because I get a book for free does not mean that I am going to give it a good review.May God make this world as beautiful to you as it has been to meA few years back my sister-in-law recommended a book to me called The Brothers K, by David James Duncan. I never got around to reading it. That soon will change.
Duncan's new book, God Laughs & Plays
: Churchless Sermons in Response to the Preachments of the Fundamentalist Right is a compilation of essays and speeches that Duncan has written over the years on topics as varied as politics, salmon, religion, or conservation. These essays combine to create a powerful look at the interaction between the role of religion in politics, conservation, and life. The above quote from William Blake, quoted from Dunca
Sunday Worship - My Way 2006-11-05 15:46:29 My Way, from Los Lonely Boys:I don't need no fortune
I don't need no fame
That's all just an illusion
To me it don't mean a thing
You can try and deceive me
But I see right through your skin
And what you're trying to tell me
Is something I don't beleive in
Don't tell me how to live my life
Don't tell me how to pray
Don't tell me how to sing my song
Don't tell me what to say
Cuz I believe that miracles
happen every day
I don't care what you say,
I'm gonna do it my way
You say you have all the answers
And I should do it your way
How many times do I have to tell you
I ain't no puppet on a string
Listen to me...
Don't tell me how to live my life
Don't tell me how to pray
Don't tell me how to sing my song
Don't tell me what to say
Cuz I believe that miracles
happen every day
I don't care what you say,
I'm gonna do it my way
I'm gonna do it my way
What'd you say
Ohhhhhhhhh
Ohhhhhhhhh
Ohhhhhhhhh
Don't tell me how to live my life
Don't tell me how to pray
Don't t Read more:Sunday
Nothing but the Nets 2006-11-05 17:44:14 Check out Nothing
but the Nets:It's not often that a story in Sports Illustrated can have a direct impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa. But with an 815 word column in April, writer Rick Reilly kicked off a grassroots campaign to do just that.
Reilly's pitch was straightforward. Every thirty seconds, an African child dies from a malaria infection transmitted by a mosquito bite, making it the number-one killer of African children under five. So he implored his readers to send $10 donations to the United Nations Foundation to purchase mosquito nets to help protect families when most of the transmissions occur: at night when families are asleep.
The pitch was simple, and it worked. It really worked.You can participate too. You can donate here. You can read more here.
Surrender to Terrorists 2006-11-06 17:30:23 From Marvin Olasky, Editor In Chief of the Religious Right World Magazine:I suspect most of us realize that we can’t win a war on terror by voting in those so terrified that they wish to surrender.I am utterly sick of those on the right spewing this ignorant talking point. And it is even worse that those leaders of the Religious Right do not care about honesty and truth telling, but instead back on (untrue) talking points with little foundation in reality. But hey...I have talked about the lovely politics of the Religious Right before, right?
Of course, Olasky is not alone. Bush has essentially said the same thing.
Lets be honest here. The Republican Party's "War on Terror" has led to the war in Iraq, which has been a miserable mistake that has led to more terrorists, not less.
Just because the someone believes that the U.S. should leave Iraq does not mean that they are surrendering to terrorists... Read more:Surrender
, Terrorists
Blame the wife 2006-11-06 17:07:47 Much has been written about Ted Haggard in recent days. A lot of it has been really good, regardless of the theological tilt.
But Mark Driscoll has done it again. He has shown that he is a complete jerk and a complete misogynist. Much of his post was worth reading, giving useful advice to many church leaders. But then he lost all credibility with this:Most pastors I know do not have satisfying, free, sexual conversations and liberties with their wives. At the risk of being even more widely despised than I currently am, I will lean over the plate and take one for the team on this. It is not uncommon to meet pastors’ wives who really let themselves go; they sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness. A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband’s sin, but she may not be Read more:Blame
Rich Whitney for Governor 2006-11-06 18:14:52 Here is some updated info from the Rich Whitney
campaign:
Rich Whitney received endorsements!!!!
Rockford Register Star:We believe Whitney, a 51-year-old attorney from Carbondale, could clean up state government while leading Illinois toward school finance reform, job growth, environmental responsibility and social justice.
...
The complicated web of corruption allegations snare both major parties. We think a new party has the best chance to bring honest government to the state of Illinois."
Southwest News Herald
The polls look encouraging, especially for a third party candidate that no one has ever heard of:
Zogby / Wall Street Journal (released October 31)
Whitney 16% (Blagojevich 39.6%, Topinka 33%)
Chicago Tribune (conducted October 27-29)
Whitney 13% (Blagojevich 44%, Topinka 29%)
Daily Herald (conducted October 16-22)
Whitney 12% (Blagojevich 48%, Topinka 32%)
There have also been several features done in the media:
Chicago Sun-Times feature
Illinois Times feature
Read more:Governor
How to not win an election 2006-11-06 17:37:44 How to not win an election, from Judy Barr Topinka:Republican governor candidate Judy Baar Topinka suggested that Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich should manage the Chicago Cubs because "they're a bunch of losers too."Here is a hint, Judy.
You are way behind in the polls. No one really likes you. And they like you even less because of your constant barrage of negativity both in person and in your ads.
The best way to solve that is not by calling your opponent a loser by comparing him to the beloved Chicago Cubs. While the Cubs may be the "lovable losers," they are still lovable.
You, on the other hand? Not so lovable.
So Illinois, how about a vote for Rich Whitney?
GOP Politics 2006-11-06 22:55:09 I know...I am writing a lot today, but there is a lot to write about!!
The Republican Party has been running a nice little campaign over the last week, using a "robo-call" service to call possible voters and lie to them. A small Illinois paper has a little summary:
GOP 'robocalls' enrage Democrats:Rozanne Ronen, a Barrington resident, got the call -- "Hi. I'm calling with information about Melissa Bean ..."
Then she got the call again and again and 18 more times, making for a total of about 21 calls since October 24.
"They are very annoying," Ronen said.
Pat Vockeroth, of Mount Prospect, received the calls too -- "Hi. I'm calling with information about Tammy Duckworth ..."
"If you only listen to the first sentence, you think they are from the Duckworth campaign," she said.
But the calls aren't paid for by Bean, Duckworth or even the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, they are paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee.Josh Marshall is leading the
Lies and Deception Exposed 2006-11-06 22:43:35 This may be my last post on the Haggard situation, but you never know.
But this is kind of crazy.
This was the prayer that Haggard prayed last Sunday, his last time in front of his church before the scandal came to light:Heavenly Father give us grace and mercy, help us this next week and a half as we go into national elections and Lord we pray for our country. Father we pray lies would be exposed and deception exposed. Father we pray that wisdom would come upon our electorate ...Prayer is an odd thing, and I am not sure that I really understand it.
I also am not convinced that God meddles in the everyday lives of each of us in specific ways.
But this prayer, and what happened following it, is just strange.
God? Or coincidence? Read more:Deception
Economy, Stupid 2006-11-07 15:39:15 Many on the right love to praise the improvement of the economy in recent years. And to be completely honest, there are encouraging signs. There have been increased jobs, increased wages, the Dow Jones average is the highest it has ever been, etc.
Yet what does this mean for the average worker, the average American. And what does it mean in the context of these numbers:According to Department of Labor statistics, salaries rose 3% from June 2005 to June 2006, but inflation rose 4.7% and health care 8%.So while it is nice that salaries are increasing, unfortunately they are not keeping up with inflation and are not coming anywhere close to the increase in health care And that does not even consider the types of jobs that have been "created." I can tell you that few of them are paying consistently solid salaries.
I don't know about you, but I know that I don't feel better off economically. And I know from experience that there are not a lot of great jobs sitting there waiting Read more:Stupid
Election Day 2006-11-07 15:05:02 Today is election day...so go vote.
Unless you are conservative, and would be voting in a close race. Then you shouldn't vote! :)
Midterm elections are notorious for low voter turnout, but this election is important and could change the direction of this country. The people of this country have an opportunity to create change through the ballot box. It only takes a half hour. Are you willing?
I don't like the Democratic Party. But I still like them more than the Republican Party. And I would LOVE to see both the Senate and the House be under Democratic leadership. And this is very possible.
Help make it happen. Read more:Election
, Election Day
I Vote 2006-11-07 21:53:57 I voted today, and you should too.
But an interesting thing happened to day when I voted. I walked in, gave them my name, and was then handed a ballot.
I then voted, turned in my ballot, and walked out.
See anything missing?
I was never asked for any proof of identification. I was tempted to go change and wear a hat and see if I could vote under a different name a couple of hours later... :)
It sounds like the voter suppression tactics are in full affect. You can read more at the following sites are who, as always, are offering some very good election coverage:
TalkLeft
Talking Points Memo
Daily KosOr for some less biased and partisan coverage, check out some of these:
Chicago Tribune
LA Times
Washington Post
NY Times
Identity Crisis 2006-11-07 20:53:05 An Evangelical Identity Crisis
: Sex or social justice? The war between the religious right and believers who want to go broader. Read more:Identity Crisis
Nervous Refreshes 2006-11-08 02:36:29 Is anyone else sitting on their computer refreshing certain pages to see the results come in?
I know I have several Missouri results, so here is place for them.
As for others, check out dKos for the most up-to-date results and a running tally of the seats being gained by the Dems.
Santorum is already out, as is DeWine.
Here are the breakdowns from Kos:
Senate Races:
West
Midwest
Northeast
South
House Races:
West
Midwest
Northeast
South
Man...you know I am a geek when I can't wait to get home from work so I can turn on CNN. Read more:Nervous
Recommend Site To A Friend
