11/21/16 Highlights

Still election fall-out articles, but trying to move away from that being the total focus of these summaries.

Why "Liberalism" May Have Failed Both Its Supporters and the Country 

This first one is an especially well-considered discussion of some weaknesses of the current Democratic party's approach to elections--and governing:


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/opinion/sunday/the-end-of-identity-liberalism.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=2

This article highlights some of the ways that many who voted for Trump have really hurt themselves most.

http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/11/19/trump-election-expendable-america/

Hard times for the democratic party

Calling it the "Sanctimonious White Lady Party," this article points out, from a right wing view, some of the problems for the Democrats this election has revealed.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442474/democratic-party-lost-governors-state-legislature-seats-2016-election?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=58396c9b04d30179d984d12b&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook

The Role of "Evangelicals" in the Election 

For many of us, the most disheartening and disturbing part of the results may be the report that 4 out of 5 self-described evangelical voters apparently voted for Trump. This has sparked a rash of op-eds and columns.

Jennifer Rubin is an often wise, generally rightist, WaPo columnist, with this to say:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/11/16/evangelicals-owe-their-fellow-americans-something-better/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.130f20ab8a99

Somewhat related, here is a piece on the "problem" today's "liberalism" has with Christianity. This statement summarizes some of the problem:

"Contrary to its own propaganda, liberalism is beginning to act in an illiberal fashion. It is beginning to claim total allegiance. The claims of Christianity are, ultimately, total upon the person."
https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2016/10/liberalisms-problem-christianity/

Somewhat related, the overall responsibiliities of a church member

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/your-7-job-responsibilities-as-a-church-member

Excellent Advice from a Reliable Columnist

Nicholas Kristof has suggested a list of "smart conservative" columnists that those on the left should be reading; good advice for us all.

http://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2016/11/19/nicholas-kristof?nlid=45616064

Jesus wants an awkward thanksgiving

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2016/november/jesus-wants-awkward-thanksgiving-dinner.html?share=NMsqrwYwCyQcyEbHNlEz2oF8MvJmJoJy

11/13/16 Post-Election Stuff

Christian Leaders on Trump Win

Christianity Today has collected comments from 20 "evangelical leaders." I put that in quotes because the term "evangelical" has been taking a beating of late.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/november-web-only/trump-won-how-evangelical-leaders-feel.html

Though I had not heard of Bill Johnson before, he is apparently an important personage in a part of the American church. This rebuttal to Pastor Johnson's support of Trump is well-reasoned and gives broader support for being against the way too many "evangelical" leaders have come behind Trump.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/why.bill.johnsons.defence.of.trump.is.a.masterclass.in.missing.the.point/100326.htm

Ed Stetzer weighs in--I am getting to like his posts more and more!

http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2016/november/this-is-what-it-looks-like.html

Five years ago, white Evangelical Protestants were the most heavily Republican voting bloc in the country, and also the group most concerned about the private morality of public officials. Only 30 percent of them believed that “an elected official can behave ethically even if they have committed transgressions in their personal life.” A recent article in New York Magazine headlined with “Religious Right Now Judgement-Free, Thanks to Donald Trump.” In it, the author states:

But Donald Trump has changed all that. Today, white evangelical Protestants are the least moralistic cohort of voters.

He goes on to cite a PRRI/Brookings survey, which affirmed that 72% of white evangelical Protestants “now believe elected officials can behave ethically even if they have committed transgressions in their personal lives.”

It doesn’t take much reflection to see the writing on the wall if we are to believe this survey: some people are now OK with wrong as long as they get the guy on the right.

Now, I'm not of the view that this means you've sold your soul if you vote for Trump (or Clinton, for that matter). In fact, in the past month I have hosted quite a few Evangelical leaders who have spoken quite eloquently as to why they are voting for Trump, Clinton, or others. I am friends with a number of people with whom I personally disagree in regards to this election season.

However, the NY Magazine article highlights something very important—the people of God, who are called to hold to the highest standard of morals and ethics, now rank as the highest group percentage-wise of those who say that these things don’t necessarily matter. This is a problem of huge proportions.

With such a swing happening in a short period of time, we have to consider the surrounding circumstances. As such, it is hard not to conclude that for many this has happened so that they could justify voting for Trump.

Now, it would be one thing if those individuals said, “Integrity still matters, but, man, we are stuck with two people who have integrity problems, and I am going with ________ in spite of my integrity concerns.”

That would be making a hard choice while keeping your beliefs.

But that’s not what happened.

Instead, to support a candidate, many actually changed their view. Remember the question: “an elected official can behave ethically even if they have committed transgressions in their personal life.” When that was Bill Clinton, Evangelicals were “nope” but now that it’s Trump, they’re “yep.”

That’s the definition of selling out.

Secular Rapture

This is a great podcast, with some writers sympathetic to the plight of many who, for right or wrong, voted for Trump. (From a generally progressive site, making its commentary even more interesting.)

http://radioopensource.org/secular-rapture-trump-american-dispossessed/#

One more PRE-Election post

Strong Towns is a site I like and I don't think I got this into earlier posts, so here goes:

http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/11/6/pre-election-thoughts?utm_content=buffer334ec&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

11/7/16 Highlights

Amy Sherman on Immigration

17 minutes but she is always worth listening to:

http://qideas.org/videos/seeking-prosperity-of-our-neighbors/

Especially good in the section on Perry Bigelow and his work in building affordable housing in Chicago area!

She's Having a...Fetus?

Excellent post on the way words change things:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/shes-having-a-fetus

Is the Internet Loosening Our Grip on the Truth?

Fascinating, especially in light of the source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/technology/how-the-internet-is-loosening-our-grip-on-the-truth.html?emc=edit_th_20161103&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=33343369&_r=0

More on the Impact of Poverty on Kids, and on Childcare

Better, more affordable childcare--commendable goal, but how do we deal with the big problem of low, low wages for childcare workers?

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/11/07/npr-poverty-wages-child-care-workers-turnover 

Are we lying when we say "just work hard for success" to poor kids?

http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/06/03/telling-poor-smart-kids-takes-hard-work-successful-wealthy-peers-blatant-lie/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=kw&kwp_0=265399

Why Russell Moore hates the word "evangelical"

Written before the election, but still (or even more) relevant.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/02/29/russell-moore-why-this-election-makes-me-hate-the-word-evangelical/

Self-righteous and/or arrogant liberals

Some of the most vigorously critical post-mortems are coming from the left, against their own kind. For example:

http://theweek.com/articles/660989/liberals-think-history-side-couldnt-more-wrong

https://www.heatherrosewalters.com/new-blog/open-letter-to-liberals

The following was written before the election, but it fits right in with the rest of this:

http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/11/6/pre-election-thoughts?utm_content=buffer334ec&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

11/2/16 Highlights

Right now, I have more than 15 tabs open in Firefox, with lots of articles I don't want to "lose."

Yes, I can bookmark them, but my bookmark list is so big, I have trouble finding things stored there. I could do the very "yesterday" thing of saving the content into a Word file, but that too has become the online version of a file drawer that is never accessed once things are stashed there.

So I'm going to keep going with these blog entries, trying to put a little annotation in with the links that right now have "meaning" to me in some way. I'm not sure this is much of an improvement over those other two approaches, but I have to do something to unclog my screens right now.

The Isolated, Arrogant World of "Progressives"

First, two interesting and disturbing entries on the "elitist" isolation of so many progressives/liberals who just don't get it when it comes to understanding how "the other half" lives and thinks.

Wow--empathy for Trump voters? Interesting, especially considering that the source isn't Fox or Glen Beck.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2016/11/02/what-is-this-election-missing-empathy-for-trump-voters/?tid=sm_fb

This one is most disturbing, showing how separate are the world views and lives of a small group of "leaders"  who are shaping our world more than we know:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/31/the-podesta-emails-show-who-runs-america-and-how-they-do-it

More on the LGBT Issue

So Jen Hatmaker, an evangelical blogger of some import, has come out in favor of gay marriage? Here is a post with links to four good essays on the topic.

https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2016/11/02/the-only-four-things-you-need-to-read-in-response-to-the-hatmakers/

"American Folk Religion" 

Perhaps the thoughts in the following article help explain a bit of the Hatmaker's changed views. Trying to hard to fit into our culture by fitting our "god" into that culture seems to be a real challenge for us in the 21st century. The "American folk religion" explained:

http://www.mbird.com/2016/11/god-as-a-magnifying-mirror-of-me-on-american-folk-religion/


Rochester, the "Dumpy Little Town,"  and Javon Bea 

Nice editorial here on this latest issue roiling our fair city:

http://www.themedcitybeat.com/opinion/2016/response-to-javon-bea-heart-of-city-comments


Hard Passages in the Bible Explicated

This is a nice compendium of podcasts on tough passages in the Bible; good to keep as a reference.

https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/trevinwax/2016/10/24/24-tough-bible-passages-and-how-to-understand-and-teach-them/

Do "Purity" Campaigns Help Christians?

Interesting commentary regarding the potential harm from some of the "true love waits" kind of campaigns within the church.

http://rickthomas.net/staying-pure-make-pure/

Trump's "devil's bargain" for Christians

http://www.christianpost.com/news/trumps-offer-to-christians-is-same-offer-devil-made-christ-168993/




Christians and the Election

Finally (I hope!) a few "election advice for Christians" posts:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/being-on-gods-side-a-dozen-recommendations-for-the-religious-right

http://inallthings.org/on-voting-and-civic-participation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+in-all-things+%28in+all+things%29

http://www.christianpost.com/news/evangelicals-now-homeless-in-election-what-to-do-next-opinion-171023/



 A Video to Watch Again and Again

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-executive-order-faith-based-initiative-church/story?id=12180146

10-22-16 Highlights

Hospitality in Action

Inspiring article; just look at that title.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/opinion/the-power-of-a-dinner-table.html?_r=1

The Poverty Tour

Saw this one on a link from nephew Justin. Looks like the start of an On the Media series, with some  descriptions of life in Appalachian SE Ohio. Here's the man "in charge of welfare programs" in Athens on his experience after Peter Jennings covered the area's poverty in 1991:

"'People are less sympathetic. They’re harsher now. I mean, you know, you, you will see folks now, you know, begin to also rail against welfare, even though there’s hardly anyone left on welfare. In Ohio, 75% of the cash assistance welfare cases are child-only cases. There are only 15,000 adults left on cash assistance in Ohio. You know, we have eliminated cash assistance. You know, we don't have these kids living in orphanages. We have them living with Grandma instead because the families have fallen apart, and we no longer support families that stay together.'"

http://www.wnyc.org/story/poverty-tour/

Photo Comparisons of Rich and Poor

This site reminds me of the books I have comparing home contents and foods in homes around the world:

https://www.gapminder.org/dollar-street/matrix


Halloween, rich and poor

Sad but real stats on income equality played out in trick or treat patterns.

https://mic.com/articles/157953/the-real-reason-why-poorer-children-go-to-richer-neighborhoods-for-trick-or-treating?utm_source=SFFB#.OtGz6s8lp

Smashing Stereotypes--3 TVs and No Food in the Fridge

Nicholas Kristoff has again done a great job of getting behind stereotypes we all may hold about the "moral failings" of the poor.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/opinion/sunday/3-tvs-and-no-food-growing-up-poor-in-america.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fnicholas-kristof&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection&_r=0


Child Care Costs and Their Impact on Budgets


http://www.npr.org/2016/10/22/498590650/u-s-parents-are-sweating-and-hustling-to-pay-for-child-care?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2048

The "Growth Ponzi Scheme"

This is a reminder that our suburban pattern is really an "experiment," in place barely a century. How will this sprawling way of building stand the real test of time? Very worth reading as we consider how to address ongoing growth in our own area as well as across the country.

http://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/

and the effects of cronyism on local governments:

http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/9/23/how-local-cronyism-hurts-americas-cities