Texas should expand Medicaid

Texas political leaders prove themselves irresponsible for not expanding Medicaid. 

Take a look right here at the gains made by other states that decided to expand the health benefit to poorer folks. 

Why do voters tolerate shortsighted public policy against their own self-interest?

Brutal history of slavery from John Wesley's point of view

In my view everyone should read this sermon.

Real friends

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

The limits of "private virture"

German pastor, theologian, and co-conspirator in efforts to eliminate Hitler,Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke of "religionless Christianity."  He offers important insights that we should consider on those who, in the face of grave evil in the world or society, retreat to "private virtuousness." 

Hear him out:

Such people neither steal, nor murder, nor commit adultery, but do good according to their abilities.  But. . .they must close their eyes and ears to the injustice around them.  Only at the cost of self-deception can they keep their private blamelessness clean from the stains of responsible action in the world.  In all that they do, what they fail to do will not let them rest.  They will either be destroyed by this unrest, or they will become the most hypocritical of all Pharisees (page 470).

from Bonhoeffer:  Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy,

by Eric Metaxas



The Big Short

Seeking a better understanding of the Wall Street collapse?

Wondering what was behind the almost complete financial failure of the nation's economy?

Then, you need to take a look at Randy Mayeux's very helpful synopsis of The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis.

Just click here to find Randy's very helpful work.

Randy Mayeux presents extremely valuable book synopses on the first Thursday of each month (noon Highland Park United Methodist Church--on campus at SMU) and on the third Thursday of each month (noon First United Methodist Church Downtown at Harwood and Ross).  Join us for a noon-time refresher.  We're always out before 1:15 p.m.

Exonerees

Friday afternoon I sat in our large conference room here at our headquarters for a few minutes and listened almost breathlessly as 8 men shared their stories of life behind bars for crimes they did not commit.

A couple of the gentleman involved in the conversation had left the building before I made it to the meeting. So, ten men seated around a table trying to make sense out of the meaning of their lives in face of the loss of decades of life thanks to being wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned.

Thanks to new DNA technology, each of these men had been exonerated and released from prison. (Read more about this issue and Texas here.)

Now they are trying to move back into the world, while dealing with an unimaginable emotional mix of conflicting feelings, fears and anxieties.

Central Dallas Ministries hopes to partner with these men to put forward new legislation that would ensure that such cases result in a clean record. Currently, as hard as it is to believe, even though freed, their conviction stays on their records! A Governor's pardon is not automatic and to receive the financial benefit that the state will pay, each must find legal help to pursue this rather laborious process.

Injustice is written all over this one, as is race.

For those of you who can't comprehend the notion of institutional racism, take a look at this entire, tragic situation.

We'll get involved. It's a fight faith won't allow us to walk away from.

More later.

.

Only in America

Word has it that Alan Fishman, the Washington Mutual CEO who took the top job 18 days ago before presiding over the largest bank failure in the nation's history, will walk away from his job with $13.65 million. Not bad for less than three weeks on the job, wouldn't you say?

Let's see, that's $758,333.33 a day.

I have lots and lots of friends who won't make that king of money in a lifetime of work.

Lot's of people may think that a legitimate dimension of so-called "free market economy."

In fairness I need to add that I read yesterday that the deal may be reconsidered.

If the agreement goes forward on these terms, I'd call it injustice at best. And in view of all the lost jobs tied into the failure and its fallout, I'd say its a very clear expression of just how out of kilter we are as a nation.

Considering the enemies of justice and fairness

It does not do to leave a dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.

J. R. R. Tolkien

I've been to Jena

I've been to Jena, Louisiana.

Actually, I don't remember ever really going there, but I've been there in my experience of how white folks work out their racism.

We must not be fooled. Race and racism continue to play large roles in the social and cultural life of the nation. And, much of what is still alive and well in our communities is ugly, hate-filled and utterly absurd.

The story of the "Jena 6" remind me of my experiences forty years ago when I was in high school and college. The situation facing these six young men bring back memories of my first church in Shreveport, Louisiana where racism was not only alive and well, but honored in the community and in my church.

Terrible.

Sad.

True.

No doubt, you've heard and read about the "Jena 6."

Last fall, when two Black high school students sat under the "white" tree on their campus, white students responded by hanging nooses from the tree.

What does a "white" tree look like? God giving out titles to trees now?

When Black students protested the light punishment for the students who hung the nooses, District Attorney Reed Walters came to the school and told the students he could "take [their] lives away with a stroke of [his] pen." Sounds like a great fellow, huh? Champion of justice and reconciliation, right?

Racial tension continued to mount in Jena, and the District Attorney did nothing in response to several egregious cases of violence and threats against black students.

But when Justin Barker, a white student--who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses--taunted a black student, allegedly hurled the most offensive of racial epitaphs in the direction of several black students, and was beaten up by black students, six black students were charged with second-degree attempted murder.

Mychal Bell, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones, Bryant Purvis, Theo Shaw and Jesse Ray Beard — were between the ages of 14 and 16 at the time of the incident, but were originally charged as adults with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The legal adult age in Louisiana is 17.

The first young man to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted. He originally faced up to 22 years in prison for a school fight. On Sept. 27, Bell was released on $47,000 bail after the district attorney said he would not continue to prosecute Bell as an adult. The original verdict was tossed out by the Louisiana state appeals court, which said that he should have been tried as a juvenile. Bell was sent back to jail for violating probation on previous conviction.

A national movement has grown up around the Jena story. Congressional hearings have been underway. Thousands traveled to Jena to protest the community's handling of the matter, especially in the courts.

John Mellencamp wrote a song, "Jena," that drew angry protests from the white mayor. "The song is not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather, as a condemnation of racism," the singer says. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6flvlq7xjdg]

It's a pattern I've watched now for four decades. Black folks are injured, defamed, imprisoned, upset and organized to stand up for their rights. White folks try to assure everyone that "things are being blown out of proportion."

White people don't understand the power of the noose as a symbol of hate, oppression, death and racism. Nooses recall a terrible and revolting part of our history as a people when an estimated 3,500 (likely a conservative guess) African-Americans were lynched, primarily in the Cotton Belt states, in the period between 1800 and 1968.

Believe it or not, I have a "coffee table" book in my library that presents a collection of postcards depicting lynching of African Americans. Nice way to greet friends, don't you think?

These photos are unbelievable, but speak to the legitimate outrage of Black Americans, as well as any of us who believe that racism is immoral and intolerable. If you're up to it, do a Google search on "lynchings" and see what you find behind the "images" tab.

Don't dismiss this incident as insignificant or isolated. What happens in Jena is important to us all. It should be a wake up call, a reminder of what remains just beneath the surface of all of our lives, even after all we believe we've learned.

I've been to Jena.

Self-respect, Community-respect

Cornell West is a hero.

Everything he writes is worth reading and considering.

On January 16 this year, West spoke during the Martin Luther King Convocation at Tulane University, where I spent a few years studying American History a long time ago. Wish I could have been there for many reasons.

Here's a short sample of what he said that evening:

"Your self-worth is all about self-respect and self-confidence. About self-regard. About straightening your back. Walking. Taking action with courage and compassion, with malice toward none but with righteous indignation against injustice and unfairness."

West just speaks truth.

Bad Laws and Community

"Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?"
- Thoreau, Civil Disobedience

I say that you cannot administer a wicked law impartially. You can only destroy. You can only punish. I warn you that a wicked law, like cholera, destroys everyone it touches -- its upholders as well as its defiers.
- Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Inherit the Wind

Isaiah 10:1-4

.

Amos. . .little heard, much needed

Eugene H. Peterson's The Message is a refreshing and challenging way to read the Bible. The sub-title of Peterson's interpretive translation is "The Bible in Contemporary Language."

It is that alright!

In addition to the interpretation of the original languages, Peterson provides a background introduction to each of the sixty-six books of the biblical text.

Not long ago, someone pointed me to his introductory comments on the words of the Hebrew prophet, Amos. They are worth sharing, at least for the strong of heart!
______________________

More people are exploited and abused in the cause of religion than in any other way. Sex, money, and power all take a back seat to religion as a source of evil. Religion is the most dangerous energy source known to humankind. The moment a person (or government or religion or organization) is convinced that God is either ordering or sanctioning a cause or project, anything goes. The history, worldwide, of religion-fueled hate, killing, and oppression is staggering. The biblical prophets are in the front line of those doing something about it.

The biblical prophets continue to be the most powerful and effective voices ever heard on this earth for keeping religion honest, humble, and compassionate. Prophets sniff out injustice, especially injustice that is dressed up in religious garb. They sniff it out a mile away. Prophets see through hypocrisy, especially hypocrisy that assumes a religious pose. Prophets are not impressed by position or power or authority. They aren't taken in by numbers, size, or appearances of success.

They pay little attention to what men and women say about God or do for God. They listen to God and rigorously test all human language and action against what they hear. Among these prophets, Amos towers as defender of the downtrodden poor and accuser of the powerful rich who use God's name to legitimize their sin.

None of us can be trusted in this business. If we pray and worship God and associate with others who likewise pray and worship God, we absolutely must keep company with these biblical prophets. We are required to submit all our words and acts to their passionate scrutiny to prevent the perversion of our religion into something self-serving. A spiritual life that doesn't give a large place to the prophet-articulated justice will end up making us worse instead of better, separating us from God's ways instead of drawing us into them.

Watch 60 Minuties Sunday. . .please pass this on to friends

Plan now to tune in to 60 MINUTES tomorrow evening on CBS televison. A segment of the program is entitled "Dumped on Skid Row."

Here is an advance publicity piece that we received from CBS television describing the segment:

Are some Los Angeles hospitals simply throwing homeless patients out on the street after discharging them, literally dumping them on Skid Row --even if they come from other places in Los Angeles and are in no condition to fend for themselves?

While there have been allegations of hospital dumping for years, people only started paying attention recently, after several shelters installed special cameras on the street to try to capture the practice.

Anderson Cooper’s investigation will air this Sunday, May 20, on 60 MINUTES (7PM ET/PT on CBS).

For more details you can check out the CBS News website at:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/08
/60minutes/main13502.shtml.

If you have any further questions, please contact Robin Sanders at sandersr@cbsnews.com.

I continue to be amazed at just how expendible the poor have become in this country.

I hope you'll watch the report.

Please pass this post on to your friends, family and associates.

.

Immigration injustice in real time

My friend Monica is 18-years-old.

She has lived in Dallas with her family since she was 5-years-old.

She is an honor student at a Dallas public high school where she is (was) set to graduate in about two months. She has made plans for college after graduation this spring.

She is a great example of the success and accomplishment of one inner city child who grew up in a very poor, but loving family here in inner city Dallas, Texas.

In so many ways she reminds me of my own daughters.

It is very possible that last Friday Monica's life took a drastic turn in a very different direction, a turn from which she may never recover.

Friday was "Senior Skip Day" at her school. Most of the senior class didn't attend classes.

A friend hosted a party for friends at a ranch in Greenville, Texas.

For some reason, the details are still unclear to me, the Greenville Police Department showed up at the party. Every student present who had valid identification was released and was free to go. Those students who had no identification were taken into custody.

Monica and two friends--one a cousin--were transferred to an immigration center here in Dallas. They were booked into the center too late in the day to allow anyone to make bail. As a result, they had to spend the night there.

Then, for some reason we don't understand, on Saturday morning, immigration officials transferred Monica and her friends to the Rolling Plains Regional Jail in Haskell, Texas just north of Abilene, almost 200 miles away from home. There Monica awaits some sort of hearing, though she does not know when it will be.

Got the picture?

A sweet, smart, naive, model high school student being held in a West Texas jail for being "undocumented." Even though she has been here for over a decade, and even though she, nor any other member of her family, has ever had issues with any authority in Dallas, she is now in jail.

The reason?

Current U. S. immigration policy is being driven by the decisions and the discretion of local municipalities. Federal immigration officials do not sweep public schools to pick up undocumented students. Nor do they insist that public schools deny these students entry. Federal immigration officials leave families alone for the most part, unless they encounter criminal behavior.

Sadly, towns like Farmers Branch and Greenville are taking a different approach. Kids like Monica pay the price.

I spent most of the day on the phone on Saturday trying to reach elected officials who might intervene for her. These efforts will continue. So far, I have been unable to accomplish anything real for her.

So, this morning my young friend finds herself in jail 200 miles from her mother and father and family. She is scared. She is alone. I pray she is not in danger.

Immigration provides lots of issues and material for abstract debate these days.

Monica moves the debate onto completely new ground, don't you think?

She is my friend. Her mom and dad are my friends. What she is going through is wrong. This is much more than a debate.

[A bit of research on the facility where Monica is being held didn't help me. The Rolling Hills Regional Jail is managed by a for-profit company, Emerald Companies of Louisiana. The facility opened in 2002 and has a 48-bed regional jail and a 500-bed "detention" center. The Texas Civil Rights Review reports on a number of incidents involving children and families at the facility. Obviously, immigration officials also contract with facility to take detainees. The company is paid on a per-person basis. To learn more go to: http://www.texascivilrightsreview.org/phpnuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=865.]

Surprising, heart-breaking poverty in Dallas

Monday it happened to me again.

I spent about three hours driving through various parts of some of the poorest sections of Dallas.
The images posted below don't adequately capture what I saw, but they help.

The scale of the negative environment overwhelms the soul.

As you view the images, imagine being 8-years-old and living here.

No matter how many times I have the experience two things continue to happen to me.

First, I am surprised again by the depth, the weight of the poverty and by the fact that so little seems to change between my tours.

Second, my heart breaks for the people I see as I drive. Children, elderly men and women, mothers, fathers, the housed, the homeless, the employed and the unemployed. . .neighbors of mine.

People who need better and more accessible. . .everything!

Pick you category.

Education--public for children and workforce for adults.

Health care and wellness.

Improved nutrition.

Safety.

Decent, fit, affordable housing.

Personal voice--political influence, power, collective lift.

Social capital.

Buying power.

Retail development and economic development.

The list remains the same. The needs stick out everywhere. We continue to act as if they don't exist, and we do so to the absolute peril of our entire community.

Dallas doesn't need a new vision, though vision is important.

Dallas needs a new courage.

Dallas needs a new heart, not for charity, but for fairness.

Come ride with me sometime soon. You'll see for yourself exactly what I mean.

Embracing poverty. . .

Whenever I am looking for inspiration and grounding to "stay at it," I turn to Gustavo Gutierrez. His classic, first published in 1971 as Teologia de la liberacion, Perspectivas, is where I usually begin. Of course, I read the English version, A Theology of Liberation (Orbis Books, 1973).

Gutierrez has inspired millions and shaped a major theological interpretative movement through his writing and teaching. Not everyone buys his "liberation theology," but for a boy reared to take the Bible seriously and, at the same time, disillusioned by the typical and traditional responses of organized religion to the pain and suffering of the world, Gutierrez provides a haven for escape and reflection.

From my perspective anyone who seeks to provide leadership from a faith perspective to people or organizations seeking both to relieve communities from the burdens and barriers created by poverty and oppression and to revitalize such communities, his words are must reading.

From the paragraph that follows, consider his definition of "poverty" and his insights as to what will be involved in embracing it.

Gutierrez redefines "sin" in such a way that we can no longer ignore poverty, its causes or its consequences and still make a credible claim to be the people of God. Gutierrez forces us to face the fact that we are called to do much, much more than simply "help the poor." We are called in the Gospel to do battle with all the forces that keep people poor and that create poverty and oppression.
___________________________________

Poverty is an act of love and liberation. It has redemptive value. If the ultimate cause of human exploitation and alienation is selfishness, the deepest reason for voluntary poverty is love of neighbor. Christian poverty has meaning only as a commitment of solidarity with the poor, with those who suffer misery and injustice. The commitment is to witness to the evil which has resulted from sin and is a breach of communion. It is not a question of idealizing poverty, but rather of taking it on as it is--an evil--to protest against it and to struggle to abolish it. As Ricoeur says, you cannot really be with the poor unless you are struggling against poverty. Because of this solidarity--which must manifest itself in specific action, a style of life, a break with one's social class--one can also help the poor and exploited to become aware of their exploitation and seek liberation from it. Christian poverty, an expression of love, is solidarity with the poor and is a protest against poverty. This is the concrete, contemporary meaning of the witness of poverty. It is a poverty lived not for its own sake, but rather as an authentic imitation of Christ; it is a poverty which means taking on the sinful human condition to liberate humankind from sin and all its consequences (Page 172).