St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

The diocese passed a resolution that supported the Earth Charter. I didn’t oppose it, because, of course, I did support it. Because I support an end to evil.

But it does raise a few issues.

I’m not sure who is going to enforce or bring such a charter about. I think the only way we can create a perfect world, right here, right now, is through tyranny. Only in a world perfectly ordered, where people are micromanaged, will original sin disappear from the planet. I look forward to such a world. If I were in charge. Or if I were like God, and had God's mind.

Over the last two years we've been watching a pretty intense political campaign. I'm glad its over, although plenty of drama continues.

Although I support Bloomberg as a mayor, I'd like to note a few things:

1) Term limits are useless forms of running a democracy to begin with.
2) Bloomberg is expendable.
3) Bloomberg is an excellent mayor.

Consequently, much of the conversation is confused. Term limits should be opposed, on their own (de) merits. But Bloomberg won't solve all the problems. Still, he is a talented public figure. We're glad he's our mayor.

The Millennium Development Goals were established by United Nations as benchmarks for reducing human suffering. The Episcopal Church has made the MDGs the centerpiece of mission during the tenure of Katherine Jefferts-Schori.

It doesn't cost that much.

According to Jeffrey Sachs, a redistribution of less than $200 a year can greatly reduce human suffering.

From the WSJ:

Leave the fantasy land of convention rhetoric, and you will find that small-town America, this legendary place of honesty and sincerity and dignity, is not doing very well. If you drive west from Kansas City, Mo., you will find towns where Main Street is largely boarded up. You will see closed schools and hospitals. You will hear about depleted groundwater and massive depopulation.

I've mentioned that the best way to understand what Obama is trying to achieve is to study Harold Washington. I have, myself, a big photo of Mayor Washington on my desk.

Two articles describe how Obama works. One is from Newsweek.

Congestion Pricing Dead. I'm not sure why anyone would drive into the city during rush hour anyway.

It would have been an effective disincentive for driving, which is good for all sorts of reasons. We don't know if it would have been, a regressive tax. We do know however, that it would have been a tax on drivers.

Henry Siegman writes in the LRB

The Real Jeremiah Wright

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdlnzkeoyQ

Obama’s recent speech was a brilliant piece of rhetoric and oratory. It was composed, not in the period of one or two weeks, but over many years of gestating the varied perspectives he’s witnessed and experienced.

Obama’s detractors will never be satisfied. They will continue to ask why he didn’t abandon Wright earlier. But Obama demonstrated that he is not easily buffeted by political winds the way Clinton was and the political climate demands. He does not abandon his friends. Obama learned Peter’s mistake.

From the NYTimes:

But Mr. Paterson also offered some hope. Again referring to his blindness, he said, “I know a little bit about finding one’s way through the dark.” He mentioned that he was born in Brooklyn and educated on Long Island and had lived in Harlem most of his life.

At 1:37 p.m., he declared, “Let me reintroduce myself: I am David Paterson and I am the governor of New York State!” Again, the crowd gave a standing ovation.

1) Often, the ones who have the strongest moral drive are often the ones who justify cutting corners when it comes to themselves.

2) Making policy means negotiating with one's enemies. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

3) The governor lost friends through his arrogance. Yet, his enemies sin in their own vindication. Although there is cheering, the fact is that we lost someone who was an honest man.

Notes to an Activist (after a series of visits to churches by anti-war activists)

You desire to come to my church and make a statement about the war. I’m sympathetic.

Churches look at the world a bit differently. I'd like to explain some ways that might help you do the work you want to do.

I remember being told that if you want to be black and respected, you have to be twice as good as the white guy.

I think Obama demonstrates this.

He's not just smart. He's uber smart. He's got an analytical sense, and a remarkable (and not remarkable because he's half-African) command of the poetry of the preacher, of the orator. He's run good campaigns. He surrounds himself with good people. He's a writer.

A couple notes:

The coverage seems to include much about "likeability" and election strategy. The discussion revolves around the competition rather than what the competition is about. The discussion becomes about the persons, rather than the policies.