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Unfavorable political news

14 Dec 2008 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Sunday's first reading speaks of a "year of favor from the Lord." But in Illinois political history it's been more like an era of favors. Governor Rod Blagojevich, arrested Tuesday on charges of corruption, is only the latest in a long line of corrupt politicians. "Government in Illinois isn't about political ideology or helping people," said Christopher Mooney, who teaches political science at the University of Illinois-Springfield. "It's about which idiot brother-in-law are you going to get a job on a road crew because he helped you get into office." Blagojevich, a Democrat, was charged yesterday with trying to sell Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat, according to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors. Three previous Illinois governors have been jailed: Otto Kerner, governor from 1961 to 1968; Dan Walker, who held the job from 1973 to 1977; and George Ryan, who served from 1999 to 2003. Two other 20th-century Illinois governors were tried for crimes but not convicted: Len Small, in office from 1921 to 1929 and indicted while governor for embezzlement and money-laundering when he was state treasurer, was acquitted. William Stratton, governor from 1953 to 1961, was acquitted of tax evasion charges in 1965. In 2006 a Chicago federal court jury found Robert Sorich, who led Mayor Richard M. Daley's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and three other men guilty of illegal hiring. State politicians being carted off to jail reflects a local indifference to wrongdoing that needs to be changed, said Dick Simpson, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a former city alderman. "We have a culture of machine politics and it lends itself to corruption," said Simpson. "We are the capital of corruption in the U.S." "This is a sad day for government and it's a very sad day for Illinois government," said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in announcing the charges against Blagojevich. "Governor Blagojevich has taken us to a new low." Source: Articles by Tony C. Dreibus for the Chicago Tribune and Joe Carroll for Bloomberg News

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The hopes and fears of all the year

28 Dec 2008 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Nearly two years ago, in April 2007, an undergraduate art student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago unveiled a papier-mache sculpture of Barack Obama as a messianic figure, titled "Blessing." David Cordero, 24, made the sculpture for his senior show after noticing all the attention Obama had received since first hinting he might run for the presidency. Run Obama did, and win he did, and his election was overwhelmingly voted the top news story of the year by U.S. editors and news directors polled by the Associated Press. But as we prepare to celebrate the Savior's birth, Obama must contend with the almost messianic-like hope that many people hold for his presidency. Artist Cordero's explanation for creating his sculpture may prove a healthy cautionary tale: "All of this is a response to what I've been witnessing and hearing, this idea that Barack is sort of a potential savior that might come and absolve the country of all its sins. In a lot of ways it's about caution in assigning all these inflated expectations on one individual, and expecting them to change something that many hands have shaped." As Obama prepares to take office in a few weeks, he inherits a number of daunting challenges not of his own creation, not least of which is the nation's financial meltdown-voted the number-two story of the year in the AP poll. Obama will also be handed the long-running war in Iraq, another top-ten story of the year, not to mention the even longer-running war in Afghanistan. If that were not enough, the U.S. as well as other nations face the ongoing threat of terrorism, as demonstrated by another top story, the recent terrorist attack in Mumbai, India that killed 164 people. The historic political campaigns of two women-Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin-also made the list of top-ten news stories. Though their campaigns were not victorious, both women finished the year with their political futures intact-Clinton as Obama's choice for U.S. Secretary of State, and Palin as a leading light of the conservative wing of the Republican Party. China and Russia were home to top stories of the year as well. China made the list for a triumph, its largely successful hosting of the Beijing Olympics, as well as a tragedy, a powerful earthquake in May that left more than 70,000 dead and led to the collapse of about 7,000 classrooms in shoddily built schools. The five-day Russian-Georgian war in August rounds out the list, a further reminder that Obama will inherit a number of complex and potentially volatile foreign-relations concerns. Stories that almost made the top ten included Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 84,000 people in Myanmar; Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which wreaked deadly damage in the Caribbean and on the U.S. Gulf Coast; and the seesaw fate of same-sex marriage in California, where a court ruling approving it was later overturned by a ballot measure. Several write-in votes were cast for two developments that occurred too late to be included on the AP ballot: the indictment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the efforts of struggling U.S. automakers to get a federal bailout. The alleged financial scam involving Bernard Madoff also was revealed too late to make the ballot. Several of the editors who voted commented on how two transcendent developments dominated the news in 2008. "As far as I am concerned, there were only two stories this year," wrote Linda Grist Cunningham of the Rockford (Illinois) Register Star. "Global economy collapses (sending every country into financial, political, and personal chaos) and Obama elected U.S. president, changing the way the America does business-financial, political, and personal." Source: Articles by Joel Roberts and David Crary for the Associated Press

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Bailing out

18 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday promises to do the will of the Lord. Just hours after saying in his final press conference that he would follow the wishes of President-elect Barack Obama on the matter, President Bush asked Congress to release the remaining $350 billion dollars in federal bailout funds. Obama will make the decision on how that money is spent--if he can get Congress to agree to the request. Obama visited Capitol Hill Tuesday to lobby Senate Democrats for the release of the funds amid deep concerns among lawmakers about the program's effectiveness. Lawmakers are pushing for new conditions as well as substantial new spending to prevent foreclosures, while some would like to scrap the program altogether. Lawmakers argue that the funds haven't led to more bank lending as planned and that the Bush administration failed to use the funds as it promised it would, such as to advance programs to prevent foreclosures. During Tuesday's meeting Obama's pitch for release of the bailout funds framed the issue as something that could help define "our ability to govern together," said Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. The request for the remaining Troubled Assets Relief Program money has set in motion action on a resolution of disapproval, which could block the funds' release. The Obama team and top Democratic congressional leaders have little hope of defeating the resolution in the House, where wariness of the program runs high. But they hope to derail it in the Senate. A vote on the issue could come by week's end. Source: Articles by Greg Hitt and Jon Hilsenrath for the Wall Street Journal and by Colin Barr for CNN

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Here I am, Mr. President

18 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Samuel invites the Lord to speak in Sunday's first reading. President-elect Barack Obama has invited Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, to speak at an inaugural event at the Lincoln Memorial. The announcement follows weeks of criticism from Robinson and gay-rights groups over Obama's decision to tap Rev. Rick Warren, who's likened committed gay relationships to incest and polygamy, to pray on inauguration day. Robinson, an early Obama supporter, said last month the choice of Warren left him feeling as if he'd been slapped in the face. In a telephone interview this weekend, Robinson, of Weare, Massachusetts, said he doesn't believe Obama has included him in response to the Warren criticism. But he said his inclusion won't go unnoticed by the gay and lesbian community. "It's important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way," Robinson said. "Whether it be a racial minority, an ethnic minority, or, in our case, a sexual minority. Just seeing someone like you up front matters." Warren, author and high-profile pastor of a California megachurch, will still give the invocation at the January 20 inauguration, shortly before Obama delivers his much-anticipated inaugural address. Robinson will offer his invocation prayer Sunday afternoon on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during an inaugural kick-off event. Source: Articles by Ann Marie Timmins for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor and FoxNews.com

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A fulfilling experience

25 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"This is the time of fulfillment," proclaims this Sunday's gospel. Barack Obama fulfilled the dreams of many when he took the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, the day after what would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 80th birthday. Isaac Newton Farris, president of The King Center and also King's nephew, called Obama's inauguration a "huge step" forward for King's dream of racial equality. "There is definitely a spiritual connection between these two events," Farris told a large crowd Monday at a commemoration at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. But, he added, there is still work to be done. Indeed, much work on many fronts awaited Obama after Tuesday's historic day of pageantry and celebration. A full agenda greeted him Wednesday as he stepped into the Oval Office. He summoned economic advisers and top military officials to separate meetings aimed at addressing the change he promised as a candidate. He also established new lobbying rules for "a clean break from business as usual," froze salaries for top White House staff members, placed phone calls to Mideast leaders, and had aides circulate a draft executive order that would close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year. A multi-denominational prayer service at Washington National Cathedral and an open house at the White House were also on Wednesday's schedule for Obama. Source: Articles by Errin Haines and David Espo for the Associated Press

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Opening remarks

25 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"For the world in its present form is passing away," we hear in this Sunday's reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians. President Obama quoted from First Corinthians in his inaugural address, as he made clear that change was on the way. "We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, 'the time has come to set aside childish things,' " he said in a reference to 1 Corinthians 13:11. "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness," Obama said. The president signaled his intent to move away from the sharply partisan approach that has dominated political discourse in recent years. "What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them-that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works . . . ," he said. Obama stressed reconciliation in his address. "Because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve," he said. "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. . . . To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Evoking President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Obama also stressed responsibility and service. "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility-a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world." Obama encouraged a sense of solidarity with earlier generations of everyday Americans, "obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long rugged path toward prosperity and freedom. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West: endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth," Obama said. "For us they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sanh." Obama's chosen poet, Elizabeth Alexander, picked up on the same theme in her reading. "Sing the names of the dead who have brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and lettuce," Alexander read. "In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun. On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp-praise song for walking forward in that light." Source: An article by David Rogers for Politico.com and the inaugural address text published by the Associated Press

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Time to toughen up

01 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts," the psalmist this Sunday urges listeners. When it comes to hardening automobile emission and fuel efficiency standards, however, President Barack Obama believes it's a good idea, and on Monday he directed federal regulators to move swiftly to allow states to do just that. Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its rejection of an attempt by the State of California to impose new emissions regulations which are significantly more restrictive than federal standards. California has for years had tougher standards, and 12 other states follow its lead. U.S. automakers began fighting the rejected rules before they were even written, claiming they would require a wholesale downsizing of the U.S. automobile fleet. But the cash-strapped automakers took a U-turn on Monday and said they welcomed Obama's move and hoped it will free up research funds and simplify a patchwork of U.S. regulations. "Our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry; it is to help America's automakers prepare for the future," Obama said. "As we move forward, we will fully take into account the unique challenges facing the American auto industry and the taxpayer dollars that now support it. "For the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and commitment to change," Obama said in his first formal event in the East Room of the White House. "It will be the policy of my administration," he said, "to reverse our dependence on foreign oil while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs." Source: Articles by John M. Broder and Peer Baker for the New York Times, Ben Feller for the Associated Press, and Agence France Presse

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Vatican decries abortion-ban repeal

01 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul's wish for the Corinthians is that they be free of anxiety. President Obama may have wished for the same as he quietly ended the ban this past Friday on federal funding for international groups that perform or provide information about abortions. Vatican officials, however, reacted quickly. Last Sunday's edition of L'Osservatore Romano featured a front-page headline describing Obama's decision as "very disappointing. That same day, a top Vatican official lashed out at the new U.S. President. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, told the newspaper that the repeal of the abortion-funding ban was done with the "arrogance of those who, having power, think they can decide between life and death. . . . What happens in the U.S. influences other parts of the world. . . . [Its leaders] must be capable of listening, having humility, and maybe even asking others for help." President Ronald Reagan established the ban in 1984, and it has been overturned and reinstated each time the White House changes parties. * An article by Jeff Israely for Time.

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Church and state debate partnerships

15 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's reading from 1st Corinthians, Saint Paul mentions that he tries "to please everyone in every way." After his announcement late last week that he was creating a White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, President Barack Obama will have to walk a delicate line on the issue of church-state separation if he expects to please everyone involved. The president outlined the plan for the new office at the annual National Prayer Breakfast on February 5, emphasizing his intention to treat religious and secular groups fairly and to preserve church-state separation laws that critics of the Bush Administration's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives felt were blurred in the past eight years. "The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another-or even religious groups over secular groups," Obama said at the breakfast. "It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state." Since the election, Obama aides have met with dozens of groups with a stake in faith-based initiatives, including traditional social service providers such as Catholic Charities USA, progressive faith-based coalitions, and Bush White House veterans like Stanley Carlson-Thies, who helped design faith-based initiatives for Bush. The team also heard from opponents of faith-based initiatives, including Jewish groups worried about state-supported Christianity. The biggest question for Obama is how he'll handle Bush's policy of allowing faith-based groups to use religious background as a factor in hiring for government-funded positions. In announcing his faith-based office, Obama delayed a decision on the matter until further legal review. Advocates of church-state separation and liberal backers of faith-based initiatives view the Bush policy, which exempts religious groups from federal nondiscrimination rules attached to government funds, as illegal, while some religious groups and those on the right see it as an essential safeguard for faith-based organizations' rights to exercise religious convictions. Source: Articles by Anne Stopper for PBS.org Online NewsHour, Dan Gilgoff for U.S. News & World Report, and Ecumenical News International

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Drowning in red ink

01 Mar 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's reading from the Book of Genesis, God establishes a covenant with Noah and his offspring after the Flood. Perhaps thinking of the fiscal covenant the current generation has with its descendants, President Obama this week vowed to cut the federal budget deficit in half by the end of his first term. Tuesday evening he offered a grim portrait of the nation's plight in an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, but he promised to lead an economic renewal. Striking an optimistic tone that has been less visible in recent speeches, the president said his stimulus plan, bank bailout proposal, housing programs, and health-care overhaul would help turn around the nation's struggling economy. While he bluntly described a country facing historic economic challenges and continued threats abroad, the president said the solution lies in directly confronting-not ignoring-those problems. "The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation," he said. "The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities, in our fields and our factories, in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth." Obama did seek to temper expectations in his address, acknowledging that he cannot "solve every problem or address every issue." But he promised to deliver a budget Thursday that will serve as a new "vision for America-as a blueprint for our future." Administration officials said Obama sought to strike a balance between hope and realism in an era of serious problems. He sought to juxtapose those ideas repeatedly, saying at one point: "While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before." Source: Articles by Michael D. Shear, Anne E. Kornblut, and Steven Pearlstein for the Washington Post

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