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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

automakers russia beijing olympics georgia cyclone nargis myanmar hurricane gustav hurricane ike same-sex marriage california bailout bernard madoff china sarah palin hilary clinton rod blagojevich barack obama david cordero school of the art institute of chicago associated press savior iraq war afghanistan war top-ten news stories terrorism mumbai global economy

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Water hazards

26 Apr 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The reading from the First Letter of John this Sunday warns that not all of those who say they keep the commandments may be telling the truth. While there are federal laws governing release of harmful chemicals into the public water supply, investigators wonder if pharmaceutical companies and regulators are telling the whole story about the risks. U.S. manufacturers, including major drug companies, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that provide drinking water--contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked, according to an Associated Press (AP) investigation. To date, drug makers have dismissed the suggestion that their manufacturing contributes significantly to what's being found in the water. Federal drug and water regulators agree. But some researchers say the lack of required testing amounts to a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about whether drug makers are contributing to water pollution. "It doesn't pass the straight-face test to say pharmaceutical manufacturers are not emitting any of the compounds they're creating," said Kyla Bennett, who spent 10 years as an Environmental Protection Agency enforcement officer before becoming an ecologist and environmental attorney. Pilot studies in the U.S. and abroad are now confirming those doubts. Last year the AP reported that trace amounts of a wide range of pharmaceuticals--including antibiotics, anticonvulsants, mood stabilizers, and sex hormones--have been found in U.S. drinking water supplies. Pharmaceuticals have been detected in the drinking water of at least 51 million Americans. Most cities and water providers still do not test for pharmaceuticals. Some scientists say that wherever researchers look, they will find pharma-tainted water. They are also increasingly concerned that the consumption of combinations of many drugs, even in small amounts, could harm humans over decades. Source: An article by Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza, and Justin Pritchard for the Associated Press

Water associated press water supply pharmaceuticals pharmaceutical companies drinking water kyla bennett pollution

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What’s on tap at the Justice Department?

19 May 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit . . . will . . . remind you of all that I told you,” the risen Lord promises his huddled disciples in the Pentecost Day reading option from chapter 14 of the Gospel of John. The U.S. Justice Department has other methods for learning things told by one person to another, and their secret collection of two months of telephone records for reporters and editors of the Associated Press (AP) has outraged the news organization, which called it a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into its reporting.The AP said that the Justice Department informed it on Friday that law enforcement officials had obtained the records for more than 20 telephone lines of its offices and journalists, including their home phones and cell phones. It said the records were seized without notice sometime this year.The organization was not told the reason for the seizure, but the timing and the specific journalistic targets strongly suggested they are related to a continuing government investigation into the leaking of information a year ago about the Central Intelligence Agency’s disruption of a Yemen-based terrorist plot to bomb an airliner.Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday defended the department's tactics, saying that the AP's reporting about a foiled airline bomb plot in 2012 "put the American people at risk." He called the information the AP received from undisclosed sources the “top two or three most serious leaks I’ve ever seen.”While the White House remains quiet about whether the Justice Department was right to seize the phone records, on Capitol Hill the top Democrat in the Senate was unequivocal about his opposition. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blasted the Justice Department for its behavior."I have trouble defending what the Justice Department did in looking at the AP," Reid said. "I really believe in the First Amendment. I think it's one of the great things we have as a country. I don't know who did it or why it was done, but it was inexcusable. There is no way to justify this. In my career, I've stood consistently for freedom of the press." Reid added that he would make a determination about whether "legislative action" is needed in response.Homily help: While trust in the media is at an all-time low, a free and vigorous press is still the best guarantee that abuses of power are brought to light and rights of minorities—including religious rights—are respected. Encourage members of the faith community to be thoughtful, engaged supporters of quality journalism. Sources: Articles by Chris Moody for Yahoo News andCharlie Savage and Leslie Kaufman for the New York Times

associated press terrorism harry reid justice department freedom of the press eric holder leaks leak

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