My seminary days come back to me often.

Today I picked up the following quotes from an article in the December website edition of Harpers magazine (The Trinity of Love) concerning the life and message of Meister Eckehart, a 14th century Dominican priest. I first read Eckehart when I was about 25-years-old. His writings and sermons were among the sources that first exposed me to the rich mysticism of Christian thought in the Middle Ages. Hear him...

This little interesting nugget regarding hunger in Texas. The state is being sued because its violating its own rules regarding the timeliness with which food stamp applications are processed.

That's right - sued...

"We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends."

Mary McLeod Bethune, 1875 - 1955
Educator, Presidential Adviser, Leader

As we are waiting for the final bloody battle of health care reform, the final stage of compromising between the “House” and senate bills, I wish you (if you hadn’t read it yet) to read Professor Dreier’s blog Waffling Democrats’ Health Care Hypocrisy. Dr. Dreier educates us on how “Bribed” Senators Joe Lieberman, Max Baucus, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln and Kent Conrad discriminate the US public against military service men and veterans. These senators supported to provide “Public Plan” to military service men and veterans in the name of Veterans Administration (VA), but fight hard against providing the same “Public Plan” to us “the Public”? Why, on earth, do they have this right of discriminating the US population based on whether they are in military uniform or not?

Amazing work being done by an amazing group, led by an amazing man!

We need this process and this commitment in Dallas.

What do you think?

Great question, Mr. President!

The report below comes from Bread for the World Institute, a somewhat surprising source. What you'll find is a bit more encouraging than some of what I've read in recent days about "green jobs" and economic renewal.

Let me encourage you to open the link below to the entire report. The analysis of jobs created in the emerging "green sector" is very interesting.

True story.

I was called at my office at the church several years ago, by the City Secretary of Dallas. She has been a good friend of mine for more years than I can remember, long before she was City Secretary so, of course I was concerned.

It seems that in an effort to be religiously inclusive, the invocation for the next day's city council meeting was scheduled to be given by... the Wiccans! Now in common vernacular this group is generally associated with witches - as in 'bubble, bubble, boil and trouble'. It's not entirely accurate from what I understand, but again, we're talking about public perception.

There was no good solution. To 'uninvite' the Wiccans, would be to stir up controversy. To go through with their giving the invocation would be to...well this is Dallas, so you get the picture.

That the hearing occurred at all was a surprise to the elected executive board of the union. No one had heard from the member since the day notice of the charges had been mailed to him; no one expected him to show up in person to face the executive board, which was acting as a trial committee hearing the charges that had been brought.

But he did show up – a big man, calm but unsure of what was in store for him. The union’s representatives were, to tell the truth, equally unsure.

The union’s vice-president invited the accused to sit down at one of only two vacant seats at the conference table, which he did. The VP then formally opened the hearing. “Brother M., will you please present the charges?”

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Chad McGowan today called on Senator Jim DeMint to stop blocking the confirmation of a proven counter-terrorism expert for Director of the Transportation Security Administration.

In his blog post, “The Republican Way: Keeping Everything The Way It Is," actor Alec Baldwin educates the public on the real issues behind closed-door US politics, policy shaping, and wars. He exposes “what actually determined US engagement in war in Iraq” – “OIL” interest; “why US insurance companies don’t want reform” – “to maintain monopoly power.”

As we have witnessed the endless twists of health care and financial reforms this year, my impression on this country’s politics is, this country is not “One-Headed.”

The United States of America is more like a nation of “Two Heads”: the “Government” and the “Industrial Medusa” that consists of many small heads of powerful industries and their bands of lobbyists, including financial, pharmaceutical, health care, oil industries. The Government has the role of policing the nation; the Industrial Medusa manipulates the Government, media, and the public to set the social structure in their favor, in ways to minimize the nation’s regulations on them and maximize their money earning, profits at any costs, even at the destruction of their country and economy which nurture, feed them with money.

I learned something the other day.

X-mas is perfectly legit. No more reason to panic because, "They're taking the Christ out of Christmas!" ...because they're not. X is a symbol for "chi" in Greek. (How did I forget that from my college years and my desire to be in a Greek sorority??)

I learned that tidbit of information the other day from a friend who is in seminary. But since you don't have access to her, here is an abbreviated version through Wikipedia:

Thanks to the fact that we host a large AmeriCorps team (350 members), I was invited to attend the 32nd Annual Governor's Nonprofit Leadership Conference rolled out here in Dallas.

I was particularly intrigued by the presentation made by Andrew Wolk, founder of Root Cause and noted social innovator and social entrepreneur. Wolk has a blog that's work checking out, as well.

As I say, Wolk's speech was important and provocative.

Ms. Mattie Nash was a former Dallas City Councilwoman and a tremendous force for good in West Dallas. She died this past Sunday night at the age of 87.

I got to know Ms. Nash when we served together on our city's Urban Rehabilitation and Standards Board. She inspired all of us with her energetic presence, her wisdom, her compassion and her relentless advocacy on behalf of her community.

I know its a trite saying, but its true: those of us who seek to provide any leadership in low income communities, 'stand on the shoulders' of such stalwart leaders like Mattie Nash. I was blessed to know her. Dallas was blessed to have her in our midst.

We all work hard, and we're serious about the things we write about. But now and again...

Okay. It's time for a little belly laughter. Pure, unadulterated laughter. And laughing just because. Just because laughter is truly wonderful.

Let those endorphins flow.

In a Newsweek Article entitled, "Requiem for the Right," Sam Tenenhaus, editor of the New York Times Book Review, offers a rather scathing indictment of the political right. Tenenhaus is working on a biography of William F. Buckley and offers this interesting bit of information:

Ronald Reagan liked to remind people (especially the press) he was a lifelong New Dealer who voted four times for Franklin D. Roosevelt. The consensus forged by Buckley in the 1960s gained strength through two decisive acts: first, Buckley denounced right-wing extremists, such as the members of the John Birch Society, and made sure when he did it to secure the support of conservative Republicans like Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and Sen. John Tower. This pulled the movement toward the center. Second: Buckley saw that the civil disturbances of the late 1960s (in particular urban riots and increasingly militant anti-Vietnam protests) posed a challenge to social harmonies preferred by genuine conservatives and genuine liberals alike. When the Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan called on liberals to join with conservatives in upholding "the politics of stability," Buckley replied that he was ready to help. He placed the values of "civil society" (in Burke's term) above those of his own movement or the GOP.

Oddly enough I was just talking about the parallels between 'The West Wing' television series and the 2008 presidential election.

I've stumbled on what has become a valuable resource for me as a citizen journalist, particularly for those times when I'll want to talk with someone directly in an interview.

A recent book entitled, Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production, has a wealth of information, tips and techniques, and personal accounts about "getting the story" from the NPR reporters we hear on public radio every day. Author Jonathan Kern is the Executive Producer for Training at NPR, and he has worked in almost every position in radio news, including executive producer of NPR's All Things Considered.

Now, before you dismiss the book as something you don't want to bother with because it's about audio recordings and radio, keep in mind that the majority of the book deals with topics contained in chapters that Kern titles "Fairness," "Reporting," "Field Producing," "Story Editing," "The Reporter-Host Two-Way," "Hosting," and "Beyond Radio," among others. So the material has terrific value for those times when you want to venture into direct interviews, rather than reporting what others have already written.

It is a very good question, and more than worthy of our reflection.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that grappling with this question is especially important as we consider both our own understandings of this person named Jesus and, even more so, as we consider how he is to be understood by our children (the next generation). Moreover, the answer to this question will be extremely important to those of us who are concerned for the health, well-being and just development of our communities. Of course, I realize that not everyone who works in the arena of community development comes at the task from a faith perspective.

But, I do. So, the question is vital to me and to my understanding of my own work...