Here is another big difference between the 1 percenters and everyone else. They get paid to co-sign loans. Ever co-sign a loan? Maybe your kid is in college and you needed to co-sign for the student loans from Sallie Mae. Or maybe a friend or a relative’s car broke down and the only way they could get a new one in order to be able to get to work was for you to co-sign the loan. Now, here’s the question:... Read more
I apologize for showing you this, but I do not have the words to describe it, to capture the experience of seeing and hearing it for yourself, or to convey the many levels and layers and meaning going on here. Again, I apologize for showing you that. I wanted to say something more about that song’s insistence on religious tests for public office and its expression of an earnest desire for an authoritarian power to tell us what to... Read more
Business Insider gives us yet another hideous chart documenting not just inequality, but the growing chasm between the 1 percenters and the rest of us. Yep, from 1979 through 2007, the 1-percenters were the only ones who saw their income grow. The rest of us have been headed the other way for more than 30 years. The Reformed Broker brings us “Alex P. Keaton: An Alternative History.” Jesus Needs New PR brings us news of “A Handmaid’s Documentary.” “Michele Bachmann’s... Read more
The tale of the Fisher King, as told by screenwriter Richard LaGravanese and Scot McKnight: It begins with the king as a boy, having to spend the night alone in the forest to prove his courage so he can become king. Now while he is spending the night alone he’s visited by a sacred vision. Out of the fire appears the holy grail, symbol of God’s divine grace. And a voice said to the boy, “You shall be keeper of... Read more
Google Reader brings me a serendipitous, or perhaps providential, sequence of articles. First up is Douglas Starr’s Discovery article, “Spark of Truth: Can Science Bring Justice to Arson Trials?” At laboratories throughout the United States — some large enough to contain a three-story house — researchers have been lighting rooms and houses on fire and analyzing the results with the kind of scientific scrutiny that has upended several deeply entrenched misconceptions about how fires behave. The upheaval is more than... Read more
I read John Kenneth Galbraith’s The Affluent Society more than 15 years ago in an edition, the fourth, that was then already 10 years old. I don’t know how the argument of that book has held up over time or whether it is still well-regarded within the discipline of economics. But yesterday I found myself plucking this book down from the shelf for two reasons: 1) More than 14 million Americans are unable to find work, and 2) I am... Read more
Tribulation Force, pp. 426-428 Nicolae Carpathia seemed thrilled about Rayford’s marriage and insisted upon meeting his new wife. Note that “seemed.” Nicolae seems thrilled. He acts like he’s thrilled. He does everything one would expect that someone who was thrilled would do: He took both her hands in greeting and welcomed her and Rayford. … After pleasantries, Nicolae immediately approved Rayford’s request that Amanda accompany them on the next trip to the U.S. But since we know he’s the Antichrist... Read more
He Who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace,upon us and upon all Israel. Sad news in our community. Our longtime friend here, aunursa, has just lost his brother. Let those who pray pray, and let us all keep aunursa and his family in our thoughts as we mourn with those who mourn. Read more
And you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you. … — Leviticus 25:10-11 E.D. Kain of Forbes (!) likes the idea of Jubilee to end or mitigate oppressive debt, noting that the principle has support not just from the Bible, but also from South Park. A debt forgiveness program is a great idea, but it won’t go far enough if we don’t find ways to breathe life back into real... Read more
The day I was born there were approximately 3.4 billion people on earth. The world’s population is now more than twice that. Geez. I’m old, but I didn’t think I was that old. Anyway, The Guardian has a neat little calculator for “How big was the world’s population when you were born?” “Park Plaza Co-op Residents Making Park Their Own” The Fridley (Minn.) Patch reports that the members of the Park Plaza manufactured-home community are thriving and prospering after converting... Read more
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