Promenade

Still waiting for the dawn...

2006-02-09T11:33:00.000-06:00

Promenade ends today.
It was never really intended to be a permanent site for conversation and walk - with myself, with God, with friends, with others on the web.

I started Promenade the week of Live 8/G8 in order to be a small cyber part of that massive movement for social change but also in a more self-serving/care way to transtition out of Washington and back into Chicago.

Last night U2 won Album of the Year for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" - an odd accolade in a way because the album was released in late October 2004. The album (of course) is phenomenal - and it served as a sort of soundtrack for our life that year in Washington and back on the ground here, back "home." Listening to it this morning takes me to certain places - good, bad, hopeful, and ambiguous.

This week is, in a way, massive for us. Begun last semester of Seminary, deep in "the Call" process, receiving potentially great news on tenure track position (for Sarah) at Lane Tech HS. It's also the 100th anniversary of Bonhoeffer's birth, and weeks of memoriam for both Coretta Scott King and Betty Friedan. We move forward in hope knowing that others have walked before us. We also anticipate word on what could become "Neighbor's Good."

A friend and I will be releasing a new blog soon to the World Wide Web - something more intentional on faith+politics. We have to navigate a third way to be Christian + American. It will be carried not by the major prophets but with the minor ones scattered in towns, cities, and neighborhoods...

love+peace, Adam

Mission Covenant vs. Evangelical Covenant Church

2005-11-29T17:25:00.000-06:00

We had a terrific discussion in our Pietism seminar today on what was lost when the Covenant took out the word "Mission" back in 1957. The Mission Friend identify of the those early Swedish pietists was jettisoned for a more evangelical ethos. Now that might've not been intentional but I do think that "Evangelical" has become a sort of loaded word and with the word "mission" in the name we could maybe point to our heritage more directly as missional people wherever we were found. Home mission and global mission.

Thoughts? Remember that Time magazine listed Catholic Republican senator Rick Santorum as one of the nation's leading evangelical figures... evangelical means something more political now than ever before.

"Evangelical is better used as an adjective than as a noun." - Weborg

Lost Cause Paul

2005-11-28T20:07:00.000-06:00

My pastor has a new blog - check it out.
He was a classmate at seminary, a companion on summer camp staff, a comrade at Bread for the World lobby day 2004 and a mission friend on the journey.

http://lostcausepaul.blogspot.com/

Currently on the rotation

2005-11-27T21:06:00.000-06:00

1) Madonna's Confessions on a Dancefloor
2) various Lyle Lovett
3) recent Vertigo Tour boots - but especially ripped audio from the new Chicago DVD
4) the new Afro Celt Sound System record Anatomic
5) Nuclear by Ryan Adams
6) The Killers
7) Blondie's Greatest Hits
8) Sufjan Stevens' Welcome to the Illinoise
9) the new Stones (we skip to the better tracks)
10) Brandenburg concertos

Seattle I

2005-10-21T18:33:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting on Bainbridge Island in my rental car waiting for the 4:35 ferry back to Seattle - free wifi!

This is my first trip to Seattle - I'm here a month ahead of our Covenant World Relief sponsored ONE Campaign event - and I've quickly fallen in love with a place - if that's possible. The city is beautifully set between mountains and water, cool vibe in town and lots of great ideas flowing about. And did I mention the espresso?

Outside Katie Meyer's (high school friend) apartment is Cafe Vivace. Yesterday morning the barrista was pouring my milk and gave me this direct look as if I needed to respect the fine art he was about to create in my cup - and it was amazing. 15 seconds later he had carved a heart into my latte. This morning he carved a leaf. I've seen this in photos but this guy made it look easy.

Preaching at the 95 year old Skogsbergh revival tabernacle of Seattle's First Covenant Church this Sunday. It's church in the round and it is glorious inside.

Great time spent with Mark Nilson at Bauhaus cafe Wednesday afternoon.

more later

Pasadena III

2005-10-07T17:03:00.000-05:00

Spent this past sunday in worship at Pasadena Covenant Church. Donna Sider is a member of the church and serves on the Peace + Justice committee of the church - she's also been involved with planning for the upcoming Bread for the World / ONE event in Pasadena on October 15th (visit www.bread.org/Pasadena for more info). She helped to invite me to the church to give a brief mission moment on the event. It's wonderful and exciting to arrive at a church to give a mission moment on justice and advocacy issues to find that the sermon for the day is titled "Justice and Leadership." Pastor Charlie Barker delivered a timely sermon on the issue - asking how we (the church) would be relevant in a polarized world where there is so much need. He did not mince words on the governments response to Katrina - even going so far as to ask if the Democrats would have done any better - he inferred that they would not. In his sermon was a recovery of an old but useful category - "the commonwealth." He went on to suggest that our government had lost a sense of concern and maintenance of a "commonwealth." This was a helpful way to look at the past few months (and years).

David Gist and I talked with a number of folks afterwards who were pleased to see the church involved with Bread and ONE. Got to reconnect with Kristin and Kyle Michaelson, had a rousing debate about debt relief, talked with a man who works at Warner Bros who was interested in promoting the event back at his office.

It was a terrific time - great fellowship, great worship, great conversations on civic engagment and advocacy for poor and hungry people...

Rushed from there to LAX to catch my flight - a whirlwind trip but more than significant for me personally. Still wrapping my head around it all - I went out there looking to turn out people for an advocacy event and found a part of myself that I felt like I lost a long time ago.

Justice casino?

2005-10-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

George Clooney is unconventionally raising funds for Make Poverty History.

From this week's Newsweek:

Is a fun-loving liberal a contradiction in terms? Clooney is testing the theorem. This past year he found himself picking out restaurants for a casino that he and partner Randy Gerber will open in Las Vegas. "At the same time, I'm at the G8 summit in a room with Paul Wolfowitz and Bono trying to get $50 billion in relief for Africa," he says. "I'm in this weird place: I have this beautiful house in Italy and I have these social agendas. I don't want to give up that lifestyle because I enjoy it, but I also feel that I have a responsibility. So the way I try to rationalize that, and it may just be Irish-Catholic guilt, is, for instance, with this casino 25 percent of anything it makes will go to the Make Poverty History campaign. It's the only way I can reconcile being successful."

___

This is so ridiculous I want to love it - casino bucks for justice. But at the same time it seems a little like cheap grace. I've been reading a book on medical doctor to Haiti, Paul Farmer, who says that WL's "White liberals" expect to fix the world without any cost to themselves...

How can the Christian parties in ONE help Clooney's Catholic-guilt be absolved? This is something to think about. What about formation here in the ONE Campaign? Discipleship?

los amigos de San Diego

2005-10-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I drove down I-15 to San Diego to visit with friends Patrick and Kelli Carmichael. It had been awhile since a proper visit - there was a brief episode last year from 1am to 6am that I briefly recall. So much has happened in our respective lives since then.

Sarah and I had moved to Washington, DC and back to Chicago. Patrick and Kelli - on a leap of faith - went to Europe for five months and came back with a new sense of clarity and vocation for their lives. They had some really great experiences in Ireland, hiking in Scotland, working on an organic farm in France, and hitchiking through Spain... Kelli cut her hair in Amsterdam - because she saw someone else with the haircut and thought it was cool - but I wonder if it had more of a life-change effect, a sense of release and rite. Patrick is working for Merrill-Lynch training to manage private portfolios. He has some good ideas about the market, church, how the Church thinks the market=the gospel and forgets that the market is just a tool.

It was a great visit.
We discovered some sad news, however - FINS, a local San Diego chain of quality baja cusuine (famous for their fish tacos) closed their doors. We went to Rubios, instead. It was good - but not the same. Too commercial, too "themey" - it was like walking into a bad episode of Gilligan's Island.

We then went off to Del Mar and sat out on a cafe balcony overlooking the surf. Talking about table fellowship and community in a truly beautiful place helps one remember the truly great table fellowship of that day.

Then off to downtown San Diego to the Gaslamp Quarter and attempt at finding Padres tickets. The game had been sold out as the Padres had just made the playoffs and were playing their SoCal rivals the Dodgers. I told Patrick and Kelli not to worry - someone was going to hand us free tickets. 45 minutes later, a couple handed us two behind homeplate $40 tickets - for free. We gladly accepted them, had a good laugh, and then split another $40 ticket that had just been released at the box office so we could all sit in the same section. The usher let us all sit together provided we'd move if someone came with the actual seat - they never did :)

Padres lost 2-1 but there were fireworks afterwards - all in all it was a brilliant time.

Pasadena II

2005-10-01T10:35:00.000-05:00

I attended a welcome back rooftop party at Fuller Seminary's Brehm Center - for Worship, Theology, and the Arts with Prof. Todd Johnson and his son Kyle. We arrived at 8pm and were of the first dozen there. By ten when we left, however, the place was hopping - good fellowship, great food, one of the faculty was spinning records (never had I heard a segway as brilliant as the OJays, MC Hammer's Please Hammer Don't Hurt Them, some really heavy beat laden Christian hop-hop, and I kid you not Usher and Chingy), and wine. Yes, wine at a seminary event - at fellowship nonetheless! - who would've thought. Fuller takes their Scriptures seriously.

I'm still wrapping my head around the entire evening - their was an overall sense of freedom and communal practice that I am not sure I have experienced at an institution before. Anyways, it was a fine evening on the rooftop of the Pasadena Museum of California Art. Got to visit with Todd and Kyle, got to share some of my experience of moving in the middle of high school. Got to talk church, got to talk politics, got to talk church-politcs, mostly talked about music and recent concerts.

We also took a photo with this really terrific sandwhich menu from an old Fuller staple that (apparently, I can't remember the entire story) made way for the new student center.

Sandwiches on the menu are named after (in)famous theologians:
Martin Luther's "Sin and Eat Boldy" is beef, swiss, tomato on rye.
Bonhoeffer's "It Comes of Age" is beef, cream cheese, sprouts on sourdough
Jonathan Edwards' "Not from an Angry Microwave" is popular.
Mother Theresa's "Treasures You Know Not Of" is a vegetarian sandwich.
Albert Schweitzer's "Quest for the Historical Sandwhich" is turkey and provolone.
Jacques Ellul's "Meaning of the Sandwhich" is on a french roll (of course)
Bob Jones' "A Pure Sandwhich" looked rather unappealing
and Bill Bright has (you guessed it) "Four spiritual ingredients."

I also wanted to include a photo of yesterday's LA Times - there have been some serious fires south of Pasadena (we could see them from the airplane on our descent into LAX). There was also a Supreme Court Justice confirmed in Washington. Talk about a juxtaposed image / headline!

Pasadena I

2005-09-30T20:24:00.000-05:00

"The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him," (Nahum 1:7)

I'm in Pasadena doing some work for Covenant World Relief and Bread for the World ahead of a BFW / ONE Campaign event. Good day here - working with David, Holly and Jessica in the local Bread office is great.

I had "coffee" (actually none of us had coffee) with David Gist and Sandy Chiang of Newsong Santa Ana ECC. Sandy works for the church's "JAC" (Justice, Advocacy, and Compassion ministries) doing all sorts of terrific things - Newsong is really motivated to be missional - you'll find them in Irvine, Crenshaw, and now in Bangkok, Thailand... and coming up at the BFW/ONE event at First Baptist in Pasadena this coming Oct. 15th. Check it out! http://www.bread.org/pasadena

I had the opportunity to have lunch with Holly Hight and plan our "Bono and You Too: doing local church advocacy" workshop that we'll be putting on at a similar event in Seattle this November. We had a lengthy discussion about ONE and how the Campaign needs to get beyond celebrity to citizen... So we'll use Bono as a vehicle to get into the real stuff of what is church-based advocacy.

I also stopped at In-N-Out... quite good. And looked at the bottom of my hamburger wrapper to find Nahum 1:7. Just what I need, conjuring up prophetic images against Nineveh and such... but that's California I think - the quintessesntial American meal and fire and brimstone (lost by the prooftext). Still true.

Drop the Debt Achieved!

2005-09-26T16:10:00.000-05:00

38 of the world's poorest countries received good news today - the IMF and World Bank ratified the proposals of last July's G8 Summit. A past generation's sins have been forgiven for the current generation - now the money can be spent on healthcare and education. If you're a ONE Campaigner, you were part of making this possible...

Coming up around the bend we see Trade Justice...
___

DATA REACTION TO IMF-WORLD BANK DEBT CANCELLATION DEAL

Under pressure from global campaigners and in keeping with the G8 debt cancellation proposal, the World Bank and IMF have agreed to 100% debt cancellation for up to 38 of the world's poorest countries. Upon implementation, this deal will free up to $1.5 billion annually for some of the world's poorest countries to spend on the healthcare and education of their people.

REACTION FROM BONO, U2 LEAD SINGER AND CO-FOUNDER OF DATA:

"It's been a long road and it doesn't end here, but it's worth stopping to acknowledge what this means. This means that the greatest protest movement since anti apartheid in the 80s and civil rights in the 60s has prevailed with a combination of common sense and relentlessness. The politicians have had to listen. Their consciences have been pricked from every imaginable corner - by the church, student groups, the NGO community, musicians, movie stars and soccer moms.

This is a great day for the poorest people on the planet, who up to now have been misspending what little resources they have paying back ancient loans to rich countries instead of educating and caring for their own. This is not a charity issue, this is a justice issue. It is a cruel world indeed that imprisons the grandchildren for their grandparents' dealings with loan sharks.

The next injustice to be torn down is the bullying tactics at the WTO. The same people that brought about the progress today will be out on the streets again to prevent December's meeting from becoming the fiasco insiders predict."

REACTION FROM BOB GELDOF, LIVE 8 ORGANISER:

"This debt deal will benefit tens of millions of the poorest people on the planet. This, as we have always said, is only a beginning, but, what a beginning. The deal should be implemented without delay with no strings attached save that countries use the money transparently to tackle poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy.

We now, of course, must move forward on implementing the doubling of aid to Africa as agreed, deepening and widening this debt deal to include more countries and most immediately working to secure a breakthrough on trade justice in Hong Kong.

Today, however, let us in particular congratulate the non-G8 countries, some of whom had legitimate national concerns over this deal and yet put them aside in the interests of the poorest people on the planet. Let us also congratulate Gordon Brown for his tireless efforts driving this forward.

And finally, let us congratulate everyone who has campaigned this year and who turned out for Live 8 to focus the world's attention and drive this plan through the process at such a speed. This stuff works."

REACTION FROM OLIVER BUSTON, DATA EUROPEAN DIRECTOR:

"This debt deal is a significant step forward for some of the poorest people on the planet. It should be implemented immediately and the only condition should be that the new funds are used transparently to tackle poverty.

Debt cancellation should also be considered for other poor countries, such as Kenya, where it is needed to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. Those goals will only be reached if rich countries urgently deliver on the commitments they have made to increase aid by $50 billion and if there is a breakthrough on trade justice at the Hong Kong WTO meeting in December.

This debt deal is a victory and momentum builder for the millions of people around the world who have campaigned for debt cancellation, more and better aid and trade reform this year, including nearly two million Americans as part of the ONE campaign."

UN Summit

2005-09-23T11:54:00.000-05:00

Last week a group of North Park students traveled in a stuffy van for 13 hrs and 1 minute to the island of Manhattan off the East Coast of the United States to particpate in the UN Summit. We got to New York City and soon realized that it was going to be one of those weeks of high security - the fully automatic weapons, dog sniffing, tricket out SUV kind of security. Oh, and wonderfully humid NYC air.

What transpired over the five days suprised all of us in different ways. The religious leaders (interfaith) who kicked off the vigil were great - especially World Vision's Richard Stearns who said something to the effect of - "There is a Hurricane Katrina every day in some parts of the world."

I got to preach on MDG #4 - suprisingly I went on after Ron Sider, whose book "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger" helped confirm to me back in 2001 that seminary was where I was supposed to go (I have vivid memories of riding the El after a Sem visit down to Chicago Ave. and reading the newly purchased book across the street from Moody in a Starbucks. Wow). The evangelicals were the most pointed in their call to the Bush Adminstration to act. Later in the MDG preachathon, Rich Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) went on to call the Admin. to lead on the Environment. He said that it was a "people issue" to care for the Created order. The NAE has a new document called "For the Health of the Nation" that's worth reading at NAE.net

Ingrid Johnson also moved everyone with a reading of concern for Creation-care.

We prayed and fasted, stood vigilant for three days with Calvin College students, people from the Northeast to California calling our leaders to bold leadership on global poverty.

Amy and Adam Rohler - co-pastors at Bethesda Covenant Church - led us in a small group reflection on how to "do justice" back home and in our churches. We also enjoyed table fellowship - burritos and $3 margaritas - at Blockheads (a famed NYC burrito establishment with sock monkey portraits on the walls).

Some of us went on to Good Morning America and stood outside hoping the cameras would focus in on our white tshirts that read "every 3 seconds another child dies" (a bit of a heavy morning message... but this isn't a cause, it's an emergency) - I believe Tim King even got a white armband to Dianne Sawyer!

We marched on the third day to Ambassador Bolton's office - stopping traffic along the way with our enormous MAKE POVERTY HISTORY banner. Our religious leaders went inside to meet with an under secretary... will Bolton get the message that Americans care about the MDGs?

We ended on Saturday with a special breakfast session at the UN Food and Agriculture Office (FAO) that the Rohler's helped organize with a member of the church, Florence Chenoweith - she's the Director of the NYC UN FAO office. This was the highlight for many of us as we got to hear from a UN leader the reality of poverty around the world.

She said, "When I know that every five seconds another person dies of a treatable or preventable problem, that's all I need to know to act." She urged us all to do "our part" back home and to not despair - this is mustard seed faith territory!

Students on the trip: Adnrew Phelan, Bryan Phelan, Tim King, Jodi DeYoung, Gavin Dluehosh, Ingrid Johnson, meself, and alumnus Dana Fritz.

If you'd like to learn more, visit www.micahchallenge.org and www.micahmorphosis.org - Peter Vandermeulen and Jason Fileta have done some really great work for Micah in the US.

Here are some photos!

North Park @ UN

And here is a news article where Tim King and I are quoted:

Youth Speak Out!

UN MDGs: solutions for poor and hungry people

2005-09-09T15:18:00.000-05:00

Next week is the UN Millenium Summit - and there will be a group of North Park students making the trip to fast and pray and stand vigilant for making extreme poverty history. Think of it as part 2 of the G-8 summit.

Recently John Bolton - President Bush's recess appointment as UN Ambassador - has brought some attempted changes to using the language of the "Millenium Development Goals.: Today it appears the US is coming back around.
See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4228998.stm

What are the UN Millenium Development Goals?

On September 2000, over 150 Heads of State agreed upon and signed the Millennium Declaration, which set
global priorities for helping people lift themselves out of poverty and achieve a better standard of living. After
the Declaration was signed, the United Nations Secretariat set out to organize the agreed upon goals,
targets, and timetables. The resulting product has come to be known as the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) – a set of eight objectives with corresponding targets and timetables for economic development,
social well-being, and environmental protection. [from Citizens for Global Solutions]

The Goals
1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2) Achieve universal primary education
3) Promote gender equality and empower women
4) Reduce child mortality
5) Improve maternal health
6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7) Ensure environmental sustainability
8) Develop a global partnership for development

So far we've seen some progress in achieving these goals by 2015 - but more still needs to be done.

Over at www.micahmorphosis.org they have some great ideas on how people who can't make the trip to NY can get involved.

What can YOU do?

There are several important opportunities for Christian witness over the next two weeks. Please participate where you can and please do all that you can to make friends, family, networks and congregations aware.
1.Micah Challenge has posted a good new page on their web site through which we can all stay informed and on the same page regarding what is happening and what can be done as the negotiations and summit unfold.
2.There is a major vigil, press conference, and related events planned for New York city in which the Micah Challenge is involved. It would be great to see you there for all or part of it! The complete Schedule
3.Join the Sojourners 30,000 Campaign! http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.display&item=050817_30000
Its easy, and there is something for kids, adults, and congregations to do.
We live an upside-down gospel: God can use small bits of faithfulness for very large effects...

End Extreme Poverty in 2005?

2005-08-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

Look what turned up in CT this week...

End Extreme Poverty in 2005?
No way. But we can still do something significant.
A Christianity Today editorial | posted 08/22/2005 09:00 a.m.

In the "join us now" section of makepovertyhistory.org, Bono is pictured giving a peace sign and Bob Geldof is shown taking off his hat to you. What do these two famous rockers want?

First, they need your e-mail address. Second, they want to end poverty in 2005.

"When thousands and thousands and thousands of people send a well-timed text, a short e-mail, or leave a phone message, change begins to take place. … We know that with enough noise made in the right way to the right people at the right time, extraordinary changes can take place. We actually have a chance to make poverty history in 2005. If not our generation—who? If not in 2005—when?"

Jeffrey Sachs, an economist and U.N. adviser, is less optimistic. But not by much. In his book The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (Penguin, 2005), he lays out a 20-year plan for ending extreme poverty—the kind that kills more than 30,000 people each day.

Let's pray that Sachs and others succeed, in 2005 or by 2025.

It's exciting to see many celebrities—some of them strange bedfellows, like Pat Robertson and George Clooney—banding together with faith-based aid organizations and ordinary citizens to communicate to the world's richest nations that they can do something to help end poverty.

In the United States, they formed the ONE Campaign, and made their goals known through the striking ads in which A-list celebs click their fingers every three seconds. That's how often, they tell us, a child dies because of poverty. Then there were the live rock concerts around the time of the G-8 Summit. And those people you run into wearing white bands on their wrists? They also long to end poverty.

So far the antipoverty advocates, who belong to the umbrella group Global Call to Action Against Poverty, got what they asked for: increased aid to Africa, debt reduction, and some trade reform. The G-8 leaders pledged to give an additional $25 billion in development assistance for Africa as part of an additional $50 billion globally by 2010. Even the Bush White House got a pat on the back for doubling U.S. aid to Africa.

So far so good. Bring on the white wristbands, the rock concerts, and the Brad Pitt commercials. Bring on the new generation of Christians who support social justice.

One of them is Jason Fileta, who headed the Social Justice Coalition at Calvin College until he graduated in May. Bread for the World chose Fileta to attend the G-8 Summit as part of an American delegation. This fall, Fileta will begin working for the Christian Reformed Church's Office of Social Justice and Hunger Action and promote the Micah Challenge, a Christian campaign to, more modestly, "halve absolute global poverty by 2015."

So Fileta believes in ending poverty. He lives it and breathes it. It's a natural outgrowth of his faith. But in light of his passion, does he believe we can end poverty as soon as some celebrities and Sachs say we can?

"If only it were that easy," he told CT recently. "If only money was all we needed to do that."

Though he's only a relative beginner in this cause, Fileta already recognizes that extreme poverty requires solutions more comprehensive than a money transfer. He sees the more simplistic efforts like the one Campaign as effective in raising awareness among people who prefer to just send money and then switch the channel. "By the time a tv commercial would explain to them what's really involved in ending poverty, it would lose them," he says.

Wage War on Corruption
Awareness is good. But more is needed. To emerge from poverty, destitute nations must declare war on corruption. It is common knowledge that on every level of official and unofficial business, bribes, crooks, and extortions are par for the course in many of the countries most plagued by poverty. So what if our government devotes billions of dollars in aid to end poverty if we cannot make sure that local officials at various levels won't keep big portions of the funds to themselves? That's why, if it were up to Fileta, he would cancel the debt of developing nations, provided a portion of the freed-up funds would be used to root out corruption.

Finally, a proven way to curb poverty dwells within the Great Commission: As we support churches and mission organizations that instill biblical ethics in the hearts of the corrupt, we weed out—human heart by human heart—those who would steal from the poor. It's a slow process, and we can't fancy its completion in 2005 or even by 2025.

But, at least in some hearts and some villages, it's bound to both save and change lives.

in Washington, DC

2005-08-24T22:34:00.000-05:00

Arrived in Washington tonight - visiting the old office tomorrow to do some transitional things with Bryan Phelan, the new evangelical outreach intern at Bread for the World. Amtrak was convenient but a bit more of a drag than usual - riding in style straight out of '83. Penn Station was a zoo as well. Some of the doors weren't working properly between cars which made for an interesting visit to the cafe car.

more to follow...

from an undisclosed location...

2005-08-18T10:05:00.000-05:00

there is little/no Internet access where I am...

Full debrief and report upon returning to the City of New York.

xoxoxo Adam

New address

2005-08-12T16:03:00.000-05:00

Sarah and I have moved!

Again!

5254 N. Spaulding Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625

Pictures!

Keane: Rick Astley's little baby brothers

2005-08-07T22:40:00.000-05:00

Another UK import - weaping and wailing in all earnestness like twilight late Nineties Travis and Coldplay. They've sat at the feet of Bono and roused the faithful at Live 8. Soaring melodies, somewhat daft lyrics, the trio is named Keane - and they're Rick Astley's little baby brothers.

In the States we've seen the non-guitar / piano-based trio before: they were once called Ben Folds Five. Where "BFF" rocked pretty hard (Folds' version of the guitar smashup was throwing his piano stool into the keys) Keane's sound is London derivative pop.

Keane's debut, Hopes and Fears, immediately draws the listener in with the anthemic "Somewhere Only We Know." Tom Chaplin's lyrics borrow from the "Where the Streets Have No Name" motif - I walked across a distant land... the river made me complete, etc. etc. - but never quite take you to that special place. Where the lyrics lack, however, the melody triumphs.

Tim Rice-Oxley shows that he actually has four arms on the second track, "This is the Last Time," and carries the group forward despite the continued anemic lyrics. By the grace of studio magic, Rice-Oxley, plays piano, keyboards and bass throughout the album (the third member of the group, Richard Hughes plays the drums).

"Bend and Break" is the arms in the air, summer sing along track. Again, Chaplin's voice conveys his intense devotion to that faceless other while meandering through ridiculous couplets "If only I don't bend and break / I'll meet you on the other side" and "I'll meet you in the light / If only I don't suffocate."

Some depth (both musically and lyrically) is exhibited on "Your Eyes Open" and "Untitled 1" and perhaps illuminate what this outift really is: an electric-pop trio that shines in the studio.

Keane is subtly infectious, great background music for a Sunday afternoon of chores. While some of the selections are great, the album is good without being memorable.

They're most like that "PG-13 character" that Vince Vaughn's Trent warns us about in Swinger's: those special guys that everyone's rooting for to get the girl but just might not pull it off.

Letter from the end of the world

2005-08-06T10:14:00.000-05:00

Today is the 60th anniversary of the atomic attack on Hiroshima. At 8:15 am the air raid alert had already been lifted (how could 1, 2, or 3 American planes be much of a threat?) when moments later 80,000 people died. Obviously, an air raid alert wouldn't matter against the force of "Little Boy."

I visited Hiroshima while on college internship in Tokyo in the August of 2001. Walking down city center streets I would come across typical "historic marker" signs - but these were different. These were written in English and told the story of what people were doing in this part of town when "the bomb" was dropped by "the Americans": shopping, doing business, playing in the street.

Vivid memories of this broken pocket watch, the shadow of a woman with groceries forever left on a wall, little childrens shoes...

By the end of 1945, another 60,000 would succumb due to related injuries.

We remember them today - and pray and act for peace.

Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
Read: Letters From the End of the World, by Toyofumi Ogura

Vision first, language will follow

2005-08-05T08:16:00.000-05:00

Wallis has a great critique of "framing" before message in a recent NY Times op-ed. Reprinted in full below.

The Message Thing

By JIM WALLIS

Since the 2004 election, there has been much soul-searching and hand-wringing, especially among Democrats, about how to "frame" political messages. The loss to George W. Bush was painful enough, but the Republicans' post-election claims of mandate, and their triumphal promises to relegate the Democrats to permanent minority status, left political liberals in a state of panic.

So the minority party has been searching, some would say desperately, for the right "narrative": the best story line, metaphors, even magic words to bring back electoral success. The operative term among Democratic politicians and strategists has become "framing." How to tell the story has become more important than the story itself. And that could be a bigger mistake for the Democrats than the ones they made during the election.

Language is clearly important in politics, but the message remains more important than the messaging. In the interests of full disclosure, let me note that I have been talking to the Democrats about both. But I believe that first, you must get your message straight. What are your best ideas, and what are you for - as opposed to what you're against in the other party's message? Only when you answer those questions can you figure out how to present your message to the American people.

Because the Republicans, with the help of the religious right, have captured the language of values and religion (narrowly conceived as only abortion and gay marriage), the Democrats have also been asking how to "take back the faith." But that means far more than throwing a few Bible verses into policy discussions, offering candidates some good lines from famous hymns, or teaching them how to clap at the right times in black churches. Democrats need to focus on the content of religious convictions and the values that underlie them.

The discussion that shapes our political future should be one about moral values, but the questions to ask are these: Whose values? Which values? And how broadly and deeply will our political values be defined? Democrats must offer new ideas and a fresh agenda, rather than linguistic strategies to sell an old set of ideologies and interest group demands.

To be specific, I offer five areas in which the Democrats should change their message and then their messaging.

First, somebody must lead on the issue of poverty, and right now neither party is doing so. The Democrats assume the poverty issue belongs to them, but with the exception of John Edwards in his 2004 campaign, they haven't mustered the gumption to oppose a government that habitually favors the wealthy over everyone else. Democrats need new policies to offer the 36 million Americans, including 13 million children, who live below the poverty line, as well as the 9.8 million families one recent study identified as "working hard but falling short."

In fact, the Democrats should draw a line in the sand when it comes to wartime tax cuts for the wealthy, rising deficits, and the slashing of programs for low-income families and children. They need proposals that combine to create a "living family income" for wage-earners, as well as a platform of "fair trade," as opposed to just free trade, in the global economy. Such proposals would cause a break with many of the Democrats' powerful corporate sponsors, but they would open the way for a truly progressive economic agenda. Many Americans, including religious voters who see poverty as a compelling issue of conscience, desire such a platform.

Similarly, a growing number of American Christians speak of the environment as a religious concern - one of stewardship of God's creation. The National Association of Evangelicals recently called global warming a faith issue. But Republicans consistently choose oil and gas interests over a cleaner world. The Democrats need to call for the reversal of these priorities. They must insist that private interests should never obstruct our country's path to a cleaner and more efficient energy future, let alone hold our foreign policy hostage to the dictates of repressive regimes in the Middle East.

On the issues that Republicans have turned into election-winning "wedges," Democrats will win back "values voters" only with fresh ideas. Abortion is one such case. Democrats need to think past catchphrases, like "a woman's right to choose," or the alternative, "safe, legal and rare." More than 1 million abortions are performed every year in this country. The Democrats should set forth proposals that aim to reduce that number by at least half. Such a campaign could emphasize adoption reform, health care, and child care; combating teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse; improving poor and working women's incomes; and supporting reasonable restrictions on abortion, like parental notification for minors (with necessary legal protections against parental abuse). Such a program could help create some much-needed common ground.

As for "family values," the Democrats can become the truly pro-family party by supporting parents in doing the most important and difficult job in America: raising children. They need to adopt serious pro-family policies, including some that defend children against Hollywood sleaze and Internet pornography. That's an issue that has come to be identified with the religious right. But when I say in public lectures that being a parent is now a countercultural activity, I've found that liberal and conservative parents agree. Rather than fighting over gay marriage, the Democrats must show that it is indeed possible to be "pro-family" and in favor of gay civil rights at the same time.

Finally, on national security, Democrats should argue that the safety of the United States depends on the credibility of its international leadership. We can secure that credibility in Iraq only when we renounce any claim to oil or future military bases - something Democrats should advocate as the first step toward bringing other countries to our side. While Republicans have argued that international institutions are too weak to be relied upon in the age of terrorism, Democrats should suggest reforming them, creating a real International Criminal Court with an enforcement body, for example, as well as an international force capable of intervening in places like Darfur. Stronger American leadership in reducing global poverty would also go a long way toward improving the country's image around the world.

Until Democrats are willing to be honest about the need for new social policy and compelling political vision, they will never get the message right. Find the vision first, and the language will follow.

Jim Wallis, the editor of Sojourners magazine, is the author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/04/opinion/04wallis.html

President's cuts = 300,000 more hungry American children and women

2005-08-02T09:24:00.000-05:00

A recent McLaughlin Poll finds that most Americans do not realize the proposed heavy cuts to good national nutrition programs and anti-hunger efforts... the same poll also finds that Americans want their elected leaders to actually lead on these issues as well.

Why does the public not know?

The media could do better... but more importantly, the churches could do a lot better.

Preaching against hunger is a biblical response - a response of faith. It's not partisan rancor. I believe that hunger still effects people regardless of their politcal persuasion...

"The poll findings reflect strong support for The Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005, which seeks to cut hunger in the United States by half by 2010. The act would be funded at $15 million and provide funding to local organizations that work collaboratively to fight hunger. According to the poll, 72 percent of respondents said they favored such legislation.

According to U.S. Census Data, 36 million Americans are hungry, at risk of hunger, or "food insecure" – meaning they are unsure whether they will be able to pay for food.

Other findings of the poll include:

75 percent of voters say the food program should be protected from cuts by the administration or Congress even in a tight budget year.
63 percent of voters say that they feel the federal government is spending too little on feeding hungry Americans.
58 percent agree that the United States has a moral obligation to help lift Africa out of poverty.
77 percent of Americans favor President Bush committing the United States to an initiative to work with the leading industrial nations to support African countries that are working to reduce hunger, poverty and disease.
62 percent of voters favor spending an addition $2 billion to support child hunger and nutrition programs in Africa.

Pollster Jim McLaughlin said hunger issues often are not at the top of people's political concerns until the issue is discussed with them. McLaughlin said the results have significant political implications, saying he tells candidates that they have to pay special attention to any results that are above 65 percent."

Good story on The Alliance to End Hunger (faith people and corporate people working together!).

Judge Roberts's Faith

2005-08-02T09:05:00.000-05:00

"Conservatives typically praise religious activism on abortion and homosexuality but dismiss liberal clerics who offer theological insights on economics or social spending. Liberals love preachers to speak out for civil rights and economic justice. But they see "a church-state problem" the instant anyone in the clergy speaks out for vouchers or against abortion and stem cell research."

EJ Dionne has a fine column this morning in the Wash Post on Faith and Politics - particularly pertaining to the Judge Roberts hearing for his confirmation to the Federal Court in DC.

Read "Why It's Right to Ask About Roberts's Faith."

Imagine, a thoughtful public discourse on how one's faith informed one's life!

White armbands

2005-07-31T18:55:00.000-05:00

I wear a white wristband for The ONE Campaign, which is a gathering of people of good faith and good will (Bread for the World is a primary sponsor with other groups like World Vision, DATA, Oxfam, and others) who are calling on Congress and the President to do more in the fight against global poverty, HIV/AIDs, and to creat better trade policies with developing countries.

I've seen the Nike white armband around Chicago - I've even seen some Cubs "Believe". Now in Ohio, I've seen white armbands for "Purity" and for "Lebron James."

The Purity armband was on a young woman who told me it was "from her church" which presumably is in the pantheon of "true love waits" gear and accessories - my favorite were the boxers.

She looked at mine and said, "ONE? That's that AIDS thing, right?" Yes, and it is from my church, as well.

This is slightly annoying, because the Make Poverty History / ONE white wristband is something really good (equity and justice for our global neighbors in great need), and these other wristbands could dilute the message a bit.

I'm going to report on white armbands on this page - keep posted. So, thus far:

ONE (anti-global poverty)
CUBS "BELIEVE"
NIKE
PURITY
LEBRON JAMES

Young's Dairy Farm

2005-07-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

Lovely Saturday evening with Aunt Kelli, Uncle Dave, Scott, and Brian. Drove out through Yellow Springs (there were still Kerry/Edwards yard signs out!) and on to Young's Dairy Farm. Young's is a great childhood memory - home made ice cream and farm animals. It's turned into a "lil' Young's Empire" with gift shop, restaurant, miniature golf, and more. Still great fun...

and Brian and I lost the water war.

Check out photos!

The Old Country

2005-07-29T15:22:00.000-05:00

Enon Library (wifi'd) -

The old family home. The Adena conical burial mound (the second largest in Ohio).

Not pictured: the Dollar store, the new Rite-Aid, and the newish McDonald's.

A Taco Bell is due by the Spring.

The Heart of it All Tour

2005-07-28T10:29:00.000-05:00

We head for the hills of Ohio today - actually the Valley. We're visiting every close relative in ten days - covering such fabled pastures as Enon, Beavercreek, Springfield, ol' Columbus town, and Hudson/Kent. Look for the limited edition tour t-shirt printed on American Apparrel fibres and designed by a mad crew of ultra-left leaning French dissidents (you know, something that will appeal to the masses). T-shirts starting at $35 a piece [ultra-limited "retro" shirts with images from the the 1990 "leaving the Heart of it All Tour" will also be available at $90 a pop].

Reports from the field.

Reinstitute the draft?

2005-07-25T12:08:00.000-05:00

I'm beginning to think that US citizens should begin to call for the reinstitution of the draft. There are two excellent Op-Eds in this morning's New York Times that touch on this issue - the issue is whether or not we have a truly sacrifical country and a "people's army."

If anything, I think we should begin calling for a reinstitution of the draft because then will the citizenry be fully engaged in the matter of going to war, defending human rights, and seeking to keep the peace. We might even see a better UN.

Uniform Sacrifice, by David Douglas Duncan
"No threat of a uniform hangs over the citizens of a nation of nearly 300 million who, in polls, support the invasion of a remote country upon whom our government would pin guilt of 9/11 ... and then attack."

The Best Army We Can Buy, by David M. Kennedy
"War is too important to be left either to the generals or the politicians. It must be the people's business."

___

So bringing back the draft would bring war and peace to the doorstep of every house, apartment, condo, mansion, and summer home. Perhaps. Let's not be foolish, people would still get defferments (legally or illegally) and a draft would not be pleasant at all in terms of "the call to service" - their would be enormous sacrifice. But, I'm wondering if it would serve better the country and the world, if we (US citizens) were more fully engaged in matters of war.

Also, you may want to check out a new resolution of the Evangelical Covenant Church, adopted in June 2005:

Resolution on Christian Responsibility to Pursue Shalom in a Violent and War-Torn World

Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria

2005-07-18T10:43:00.000-05:00

call 1-800-786-2ONE (1-800-786-2663) today and ask for your Senators to support the Santorum-Durbin (!) Ammendment to the bidget that will provide an additional $100 million to the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. This money is only 1/3 of what is needed to keep the program running but a crucial step forward. The program has done an immense effort in helping to save lives and restore health to communities that so desperately need it.

from ONE.org

Remember to tell them:

I am a constituent of YOUR TOWN in YOUR STATE . Be specific!
You're calling with the ONE campaign.
You're calling to ask your Senator to support the Santorum-Durbin Amendment for global AIDS funding.

HERE ARE SOME KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER:

• This amendment is important because it will bring total U.S. funding for an important program called the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to $600 million-— a one-third share of what's needed to keep existing programs on the ground running.

• The fund might have a long name, but what it does is simple: it saves lives. Without this amendment, this vital initiative may have to cut programs that have already begun to have a real impact, delivering prevention, care and treatment to millions of people around the world.

Frames

2005-07-17T23:18:00.000-05:00

This Sunday's New York Times Magazine has a good story on George Lakoff's "cognitive linguistics" theory of framing and how it has helped (or not) the Democrats recently. Lakoff's book, Don't Think of An Elephant! is a very accesible introduction to his theory that the way we communicate - especially through sets of metaphors - either helps or hinders making the case for whatever point we are seeking to make.

Lakoff's argument is that human beings are actually not rational agents. Mainly, you cannot present someone with "just the facts" and expect them to be able to process and come to a decision. Lakoff believes that correct frames "activate" the human brain to be able to then receive facts in a manner that allows them to be processed. I am not doing his theory any justice. Read the article, but more importantly, read the book!

"The most compelling part of Lakoff's hypothesis is the notion that in order to reach voters, all the individual issues of a political debate must be tied together by some larger frame that feels familiar to us. Lakoff suggests that voters respond to grand metaphors -- whether it is the metaphor of a strict father or something else entirely -- as opposed to specific arguments, and that specific arguments only resonate if they reinforce some grander metaphor."

Check out the article, in full.

Yes. Democrats need a better way of framing the debate - call tax relief what it really is (poor common investment) -but they also need better ideas. And backbone.

Rev. Rohler on the G8: "My faith compelled me to go"

2005-07-14T15:16:00.000-05:00

My friend, Adam Rohler - pastor of Bethesda Covenant Church in Manhattan, NYC has returned from Edinburgh with a remarkable reflection on the G8 summit.

Adam writes:

"I am here because my faith compels me to be here. As Christians it is our responsibility to pursue shalom in this world; Shalom is more than simply peace or the ceasing of violence, but it is really about the flourishing of all of life, a kind of harmony of life together. This is what we long for, this is what I preach about back at home, this is what I would love to preach about if given the opportunity to the G8, and this is what we are here to proclaim.” And George Clooney looked right at me and said, “That’s great.”

Read in full, here

Neighbor's Good Nut Brown

2005-07-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

We started a home-brew with our friends Aaron and Lenore Johnson... we're calling it the "Neighbor's Good Nut Brown Ale." It's quite a cool process. Thankfully, Aaron and Lenore had all of the major home brewing supplies (although they hadn't brewed for five years). So, first we started by visiting a store called "Brew and Grow" down near Clybourn and Ashland - we got lost a bit amidst the warehouses... anyways, the place has every basic little thing you would need to brew your own beer at home (hops, malt mix, caps, "carboys," etc. etc.)

And then we went back to the Johnson's and basically mixed it all up, boiled it, and began the fermenting process. All in all it took around 4 hours. We'll let it sit in a "carboy" (a glorified jug that serves as a fermentation vessel) for around 7-10 days, move it to another carboy, let it sit for another 7-10 days, and then move it into bottles (after adding corn sugar for carbonation). It should yield around 48 bottles which we'll then share with friends and family...

We decided on a Honey Nut Brown Ale as they tend to be good beginner's beers for novice homebrewers... we'll move into pale ales, stouts, and others later. And we're calling it the "Neihbor's Good" Nut Brown Ale - which of course is an obscure reference to our favorite 17th c.Lutheran Pietist, August Hermann Francke.

Check out some photos from the day, here.

Feed the Mission Bear

2005-07-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

Yes this is a bear brought back by Catholic missionaries (Order of the Divine Word) and planted in what is now the "cafe" of the conference center where I am for the week... whoa. Put a quarter in and a squeaky little voice tells you the story.

IAF National Leadership Training

2005-07-06T16:57:00.000-05:00

I'm off to Northbrook (northwest suburb of Chicago) for 8 day broad-based organizing training with the Industrial Areas Foundation. Bread for the World is sending me and a former colleague (Karen is still with Bread, I'm only on a "project" for the Fall) which is really great.

I honestly do not know what to entirely expect. I think it will be good.

I feel like my head is somewhere along the PA turnpike and our stuff is still unpacked here near the Lake... so I feel a bit frazzled - but I think this is all called "adjustment" and we're working on that just fine.

I'm brining my laptop - Techny Towers tells me there is internet access if I want it. I'm also brining a book recommended by The Rohlers - Skinny Legs and All, by Tom Robbins.

The final push (for now)

2005-07-06T10:09:00.000-05:00

Call the White House (202) 456-1111

Africa in the Balance

Eight men are about to decide the future of hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. The choices President Bush and his fellow leaders make this week in Scotland will help determine whether more than two million children under 5 will keep dying every year of diseases that can be easily and cheaply treated, whether 40 million young people will still be unable to go to school and whether 300 million Africans will continue to lack access to clean water.

A well-designed package of increased aid, further debt relief and trade fairness could strikingly reduce these shaming indices of extreme poverty at a very affordable cost. America's share of the $25 billion a year in additional aid for Africa sought by the British prime minister, Tony Blair - weighted for national income - comes out to less than $50 per person. But adding fairer trade to the package would actually leave taxpayers in wealthy countries better off than they are today because the rich world now pays more than $350 billion a year in agricultural subsidies.

In recent days Washington has announced welcome but largely unilateral aid initiatives and declined to join other countries in committing a fixed share of national income to development assistance. We hope that summit-meeting chemistry and Mr. Blair's bold exhortations will lead Mr. Bush to go further. New aid money will go furthest if it is committed for several years ahead so African countries can invest in training new health workers and teachers. Donors need to harmonize their aid efforts so the various conditions demanded by different donors do not work against one another.

A growing number of African countries now recognize that development also requires effective and accountable governance, financial transparency, and a welcoming environment for enterprise and investment. South Africa has been a leader in this area, and important steps have also been taken by Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana and Uganda. Nigeria is finally starting to get serious about corruption. But these hopeful trends will produce results only if the rich world agrees to provide the financial support Africa cannot yet provide for itself. The point of this week's push for aid is not to create permanent dependency, but to unleash self-sustaining growth. Mr. Blair has provided more than his share of the needed leadership; Mr. Bush should at least supply America's share of the needed cash. [NY TIMES, 6 July 2005]

Long walk to justice

2005-07-05T11:36:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already urged President Bush to provide leadership against global poverty, please take 30 seconds and go here and for good measure call the White House at (202) 456-1111.

I've got a number of friends in Edinburgh as we speak, representing churches and student groups and calling for more US leadership against global poverty - You can follow the journey a bit at ONEblog and at my friend Holly Hight's Hunger for Justice.

There are also two great ECC articles from last week. "Ignoring Poverty is UnAmerican"
and "Palmberg Joins in Effort to Influence G8 leaders."

Holly writes, from Scotland:

The Make Poverty History Campaign is everywhere in the UK. Everyone knows about it!!! We have a long ways to go with the ONE Campaign in the US. It is interesting to see this campaign in such a secular society. Our main meeting room is an old church turned into a music cafe. Many of the churches here are no longer places of worship.

The press in the UK presents a one sided perspective of American Christianity - fundamentalist and evangelical. Our presence is very powerful, because we are Americans Christians who care about the poor!!

If you want to know how you can do more, join Bread for the World.

...this one's about quantum physics

2005-07-04T23:49:00.000-05:00

Yes it would be Moby free and live at "the Taste" [of Chicago]. We took the eL from our new place (only 30 minutes downtown on the Red line) and joined the crowd out at Grant Park. "Free concert" in Grant Park is always an interesting concept - you find yourself stuck out behind the fence on the field in what Moby appropriately called "the DMZ." The view is better on the jumbotron...

But it was a great free summer concert in the park. Moby played the hits and covered some great tunes (some Billy Idol, Zeppelin, and the Doors). Highlights were Bodyrock, Southside (Gwen Stefani-less this time), and Raining Again. Moby is definetely not a rock and roll showman: No grand declarations from the stage, no light show, etc. This is the guy down the hall in your dorm with the really great record collection (a little Def Leopard, some Bowie, a stack of gospel records, and maybe some pre-Ray of Light Madonna) and a lot of energy.

All in all it was a great Fourth. To think last year Sarah and I were on the Mall wathcing the Washington Monument illumined by a fireworks spectacle set to patriotic tunes. I preferred the way this evening ended - on our rooftop on the Northside, getting to know our new building-mates, surrounded by 360 degrees of fireworks (Evanston, the netherworld of the West Suburbs, the "Pratt ave. pier" and downtown).

Major props to the young gentleman who gave me a Bud for 6 tickets at the Taste rather than the requisite 8. God Bless America.

Check out this recent Moby quote in an article in a Christian magazine called Relevant.

Beyond charity to justice...

2005-07-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

Tune in today, say a prayer, urge the President to lead in truth and action.

Call the White House: (202) 456-1111

‘So this is our moment,’ mused Bono as Edge began strumming the chords of One. ‘This is our time, this is our chance – to stand up for what’s right. We’re not looking for charity, we’re looking for justice. We can’t fix every problem but those we can we must.’

In Philadelphia, Will Smith kicked off the concert - 200 years later and "down the street" from US history - by announcing a Declaration of Interdependence.

50,000 people are dying, needlessly, every day of extreme poverty - we can do stop this. Every three seconds, another child dies.

At this year's G8 summit meeting, it is within the power of the leaders of the 8 richest nations to put an end to this tragedy. It is an extraordinary opportunity which it would be shameful to ignore. We must urge them to take these 3 steps to make extreme poverty history...

double the aid sent to the world's poorest countries,
fully cancel their debts,
change the trade laws so that they can build their own future.

Bono quote (the State Department remix)

2005-07-01T15:51:00.000-05:00

Bono is so apt to say he is not a cheap date when it comes to cozying up with politcians... in this case he seems like a used date.

From: Think Progress

A State Department release from Monday doctored remarks from U2’s Bono, twisting his quote to mean the very opposite of what he apparently believes. Here’s the State Department paragraph, two graphs below the lede [besides underlining, excerpt appears exactly as published]:

Bono, lead singer of the Irish band U2 and longtime activist for aid to Africa, echoed Geldof’s praise for President Bush as he told an American television interviewer June 26, “[Bush] has already doubled and tripled aid to Africa .… I think he has done an incredible job, his administration, on AIDS. 250,000 Africans are on anti-viral drugs; they literally owe their lives to America.”

In fact, Bono only said the latter half of that quote during his appearance on Meet the Press last Sunday. The first part — “[Bush] has already doubled and tripled aid to Africa” — is deceptively transplanted from an interview Bono did with Time magazine that Tim Russert quoted on the show, and the State Department has taken it entirely out of context. Here’s the full quote:

Question: Which of the G8 leaders do you think remains the toughest nut to crack?

Bono: The most important and toughest nut is still President Bush. He feels he’s already doubled and tripled aid to Africa, which he started from far too low a place. He can stand there and say he paid at the office already. He shouldn’t because he’ll be left out of the history books. But it’s hard for him because of the expense of the war and the debts.

In other words, Bono was relaying President Bush’s claim (which he repeated during his press conference with Tony Blair this month) that his administration has tripled aid to Africa. Yet we know Bono does not believe that Bush has tripled aid to Africa. On Meet the Press, Bono said that while Bush has made a commitment to triple aid, that will only be the case “if he follows through” on that pledge.

album review: Coldplay "X&Y"

2005-07-01T11:14:00.000-05:00

Throughout the spring you would have thought Coldplay were about to release their own little Joshua Tree. Reports from the studio in various publications like NME, Q, Rolling Stone, and even the NY Times were of ridiculously epic proportions. Why do journalists so desperately want the story - "Band saves music industry and the world." These sort of headlines always set an album up for failure - and they never ring true. The albums that do have a decent shot at saving the world (or at least making it fun while it lasts) always creep up on you. Think OK Computer, think the already aforementioned. These albums arrive - they are not heralded by an overzealous and quick to draw press.
Coldplay's "X&Y" is no OK Computer, no Rubber Soul, no Exile on Main Street and definetely no Joshua Tree.

But it is great.

This finally dawned on me at 4:30am on I-95 after dropping Lenore and Aaron Johnson at BWI after an action-packed week of conferencing, interfaith convocating, and lobbying (to be detailed in an upcoming post).

The first single, Speed of Sound, was to be the epic "Coldplay are back and they are the next U2 except more postmodern and more obsessive compulsive and more married to Hollywood stars." Anyways, it was soundly defeated in the UK (they pay attention to singles charts like we pay attention to the NCAA football polls) by a mobile ringtone called "The Crazy Frog."

Speed of Sound is good - it was better when it was called "Clocks" and was found on A Rush of Blood to the Head. It deserved second-place.

But X&Y is fantastic - and like most things thickly arranged, better by the 4th or 12th listen.

It's clear now that Coldplay are a band - you weren't so sure on their first album, Parachutes, and it was up for debate on their sophmore effort. The band, as a cohesive unit, shine on White Shadows, urge you cry your eyes out with the anthemic Fix You, and pull you up onto your feet with The Hardest Part. On the title track, the band are in full stadium anthem mode - with a jazz/atmospheric/summer psychedlic twist. Guy Berryman's bass counter melody gives way to a string section which is then driven by Johhny Buckland's guitar and Will Champion's heavy beat.

Don't be mistaken - Chris Martin is up for being the insufferable little baby Bono when given the chance. As a true disciple, the songs could be about love, God or politics. His song is love (apparently) in A Message and he's up for nicking a movie score's melody in Square One. It's on the bonus/hidden track 'Til Kingdom Come, conjuring the spirit of Johnny Cash, however, that Martin is most convincing. "For you I'd wait til kingdom come / until my day is done / and say you'll come and set me free / just say you wait / you'll wait for me." Who is Martin singing to? Is it Gwynneth or Apple? or is it Jesus?

Should be a good summer concert... anyone going?

Until kingdom come, Make Trade Fair.

A sort of homecoming

2005-06-30T11:05:00.000-05:00

Sarah and I moved back to Chicago on 21/22 June 2005.

Please call on us at 6816 N. Lakewood Ave. Chicago, IL 60626 USA NORTHAMERICA WORLD THEUNIVERSE.