rungavagairun's blog

For what it's worth, this is an editorial of mine that was published last week in our local paper here in Little Rock. The letter is just in response to general grumblings I hear on a day to day basis suggesting that Democrats in congress are corrupt and disinterested in the welfare of the average citizen.
Enjoy.

I know people are frustrated with the growing energy crisis and casting blame and suspicion at our elected officials feels good. On a daily basis I hear people’s complaints suggesting that the politicians do not care about average people, that they are in the pockets of radical environmentalists, that our politicians are only concerned about getting reelected, that they’re concerned more about the monetary benefits they may be receiving from special interest groups, and that they are not listening to the will of the people. But these attributes we’re ascribing to the politicians are contradictory. They cannot all be true.

In past postings, I suggested social justice might be achieved by some proportional cap on the top income echelon. I argued that the wealthiest individuals could increase their own incomes only if they would also bring the lowest economic level up as well, because the prosperity of those wealthy individuals is in some measure due to the fact that the workers with the lowest income allow the wealthy business owners and investors to achieve low production costs and high profit margins.

I'm not married to this solution and I wanted to revisit the problem now that I've been exposed to some more different views. Upon further reflection, I'm not certain such a system is even practicable. That is the first problem. The second issue which I believe obliges us to answer is whether we can justify limiting the economic liberties that result in the economic inequalities in all societies.

Rawls, whose writings I've cited in the past, proffers two principles upon which he suggests just laws could be formulated.
1. laws ought to grant the greatest liberty compatible with like liberty for everyone.
2. social and economic differences are tolerable so long as they mutually benefit all citizens and so long as all citizens have equal opportunity to fill the more powerful positions and offices in a society.

Hey there everyone.
The Senate voted on the FISA Amendment and amendments to that amendment today. I wanted to learn more about it and found a couple of useful links.

This is a link to the ACLU summary of the FISA bill and the subsequent amendments.
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/33906leg20080204.html

and this is a link to see how each Senator voted on those bills
http://www.govtrack.us/users/events.xpd?monitors=misc:allvotes

Enjoy.
David

http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/jan/30/democrat-edwards-ends-pr...

I didn't expect to hear this today. It seems to me likely that this news plays in Barack's favor. What do you all think?

This is a message I sent to Jim Wallis.

Mr. Wallis,
My name is David Stefan. I am aware of your political writings. I have read much of your "God's Politics" book. You and I share many of the same political priorities and, like you, I attend an evangelical church and subscribe to orthodox evangelical doctrines.

Having said that, my political perspective is different from yours in a significant way. As I understand it, your founding premise is to achieve a scriptural balance in our political endeavors. Your introduction to God's Politics says "Because Scriptures spend so much time on the poor, we will too." While I agree that there is a great quantity of Bible passages that address the issue of poverty, that fact does not necessitate that this problem be addressed through government nor that it should take priority. Also, some of the most important commands are only given a few times throughout the Bible. The fact that they are not restated on each page does not lessen their importance. In other words, it seems to me that the case you make is not the strongest case that might be made.

This link leads to an article from the Center for Progressive Action on Bush's State of the Union tonight. Looks pretty good.

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/progressreport

Hello everyone.
Attached is the final version of our CrossLeft community standards and guidelines. Please read them.
Thanks,
David

I may sound like a broken record, but to me, humility is one of the key foundational elements that has brought us together to work toward social justice and a Christian progressive agenda. The following statement was written as I reflected on the virtue humility this morning.

The firmness of the conviction of our faith in God's word is demonstrated best NOT in the degree to which we are willing to impose our understanding of God's will on our neighbors through political and legislative endeavors. Rather, it ought to be demonstrated in the degree to which we strive to live out the will of God in our own lives. It becomes apparent to others when the spiritual gifts are manifest in our lives by focusing our desire for change toward holiness and alignment with God's will inwardly and directing our capacity for mercy, grace, and love, toward our neighbors. Pride reverses that flow turning love and acceptance inward and turning the demand for change, conformity and holiness outward.

David

We want to grow our visibility and raise awareness of our existence, especially among people who are likely to share our views. It stands to reason that many of you who frequent our site as participants and readers may have friends and relatives who either share your views or might also be interested in a Christian politically progressive website. Here are three simple and painless ways that you can help us spread the word.

1. Add us on facebook. You can find us by searching for "progressive Christians". Inviting friends to join us on facebook is very easy. Just click on "Invite People to join" and click on the friends you think might be interested. I did this last week and our facebook group doubled in size (easy to do when membership is at 11).
2. Add us on myspace. Stephen, is there an easy way to find us on myspace? It was through myspace that I first discovered CrossLeft.
3. Tell your friends and family about us by mouth or by email. Heck, send them a letter with a stamp if you want.

The bottom line is that right now, you guys (y'all if you prefer, Janet) are our best means of spreading the word that Progressive politics is not the sole property of non-believers, that the Bible does not command believers to be political conservatives, and that there are many of us who are firm in our convictions that the Bible points us toward progressive political agendas.