Midwestern Mugwump (mw)2

Ugh

The nicest thing that can probably be said about Pat Robertson's latest pronouncement is that he doesn't know what he is talking about.  Sure Chavez is an unsavory character, but the United States doesn't (and shouldn't) have a policy of assassination and Christians particularly shouldn't endorse that kind of idiocy.

"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson told viewers on his "The 700 Club" show Monday. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."

Ugh.  I was in favor of the Iraq war, of being aggressive on terrorism, but this is just wrong.  There have to be better ways to fill airtime - including an apology.

Soaring Housing Prices Got You Down?

There was a moderately interesting piece in the Sun-Times on Saturday about "soaring home prices" - Prices Soar Through the Roof.  Except that it really wasn't.

Okay, there were some funny parts, such as when the artist identified the increasing gentrification of their neighborhood by saying.

"I looked out the window and saw someone walking their dog," she said. "That's a totally yuppie thing to do. This was the kind of neighborhood where the dog would have been tied up in the backyard."  or

It wasn't long after that that Slawinski looked out her window and started screaming: "Dick! There's a jogger!"

But other parts don't tell the story I'm looking for - so someone bought a house for $108,000 and added  $175,000 in improvements - is it really that surprising that 12 years later its worth just double that amount at $600,000?  Or, when someone buys a brand new 4,000 square foot house that it costs between $550,000 and $750,000? 

Ladies and gentlemen, 4,000 square feet is a VERY BIG HOUSE, no matter what neighborhood you live in.  I have a hard time developing much empathy for such a situation.  And subsidizing this type of house surely can't be where we're headed. 

But I really like this - "Its criminal."  "OK -- there's no law against it, but it's morally abhorrent. It's indentured servitude. It's wrong."  What??  I understand being concerned about the issues, but is this guy going to take less money on his house and sell to a firefighter?

That said, I don't understand the economics of the situation to know whether there is a 'vanishing middle class' here or there are other factors (more two income households?). 

There probably is a good story here, it just can't be told around 3,000-4,000 square foot houses.

Good in the Suburbs

CT has a very encouraging story about some Wheaton Academy who have raised almost $250,000 over the last several years for a mission in Zambia.

They started with a senior project to raise $53,000 and it slowly grew.  Its a great story of what evangelicalism can do right - and does more often than we might think.  The students struggled with the goal, with each other and ultimately prayed their way through the crisis.  A few quotes:

• But at first, practically no one was enthusiastic. It seemed unlikely they would raise even $10 from each student, and some were strongly opposed to this big ministry dream. Some students felt this new "God-sized" goal was sudden, unreasonable, and driven by guilt. Others asked why their resources should go to Africa, and especially to fighting a sexually transmitted disease like AIDS. Debates after chapel would often leave [Christy] Peed [the senior who started the project] in tears.
• "Each of us committed to pray every single day about it," Peed said, "and that's when the money started coming in." Those prayers changed not only their attitudes of fear and doubt toward the project, but also attitudes within the entire school—students, teachers, and administrators. The arguments ceased and a potent passion for Zambia ignited as hundreds of students mobilized to raise funds.
• World Vision's Frank said, "This thing has really grown my faith."

One could apply cynicism, but why not just turn it off for a second and be encouraged. 

Isn't this the Sky Actually Falling?

This seems like a complete disaster for the independence of the non-profit sector and the integrity of church state relations.  The idea that the state would have a substantial view into the financial workings (and with possible economic sanctions) of churches (not at the tax fraud margins, mind you) seems to me to a line that shouldn't be crossed.  I'm a bit surprised that the reaction hasn't been more vociferous.  The wall of separation is largely a terrible metaphor, but seems like a hole being blown wide open.  Maybe I'm just over-blowing things.

On the theoretical side of this concern - this is why Yale maintains the position that it does NOT enjoy a tax EXEMPTION from the state, but instead (because of its explicit mention in the state constitution) exists in a state of non-taxation.  The distinction being that exemptions are grants from the state and can be revoked, but a status of non-taxation has a higher standing and is not subject to legislative or (more particularly) regulatory revocation.  I would think, not being a First Amendment expert, that a similar tack is taken with church status.

At the end of the day, I can't imagine this would pass any form of constitutional muster, maybe that's why critics are composed about it.