You may be right, but I'd prefer to think that Mathews is not saying that people of color are godless, or "lesser", or something along those lines. I'd prefer to think that Mathews was referring to Flatbush as an urban slum, and not as a Black urban slum. I think he would have been equally happy to use examples such as war-torn Bagdad, Brady's photographs of the aftermath of Antietam, or views of mountain-top coal mining in West Virginia. These things, he believes (as do most of us), are emblematic of the works of man. But if the Colorado eats away at the geology of Arizona--well that is God's majesty on display.

My point is that--if we must see God in all of this--then we should percieve that it is God who has been pushing the flow of many immigrant populations (currently Carribean) through Flatbush over many generations, just as He's been pushing the water that saws through Arizona's upper crust.

dclaw, I enjoy your thinking and post, and agree with you that it is likely all conflated together--race, urban/rural, etc. When it comes to Race, we are a nation of fools and idiots, imo. We all participate in, and exhibit, the idiocy and evil. It's the american story. Why should Mathews be any different.

Agree with Paul Dirks as well, would go a bit further. The judeo-christian tradition tells us that we are on this planet for a limited time, and then we check out, go to the sky, or elsewhere, and that's that. We are literally not of this world.

Why the hell should we worry about pollution and global warming then? Our traditional ethos disembeds us from such concerns--we're just passing through. Our religious tradition places us in a logical position much like General Electric on the Hudson--pump the crap downstream and harvest the profit--it's all good because we're just passing through.

Your point on the environmental christians is a good one--that movement is clearly there. But I'd argue the recent splash this movement has made in the media is because it is new and different, atypical. And I'd argue it is still a very minor movement in the christian community as a whole.

I'd add that the judeo-christian tradition I referred to is not a tradition limited to the active christian community today. We are all, in this country, participants in that tradition. We are so steeped in it that it is easy to miss.

It's an exciting time in the south. Enjoyed reading y'alls posting on it. Very, Very, complex system that is driving this, and there are real dangers in attempting to oversimplify it. In my view, the "outer south" is competetive now. Look at Virginia, Tennesee in '06.

But an even better example is the recent sweep, countywide, of Dallas County in '06.

That's Dallas County, Texas.

Swept.

By Democrats.

Last Year.

Do not get swept away by demographics. Yes, they are very important, but it is much more complex that that. Two factors easily overlooked in the Dems' favor, imo, are:

1. George W. Bush

2. The novel approach that the Dems. actually care enough to field and support candidates who actually run against the GOP candidate. Wow. What a great idea.

Link below is a good consideration of the complexities involved just at the level of a single county, and well worth reading:

http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/ericfolkerth/2006/nov/23/why_did_the_democrats_win_in_dallas_county

There is much polite, pleasant, and right-minded agreement among posters today.

It's sickening, isn't it.

When Broder does this, he's accused of studying people outside the beltway as if they were animals.

When we do it, we are intelligent, concerned people trying to discuss important things honestly.

Glad you've joined the fray, and look forward to your posts from "Blue" Dallas. Man, is that a weird thing to say, let alone conceive of.

Sorry about the Mavs, but selfishly glad as it gives my Spurs a real shot.

I am looking forward to it. Thank God for Frontline. I'm sorry your schedule didn't allow you to get in front of the camera on this one. It will be interesting--and I hope not too depressing--to view the impact the show may have.

A most beautimous post GG.

There is also a story over at TPM Muckraker on this. The Whitehouse reveals a new, depraved, low.

A good program, but I don't think the show will scare many americans. Americans have chosen to be afraid of the wrong things.

Yoo scares me, for a fact.

and a very disappointing amount of focus on this issue presently. How can pressure be brought to bear on Congress so that it will act on this matter?

"The top 3 stories at Memeorandum as of this moment are..."

To be fair, yesterday was an unusually massive news day. That alone would take some starch out of the Comey testimony story. But to see it minimized today the way it is (currently on top at Memorandum, but still surprisingly few articles linked) is personally very frustrating.

On another issue, GG writes:

At this point, how can anyone justify the lack of criminal investigations or the appointment of a Special Counsel?

I note that Comey was the one to appoint Patrick Fitzgerald. Another feather in Comey's cap, in addition to his admirable testimony. My question though is--who in this reeking shambles of a DOJ will ever appoint a Special Counsel. To my mind, Pigs will fly barrel-roles over a frozen Hell before DOJ will appoint. Is there some other entity who can activate a Special Counsel probe into this?

You pulled out too late, Lanny.

"Lanny J. Davis, a Washington lawyer and former Clinton White House counsel, said this week he no longer believed the five-member board was sufficiently independent to provide oversight of government surveillance," according to the report."

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Lone_Democrat_quits_White_House_privacy_0516.html