The Daily Digest

White House staff and presidential aides disembarking from Air Force One in New York City

Bill Richardson describes himself a "market-oriented Democrat." Certainly, he's the most conservative D running for president. By contrast, his party's front-runner, Hillary Clinton, in 1996, said she agreed that "[t]he unfettered free market has been the most radically disruptive force in American life in the last generation."

Before he decided run for president, Tommy Thompson boasted an impressive resume and reputation. But each time he appears in a debate, he diminishes himself.

Approximately one-third of Americans describe themselves as evangelicals. But I often wonder to what extent these people share the views of their alleged political leaders in the religious right? In short, is the influence of the Robertson-Dobson-Falwell axis overstated? Fortunately, Right Wing Watch, a blog from People for the American Way, dug up the evidence for me. Its conclusion: at least with respect to Robertson, these guys are still very much a force to be reckoned with.

Interesting footnote: Falwell disapproved of Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil-rights activism because “preachers are not called to be politicians, but soul-winners.” The “secular” excesses of the 1960s, however, were much too much for him, prompting him to found Moral Majority Inc.

Update (6/4): The Post reports that "[i]n the view of many social conservatives, their organizational structures—from megachurches to Christian colleges, broadcasting networks and public interest law firms—have never been stronger."

[continue reading...]

How to Showcase Africa: Despair or Promise?

One student at the University of North Carolina will not be entering Nick Kristof's contest to accompany him on an all-expenses-paid trip through Africa. Kristof, she says, wants to show Americans the unimaginable, backbreaking, heartrending indigence that ravages that continent. But

Americans don’t need any more stories of a dying Africa. Instead, we should learn of a living one. Kristof and his winners should investigate how it is that Botswana had the highest per-capita growth of any country in the world for the last 30 years of the 21st century. Report on the recent completion of the West Africa Gas Pipeline that delivers cheaper, cleaner energy to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Tell us about investment opportunities in Nigeria’s burgeoning capital markets. . . .

So I’m asking Kristof to refine his summer travel itinerary to include a tour of a thriving organic farm owned and operated by a local Ethiopian cooperative. And the Ugandan health clinics that are reducing the number of AIDS cases despite a continuing guerilla war. And the wonderful “PlayPumps” scattered throughout the continent that provide safe drinking water via a pump system powered by children as they play on a playground. Brilliant idea. And something many people don’t know about.

The student's name is Loren, and I'm placing her letter in the newly created I-wish-I-had-written-that category.

[continue reading...]