Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 06/23/21

Curtis vs. Goliath. Pundits suggest it may take a miracle for the famed Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa to defeat the New York City’s giant Democratic political and media machine in his battle for mayor but he handily won the GOP primary last night. Some thoughts following the news report below.

IMHO: The city can use a miracle. What’s more if Sliwa can beat whoever emerges victor from the Rube Goldberg ranked-voting election process on the Democratic side, it may send a signal that, even in the hub of American liberalism, voters are fed up with politicians who trample on the civil rights of ordinary folks who deserve the respect and protection their leaders are elected to provide. And, yes, that’s a moral issue.

BTW, thanks largely to the complicated process of ranked-choice voting, it reportedly may take until sometime in July for a winner to be declared on the Democratic side. Oh, yeah. That was a brilliant idea. We need more election transparency, not less. Anyway, you can check out my recent interview with Sliwa here.
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Abortion seen as a black and white issue. The National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life and Black Americans for Life (BAL) are jointly launching a project to help educate the public about the disproportionate impact of abortion (aka fetuscide) on African-Americans. The stats are at least as stark as any that purport to show systemic racism in other areas of American society. For instance, the group says more than 13 million unborn black babies have been killed since abortion was legalized nationwide in 1973. Black women, they note, have a third of all abortions even though blacks comprise only about 12% of the population of the United States. According to an article published in 2020 by Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology (a division of the National Institutes of Health), black women have been experiencing induced abortions at a rate of nearly four times that of white women for at least three decades and, likely, much longer. In states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, black babies are reportedly aborted at around five times the rate of white babies.

As part of the awareness campaign, new brochures and bumper stickers have been created to help pro-life leaders and pastors energize the African American community to save their unborn babies and to become active in the pro-life movement. For more information, contact Black Catholics for Life.

IMHO: We already know that the celebration of unrestricted abortion (aka fetuscide) fails the science test as there is far more hard evidence that an unborn baby is already experiencing life right now than there is that climate change is an existential threat to humankind in 20 years. Are the science deniers also racist? Probably not intentionally – and women and others who have experienced the trauma of abortion should be loved not shamed – but the issue deserves serious consideration by a media that presents itself as concerned about racial disparities.  All black lives matter.
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The Great Godcast. What’s billed as “the world’s largest Audio Bible Super Production” is holding open auditions to join a cast that also includes established and Oscar-winning Hollywood actors. The project is aimed at ecumenically uniting people of different faiths and walks of life, starting with a diverse cast. The end result will be available later this year on a technologically advanced mobile app. Details about the audition process below.

The Audio Bible Super Production, which found great success in its Polish edition, is preparing to produce an American version. The producers are holding open auditions for voice actors. All are welcome to participate.

According to the Audio Bible Super Production website, at least 30 A-list Hollywood actors will participate in the American recording. The complete cast, however, is expected to include some 250 voices. Of these, 100 actors will be selected from submitted auditions on social media accounts.

The audition process is relatively simple. All one must do is record themselves reading a passage of scripture, share the recording on social media, and submit their post to the website. The auditions are open until July 15, 2021.

The public will be essential to the selection process. The Audio Bible Super Production website will host the best recordings for the audience to vote on. In order to present the widest array of voices possible, there will be at least one winner from each U.S. state.

For more information on how to submit your audition, visit the Audio Bible Super Production’s website.