By about ten this morning, outside the food pantry I run at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, the line of people waiting to get free groceries reached around the block. There were hundreds in the crowd: Chinese grandmothers with kids in tow, Salvadoran moms lugging babies, African-American ladies with their shopping carts, tired-looking white couples,…

Once again, both political parties are heading into their national conventions with just about everything already decided – the candidates, platforms and even the speakers.The excitement of political conventions is a thing of the past.Choreographers and media consultants have replaced backroom political horse trading. Some people might say, “Thank God.”I say, “We’ve taken the human…

I am already a bit weary of presidential politics, and it’s not even September. On the one hand, the excitement around Senator Obama’s candidacy that galvanized so many to engage the body politic stands alongside worn political tropes and familiar policy initiatives. (note this NY Times article about corporate interests trumping the concerns of the…

First of all, I want to thank BeliefNet for assembling such an outstanding panel for this blog.  I am grateful to be included, and I am looking forward to spirited debates in the weeks and months to come. While Senator Obama tours the Middle East this week, his campaign is still making news back home…

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More from Beliefnet and our partners