Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Remembering Martin Marty
Theologian Martin Marty died at age 97 at the end of February after a career that influenced more people than he could ever know, including me. He studied and wrote about what he called "public theology," which focuses on the intersection of culture and religion-- something very important to study at a time of rising fundamentalism. And it is that rise of fundamentalism that he addressed for years, not only in Christianity but in other faiths. What he wanted, hoped for, taught, was that culture and faith could work in the same direction for the common good.
His career was varied: he taught at the University of Chicago, served as a Lutheran minister, and edited Christian Century magazine, just to name a bit of it all (which even included a stint as the interim president at St. Olaf College in Minnesota). He won the national book award in 1972 for Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America.
My friend Bob Darden told me about an interview Marty gave to the Wittenberg Door magazine-- like most people who are smart and engaged, he was also funny.
His students were lucky; I wish that I had been among them.
Monday, March 10, 2025
River poems
Great turnout this week! I loved this one from Jill Scoggins:
Lazy Calcasieu
Meanders from our camp house
We beach its sand bars
Curving, twisting turns
Flat water from Kinder to
Lake Charles and beyond
Trees overhang with
Spanish moss. The woods beyond
Dark, mysterious
In dreams, seen again
River memories that are
as real as today.
And there were two about the Mighty Mississippi (into which Minnehaha Creek, pictured above, flows), including IPLawGuy's:
Rocky River? Mom Scoffs
Her river: Mississippi
I saw. Understood.
And Tim:
Let the river flow
Especially The Ole Miss
Mighty powerful.
CraigA is so right about the James:
Paddling the James:
flowing heart of Virginia,
a vital resource.
And Christine knows hers:
A dry creek bed
Traces through our property
Awakens with rain.
Des wrote about some great art:
The Boss sung us songs
of quiet desperation.
The River still flows.
And Anonymous takes us to the Sugar:
Behind her house
The Sugar River meandered
Magnifying Earth.
Sunday, March 09, 2025
Sunday Reflection: The Devil appears
We find this in Luke 4:
1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 5Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,10for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
There is so much going on here! A love of it, too, pulls against my own theology. I've always wondered about the "Devil" part-- and I have a LOT of questions:
-- First, that the devil just shows up, personified. It's so specific, too!
-- Second, that the devil has dominion over all of the kingdoms of the people. What?!? That's the starting point?
-- Third, the request to turn stone into bread seems odd. At any rate, Jesus had already turned water into wine, so it seems like he could have done this, too. And then the answer ("Man cannot live by bread alone") is kind of baffling, since even if men need more than bread, that doesn't mean Jesus can't do this miracle.
In the end, I've always taken this as a way to deal with a certain kind of bully, who wants you to do specific things. Jesus pretty much just ignores him, and refuses to do the tricks he requests. It's not a bad take.
Saturday, March 08, 2025
The death of expertise
Yesterday, U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer was fired from her job at the Department of Justice and removed from the building. The termination letter (above) is chilling, and the move is baffling.
Since her appointment in 2022, Oyer has built a strong staff and done a great job. She had a perfect background (Harvard Law, law firm partner, federal defender) for the tasks a pardon attorney performs: working with challenging sentencing rules, working through often poorly-drafted petitions and making hard choices about the recommendations she made. We disagreed at times (not many, actually), but I always very much admired her work.
At this point I don't know the fate of her staff or if she will be replaced. I am certain they will not find someone else as good at the job. This was not the elimination of "fraud," "waste," or "abuse": it was the elimination of expertise. I do not know what comes next.
Moreover, her departure eliminates the possibility of what looked to be a great working combination after Trump appointed Alice Johnson his "Pardon Czar" who would work at the White House and bring him good cases. These two talented women have complementary talents, as Liz Oyer is strong at sentencing analysis and organization, but has had no access to the White House or ability to speak publicly about clemency (as a DOJ employee). Meanwhile, Alice Johnson is a fantastic public advocate for clemency and does have access to the President. If they were to work together, it would make a compelling whole.
But a dynamic that includes expertise, it seems, might not be what's in favor right now.
Friday, March 07, 2025
Haiku Friday: The River
I live in a place defined by rivers. When I go to St. Paul, I cross the Mississippi River, which still amazes me. A few blocks from my house, I took the picture above of Minnehaha Creek, which runs through my neighborhood, meanders around Minneapolis for a while, then plunges over Minnehaha Falls before flowing into the Mississippi. So let's haiku about rivers-- whatever is near to you or dear in your memory. Here, I will go first:
Saturday, Belle Isle
Freighters glide by like icebergs
A gull circles, sighs.
Now it is your turn! Just use the 5/7/5 syllable pattern and have some fun!
Thursday, March 06, 2025
PMT: Presidenting-- and deporting-- is hard!
According to the New York Times, President Trump and his advisors are upset that the pace of deportations are far behind what they promised, at about 600 a day nationally. An initial burst and Trump's campaign promises set expectations much higher.
A lot of people, of course, are heartened by the struggle to meet those promises. Still it, is important to understand what makes the project harder than expected, and I have some ideas:
-- As the Times piece mentions, folks have been trained to not open the door to agents, and that means they have to actually go get a warrant-- and that takes time and a lot of effort.
-- The promise was to round up undocumented people with criminal records, and the easy way to do that is get them from local jails. That "easy" group has probably already been seized, though, meaning the remaining targets are harder to locate.
-- Many deportations usually take place right after someone crosses the border; they are caught in transit within the US or while trying to get established, when they are most exposed and vulnerable. Because border crossings are very low right now, those easier-to-get people are not out there.
-- Finally, it is just hard to make a case and find a person-- and it should be, so rights are protected.
I would be surprised if they continue to increase resources on this project, as people borrowed from other agencies are already frustrated. It could be that this focus on immigration quietly slips into the background within the next several month.
Wednesday, March 05, 2025
Writing the Test
[This is what A.I. gave me when I asked for a picture of Wallace Shawn writing a Crim Law final. I'm not sure we should trust A.I. with a lot of important tasks quite yet]
Yesterday I gave my first-year criminal law students their midterm exam, which always makes me nervous, for some reason-- even though I'm not the one taking the test. I suppose that what I worry about is that it will be a lousy test.
People don't really think about that, but a test is something we write, and some are better-written than others. A good test will be fair, cover material that is near the center of what was actually taught, and create differentiation between students. It's not easy to do, actually, and I remember a lot of poorly-constructed tests from my student days.
I think this one was pretty good, based on the initial reactions. I had time to work on it quite a bit, which helps. But I won't know for sure until I get all the scores, to see if I get a nice bell curve....
Tuesday, March 04, 2025
At the movies
I actually did watch some of the Oscars, and was lucky enough to see director Sean Baker give his speech after winning "Best Screenplay" for Anora.
Instead of thanking his agent or some studio execs, he actually made a plea for something important that was totally on-brand for this particular event: he urged people to go see movies in movie theaters, noting the sad decline in actual cinemas. He talked about how the experience is different when you watch a movie with a bunch of strangers, as opposed to alone on your couch at home. It really resonated with me.
In my town, there is a theater on the Main Street-- the Edina Theater-- that was recently refurbished, complete with a replica of the Gold Room from The Shining serving as an upstairs bar. It's a fantastic place to see a movie, and I often do. And, of course, it won't stay open unless we do exactly that.
Monday, March 03, 2025
Cat words
Cat poems we had! Like this one from IPLawGuy:
I named my cat "Gronk"
Because she reminds me of
That fruit drink I like.
Christine knows cats:
I visit Kibble
18 and still beautiful
Brother Bill is long gone.
18 and still beautiful
Brother Bill is long gone.
As does Tim (well, he did):
Cats when I was young
Allergies came in high school
No more cats for me.
Allergies came in high school
No more cats for me.
This anonymous one intrigues me:
Princess Taffy Anne
Very Important yet she
Does Nothing: House Cat.
Very Important yet she
Does Nothing: House Cat.
And this one, too:
Drink toilet water
Nibble some raw ground beef
Nap in sunny spot.
Nibble some raw ground beef
Nap in sunny spot.
Sunday, March 02, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Peter's enthusiasm
In Luke 9 we read this:
28Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. 34While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
My favorite thing in this passage is Peter's reaction to seeing, out of nowhere, the long-deceased Moses and Elijah. He immediately volunteers to make "three dwellings"-- one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. A friend who is well-versed in these things (probably Randall O'Brien or Hulitt Gloer) once explained to me that it was probably Sukkot, a Jewish holiday where people build huts in their yard where festival meals are taken, among other things. So, Peter was inviting them to share in the holiday with them.
It was typical of Peter, who is marked by his boundless enthusiasm for Jesus's project, and often serves as the surrogate for all of us in not understanding what is going on sometimes. Or, at least he is a surrogate for me....
Saturday, March 01, 2025
Gulf of America Day
