Alanbean

LATEST ARTICLES ( 628 )

• Judge Says Heat on Death Row is Cruel and Unusual

  

  By Alan BeanIn Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas there is no air conditioning on death row. Arkansas is a blessed exception. Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Kiker: Balancing the Budget by Cutting entitlements–Part 3: Food Stamps

  

  By Charles Kiker“Reforming” Social Security and Medicare does not sound nearly as threatening as “cutting benefits.” But be not fooled. “Cutting benefits” is... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Balancing the Budget by Cutting entitlements–Part 2: Medicare

  

  By Charles KikerIn a recent post I looked at Social Security as a program under scrutiny for reducing the deficit. Cutting Social Security payments, even by... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Kiker: Balancing the Budget by Cutting Entitlements–Part 1: Social Security

  

  By Charles KikerRobert J. Samuelson, columnist for The Washington Post, has a column in the November 4, 2013 edition entitled “We need to stop coddling the... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Kiker: Jaw! Jaw!

  

  By Charles KikerTalk, talk, talk! President Obama said that for Syria to use chemical weapons against the insurgents it would be a line in the sand, and if... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• The Real Reason the Term "White Privilege" Needs to Die

  Alan Bean:I recently read an article suggesting that when white people are told they are exhibiting “white privilege” they should express their thanks. Althoug... Read more

  Posted on 23 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Rosa Brooks: If Our Prisons Were a County, What Would Incarceration Nation Look...

  

  If our prisons were a country, what would Incarceration Nation look like?By Rosa BrooksWASHINGTON — You already know that the United States locks up a higher... Read more

  Posted on 22 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Starvation as Kindness

  

  Sir Charles TrevelyanThanks to Larry James for bringing this timely piece to my attention. New York Times columnist Timothy Egan remembers the Christmas tours o... Read more

  Posted on 21 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Phil Robertson and Megyn Kelly Aren’t Trying to Be Mean

  

  By Alan BeanAs you must know by now, Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan, has been suspended by A&E; for making anatomically explicit anti-ga... Read more

  Posted on 20 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• President Commutes Eight Federal Inmates; What Does It Mean?

  

  Law professor Mark Osler appeared on NPR’s “The Take-Away” yesterday to give his take on President Obama’s commutation of the sentences handed out to eight... Read more

  Posted on 20 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• What If Ted Cruz’s Daddy Had Emigrated to Canada?

  

  By Alan Bean“To really understand Texas’ Tea-Partying senator,” the lede line of this article tells us, “you need to spend a few days with his father,... Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• The Political Roots of Mass Incarceration

  

  By Alan BeanIf you want to know how America became the incarceration nation, locking up six times as many of our citizens as most western democracies, look no... Read more

  Posted on 17 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Joerg Rieger: Charity Or Deep Solidarity?

  

  I first heard of Joerg Rieger from Brian McLaren and had an opportunity to meet the German-born Methodist professor a few months ago in New Orleans. Read more

  Posted on 17 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Budget Deal Leaves Unemployed Hanging

  

  By Alan BeanThe Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 is just what it claims to be: a bipartisan bill.  Which means the legislation gives neither party all of what it... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Stories We Believe In: Learning from Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm

  

  By Alan BeanI published this essay almost three years ago, but it is still generating a lot of interest so I thought it deserved as second go-round.American... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Is There a Word from the Lord?

  

  Besieged by his enemies, King Zedekiah sent for the imprisoned prophet Jeremiah and, through trembling lips, posed his question: “Is there a word from the Lord? Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Santa is the Color of Money

  

  Megyn Kelly’s ill-advised insistence on the whiteness of Santa (and Jesus) has created a well-deserved tidal wave of denunciation. Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Conservative Baptists Should Celebrate Their Heroes . . . No One Else is Likely...

  

  Artisans with the Don Young Glass StudioBy Alan BeanAccording to a front page, above-the-fold, article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Southwestern Baptist... Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Just Because a Black Jesus Makes You Uncomfortable, Megan . . .

  

  Please check out this Jon Stewart clip about “a white Santa”. Santa, obviously isn’t any color because he is a harmless fiction. He can be any color we want... Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• Rich White Kid Gets Probation for Killing Four People; is the Outrage Justified?

  

  By Alan BeanFacebook is blowing up with righteous indignation over the case of Ethan Couch.  And you can’t blame people for being upset. Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY