Alanbean
MY BLOGS
- Friends of Justice http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/blog/
LATEST ARTICLES ( 627 )
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Can’t the Subject Be Something Other Than Guns?
By Charles KikerI am not obsessed with guns. But since the public conversation is so obsessed I feel that I, as a person of faith, should respond. Read more
Posted on 28 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
“The Show Must Go On”: Crime as Entertainment
If crime rates have fallen dramatically in recent decades, why do most Americans think crime is on the rise? Because, as Scott Henson makes clear in this blog... Read more
Posted on 28 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Libal: Operation Streamline Must End
By Bob LibalImmigration Reform Must End, Not Expand, Operation StreamlineThe debate over the proposed “comprehensive immigration reform” bill is intensifying,... Read more
Posted on 25 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Immigration Debate Forces Republicans to Choose
By Alan BeanThe gun debate has revealed some troubling tensions within the American conservative movement. It is a misnomer, of course, to speak of the America... Read more
Posted on 25 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Johnny Cash, Prison Reformer
By Alan BeanThis fascinating essay touches on Johnny Cash’s lifelong prison ministry. (It was produced for the BBC, which explains the funny spelling). It may... Read more
Posted on 24 January 2013 ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC -
Two Fresh Takes on the Abortion Debate
By Alan BeanThe abortion debate has polarized America. We are in the midst of a seismic shift on the gay rights front, but the battle lines on Roe v. Wade... Read more
Posted on 22 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Obama’s Second Inaugural: an Unsatisfactory Sort of Greatness
By Alan BeanPresidential inaugurations are designed to draw the nation back together after a season of partisan bloodletting. As Barack Obama delivered his... Read more
Posted on 21 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
American Slavery Persisted Until the Second World War
By Alan BeanYou need to read Douglas A. Blackmon’s article on 20th Century slavery in the American South. The evidence, contained in thousands of letters... Read more
Posted on 20 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Tarantino Calls America’s Drug War the 'New Slavery'
By Alan Bean Quentin Tarantino has definitely been reading Michelle Alexander. Last month, while talking up his new movie, Django Unchained on a Canadian... Read more
Posted on 16 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Are Waco Residents Prepared to Pay for Tough on Crime Policies?
By Alan Bean Over at Grits for Breakfast, Scott Henson has a great post on the high cost of Waco’s tough on crime policies for McLennan County tax payers. ... Read more
Posted on 15 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
“Employment is Essential for People Who Have Broken the Law and Are Trying to...
By Alan BeanI spent last night with 15 homeless men at Broadway Baptist Church. For the past six or seven years, a number of Fort Worth congregations open... Read more
Posted on 15 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Why the NRA Opposes Gun Safety Research
Dr. Art KellermannBy Alan BeanArt Kellermann, an ER physician and researcher at Emory University, crunched the numbers and discovered that “a gun kept in the... Read more
Posted on 14 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
American Slavery Hollywood Style
By Alan BeanDexter Gabriel thinks Americans have a hard time conducting a public discussion on the subject of slavery, so we ask Hollywood to address the subjec... Read more
Posted on 10 January 2013 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES, SOCIETY -
“The Abolitionists” and the Awkward Dance Between Movements and Institutions
By Alan BeanTwo facts struck me last night as I watched The Abolitionists on PBS. First, the amazing characters who shaped the movement were all people of faith. Read more
Posted on 09 January 2013 DEBATE, ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES, SOCIETY -
Liptak: When Death Row Lawyers Stumble, Clients Take the Fall
Why, Adam Liptak asks, is it morally permissible to blame clients for their lawyers’ mistakes? In the case in point, a death row inmate was represented by a... Read more
Posted on 07 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
When People Can’t Forgive, They’re Stuck
Russell Crowe as JavertBy Alan BeanGenuine forgiveness feels a lot like open heart surgery; but without it, we’re lost.To celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary... Read more
Posted on 06 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Bowling Alone?
By Charles KikerJanuary, 2013Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? It’s not supposed to be. It’s the title of a book (Copyright 2000) by Robert Putnam, Professo... Read more
Posted on 06 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Guns Don’t Kill People . . .
By Alan Bean“Guns don’t kill people,” David Cole says, “indifference to poverty kills people.”So long as the consequences of gun violence are born by poor... Read more
Posted on 02 January 2013 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Obama: Mass Incarceration is Having ‘a Disabling Effect on Communities’
By Alan BeanThe criminal justice system was hardly mentioned during the 2012 election season. No one was banging the tuff-on-crime drum and we certainly... Read more
Posted on 28 December 2012 DEBATE, SOCIETY -
Gun Legislation Won’t Do It; We Need a Twelve-step Program
By Alan BeanAmerica has a gun problem, but gun control legislation is too weak a fix; we need a 12-step program.Since the tragic shootings in Newtown CT, we hav... Read more
Posted on 21 December 2012 DEBATE, SOCIETY