Of manna and rot

I heard an unexpected but decent sermon this weekend at a showing of a new film on food insecurity in American titled A Place at the Table. The "sermon" consisted of a few remarks about the issue of hunger by a state senator who is also a Lutheran minister.

He referred to the manna or bread from heaven that miraculously fed the Israelites in the desert after their liberation from slavery in Egypt. Part of the deal with the manna was that you could only gather enough for one day at a time (except on Sabbath eve, when you got a two day pass). If you gathered more than one day's worth and hoarded it, the manna would rot.

The senator suggested that the tendency of a few people in our society to hoard money and resources and keep them from the less fortunate is causing a good bit of rot in our communities.

I thought that wasn't bad for a politician.

META. Here's an effort at a conversation about the conversation about race in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict from the Rev. Jim Lewis.

CHARITY OR JUSTICE? While we're at it, here's a thought provoking op-ed on the "charitable-industrial complex."

WONKY BUT IMPORTANT. West Virginia should end an obsolete tax break for thin seam coal.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

A sampler

Here are a few items that caught my eye today...

A PLACE AT THE TABLE. Lately I've blogged several times about WV's new law that aims to ensure nutritious meals to all state schoolchildren. Here's the website about a new film on food insecurity that helped nudge the state legislature along. The movie should be widely available soon and is being shown in some theaters. It's by some of the same folks who made Food Inc., which is really worth seeing if you haven't yet.

ALL IN A CHART. Here's a look at what's messed up about our tax system.

URGENT NEANDERTHAL BREASTFEEDING UPDATE here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED