Rev. Peter Laarman: A safe society is first and foremost a just society. In that respect we have an awfully long way to go. Let’s not waste any more time.
About Peter Laarman
Peter Laarman is executive director of Progressive Christians Uniting, a network of activist individuals and congregations headquartered in Los Angeles. He served as the senior minister of New York’s Judson Memorial Church from 1994 to 2004. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, Peter spent 15 years as a labor movement strategist and communications specialist prior to training for the
Remembering Bob Edgar
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Peter Laarman: Bob Edgar had to contend with timidity among the good and the great especially during his years with the NCC, where denominational bigwigs (Bob’s bosses on the governing body) were privately horrified that their point person should actually seek to change oppressive systems rather than simply make mewling noises about them.
American Infidel: Robert Ingersoll Was the “Great Agnostic” of the (Last) Gilded Age
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Peter Laarman: Ingersoll’s clarity and passion influenced almost everyone, from Mark Twain and Walt Whitman to Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edison, and from Frederick Douglass and Margaret Sanger to Gene Debs and “Fighting Bob” La Follette.
Mad About Money
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Peter Laarman: The very wealthiest Americans, whose share of income and wealth has shot up astronomically for the past 25 years, have somehow gotten a huge number of other Americans to buy into the idea that there isn’t enough money. And that therefore we should cut lifeline benefits that go to poor children and sick people and old people and veterans.
Creatively Maladjusted: Sustaining a Prophetic Ministry — February 18
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Progressive Christians United Annual Event, with La Makia Castillo, Patrisse Marie Cullors, and Sarah Nolan at St. Michael’s Church in Studio City.
Starbucks With a Smile, and a Shot of Politics
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Peter Laarman: Working for money has always involved emotional expression. But touting the boss man’s political agenda is a very different thing from touting the boss man’s product, a more reasonable expectation.
And Now: Forgive Us Our Debts!
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Peter Laarman: Just a word about the Next Big Thing: the coming lame duck session and the “fiscal cliff” and the prospect of a not-so-grand bargain in which Democrats will yield yet more ground to Pete Peterson’s baleful “austerity for you but not for me” proposals.
Coalition Pushes LA’s DA Candidates On Mass Incarceration Issues
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Peter Laarman: With Public Safety Realignment now underway, the DA’s role becomes even more pivotal. What our chief prosecutor believes and does has a huge impact on incarceration levels.
Romney’s Prosperity Gospel: The Candidate as Televangelist
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Peter Laarman: Obama cannot and should not condemn those in the electorate who buy into Romney’s “there will be showers of blessing” message, but he probably does need to get his preacher voice on to remind folks that all covenant promises are conditional.
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