Keeping promises
Dionne, E.J. Jr.
And still, much as I can sympathize Jesus-even when we feel entombed, hope lies in the restoration of this es- with the disgust of the leave-takers, I think like Lazarus. The...
...It is the duty ciple behind the welfare bill: public as- you'd be shocked at what's happening," of baptized people to be Christians, too sistance should be temporary and the says Lissa Bell, policy director of the Seatoften despite the people chosen to lead system should help the poor find jobs tie-based Northwest Federation of Comthem canonically...
...Now if there is good news in any nomenon," Bhargava says, "is that it's thanks to good economic times...
...The bragging is over the sharp are especially important to the children perience of the church are not wrong in drop in the welfare rolls brought about of the poor, and no member of Congress their feeling, but they have a duty to the by a prosperity that has created so many likes to look mean to kids...
...The inter- of times for programs to alleviate poverpoor about what help was available to esting thing about the devolution phe- ty...
...munity Organizations...
...According to Moravec, robots are another species, goods in themselves, and that the Internet should remain a one in competition-necessarily successful-with humanitotally self-regulating community...
...One can ternatives: either humans allow machines to take over imagine the reactions such a statement would elicit...
...But in the majority of voters approve of the values ly, those who were most critical of the end, he says, these groups will also look now embedded in the programs...
...If the purpose of The greatest danger of our culture, in making a religious commitment a matter of consumer choice, is that we will not see that this commitment is finally a matter of life and death, for us and for a much larger community, one to which we have an obligation...
...and misinforming the working poor and their supporters...
...inception, Wired has been the cheerleader for the new in- Now enter thinkers like Hans Moravec, founder of the formation era, exulting in an Internet-fueled transformation world's largest robotics program at Carnegie Mellon Uniof human life and an era of unparalleled economic growth...
...His new dystopian vision is rooted in his utopiA computer pioneer's crisis of faith anism...
...Universal on the campaign trail, compassion...
...Even if was a mess, and saints have lived under party...
...too thirsty or he'll charge us a fortLiner" the tradition, to try to hear the voice of Commonweal 8 May 19, 2000 welfare reform is "self-sufficiency," that Campaign for Jobs and Income Support, "Poverty is the great invisible probidea is "not being adequately reflected" which was launched this month at a lem in the national discourse," Bhargava in actual administration of the programs, meeting in Chicago and sponsored the says...
...The church is necessary, chatological understanding that the they are wrong...
...Jesus asks, in Luke tion is to be aware of that, despite everystory of Jesus and remain unmoved 18:8, "When the Son of Man comes, will thing in the culture, even in the church, enough to leave the church because of he find faith on earth...
...about the welfare reform bill passed in footing in the workplace...
...OIONNE, Jr...
...off the rolls, as opposed to the failure to grams that are supposed to have none...
...welfare reform against the wishes of that Congress pledged to put in place on The church in Francis of Assisi's day some of the leading voices in his own behalf of the working poor...
...even more wrong are because we cannot break the bread and Lord is coming, and our deepest vocathose who can spend a life around the drink the wine alone...
...Betrayal and duplicity are there for members of both parties is to brag help support them as they found their from the start...
...It's not they wanted benefits-Medicaid, food my blood, which is poured out for you...
...study...
...It's hard to oppose the core prin- you're a proponent of welfare reform, thoroughly corrupt popes...
...They said tells us: "This cup is the new covenant in the economic boom...
...These benefits Those who feel betrayed by their ex- 1996...
...They are demon- ernment assistance is now flowing to the cause of the working poor at the cen- strating "a new level of sophistication those who work-meaning that the vast ter of the national debate...
...George W. study released earlier this month, is that church in Russia was, institutionally, a Bush regularly boasts about the decline many states are denying the working weak and subservient department of the in Texas's welfare rolls, while Al Gore poor benefits to which they are legally state, there were saints whose lives illu- trumpets his premier role in pushing entitled...
...I fashionable to do much stamps, child care, transportation assisBut the hand of him who is going to be- about their problems...
...The devolution of power to the states, make much of a dent in the poverty creating cumbersome application rules an idea associated with conservatives, is rate...
...Our culture allows us to take nothing seriously except what we perceive to be our needs and desires...
...In Congress and tance, and children's health insurancetray me is with mine on the table" (Luke on the campaign trail, a favorite pastime to follow poor people off the rolls and 22: 20-21...
...The people who play a large role in any serious expan- value of work...
...Its goal is to put poverty cess of welfare reform in getting people by imposing waiting periods for pro- back on the national agenda," he says...
...Still, in the latter case, in the April issue of Wired magazine that, if unchecked, tech- large systems will continue to be under the sway of elites, nology would bring human society to extinction, the scien- and once machines can do the work the elites require, the tific-technological community was astounded...
...Since its masses will no longer be needed...
...The clergy must abomber Manifesto of Ted Kaczynski, which presents two albe representative of the faithful...
...The Campaign is a coalition of there hasn't been much political presWhat Bell and her co-author, Carson about a thousand community groups, sure from the people affected...
...Public coffers at all levels are bulging, them...
...Simi- completely (since they will make better decisions), or we larly, when Bill Joy, computer guru extraordinaire, wrote act to maintain control over them...
...Unless these have been informed by a relationship with the living God they will mislead us...
...In his Wired article, "Why duce themselves, without requiring human intervention...
...And the Strege-Flora, found were many cases of including faith-based and neighborhood problem is usually defined by the sucstates and localities violating federal rules organizations...
...When the Orthodox welfare-to-work provisions...
...There is a tone-deafness here which is largely the fault of the church, but this does not absolve each of us from the duty to try to hear, through all E.J...
...El their boredom...
...And still, much as I can sympathize Jesus-even when we feel entombed, hope lies in the restoration of this eswith the disgust of the leave-takers, I think like Lazarus...
...It's not being talked about because she says...
...to make it hard for eligible people to get unleashing a wave of activism by the This ought to be the most promising benefits...
...That undermines the incentives minated the lives of those around them...
...El ak Bhargava, director of the National health care would be a nice place to start...
...As humans are squeezed toward extinction, we will be heroes...
...Paradoxical- about public policy politics...
...And Washington will necessarily much advertised commitment to the be lifted out of poverty...
...and pursue independence...
...If we're welfare bill when it passed may end up to Washington to make sure states run not willing to do more to help the worksaving welfare reform by insisting that programs for the working poor by the ing poor, what does that say about our those willing to labor hard for low wages rules...
...versity and the author of Robot: Mere Machine to Dependent It shares a libertarian belief that innovation and skill are Mind...
...Hackers are its natural ty...
...be ordained, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told L' Joy notes that Kurzweil quotes extensively from the UnW Osservatore Romano today...
...a founder and now chief scientist for Sun Microsystems, Joy believes rising computer power will create an intelliand former cochairman of a presidential commission on the gent robot by 2030, and that eventually robots will reprofuture of information technology...
...If the church itself does not offer a way toward that relationship, or in practice can even stand in its way, it is still our obligation to dig more deeply into "Don't appear...
...To understand Joy's new-found fears, one must look at WWW.HERESY.COM their origin...
...And how devoted are we are being denied access to these pro- sion of benefits for those who work but to that sentiment now roaringly popular grams are people who work," says Deep- are still trapped in poverty...
...rest of the body to which they have been new jobs, and also by the bill's tough The problem, according to a new joined in baptism...
...Joy traces his unease to a meeting with Ray Kurzweil, inventor of the first reading machine for the blind and author of The Age of Intelligent Machines...
...the hypocrisy and boredom, the words of Jesus, or to try to see what it means that someone loves us enough to die for us...
...Kurzweil foresees-and omen, married men, and active gays should all welcomes-an era in which humans will fuse with robots...
...Commonweal 9 May 19, 2000...
...Perhaps our that may seem to stand in his way...
...forced to merge with robots, sacrificing our identity for the Styled by Fortune "the Edison of the Internet," Bill Joy is promise of virtual immortality...
...The old of this, it is that community groups really put the ball in the court of the com- welfare system is dead and most govaround the nation are organizing to put munity organizations...
...2000, Washington Post Writers Group the Future Doesn't Need Us," Joy argues that we are making humans an "endangered species," and that it is time to "reVictor Ferkiss think our utopian choices...
...If KEEPING PROMISES the behavior of bishops and priests seems What we owe the working poor to stand in the way-if at times the church itself seems to-we have to remember that even at the Last Supper, even in the is fashionable to talk about But supporters of the bill insisted they act of blessing the bread and wine, Jesus poor Americans left out of weren't just being punitive...
Vol. 127 • May 2000 • No. 10
