http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1154078745143530.xml&coll=2 – State Board of Education hires former Samford president to lead two-year college system.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1154078522143530.xml&coll=2 – DHR to hire Deloitte Consulting to complete child welfare computer system.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1154078415143530.xml&coll=2 – Gaynelle Hendricks says she hasn’t yet decided whether she’ll contest close loss to Pat Taylor in House District 54 Democratic primary.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1154078714143530.xml&coll=2 – Birmingham transit board struggles with increased fuel costs, reluctance by regional municipalities to increase contribution.

http://www.al.com/opinion/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1154078282143760.xml&coll=1 – Editorial praises selection of Corts as new chancellor, but questions the secrecy of the process resulting in that decision.

http://www.dailyhome.com/opinion/2006/dh-editorials-0728-editorials-6g27v4448.htm - Editorial lauds efforts of new prisons chief to address multiple problems.

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060728/suit.shtml - State Democrats going to court over move to name Riley special master to implement HAVA.

FROM TODAY’S ANNISTON STAR:

Editorials

Barkley, you got game?

In our opinion

07-28-2006

A former pro wrassler ran and was elected governor of Minnesota. A former bodybuilder and action-movie hero ran and was elected governor of California. A mystery novelist and singer of hits such as “Get Your Biscuits In The Oven and Your Buns In Bed,” who bills himself as a “Jewish cowboy,” is running for governor of Texas.

With the recent examples of Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kinky Friedman, what’s to stop the former “Round Mound of Rebound” from running for governor of Alabama?

Former Auburn and pro basketball star and Leeds native Charles Barkley recently said that he still intends to strongly consider running for governor.

“They need the help,” he said of his native state.

Yes, we do, and we can’t afford to be too picky about where that help comes from.

Sure, Charles, throw your hat in the ring. If nothing else, you can inspire others to consider public service in a state that has a wealth of potential but is unfortunately shackled with a dearth of bright ideas and bold leadership.

To get the ball rolling, this page freely offers a few pointers to Barkley and anyone else considering a run for governor. Help Alabamians focus on these topics, and you will have done your state a great service.

• Education is central to Alabama’s development. Money’s not the solution to all that ails our schools, but a lack of it properly focused sure can hurt. The Mountain Brook school district’s fat bank account is the gold standard for the state. Still, $8,283.46 per-pupil spending in Mountain Brook is graded merely “average” when compared to other states’ funding formulas.

More money and more civic and parental involvement, as shown in The Star’s 2005 series on school districts that work, is the key. Anyone who can put us well down that road is worthy of the office of governor.

• More power to the people, please. The way it works now, too many decisions best made at the county or municipal level must be funneled through Montgomery. It’s not by accident; the authors of the 1901 Constitution were more concerned with personal enrichment than they were a properly functioning democracy. Keeping the power in the hands of a few was (and still is) just the ticket to keep Alabama’s potential under lock and key.

• Make the special interests a little less special. As it stands, a few powerbrokers — AEA, Alfa, BCA — run the show up on Goat Hill. Too often, they drown out other voices deserving a fair hearing. A more thorough set of laws to put more sunshine on campaign contributions would do a world of good. The special interests that prefer the shadows of PAC-to-PAC transfers would have to do their sordid business in daylight.

• Appeal to our reason, not to our prejudices. Too often, this state has fallen for the easy line of the demagogue. This state has put the likes of George Wallace and Roy Moore into office. Thankfully, the most recent primary elections rejected the sort of ugliness put forth by Tom Parker, but there will be many more battles to follow. Alabama needs strong leadership to keep us on the path to progress, and away from the path to unproductive and unnecessary debates over who is the more devout Christian.

This list is just a start. Alabama has shown it can encourage development. As Gov. Bob Riley often points out, Alabama is at the “tipping point.” We can launch into a better future or fall back into the same old slump. The right choice may be obvious, but without solid leadership, it is by no means guaranteed.

Speaking to a conference of school board trustees this week, Barkley said of his state, “I think we can do better.”

Agreed.

The end of faith?

By James L. Evans

07-28-2006

Sam Harris, philosopher and doctoral student in the field of neuroscience, has written a devastating book about faith — devastating, that is, to faith.

The title, “The End of Faith,” is also his agenda. Harris believes it is time for human beings to give up what he calls irrational pursuits and live in the world using reason as our guide.

Harris blames religion, all religion, for most of the ills and suffering that take place in the world.

As a person of faith, my gut reaction is to disagree with him. But his attacks are relentless and eloquent. Harris details instance after instance, from history and from the present, how belief in God has led directly to the slaughter of innocents.

And he leaves no religion unscathed, though he saves most of his venom for Christianity and Islam.

He is not calling for a reform of these faiths, as we get from Charles Kimball in his book “When Religion Becomes Evil.” Harris argues that even the most moderate minded of any of the world’s religions operate in the realm of the irrational. God does not exist for Harris, and for those who believe otherwise, they need to wake up.

With that said, I hope people of faith will read the book. Not to gain information about how to refute his claims, but rather to see the effects of the way we do faith.

The way Christians conduct themselves in the world has an impact on the way people view our faith, even how they view God. Gandhi is reported to have said that he would have become a Christian had it not been for Christians.

Our actions have consequences. What sort of image of God do we present to the world when in the name of God we allow other human beings to be tortured for our benefit? How do people see our God when in God’s name we promote bombing campaigns that kill innocent women and children?

We can try to hide behind euphemisms like “collateral damage,” but those are people in that rubble — or, at least, they were.

And what does it say about God when we live our lives as if we were the only people on the planet? The United States represents about 6 percent of the world’s population, yet we consume nearly half of the world’s resources.

Do we really expect people to believe that the Golden Rule and the Great Commandment mean something to us as the world starves around us?

Unlike Harris, I am not calling for an end to faith, but I do think that believers need to reclaim an authentic understanding of the purpose of faith.

Faith in God is not a way to attain status and privilege in this world, followed by an eternity of bliss in the next. Faith is not a tool by which we gain political power in order to advance an economic or social agenda. Faith, at least the way I understand Jesus, is a way for us to be truly human in a community of justice.

Sam Harris has done all faith traditions a great service in calling us out. Rather than attack him, as will inevitably occur, why not learn from him?

Through his words, we can learn what we are doing to a world we hoped we might help. If our greed, our commitment to violence and our intolerance convinces thoughtful people that faith is a dangerous thing, well, maybe we should hear that as a wake-up call.

James L. Evans is pastor of Auburn First Baptist Church. He can be reached at faithmatters@mindspring.com.