From The Desk of Holy Heresy

Poverty in America isn’t an act of God or some twist of fate. It’s a set of decisions made in smoke-filled rooms, boardrooms, and courtrooms by people who think struggle builds character, as long as it’s not theirs. Every time this country stood at a crossroads where we could’ve built a nation that treats dignity as a right, conservative power slammed the door. They did it with a smile, a flag pin, and a sermon about self-reliance. Don’t be fooled. The war on the poor has never been hidden. It’s been policy. After World War II, America could’ve locked in prosperity for everyone who worked. Organized labor was strong, wages were rising, and a middle class was being born. Then came the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, sold as “balance” between workers and bosses but written to break labor’s knees. It outlawed solidarity strikes, let states pass “right-to-work” laws that really mean “right-to-work-for-less,” and tied unions in legal knots. Truman vetoed it; Congress overrode him. That was the first...

Matthew 22:21 (NRSV):  “Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’” Once upon a time, November 5th was just an odd British holiday. Guy Fawkes Day. The name alone conjures images of bonfires, fireworks, and masks more familiar from movies than history books. The holiday originated to mark the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, an attempt by Guy Fawkes and others to blow up the British Parliament in protest of anti-Catholic laws. It was a foiled rebellion, and the date was kept for years as a kind of state loyalty celebration: "Remember, remember, the fifth of November." Americans, by and large, didn’t remember. And if they did, it was only from a film or a mask worn by internet anarchists. But something changed. Ever since January 6, 2021, this old foreign holiday hits differently.  I confess, I dread November 5th now.  And not because of history, but because of its uncomfortable echoes: of mo...

Luke 4:16–21 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Amos 5:24 “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Let’s begin where Jesus begins, in his hometown, in his body, and in his story.  In Luke 4:16–21, Jesus stands up in the synagogue of Nazareth, the place where he grew up. It’s not Jerusalem, not Rome, not a seat of power. It’s a small, working-class village, a place people looked down on. Remember what Nathanael said when he first heard of Jesus?  "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" And that is where God chose to start the revolution of redemption.  Not in the ...

This list is not a warning, it’s a wake-up call. It’s a reminder that silence in the face of injustice is still a choice, and apathy is a vote for the status quo. Every generation faces a moment when it must decide whether to stand up or stay comfortable. This list is about standing up. It’s about believing that ordinary people, teachers, nurses, clerks, drivers, students, can still bend the arc of this country toward justice. We’ve seen what happens when fear wins. History is full of leaders who promised safety but delivered control, who built their power by dividing neighbor from neighbor. But even in those times, there were people who refused to bow down. They told the truth when it was risky. They protected their neighbors when it was unpopular. They believed that love, lived out loud, was stronger than any system of hate. This list is for that kind of courage. It’s not about waiting for someone else to fix things, it’s about realizing that the power to change the story is already ...

A trillion dollars in unsold cars, farmers harvesting crops with no buyers, a jobs report that's not just weak but being revised down into the negative, these aren't disconnected headlines. They are the symptoms of a single, systemic illness festering at the heart of the American economy. Our market is not on the verge of a simple recession; it is caught in a profound stasis of its own making, a perfect storm of policy errors and institutional failures that, if left unaddressed, could lead to a catastrophic market failure. The latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics serves as a stark warning. The anemic growth of just 22,000 jobs in August, coupled with the shocking revision that showed a loss of 13,000 jobs in June, reveals that the engine of our economy is not just slowing, it has stalled. This isn't an anomaly; it is the predictable consequence of a fundamental breakdown in consumer demand. How can jobs be created when manufacturers are burdened with a mas...

  The most important economic story this month isn’t on Wall Street, it’s in a Costco food court. There, for $1.50, Americans are still buying the same hot dog and soda combo they’ve relied on for decades. This year, across Costco and Sam’s Club, more than 750 million ultra-cheap meals will be sold. That’s not a celebration of thrift. That’s an indictment of a system in collapse. Because while you’re waiting in line for that last affordable meal, the economy is quietly crumbling beneath your feet. This week, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, the highest since 2021. Just 22,000 jobs were added in August, a near standstill in a country of 330 million people. What’s worse, fewer Americans now believe they could even find a new job if they lost theirs. Consumer confidence in the labor market is at its lowest point in over a decade. None of this is an accident. We are living in the aftermath of economic choices made… Tariffs, already imposed, were sold to Americans as protectioni...