Links: Puerto Rico's energy grid; loss of Desmond Tutu; rising number of clergy quitting

Politico finally caught up with NCR, publishing an article about how the rebuilding of the energy grid in Puerto Rico could serve as a model for the rest of the country. I published an article about the need to rebuild a decentralized, sustainable energy grid back in 2017! The island has ample wind and solar resources, so it is criminal to think the island will remain dependent on imported diesel, electric cables that must cut across the island's mountainous terrain, and pay 50% more than you and I do per kilowatt hour.

The death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu fills the world with a sense of loss and sadness. He carried on the legacy of other civil rights leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., and revolutionized the society in which he became a moral force, all by renouncing the use of all but moral force and embracing nonviolence. In God's providence, men and women are raised up to point the way for the rest of us, and Tutu was one such person. The obituary at The New York Times captured the scope of this great man's influence.

From the Brookings Institution, Elaine Kamarck argues that President Joe Biden will have a better shot at resuscitating his Build Back Better proposals if he gets the U.S. Senate to consider them piecemeal. At the very least, that approach would have the benefit of focusing attention on the programs, which are widely popular, rather than on the overall price. Still, no approach will work unless Biden spends a lot of time with Sen. Joe Manchin.

In The Washington Post, Michelle Boorstein tracks the rising number of clergy who are retiring or changing careers due to the stress of the pandemic and political polarization. What is so sad about the article is that no one voices a particularly theological reason for their decision, and ministry is described as a service-oriented job, no more, no less. Our Catholic theology of orders does not guarantee freedom from the kinds of stresses the article mentions, but at least it has theological content.