“FBI wiretaps snare governor.” The bold headline atop the morning paper is the sad chronicle of another political leader who has succumbed. Living across the lake from Chicago as we do, the story of the fallen governor of Illinois has obviously become the lead headline in all our news outlets. The paper carried portions of the expletive-deleted transcript of some of those wiretaps. And U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s reflection that Lincoln would be rolling in his grave is commentary enough.

In this season of “peace on earth,” you wouldn’t think so—shopping at Wal Mart or living in Mumbai. In one of those strange twists of coincidence both stories ran over “Black Friday” last weekend (that notorious day-after-Thanksgiving shopping nightmare). At the Wal Mart on Long Island frenzied Christmas shoppers broke down the door and trampled a Wal Mart employee to death as they rushed in to purchase their list-topping gifts for loved ones—nevermind that nobody stopped to love the one who was on the ground fighting for his last breath. Nobody stopped to help either.

Nathaniel Philbrick, in Mayflower, his acclaimed history of the Pilgrims, recounts how William Bradford, the intrepid leader of that courageous band of Puritans, years later described “that first morning in America.” Recalling with wonder their landing on the salty, windswept shores of Cape Cod Bay on November 15, 1620, Bradford wrote: “But here I cannot stay and make a pause and stand half amazed at this poor people’s present condition. . . .

What’s a Michigan Thanksgiving? Just ask the chief executives of the Big Three auto makers, who with hat in hand this week begged Congress for $25 billion of bailout loans. While it’s hard to sympathize with 8-figure compensated corporate executives, the plight of 175,000 Michigan auto industry workers is concerning. If GM, Ford or Chrysler were to go bankrupt, siren voices are predicting “a nuclear winter” and “an economic tsunami” for our home state. Who knows?

We have lost a gifted leader and a dear friend. The death of Jere Patzer, 61, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Pacific Northwest, is not only the death of a personal friend—I’ve known Jere for thirty years since ministry days together in Oregon. But it is also the loss of an uncommonly gifted church administrator in our community of faith.

In the election of Barack Obama, as our nation’s first black president, we all made history together. Irrespective of our political convictions or party loyalties, we collectively share this historic moment.

Makes you wonder—what if God had to run for office? If he were on the ballots of this nation next week, how do you suppose he’d fare? Perhaps the question isn’t so preposterous, given all the national polling about belief in God. In fact this year the Pew Foundation released one of the largest surveys of Americans’ religious beliefs ever conducted (36,000 adult respondents). Be prepared to be surprised! According to their findings, 92% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit.

Am I the only one amazed by what appears to be the stunning speed of this economic meltdown? It seems like years ago that we were collectively mourning the collapse of investment firm Bear Stearns—when in fact only seven months have passed since March 17, 2008. True, the home mortgage and foreclosure crisis was already under full steam in the summer of ’07, but in a post-Bear-Stearns world the dire headlines have exponentially accelerated!

According to the CIA website (www.cia.gov), it’s the same size as the state of Oregon. But clearly Romania is a world apart, and a beautiful world, at that. Karen and I just returned from a seven-city preaching itinerary in that ancient but modern land, and we’re certainly the richer for it!

Has Wall Street become a four-letter word? The headline for Jeff Cox’s report on CNBC’s home page earlier this week caught my eye: “As Bailout Looms, Fear is Market’s Biggest Problem.” His piece opened with these words: “The government rescue plan may help cure some of the ills that are afflicting the banking industry, but it’s unlikely to remedy Wall Street’s greatest malady right now: fear. . . . ‘People are confused and they are scared.