Several dozen American pastors put their wallets on the line this weekend, breaking a decades-old ban on political endorsements from the pulpit.

In an organized action, the pastors endorsed Senator John McCain during their sermons and urged their congregants not to vote for Barack Obama.

By doing so, they broke a law that prohibits tax-exempt organizations, such as churches, from actively engaging in US politics.

The IRS is investigating. Here’s video:

A few years ago, a controversy erupted in Canada over the church’s role in our debate over same-sex marriage. Our Prime Minister at the time was a Catholic – as were a large number of our elected representatives in Parliament – and a number of Roman Catholic officials suggested that those officials wouldn’t be true Catholics if they approved a law legalizing same-sex marriage.

Given that a majority of Canadians approved of gay marriage at the time, the hubbub begged the question:

Do politicians owe allegiance to their religious authorities of choice, or to the citizens who elect them?

It’s a complicated question. Where does freedom of religion end, and obligation begin, for public figures, and – in this case with the pastors – where does the separation of church and state end, and freedom of expression begin?

I’m not sure, but I do know one thing: the Bible doesn’t say a word about voting for John McCain over Barack Obama.

If these pastors want to express their own views, that’s one thing. But suggesting that God himself endorses John McCain? Well, that’s something else — charlatanism.

No American political campaign in my lifetime has stirred up as much passion as Barack Obama’s race for the White House.

From Hollywood celebrities to anonymous bloggers or callers on phone-in talk shows, it seems that everyone is looking to share their views, change some minds, make a statement.

America’s artists are no exception.

Whether using digital photo editing techniques or a plain old can of spray paint, they’ve been making their voices heard – or rather, their images seen.

Here are a few stand-out selections from across the country:

Yes We Can: Bushwick, Brooklyn

Photo by EricaJoy

We are the people we’ve been waiting for.

Photo by springhill2008

08′AMA in Charlottesville, Virginia

Photo by cornexo

Suburban yard art: Whoever said Obama can’t connect with Middle America?

Photo by bradthedesigner

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There’s never a shortage of fun and interesting activities in New York City, but two upcoming events are likely to be of special interest to the Matador community.

First up on the list is Open House New York (OHNY), which will be held next weekend (October 4 & 5) at locations throughout the 5 boros. Now in its sixth year, OHNY convinces sites around the city to throw open their doors and give guests a behind-the-scenes look at the architecture and design of NYC’s landmarks, new buildings, and little known structures.

This year’s highlights include an architect-guided tour of 7 World Trade Center; Fresh Kills by Bus (a tour of a landfill conversion project described as one of the world’s largest public works projects); and the Harlem Infill Project (a tour of the first privately funded, mixed-income green housing project in NYC).

A full schedule of events and ticket information can be found on OHNY’s website.

Second, is an NYC appearance by Matador’s own writer and contributing editor, Eva Holland. Eva will be reading in the Restless Legs reading series, described as an event “for the wanderlust stricken.”

Eva will be appearing along with a few of her World Hum colleagues on Wednesday, October 15 at Lolita Bar, located at 266 Broome Street, between Allen and Orchard Streets. It’s sure to be a great evening!

*If you haven’t already entered our blog about NYC contest, be sure to do so today or tomorrow. Your entry makes you eligible to be considered for one of three Not for Tourists guidebooks we’ll be giving away, as well as publication on the MatadorNights blog!*

Photo: jenniferrt66 (Flickr creative commons)

Paul Newman died yesterday at the age of 83.

He’ll be remembered most as an iconic actor of the 20th century (and a damn handsome one), but I hope he’ll be remembered, too, for his philanthropic work in the U.S. and abroad.

Through his foundation, which he established in 1982, the actor gave away more than $250 million to charities and social projects around the world. Here are just a few:

Organic Farming Research Foundation: Based in the U.S., the OFRF promotes research, education, and public policy initiatives, all intended to expand organic farming and improve economic opportunities for organic farmers. The $220,000 grant that Newman’s Own gave to OFRF in 2006 was the single largest contribution OFRF had ever received.

Hole in the Wall Camps: Newman, who died of cancer, was passionate about life and helping others with chronic or terminal illnesses live to the fullest. One of the charities closest to his heart was his Hole in the Wall Camps, summer camps designed especially for kids with serious medical illnesses. In 2007, Hole in the Wall Camps were offered in almost 40 countries to more than 11,000 kids.

Manukau City Symphony Orchestra: One of more than 700 charities in Australia and New Zealand that have received funding through Newman’s foundation, the Manukau City Symphony Orchestra is a community orchestra offering programming to professional and amateur musicians, including youth.

No one can summarize Newman’s mission better than the man himself:

“I wanted to acknowledge luck; the chance and benevolence of it in my life, and the brutality of it in the lives of others, who might not be allowed the good fortune of a lifetime to correct it.”

It’s a good message, and one worth remembering.

Photo: Jose Manuel-ViPeR (Flickr creative commons)

Shortly after candidate John McCain announced that his running mate would be someone most Americans had never heard of, I wrote a brief article about the fact VP pick Palin didn’t have a passport–ever–until 2007.

Thankfully, I wasn’t the only person in America who wondered why Palin waited until she was 43 years old to get a passport.

The nagging thought occurred to Katie Couric, too, and Couric got to Palin before I did (she isn’t scheduling a whole lot of interviews, you know).

Couric unraveled the Palin passport mystery:

Couric: “a lot of our viewers … and Internet users wanted to know why you did not get a passport until last year. And they wondered if that indicated a lack of interest and curiosity in the world.”

Palin: “I’m not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and say go off and travel the world. No, I’ve worked all my life. In fact, I usually had two jobs all my life until I had kids. I was not a part of, I guess, that culture. The way that I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world.”

Palin’s response is offensive because it assumes, falsely in my opinion, that:

1. Travel is only for members of the upper class.

2. The only purpose of travel is leisure… travelers are part of some “culture” that’s separate from the mainstream.

3. A parent can’t travel… and definitely can’t take their kids along for the ride.

4. The only way to become educated about the world is through a book (or some “medium” that provides “a lot of perspective”).

All of which Matador members are proving wrong every day.

Take, for example, Matador editor Tim Patterson’s article “How to Travel the World for Free”. Or Rigo Lara’s moving article, “Changed Forever,” an account of his experience of traveling abroad for the first time.

Read blogs by Matador dads David Miller and Jacob Bielanski. Or visit Matador member MST’s blog, Big Sweet Tooth, to see what a non college educated woman can learn about the world… and what she can do with what she learns.

I wasn’t the only person who thought this was one of Palin’s biggest “Doh!” moments.

As Matador member planetbagel blogged earlier today:

Yeah – because it happens just like that for everyone. Every backpacker you find today had parents that handed them a passport, gear and ticket abroad by as soon as they got out of college (with no debt and never having had to balance work and courses, for sure). That’s how backpackers get to travel…. right?

What do YOU think about Palin’s passport delay excuse? Share your comments below!

Photo: Buddhakiwi (Flickr creative commons)

HarperCollins recently introduced a new way for prospective authors to get their books noticed, and it’s way Web 2.0.

Authonomy.com lets you upload your manuscript (or partial manuscript – at least 10,000 words must be uploaded), where it’s available to be read by editors, publishers, agents, and your writing peers – as well as anyone else who feels like checking out the site.

Visitors to the site then rank their favourites, and once a month the top 5 books get sent to a team of HarperCollins commissioning editors for consideration.

The idea is to “beat the slush pile,” but reaction to the initiative has been mixed.

Written Road thinks Authonomy represents an exciting opportunity:

Your uploaded travel book or books will be sitting on the doorstep of one the world’s largest publishers. Your work is also ripe for discovery by talent scouting agents, not to mention other publishing houses that may dip into the site from time to time spotting the next best thing for their list before HarperCollins themselves get to it.

The Guardian’s books blog, on the other hand, takes a more cynical view:

I remain unsure whether this really provides a great service for writers or whether it will level the playing field. I imagine that the hearts of those behind Authonomy are in the right place, but it’s hard to ignore the suspicion that what they are really doing is outsourcing the unlovely task of sluicing through the slush pile. Of course, outsourcing is totally within publishers’ (and agents’) rights. Reading and responding to the slush pile doesn’t generally make them any money, with the cost of the time spent most likely outweighing any profit made from finding a very, very occasional diamond amongst all the rough.

Being realistic, I think Authonomy may end up being a nice polite way for the publishers to say that they’re not accepting unsolicited submissions anymore. If the launch goes well, I’d wager that anyone asking about submissions will be directed to hit the site, keeping editors’ (and editorial assistants’) desks clear for them to get on with the books agents have sent them, the ones they are genuinely interested in.

As for me, of course I love the idea of being able to cut straight through the hassle and have my (imaginary) book manuscript voted right on to an editor’s desk.

But I’ve also always figured that if you’ve got the skills and the right idea, you’ll be able to find yourself an agent – and that agent will find you a publisher.

The thing is, short-cuts rarely work, especially when the voting public is involved.

How many American Idols have managed to put together award-winning, lasting music careers? How many Top Model winners have actually become, well, top models?

And, I wonder, how many Authonomy.com manuscripts are ever going to hit the New York Times bestseller list, or even get published?

Call me jaded, but this strikes me as more false hope than legit opportunity.

That being said, I’ll be thrilled for the lucky writer who proves me wrong.

What do you think?

Photo by gadl (Creative Commons)

Some folks say Matador’s gotten a little too political.

Why have we devoted time and space to the presidential race when we’re a travel blog?

If you’ve asked yourself that as you’ve read Pulse over the past couple weeks, take a minute and a half to watch this video:

‘Nuff said.

Imagine: Your phone rings. You answer. Someone on the other end of the line says: “Congratulations. We think you’re a genius. And by the way, you’ve won $500,000! No strings attached!”

Feels pretty good, right?

That’s exactly what 25 Americans heard earlier this week when the MacArthur Foundation called to inform them they’d been selected as the 2008 Fellows for the so-called “Genius Grants” program.

This year’s Fellows are a diverse and compelling group of people engaged in wildly different but equally exciting community building projects.

There’s Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian-born fiction writer.

Will Allen, a farmer who cultivates vegetables in… inner-city Detroit.

Mary Jackson, an artist from my home state of South Carolina who’s preserving Gullah traditions by weaving sweetgrass baskets and advocating for the protection of threatened wetlands habitats in the lowcountry.

Walter Kitundu, an instrument maker and composer who blends Asian and African traditions with modern musical forms, including hip-hop.

Miguel Zenon, a Puerto Rican saxophonist who is resuscitating Afro-Latin jazz, and who obviously is passionate about music… check out this video:

And 20 others whose stories are important and interesting.

Think you’re a genius? Plenty of folks in the Matador community are fascinating people doing amazing work as they travel the world.

If you’re one of them, you’ll have to wait until one of the anonymous nominators discovers you… MacArthur geniuses are nominated and selected by a panel of people from diverse fields who serve the Foundation secretly. If you want to learn more, visit the Foundation’s website.

Get your hands on some genius!

Read Chimamanda Adichie’s book:

Half of a Yellow Sun

or listen to Miguel Zenon’s CD:

Jíbaro

Earlier this month, ArmyTimes.com reported that the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (1st BCT) is being trained as an on-call federal response within the US.

Their new domestic mission, called a “dwell-time” mission, is set to begin Oct. 1.

This will mark “the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.”
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Do you love New York City?

Do you love free stuff?

Well, keep reading…

Next week, the Matador team will be publishing a guide to visiting NYC on the cheap on the Trips blog and a review of the top 10 NYC guidebooks on the Gear blog.

Consistent with the NYC theme, we’ll also be giving away three copies of my favorite NYC guidebook: Not for Tourists Guide to New York City.

Here’s the deal:

1. Log in to your Matador account between today and September 30. (If you don’t have one yet, sign up for free!)

2. Blog about your most memorable NYC experience. (500-800 word limit)

3. On October 1, the Matador team will review all NYC-themed blogs written between today and September 30. We’ll choose our three favorite blogs and announce the winners here on Pulse. The very best entry will be published on the Matador Nights blog, and all three winners will receive a copy of the NFT Guide to NYC.

Photo: sodapop (Flickr creative commons)