September 5, 2012, 10:50 am | By amarshall
Earlier this summer, members of NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, boarded a bus in Des Moines, Iowa for a two week tour across the country to draw attention to those working families most affected by the severe social service cuts in Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal adopted by the House GOP.
Now, Missouri members of NETWORK are launching their own tour to warn of the danger of the Ryan budget for vulnerable Americans in their state.
Sister Mary Ann McGivern framed the moral questions raised by the tour:
“Do we choose to be a nation of individualism and fear where the rich get richer at the expense of those in need. Or do we reclaim the principles of our founders and work together for all people to form a more perfect union?”
The tour launched yesterday in Kansas City and continues this week with stops throughout the state. Along the way, the nuns will make special visits to Catholic-sponsored social service agencies, as well as to local congressional offices.
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August 24, 2012, 12:08 pm | By amarshall
After a six-year run bringing you the best faith and politics news every day, Faith in Public Life will be ending the daily news reel email today, August 24th. Thanks for your loyal readership. If you want to stay up to date on all things faith and politics, you can follow our Twitter account @BoldFaithType, where we will be posting stories throughout the day.
Activists Push for Repeal of Tax Cut for Wealthy
By The Jewish Daily Forward
The young people are targeting the districts of Congress members who support tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 annually. They group said in a statement that the activists are “standing up to the wealthiest members of Congress who are voting to line their pockets while demanding more of the nation’s most vulnerable to reduce the deficit, balance the budget and protect funding for critical programs and services.”
The Republican Party Cardinal
By Andrew Sullivan — Daily Beast,The Dish
[Dolan's] stature turns a benediction into political act. It may just be a prayer – but it is one offered by one of the most recognizable Catholic leaders in the country, at a party political convention. It just can’t get more partisan than that.
The Real Reason Rick Warren Cancelled His Candidate Forum: His Increasing Irrelevance
By Amy Sullivan — The New Republic
Despite Warren’s efforts to make it seem as if he was selflessly cancelling an appearance with both presidential candidates in order to avoid contributing to a toxic political climate, the evidence strongly suggests that there wasn’t any Saddleback forum this time to cancel.
Romney says his Mormon tithing shouldn’t be public
By Thomas Burr — Salt Lake Tribune
Mitt Romney says in a new interview that one of the reasons he’s distressed about disclosing his tax returns is that everyone sees how much money he and his wife, Ann, have donated to the LDS Church, and that’s a number he wants to keep private.
Todd Akin in Tampa with top social conservatives
By Kate Nocera — Politico
The embattled Missouri Senate candidate flew to Tampa to meet with members of the Council for National Policy, a secretive coalition of powerful conservative and evangelical leaders, activists, and donors.
Kris Kobach Tells Mitt Romney How It’s Going to be on Immigration
By Adam Serwer — Mother Jones
Since the GOP primary, Romney has tried to moderate his rhetoric, if not his actual positions, refusing to answer specific questions and muddying his own views on what approach he would take on immigration. Now, the Republican platform commits him to a set of specific, hardline policies.
Christians Deliver Petition to Repeal Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s Executive Order
By Beau Underwood — Sojourners, God’s Politics
Today, two Christian leaders in Arizona delivered a petition signed by thousands of Christians to Gov. Jan Brewer calling on her to retract her controversial executive order denying driver’s licenses and other benefits to undocumented young people who qualify for deferred action.
ICE agents sue own agency over deferred deportations
By Alan Gomez — USA Today
A group of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents filed a lawsuit against their own agency Thursday, arguing that the Obama administration is not letting them fully identify and deport illegal immigrants.
Evangelical Colleges Didn’t Figure Out Whether They Covered Contraception Before Suing Over Obamacare Regulation
By Tara Culp-Ressler — Think Progress
In preparation to sue over Obamacare, evangelical colleges are more closely examining their existing student health plans — only to discover that they actually already cover the contraceptive services they object to.
Pluralism and prejudice: How conflicts over religious pluralism reveal America’s new ‘Sacred Ground’
By Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite — Washington Post, On Faith
Patel sees our political process as a mirror of our increasing diversity, especially religious diversity. He writes, “America is among the most religiously diverse countries in human history and by far the most religiously devout nation in the West.”
After Sikh Temple Shootings, New Focus on Combating Hate Crimes
By John Nichols — The Nation
The signal that the White House has not and will not forget what happened at the Sikh Temple is important, as are the condolences the first lady shared. The real significance of the visit was the message—very much welcomed by the Sikh community in Wisconsin and nationally—involved the recognition of the need for a broader dialogue about violence and hate in America.
Blood on the hands of both sides in culture wars
By Tom Krattenmaker — USA Today
Thank you, Family Research Council, for now conceding what conservative groups have been loath to acknowledge in recent years: the truth that incendiary rhetoric indeed does contribute to a climate conducive to politically motivated violence.
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August 23, 2012, 12:37 pm | By amarshall
After a six-year run bringing you the best faith and politics news every day, Faith in Public Life will be ending the daily news reel email on Friday, August 24th. Thanks for your loyal readership. If you want to stay up to date on all things faith and politics, you can follow our Twitter account @BoldFaithType, where we will be posting stories throughout the day.
Dolan to Give Benediction at Gathering of the G.O.P.
By Sharon Otterman — New York Times
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York, will deliver the closing prayer at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., after Mitt Romney accepts the party’s presidential nomination next week.
Cardinal Dolan at the Values Voter Summit?
By Maureen Fiedler — National Catholic Reporter, Opinion
An appearance at this summit is tantamount to an endorsement of Republican candidates. In fact, it’s an endorsement of some of the most right-wing members of that party. Indeed, because of the confirmed appearance of Paul Ryan at the summit, observers might be led to think Dolan endorses the Romney-Ryan ticket.
Christians push for new immigration process as they support deferred status
By Noel Castellanos — Washington Post, On Faith
Unfortunately, within a week, Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman have all made moves to stop these opportunities for young people. This is why Christians are mobilizing again. In just a few days a petition targeted at Brewer, who was the first to take steps to limit the effectiveness of deferred action, has gained over 5,000 signatures from concerned Christians.
Middle class share of America’s income shrinking
By Associated Press
A study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center…describes this mid-tier group as suffering its “worst decade in modern history,” having fallen backward in income for the first time since the end of World War II.
New poll finds majority oppose making changes to Medicare
By Daniel Strauss — The Hill
The Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS poll released Thursday found that in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin, a majority of voters would rather Medicare “continue as it is.” Fewer than a third offered support for Ryan’s budget proposal that recipients get federal subsidies to buy private insurance.
Report: Romney Economic Plan Hurts Red States, Helps Wealthy Urbanites, While Obama Boosts Rural Areas
By Ari Melber — The Nation
Take the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where the median price of a home is $1.3 million. There, 73% of residents do better under Romney’s plan than Obama’s…Yet in the heartland, the economic map skews just as strongly towards Obama. It is almost impossible, for example, to find any large areas of Ohio that don’t fare better under Obama’s plan.
Florida’s Menacing Moves to Restrict Voting
By Graciela C. Catasús — The Nation, Voting Rights Watch 2012
Florida’s actions appear to follow similar trends in other swing states, leading many to wonder if this is a tandem effort to suppress voting rights in states with sizeable Latino populations. Colorado and New Mexico are also cracking down on voter fraud—despite the fact that there is no evidence that it actually exists.
GOP embraces anti-Shariah
By Alex Seitz-Wald — Salon
In Tampa this week, GOP leaders adopted a plank to their platform supporting a ban on foreign law and aimed at Shariah, the Islamic religious law that many conservatives insist is secretly insinuating itself in the U.S.
NYPD: Muslims’ Conversations About Anti-Muslim Bias Justify Spying on Muslims
By Adam Serwer — Mother Jones
An improperly redacted court transcript reveals an NYPD official’s dubious rationale for spying on Muslims.
RNC Now Says Anti-Abortion Platform Doesn’t Necessarily Disavow Rape Exemptions
By Pema Levy — Talking Points Memo
Though RNC officials pushed back on the extreme characterization of their platform earlier in the week, the idea they they are not taking a stand one way or the other on rape and incest exceptions is relatively new.
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August 22, 2012, 1:01 pm | By amarshall
After a six-year run bringing you the best faith and politics news every day, Faith in Public Life will be ending the daily news reel email on Friday, August 24th. Thanks for your loyal readership. If you want to stay up to date on all things faith and politics, you can follow our Twitter account @BoldFaithType, where we will be posting stories throughout the day.
Obama And Romney Faith Interview: Candidates Speak Openly About Religion
By Cathedral Age
Washington National Cathedral’s magazine, Cathedral Age, asked President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney an identical set of questions about the presence of faith in their lives and the role of religion in America.
‘You’re On Your Own’: Obama Readies Education Offensive Attacking Ryan Budget
By Pema Levy and Evan McMorris-Santoro — Talking Points Memo
Paul Ryan’s addition to the Republican presidential ticket unleashed a new back-and-forth over the future of Medicare. But Democrats believe Ryan also gives them an opening to talk about another seminal issue tied to the congressman’s controversial budget: education.
In Exclusive Interview, Paul Ryan Distances Self From Todd Akin
By CBS Pittsburgh
Ryan, like Romney, distanced himself from Akin’s remarks, but in Congress, he joined Akin in opposing abortions even when a woman has been raped.
Akin Fiasco Gets Rove to Admit, Again, Why Crossroads Exists
By George Zornick — The Nation
Crossroads GPS ads are supposed to simply be educational—so why are they suddenly being pulled in Missouri?
GOP platform calls for more Arizona-style immigration laws
By Cameron Joseph — The Hill
The official party position now reads that “State efforts to reduce illegal immigration must be encouraged, not attacked,” and says the Department of Justice should immediately drop its lawsuits against controversial state immigration laws in Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina and Utah.
Latino evangelicals find political voice
By Joseph Treviño — Arizona Daily Star
Samuel Rodríguez, a pastor and the head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, an organization that claims 40,118 affiliated churches, said that in Arizona alone the group has managed to register 98,000 Latinos to vote.
Five Things Government Does Better Than You Do
By Monica Potts — American Prospect
There are many ways in which the government can make better decisions with our money than we can, and there are many ways that the Ryan budget would make society worse off by getting rid of government programs. Here are five.
NYPD: Muslim spying led to no leads, terror cases
By Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo — Associated Press
In more than six years of spying on Muslim neighborhoods, eavesdropping on conversations and cataloguing mosques, the New York Police Department’s secret Demographics Unit never generated a lead or triggered a terrorism investigation, the department acknowledged in court testimony unsealed late Monday.
Black Baptist says racism still a problem
By Bob Allen — Associated Baptist Press
While predominantly white denominations prefer to save face about their shortcomings on racial-justice issues, Shosanya said, much of the posturing about being “one in Christ” is often anemic “when the rubber hits the road,” especially when that requires the sharing or relinquishing of power.
Stopping the GOP assault on democracy
By Katrina vanden Heuvel — Washington Post, Opinion
Few people spending more money to influence fewer voters in fewer states: That’s what shrinking democracy looks like. The only thing growing is the price tag. This is more than an election-year issue — it’s an existential crisis.
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August 21, 2012, 12:27 pm | By amarshall
After a six-year run bringing you the best faith and politics news every day, Faith in Public Life will be ending the daily news reel email on Friday, August 24th. Thanks for your loyal readership. If you want to stay up to date on all things faith and politics, you can follow our Twitter account @BoldFaithType, where we will be posting stories throughout the day.
From Nunzilla to ‘You Go Girl’: A Tale of Sisters
By Katherine Marshall — Huffington Post, Opinion
With Paul Ryan now in the vice presidential spotlight, LCWR will not take a political stand. However, [Sr. Farrell] made clear that LCWR and its members will maintain their staunch support for the poor and programs that support them, and budgets will be an obvious focus.
The repugnant code behind Todd Akin’s words
By Washington Post, Editorial
Mr. Akin was utterly unconvincing in explaining that he “misspoke.” It is scary that someone so ill-informed could hold elective office or have a chance of becoming a senator.
Crucial Senate Race in Uproar
By Naftali Bendavid and Louise Radnofsky — Wall Street Journal
Republicans urged Rep. Todd Akin to quit the key Missouri Senate race after he said women’s bodies can avert pregnancies in cases of “legitimate rape.”
What I built — with government help
By James C. Roumell — Washington Post, Opinion
I did work harder, and perhaps more imaginatively, than many colleagues. But does that mean I built it myself? Does it diminish my success to be grateful for the public investments that so clearly contributed to my success? Every successful person knows, and will admit if he is honest, that luck played a role in his good fortune.
The Promise-Keeper
By David Weigel — Slate
The point of all this: proving that the first “Medi-scare” battle of the election is ending and that Republicans have fought it to a draw. Ryan got his message down to a zinger, and repeated it all week. “We want this debate,” he said. “We need this debate. And we will win this debate.”
Ohio GOP Admits Early Voting Cutbacks Are Racially Motivated
By Ari Berman — The Nation
Why do Ohio Republicans suddenly feel so strongly about limiting early voting hours in Democratic counties? Franklin County (Columbus) GOP Chair Doug Preisse gave a surprisingly blunt answer to the Columbus Dispatch on Sunday: “I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban—read African-American—voter-turnout machine.”
GOP prepares tough anti-abortion platform
By Peter Hamby — CNN
The Republican Party is once again set to enshrine into its official platform support for “a human life amendment” to the Constitution that would outlaw abortion without making explicit exemptions for rape or incest, according to draft language of the platform obtained exclusively by CNN late Monday.
Gov. Jan Brewer Tries to Stop the DREAM in Arizona
By Beau Underwood — Sojourners, God’s Politics
The faith community cannot be silent in the face of such despair. Gov. Brewer needs to hear from religious leaders disappointed in her actions in the hopes that such moral outrage might cause her to reverse course.
Farm Bill Blues
By Christian Century, Editorial
The farm bill is enormous in scope. It represents a mess of irrational, unhelpful policy; it’s also responsible for some essential programs. It needs to be reauthorized. Then it’s back to the longer-term work of building a food system that does right by farmers, eaters and the land.
Study: Less religious states give less to charity
By Jay Lindsay — Associated Press
The study released Monday by the Chronicle of Philanthropy found that residents in states where religious participation is higher than the rest of the nation, particularly in the South, gave the greatest percentage of their discretionary income to charity.
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