The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
Does the contraception mandate really kill religious freedom?
By David Gibson — Religion News Service
Faith-based groups who claim to have religious objections to providing health insurance that covers contraceptives and sterilization have a “safe harbor” until Aug. 1, 2013 before the mandate would take effect for them. Even then, the mandate may not force them to compromise their beliefs.
Study: Romney tax plan would result in cuts for rich, higher burden for others
By Lori Montgomery — Washington Post
“It is not mathematically possible to design a revenue-neutral plan that preserves current incentives for savings and investment and that does not result in a net tax cut for high-income taxpayers and a net tax increase for lower- and/or middle-income taxpayers,” the study concludes.
Hyatt has a huge moral challenge to overcome in treatment of employees
By Clete Kiley — National Catholic Reporter, Opinion
The Chicago-based Interfaith Worker Justice and other religious organizations across the country are empowering workers and holding corporations like Hyatt accountable for abuses that fundamentally betray our nation’s core values and highest ideals.
Why killing is a profitable enterprise
By Michael F. McNulty — Washington Post, Opinion
In the end, however, it’s simple: The NRA shills for gun makers who profit from the murder of American citizens. If you think the country’s policies are shaped by Judeo-Christian values, you’re not paying attention.
Could opinions on gun control change in the future?
By Pat Perriello — National Catholic Reporter, Opinion
Church support for meaningful changes in gun laws that would limit gun access without depriving citizens of legitimate gun ownership could be a powerful force.
Why I’m riding bus full of undocumented people to Charlotte
By Leticia Ramirez — Charlotte Observer, Opinion
Even at the church where I give food to the hungry, there are fewer people because of the intimidation they feel from nearby law enforcement who have been turned into immigration agents.
Romney unveils leaders of Catholic outreach team
By Daniel Burke — Religion News Service
Likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney unveiled the leaders of his Catholic outreach team today – with some prominent names on the list.
Richard Land Announces Retirement From Southern Baptist Ethics Commission
By Jeremy Weber — Christianity Today
However, Land’s retirement from the ERLC will not mean a retirement from his high-profile role in the culture wars.
Bachmann raises over $1M amid Muslim controversy
By Catalina Camia — USA Today
Bachmann’s haul came as she made headlines this month as one of five lawmakers calling for an investigation of alleged ties to Islamic extremists within the federal government.
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The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
Obama, Jewish tradition agree on universal health care
By Ezekiel J. Emanuel — Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Opinion
Because he led, millions of families will now be part of the health care system and Jewish doctors will better be able to fulfill their obligations to help save the world. And Jewish mothers can be prouder still that their sons — and daughters — can care for all Americans.
Fussbudget: How Paul Ryan captured the GOP
By Ryan Lizza — New Yorker
To envisage what Republicans would do if they win in November, the person to understand is not necessarily Romney, who has been a policy cipher all his public life. The person to understand is Paul Ryan.
The Morality of Migration
By Seyla Benhabib — New York Times, Opinion
Punishment implies responsibility and accountability for one’s actions and choices; clearly, children who through their parents’ choices end up on one side of the border rather than another cannot be penalized for these choices.
Chicago: Aurora all the time
By Murtaza Hussain — Salon
Since 2001, more than 5,000 people have been killed by gunfire in the streets of Chicago, a staggering number that is more than double the number of American soldiers who have been killed fighting in Afghanistan during the same period.
U.S. slams Europe for anti-Muslim laws, hits Egypt over treatment of Christians
By Hannah Allam — McClatchy Newspapers
The State Department’s annual compilation highlighted a few narrow openings in unlikely places – transitional Libya and closed-off Myanmar, for example – but it also criticized some traditional U.S. allies for backsliding when it came to protecting the freedom to worship.
Marcus Druery: Another questionable Texas execution
By Rania Khalek — Salon
Marcus Druery, a 32-year-old Texas death row inmate, suffers from schizophrenia so severe that his lawyers argue he is not competent enough to be put to death.
Will Women Get Pushed Off the Fiscal Cliff?
By Bryce Covert — The Nation
The sequestration cuts may have morphed into an election-year football, but they have real consequences for Americans who are already struggling to get by. And women, who have really suffered from the sluggish recovery, are going to be hit fastest and hardest.
Saudi Woman Allowed to Compete in Headwear
By Cassell Bryan-Low and David Enrich — Wall Street Journal
The judo federation had said last week that [Shaherkani] needed to remove her head scarf, known as a hijab, for the match. Her father and Saudi officials have said she can’t compete without her head covered.
For-profit colleges bilking public, U.S. Sen. Harkin says
By Ryan Randazzo — Arizona Republic
A U.S. senator’s examination of for-profit colleges paints them as dropout factories, where billions of dollars are squandered on financial aid and the schools’ emphasis is more on attracting students than educating them. The result, according to the report: Too many students are left with bad debt and no degree.
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The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
Michele Bachmann’s Muslim Brotherhood Claims Condemned By Catholic Bishops, 41 Other Groups 
By Amanda Terkel — Huffington Post
Forty-two religious and secular organizations united on Thursday in condemning conservative lawmakers’ allegations that Muslim-American individuals connected to the U.S. government may be trying to spread the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.
We are victims of out-of-control gun culture
By National Catholic Reporter, Editorial
To allow another gun massacre to go by with nothing more than hand-wringing and empty words is not being considerate of victims. It is rather buying into a culture-wide denial and giving assent to the insanity.
Candidates Cower on Gun Control
By New York Times, Editorial
At a moment when the country needs resolve and fearlessness to reduce the affliction of gun violence that kills more than 80 people a day, both presidential candidates have kicked away the opportunity for leadership. On Wednesday, reacting to the mass murder in Colorado last week, Mitt Romney and President Obama paid lip service to the problem but ducked when the chance arose to stand up for their former principles.
Hospitals Worry Over Cut in Fund for Uninsured
By Nina Bernstein — New York Times
President Obama’s health care law is putting new strains on some of the nation’s most hard-pressed hospitals, by cutting aid they use to pay for emergency care for illegal immigrants, which they have long been required to provide.
Boehner Cedes Spending, Birth Control Battles — For Now
By Sahil Kapur — Talking Points Memo
Asked whether the House will act to roll back the administration’s birth control rule…Boehner effectively took GOP-introduced legislation to that effect off the table. The battle damaged Republicans politically in the spring.
No ‘middle ground’ possible with LCWR on key issues, Bishop Blair says
By Catholic News Service
“If by dialogue [LCWR members] mean that the doctrines of the church are negotiable and the bishops represent one position and the LCWR presents another position, and somehow we find a middle ground about basic church teaching on faith and morals, then no,” [Blair] said. “I don’t think that is the kind of dialogue that the Holy See would envision.”
Birmingham pastors present petitions to Alabama Public Television objecting to history series
By Bob Carlton — Birmingham News
A handful of religious leaders from Birmingham and a representative of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery today delivered a cardboard box containing about 114,000 signatures on two petitions urging APT not to air a controversial history series by evangelical Christian activist David Barton.
Many Americans don’t know religion of either presidential candidate
By Dan Gilgoff — CNN, Belief Blog
Americans have limited knowledge of the presidential candidates’ religious faith, but their concerns about the candidates’ respective religious beliefs are unlikely to play a major role in the 2012 race…
Romney May See an Evangelical ‘Enthusiasm Gap’
By Daniel Burke — Religion News Service
Among the nearly 23 percent of evangelicals who are uncomfortable with Romney’s Mormonism, just 16 percent back him strongly.
Social justice: What’s tarnishing its good name?
By Kristen Hannum — U.S. Catholic
Criticism of social justice is nothing new…What may be new, however, is how transparently politics now seems to influence the faith of some Catholics when it comes to debating social justice.
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The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
Poor may lack ‘powerful lobbies’ but have ‘greatest needs,’ bishop says
By Catholic News Service
The head of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development urged the Senate to retain tax credits that keep low-income Americans from sinking into poverty, saying it would be “unjust and unwise” to let them lapse…
Who Deserves a Tax Break?
By New York Times, Editorial
Though it seems unbelievable on a day when Republicans tried to be so generous to their wealthiest contributors, they voted for a bill that would end the child tax credit for nine million families that make less than $13,300…
Study: New Medicaid expansion could be a lifesaver
By Associated Press
States that expand their Medicaid programs under President Barack Obama’s health care law may end up saving thousands of lives, a medical journal report released Wednesday indicates.
AIDS advocates pushing for Medicaid expansion
By Brett Norman — Politico
The expansion of the Medicaid program — or the lack thereof — has emerged as a major focus of U.S. AIDS advocates at the 2012 International AIDS Conference this week.
AIDS Memorial Quilt; The Names Project Shares Religious Communities’ Panels Of Hope
By Huffington Post
More than 48,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels — most commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS — have been sewn together by friends, lovers and family members.
Survey: Religion, Values, and Experiences: Black and Hispanic American Attitudes on Abortion and Reproductive Issues
By Public Religion Research Institute
Among those who attend church at least once or twice a month, Hispanic Americans are significantly more likely than black Americans to report that they hear about the issue of abortion in church (54% vs. 30%).
Overseeing bishop: LCWR ‘not in accordance’ with church
By Joshua J. McElwee — National Catholic Reporter
One of the three bishops appointed to oversee the group which represents the majority of U.S. women religious took a hard line Wednesday towards the Vatican’s criticism of the organization, saying the sisters are “promoting, unilaterally…a new kind of theology that is not in accordance with the faith of the church.”
First CCHD; Now CRS
By Michael Sean Winters — National Catholic Reporter, Opinion
[Catholic Relief Services] does more to save lives throughout the world than any of these pundits at LifeSiteNews. The latter rant about life. CRS actually saves lives. The bishops have to stand behind CRS…and not cave in to these witch hunts.
Liberal Jewish group launches political lobbying arm
By Lauren Markoe — Religion News Service
“Today marks the beginning of a new chapter of activism, rooted in Jewish values, where we will aggressively fight for the nation’s most vulnerable with all available political advocacy tools,” said Alan van Capelle, CEO of Bend the Arc.
Durbin sees ‘zero’ chance of passing assault weapons ban
By Daniel Strauss — The Hill
“I am a co-sponsor of the bill that would limit the sale of these high-capacity magazine clips and I also think that we should be careful when it comes to selling guns…,” Durbin said on the “Bill Press Show.” “What are the chances of — even the consideration — let alone the passage of those measures this year? Zero.”
Bachmann’s Islamist scare relaunches McCarthyism
By USA Today, Editorial
When fellow Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, a Democrat and a Muslim, challenged Bachmann to provide proof for her allegations, she charged that Ellison, too, is linked to the Brotherhood.
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The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
After Colorado shooting, Democrats reluctant to talk gun control
By Paul Kane — Washington Post
“The silence is deafening,” Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) told reporters Tuesday, outraged at the lack of a gun-control debate.
Battle lines drawn on Bush-era tax cuts
By Brian Montopoli — CBS News
Here’s one thing most Republicans and Democrats can agree on: Congress should act to keep taxes from going up for the average American when the Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of the year.
Health care law now cheaper, won’t cover as many people
By Jonathan Allen and Matt Dobias — Politico
…the Supreme Court’s June ruling on the law allowed states to opt out of a costly Medicaid expansion, and in a new report released Tuesday, CBO anticipates that some of them will do just that. As a result, about 3 million more people will remain uninsured, Capitol Hill’s official bean counters said.
Baltimore puts out welcome mat for immigrants, hoping to stop population decline
By Carol Morello and Luz Lazo — Washington Post
After decades of seeing the city’s population slide with every census count, Baltimore officials are trying to turn things around. One key strategy is embracing immigrants, in the hope they will encourage friends and family to join them.
Arpaio’s words used against him at racial-profiling case
By JJ Hensley — Arizona Republic
…as testimony Tuesday in U.S. District Court revealed, there are two Joe Arpaios — the politician and the policy maker — and there are questions as to which Arpaio is responsible for setting priorities for illegal-immigration enforcement.
California Faith Group Helps Move $750,000 In Customer Funds From Wall Street Banks
By Travis Waldron — Think Progress
Faith In Community, an interdenominational group, joined with Occupy Fresno and other groups to protest predatory actions at five big banks, and thus far, their efforts have led to the removal of $750,000 from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.
Jimmy Carter: Prison reform issue of race
By Bob Allen — Associated Baptist Press
“When the black Baptist leaders speak out and say what do Baptists need to do, the main issue they have brought out is we need to do something about the abuse of people in prison who happen to be African-American or other minorities or mentally ill,” Carter said in an article published July 24 on the website EthicsDaily.com.
Republicans Make Big Push for Jewish Voters
By Alicia Mundy — Wall Street Journal
The RJC campaign comes down to four numbers: 11, 16, 19, and 24. That is the percentage of Jewish voters who went Republican in presidential elections between 1992 and 2004, Mr. Fleischer said, noting the upward trend. The backward slide to roughly 21 % in 2008 can be attributed to factors such as the popularity of Mr. Obama.
Catholic Relief Services becomes latest victim of attacks from within the church
By Scott Alessi — US Catholic
On the heels of the lengthy attack from Catholics against the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and its anti-poverty grants, church watchdogs have now turned their attention to another organization aimed at helping the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Stephen Colbert to star in Catholic comedy slam
By David Gibson — Religion News Service
It’s a tough call for anyone who has followed either man’s impressive record of rim shots, but we may finally get an answer to that urgent question when the cardinal and the comedian team up for a panel on faith and humor this September at Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y.
Greenland Ice Melt, Measured By NASA Satellites, Reaches Unprecedented Level
By Joanna Zelman — Huffington Post
According to a NASA press release, about half of Greenland’s surface ice sheet naturally melts during an average summer. But the data from three independent satellites this July…showed that in less than a week, the amount of thawed ice sheet surface skyrocketed from 40 percent to 97 percent.
Young Evangelicals Stepping Up on Climate Action
By Ben Lowe — Sojourners, God’s Politics
After months of careful preparation, a new national advocacy initiative called Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (Y.E.C.A.) has just gone live.
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