Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Orthodox Jewish Revival Opens Niche for Yiddish News
posted on January 31, 2013At Reuters, Tom Heneghan writes about the Forverts (the Forward), a 115-year-old newspaper based in New York City that is set to launch a daily news website in Yiddish. Despite its near extinction following the Holocaust, the Yiddish language has experienced a revival in recent years, especially within the Orthodox Jewish community in New York City. Itzik Gottesman, an associate editor, said, “The idea of the website is to be the hub of the Yiddish cultural world, for the students, the older people and the Hasidim. We hope to get everyone to this website.”
Arkansas Senate OKs Concealed Weapons in Churches
posted on January 31, 2013While the national gun debate continues, Doug Stanglin of USA Today reports that the Arkansas Senate has lifted the conceal-carry ban in churches. “The Church Protection Act,” which still must pass the Arkansas House, allows “churches to decide which, if any, worshipers with concealed carry permits can bring their firearms inside.” Sen. Linda Chesterfield, a Democrat who opposed the measure, said, “If there was one person who was antiviolent, it was my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
McCain: Adding LGBT Protections to Immigrant Bill Would be Like Adding “Taxpayer-Funded Abortion”
posted on January 31, 2013David Weigel of Slate examines Sen. John McCain’s recent statements on the immigration reform bill. When asked about the potential inclusion of LGBT protections, which is part of President Obama’s current proposal, McCain replied, “I think it is a red herring,” adding that “you may as well add ‘taxpayer-funded abortion.’”
GOP Strategist Urges Support of Gay Unions
posted on January 30, 2013Jennifer Jacobs from USA Today reports on Ken Mehlman, a Republican strategist, who is urging fellow Republicans to support same-sex marriage. Mehlman, who revealed he was gay in 2010, spoke Monday evening in Iowa about how same-sex marriage is consistent with conservative values, and is supported by the majority of Americans. In an interview with The Des Moines Register, he said, “Republicans have an opportunity to both stand up for values that are core to our philosophy—freedom, family values and the golden rule—and to do the right thing politically by allowing adults who love one another to have access to civil marriage.”
Why Evangelicals Are The New Partners for Immigration Reform
posted on January 30, 2013Amy E. Black of The Christian Science Monitor writes about the growing support from evangelical Christians for immigration reform. Despite the largely conservative and white base, evangelicalism is becoming more ethnically diverse. With a growing number of Hispanic congregants, immigration reform has become a central issue on their political agenda. “Immigration—including illegal immigration—touches the lives of many in the pews, and church leaders want to help,” Black writes.
Read at Christian Science Monitor
“Anger Boiled Up, and Betty Friedan Was There”: “Feminine Mystique” at 50
posted on January 30, 2013At The Atlantic, Hope Reese interviews author and columnist Gail Collins, who wrote the introduction to the 50th anniversary edition of The Feminine Mystique. Collins looks back on the strides women have made, the problems that remain, and her personal experiences as a second-wave feminist. “The great story of my generation is that everything changed. It was amazing,” Collins said. “It created this platform that exists for this generation that they can leap off of and do whatever.”
A Flood of Suits Fights Coverage of Birth Control
posted on January 30, 2013At the New York Times, Ethan Bronner examines the “high-stakes clash” over a provision in the new health care law, which requires employers to cover birth control in employee health plans. As dozens of lawsuits flood federal courts, the contentious issue is likely headed to the Supreme Court. “These cases pit the First Amendment and a religious liberty law against the central domestic policy of the Obama administration, likely affecting many tens of thousands of employees,” Bronner writes.
“New Evangelical”-Progressive Alliance? Not So Fast
posted on January 30, 2013Sarah Posner of Religion Dispatches contemplates a recent essay titled, “Evangelicals who have left the right,” published at The Immanent Frame. Written by author Marcia Pally, the essay pronounces a new movement in which evangelicals are shifting from conservative to progressive. Posner questions the thesis, writing, “Perhaps it’s more accurate to say they’ve left the radical right and are in the process of creating a new religious right, stripped of harsh rhetoric but still undergirded by conservative ideology.”
“Disturbing” & “Misleading”
posted on January 30, 2013For The New York Review of Books, Steve Coll examines Zero Dark Thirty, the new film about the events that led to Osama bin Laden’s death in 2011. While Coll lauds the movie as an impressive drama, he criticizes the film’s “journalistic” perspective. By framing the movie as a journalistic account, actual events are blurred by artistic license. According to the Senate Intelligence Committee, the misguided representation of torture, has, “the potential to shape American public opinion in a disturbing and misleading manner.”
Read at New York Review of Books
Boy Scouts Consider Ending Policy Banning Gay Members and Troop Leaders
posted on January 30, 2013Madison Gray of TIME reports on the potential policy change from Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to drop its long-standing ban on gay membership. BSA spokesman Deron Smith said, “The policy change under discussion would allow the religious, civic or educational organizations that oversee and deliver scouting to determine how to address this issue. The Boy Scouts would not under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members or parents.”