Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Charity President Unhappy About Paul Ryan Soup Kitchen ‘Photo Op’
posted on October 17, 2012The Washington Post’s Felicia Sonmez writes about vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s controversial visit at a soup kitchen in Ohio, where he reportedly stopped for 15 minutes on his way to the airport on Saturday. “By the time he arrived, the food had already been served, the patrons had left, and the hall had been cleaned,” Sonmez writes. “The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate,” said Brian Antal, president of the St. Vincent De Paul Society, where Ryan visited. “He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.”
New Evangelical Partnership Rallies Behind Family Planning
posted on October 17, 2012At Huffington Post, Religion News Service’s Adelle Banks writes about how a coalition of moderate evangelicals, the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, are urging support for family planning, which they believe will reduce abortion rates. They are stressing the need to avoid “confusion of family planning with abortion.” The Rev. Jennifer Crumpton, one of the group’s advisers, said, “We affirm that the use of contraceptives is a responsible and morally acceptable means to greater control over the number and timing of births, and to improve the overall developing and flourishing of women and children.”
When Mormons Go to Washington
posted on October 17, 2012At Vanity Fair, Michael Quinn asserts that, as the first major Mormon presidential candidate, Mitt Romney is envious of the way John F. Kennedy was able to promise that his Catholicism would not affect his politics. Looking at the history of Mormon legislators, it may be hard for Romney to separate his Mormonism from serving in office. Throughout history, Quinn writes, “L.D.S politicians (both Democrats and Republicans) have sought instructions from their church leaders,” and Mormon politicians have often changed their vote to align with the views of the church.
Divest from Fossil Fuels. Now.
posted on October 17, 2012Environmental activist Bill McKibben writes for Sojourners about the impending danger fossil fuels pose to the well-being of our planet. “You can have a healthy fossil fuel industry or a healthy planet, but you can’t have both.”
No, Bloomberg Isn’t Banning Circumcision
posted on October 17, 2012At First Things, Michael Helfand writes in defense of the New York City Board of Health’s decision to “require mohalim (religious circumcisers) to obtain informed parental consent before performing ritual oral suction on the circumcision wound.” Helfand points out that the decision does not prohibit the ritual, it merely forces parents to be educated on the risks, which include herpes, before having their son undergo the ritual.
Christian Group Finds Gay Agenda in an Anti-Bullying Day
posted on October 16, 2012Kim Severson of The New York Times reports on the American Family Association’s objections to “Mix It Up at Lunch Day,” a program launched by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), with the goal of “break[ing] up cliques and prevent bullying.” The American Family Association claims that the project is a “nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools.” Severson reports that the SPLC recently added the American Family Association to its list of active hate groups.
Arlen Specter, a Fiercely Independent American Original
posted on October 16, 2012At The Jewish Daily Forward, Jane Eisner pays tribute to Arlen Specter, the “fiercely independent” senator from Pennsylvania who passed away this past weekend after a long battle with cancer. Eisner remembers Specter as a man who “followed his own instincts on politics, policy and self-preservation, sometimes in equal measure.” Eisner also remarks on how Specter’s Jewish faith affected his political life. “It translated politically into staunch support for Israel, for the separation of religion and state, and the preservation of civil liberties.”
Read at The Jewish Daily Forward
Muslims Protest ‘Age of Mockery’ as Thousands Descend on Google HQ
posted on October 16, 2012Jennifer O’Mahony reports for The Telegraph that thousands of Muslims protested outside Google’s London headquarters. The protestors demanded that Google remove the film, “The Innocence of Muslims,” from YouTube. Sheikh Faiz Al-Aqtab Siddiqui says, “terrorism is not just people who kill human bodies, but who kill human feelings as well. The makers of this film have terrorized 1.6 billion people. Organizations like Google are key players and have to take responsibility for civility.”
Muslims Protest ‘Age of Mockery’ as Thousands Descend on Google HQ
posted on October 16, 2012Jennifer O’Mahony reports for The Telegraph that thousands of Muslims protested outside Google’s London headquarters. The protestors demanded that Google remove the film, “The Innocence of Muslims,” from YouTube. Sheikh Faiz Al-Aqtab Siddiqui says, “terrorism is not just people who kill human bodies, but who kill human feelings as well. The makers of this film have terrorized 1.6 billion people. Organizations like Google are key players and have to take responsibility for civility.”
In Battleground Ohio, Catholic Voters Apply Faith in Different Ways
posted on October 16, 2012NPR’s Sonari Glinton reports on the important role the Catholic vote will play in deciding which presidential candidate wins Ohio. “The party that wins the Catholic vote in Ohio usually wins the state—and the winner in Ohio nearly always wins the election,” writes Glinton. With a Catholic vice-presidential candidate on each ticket, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan represent “two great themes in Catholics’ politics,” says Vincent Miller, who teaches religion at the University of Dayton in Ohio.