Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Harry Reid: Mitt Romney Is Not the Face of Mormonism
posted on September 26, 2012Thomas Burr writes for The Salt Lake Tribune about Harry Reid’s recent comments that Mitt Romney has “sullied” the Mormon faith. Burr points out that Reid’s opinion is not universally shared among leading Mormons. J.W. Marriott, a longtime friend of the Romney family and the head of the Marriott hotel chain, has thanked for Romney for bringing so “much positive attention to the church.”
Obama Confronts Iran, Syria
posted on September 26, 2012CNN’s David Ariosto reports on President Obama’s address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Obama’s speech focused on America’s involvement in the Middle East, including the U.S. sanctions intended to help topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. “We were inspired by the Tunisian protests that toppled a dictator … We have insisted on change in Egypt,” Obama told U.N. delegates.
Obama Confronts Iran, Syria
posted on September 26, 2012CNN’s David Ariosto reports on President Obama’s address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Obama’s speech focused on America’s involvement in the Middle East, including the U.S. sanctions intended to help topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. “We were inspired by the Tunisian protests that toppled a dictator … We have insisted on change in Egypt,” Obama told U.N. delegates.
Akin Fiasco is Newt’s Last Stand
posted on September 26, 2012At Commentary, Jonathan S. Tobin writes about Newt Gingrich’s unwavering support for Todd Akin, the Republican senatorial candidate in Missouri. While most of the Republican Party is concerned with President Obama’s lead in the polls, Gingrich has remained focused on Akin’s race, in order to attract publicity for himself, argues Tobin. “This is the last election cycle in which he can credibly masquerade as a serious player,” writes Tobin. “Just as he kept his presidential quest going long after he was finished, he is milking the Akin shipwreck.”
Akin Fiasco is Newt’s Last Stand
posted on September 26, 2012At Commentary, Jonathan S. Tobin writes about Newt Gingrich’s unwavering support for Todd Akin, the Republican senatorial candidate in Missouri. While most of the Republican Party is concerned with President Obama’s lead in the polls, Gingrich has remained focused on Akin’s race, in order to attract publicity for himself, argues Tobin. “This is the last election cycle in which he can credibly masquerade as a serious player,” writes Tobin. “Just as he kept his presidential quest going long after he was finished, he is milking the Akin shipwreck.”
Redesigning the Peace Process
posted on September 26, 2012At Tablet, Richard Landes chronicles the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Landes believes that, in order for the peace process to be successful, the discussion needs to move past simply focusing on politics to also include cultural aspects of the conflict. Landes writes, “Overestimating the power of politics and dramatically underestimating the importance of culture has actually hindered the possibility for a political solution.”
Will Obama Free the Blind Sheik?
posted on September 26, 2012At The Wall Street Journal, Michael Mikasey criticizes the Obama administration for allegedly contemplating setting Omar Abdel Rahman free. Rahmen is an ailing yet influential Islamic cleric who is serving a life sentence for terrorism. While the Obama administration has yet to confirm its intentions, “absent such assurance, it may be time for Congress to make clear that such a transfer or release could be considered the kind of gross betrayal of public trust that would justify removal from high office,” writes Mikasey.
Read at The Wall Street Journal
Where Are the Peaceful Muslims?
posted on September 26, 2012At Real Clear Religion, Jeffrey Weiss laments the fact that peaceful Muslims receive little publicity in the American press. Weiss asks why there is little attention paid to influential Muslim leaders when they denounce violent attacks perpetrated by Islamic extremists. “Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti … denounced attacks on diplomats and embassies as being un-Islamic. Did that get much play in the US? Not that I saw,” writes Weiss.
President Ethelred
posted on September 26, 2012At The National Review, Victor Davis Hanson criticizes President Obama’s Middle Eastern policy. Hanson faults Obama for supporting dictators, such as Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, until these leaders become unpopular in their home countries. “The Obama administration was confused about the Egyptian revolution–mum on the old allied authoritarian Hosni Mubarak until it was clear that he would lose power, then rushing in to embrace the dissidents, then declaring the Muslim Brotherhood to be ‘secular,’” writes Hanson.
Eastern Germany: The Most Godless Place on Earth
posted on September 26, 2012Peter Thompson writes for The Guardian about the unusual religious demographics in Eastern Germany, where 52.1 percent of the population identify as atheist. Thompson writes that “East German folk atheism” has become somewhat of a political and regional identification in the region. This stands in stark contrast to the predominance of Catholic identity in West Germany. “Secularization processes are under way throughout the continent …The question should perhaps be whether it is actually folk atheism that represents the future of Europe,” writes Thompson.