Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Faithfully Democratic
posted on September 7, 2012At The Washington Post, Burns Strider criticizes the media firestorm around the Democratic National Convention platform committee’s decision to remove the word “God” from one of the party’s planks, a decision that was reversed Wednesday night. Strider argues that the Democratic Party has done a lot to include Americans of faith in the convention. “The Democratic Faith Council sponsored panel discussions to packed rooms with panelists who are Baptists, Mormon, Jewish, Catholic and the entire, diverse bandwidth of the American religious tradition,” Strider writes.
Ecclesiadicy
posted on September 7, 2012At First Things, Leroy Huizenga takes on the long history of maligning Catholic bishops, which continues in the wake of the recent clergy sex abuse scandal. “Bishops are human, and will err and sin in all sorts of ways.” Yet Huizenga does not believe that sin, even in the Catholic hierarchy, should lead to an end of faith. “[I]f one can believe in God after Auschwitz, one could also believe in the Church after whatever scandal.”
Mormon Church Buys Ads in ‘Book of Mormon’ Playbill in L.A.
posted on September 7, 2012David Ng reports for the Los Angeles Times that the LDS Church has purchased ad space in the playbill for “The Book of Mormon,” which will feature church promotional material during the musical’s performances in Los Angeles. “The L.A. engagement is the first time the church has bought playbill ad space for the musical, and church officials are considering doing the same for other cities, according to a source,” writes Ng.
The State of the Catholic Vote in 2012: It Ain’t What It Used to Be
posted on September 7, 2012The Center for American Progress’ Jack Jenkins describes the changes to the “Catholic vote” since the 1950s. While John F. Kennedy could count on a large majority of Catholics to support him in 1960, what Jenkins calls the “put-a-Catholic-on-the-ticket game” no longer automatically results in winning over Catholic voters. Jenkins also finds that “[u]nlike their historical progenitors, the Catholics of today … aren’t beholden to one or two issues and aren’t even all that influenced by the views of the established Catholic hierarchy.”
Read at The Center for American Progress
Are Pro-Life Democrats Being Hunted to Extinction by Their Own Party?
posted on September 7, 2012At Patheos, Rebecca Hamilton writes that while many might consider her a “dinosaur … there are a few pro-life Democrats [like herself] rattling around.” Hamilton praises “Democrats for Life of America,” which she calls a “gutsy little band of warriors [that] keeps hanging on in the despised fringes of the larger Democratic party; doing their best to be the voice of life in the party of abortion.”
Mormon Democrats Battling Romney – And What Would Be Church History
posted on September 6, 2012NPR’s Liz Halloran reports that a group Mormon Democrats gathered in Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention. While a poll this year found that 74 percent of Mormons describe themselves as Republican or Republican leaning, Crystal Young-Otterstrom, who helped organize the event, believes that there are one million Mormon Democrats in America, and she hopes that gatherings like this one will increase Mormon Democrats’ visibility. “Be though not ashamed of our party,” says Scott Howell, a Democratic Senate candidate from Utah challenging the GOP incumbent Sen. Orrin Hatch.
Islamic Revival in China: CCP Tolerance or Strategy
posted on September 6, 2012At The Huffington Post, Faaria Volinski discusses the Chinese government’s varying tolerance of Islamic practice in that country’s different regions. Volinski writes that Zhang Hongyun, who lives in Yunnan, “publicly runs prayers and religious classes … studied Arabic in Beijing, traveled to Malaysia, and made his pilgrimage to Mecca.” However, “starkly different government treatment towards Muslims in Xinjiang and those in Yunnan suggest that Chinese government tolerance of Islam is highly strategic,” claims Volinski.
Democrats Update Platform with Jerusalem, God Reference
posted on September 6, 2012After receiving criticism for removing references to “God” and to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital from their platform, Democrats approved a floor vote at their national convention in Charlotte to reinsert this language, which had appeared in platforms in years past. Jessica Yellin reports for CNN that “President Barack Obama himself intervened regarding the Jerusalem language … adding, that he thought the original draft was ‘a strong statement and he didn’t want there to be any confusion about his unshakeable commitment to the security of state israel. The issue of the day is Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.'”
Why Rachel Corrie Went to Gaza
posted on September 6, 2012Tablet’s Lee Smith profiles Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old activist who was killed in 2003 in Gaza while working for the International Solidarity Movement. “One way to understand Corrie’s story,” Smith writes, “is as part of a longstanding tradition of adventurous, generous, and sometimes vain Western travelers to the Middle East. Among these crusading spirits, the most famous example is perhaps T.E. Lawrence, who saw in the band of Arab tribesmen and former Ottoman officers he led against the Turks an opportunity to serve the underdog and tie himself to a larger cause.”
David Koch Breaks from GOP on Gay Marriage, Taxes, Defense Cuts
posted on September 6, 2012At Politico, Kenneth Vogel reports that David Koch, a delegate to the Republican National Convention and billionaire “who is helping steer millions of dollars to elect Mitt Romney and congressional Republicans,” acknowledged that his beliefs do differ from key aspects of the Republican platform. Koch, who was the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian ticket in 1980, recently voiced his support for gay marriage. Koch has also stated that reigning in the national debt might require “some tax increases.”