Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
A Crisis of Faith in Science?
posted on June 1, 2012First Things’ writer Rebecca Oas refutes Laura Stepp’s assertion that “conservatives who oppose the use of contraceptives for religious reasons have lost their faith in science and are abdicating the use of their intellect in order to maintain an untenable position.” Stepp, a journalist for CNN, cites a “study which analyzes survey data revealing that, since the mid-1970s, a falling percentage of college-educated conservatives claim to ‘trust science.’” Oas counters Stepp with scientific data of her own, which support many conservatives’ views on contraception. Oas concludes, “It’s troubling that an intelligent journalist like Stepp can so easily dismiss her opponents as foolish and deluded, despite the fact that that every piece of evidence [Stepp] raises can be easily rebutted by facts that any journalist could easily obtain.”
Obama Campaign Slams Romney’s Ties to Donald Trump
posted on May 31, 2012Matt Vasilogambros at National Journal reports: “On Monday, the Obama campaign released a video that slams Romney for not dismissing Trump’s comments on Obama’s citizenship … At one point, the video points out that Trump said Obama was born in Kenya, raised in Indonesia, and is possibly a Muslim.” While the ad praises former presidential competitor John McCain “for standing up to his supporters who thought Obama was dangerous,” Obama’s new ad asks why Romney has been silent on Trump’s attacks on the president.
“American Colony” Peers Inside Religious Commune
posted on May 31, 2012A new 10-part documentary airing on the National Geographic Channel captures the life of Hutterite commune members in a show titled “American Colony: Meet the Hutterites.” Lynn Elber, writing for the Associated Press, describes the show as a “documentary with a restrained reality series flavor.” The documentary “follows the daily life of the rural community that is both part of and carefully separated from typical modern life,” a community that isn’t “stuffy” but is rather vibrant and filled with members who “have a lively sense of humor,” Elber writes.
Moral Principle vs. Military Necessity
posted on May 31, 2012For the week of Memorial Day, The American Scholar re-releases a 2008 essay from David Bosco, which explores, “America’s first code regulating the conduct of its army in warfare.” Bosco delves into the issues around the code, called “Lieber’s Code” after the Prussian immigrant who wrote it during the American Civil War. He writes that at “the heart of Lieber’s view of how war should be fought was the distinction between combatants and civilians and the conviction that civilian life and property should be spared whenever possible,” a view that can be traced back to the just war doctrine developed by St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.
A Small World After All?
posted on May 31, 2012Ethan Zuckerman at The Wilson Quarterly comments on how people’s minds are still insular despite the growing connectivity of the Internet. Using examples from the Islamic Revolution to the Arab Spring, Zuckerman explores this paradox—that even with more information, we may not understand the mysteries of current events any better. “The Islamic Revolution was a surprise because it had taken root in mosques and homes, not palaces or barracks,” Zuckerman writes. “The calls to resist the shah weren’t broadcast on state media but transmitted via handmade leaflets and audiocassettes of speeches by Ayatollah Khomeini.”
Richard Land’s Future with Baptists May Hinge on Report
posted on May 31, 2012Richard Land presides over the Southern Baptists’ Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, but “there’s a possibility that Land could lose his job,” reports Bob Smietana at The Tennessean. A committee for the Southern Baptist Convention is investigating Land for remarks surrounding the Trayvon Martin shooting and allegations he plagiarized those remarks. The committee’s report is set to be released by Friday. Smietana interviews the Rev. Fred Luter, who may become the first African-American Southern Baptist president next month. “He called Land a smart man who made a dumb mistake with his Trayvon Martin comments. ‘I don’t think you should throw out a lifetime of doing good because of one mistake,’ he said.”
@AmbassadorOren on Why He Joined Twitter
posted on May 31, 2012Tablet’s Marc Tracy writes that recently “Jewish Twitter received a conspicuous new member: Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren.” Tracy interviews Ambassador Oren on his newly created account. When asked why he joined, Oren responds, “Twitter is another tool that enables me to communicate with other diplomats and journalists, while also allowing me to add a personal touch.”
Cornel West, Using His Powers for Good
posted on May 31, 2012Edward Blum at Religion Dispatches reviews the new book The Rich And The Rest Of Us: A Poverty Manifesto, co-authored by Cornel West and Tavis Smiley. Coming after West’s “Nationwide Poverty Tour,” in which he visited impoverished areas around the country, Blum writes that “Smiley and West wish to speak for and with the 99% who so often are left without care or help.” Asserting it “is a terrific book for anyone who cares about social justice in the United States,” Blum concludes: “For, as biblical prophets often did and suffered for it, West challenges us to hear words and see sights we would perhaps rather not.”
For Jan Karski, a Long Overdue Medal of Freedom
posted on May 31, 2012Writing at Real Clear Politics, Mark Salter, John McCain’s former chief of staff, retells the story of Jan Karski, “a hero of the Polish resistance in World War II.” On Tuesday Karski posthumously received the Medal of Freedom for his actions during World War II, when he “was ordered to brief the Polish prime minister in London on Nazi atrocities in Poland.” Salter, a former student of Karski’s at Georgetown University, writes of his former professor: “Jan Karski, a haunted man, a righteous man, it was a privilege to have known him even slightly. I’ll never meet another like him.”
Q&A: Sam Harris
posted on May 30, 2012At Tablet, David Samuels interviews Sam Harris, the best-selling author famed for his atheism and attacks on the Christian right, radical Islamists, and the secular left. Samuels writes: “An 18th-century Enlightenment thinker in a 21st-century world riven by 14th-century conflicts, Harris is an expert polemicist—funny, logical, fearless, and sometimes impulsive—who also possesses the rarer qualities of psychological suppleness and a willingness to admit when he’s wrong.”