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We Are People, Not Pawns

July 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Would you raise taxes by $4,700 on working families to make a political point? What if the tax raise stopped families all across the state from affording healthcare?The very idea of sacrificing the health of families to make an ideological point should be met with disbelief and nausea, but I’m guessing few of you are surprised to hear the Attorney General of Michigan is actually using this tactic in an effort to undermine Obamacare.Attorney General Bill Schuette led the fight to keep Michigan from building its own healthcare exchange, “deferring instead to the federal gov … [Read More...]

Daily Beast’s Sally Kohn: Why I’m Against Hamas, Against What Israel Is Doing, and For Judaism

July 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment

This piece by Sally Kohn originally appeared on the Daily Beast.  As violence between Israel and Gaza continues, the author raises thoughtful questions worth considering.  For the victims of violence, Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers. Hamas is awful, but how can any faithful Jew look at Israel’s disproportionate violence against innocents and defend it?What kind of Jew would I be if I were not horrified by the incredible death and destruction being wrought on the Palestinian people? Faith and history command us to abhor all violence. The question is not why am I against Isr … [Read More...]

The Preschool to Prison Pipeline Must Stop

July 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Laws are created for society; society is not created for its laws. It’s both a biblical principle and common sense knowledge that laws are only as good as the ends they serve and the means by which they get there. When laws harmfully reshape our communities, it’s time to change them.A recent report from CNN found that public preschools suspended 7,500 children nationwide last year. That’s right, these are suspensions from pre-school.For what, you ask?According to Dr. John Deasy, the S … [Read More...]

What has Shaken American Faith in the Power of Religion?

July 16, 2014 By Leave a Comment

A May 2014 Gallup Poll says that 57% of the Americans polled believe in the ability of religion to answer most or all of the world’s problems. Click here to read the article. Gallup first conducted this poll once in the 1950s, once in the 1970s, and multiple times during the 1980s and each subsequent decade. American belief in religion to solve worldwide problems was at its height the first time the poll was conducted in 1957. In 1957, 82% of the respondents believed in Religion’s ability to ans … [Read More...]

Fair vs Equal: Punishing and Protecting in a Values-Consistent Manner

July 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Earlier this month the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, called upon all states to “take concrete steps towards abolishing or no longer practicing this form of punishment.” By "this form of punishment," Ban Ki-moon was referring to the death penalty. He went on to call the practice “cruel and inhumane” and I could not help but nod my head in agreement.I have asked myself many times: should laws be based in equality or fairness? After all, equality and fairness are consider … [Read More...]

After Hobby Lobby: Takeaways and Implications

July 7, 2014 By Leave a Comment

On Monday, June 30, the Supreme Court ruled on the Hobby Lobby case. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that “closely held” (e.g., the majority of outstanding stock of a company is owned by five or fewer people) for-profit companies do not need to follow federal law requiring that insurance plans include contraception for female employees. The ruling was based on the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed to protect an individual’s free exercise of religion, and marks the first time in our … [Read More...]

What Can We Learn from the Pending Hobby Lobby Case?

June 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Just a little while ago, I read a blog post by Dr. Jackie Roese regarding the upcoming Supreme Court decision about the Hobby Lobby case. She makes the argument that we, especially women, are “eating cheeseburgers” when it comes to the issue of contraception for women – that it seems so straightforward and obvious that women should have easy access to contraceptives, we just go about our regular lives, munching on our cheeseburgers and not worrying about this case or its implications. But depen … [Read More...]

Catholics Continue to Divest From Fossil Fuels

June 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Catholics care about creation. The command to be actively involved in and concerned for our environment has a divine origination. To care for creation is to care for the God we can encounter through nature. With these statements in mind, I feel the need to draw attention to the inspiring and encouraging behaviors some Catholics have engaged in to take action upon these fundamental Catholic beliefs.This week the University of Dayton, “a leading Catholic University and the largest private uni … [Read More...]

Make Abortions an Anomaly: Support Contraception Coverage

June 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Let’s get one thing clear: no one dreams of having an abortion. Here, America stands united. We all want to lower the U.S. abortion rate. We all want fewer unplanned pregnancies. We all want “life.” We all want to see an America filled with happy, healthy families and babies.But, as a recent article by Julia K. Stronks and Jeffrey F. Peipert, “an evangelical Christian, political science professor and a Jewish, family-planning physician,” states clearly, if the upcoming Hobby Lobby Supreme Cou … [Read More...]

Can the Little Children Come Unto Us? A Commentary on Gun Violence in United States Schools

June 16, 2014 By Leave a Comment

In the wake of increased gun violence in our country that is disproportionately affecting our children and youth, we as citizens of this nation and as people of faith have a responsibility to respond by demanding legislation that better regulates guns and other weapons. We have to create the safest possible situation for our children. This is a call not only for those of us who are biological or adoptive mothers and fathers. This is a call to every person who is seeking to be a good citizen and … [Read More...]


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