The Latest: July 2007 Archive

7/31, 12:57p CT: Here at FD, Linda Seger takes on Christians who deny global warming — or don’t care about it.

7/31, 12:25p CT: Faith in Public Life is hosting a fascinating discussion between Christian evangelicals and Christian progressives on the process of reaching out.  

7/31, 12:14p CT: Robert Parham at the Baptist Center for Ethics says American Christians must look in the mirror when dishing out blame for Iraq’s humanitarian crisis.  

7/31, 12:06p CT: The Brody File talks to Burns Strider, head of the Hillary Clinton faith team.

7/30, 4:41p CT: Iraq faces a humanitarian crisis because of the violence that the U.S. invasion has precipitated.  Of course, it’s all for them, right?  Meanwhile, Bush tries to sell arms to Saudi Arabia.

7/30, 2:26p CT: A group of 34 mainstream evangelicals push the creation of a Palestinian state.  Extremist John Hagee contends that these folks aren’t “Bible-believing.”  Isn’t anyone else tired of these political litmus tests for being a true Christian?

7/30, 12:01p CT: The Brody File interviews Barack Obama here and analyzes the answers here.

7/28, 11:27a CT: This idea that Pat Tillman may have been murdered (see here and here) is almost literally sickening.  Turns out the guy was vehemently anti-war and planned to meet with leftist Noam Chomsky upon his return from Iraq.  If that got him killed, we have some serious soul searching to do as a country.  

7/26, 8:04p CT: Democrats debate what kind of farm bill to offer, and whether it will direct subsidies to the many or to the few. 

7/26, 2:54p CT: Former faith-based office head John DiIulio argues that Bush’s threat to veto funding for poor children contradicts his pledge to be a compassionate conservative.

7/26, 10:03a CT: Stephanie Simon at the LA Times notices the Democrats are serious about changing the abortion debate. 

7/25, 3:08p CT: Stan Moody has a post up about the Christian Right being guilty of a little prooftexting.

7/25, 1:13p CT: Here at FD, Dr. Robby Jones hails the House Democrats’ abortion reduction bill as a way beyond treating abortion as a political football. 

7/25, 12:19p CT: I wish I could say I were above schadenfreude… 

7/25, 10:59a CT: The Michigan State House votes to divest from the genocidal regime in Sudan. 

7/25, 10:55a CT:  The Democrats are making a difference: the mimimum wage just went up thanks to them.

7/24, 9:40a CT: Apologies for the paucity of posts yesterday; it will be similar today.  In the meantime, check out Faithfully Liberal’s real-time blogging of the Democratic debate last night.  

7/23, 5:39p CT: Before the Democratic debate in a few minutes, here are some faith-based questions to ponder. 

7/23, 2:35p CT: While evangelicals rail against torture, Bush institutes a loophole-riddled “ban” on the practice. 

7/23, 1:01p CT: The pope calls for an end to war.  Must be a dirty hippie underneath those robes.   

7/22, 10:12a CT:  The House has passed a measure to reduce the number of abortions — something the Republicans have never helped on despite their anti-abortion rhetoric.

7/21, 2:04p CT: At least some countries are trying to do something about the genocide in Sudan.  Take action yourself by going here.

7/20, 9:33a CT: A faith-focused candidate for Congress emerges in a blue-collar district Pennsylvania.  His name is Mike Waltner, and his website is here.

7/20, 8:22a CT: Jesse Lava is quoted in today’s Wall Street Journal, preaching the common good gospel.   

7/19, 3:59p CT: Protect creation; stop Fox News. 

7/19, 10:57a CT: Condi: “I’m a terrible long-term planner.” 

7/19, 10:39a CT: The compassionate conservative rejects funding for children’s health care.  

7/18, 3:31p CT: Rudy Giuliani’s political beliefs are opposed to those of the Catholic church on virtually every single issue. 

7/18, 12:43p CT: Over at the Huffington Post, Rev. Ron Stief of People for the American Way promotes the work of religious progressives with Democratic candidates. 

7/18, 11:50a CT: Religious leaders unite for a farm bill that serves the little guy, not giant agribusiness.  

7/17, 10:41a CT: Jesse Lava chides Barry Lynn for chiding faith talk.  Update: Barry Lynn responds on the comment thread.

7/16, 5:27p CT: Obama puts faith out front.

7/16, 12:59p CT: The GOP’s religious base is breaking away, says the Dallas Morning News.  And David Brody speculates that this trend may lead to a “Democratic tsunami” in 2008. 

7/13, 3:41p CT: Time magazine has a terrific rundown of how Democratic efforts in the faith community have evolved in the past few years.

7/13, 11:25a CT: Oh. My. God.  George W. Bush is hailed as a “model Methodist” for getting Scooter Libby off the hook.  Never mind that Bush was also insulating himself against any possible testimony from Libby.  The actual United Methodist church tends to have a different view of Bush’s policies.

7/12, 3:26p CT: Catholics come together to call for an end to the war in Iraq. 

7/12, 11:00a CT: Jesse Lava gets into the action of exposing Cal Thomas’s mendacious assault on Hillary’s faith. 

7/12, 8:43a CT: Make-believe theologian Cal Thomas claims Hillary Clinton isn’t a legitimate Christian; actual theologian Robin Lovin rips apart Cal’s fantasies. 

7/12, 8:24a CT: The Vitter sexcapade is yet another hypocrisy that’s demoralizing the religious right.

7/11, 8:20a CT: Senator Vitter has more people saying he paid to sleep with them — while arguing that Bill Clinton should be impeached for lacking morals. 

7/10, 5:30p CT: A new blogger paints himself as an intrepid caped crusader, daring to expose the seamy underbelly of the religion-political complex.  Jesse Lava smells a double standard.

7/10, 1:05p CT: A good question: “Why did American evangelicals not pause for a moment in the rush to war to consider the near-unanimous disapproval of the global Christian community?”

7/10, 8:41a CT: A Republican senator from Louisiana is found to have committed adultery with an escort.  We’re all sinners — so can we at least acknowledge at this point that Democrats are, at the very least, no more sinful than Republicans?  Update: Larry Flynt claims credit for outing Senator Vitter.

7/9, 1:25p CT: Obama gets kudos for expressing the Christian foundation for his progressive politics.

7/9, 9:53a CT: Via TPMmuckraker, a 25-year veteran of the Department of Justice has the guts to say this: “I can honestly say that I have never been as ashamed of the department and government that I serve as I am at this time.” 

7/7, 12:49a CT: The New York Times gives substantive coverage to Hillary Clinton’s faith.  The article is worth reading in its entirety.  More later.

7/6, 6:19p CT: Bush decries Scotter Libby’s sentence as excessive but lets this kid rot in jail.

7/6,  6:12p CT: Another wow, though more heartbreaking: US and NATO forces seem to be killing more civilians in Afghanistan than Taliban insurgents are.

7/6, 5:53p CT: Wow.  Almost half of America favors the impeachment of Bush and a solid majority favor the impeachment of Cheney.

7/6, 1:16p CT: Jesse Lava on the most important difference between Democrats and Republicans on health care. 

7/5, 3:07p CT: Democratic Catholics in Congress are calling on the Conference of Catholic Bishops to work to end the Iraq war.

7/4, 10:42a CT: Happy Independence Day!  Jesse Lava talks up St. Paul’s idea of freedom. 

7/3, 2:58p CT: Randall Balmer: “The Religious Right has abandoned the faith for a conference call with Karl Rove in return.

7/2, 1:19p CT: Here at FD, Pastor Ken Walker says Tony Blair got Bushwhacked . 

7/2, 12:24p CT: Tom Krattenmaker reminds us before Independence Day that faith shouldn’t be red, white, and blue.

7/2, 11:14a CT: Pastor Dan again, this time on a Texas court that gave the death sentence to a schizophrenic guy in a purple cowboy suit who called Jesus to the stand.

7/1, 7:21p CT: 48% say their faith influences their politics; maybe that’s why stump speeches are incorporating Bible verses.