The Latest: April 2007 Archive

4/30, 7:02p CT: Bush is willing to work with Democrats — as long as they give up the only thing they want. 

4/30, 12:01p CT: News flash: Barack Obama and his pastor have a profound connection but also some tensions.  Sounds like…church.

4/29, 6:35p CT: Fools.

4/27, 4:55p CT: Rush Limbaugh is a despicable racist — and this is a lot worse than Imus.

4/27, 4:03p CT: Jesse Lava’s picks for the most authentic moments in last night’s Democratic debate.

4/26, 6:52p CT: A major Democratic debate is on MSNBC right now.  Mike Gravel of Alaska is a fiery one; more on that later. 

4/26, 4:30p CT: Sam Brownback touts his “pro-life, whole life” message.  Rhetoric is nice; actions would be better.  Meanwhile, here’s Obama on Niebuhr.

4/26, 2:07p CT: Jesse Lava spots a new study showing Latinos are fans of faith in politics. 

4/26, 11:20a CT: Christianity Today calls out Dobson and Perkins for assuming that “a conservative approach to social issues represents the sum total of…the evangelical political calling.”

4/25, 2:30p CT: Here at FD, Patrick Whelan gives a Catholic perspective on why the partial-birth abortion ban is about politics, not principle.

4/25, 12:07a CT: Rahm Emanuel gets it exactly right: the Bush administration has turned the JFK exhortation on its head, replacing “Ask not what your country can do for you” with “Ask what your country can do for our party.” 

4/24, 10:01a CT: Dr. Robby Jones is discussing his new book — Liberalism’s Troubled Search for Equality — here at FD.

4/24, 9:49a CT: Is it possible to have fair elections when one political party provides the technology and counts the votes?

4/22, 7:05p CT: Happy Earth Day, folks.  Barack and Hillary are both making the environment a campaign issue. 

4/20, 1:35p CT: Evangelicals and Catholics frame climate change as a pro-life issue.

4/20, 12:30p CT: Here at FD, Shaun Casey takes conservative evangelicals to task for their ludicrous attacks on Howard Dean’s Easter statement.

4/19, 9:59p CT: Stan Moody asks some tough questions about abortion. 

4/18, 11:49p CT: Here at FD, a view on the partial-birth abortion decision.  Short version: it misses the point.

4/18, 3:20p CT: In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has upheld the partial-birth abortion ban.  We’ll have a response soon.

4/18, 12:13p CT: Profiles and photos of the Virginia Tech victims can be found here.  Among the victims were a holocaust survivor, a dad of three kids, and a kind-hearted student who dreamed of working with children.

4/17, 9:02p CT: I haven’t said anything about the Virginia Tech shooting because I just haven’t known what to say.  There seems at once too much and too little to say about such a senseless tragedy.  But be on the lookout for a post soon.

4/17, 6:50p CT: Hillary’s religious?  One columnist is surprised; we’re not.

4/13, 5:25p CT: Here at FD, we’ve got the goods on the “nonpartisan” National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, which was held today in DC.

4/11, 7:01p CT: Which is more scriptural: helping working-class people gain some say over their lives, or letting businesses keep them isolated and dominated?  We ask; you decide.

4/11, 6:50a CT: I saw John Kerry debating Newt Gingrich on C-Span last night.  The topic was climate change and how to fight it.  Newt did something unexpected: he acknowledged the awesome magnitude of the problem and insisted we needed to take huge steps to fight it.  He was even willing to send that message to flat-earth senators like James Inhofe who deny science.  Kudos to the thrice-married adulterer; he got this one right. Update: The Post article on this is here.

4/10, 12:39p CT: Bush really is a tough guy; he doesn’t negotiate with Democrats.  I’m pretty sure obstinance isn’t one of Paul’s “fruits of the Spirit,” but who knows; I haven’t read that passage in at least two months.

4/10, 6:54a CT: “I didn’t realize you needed guns and handcuffs to protect yourself against paper cuts.”

4/9, 6:32a CT: Stan Moody coins a phrase: the Ugly Born-Again American.  It doesn’t apply to most born-agains, of which he is one — just a certain kind who, for example, are consciously trying to provoke Armageddon in Israel.

4/8, 6:14p CT: Pope Benedict sees Iraq for what it is: a slaughterhouse.  I suspect it doesn’t feel like Easter over there.

4/8, 7:16a CT: Happy Easter!  Remember that our challenge as Christians is not just to believe, but to be truly alive.  The resurrection was not a magic trick; it is an ongoing victory over the forces that have tarnished this world with sin and oppression.  “Behold, I make all things new!”

4/7, 2:47p CT: Let people starve?  The U.S. says sure, if it helps big agribusiness.

4/6, 5:53p CT: Apologies for the belatedness, but happy Good Friday, everyone.  On this day, Jesus demonstrated his love for us, showed solidarity with our struggles, and took on the sin and pain that we just can’t bear by ourselves.  We need that grace right now, given where our nation’s at.  We can only trust Paul that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.

4/5, 3:44p CT: Jesus murdered Bill Donohue on South Park last night.  I’m pretty sure that’s offensive, but I laughed nonetheless.  Meanwhile, via Sisyphus Shrugged, Donohue is giving Rudy Giuliani a free pass for the same abortion position for which he excoriated John Kerry in 2004.

4/5, 12:07a CT: “James Dobson just doesn’t get it.” 

4/4, 2:15p CT: Mara Vanderslice and Eric Sapp set the record straight about the 2006 evangelical vote. 

4/3, 3:55p CT: There’s nothing anti-religious about this paper mache sculpture of Barack Obama as Jesus.  Quite the contrary: it’s supposed to be ironic, suggesting that Barack shouldn’t be treated as a savior.  He’s a politician, not our Lord.  Too much knee-jerk defensiveness over art these days.

4/3, 3:41p CT: We prefer to create Jesus in our own image, don’t we? 

4/3, 1:02p CT: Fascinating debate over Christianity and atheism between Pastor Rick Warren and arch-atheist Sam Harris.

4/3, 9:33a CT:  Hell freezes over: the conservative Supreme Court has ruled against the Bush administration, saying the EPA has the power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.  Five-to-four vote, of course.

4/2, 11:10a CT: Bill Donohue works himself into a vile frenzy over a chocolate Jesus.  He’s really a bad, bad guy. 

4/1, 10:46a CT: Another reason why U.S. efforts on global warming add up to approximately zero.