Groups Urge Obama to Proclaim “Inclusive” Day of Prayer
By Bob Allen | Associated Baptist Press
The Interfaith Alliance and Jews on First called on President Obama to proclaim an "inclusive" national day of prayer May 7 instead of endorsing a National Day of Prayer Task Force headed by Shirley Dobson.
Critics say the Bush administration tacitly endorsed the National Day of Prayer Task Force, which excludes non-Christians.
Signed by Interfaith Alliance president Welton Gaddy and Jews on First co-directors Jane Hunter and Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, the letter dated April 21 said the National Day of Prayer, established by President Truman, several years ago was taken over by "exclusivists" in a group that "systematically excludes Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics and even mainline Christians from National Prayer Day events it conducts around the United States."
For the last eight years, the wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, organized National Day of Prayer ceremonies in the East Room at the White House. That drew criticism from religious liberty groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State claiming the event had been hijacked by the Religious Right and used for a political agenda.
All Violent Crimes are “Hate Crimes”
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement after approval by the House Judiciary Committee of a proposed federal "hate crimes" bill, H.R. 1913.
This measure would allow the federal government, for the first time ever, to prosecute any violent crime anywhere in the country that "is motivated by prejudice" against a number of protected characteristics, including "sexual orientation" and "gender identity."
Congress should protect all Americans equally and not provide special protections to a few politically favored groups. A vote in favor of so-called 'hate crimes' legislation today is a direct violation of the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. Congress needs to remember that preserving the meaning of equal justice under the law is more important than catering to the whims of political fashion.
All violent crimes are hate crimes, and every victim is equally important. All of our citizens deserve equal justice under the law. Do we somehow care less about victims violently assaulted because of robberies or personal disputes than we do about those assaulted because they belong in a federally designated category?
Additionally, this poorly-worded legislation shows contempt for the moral and religious views of millions of Americans by including 'sexual orientation" and 'gender identity' as protected categories at a time when a large plurality of our fellow citizens rejects the implied meaning of those labels. The bill sends a message that disapproval of homosexual behavior alone - even if expressed peacefully and lovingly - constitutes a form of 'hate' that is equivalent to racial bigotry.
This is an insult to many compassionate individuals who sincerely object to such conduct, not only based on religious and moral boundaries that are thousands of years old, but also based on well-founded concerns about the serious health risks of such conduct.
This also sets us on a slippery slope toward serious infringements of the freedom of speech and freedom of religion. By ratifying the 'thought crimes' mentality, this bill paves the way for future expansions of its scope. Indeed, Christians have already been prosecuted under thought crime laws for peacefully expressing disapproval of homosexual behavior in Sweden, England, Canada, and even in Philadelphia.
DHS Right-Wing Extremism Warning
From U.S. News and World Report:
Reports of a warning about "rightwing extremism" issued by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis have been met with denunciations from conservative talk show hosts. Highlighting the reaction of the American Legion, which took issue with suggestions "that some soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could be recruited by right-wing extremists to participate in violent actions," the Washington Times reports David K. Rehbein, the Legion's national commander, said in a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano that he thought it "important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are." The Times went on to note criticism of the report from Republican Reps. Lamar Smith, Peter T. King, Ron Paul, and Dana Rohrabacher. The AP reports DHS "officials said there was no specific information about an attack in the works by right-wing extremists."
The Politico says DHS "is especially concerned with attempts to "radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat." The warning makes numerous comparisons "to the 1990s, a period when the country was rocked by several acts of domestic terrorism including the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City." A number of cable TV pundits picked up on criticism of the report from Rush Limbaugh, who depicted it as coming directly from Secretary Napolitano, with President Barack Obama's approval. CNN's Lou Dobbs asked, "Why are there not names named and specific targets referenced here if there is a legitimate threat to the interests of the United States?" Fox News' Your World led its broadcast with the DHS warning, stating, "While it takes aim at conservatives, it ignores liberal groups like ACORN breaking into foreclosed homes, housing activists storming Bear Stearns, violent anti-capitalist protests at the G20, and Code Pink."
Bible Use in the U.S.
According to the national Study of Christian Attitudes and Behavior conducted by Christianity Today International and Zondervan in 2006, 95% of all U.S. people who label themselves as Christians have a Bible in their home. Active Christians have an average of six Bibles. 25% of Active Christians bought a new Bible in the past 12 months. 57% of respondents say they have read the Bible, and 63% of Professing Christians make this claim compared with 98% of Active Christians. However, only 18% of respondents read their Bibles daily, 19% 2-3 times a week and 39% once a month. Among Active Christians, 35% read their Bible daily, 28% 2-3 times a week and 37% once a week. Christianity Today 4/09
Old Line Journalism Dying One Tweet at a Time
Today demonstrates well why old line print journalism involving large, corporately-owned media conglomerates is a dying breed.
In today's Des Moines Register, publisher Laura Hollingsworth describes the economic woes facing the newspaper:
Like all Iowans, we’ve already had a few months of tough decisions. We’ve dealt with a reduction in employees and a furlough program in hopes to avoid further layoffs in this volatile first quarter. We’re making tough, but necessary decisions. Some decisions have us setting aside what we want to do for what we need to do. Some simply accelerate what we were already planning, like increasing and expanding our digital content to meet the growing demand for it.
Starting on Monday, you will see some changes in the layout of The Des Moines Register. The headline is that we’ll be merging some sections and moving some features.
The bottom line is, of course, well, the bottom line. Newspapers like The Des Moines Register are losing subscribers (and advertisers) by the thousands. After all, who wants to pay for a subscription to a newspaper when you can read the same articles online 24/7?
Meanwhile, news organizations across the net are describing growing importance and power of microblogging services like Twitter.
The most recent illustration is the crash landing of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River. The first tweets started hitting the Net only seconds following the crash. As MSNBC reports:
“There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people.”
Those words, hastily typed on Janis Krums’ iPhone just after US Airways flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, marked yet another milestone in the microblogging revolution. Krums, a Sarasota, Fla., entrepreneur, posted his observations and a compelling photo of a half-submerged aircraft to Twitter, where it was seen by hundreds of people before any other media organization knew about the accident.
Red Ink Replacing Printer's Ink
In an Associated Press article reporting on the bankruptcy of The Minneapolis Star Tribute, writer Jeff Baenen describes what is happening within the newspaper industry:
The Star Tribune ranked as the nation's 15th-largest paper last October, with weekday circulation of about 322,000 and Sunday circulation of almost 521,000. The paper has nearly 1,400 employees.
The Star Tribune filing is the latest sign of the struggles facing the newspaper industry, which is coping with a deadly combination of high debt and declining advertising revenue amid a deep economic downturn.
In December, Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The (Baltimore) Sun, The Hartford Courant and other dailies, as well as 23 television stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, was forced to seek bankruptcy protection because of dwindling advertising revenues.
USA Today publisher Gannett Co. this week imposed one-week, unpaid furloughs for most U.S. employees. The Seattle Times has asked some employees to take a week off, and others have frozen wages. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is up for sale, with closure or an online-only future if no buyer is found.
As newspapers fight for survival, microblogging and the alternative media are growing at astronomical rates. As Elliott reports on MSNBC.com, "Seven out of 10 Twitter users joined just last year, according to the latest HubSpot 'State of the Twittersphere' report. Somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 Twitter accounts are opened every day. Most microbloggers have a small circle of friends — fewer than 30 — with whom they share their day-to-day thoughts."
An to think all of that growth is based on simple thoughts confined to a mere 140 characters. Incredible.
References:
"Register Announces Changes" by Laura Hollingsworth. The Des Moines Register, January 16, 2009.
"Changing Travel, One Tweet at a Time" by Christopher Elliott. MSNBC.com, January 16, 2009.
"Minneapolis' Star Tribune files Chapter 11" by Jeff Baenen. The Associated Press, January 15, 2009.