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Quote of the day. "I’m not a purist, but I think we all need to do our part."  Curtis Jones, Las Vegas, explaining why he bought a green-certified home, which made up nearly 17% of all single-family homes built in the U.S. last year. (USA Today)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

Religion ‘denied key role’ in poverty fight  "Politicians around the world are holding back the fight against poverty because they do not understand or trust religion, an American specialist on development said in Melbourne yesterday."

NIH Chief: More Ethical to Use Embryos than Discard "Thirteen embryonic stem cell lines were approved Wednesday for federally-funded research with assurance from the director of the National Institutes for Health that research on them is ethical and does not violate principles on human dignity and sanctity of life."

Follow MLK’s guidance on immigration reform  (Rev. Harvey Clemons Jr. Houston Chronicle) "Though the conversation concerning immigration in America is more ancient than King, King’s vision provides a helpful tool with which to view the immigration struggle today. Immigration is about human dignity and the nobility of parents of different tribes and nations facing the risk of coming to a foreign land, a land of opportunity, to work for a better tomorrow for their children."

NEWS AT HOME

Unemployment drops. U.S. Economy Lost Only 11,000 Jobs in November "In the strongest jobs report since the recession began, the government reported Friday that the nation’s employers had all but stopped shedding jobs in November, taking some of the pressure off of President Obama to come up with a jobs creation program." Unemployment rate falls, job losses improve "Employers shed just 11,000 jobs in November, far fewer than projected, and the unemployment rate fell by two-tenths of a percentage points for the month, two surprising Labor Department reports said Friday."

Jobs summit. Obama Tackles Jobless Woes, but Warns of Limited Funds "After months of focusing on Afghanistan and health care, President Obama turned his attention on Thursday to the high level of joblessness, but offered no promise that he could do much to bring unemployment down quickly even as he comes under pressure from his own party to do more."  President Obama holds jobs summit to refocus on economy "Eager to show he isn’t neglecting the recession, President Obama hosted a jobs summit Thursday, soliciting ideas from scores of business and labor leaders on how to reverse an economic downturn that has sent the unemployment rate to its worst level in a generation."

Economy. Economy hits military families  "Groups that help military families are reporting a drop in cash donations at a time of greater need for those struggling in a down economy while one or more parents fight in Iraq or Afghanistan." ‘Recession widows’ are latest product of rough economy "With their local opportunities exhausted, some job seekers are finding work far from home — so far away, in fact, that they can return to their families only on weekends."

Health care. Senate Backs Preventive Health Care for Women "The Senate voted Thursday to require health insurance companies to provide free mammograms and other preventive services to women, and it turned back a Republican challenge to Medicare savings that constitute the single largest source of financing for the bill." Sen. Reid has recipe for getting health-care deal done "Of the Democratic senators who have set out to transform the nation’s health-care system, one of the least likely is Majority Leader Harry M. Reid, whose legislative priorities typically fall more toward protecting the interests of his native Nevada."

Estate tax. House approves making estate tax rate permanent "The House approved a measure Thursday that would make the current estate tax rate permanent, setting it at 45 percent for individual estates worth more than $3.5 million." House Bill Extends Current Estate Tax  "With a year-end deadline approaching, the House moved to prevent a repeal of the estate tax from taking place next year, voting instead to approve a permanent extension of the current levy."

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Afghanistan. McChrystal pushes Obama war plan "The commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan has told Afghan members of parliament that there will be ’significant improvements in security’ by the middle of next year." Troop withdrawal in Afghanistan could take 2-3 years, Gates says "The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, scheduled to begin in July 2011, will ‘probably’ take two or three years, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday, although he added that "there are no deadlines in terms of when our troops will all be out." Obama homed in on an Afghanistan pullout date "It started out as a projection from the military, intended only for the ears of the president and his top advisors. But in a war council meeting at the White House less than a month ago, Obama proposed making it public."

Afghanistan-NATO. Clinton to Press NATO Allies on Afghanistan Effort  "President Obama sent his top diplomat, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to Europe on Thursday to press sometimes balky NATO allies to contribute thousands of additional troops to his new strategy for turning the tide in the Afghanistan war."  Nato chief unveils extra 7,000 troops for Afghanistan surge  "Around 7,000 troops have been pledged by 25 countries to join the 30,000-strong US surge in Afghanistan, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato Secretary-General, announced today."

Pakistan. C.I.A. Authorized to Expand Use of Drones in Pakistan "The White House has authorized an expansion of the C.I.A.’s drone program in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, officials said this week, to parallel the president’s decision, announced Tuesday, to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan."

Iran. Iran arrests scores of student activists "Iranian authorities have rounded up scores of student activists in a bid to head off what several young people said will be massive demonstrations on university campuses across the country Monday." Iran to give just six months’ notice on nuclear sites  "Iran will inform UN nuclear inspectors where 10 planned installations are only six months before they become operational, Tehran has said."

Darfur. Former U.N. investigator accuses U.S. of failing to enforce Darfur arms embargo "A former top U.N. investigator on Thursday accused the Obama administration of failing to enforce a five-year-old arms embargo in Darfur, Sudan, and said weapons continue to flow into the region."

OPINION

Reform or Else (Paul Krugman, New York Times) "Health care reform hangs in the balance. Its fate rests with a handful of ‘centrist’ senators — senators who claim to be mainly worried about whether the proposed legislation is fiscally responsible."

The Analytic Mode  (David Brooks, New York Times) "I loved covering the Obama campaign. But amid problems like Afghanistan and health care, it simply wouldn’t do to give gauzy speeches about the meaning of the word hope. It is in Obama’s nature to lead a government by symposium. Embrace the complexity. Learn to live with the dispassion."

Testing President No-Drama (David S. Broder, Washington Post) "It is now as certain as anything can be in politics that 2010 will be a painful year for Democrats — a year of high unemployment, staggering deficits and a growing list of casualties from an unresolved war."

A plan in need of clarity (Sen. Jim Webb, Washington Post) "I have great regard for the careful process the Obama administration employed in its efforts to define a new approach for the long-standing military commitment in Afghanistan and to put an operational framework in place for our responsible withdrawal. I intend, nevertheless, to continue to call on the administration to clarify to the American public and Congress how it defines success and how we reach an end point."

Sojourners’ Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.

Sojourners’ Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.