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Quote of the Day. “We have to make it the case that the people of our world are demanding justice in such a way that it’s impossible for our political leaders to deny it. That’s why we’re all here in Copenhagen. That’s what you’re marching for.” Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, speaking to a march of as many as 100,000 people at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. (Christian Post)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

Thoughts on Obama’s Nobel Theology Prize speech (Tom Heneghan, Reuters) “If there were a Nobel Prize for Theology, large parts of President Barack Obama’s Oslo speech could be cut and pasted into an acceptance speech for it. The Peace Prize speech dealt with war and he made a clear case from the start for the use of force when necessary. While he began with political arguments for this position, his rationale took on an increasingly religious tone as the speech echoed faith leaders and theologians going back to the origins of Christianity.”

President Obama in Oslo (James Carroll, Boston Globe) “President Obama’s Oslo speech could have been titled ‘the ambiguities of history.’ That the president spoke with self-awareness from within those ambiguities made the speech important.”

Church Works with U.S. to Spare Detention “This year, when one of its own leaders, an Indonesian, was detained for months, only the pastor’s passionate, last-ditch efforts saved him from deportation. And the church reached a new level of activism — with extraordinary results.”

Clergy drop in poll rating honesty and ethics of professions “Americans’ views of the honesty and ethics of clergypersons has dropped to a three-decade low, according to the latest Gallup poll.”

Churches say, ‘Be our guest’ (Henry G. Brinton, USA Today) “Today, congregations are trying to provide more than intellectual nourishment by putting restaurants and coffee bars in their buildings. In our polarized and fractured society, people of different backgrounds are invited to come together in these houses of God to have conversation over a meal or a drink – in spite of their differences.”

NEWS AT HOME

Health Care. Senate disputes threaten 2009 passage of health-care bill “The next 48 hours will be critical to the fate of health-care reform in the Senate, as Democratic leaders struggle to settle disputes that stand in the way of holding a final vote this year on the massive package.”  Long-Term Care Is Latest Issue in Health Care Debate “Advocates for older Americans and people with disabilities see the program as a long-overdue effort to address needs that will explode as baby boomers age. It is meant for people with severe disabilities who want to live in the community, though the benefits could also be used to help pay for nursing home care or assisted living.” Prescriptions: With End in Sight, Issues to Watch “As Senate Democrats await new cost projections from the Congressional Budget Office on their latest effort to settle the major internal disagreements over the health care legislation, they are also positioning themselves for a lightning-quick dash to the finish.”

Spending Bill. Democrats clear spending bill in Senate “The Senate cleared for President Obama’s signature on Sunday a $447 billion omnibus spending bill that contains thousands of earmarks and double-digit increases for several Cabinet agencies, the latest target for Republicans seeking to make growing federal deficits a focal point of the 2010 elections.” Senate Passes Spending Bill Amid Debate on Raising Debt Limit “The Senate on Sunday approved a $446.8 billion spending package that will keep much of the federal government running through next September.”

Afghanistan Policy. Obama calls Afghanistan troop decision his toughest yet “Discussing in strikingly personal terms his order to escalate the war in Afghanistan, President Obama said Sunday that sending 30,000 new combat troops was the hardest decision of his presidency so far.” Troop surge ‘toughest decision’ for Obama “Barack Obama has admitted that the decision to send another 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan was the most difficult and emotional of his young presidency.”Legislator Sees Echoes of Vietnam in Afghan War “David R. Obey has served in Congress since Barack Obama was in grade school. He does not waste time with pleasantries, and he does not mince words. So when President Obama called Representative Obey recently to talk about Afghanistan, the congressman raised a topic sure to make the young commander in chief uncomfortable: Vietnam.”

Servitude and Trafficking. Despite U.S. laws, thousands still virtual slaves in America “The United States banned slavery on Dec. 6, 1865. Yet tens of thousands of foreign-born workers are held in involuntary servitude throughout the United States – and the U.S. government has been unable to stop it.” Sex slaves often victimized twice in U.S. trafficking war “With local police often unschooled in how to spot human trafficking, women who’ve been trafficked into prostitution frequently are arrested, then released back into the custody of their traffickers. Or they remain in jail for months, with police not realizing they’re the victims, not the criminals.”

Youth Prisons. New York Finds Extreme Crisis in Youth Prisons “New York’s system of juvenile prisons is broken, with young people battling mental illness or addiction held alongside violent offenders in abysmal facilities where they receive little counseling, can be physically abused and rarely get even a basic education.”

State Furloughs. States’ furloughs clog flow of aid “Millions of Americans are waiting longer for unemployment checks, disability payments and food stamps as states furlough workers who process the benefits.”

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Climate Change. Climate negotiations ’suspended’ “Negotiations at the U.N. climate summit have been suspended after developing nations withdrew their co-operation.” Copenhagen talks stall as African bloc accuses west “One of the two negotiating tracks at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen broke up in drama and confusion today when the Africa group of countries followed by other developing countries accused the chair of the conference of trying to “kill” the Kyoto protocol.”

Pakistan. Drone attacks may be expanded in Pakistan “Senior U.S. officials are pushing to expand CIA drone strikes beyond Pakistan’s tribal region and into a major city in an attempt to pressure the Pakistani government to pursue Taliban leaders based in Quetta.” CIA cancels Blackwater drone missile-loading contract “The CIA has cancelled a contract with US private security firm Blackwater for its operatives to load bombs onto drone aircraft in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan. US ‘militarising’ Afghanistan aid “Aid groups working in Afghanistan have accused the US of trying to ‘militarise’ their work by attaching conditions to aid and grants.” Afghan government not keeping promises to insurgents changing sides “Mohammed’s experience offers a cautionary tale: Four months after he gave himself up, the Afghan government has reneged on all its commitments, leaving him unemployed and his family of 10 with nowhere to live. Hunted by the Taliban and fearful of the U.S. military, he spends much of his time in hiding.”

Iran. Secret document exposes Iran’s nuclear trigger “The notes, from Iran’s most sensitive military nuclear project, describe a four-year plan to test a neutron initiator, the component of a nuclear bomb that triggers an explosion.” Western, U.N. officials assess secret Iranian nuclear paper “Western and U.N. nuclear officials are evaluating a secret Iranian technical document that appears to show the country’s nuclear scientists testing a key component used in the detonation of a nuclear warhead, according to intelligence officials and weapons experts familiar with the document.” Netanyahu must decide whether to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities “The moment is fast approaching when Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, may have to make the most difficult decision of his career — whether to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities and risk triggering a conflagration that could spread across the Middle East.”

Iraq & UK. WMD not point of Iraq war, Tony Blair says “Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he would have found a justification for invading Iraq even without the now-discredited evidence that Saddam Hussein was trying to produce weapons of mass destruction.” Iraq War Inquiry Depicts Britain as Sidekick to U.S. “Witnesses have depicted Britain as little more than a frustrated sidekick to the American juggernaut, with only marginal traction in the planning and execution of the invasion of March 2003, or in the way that Mr. Bush, his top officials and American generals conducted the occupation that followed.”

Congo. Report Cites Vast Civilian Killings in East Congo “More than 1,400 civilians were deliberately killed this year in eastern Congo during two successive military operations, and the United Nations urgently needs ‘a new approach to protect civilians.’” Human Rights Watch urges UN to stop backing Congo army “It says the UN should wait until it can ensure that joint operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo do not violate international humanitarian law.”

Zimbabwe. Mugabe announces new Zimbabwe elections “President Mugabe has warned Zimbabwe that he expects elections soon, raising fears among the Opposition that he will again mount a campaign of terror and violence to stay in power.”

OPINION

There Is No ‘Humane’ Execution (Editorial, New York Times) “The larger problem, however, is that changing a lethal-injection method is simply an attempt, as Justice Harry Blackmun put it, to ‘tinker with the machinery of death.’ No matter how it is done, for the state to put someone to death is inherently barbaric.”

A sharp turn toward another Vietnam (George McGovern, Washington Post) “Today, I am astounded at the Obama administration’s decision to escalate the equally mistaken war in Afghanistan, and as I listen to our talented young president explain why he is adding 30,000 troops — beyond the 21,000 he had added already — I can only think: another Vietnam. I hope I am incorrect, but history tells me otherwise.”

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.