God's Politics Blog

‘Jim Wallis Loves His Enemies’ (With a Little Help From His Friends)

Ryan Rodrick Beiler — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:00:00 +0000

When a Fox News pundit who has helped force the resignation of White House advisers is promising he’ll be “hammering hard and all through the night, over and over,” it’s good to have some friends standing beside you. Friend #1: Don…

Jesus-Focused Conversations in Occupied Bethlehem

Lynne Hybels — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:30:05 +0000

I arrived in Bethlehem last Sunday evening to speak at a conference called “Christ at the Checkpoint: Theology in the Service of Peace and Justice.” I’m not a theologian or an expert in anything. In fact, it’s likely that I…

A Flawed Step Forward on Health-Care Reform

Jim Wallis — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:15:12 +0000

We all know how much the media love conflict, and they have fallen in love with the health-care debate. Yesterday’s New York Times story on the final House vote expected this weekend simply said, “Showdown Near.” That says it all about…

We All Share Responsibility for Going to War — and for Stopping It

Logan Laituri — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:19 +0000

A comment on my recent blog about The Hurt Locker really got my blood boiling. Fortunately, after having a good chat with another combat veteran, I realized that my frustration was not really with that particular comment, but the fundamental sentiment…

Jon Stewart: ‘How Oscar Romero Got Disappeared by Right-Wingers…for the Second Time’

Jimmy McCarty — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:56:59 +0000

Jon Stewart has pointed out that one of the revisions of the recent Texas high school curriculum controversy is the omission of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero from a list of great political/moral figures of the twentieth century. It saddens me to think that there…

Immigrants Helping Immigrants

Marilyn Anderson — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:00:05 +0000

I never doubted that I was a descendant of immigrants. Shortly after World War II, students were asked to fill out forms listing their nationality. For several years, I laboriously spelled out “Norwegian” until a teacher tapped me on the…

Video: Fr. James Martin Sets Stephen Colbert (and Glenn Beck) Straight on Social Justice

Ryan Rodrick Beiler — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:42:51 +0000

America’s Health Care: Paying More for Poorer Outcomes

LaVonne Neff — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:30:06 +0000

Soon, they tell us, Congress will or will not pass a health-care bill. Detractors think universal health care will raise health-care costs, lower health-care outcomes, and dangerously increase the power of the federal government. Those are interesting theoretical positions, but…

The latest news on Health Care, College Loans, Immigration, Mideast, U.S.-Russia Arms Talks, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Select Op-Eds.

Duane Shank — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Children’s Health Insurance Eliminated. Arizona on Thursday became the first state to eliminate its Children’s Health Insurance Program when Gov. Jan Brewer signed an austere budget that will leave nearly 47,000 low-income children without coverage.

Financial Reform. If not for the sea of navy business suits and the hotel ballroom's chandeliers, the gathering Wednesday morning might have seemed more like a pep rally than a meeting of the American Bankers Association. But the 900 bankers were preparing to storm Capitol Hill, and they were getting revved up.

Gaza. After Gaza rocket attacks resulted in the first fatality since last year's war, Israeli warplanes carried out retaliatory air strikes on at least six targets overnight. Hamas is struggling to contain unaffiliated militants in Gaza.

Quote of the Day. “With the reality of 78 million baby boomers coming into an aging demographic, we need more housing choices for caregiving. It can be a great opportunity for connectedness across generations, but also an opportunity for conflict if family members don’t keep communications lines open.’’ Elinor Ginzler, AARP’s senior vice president for livable communities, on a new study showing that about 6.6 million U.S. households in 2009 were “multigenerational,” with at least three generations in the household. (Boston Globe/AP)

Prayer of the Day: Immigrant Rally

God's Politics Editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

We lift up the tens of thousands of people who will be coming to DC for the immigration rally this weekend, and we lift up the millions of people they represent and are speaking up for. We pray for justice,…

Verse of the Day: Bethlehem’s Prophecy

God's Politics Editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

- Micah 5:2

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Voice of the Day: Virginia Hamilton

God's Politics Editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

The books from which [children] learn must reflect movement and change and all of the infinite possibilities of minds at liberty.

- Virginia Hamilton
from her essay "Thoughts on Children’s Books, Reading, and Ethnic America"

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Glenn Beck Promises Week-long Focus on Jim Wallis and His ‘Social Justice Nonsense’

Sojourners — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:45:42 +0000

Last night, Glenn Beck put a picture of Jim Wallis on his blackboard:

Pray Immigration Reform Into Passage

Jim Wallis — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:00:07 +0000

On Sunday, a major march for immigration reform will take place in Washington, D.C. Tens of thousands of people will gather to call on the White House to lead, and put forward an immigration reform bill whose time has come. We will…

‘My Prayers Were Heard’

Juan Daniel Espitia — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:30:57 +0000

An immigrant woman’s testimony, as told to Juan Daniel Espitia, a pastor in Solana Beach, California.

I come from a large city in the northwest of Mexico; there were six of us children. When one of my brothers became involved with…

Walking Prophetically: Marching as a Form of Worship

Gabriel Salguero — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:58:07 +0000

This Sunday like tens of thousands of Americans I’ll be in Washington D.C. in the March for America rally on behalf of undocumented immigrants. On Friday, we had a pre-rally in the Bronx with Congressman Luis Gutierrez and several faith-based and…

Wisdom from Cesar Chavez: ‘The Oppressed Almost Always Overestimate the Oppressor’

Christine Sine — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:31:54 +0000

Today’s Lenten prayer comes from Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) — Mexican American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist. He did much to raise awareness of the need for justice for those at the margins. After reading this prayer this morning…

The latest news on Jobs, Immigration Reform, Nuclear Arms Treaty, Haiti, Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mideast, Iraq, Darfur, and Select Op-Eds.

Duane Shank — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Health Care. President Obama claimed his first convert on health-care reform Wednesday, as senior Democrats, labor unions, and an array of interest groups intensified their efforts to sway wavering lawmakers before a climactic vote in the House this weekend.

Cuba. Cuban police have prevented the mothers and wives of detained dissidents from marching on the outskirts of Havana, the capital, forcing them into buses and taking them away, witnesses say.

Burma. There is guarded hope among business people and diplomats that Myanmar, or Burma, as many people still call the country, may be gradually moving away from years of paranoid authoritarianism and Soviet-style economic management that has left the majority of the country’s 55 million people in dire poverty.

Quote of the Day. “That’s a low bar. If you can’t graduate two out of five of your student-athletes, how serious are you about the academic part of your mission?” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, a former college basketball player, proposing that teams with graduation rates of less than 40 percent be banned from the NCAA tournament. A new study shows that this would disqualify 12 teams in this year’s tournament. (USA Today)

Prayer of the Day: The Gospel

God's Politics Editor — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Jesus, we pray for the spread of your Gospel and for the kingdom of God to come on earth. We pray for those who speak, act, and live out your words and your truth; we pray for your Church, that…

Verse of the Day: God’s Protection

God's Politics Editor — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord;

I have no good apart from you."

- Psalm 16:1-2

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