I've been traveling lately, and in various hotels and friend's guest rooms, have seen more TV than usual. This sojourn away from my usual ignorance of broadcast television has provided the following dubious delights:

• Fox's "Moment of Truth" game show, which really does turn real life into a game, and has apparently bribed at least one marriage into oblivion through paying for public confessions of adultery. (I expect the show's producers might try to tell us that the show teaches something else about personal responsibility, or that's all in good fun, or that the contestants are there by their own informed volition; or we may even discover that the show has been lying to us and faking it. But here's the real moment of truth: when the host says, "some of these questions are way over my line," and yet still asks them, has he himself not become the definition of insanity?)

• CNN rampantly advertising Larry King's exclusive interview with Jesse Ventura as if his non-campaign for the presidency was almost as important as Jessica Simpson's non-engagement and non-pregnancy.

• Various entertainment clip shows dedicated to matters such as Robin Williams' divorce, and the Tom Cruise birthday party video.

• And in the past week, major news networks hysterically talking as if the sad events surrounding a Texas polygamous sect are just waiting to happen to your children; and the ridiculous and over-the-top response to Senator Obama's attempt at explaining an utterly uncontroversial reality: that being economically disenfranchised can make you feel entrenched. This is amusingly accompanied by the absurd suggestion that there has ever been a U.S. President who did not somehow arrive in the White House linked to the economic 'elite'.

Most of us would like to believe that we have come a long way since the Roman circus – where human beings killed people for our entertainment - or even the Victorian circus - where we only abused the disabled and disadvantaged. Today's circus may look like it only mocks the powerful – with the fabulously wealthy being humiliated as they emerge drunk and bloodied from a nightclub, or photographed while getting an embarrassing haircut. But I think we're kidding ourselves if we think people are not harmed by the pornography of social humiliation offered up 24/7. Amy Winehouse's visible bruises and alleged substance abuse problem, and Britney Spears' obvious mental illness are not legitimate fodder for our entertainment, no matter how economically powerful these two women may be.

In Billy Wilder's amazing old film about the potential corruption of making the flow of information subject to commercial dictates, Ace in the Hole, the venal journalist played by Kirk Douglas says, "Bad news sells because good news is no news." But this is only believed to be true because the public appears to like it that way. Inasmuch as all violent political conflict has something to do with economics or economic power, so does all commercial broadcasting. The economics reside in the willingness of an audience – us – to consistently consume crap for every meal.

Tim Robbins' at times remarkable speech to the National Association of Broadcasters earlier this week invited the broadcast media to take their responsibility seriously – to recognize that they have immense power which could be used to inspire compassion and mutual respect. This stands in obvious contrast to the current addiction to seeing rare acts of violence as something just waiting to pounce on every one of us, or sex only as something tawdry and available for the laughter or prurience of others, or the transformation of absolutely vital conversation about the future of the nation and the world into something that is itself socially violent – and intellectually dishonest. The fact that Robbins uses brash humor to make his point, and that his other well-known political views are considered divisive by some, is irrelevant to whether or not his speech resonates: what he says is vital to anyone who cares about truth-telling in public life.

Science fiction author Philip K. Dick once predicted that the future would consist of each human being selling the same hamburger back and forth to each other. E-bay may have proven him more correct than even he would have feared, but the nutritional quality of what is served up by much of our entertainment and news media is not unworthy of the comparison to fast food. I could go on a rant here, and engage in the kind of generalised denunciations that would only make me look like a cynic, or boring, or both.

Instead, I'll say this: I love art and creative media. Television, the movies, the written and spoken journalistic word are capable of producing great beauty. And the best response to corruption is so often to make something beautiful in its place. However, when people's adulterous affairs are being played out, not only for our entertainment, but in a context where the moral failure is being rewarded with a cash prize, I have to wonder if we should not be organizing a campaign to switch off until the networks treat us – and themselves – with some respect.

Gareth Higgins is a Christian writer and activist in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For the past decade he was the founder/director of the zero28 project, an initiative addressing questions of peace, justice, and culture. He is the author of the insightful How Movies Helped Save My Soul and blogs at www.godisnotelsewhere.blogspot.com. He is also one of the judges of this year's Beliefnet Film Awards, which seek to recognise the best films with spiritual themes. Find out more at http://www.beliefnet.com/bfa/

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Bob Abernethy that will appear in a forthcoming issue of The Wittenburg Door.

GARRISON: When you reflect over your years of doing Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, how would you assess the role of religion in America?

ABERENETHY: I think one of other things that is going to be more and more interesting and important is figuring out how the three major Abrahamic religions can live together peacefully and respectfully. Efforts to figure out how Christianity and Islam can coexist in respectful ways will be a good long running story. I hope to do some things on that. Also, I would hope that after a generation of declining numbers and aging membership that the Protestant mainline would pick itself up and develop a little confidence in its tradition. I'd like to see them get on with the business of being a church and helping everybody around it.

GARRISON: Why did you come out with the book  The Life of Meaning?

ABERNETHY: What Bill Boyle and I have done is take the transcripts of those interviews that were done originally for Religion and Ethics & Newsweekly, but were used only in the smallest part in the program or on our website. We edited 60-some interviews into little essays. They run the gamut from the spiritual but not religious over to the most traditional and conservative faith traditions. As with the program, there's no preaching just these wonderful ideas that are there for the taking

GARRISON: How does your own faith influence the overall ethos of the program and the book?

ABERNETHY: First of all, it supported my interest in the subject. Also, it helped make all of us who do these interviews more sensitive to the spiritual experience of others and respectful of that experience. Maybe people sensed that and therefore, they felt free to speak really beautifully about the things that mattered to them.

GARRISON: How can one practice their faith while remaining an objective journalist when covering controversial religious stories?

ABERNETHY: I've been around a while and I grew up in the business thinking there should be a clear separation between news reporting and editorializing. When you're editorializing, you should label it as such. I think that's sometimes not honored as strictly as it should be. My advice would be if you're going to editorialize, don't be shy about identifying it as such.

GARRISON: Any thoughts about the rise of a progressive left that seems poised to do battle with the Religious Right?

ABERNETHY: All religion whether it's left, right or center has to be very, very wary of getting too close to power. People have been burned by that for centuries. It's a big, big danger. I think some people on the Religious Right have discovered this in their own case. And I would hope if any other religious group is trying to have political influence that they would be very careful about that. The spate of books about atheism has probably been encouraged by their authors' feeling that the religious right was too powerful and having too much of an influence in politics.

GARRISON: As we approach the 2008 election, we see both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates playing the faith card.

ABERNETHY: I think it's fair to ask candidates for president of the United States questions about their deepest beliefs. Seems to me that in understanding what a candidate is like, it's important to understand where they're coming from, what they think are bedrock truths, what they care the most about. And if they're religious folks, that's something the voters should know about. If they have deep religious convictions, presumably those convictions have an influence on how they live their lives and the decisions they make.

Publishers Weekly cited Becky Garrison as one of "four evangelicals with fresh views" alongside Jim Wallis, Shane Claiborne and Ron Sider.

SojoFriend Amy Sullivan is popping up everywhere in the news with her new book The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats are Closing the God Gap. (It's excellent! See an excerpt in the March issue of Sojourners magazine) We remember back in 2001 when Amy wrote her first review in Sojourners on Stephen Carter's book God's Name in Vain.

Amy has worked tremendously hard these last several years. She was an editor at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (with Washington Post columnist and SojoFriend E.J. Dionne Jr. See the recent Sojourners excerpt from E.J.'s new book Souled Out.) and at the Washington Monthly. She ran a great blog for awhile on "(Almost) Daily Thoughts on Political Happenings" and somewhere in there she slid in a Ph.D. at Princeton in Religion and Politics.

For the woman who dreamed of being a pundit, we think she's achieved star status with her most recent job as Nation editor at Time magazine. For more on SojoFriend Amy Sullivan, see Salon's recent interview with her. Go Amy!

Rose Marie Berger is an assistant editor for Sojourners.

It's not often that something I write attracts an immediate response from one of the most famous media entities in the world, but surprisingly enough, just after my recent post calling for our popular culture to propose concrete and distinctive opportunities for progressive activism, Rolling Stone magazine published a 40th anniversary issue that includes interviews suggesting just that. It's amazing how influential the God's Politics blog is becoming, almost as amazing as how quickly RS was able to produce this issue in what was surely a response to my own article. Next month they'll be dedicating their issue to the most humble bloggers they can find.

Just kidding, of course, but until then here are some of the suggestions that the featured stars are making as predictions for "where we're going":

Meryl Streep: "It's in the power of the great universities and colleges to plant ideas and curiosity and not just be mills for turning out hedge fund managers."

Bill Maher: "Nothing will change until the 71 million people who didn't vote in 2004 start to vote."

Chris Rock: "Hopefully the new president will get the troops back. I've got a first cousin who just came home from Iraq .... There's nothing sadder than having [the] party before somebody goes off to war. That's basically what it is: 'Please don't die .... Come back.'"

George Clooney: "'My country right or wrong' is not an option anymore .... [I] don't want to be on the wrong side of history.... I'm always afraid of [saying] 'I was stoning the witches, because it was easier.'"

Bruce Springsteen: "Our moral authority to stand up and say 'We are the Americans' has been deeply damaged."

Jon Stewart: "The reason I don't worry about society is, 19 people knocked down two buildings and killed thousands. Hundreds of people ran into those buildings to save them. I'll take those odds every day."

Granted, these interviews are printed on pages squeezed between the latest "beautiful people are better than you – buy more/spend more and you will feel superior about the world – what you really need is a HUMMER" ads, but at least RS is trying.

It's good that there are figures in our popular culture who are beginning to understand that change will require something other than armchair liberalism. That the common good requires each of us to go the extra mile. Rolling Stone editor Jann S. Wenner writes in an editorial,

We cry out for good leadership. For the past seven years we have been fed a diet of fear and falsehood. We have been led into a war with neither purpose nor success .... Our president has stood numb [in the face of] evidence of catastrophic climate change .... We have watched Congress and the press become weak ... handmaidens to those who would rip apart the fabric and laws of our democratic society .... We don't need leaders who wear flag pins in their lapels, but rather men and women who have the guts to tell us the truth .... We hunger for the restoration of hope and common sense and purpose.

Could a first step toward restoring that hope be inspired by Bono's comment in the magazine: "Isn't it cheaper and smarter to make friends out of potential enemies than to defend yourself against them later?"

Gareth Higgins is a Christian writer and activist in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For the past decade he was the founder/director of the zero28 project, an initiative addressing questions of peace, justice, and culture. He is the author of the insightful How Movies Helped Save My Soul and blogs at www.godisnotelsewhere.blogspot.com

Here's an intriguing SAT-style question.

Ann Coulter is to Christianity as …

(A) Dr. James Dobson is to Sponge Bob Square Pants
(B) The new thought movement is to common sense
(C) Marilyn Manson is to Satanism
(D) Dick Cheney is to gun control
(E) Richard Dawkins is to reasoned debate

The correct answer is C. Both Ann and Marilyn found a profitable way to utilize religion as a provocative tool to feed their cash cow. Ann appeals to the base instincts of her rabid followers that right makes (Christian) might. Conversely, Marilyn attracts the kids of control freak parents who want to rebel from what can best be described as a rigid and repressive regime. I'll let the Satanists deal with Marilyn Manson, but please, do not interpret Coulter's trademark viciousness and venom as viable Christian virtues.

I thought when I reported on Coulter's "faggot" comment that this political pundit committed career suicide. But I was wrong. But given that even Fox News condemned the latest Coulter snafu blasting the Jews, one can hope that she will be off the airways for good.

This is not to say there isn't a place for insult humor. While covering The New York Film Festival, I had the opportunity to catch John Landis' new documentary Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. Landis took me on a journey that enabled me to sample the depth of this fearless comic and actor. In particular, I was impressed by the plethora of comedians including George Wallace, Chris Rock, and Sarah Silverman who praised him for his "take no prisoners" attack dog approach. Throughout the movie, I was reminded that to be insulted by Rickles was indeed the highest compliment. Also, Landis showed us Rickles' softer side by illuminating the kindness he shows towards his family, friends, staff, waiters, and even strangers that he encountered offstage.

Watch this documentary and you'll see how people double up with laughter whenever Rickles reams them. In fact, they jockey for position just so they can be part of the act. Coulter proclaims in her latest book, If Democrats Had Brains, They'd be Republicans, " I am the illegal alien of commentary. I will do the jokes that no one else will do." She might think she's funny, but her targets aren't amused one bit.

For Rickles, hurling insults is an act. In Coulter's case, spewing venom appears to be a lifestyle choice.

Becky Garrison's further critiques of Ann Coulter can be found in her Amazon short, Contemplating Coulter Christianity, as well as her forthcoming book, The New Atheist Crusaders and Their Unholy Grail: Their Misguided Quest to Destroy Your Faith (Thomas Nelson, January 2008).

About a decade ago, I wrote a newspaper column offering a theological critique of Promise Keepers, the then-massive Christian men's movement. Within a few days, negative mail (remember letters?) swamped my office. One missive proved especially memorable: "Dear Diana, Promise Keepers is all about love, you b----!"

When I became a writer, perhaps nothing surprised me as much as such attacks. Public figures—reporters, writers, politicians, pastors, and yes, military generals—are on the receiving end of negative criticism on an almost daily basis. Although it isn't fun, it is part of the job. Some of my friends say I have tough skin. Not really. I've learned that Jesus has something important to say about the rough-and-tumble of public exchange: Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.

Nobody ever suggested that the city council pass a resolution condemning the letter-writers—including the less-than-flattering letters that appeared in the local newspaper. No, I was left with my own spiritual resources to forgive those who attacked me.

I imagine that General Petraeus is a nice Christian gentleman, as are most of the military officers I know. And I also suspect that he has survived public and private criticism worse than the recent MoveOn.org ad. He did not need a Senate resolution to defend his honor or his achievements, as such things speak for themselves. And, if he is anything like other Christians who are leaders, he has long since learned the wisdom of Jesus' dictum to turn the other cheek. Maybe he even prays for his enemies. I bet he can spiritually and morally stand up for himself.

This week's Senate resolution was raw politics, as raw as the MoveOn ad itself, as they deftly moved the issue away from the war to a political ad sponsored by private citizens. Coming from the Senate, a body that depicts itself as above the fray, it proved particularly tasteless—and more than a little shocking—that the senators took time away from important issues to criticize the free speech rights of a political organization, no matter how unseemly the fashion by which those rights were exercised.

During the same week that the Senate passed a resolution to condemn an ad attacking a man who is clearly capable of defending himself, they failed to pass three separate resolutions with plans to end the war in Iraq. The Senate needs to stop playing politics and get the job done for which we elected them: to work on issues of health care, poverty, environmentalism, and to end the war. Senators, let us turn our own cheeks. As for you, it is time for you to move on with America's business.

Diana Butler Bass (www.dianabutlerbass.com) is a regular God’s Politics blogger and the author of Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith (HarperOne, 2006).

In the wake of today’s news that Rupert Murdoch appears to have won his battle to buy The Wall Street Journal, a former Journal columnist expresses his concern that the paper will lose journalistic integrity:

Standards are the lifeblood of WSJ and its related properties. … I remember being told in a meeting that not only were advertising representatives who sold for WSJ.com on a different floor; we weren't even allowed to know their names. That way, ad reps and their clients could never influence a story.

It is hard to imagine that News Corp. — a juggernaut with more than $25 billion in revenue in 2006 — will keep such ideas in place, considered almost relics in a struggling business. Since Murdoch’s bid was announced, The Wall Street Journal has excelled at covering the story about itself. If bad news erupts about News Corp., will Murdoch dare let reporters investigate the problem and potentially scare off advertisers?

This is the second installment in the Rupert Murdoch Cultural Parable Series. Its predecessor was, of course, the Parable of the Fox (Network) and the Hounds, a.k.a. Social Conservatives’ Worst Enemy: Political Conservatives.

Elizabeth Palmberg is an assistant editor for Sojourners.

Reading about the Republican Party's crumbling support for the Iraq war (a few years late and many billion dollars short), two quotes jumped out at me:

"I fully understand that when you watch the violence on TV every night, people are saying, 'Is it worth it, can we accomplish an objective?'" Bush told a Cleveland business group. ...

"I've seen this movie before from the liberal left in America, who share no responsibility for what happened in Cambodia when we said no," said McCain, whose campaign has lost support partly because of his advocacy of the war.

It reminded me of yesterday's post by Gareth Higgins, and the connection between violence of TV and movies and the real violence of terrorist acts and war. It was the juxtaposition of the quotes that caught my attention, for certainly a veteran like McCain understands how far from a movie is the violence of war. But why do Bush's comments on the war so often reference the "violence on TV"—as opposed to violence in Iraq? You can do your own Google search—but here are a few examples:

From the same Cleveland speech: ""They know we're kindhearted, decent people who value human life, and they understand that Americans will recoil from the violence on our TV screens."

Feb. 14, 2007: "And I can understand why people are concerned when they turn on the TV screens and see this violence. It's disturbing to people, and it's disturbing to the Iraqi people."

April 19, 2007: "Americans, rightly so, are concerned about whether or not we can succeed in Iraq. Nobody wants to be there if we can't succeed, especially me. And these—violence on our TV screens affects our frame of mind...."

June 14, 2006: "I understand how tough it is for the American people to reconcile death on their TV screens when the president's saying we're making incremental progress toward an important goal."

One possible criticism could be that Bush is trying to create some subtle distance between his policy and the reality of Iraq's violence by so often referring to it in relation to TV coverage. Is the conservative response that Bush is correctly identifying part of the problem as the media's negative coverage of Iraq's carnage? Neither of these satisfy my curiosity regarding the consistency of this mantra, so seriously, can somebody explain Bush's fixation with our TV screens?

Ryan Rodrick Beiler is the web editor for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.

Great helicopters and explosions abound, the witticisms are barbed, and the cinematography is silver-grey in Die Hard 4.0 (or Live Free or Die Hard, depending on which empire you see it in). I was tired to start with, but the film couldn't wake me up. I vacillated between being bored and horrified, as Bruce Willis yet again stands in for the lone American male whose first resort is always violence (in the first film he was the archetype of a Vietnam War vet, assailed by terrorists on the one hand, and a frustrating civil service bureaucracy on the other; this time he clearly represents the guy who'd go to Iraq just because it's the right thing to do, even though he knows the government sending him is corrupt).

Bruce may well be caught in the middle between two kinds of bad guys—government flunkeys and monstrous villains—but this film makes it very clear where its allegiances lie: with the worship of commerce. The villain's consistent objective seems to be to destroying the U.S. financial system, partly to take some cash for himself, partly just to show the government where it is vulnerable. He's a public-service kind of terrorist, you see. One of the scenes that's clearly supposed to make us feel horrified takes place on the New York stock exchange floor, when the bad guy uses a computer virus to creating a selling frenzy. I have to say that I found it difficult to muster much sympathy for rich boys freaking out at the prospect of not being so rich any more, but given that the film was paid for by Mr. Murdoch, I imagine I'm not the movie's target demographic.

This scene, however, was not the most striking example of cynicism in Die Hard 4.0—that would be the moment where the extremely attractive Asian woman, played by Maggie Q, gets kicked and beaten by our surrogate Bruce, and eventually crushed and blown up by an SUV while Willis chuckles at having destroyed a hot chick. We're supposed to laugh along with him.

But that's not all—for the price of our ticket we get hatred of people who ask legitimate questions about government power, we get an air force pilot who does the wrong thing for the right reasons and therefore gets to escape with his body intact, we get a decent FBI chief who could pass for being Middle Eastern—you can almost hear the film-makers screaming, "Look at us! We're inclusive!" We even get a propaganda speech by the tech-geek nerd/ wacky sidekick guy confessing his realization that his previous ideas about challenging authoritarianism and supporting a more equitable distribution of wealth are the kind of beliefs that lead to America being blown up by thin cheek-boned terrorists with expensive hardware. He's an Apple geek, of course—and the computers used by the bad guys are right out of Steve Jobs' daydreams. Willis' character may be "a Timex watch in a digital world," but this film is pure Microsoft—battering down the competition with a utilitarian ethic that owes more to John Wayne's arrogant self-belief than anything resembling the beauty of being in favor of life.

Now I know I sound like a killjoy—which is, I suppose, what Bruce Willis does to a lot of people in this movie—but the question still remains:

Why is it that when we fear this kind of thing in the real world, we still want to be entertained by it?

Gareth Higgins is a Christian writer and activist in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For the past decade he was the founder/director of the zero28 project, an initiative addressing questions of peace, justice, and culture. He is the author of the insightful How Movies Helped Save My Soul and blogs at www.godisnotelsewhere.blogspot.com

One of God’s true servants on earth, Billy Graham, was honored yesterday with the opening of a library and museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The facility will hold memorabilia of Graham’s long preaching career, including photos and video footage of his evangelistic campaigns.

The three living former presidents attended the opening, all offering their praise for Graham:

... former President George Bush delivered the keynote address, his voice cracking into a sob as he said Mr. Graham was “the man, the preacher, the humble farmer’s son who changed the world.”

And while Graham is known more as a revival preacher than a social activist, he was one of the early pioneers in holding integrated meetings in the segregated South:

"He was constantly broadminded, forgiving, humble in his treatment of others,” Mr. Carter said. “He has reached out equally to all people, black or white, man or woman. I am one of the tens of millions of people whose spiritual lives have been shaped by Billy Graham.”

Billy, after all the laudatory speeches, had his usual humble response:

“I feel like I’ve been attending my own funeral, listening to all these speeches,” he said to the crowd’s nervous laughter. “I’ve been here at the library once, and my one comment when I toured it was that it is too much Billy Graham. My whole life has been to please the Lord and honor Jesus, not to see me and think of me.”

Billy Graham’s sincerity, integrity, and humility are very important reminders for the rest of us. I’d glad he is being honored in this way, and on my next trip to North Carolina I’ll be sure to visit the library.

The latest news on the Billy Graham Library, climate change, Iraq, faith and politics. hunger, Blair in Africa, Darfur, immigration, Iran, Turkey, minority students, US military, Europe and select Op-Eds.


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Full news summary:

Billy Graham Library. Graham's spiritual journey finds home "Three former presidents, more than 80 family members and about 1,500 invited guests turned out Thursday to help Billy Graham dedicate the library devoted to his life and ministry." Accolades, Some Tearful, for a Preacher in His Twilight Years "For a man who has welcomed crowds his whole life, the evangelist Billy Graham appeared humbled and a bit embarrassed to be before this one Thursday in a parking lot near the Charlotte airport." Ex-Presidents at Graham library opening "Visitors to the new, presidential-style museum honoring evangelist Billy Graham enter and exit the building through crosses as tall as 40 feet high, a design meant to emphasize that the $27-million complex is an extension of the minister's work."

Faith & Politics. Faith Playing Larger Role in 2008 Race "Lately it seems all the leading presidential candidates are discussing their religious and moral beliefs - even when they'd rather not. Indeed, seven years after George W. Bush won the presidency in part with a direct appeal to conservative religious voters … the personal faith of candidates has become a very public part of the presidential campaign."

Hunger. Nation's unseen scourge: Hunger "As Congress prepares to wrangle with reauthorizing the Farm Bill, which funds the food-stamp program, anti-hunger advocates are on high alert. Eager to generate public discussion during national Hunger Awareness Week, June 2-10, they worry about the more than 25 million Americans who use food stamps."

Blair in Africa. Blair says G8 must do more for Africa "Tony Blair urged the international community to "step up to the plate" on aid for Africa when the Group of Eight meets in Germany next week." Blair's parting drive to aid Africa "Blair says the trip will build momentum ahead of next week's G-8 summit in Germany, where he will push for leaders to follow through on promises made in 2005." Mandela welcomes Blair to his 'retirement club' "Nelson Mandela welcomed Tony Blair into the ex-presidents' and prime ministers' club as he completed his "farewell" tour of Africa. … "Tony, I look forward to welcoming a young man like you to the club of retiring presidents and prime ministers," Mr Mandela said. "I warn you, however, that some of us only become active after stepping down from office."

Darfur. Saving Darfur, Multiple Steps at a Time "Lobbying groups regularly get their way in Washington, but few have had as much impact in a short period as the Save Darfur Coalition, an organization that has been pressing for international intervention in war-torn Sudan." On Darfur, Bush calls a spade a spade "President Bush reiterated this Tuesday that "genocide" is the "rightful name" for the bombing, murder, and rape in western Sudan."

(Daniel Schorr, Christian Science Monitor)

Climate change. Bush Proposes Goal to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions"President Bush, fending off international accusations that he was ignoring climate change, proposed for the first time to set "a long-term global goal" for cutting greenhouse gas emissions," Bush offers to take climate lead "On the eve of a major international summit, President Bush proposed that the United States and the other nations that produce most of the gases responsible for global warming initiate a campaign to limit emissions and set long-term goals for reductions." Bush urges plan to cut emissions "President Bush, who has long refused to commit the United States to specific limits on pollutants contributing to global warming, took a new turn in proposing that the U.S. and other leading nations by the end of next year set "a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases."

Bush climate plan called all talk, no action Environmental groups dismissed the move as a ploy to avoid tougher actions that other nations favor. US climate plan 'a delaying tactic' Environmental groups today condemned George Bush's proposed global plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, labelling it a stalling tactic lacking concrete details. Baird says he'll push green targets at G8 OTTAWA - The Harper government plans to pressure the Bush administration to accept targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at next week's G8 summit, even though neither side expects that a new global pact to fight climate change will be in before the end of 2008.

Immigration. Unions split over immigration bill "The labor divide reflects a deeper rift within the party, which includes a growing constituency of immigrants as well as middle-class workers afraid of layoffs as U.S. jobs move overseas." Senate bill's critics fear longer detentions for migrants "The bipartisan Senate immigration bill would drastically expand the ability to deport and detain certain immigrants in little-noticed provisions that could increase racial profiling, Los Angeles immigrant rights advocates said"

Iran. No Breakthrough as Iranian Nuclear Talks Recess"Talks between Iran's nuclear negotiator and a top envoy for the European Union ended late Thursday with few signs they were closer to breaking their deadlock over Iran's nuclear ambitions." Iran and the U.S.: New Cold War?"Even as they struggle to find common ground on Iraq, are America and Iran locked in the escalating tensions of a new Cold War?"

Turkey. Turkey deploys extra troops to Iraq border "A Turkish military build-up on the northern Iraq border is fuelling fears of a confrontation between Ankara and Kurdistan's semi-independent government that could further destabilise the region as US forces begin to pull back."

Minority students. U.S. Data Show Rapid Minority Growth in School Rolls "Driven mainly by an extraordinary influx of Hispanics, the nation's population of minority students has surged to 42 percent of public school enrollment, up from 22 percent three decades ago,"

Iraq. General doubtful on assessment deadline "The top U.S. ground commander in Iraq warned that September may be too soon to tell whether the American troop buildup in Baghdad has worked, casting doubt on a crucial milestone set by Congress to reassess Iraq war strategy." 'Small progress' seen in Iraq despite rise in GI deaths "With the past month marking one of the deadliest periods for U.S. troops since the start of the war, the second-ranking U.S. military commander in Iraq said Thursday that some progress has been made in the early going of the troop buildup." US commanders seek cease-fires with insurgents "The US military is working more aggressively to forge cease-fires with Iraqi militants and quell the violence around Baghdad, judging that 80 percent of enemy combatants are "reconcilable," a top US commander said."

US military. Antiwar to the Corps "Going on a mock patrol can get you in real trouble with the United States Marine Corps. In a case that raises questions about free speech, the Marines have launched investigations of three inactive reservists for wearing their uniforms during antiwar protests and allegedly making statements characterized as "disrespectful" or "disloyal." Fewer high-quality Army recruits"The percentage of high-quality recruits entering the Army is the lowest in 10 years, an indication that the force is struggling to attract top-grade enlistees -- and a troubling sign for the Pentagon, which is waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and plans to add 90,000 ground troops to its ranks within the next five years."

Europe. 'Old Europe' tilting toward U.S. "a new set of players emerging on the old Europe bench could tip the balance back toward the Atlantic. Britain, France and Germany are fielding potentially the most pro-U.S. group of leaders to emerge in Western Europe in years."

Op-Eds.

Bush's legacy on AIDS (Editorial, Boston Globe) "HISTORIANS ARE not likely to be kind in judging the chaos President Bush has created in Iraq, or the damage he has done to international agreements like the Geneva Conventions and to civil liberties at home. But he will deserve high marks for his leadership in mobilizing US aid to fight AIDS overseas. On Wednesday, he asked Congress to spend an additional $30 billion in assistance over five years."

Debating In Parallel Universes (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) "Our two political parties and their candidates are living in parallel universes. It's as if the candidates were running for president in two separate countries. Their televised debates next week will be productions as different from each other as "American Idol" is from "P.T.I."

Don't Forget the Border(Janet Napolitano, New York Times) "IMMIGRATION is a tough issue and the Senate deserves our thanks for moving a bill forward this year. But as with all things related to immigration, the devil is in the details. As a border state governor with a close-up view of how immigration policy works on the ground, I have seen how easily plans can fall apart, or lose the support they need from Washington."

What Mexico Wants(Jorge G. Castañeda, New York Times) "NO nation is as involved in United States immigration as Mexico, and no government's cooperation will be as necessary as Mexico's if immigration reform is to succeed.'

The latest news on the justice department, Africa, presidential politics, AIDS, Iraq, Lebanon, World Bank, G-8, Russia, education, ape extinction threat, Malaysian Christian, Billy Graham Library, and select Op-Eds.


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Full news summary:

AIDS. Bush wants to boost AIDS spending "President Bush said that he would ask Congress to increase U.S. support for the global fight against HIV/AIDS to $30 billion over five years from the current commitment of $15 billion." Bush Requests $30 Billion to Fight AIDS "The initiative, if approved, would build on a program that grew out of the president's 2003 State of the Union address, when he asked for $15 billion over five years for prevention, treatment and care of AIDS patients in developing countries." US pledges $30bn to fight Aids "This would make the US by far the biggest single donor to the campaign against HIV/Aids and is in addition to the $15bn Washington has been spending since 2003."

Africa. Blair issues Africa action call "Tony Blair has used a keynote speech in South Africa to say there is a "moral obligation" to use political action "to make the world better".

Presidential politics. Thompson Bid Would Stir GOP Race "Fred D. Thompson will offer himself as a down-home antidote to Washington politics in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, running a campaign out of Nashville while promising leadership on a conservative agenda that will appeal to his party's base, advisers said yesterday." Thompson wants to be 2008's outsider "In an interview with USA TODAY, the former Tennessee senator not only makes it clear that he plans to run, he describes how he aims to do it."

Obama and Romney Lay Out Positions on Iraq and Beyond "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney outline their respective foreign policy visions in lengthy articles in the next issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, offering sharp contrasts on issues including the war in Iraq and climate change."

Iraq. Bush sees long-term role for troops "President Bush would like to see the U.S. military provide long-term stability in Iraq as it has in South Korea, where thousands of American troops have been based for more than half a century,"

Justice Department. Political hiring case widens "The Justice Department is expanding its internal inquiry to look into new allegations that senior department officials improperly filled career jobs based on applicants' Republican or conservative credentials." Details emerge in Justice's upset with Heffelfinger "it came as a surprise -- and something of a mystery -- when he turned up on the list of U.S. attorneys who had been targeted for dismissal. Part of the reason, government documents and other evidence suggest, is that he tried to protect Indians' voting rights."

Lebanon. U.N. Council Backs Tribunal For Lebanon "A sharply divided U.N. Security Council voted to create an international criminal tribunal to prosecute the masterminds of the February 2005 suicide bombing that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 others."

World Bank. Bush's Nominee Has New Agenda for Bank "The World Bank that Robert B. Zoellick stands ready to inherit may be battered, fractious and rudderless. But he said that he saw himself not simply as a healer but as a leader ready to establish a new agenda to help the world's poor." Tasks for next World Bank chief: heal rifts, tackle poverty "He'll have to heal rifts opened by the ouster of current bank president Paul Wolfowitz, while tackling the crucial issue of poverty in the world's poorest countries. And he'll be working in a truly international institution - an environment perhaps like none he's experienced before."

G-8. Germany prepares for G-8 summit "The tear gas is stocked and the police are helmeted and ready for tens of thousands of anarchists and anti-globalization protesters who are planning rallies and guerrilla-inspired mischief to disrupt the upcoming Group of 8 summit in this Baltic Sea resort." G-8 to take up climate change "The international squabble over climate change - who's to blame and how to deal with it - is coming to a boil as many of the major players prepare to meet in Germany next week."

Russia. Rice, Russian Clash Over Kosovo Plan, Missile Shield "Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tangled fiercely over U.S. proposals to grant Kosovo independence and build a missile defense shield." Rice Clashes With Russian on Kosovo and Missiles "The United States and Russia, with relations between them at their most contentious since the collapse of the Soviet Union, openly sparred here at a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of 8 industrialized nations." Bush Reaches to Putin as Relations Continue to Slide "President Bush yesterday launched a high-stakes effort to repair the dramatically deteriorating U.S. relationship with Russia by inviting President Vladimir Putin to visit the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, after weeks of rhetoric reminiscent of the Cold War."

Education. Ohio School Fears Cuts Will Rewrite Its Success Story"The success of an experimental high school in Dayton may not be enough to save it from a budget cut." A struggling school finds reason for hope "By forming community partnerships, Hope High School in Rhode Island and other struggling public schools are showing signs of improvement."

Ape extinction threat. World's great apes face disaster "One of the world's most prominent conservation experts yesterday issued a rallying cry to save the great apes, man's closest biological cousins, which are under serious threat of extinction."

Mideast. Israel air strike hits Gaza "At least two Palestinians have been injured in an Israeli air strike against rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip," Qassams hit two Sderot apartment houses; IAF strike kills two Hamas militants "Two of six Qassam rockets to hit the western Negev yesterday struck two residential buildings in Sderot, causing several residents to go into shock. But there were no injuries." Jihadist Groups Fill a Palestinian Power Vacuum"A standoff between the Lebanese Army and Islamists at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon has focused attention on a jihadist element taking root there as well as a radicalization in the Palestinian areas themselves."

Malaysian Christian. Malaysian woman loses bid to be recognized as Christian "Malaysia's top civil court on Wednesday rejected a woman's appeal to be recognized as a Christian, in a landmark case that tested the limits of religious freedom in this moderate Islamic country."

Billy Graham library. New library: Grand, but with Graham at its heart "As his older son tells the story, Billy Graham had to be talked into it. A presidential-style museum with his name all over it?"

Op-Eds.

CEOs vs. Slaves (Barbara Ehrenreich, AlterNet) "Recent findings shed new light on the increasingly unequal terrain of American society. The new "top" involves pay in the hundreds of millions, a private jet and a few acres of Nantucket. The new bottom is slavery."

Cindy Sheehan Steps Down as the Face of the Antiwar Movement (Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!) "Peace activist Cindy Sheehan has announced she is stepping back from her role as a leading campaigner against the Iraq war. Amy Goodman talks with her about her decision."

Seeking Sudan's pressure point (Boston Globe) "The sanctions on Sudan that President Bush announced Tuesday are justified as expressions of solidarity with the 2.5 million people of Darfur and eastern Chad who are trapped in refugee camps, prey to government-backed janjaweed militiamen, disease, and malnutrition. But there is no reason to believe the new sanctions are enough to compel Sudan's president, Lieutenant General Omar Bashir, to end the Darfur genocide."

Time for 'Plan B-H' in Iraq? (David Ignatius, Washington Post) "President Bush said publicly last Thursday what his top aides have been discussing privately for weeks. He talked about a transition to "a different configuration" in Iraq after the surge of U.S. troops is completed this summer. When pressed on whether he was talking about a post-surge Plan B, Bush answered: "Actually, I would call that a plan recommended by Baker-Hamilton, so that would be a Plan B-H."

Endgame Ahead (David S. Broder, Washington Post)"the end is coming into view -- not soon enough to spare every precious life, but sooner than President Bush and Vice President Cheney may wish. The dynamic in Congress has been set in motion that will bring this war to an end -- or at least reduce the scale of American involvement and redefine the mission of U.S. troops."

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment about the Daily Digest. I’ve read them all. I’m pleased that so many of you find the compilation useful. And thanks also for the helpful suggestions.

On the news sources I use. Several of you suggested The Wall Street Journal. I personally read the Journal and find it very useful. The problem with using it for this kind of compilation is that the online material is available to subscribers only, so linking to stories isn’t possible. A number of others suggested I read a McClatchy paper for a more “center of the nation” view. That’s a good idea - I have seen some good stories from their reporters. I’ll begin with the Kansas City Star - today’s Digest has several McClatchy stories from the Star. Others suggested more “small town newspapers,” although also noting that most of their stories come from wire services and their own coverage is mostly local news. That’s true, and there is also the matter of time – putting the digest together isn’t my only job. But I will try to watch out for more local stories from various parts of the country.

A large number of suggestions were related to including more news from international sources. Several of you noted Canada – a good suggestion. I’ll begin skimming the Globe & Mail and Toronto Star for a Canadian perspective. Other good suggestions were to include stories from Africa, Latin America, and Asia that go beyond violence and crisis. And more from “old Europe,” perhaps France's Le Monde. Within the time available, I will try to do that.

There were suggestions for non-newspaper sources. Several of you mentioned blogs. I read a number of blogs, but I tend to think of them as more opinion than news. But if I find interesting things, I’ll throw some in the mix every now and then. Same with magazines. I don’t read many magazines, but again, I will look for useful pieces. And then there is the suggestion of FOX News. My personal bias is in favor of the print media rather than television. I rarely watch television news, so I haven’t included those stories here. And it’s not just FOX - I also don’t look at MSNBC, CNN, or the major networks. I’ll think about it.

On topics. Some of you would like more on education, health care, human rights, and indigenous people. And a suggestion that there is an over-emphasis on Iraq and Iran and that there should be more stories on poverty, housing, living wage, etc. I agree, but remember, I’m not creating the news, just compiling what is in the news. And these days that is a lot of Iraq and Iran. But I’ll try to be more alert to good pieces on poverty-related issues.

Thanks again for the responses. Feel free to post a comment any day to the Daily Digest – I always look. And pray for our world as you read the news. I often recall the saying of Karl Barth, who “advised young theologians ‘to take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.’”


Duane Shank is the issues and policy adviser for Sojourners/Call to Renewal - in addition to being our resident news junkie.

The latest news on AIDS, immigration, Iran, Iraq, pay discrimination, Sudan-Darfur, Mideast, World Bank, Russia, Poll- Bible is God's Word, peace making, and select Op-Eds.


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Immigration. Bush defends reform "Firing back at conservative critics, President Bush defended his plan to overhaul immigration laws and accused its opponents of "trying to rile up people's emotions" with misinformation." Bush Takes On Conservatives Over Immigration "If you want to scare the American people, what you say is the bill's an amnesty bill," Mr. Bush said … "That's empty political rhetoric trying to frighten our citizens." Bush hits foes of alien bill "President Bush yesterday rebuked members of his own political party for trying to "frighten people" into opposing his immigration bill, prompting a quick backlash from some Republicans." U.S. to raise citizenship, green card fees "Applicants will see an average 66% increase in July. Immigrant advocates call it a 'wall' for the poor but agency says it will speed service."

AIDS. Bush to Seek Extension of AIDS Effort "President Bush will call on Congress today to provide $30 billion toward battling the global AIDS crisis over the first five years after he leaves office, a doubling of the current U.S. commitment. The increase in the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) would provide lifesaving treatment to 2.5 million people -- about 1.4 million more than the program now serves."

Iraq. U.S. toll in Iraq climbs "Six U.S. soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing attack and two more in a helicopter crash in Diyala, … Those fatalities and two others announced Tuesday brought the U.S. troop death toll in May to 117, making it the deadliest month for American forces this year," 10 American Soldiers Killed in Iraq "U.S. officials have warned that the strategy of putting more American troops on the streets and in small combat outposts, part of a security plan launched in February, would lead to higher U.S. casualties. But Tuesday's carnage suggested that the effort had not created a safer security environment." Some Hitherto Staunch G.O.P. Voters Souring on Iraq"While a majority of Republican voters continue to support Mr. Bush and the Iraq war,