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February 28, 2008 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Race a wild-card factor
Maria L. La Ganga and Mark Z. Barabak/Los Angeles Times (02/28/2008)
In his yearlong quest to win the White House, the Democratic senator from Illinois has changed the rules of
political engagement, forcing his rivals to step delicately in a normally no-holds-barred arena. As the
possibility grows that voters may bestow the nation's highest public office on an African American, serial
public apologies -- largely by Democrats -- show just how sensitive race remains. What is less clear is how
race could help or hinder Obama, who has struggled to keep it in the background.
Obama tries to squash rumors he is tied to Islam faith
Jim Kuhnhenn/Associated Press (02/28/2008: news.rgj.com)
WASHINGTON -- For Barack Obama, it is an ember that he has doused time and again, only to see it flicker
anew: links to Islam fanned by false rumors, innuendo and association.
ABORTION
Senate's Vote Sets Tone on Abortion
Tim Craig/Washington Post (02/28/2008)
RICHMOND -- The Virginia Senate voted Wednesday to cut off state funding to Planned Parenthood of Virginia
because it offers abortions, an action that could endanger hundreds of thousands of dollars in state aid for
women's health-care programs.
EDUCATION
School Board to Pay in Jesus Prayer Suit
Neela Banerjee/New York Times (02/28/2008)
A Delaware school district has agreed to revise its policies on religion as part of a settlement with two
Jewish families who had sued over the pervasiveness of Christian prayer and other religious activities in
the schools.
DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Born-again virgins claim to rewrite the past
Brian Alexander/MSNBC (02/28/2008)
Across the country, "revirginization" appears to be gaining steam. Spiritual efforts to reclaim virginity
emerged back in the early 1990s and now, prompted by abstinence-only school courses taught to thousands of
girls nationwide, and by religious teachers, there are reports of more and more young women attempting a
sexual do-over.
FAITH LEADERS
U.S. Vatican envoy prepares way for the pope
Cathy Lynn Grossman/USA Today (02/28/2008)
WASHINGTON — Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the veteran Vatican diplomat who serves as the Holy See's U.S.
ambassador, knows exactly why the world will see — but not hear — Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the bedrock
at Ground Zero during the pope's first visit to the USA. The silence is Sambi's idea.
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