March 4, 2008

IMMIGRATION
For more immigrants, suburbia's a nice fit
Haya El Nasser/USA Today (03/04/2008)
The movement of the foreign-born after they arrive sheds light on a key issue in the national immigration dialogue: How quickly immigrants assimilate into American culture and progress from a transient population to one that pays taxes, achieves homeownership and becomes largely self-sufficient.

New immigration screening methods target Muslims, critics charge
Marisa Taylor/McClatchy Newspapers (03/03/2008: chicagotribune.com)
WASHINGTON - In the six and a half years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, federal law-enforcement agencies have secretly established profiling techniques to screen immigrants based on their nationalities, protocols that critics charge encourage the unjustified targeting of Muslims.

MEDICINE
U.S. Health Care Gets Boost From Charity
Scott Pelley /CBS (02/28/2008)
Remote Area Medical sets up emergency clinics where the needs are greatest. But these days, that's not the Amazon. This charity founded to help people who can't reach medical care finds itself throwing America a lifeline.

CHURCH AND STATE
Mount Airy ponders free-water rules
Arin Gencer/Baltimore Sun (03/04/2008)
When Mount Airy Town Councilman John Woodhull told his colleagues about the town's little -known, decades-old practice of providing free water to local churches, he expected a couple minutes of discussion, maybe some laughter, and then an end to the custom. Water usage is a big concern in the town, and giving it away, Woodhull said, sends the wrong message. But in January, the council voted to go forward with what appears to be an unusual custom.

FAITH LEADERS
Day in the life of Cardinal George
Chicago Tribune (03/04/2008)
Photo feature: A rare look inside the world of Cardinal Francis George.

ARTS AND MEDIA
Online Bookstore Charged With Nazi Tactics
Susan Donaldson James/ABC News (03/04/2008)
Using a clever strategy that has pit Christian readers against anti-censorship intellectuals, a new online bookstore has impressed some marketing experts with its enlightened approach. Abunga.com -- a kind of Facebook meets prayer book -- touts itself as a "family friendly" Web site that allows its buyers to ban saucy books from their accounts. What's more, if enough customers block a certain book, the company removes it from the site altogether.

This call to prayer answered by few
Jean Marbella/Baltimore Sun (03/04/2008)
Neither Rin Lack nor Tim Silverwood stopped to take advantage of "Prayer Booth" as they walked by it yesterday, but then, few apparently do. For one thing, it just looks like another phone booth, graffiti-smeared and slightly grimy, that has been abandoned during these cellular times. But the blue-and-white sign above it says not "Phone" but "Prayer." And there's no way to call anyone -- on Earth, at least -- because there isn't a pay phone inside, but instead a fold-down kneeler like you'd find in a church.