May 8, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
McCain Pushes Priorities That Resonate on the Right
Elisabeth Bumiller/New York Times (05/08/2008)
ROCHESTER, Mich. — Senator John McCain appealed to religious conservatives on Wednesday with pledges to prosecute sex traffickers, fight Internet child pornography and make religious freedom a priority in American diplomacy.

U.S. evangelicals call for step back from politics
Ed Stoddard/Reuters (05/07/2008: washingtonpost.com)
DALLAS - A group of U.S. evangelical leaders called on Wednesday for a pullback from party politics so that followers would not become "useful idiots" exploited for partisan gain. One in four U.S. adults count themselves as evangelical Protestants, giving them serious clout in a country where religion and politics often mix. Conservative evangelicals have become a key support base for the Republican Party.

NONPROFITS
U.S. Disaster Relief Efforts Hampered
Philip Rucker/Washington Post (05/08/2008)
Americans are responding to the devastation wrought by the cyclone in Burma last week with an outpouring of support to U.S. charities and disaster relief groups, but geopolitics are complicating their efforts.

POLYGAMY
Raid on Sect in Texas Rattles Other Polygamists
Kirk Johnson and John Dougherty/New York Times (05/08/2008)
Rumors of an imminent Texas-style police crackdown — the authorities say none is contemplated — are among the new constants of life here, the historic heartland of the F.L.D.S. Some polygamists, who had considered moving to Texas, are putting down roots again here, even cooperating with the authorities. Others are speaking out publicly, trying to distinguish their forms of plural marriage (no under-age brides) from what the authorities say was practiced by the sect in Texas.

CONGREGATIONS AND FAITH GROUPS
Georgia church uses gas pump pain to fill the pews
NBC (05/08/2008: kare11.com)
OK, let's see what we got here. Record gas high gas prices and we're to believe a sign that on a busy highway that says free gasoline. When you dial 770-978-5717, you'll hear a recording that says "First Baptist Snellville is offering you the chance to win one of two $500 gas cards."