July 2, 2008

DEATH PENALTY
In Court Ruling on Executions, a Factual Flaw
Linda Greenhouse/New York Times (07/02/2008)
WASHINGTON — When the Supreme Court ruled last week that the death penalty for raping a child was unconstitutional, the majority noted that a child rapist could face the ultimate penalty in only six states — not in any of the 30 other states that have the death penalty, and not under the jurisdiction of the federal government either. It turns out that Justice Kennedy’s confident assertion about the absence of federal law was wrong.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
McCain, Obama quietly take opposing stands on California's same-sex marriage ban measure
Michael Finnegan and Cathleen Decker/Los Angeles Times (07/02/2008)
Presidential candidates can command instant national attention when they want it. But John McCain and Barack Obama each took a hushed approach to letting the world know where they stand on the California ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage. The muted announcements -- McCain supports the proposed ban, Obama opposes it -- will have little if any bearing on the presidential contest in a state that strongly favors Democrats. Beyond California, though, the ramifications are serious -- especially for McCain.

Obama Seeks Bigger Role for Religious Groups
Jeff Zeleny and Michael Luo/New York Times (07/02/2008)
ZANESVILLE, Ohio — Senator Barack Obama said Tuesday that if elected president he would expand the delivery of social services through churches and other religious organizations, vowing to achieve a goal he said President Bush had fallen short on during his two terms.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Say Om: Doctors Find Meditation Affects Your Body
Lauren Cox/ABC News (07/02/2008)
It turns out peaceful thoughts really can influence our bodies, right down to the instructions we receive from our DNA, according to a new study.

FAITH LEADERS
Vatican Elevates Father Damien To Sainthood
kitv.com (07/02/2008)
HONOLULU -- The Congregation of the Causes of Saints at the Vatican has voted to canonize Father Damien of Molokai to sainthood.

ARTS AND MEDIA
Entrepreneur Tackles The Business Of Death
Associated Press (07/02/2008: cbsnews.com)
Fourteen years ago, Jeff Taylor helped set off a tectonic shift in recruitment advertising by founding Monster.com, one of the first online companies to challenge a big profit source of newspapers. Now, just as papers are reeling from a massive drainage of ad dollars online, Taylor thinks he's found another one of their strongholds that's ripe for online competition: Obituaries.