The latest news on Supreme Court & Campaign Spending, President Takes On Banks, Mayors & Stimulus, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Israel-Palestine, and Select Op-Eds.

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Quote of the Day. "He didn't think of the ramifications, I guess. You can't expect the whole world to know what this ritual is all about. I would suggest, pray on the plane and put the tefillin on later on. Pray, and fulfill the ritual later." Rabbi Shmuel Greenberg, White Plains NY, on a young man from his congregation who caused a panic on board a jet as he put on the small leather boxes attached to leather straps that observant Jews wear during morning prayers. A flight attendant thought it looked ominous, as if the young man were wrapping himself in cables or wires, and the plane was diverted to Philadelphia. (New York Times)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

Firm to Remove Bible References From Gun Sights "Bowing to Pentagon concerns and an international outcry, a Michigan arms company said Thursday that it would immediately stop embossing references to New Testament Scriptures on rifle sights it sells the military."

Pro-life challenges change "The Obama administration and a Congress narrowly controlled by Democrats present both new challenges and new opportunities for Catholic pro-life advocates on Capitol Hill."

Blaming quake on victims shows biblical ignorance (Rich Nathan, Columbus Dispatch) "The religious person's proper response to suffering is not explanation but compassionate relief. We are not in the signal box with God. Faith tells us that in the end, God will put this world to right. Right now, our job is to shut up, roll up our sleeves, and get to work relieving the suffering."

TOP STORY-EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI

Haiti: operation under way to evacuate 400,000 "Operations were under way last night to evacuate 400,000 refugees from Haiti's earthquake-shattered capital into tented villages in the suburbs and surrounding countryside." Aid Groups Focus on Haiti's Homeless "Haiti has approved plans for more than a dozen sprawling tent cities in and around Port-au-Prince, the first step in an epic relocation effort that could reshape the country as up to one million people displaced by the earthquake find new places to live." As search for survivors slows in Haiti, humanitarian efforts intensify "The hunt for survivors of Haiti's earthquake slowed Thursday, but a humanitarian operation intensified, with relief workers sending food to imperiled orphans and truckloads of water and generators snarling traffic in the capital." Government Turns to Long-Term Needs "The government in Port-au-Prince, overwhelmed in the early days of Haiti's emergency, is turning attention to longer-term care for survivors and shelter for the estimated one million homeless."

NEWS AT HOME

Supreme Court & Campaign Spending. Supreme Court rejects limits on corporate spending on political campaigns "A divided Supreme Court on Thursday swept aside decades of legislative restrictions on the role of corporations in political campaigns, ruling that companies can dip into their treasuries to spend as much as they want to support or oppose individual candidates." Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit "Overruling two important precedents about the First Amendment rights of corporations, a bitterly divided Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections." Court ruling on campaign spending could pay off for GOP "The Supreme Court's decision Thursday to wipe out most campaign spending limits, coming on top of the Massachusetts Senate race upset, could prove to be a major blow to Democrats and a boost to Republicans in the November midterm elections." High court shows it might be willing to act boldly "The Roberts court ended its term last summer avoiding a constitutional showdown with Congress over the Voting Rights Act. But its first major decision of the current term might signal a new willingness to act boldly."

President Takes On Banks. Obama proposes tough limits on largest banks "President Obama expanded his new offensive on Wall Street on Thursday, proposing rules that would impede the growth of the largest banks and bar them from making what he called 'reckless' investments." With Populist Stance, Obama Takes On Banks "The tougher approach to financial regulation that President Obama outlined on Thursday reflected a changed political climate, the rebound in big banks' fortunes after their taxpayer bailout and a shift in power within the administration away from those who had been seen as most sympathetic to Wall Street." Obama takes on banks and their 'obscene bonuses' "The White House, reeling from setbacks in Congress, may be spoiling for a showdown with an unpopular industry that has returned to high profits, big bonuses and risky business a year after being rescued with hundreds of billions of taxpayers' dollars." President Obama attacks banking 'masters of the universe' "While he was locking horns with the self-styled Masters of the Universe, the President was also beginning the daunting task of reviving his popularity with America's struggling middle-class voters."

Health Care. Democrats are urged to preserve broad healthcare overhaul "Even as congressional Democrats began examining ways to scale back their far-reaching health legislation, a wave of consumer groups, patient advocates and doctors on Thursday called on Democrats not to abandon the comprehensive health overhaul they've worked so long to pass." A New Search for Consensus on Health Care Bill "Even as Speaker Nancy Pelosi affirmed her commitment to pass far-reaching health care legislation this year, members of Congress and health policy experts began Thursday to deal with the reality that a smaller bill would have a better chance." Pelosi: House won't pass Senate bill to save health-care reform "As Democrats continued to grapple with the consequences of their loss in Massachusetts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday eliminated the most obvious avenue for completing health-care reform, saying the House will not embrace the version of the legislation already approved by the Senate." Dem health care talks collapsing "Health-care reform teetered on the brink of collapse Thursday as House and Senate leaders struggled to coalesce around a strategy to rescue the plan, in the face of growing pessimism among lawmakers that the president's top priority can survive."

Mayors & Stimulus. Conference of Mayors Stresses Need for New Round of Stimulus Money "Saying that last year's $787 billion economic stimulus plan has failed to ease urban unemployment, the nation's mayors are asking the federal government for a second wave of stimulus money."

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Pakistan. Robert Gates brings praise and pressure to Pakistan "Using a mixture of praise and pressure, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates asked Pakistan government officials today to build on their offensives against militants at the same time he tried to reassure a skeptical Pakistani public about American aims in the region." US to end Pakistan 'trust deficit' "Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, has sought to build bridges with the next generation of Pakistan's military leaders and end a 'trust deficit' that he said has hampered co-operation between the countries." U.S. Offers Pakistan Drones to Urge Cooperation "The United States will provide a dozen unarmed aerial spy drones to Pakistan for the first time as part of an effort to encourage Pakistan's cooperation in fighting Islamic militants on the Afghanistan border."

Afghanistan. New Afghan initiative: Convince insurgents to switch sides "Facing a worsening Taliban-led insurgency and growing domestic opposition to the Afghanistan war, the leaders of the U.S. and Britain are under pressure to find a political path out of a conflict that they concede can't be won militarily." U.S. ambassador puts brakes on plan to utilize Afghan militias against Taliban "The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and senior Afghan officials have resisted moving forward with a bold and potentially risky initiative to support local militias in Afghanistan that are willing to defend their villages against insurgents, according to U.S. officials."

Yemen. Al Qaeda's Deep Tribal Ties Make Yemen a Terror Hub "Yemen's al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a largely homegrown movement, with carefully cultivated local ties. That sets it apart from other al Qaeda affiliates, and could make it much more difficult to dislodge."

Israel-Palestine. US envoy holds talks in West Bank "US Envoy George Mitchell has met Palestinian leaders a day after holding talks in Israel in his latest push to restart peace talks." Mitchell holds talks with Abbas as hopes for ME peace fade "The US envoy to the Middle East was holding talks with the Palestinian leader on Friday afternoon, even as hopes that Washington could restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations anytime soon continued to fade." Mitchell acknowledges difficulties "Israel and the Palestinians have questioned each other's commitment to peace amid the launch by George Mitchell, the US envoy for the Middle East, of a new round of shuttle diplomacy."

China & Internet. China denounces US free internet call "China has denounced US criticism of its internet controls, saying it could harm ties between the two countries." Clinton attacks China's new 'Berlin Wall' "Hillary Clinton has deepened a row over freedom of expression in China by warning Beijing that its alleged attack on Google would have 'consequences' and comparing its censorship of the internet to the Berlin Wall."

OPINION

The Court's Blow to Democracy (Editorial, New York Times) "With a single, disastrous 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has thrust politics back to the robber-baron era of the 19th century. Disingenuously waving the flag of the First Amendment, the court's conservative majority has paved the way for corporations to use their vast treasuries to overwhelm elections and intimidate elected officials into doing their bidding."

Campaign finance ruling reflects Supreme Court's growing audacity (Michael Waldman, Washington Post) "This far-reaching ruling augurs a significant power struggle. For the first time since 1937, an increasingly conservative federal judiciary faces a progressive and activist Congress and president."

Do the Right Thing (Paul Krugman, New York Times) "A message to House Democrats: This is your moment of truth. You can do the right thing and pass the Senate health care bill. Or you can look for an easy way out, make excuses and fail the test of history."

Sojourners' Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.