The latest news on the Republican Agenda, Immigration, Tax Cuts, Health Care, "Obama's War", Campaign Ads, "Rally to Restore Sanity", Iran, Israel-Palestine, India Floods, and Select Op-Eds. | Sojourners

The latest news on the Republican Agenda, Immigration, Tax Cuts, Health Care, "Obama's War", Campaign Ads, "Rally to Restore Sanity", Iran, Israel-Palestine, India Floods, and Select Op-Eds.

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Quote of the day. "All of the animals, plants, and microbes we use in our food system, our agricultural system, are genetically modified in one way or another. That or they're wild.'' Bruce Chassy, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, on genetic changes in food due to selective breeding and hybridization. (Boston Globe)

RELIGION IN THE NEWS

Obama administration using faith-based groups to rally support, spread health care information "President Obama and administration officials are rallying religious leaders to "spread the word" on new health care legislation to reinforce public support and to raise awareness about the effects of new insurance reforms."

House of Bishops speaks on immigration, Haiti, MDGs "The [Episcopal] House of Bishops, concluding its Sept. 16-21 fall gathering in Phoenix, Arizona, has issued a pastoral letter and a "theological resource" on immigration, pledged to support a major fund drive to aid the rebuilding of the Episcopal Church in Haiti and reaffirmed its support of the Millennium Development Goals."

Pope says entire West needs to see role of faith in public life "Pope Benedict XVI said his message in Great Britain about the enduring importance of faith-based values in public life is valid for the entire Western world."

NEWS AT HOME

Global development. Obama says global development is in wealthy nations' interest "President Obama urged wealthy countries Wednesday to maintain development assistance to poor nations out of self-interest, even as he argued that aid should be delivered in smarter ways." Obama seeks accountability on foreign aid "President Obama unveiled to world leaders Wednesday a new plan for distributing U.S. aid to struggling nations, promising to "change the way we do business" by putting a new focus on self-reliance and market forces to create a path out of poverty." UN launches campaign to save lives of 16 million mothers, children over 5 years "The world's nations pledged more than $40 billion to battle needless deaths among poor mothers and their children, and President Barack Obama spoke about what America can do to help the U.N.'s ambitious development goals."

Republican agenda. GOP's agenda aims to shrink government "House Republicans will announce an expansive agenda on Thursday called "A Pledge to America" that proposes to shrink the size of government and reform Congress, offering a conservative plan of action they will pursue if they win a majority in the midterm elections." G.O.P. Cites Tax Cuts and Health Care as Main Focus "House Republicans on Thursday will issue a legislative blueprint called "A Pledge to America" that they hope will catapult them to a majority in the November elections." Party like it's 1994: GOP to offer plan to reverse Obama "Republicans in the House of Representatives Thursday plan to offer a blueprint for how they'd dramatically change what they term an "arrogant and out of touch government of self-appointed elites" by pledging to repeal the Obama health care law, continue all Bush-era tax cuts and significantly cut spending."

Immigration. Near-record 236 bodies at Mexico-Ariz. border in year "The second-highest number of bodies on record has been recovered along the Arizona-Sonora, Mexico, border the past 12 months." Pentagon says DREAM Act could boost ranks "Immigration advocates have long pushed for the DREAM Act as a way to give children who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents a chance to become legal residents and have access to higher education."

Tax cuts. Senate Democrats consider putting off vote on Bush tax cuts "Senate Democrats are considering abandoning plans for a pre-election showdown with Republicans over expiring tax breaks for the wealthy, saying a lack of consensus within the party and a desire to focus on job creation may delay a vote until after the November elections."

Health care. Obama touts healthcare law as new provisions take effect "President Obama, marking major provisions of the new healthcare law that go into effect Thursday, visited with Americans who stand to benefit immediately as he stepped up efforts to repulse Republican attacks on his signature domestic initiative." Insurers Scramble to Comply With Health Rules "The first big wave of new rules under the federal health care law goes into effect on Thursday, leaving many insurers scrambling to get ahead of the changes."

"Obama's war." Generals criticized surge, Woodward writes "A new book by Bob Woodward on the Obama administration's Afghan war deliberations presents three generals in the White House and State Department as the military's toughest, most persistent and most skeptical critics." Barack Obama's bitter divisions with generals revealed in new book "Barack Obama was forced into a major damage-limitation exercise today after a new book by veteran investigative reporter Bob Woodward painted a startling portrait of the strained relations between the White House and top US generals."

Campaign ads. Democrats seek more disclosure in campaign donations from corporations "As independent groups pour money into midterm election campaigns, Senate Democrats are trying again to advance a long-stalled bill that would require corporations to more fully disclose their political donations." Sexist jabs scar female hopefuls "Calling a female candidate such sexist names as "ice queen" and "mean girl" significantly undercuts her political standing and does more harm than criticism based solely on her policy positions, a study of voter attitudes finds."

"Rally to Restore Sanity." Jon Stewart's 'Rally to Restore Sanity' could draw tens of thousands "Stewart's event - for people "who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive and terrible for your throat," according to the rally website - is the comedian's latest gambit to send up today's overwrought political discourse."

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Afghanistan. Troops killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash were all American "All nine troops killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan this week

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