The Morning News: Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 | Sojourners

The Morning News: Monday, Nov. 28, 2011

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Policy-Making Billionaires
OVER the past 30 years, as the gap between wealthy and poor grew ever wider, total philanthropic giving almost tripled, according to annual estimates published by the Giving USA Foundation and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. In an age of widening partisanship and plummeting trust in government, this outpouring of philanthropy has produced a distinct breed of philanthropist: The policy-making billionaire.
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CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE: Poverty In The Midst Of Plenty: Hunger Persists In The United States
As U.S. nutritionists cringe over the prospect of an overweight nation indulging in a two-month binge of "season's eatings" -- from Halloween candy to Thanksgiving dinners to Christmas feasts to New Year's parties -- there are millions of Americans who aren't sure they're going to get enough to eat this day or the next.
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REUTERS: The Religion Of An Increasingly Godless America (OPINION)
Listening to the national discourse, one could be forgiven for imagining that America is becoming an ever more religious place. The amount of God talk in the public square has dramatically increased in a generation
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NEWSWEEK/THE DAILY BEAST: Evangelicals Flocking Toward Newt Gingrich
Like many evangelicals in Iowa, Steve Deace, an influential conservative radio host, is wrestling with the possibility that Newt Gingrich may be the most viable standard bearer for family-values voters in the next election. It’s a conundrum, he says, that many others are also grappling with. "Maybe the guy in the race that would make the best president is on his third marriage," he says. "How do we reconcile that?"
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WBEX 91.5: Rev. Jackson Calls For New War On Poverty
The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. used Thanksgiving Day to draw attention to the plight of veterans living in poverty.
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MLIVE.COM: Improving Social Justice Indicators Will Create A Better U.S. (OPINION)
Social justice cannot be achieved through free market forces alone as demonstrated conclusively by the decades of decline of the middle class and the recent financial debacle and recession in the U.S. Not less government but more intelligent and focused action by government is required to prevent poverty, to provide equal opportunities for education and employment, to provide equal access to health care, to achieve a fair balance of resources between generations.
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THE WASHINGTON POST (ON FAITH): Is The Black Church The Answer To Liberal Prayers?
As the American left continues to seek a coherent way to articulate its moral priorities in these days of political stalemates and widening income gaps, it might look to the most unlikely of places — the academy — for guidance and inspiration.
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CATHOLIC SENTINEL: Catholic Charities' Human Trafficking Program Loses Federal Funds
The withdrawal of a federal grant to Catholic Charities means human trafficking victims' assistance in Oregon has been curtailed. As of Nov. 30, the Portland-based social service agency was forced to reduce services and outreach to immigrant victims of human trafficking because it will no longer receive a two-year $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime.
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THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: Air Force Academy Adapts To Pagans, Druids, Witches And Wiccans
In the still of a cold November evening, a small gathering of pagans, led by two witches, begins preparations for the coming winter solstice . But these are not just any pagans, and this is not just any setting. They are future officers of the United States Air Force practicing their faith in the basement of the Air Force Academy's cadet chapel.
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