Pope Francis has called for prayers for the Rohingya, the Muslim minority group forced to flee violence and persecution in Myanmar.
“Religious freedom has never been unfettered. It has always been the case that you are free to exercise your religion — as long as it’s not hurting anyone else,” Bishop Gene Robinson said.
Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama recently raised eyebrows during his confirmation hearing for attorney general when he expressed doubts that secular people respected the truth as much as did those with religious convictions. Even as he insisted that there should be no religious tests for holding public office, Sessions was queasy about the potential dangers of the secular worldview.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has granted the final easement needed to construct the Dakota Access Pipeline, according to a Feb. 7 court filing. David Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, vowed to continue fighting the construction.
During a second night of Senate Democrats holding the floor — this time protesting the confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general — Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) invoked a little-used rule to prevent Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) from continuing testimony after she read a 1986 letter from Coretta Scott King.
If confirmed, Pruitt should walk into the halls of the Environmental Protection Agency with the same conviction of faith with which he walks into First Baptist Church of the Broken Arrow. He should promote policies to guard clean water and clean air, to protect children from pollution, and to safeguard all of us from the impacts of a changing climate.
“If you take one city alone, like Dallas — without including the surrounding areas — in any given month anywhere from 639 to 1199 people are turned away from emergency services because we don’t have enough funding now,” Sim said.
“Imagine how much worse it would be if we lose funding from VAWA in the future. Right now we still can’t do enough and that is with VAWA funding. Our crisis partner support will be impacted severely and I fear we would see shelters close.”
The day before President Trump used his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast to promise a repeal of the Johnson Amendment, a bill was introduced in Congress to effectively do that. It has not yet been scheduled for debate or a vote.
The Free Speech Fairness Act is being touted as a “fix” to the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law that prohibits nonprofits from engaging in politics. But how much of a fix would the act be? Would it offer a First Amendment right of free speech to clergy — or trample the same First Amendment’s guarantee of a separation between church and state?
The position for which Betsy DeVos has been nominated — secretary of education — is one of the least powerful in the Cabinet, in terms of its budget and position in the line of succession to the presidency.
And yet, after a confirmation hearing in which she struggled to answer questions, some Senate offices have received more calls opposing DeVos than any other nominee.
All 48 Democratic senators and two Republicans — Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins – opposed her when her nomination came to a vote on Feb. 7. Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote.
In an effort to stop the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education, Senate Democrats spent Monday night and Tuesday morning speaking on the Senate floor about DeVos’ inexperience and the havoc she could wreak if confirmed. With Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) flipping to "nos," Senate Democrats need one more vote against DeVos in order for her nomination to be rejected. The vote is slated for midday Tuesday.