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A group of 13 clergy in Ohio petitioned the IRS to investigate the organization that owns a red brick townhouse on Capitol Hill. The C Streeters claim a tax exemption as a church but the clergy group say it’s more an “exclusive club for elected officials” than a church. I wasn’t elated with the early reporting I saw on the claim but this NPR story is particularly notable. Here’s how it begins:
I’ve long been fascinated by the “new evidence” stories. These are the sensationalized religion stories about how, you know, Jesus walked on an ice floe (not water), that he wasn’t crucified in the manner in which people think, that Jesus’ father was a Roman soldier . . . named Pantera, and so on.
O Canada. Thanks to the Winter Games, I know more about the maple leaf country than I ever did before. Who knew, for instance, that Winnipeg is just one state and a border west of my house? On occasion, it’s fun to look at Canadian coverage of issues that pop up from time to time in the U.S. For instance, take a look at this Vancouver Sun article about how a Winnipeg politician said no federal money should go to a Christian group called Youth For Christ.
I have a friend who is an Army doctor. Turns out he knew Major Nidal Hasan back when they started school together. I asked him if he was surprised to find his former classmate accused of killing 13 Fort Hood soldiers. He told me that while he was completely shocked — as were all the other colleagues who knew him years ago — the ones who had continued their studies with him or who had worked with him more recently were in no way shocked. Apparently they felt that he’d become completely radicalized.
I am not an expert on Turkey and I know that. However, I have been to Istanbul twice and, on one occasion, had a chance to talk to some pretty well informed people — Muslims and Christians — about the situation there.
There is no question that Rep. John Murtha was a giant on the Democratic side of the aisle in the House of Representatives. Thus, it was no surprise that his funeral received significant coverage in the publications that specialize in covering life on the Hill.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent for Western Christians. On this day, Christians have traditionally focused on their utter and complete sinfulness and the necessity of Christ’s suffering and death to earn their salvation.
A neurobiologist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is accused of killing three colleagues on Friday. She opened fire at a faculty meeting and also injured other faculty. The full story is still coming out and, as the New York Times put it in a headline, “Twists Multiply in Alabama Shooting Case.” She fatally shot her brother 20-plus years ago and some question how the case was handled by the police. And she and her husband were questioned, though not charged, in a bombing incident at Harvard.
