R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 391

The Briefing 11-27-13

1) Foundations of religious liberty not found in Constitution – just recognized there

Supreme Court to Take Up Obamacare Contraception Case, CNN (Bill Mears)

Justices Will Hear Contraception Challenge to Obamacare, USA Today (Richard Wolf)

2) Biggest questions about Newtown not answered in report and cannot be answered apart from God

Sandy Hook report offers chilling details about school shooter, Los Angeles Times (Tina Susman)

The State’s Findings on Newtown, New York Times (Editorial)

3) The commercialization of Thanksgiving: 1 in 4 people plan to start shopping on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving shopping a sacrilege for some, USA Today (Jere Downs)

The Dirty Secret of Black Friday ’Discounts’, Wall Street Journal (Suzanne Kapner)

4) Don’t reduce thankfulness to something you can schedule on the calendar

The First Thanksgiving and the Task of the Historian – A Conversation with Robert Tracy McKenzie, Thinking in Public

The Briefing 11-26-13

1) Contraception Mandate likely headed to Supreme Court matters for all of us, not just Hobby Lobby

Court Confronts Religious Rights of Corporations, The New York Times (Adam Liptak)

2) Will same-sex marriage split the United Methodist Church? 

Among Methodists, Schism Over Gay Rites, The Boston Globe (Lisa Wangsness)

Methodist pastor who officiated at gay son’s wedding is suspended for 30 days, Washington Post (Michelle Boorstein)

3) Church of England to recognize female bishops and debating recognizing same-sex parents

A church divided, World Magazine (Thomas Kidd)

Church of England synod vote ‘paves way’ for female bishops, BBC

4) More babies aborted than born. Russia responds by banning abortion advertisements.

Russia bans abortion advertisements, Reuters (Ian Bateson)

 

How Do Smart Students Get That Way? – A Conversation with Amanda Ripley

Amanda Ripley is an investigative journalist for Time Magazine and The Atlantic. An Emerson Fellow at the New America Foundation and graduate of Cornell University, her work has appeared in Slate, the Wall Street Journal, and the Times of London. In addition to her writing, Mrs. Ripley has appeared on ABC, NBC, CNN, FOX News and NPR. She has spoken at the Pentagon, the Senate, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as conferences on leadership, public policy and education. Her latest work is a New York Times bestseller entitled, “The Smartest Kids in the World--and How They Got That Way” published by Simon & Schuster.

The Briefing 11-25-13

1) Iran nuclear deal a giant step toward Iran becoming de facto nuclear power

With Iran Accord, Obama Opens Mideast Door, New York Times (Mark Landler)

Iran’s Nuclear Triumph, Wall Street Journal

2) Leadership requires both competence and character

How a presidency unravels, Washington Post (George F. Will)

3) The end of the filibuster deals a huge blow to limited government

Landmark Senate Vote Limits Filibusters, New York Times (Jeremy W. Peters)

First Take: Could Partisanship Get Worse? It Just Did, USA Today (Susan Page)

4) The hypocrisy of the New York Times editorial board a reflection of the hypocrisy in all of us

Democracy Returns to the Senate, New York Times (Editorial)

On the ‘Nuclear’ Brink, New York Times (Editorial)

The Briefing 11-22-13

1)  50 years after JFK assassination,  American memory remains vivid, tragic, and intense

The JFK we had and the memory that lives, Washington Post (George F. Will)

2) A man of conviction and ideas – Has C.S. Lewis had greater and more long-standing influence than JFK?

The Chronicles of C. S. Lewis Lead to Poets’ Corner, New York Times (Steven Erlanger)

3) Aldous Huxley anticipated the “totalitarianism of pleasure”

‘Brave New World’ was a timely warning, The Telegraph (Allan Massie)

 

 

The Briefing 11-21-13

1. Good news for the unborn: Supreme Court will not block Texas abortion restrictions

Justices Rejects Bid to Block Law on Abortions, New York Times (Adam Liptak)

2. Harry Reid moves forward on filibuster reform as President Obama “remakes the courts”

Reid Preparing to Move for Limits on Filibuster, New York Times (Jeremy W. Peters)

3. Geography Matters: Gay marriage momentum slows down after legalization in Illinois 

Gay-marriage momentum comes to a sudden halt after Illinois, Washington Times (Cheryl Wetzstein)

4. President Barack Obama awards Bill Clinton the Medal for Freedom 

Forget an awkward beer summit, Obama honors Clinton with Freedom Medal, Washington Times (Dave Boyer)

The Briefing 11-20-13

1. Cheney family dispute over same-sex marriage spills over into the public  sphere

Dispute Over Marriage Erupts in Cheney Family, New York Times (Jonathan Martin)

2. Pastor found guilty within United Methodist Church for officiating gay son’s wedding 

Methodist pastor found guilty at church trial for officiating gay son’s wedding, Washington Post (Michelle Boorstein)

3. ”Scope, callousness and depravity of crimes almost unfathomable” Whitey Bulger sentenced

Crime Boss Bulger Gets 2 Life Terms and Is Assailed by Judge for His ‘Depravity’, New York Times (Katherine Q. Seelye)

The Briefing 11-19-13

1. On this 150th anniversary, The Gettysburg Address has not grown smaller on the historical stage, but larger 

Gettysburg Address is a sacred, but elusive text, Associated Press (Hillel Italie)

Retraction for our 1863 editorial calling Gettysburg Address ‘silly remarks‘ The Patriot News (Editorial)

Lincoln at Gettysburg Long Ago, New York Times (Editorial)

Gettysburg and the Eternal Battle for a ‘New Birth of Freedom’ Wall Street Journal (Allen C. Guelzo)

Gettysburg in American Memory – A Conversation with Historian Allen C. Guelzo, Thinking in Public

2. The fear of rival worldviews: North Korean citizens executed for possessing Bibles 

The Bible in the Bird’s Nest, Wall Street Journal (Melanie Kirkpatrick)

3. Logic of Death: Evidence unborn babies feel pain – abortion advocates recommend anesthesia 

Albuquerque becomes latest abortion battlefield, Los Angeles Times (Cindy Carcamo)

Vote Lands Albuquerque at Center of Abortion Battle, TIME (Grace Wyler)

Abortion battle goes local in New Mexico as Albuquerque votes on 20-week ban, The Washington Times (Stephen Dinan)

4. Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing, who abandoned family and young children, dies at 94

Doris Lessing, Author Who Swept Aside Convention, is Dead at 94, New York Times (Helen T. Verongos)

 

Gettysburg in American Memory – A Conversation with Historian Allen C. Guelzo

Interview Transcript

The Briefing 11-18-13

1) Thankful for rapid response and warning technology development in light of natural disasters

Tornado Outbreak Kills at Least Five in Midwest, New York Times (Emma G. Fitzsimmons)

Midwest tornadoes, winds slam towns and trucks; 5 killed in Illinois, CNN (Ted Rowlands, Catherine E. Shoichet and Steve Almasy)

Relief Supplies Pour Into Philippines, but Remote Areas Still Suffer, New York Times (Andrew Jacobs)

2) China’s infamous one-child policy slightly relieved, still infamous

China to Move Slowly on One-Child Law Reform, Wall Street Journal (Laurie Burkett)

Calculating Shift to What May Really Be 1.5-Child Policy, Wall Street Journal (Carl Bialik)

Hurdles Seen for Change to China’s One-Child Rule, New York Times (Chris Buckley)

America’s One-Child Policy, Weekly Standard (Jonathan V. Last)

America’s Coming Demographic Disaster – A Conversation with Jonathan V. Last, Thinking in Public

3) Feminists sharing abortion horror stories to overcome “stigma” of abortion. Do they succeed?

Their Abortions—What Do These Abortion Testimonies Really Reveal?, AlbertMohler.com

Feminists Are Sharing Abortion Horror Stories. And That’s a Good Thing. Slate.com (L.V. Anderson)