Steve Thorngate
Liberalism and abortion
Flipping through the new issue of The American Prospect, I saw a blurb about an article from last month's issue that I missed amid the end-of-year craziness...
Pro-life, anti-poor: The impact of the Stupak Amendment
The status quo on federal abortion funding leaves a lot to be desired, and not just for abortion-rights hardliners. Current law offers antiabortion citizens the peace of knowing that while abortion may be legal, at least their taxes aren't paying for it. In exchange for these clean hands, Americans get a system in which women who rely on the federal safety net for their health coverage don't have access to abortion, while women of greater means do. The Stupak Amendment to the House's health-insurance bill would make this inequality worse.
CC recommends
Dave Bazan, Curse Your Branches. Bazan’s confessional songwriting is dark and intense, but his impeccable craft makes it a pleasure....
CC recommends: New popular music
Today, another gift list from "CC recommends" in the December 15 issue of the Century: my list of popular...
Working hard? Or working hard at making hand turkeys?
Faith-based editors, like preachers, approach holidays with ambivalence: there are so many meaningful things to say, yet so few that seem remotely fresh....
The worst kind of middle ground
The Democrats have built their majority by expanding their tent; as a
result there is now a sizable group of antiabortion Democrats in
...
On the shelf: Methland, by Nick Reding
In 2006, Congress passed the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act as part of the Patriot Act....
Obama's shocking speech to schoolchildren
President Obama spoke to students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia today, and his ...
On the shelf: The Unlikely Disciple, by Kevin Roose
"I'm aware that a tree-hugging Brown student isn't supposed to be able
to talk to a Bible-thumping Liberty student," writes Kevin Roose. "But
...
On the shelf: Jesus Made in America, by Stephen J. Nichols
"Jesus, like most cultural heroes, is malleable," writes Stephen J. Nichols....
On the shelf: Food Matters, by Mark Bittman
If Michael Pollan is the sustainable food movement's de facto spokesperson, Mark Bittman is its in-house cook....
Playing Jesus
A few days ago, I led a parade around a Chicago block—on horseback. It was weird.
...Giving up blogging for Lent
I've decided to give up blogging for Lent this year. Not blogs themselves so much as "blogging"—let me explain.
...Labeling Christians
Putting labels on people is always a loaded thing, and putting labels on Christians is no exception....
Separation of prophet and president
I attended worship this past Sunday at a racially diverse DC church with
a rich history of civil rights activism. Two days before Barack Obama's
...
Link bonanza: Inauguration edition
So I'm headed to DC this weekend, where I used to live and my fiancee
still does. We're excited to be in town for the inauguration—which isn't
...
Rick Warren's conservative. So what?
While members of the religious right are upset that Rick Warren accepted President-elect Obama's invitation to give the invocatio...
"There's only diversity in the singular forms. Here we go."
My evangelical grade school tried to instill some big ideas—Creationist
talking points, "worldview formation," a vague yet fierce sense of
...