Colbert no more * Diplomatic broker * Silverman’s thumbs up: Friday’s Roundup

America's most famous Catholic bids his audience adieu. It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's Pope Francis. Sarah Silverman gives feminist Jewish activists a thumbs up.

courtesy Comedy Central
courtesy Comedy Central

courtesy Comedy Central

Let’s dispense with this early on, because frankly, it’s the biggest news out there: The Stephen Colbert we knew and loved is no more. Last night’s episode was the last, and though we may see him again as David Letterman’s successor, the narcissistic, faux conservative blowhard has left the building.

As you can imagine, there were plenty of tributes and of course, favorite clips.


Cuba Redux

The news media is still awash with stories about Cuba. The New York Times said that in helping the US and Cuba renew relations, Pope Francis is pushing to establish the Vatican as “a trusted diplomatic broker.” Our own David Gibson explains how Pope Francis’ desire to flex his diplomatic muscles may lead to peace overtures elsewhere.

https://twitter.com/nycfollowtest/status/545932412442923008/

But Catholic theologian George Weigel says the Francis Effect is overdrawn. The pope is pretty conventional on a bunch of Catholic issues.

That may be true, but he did just buy 400 Roman homeless sleeping bags as part of his birthday celebration. So maybe another way to look at it is that he’s a doer, not just a talker.

More than 100 women, including comedian Sarah Silverman, second from right, participated in the first-ever Hanukkah candle lighting in the women's section of the Western Wall. RNS photo courtesy Women of the Wall.

More than 100 women, including comedian Sarah Silverman, second from right, participated in the first-ever Hanukkah candle lighting in the women’s section of the Western Wall. RNS photo courtesy Women of the Wall.

The spirit of Hanukkah

President Obama hosted the yearly Hanukkah party at the White House. Michael Paulson of the New York Times was there and he wrote that the president tied the holiday to the Jewish concept of “pidyon shevuiim,” or the redemption of captives, as in the case of freed U.S. citizen Alan Gross who was held in Cuba five years.

Meanwhile in Israel, comedian Sarah Silverman helped a group of feminist activists light a menorah at the Western Wall.

Militant Muslims on the march

The news was almost overwhelmingly bad on the Muslim extremist front.

On top of the Taliban massacre in Peshawar earlier this week, we learned yesterday that Boko Haram militants stormed a remote village in northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 33 people and kidnapping about 200.

How are Muslims supposed to talk to their kids about such horrors? Lauren Markoe has a few pointers.


And the Islamic State — formerly ISIS, formerly ISIL — is now being called “Daesh” by at least one U.S. general. Apparently, that brings him in line with much of the Arab world. The word is a loose acronym for one of the group’s names in Arabic. Some feel the term “Islamic State” legitimizes the militants’ aspiration to establish a caliphate and don’t want to use it.

Legal troubles; legal protections

Saying that Colorado’s law legalizing recreational marijuana use is unconstitutional and places a burden on them, Nebraska and Oklahoma have filed a lawsuit against the state with the U.S. Supreme Court. The two states feel Colorado isn’t doing enough to keep pot from leaving the state.

The government is now interpreting federal law to explicitly prohibit workplace discrimination against transgender individuals.
That means the Justice Department will be able to bring claims on behalf of people who say they’ve been fired by a public employer based on gender identity.

Congregational woes

Clergy admit churches are no longer ground zero for the civil right movement, writes Adelle M. Banks.

Within days of floating a proposal that woud have allowed Conservative rabbis to perform interfaith marriages, Rabbi Wesley Gardenswartz of Temple Emanuel in Newton, Mass., backed away from the controversial plan.

Tis the season

Finally, in cheerier news, the Salvation Army received a gift worth more than a little bit of change: an emerald and diamond necklace found in the bottom of one of its kettles in South Florida.


Happy weekend. See you in this place Monday.

 

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!