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Joe Biden goes to church. Politics remains outside. – The Washington Post

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Joe Biden goes to church. He goes on Sundays, but sometimes he goes during the week. While engaged in meetings with his transition team and making decisions about his Cabinet, the president-elect still makes regular visits to St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church, where cameras capture him wearing a mask as he walks in and out of Mass, often with a member or two of his family. Church attendance isn’t a measure of one’s faith or a substitution for good deeds, but it is a way of signaling religiosity. And Biden is invested in religion. Quietly. Calmly.

And, at least for now, without an infusion of politics.

Because the cameras don’t follow him into the sanctuary, the broader public doesn’t have the opportunity to observe Biden in prayer or devotion. And so the performative nature of the outing is reduced. Instead, one sees a man walking into a building that at its best is meant to be a place of solace and comfort, enlightenment and introspection. Politics remains outside, where it continues to grind and tear at the soul.

Those pictures of Biden headed to church often show him alone. Certainly there are bystanders cheering from the sidewalks, as well as protesters. This is the nature of the presidency. Biden has a phalanx of security and a trailing brigade of press. But there’s a ring of stillness that surrounds him. He’s not at a constant boil.

Politics has overheated religion. At a time when scripture should be at its most profound and when its grace should shine, religion is scalding. At a time of grave sickness and fear, religion could be a balm for believers and nonbelievers, too. But Instead, it’s just another political hand grenade — one that’s being hurled with special abandon in Georgia.

Political trolls ravaged the Facebook page of Ebenezer Baptist Church because its senior minister, Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, is running for one of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats, both of which are in play. His victory could tip the balance of power to his party. People coming to Ebenezer’s virtual home are greeted with a warning and a call to endure: “You may have noticed an increase in malicious comments on our social media platforms. Individuals holding hate in their hearts for our Church are coming into our digital spaces and leaving disparaging and often blatantly racist comments, many of which, unfortunately, are directed at our Church’s Senior Pastor,” the post reads. “The next few weeks may be intense, but with God’s grace and a little extra vigilance, we will get through.”

Ebenezer was the home church of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., whose name is regularly invoked by anyone and everyone as a kind of get-out-of-being-called-a-racist card. To express admiration for King, to quote him or paraphrase him or just mention that a generation ago a second cousin once heard him speak in person is a declaration of a pure heart. And yet, the Atlanta church that essentially gave birth to the civil rights icon is not spared a verbal political assault.

Religion was in the crossfire during the recent debate between Warnock and the Republican incumbent, Sen. Kelly Loeffler. She accused him of using the Bible to justify abortion and to demean the military. The two tangled over the meaning of Matthew 6:24, which warns, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Warnock rebuffed Loeffler’s interpretation of his words by explaining: “It was a sermon about a moral foundation for everything that we do and that when you have everything in order, that actually makes you a better soldier.”

Their argument wasn’t so much about theology as it was about using the Bible as a brick to hurl at an opponent. After all, social and fiscal conservatives use the Bible to justify all sorts of cultural dogma, from opposing same-sex marriage to loosing their inner robber baron. Interpretation of scripture has become a matter of political philosophy.

Religion has become distracting, ear-piercing, discordant noise. Some supporters of President Trump ignore the election math, disregard the laws and adhere to the belief that God wants Trump to stay in office — when, in fact, Nov. 3 might have been God’s way of saying it was time for Trump to go. Some Americans shrug off wearing a mask and socially distancing because they believe God will protect them from the coronavirus — when, in fact, these measures may be what God is offering up as our best defense. For all the arguing about freedom and God’s will, perhaps this is a test of our collective humanity.

So much of the verbiage is self-serving: the idea that God just happens to want precisely what you want, the notion that God sides with conservatives or has chosen you simply because you’d like to be chosen. If nothing else, shouldn’t one tread carefully when claiming to know what the good Lord wants? Doesn’t the Lord move in mysterious ways?

Trump has gone to church. He went on Christmas and Easter. He went on his Inauguration Day and to campaign for reelection. He has walked from the White House to St. John’s Church to stand in front of the historic church to have his picture taken — not as a man who has extended grace but as one who has wielded force.

The politicking is loud. Religion has become a grudge match between neighbors. One man’s salvation is another’s doom.

Biden goes to church. Quietly. Calmly. The politics is outside. Peace, Lord willing, resides within.

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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