Green Jello Hotdish

The UW Board of Regents has approved a proposal to revise the admissions policy for system schools. The policy takes a “holistic” approach to decision-making, taking into account not just the academic credentials of an applicant, but also non-academic factors including race, leadership, personal experience, “motivation,” traditional vs. non-traditional status and a host of other subjective standards. (It must be noted that this decision affects UW system schools other than UW-Madison, which has been operating under this policy for some time.)

Rep. Stephen Nass (R-Whitewhater) has publicly challenged the move, saying he would request fellow Republican AG J.B. Van Hollen to review the law’s constitutionality. Supporters claim the legal precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court which has decided in favor of allowing higher educational institutions to include race as a factor in admissions, however Wisconsin law prohibits non-academic criteria, including race, religion, sex nor national origin of U.S. citizens. They also claim the policy will make the UW representative of Wisconsin. Opponents say this is a new form of affirmative action and establishing quotas in admissions, and will deter otherwise academically-qualified applicants from applying.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a national watchdog group, has filed charges with the IRS against Mac Hammond, the leader of a sprawling megachurch Living Word Christian Center in north suburban Minneapolis. The claims against him are strong amid the growing backlash in the evangelical movement, of financial misappropriations and insider business deals. (Hammond claims the Bible says nothing about clergy living in poverty; that the biggest mistake of Christians is the belief that wealth is inappropriate.)

Before last year’s elections, Hammond and Living Word were also under fire for endorsing US Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN 6th) in worship. The StarTribune story also goes to tell about an ex-member who was shunned for wearing a John Kerry button and called a “baby-killer” by church members.

The Ku Klux Klan is making a comeback, fueled in part by the 35 million immigrants to the United States. While numbers are increasing after near extinction of the group, it’s still important to point out that any increase in the age of 24/7 media and communication is troubling, especially in the current social, religious and political environments. From the Christian Science Monitor article:

As it did from its founding, the KKK views itself has having a religious dimension. Members see “lighting” a cross as a symbol of faith. Today, Christian Evangelicals are much more likely than mainstream Protestants or Roman Catholics to believe that “newcomers threaten traditional American customs and values,” according to the Pew Research Center.

But, he adds, “The whole nature of hate group membership has changed with the advent of the Internet. You can take bits and pieces from whatever group you like without necessarily becoming a card- carrying member.”