On Sept. 28, 33 pastors around the nation participated in Pulpit Freedom Sunday, an initiative designed to challenge a 1954 amendment to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that prohibits religious organizations and charities from supporting or opposing candidates for political office. The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) released a list of the pastors who participated in hopes that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will investigate the churches. The action generated controversy, with Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) filing complaints against seven of the participating congregations.

Congress tentatively adjourned for the year on Oct. 3 after passing a flurry of legislation to address the financial meltdown, extend expiring tax cuts, provide disaster relief funding, and fund the federal government through March 6, 2009.

The pace at which Congress is considering the largest intervention into financial markets in the history of the United States, if not the world, is shocking. Over the weekend, the Bush administration proposed legislation that would grant it the authority to buy up toxic financial assets in an amount equal to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The magnitude of the funds requisitioned is matched only by the administration's requested level of unchecked power and opacity in how it would execute this historic market intervention. Congress has responded with uncharacteristic haste, setting the stage for passage of monumentally flawed legislation that purports to fix a yet-undiagnosed problem in roughly one week.

The Senate introduced new legislation that would make it more difficult for the executive branch to establish secret policies. This effort followed the House's passage of legislation to reduce overuse of classification by security agencies.