1. Muslim converts in America

Yesterday's Washington Post profiles a handful of Hispanic immigrant women who converted from Catholicism to Islam. "Across the nation, thousands of Latino immigrants are redefining themselves through Islam. … Precise numbers are not available, but estimates range from 40,000 to 70,000."

Some of their reasons for converting are typical of any immigrant convert: Encounters with new religious ideas and a search for belonging in a new culture. But those aren't the only reasons. "In Islam, some say they see a devoutness and simplicity they find lacking in Catholicism. … Latino women find what most Westerners rarely see—a respect for women, unlike, some converts say, the machismo culture in which they were raised." These women are happy to trade their halter tops for the hijab.

Before evangelicals think that nominal Catholics might simply be prone to convert, a Dallas Morning News story is ready to rebut those notions. Eric Meek was a Southern Baptist Texan who was featured in a short documentary on white Christians who converted to Islam. "Islam is everything I wanted Christianity to be," Meek says in the documentary. "It's got such a magical attraction to it. It's a way of life that chooses to worship an unseen God through a process of daily living."

The Dallas Morning News admits it hasn't discovered any sort of trend. There are few white, Texan, Christian converts to Islam. Only time will tell if Islam will turn out to be everything Meeks wanted Christianity to be. Hopefully, the Morning News will keep us informed.

2. Gay marriage ban short of votes in Senate

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