Two headlines I didn’t expect to see but which both, in a small way, make me more hopeful about the future: “Monkeys Control a Robot Arm With Their Thoughts.” “Political world abuzz over Scott McClellan’s tell-all book“ The weird thing here is that I’m more excited about the second one. * * * The “Christian Worldview Network” is the D-list religious right speakers’ bureau in the conference/tape-series/literature-in-the-narthex racket. It’s an unwieldy agglomeration of John Birchers, anti-evolutionists and Jack Chick-style evangelists.... Read more

It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and... Read more

Is Barack Obama a Muslim? Here’s hoping that the boastfully ignorant folks who need that site will be able to find someone to read it to them. The success of the ridiculous “secret Muslim” whisper campaign sends me into a Menckenesque despair regarding the prospects of democracy triumphing over shrieking stupidity. Seriously, how dumb does one have to be to believe that Obama is a Muslim just because of his middle name? That makes about as much sense as accusing... Read more

Here’s an elegantly simple idea from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture: Banners Across America. We are asking congregations of all sizes, from every state, and all faiths, to join in a public witness against torture by displaying a banner outside their place of worship during Torture Awareness Month (June 2008). Our goal is to have banners displayed by NRCAT member congregations in all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico. Each banner will have the NRCAT logo and you may... Read more