Religion

Mark Jacobson may have set a new standard for dumb defenses of the Bergdahl deal.  Appearing on MSNBC's Up With Steve Kornacki today, scholar and Afghanistan veteran Jacobson suggested that opposition to the Bergdahl deal arises out of the soldier's religion and politics. He made a mind-boggling analogy: "My parents freaked out when I went to Afghanistan both times. If I had been captured. Do I…

Los Angeles Times reporter Shashank Bengali clearly put a great deal of energy and time into trying to persuade readers on Thursday that the five Gitmo terrorists released in exchange for Bowe Bergdahl "may not live up to (that) description." It only took a day for Bengali's work to be discredited. The person he seemed to believe would be among the least likely to become a threat — after all…

Ten years ago this month, U.S. Marine Wassef Ali Hassoun disappeared from Camp Fallujah in Iraq. After a five-month military investigation, he was charged with desertion and theft, brought back to Virginia's Quantico Marine base and then transferred to North Carolina's Camp Lejeune for trial. Yet, a full decade later, Hassoun is as free as a bird. The accused deserter's whereabouts are…

On Sunday's CNN Newsroom, Susan Candiotti slanted toward the liberal opponents of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati's updated morality clause for its schoolteachers. Candiotti played up how the "new contract now has a litany of thou-shall-nots, including no sex outside marriage; no in-vitro fertilization; no remarriage without an annulment; no homosexual 'lifestyle;' and no public support…

Patricia Heaton says she sometimes wonders if being a conservative in Hollywood hurts her career. A ”wave” will pass over the Emmy-winner from time to time where she thinks, ”Am I being passed over?” Heaton told a group of reporters while shooting the new comedy Mom‘s Night Out. The star of The Middle and Everybody Loves Raymond has no concrete evidence of any industry bias against her, but…

Carol Costello and her two clerical guests slammed "climate change deniers" on Wednesday's CNN Newsroom. Costello pointed out a recent sarcastic Tweet by Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak on the climate change issue that "sparked a firestorm," and spotlighted how "religious leaders are more than concerned about statements like that. They're now battling climate change deniers on moral grounds…

Before I begin, I want to pose a question to the powers that control our society today: Am I allowed to comment on issues that pertain to homosexuality if I don't echo the views of our masters? Will people who read this column willingly twist what I say to justify condemnation of anyone who disagrees with them? They certainly do it to many other people. Note to those waiting for an excuse to…

CNN's Morgan Spurlock followed in the footsteps of Christiane Amanpour on Sunday's Inside Man by giving faithful Christians much more harsh treatment than practicing Muslims. Spurlock denounced a pro-traditional marriage sermon by the pastor of a mega-church: "Being somebody who has a lot of friends and family who are homosexuals, it's hard to believe that there's only one way. And it's part of…

On Sunday, the Washington Post's Anthony Faiola spotlighted how Pope Francis is supposedly "the most old school of any pope since at least Paul VI" with regard to his consistent teaching on the Devil. Faiola underlined that "Francis has not only dwelled far more on Satan in sermons and speeches than his recent predecessors have, but also sought to rekindle the Devil's image as a supernatural…

Chris Matthews mocked Republicans on Friday's Hardball over their hawkish stance towards Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist group that recently kidnapped hundreds of girls. Matthews made a thinly-veiled racial attack on the GOP during a panel discussion on the terrorist organization: "By the way, when did the Republican Party take this keen interest in Africa? I may have missed that one."…

On Monday May 5, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that government meetings can include an opening prayer without violating the United States Constitution and NPR did its best to spin the ruling as severely troubling for religious minorities. On Monday’s All Things Considered program, reporter Carrie Johnson asked“The question before the Supreme Court, whether Greece did enough to…

A year ago, I wrote a two-part series titled "My Mom's Advice for America." There's no better time than now — between my mother's 93rd birthday (May 4) and Mother's Day (May 11) — to talk about her mother's advice, which my mother recorded in her autobiography, "Acts of Kindness: My Story." Last week, I started by echoing what my mom said about my grandmother's family values. Both of their…

A strange thing happened on CNN on Saturday May 3 prior to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. CNN host Don Lemon, appearing alongside Professor Marc Lamont Hill, professed his admiration for the Nation of Islam, a well-known hate group.  Lemon proclaimed that Hill thinks he “look[s] like a member of the Nation of Islam. That’s okay. I like them. I live on 123rd Street. They’re always at…

John Heilprin of the Associated Press played up how the Catholic Church supposedly "sought to limit its responsibility for the global priest sex abuse scandal" in front of a United Nations committee on torture. Heilprin repeatedly underlined how the Holy See underwent a "grilling" by the UN panel for allegedly violating an "international treaty against torture and inhuman treatment" in its…