Please remind Stephen Hawking and Glenn Beck that they owe me a royalty check. All the best, God

Creed Cred Raging Moderate, by Will Durst A few years ago anybody who spoke disparagingly of the president of the United States was immediately labeled a traitor and accused of coddling the terrorists with a back rub. Not any more. Hammering, slamming, and pounding the president these days has once again become a cottage industry. A competitive blood sport. You’re even allowed to call him a terrorist citing...

Here are some thoughts on Kathy’s post below. Is a god necessary?  Stephen Hawking says no. God did not create the universe, world-famous physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book that aims to banish a divine creator from physics. Hawking says in his book “The Grand Design” that, given the existence of gravity, “the universe can and will create itself from nothing,” according...

That’s not me saying that; it’s Stephen Hawking, in his new book which will be released next week. Or, at least, it’s what CNN says Hawking is saying:

A Burning Question: Extremists on 9/11 by Tina Dupuy In case you missed some of the lowlights of the 20th century, one charismatic pastor from Florida is trying to bring them back. Yes, Pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville is planning a Koran burning for the ninth anniversary of 9/11. His church, the ironically named Dove World Outreach Center, plans to show their contempt for the Islamic holy book, a tome the...

What is it that makes Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin so appealing to a certain segment of American society? According to this assessment by columnist Julio Valdeón Blanco of Spain’s El Mundo, it is a native desire to recapture a past that exists only in the minds of demagogues and the ‘uncultivated’ people that always tend to follow them. For El Mundo, Julio Valdeón Blanco writes in part: Behind...

A few months ago I described Glenn Beck as a modern day snake oil salesman.  This weekend it appeared  he is out to become the Mullah for the American Taliban.  The theology Beck was preaching was not Christian but Mormon and as a result has received at best a lukewarm reception from the evangelical leadership and shock and hostility from the main stream Christian community.  In a totally mindless editorial...

The funny (or sad) thing about this t-shirt is that it could just as easily be worn as an anti-Palin statement. Of course, it would be even better in that regard if “babies” were changed to “fetuses.” Then it would be perfect.

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Is democracy in some way fatally flawed? And would Republican and Tea Party victories this November be proof of such a flaw? According to columnist Krisen Frey of Austria’s Der Standard, there is simply no escaping it: citizens in democracies have a habit of voting against their own interests. But unfortunately, Frey writes, democracy is still the best solution to the difficult task of governing. For...

Iraqi grumbling over the status if their new democracy continues with this article by columnist Abdul Sattar Ramadan of Iraq’s Azzaman newspaper. While criticism of the United States for withdrawing continues, the attention of much of Iraq’s now free-wheeling press has shifted to Iraqi politicians who ‘have imposed and set themselves above Constitution, the law and first and foremost, the...

This article from award-winning Izvestia columnist Malor Storu cites some startling statistics – mostly from the U.S. Congressional Research Service – to highlight just how expensive in lives and money the war in Afghanistan is compared to past U.S. wars. For Izvestia, Malor Storu writes in part: Since the time of Genghis Khan, several empires have tried to solve the “riddle of Afghanistan.”...

I come before you today not to bury Glenn Beck but the awkward task of defending Glenn Beck. Me thinks we take him too seriously. Big mistake. Beck’s detractors may number more than his disciples. And the enemy is firing its best shots. Not with beebee guns. But everything from the stinging barbs of late night comedians to the howitzers of the nation’s most erudite, uh, progressives. Hours after his Hollywood...

While driving to Bellevue Washington to pass the time, I decided to measure the worth of my life as a minister. Or at least I tried to measure some of the fruit associated with my existence. When stuck in traffic, I often multitask with introspection. That way I can feel a sense of futility about both my commute and my accomplishments. As my tires slowly rotated forward, I began to compartmentalize and...

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s address to the nation on Iraq this week underscores the agony of his presidency, and its core political problem. Seen from the inside, the administration is an astonishing success. Obama has kept his principal promises and can take credit for achievements that eluded his Democratic predecessors. He pledged to have all combat troops out of Iraq by the end...

Well, kiddies, that certainly didn’t take long: less than 48 hours after getting mega-new and mega-old media coverage of his own, personal Washington, DC rally to “reclaim” the civil rights movement during which he gave a speech noting how we must try to get poison out of American life, talk show money machine and aspiring America moral leader Glenn Beck has blasted President Barack Obama’s...

What would he have made of these separate-but-equal travesties of his historic moment? Martin Luther King told a crowd at the Lincoln Memorial 47 years ago that “many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.” Now,...

This is now the subject of a Federal investigation:

Does the divisive controversy over the Muslim community center near Ground Zero demonstrate how radical Christians and Muslims have taken over the public debate to such an extent, that they threaten the freedoms millions have fought and died for? Columnist Patrick Etschmayer writes for The News of Switzerland, that those opposing the Cordoba House are helping the terrorists obtain one of their most cherished...

Uh, oh, Joe, get ready to be accused of being PC: but isn’t it time to really say it? Something truly ugly is now being unleashed on our land in the name of gaining votes, creating wedge issues and getting big ratings — and although some will definitely see big political and financial payoffs there are also now signs that there could be serious consequences. First, we had the case of a New York...

Is it now, finally, time to set aside war and adopt a strategy on the same order of magnitude that revived Western civilization after World War II? This editorial from the Frankfurter Rundschau of Germany suggests turning this moment of environmental and political catastrophe in Pakistan into an opportunity to remake the region – not with violence, but with a massive and unprecedented program of development...

Earlier this month, in the wake of the Prop8 ruling, I learned that the linkage of “marriage” and religious norms is an artifact of the Catholic Church’s fight for its life in the 16th century. I had no idea that I would soon be plunged into another politico-religious controversy where understanding history would be essential. If I were a student of former history professor Newt Gingrich,...

Continuing with our coverage of the global reaction to America’s departure from Iraq, this article by columnist Lucia Annunziata of Italy’s La Stampa warns that ‘America’s decline’ since the war began has brought into question ‘the entire notion that the American people have an ethical mission in the world.’ For La Stampa, Lucia Annunziata writes in part: “Between...

Could it be that India – with American backing and Afghan connivance – has engineered the worst flooding in Pakistan’s history? And to what end? Most would call it a conspiracy theory, but columnist Ahmed Quraishi of Pakistan’s Pak Tribune is dead serious as he outlines how India, by opening up dams it controls up-river from Pakistan, is intentionally causing flooding that has affected...

WASHINGTON — Republicans are in the midst of an insurrection. Democrats are not. This vast gulf between the situations of the two parties — not some grand revolt against “the establishment” or “incumbents” — explains the year’s primary results, including Tuesday’s jarring outcomes in Florida and Alaska. The agitation among Republicans is not surprising,...