NPR Talk of the Nation Science Friday Audio for this story Talk of the Nation, December 2, 2005 · Earlier this year, the president of Harvard was harshly criticized for suggesting that biology might explain why women lag behind men in fields such as science and math. What does science have to say about the differences in the male and female brain when it comes to cognitive … [Read more...] about Gender Differences and Cognitive Abilities

According to the BBC, the Murder Mavens have released a new video threatening to murder the four CPTers recently taken hostage in Iraq. The Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) may be deluded, naive and somewhat of a nuisance but they are good-hearted, well-intended and certainly not spies. … [Read more...] about BBC: Terrorists Seek Attention Again by Threatening to Murder Hostages

We might want to avoid donating money to THIS CHARITY until the situation is completely sorted out. … [Read more...] about Problems at a Non-Profit

Here is a POINTER to my post on this topic at Julien's List. … [Read more...] about Civil Religion, or the National Faith

Over the summer, Canada became the fourth country to legalize same-sex marriage -- a great milestone in Canadian history. Now South Africa has (almost) done the same: South Africa's highest court ruled on Thursday that gays and lesbians have a right to marry, and it gave the national parliament one year to change the words "husband" and "wife" to "spouse" in its marital … [Read more...] about South Africa approves same-sex marriage

From the BBC Website: The world today is dominated by science, but faith has not withered away. Robert Winston, respected scientist and committed Jew, examines the relationship between science and religion. … [Read more...] about Robert Winston: When science meets God

NEWS ALERT | 11:19 AM ET 10 U.S. Marines Are Killed by Bomb in Iraq Something about a home-made roadside bomb in or near Falluja. CNN: 10 Marines killed near Falluja … [Read more...] about NY Times News Alert: 10 More Marines Killed in Iraq

Courtesy of Ted Pease, WORDmeister & Professor of Interesting Stuff at Utah State University, Logan, Utah: News Flash: U.S. military, CIA plant positive stories about U.S. occupation in Iraqi press. "It may seem strange to suggest that the study of propaganda has relevance to contemporary politics. After all, when most people think about propaganda, they think of the … [Read more...] about TODAY’S WORD ON JOURNALISM–Friday, Dec. 2, 2005

It's only fringe or extremist groups that would be refused and run into trouble getting their message across on billboards, right? WRONG. … [Read more...] about In A Democracy You Can Run Billboard Ads, Right?

I always read this excellent publication covering the intersections between religion, politics and journalism. Here is the Table of Contents for the latest issue: RELIGION IN THE NEWS Fall 2005, Vol. 8, No. 2 The God Squadron: Evangelicals get their comeuppance at the Air Force Academy. By Anne C. Loveland From the Editor: Was New Orleans Asking For It? By Mark … [Read more...] about Religion in the News

Alas, we neglected to mention that yesterday was World AIDS Day. About 40 million people around the world are infected with HIV. Half of them live in Africa. For more information, a good resource is the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. … [Read more...] about World AIDS Day

If this is true, it's another sad mark for how much American mainline churches have cozied up to reprehensible groups in the name of cultural understanding. And once again, I'm glad I'm not a Presbyterian or any of these other denominations more concerned with political activism than spiritual growth. … [Read more...] about Presbyterian leaders meet with Hezbollah to discuss charity?

It matters not which judicial approach you subscribe. Taken from his Harvard University Tanner Lectures On Human Values 2004-2005, the new book by Associate Justice Steven Breyer, "Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution", weighing in at 135 pages, is a worthy read. Active Liberty takes its title from a distinction made by political philosopher Benjamin … [Read more...] about Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution — Part I

Here it is, kiddies, your scandal of the day — the latest in a series of almost daily controversies:Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R) violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo obtained by The Washington Post. But senior officials overruled them … [Read more...] about Justice Department Lawyers Were Overruled By Senior Officials On Texas Redistricting

An intriguing and somewhat surprising item via Americablog:Well, that didn't take long. It took forever for the Pentagon to finally accept having Ed Schultz's liberal radio show on the Armed Forces Radio as a counter to conservative Rush Limbaugh (and, from what I've heard, they still haven't started airing Schultz). Yet now, as soon as the Armed Forces Radio is finally … [Read more...] about Is Sean Hannity Destined For Armed Forces Radio?

How widespread is dissatisfaction over the Bush administration? Well, read this via Steve Clemons:Barbara Bush is allegedly TICKED off at Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Andy Card, nearly all of them — except Karen Hughes — for how her boy is faring in the hearts and minds of Americans. The matriarch of the Bush clan is colder than North Pole ice right now to those around … [Read more...] about A Mad Mother

This is totally off the topic of politics, but I figure a little diversion every now and again is worthwhile. Hide your acorns people. The squirrels cometh! … [Read more...] about Squirrel Fury!

Some serious thoughts on the issue from writer/columnist Cathy Young:I fully agree with John Cole: this is an outrage. Some in the "anti-anti-torture" contingent are using the fact that John McCain broke under torture when held captive by the North Vietnamese to rebut McCain's own anti-torture argument -- ostensibly as a demonstration that "torture works," but also, I suspect, … [Read more...] about More On The Debate Over Torture

Yesterday we did this long post on President George Bush's "victory strategy" speech and reaction to it in the press, and in a wide variety of political weblogs. But we left out something important. A post giving you the reaction also of someone out there in the field who is in the military. READ IT HERE. Some will agree with it, others will disagree. But one thing everyone … [Read more...] about A Military Blogger’s View on Bush’s Speech And What Is At Stake

....at Treatment Online's intriguing new psychology blog. Heavens knows Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and people of all ages are experiencing stress these days (particularly if you are from New Orleans)...and the site The Psychology of Combating Stress, Depression & Addiction has some interesting tidbits. (Hey: stress, depression and addiction — they must be … [Read more...] about Take A Peek….