Journalism

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Free speech ... and hate speech

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Eleven years ago gay teen Matthew Shephard was beaten and left to die on a Wyoming fencepost. That was also the year three white men in a truck, in another sickening act of violence, pulled African American James Byrd behind them until he was dead. This past Wednesday, President Obama signed the Matthew Shephard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. In a fairly common practice, it was passed as part of a totally unrelated spending bill.


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Monotony and poly-agony

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A couple of months ago, Elizabeth looked at a big Newsweek piece on polyamory and criticized it for its lack of depth, neglect of religious angles, and its unrealistic portrayal of poly communities. Well, compared to this CNN story with an attention-grabbing headline of “Mate debate: Is monogamy realistic?,” that Newsweek article was a masterpiece. Apparently the premise of this article is that in oldentimes, people were monogamous but in these complicated modern times, it’s a completely unrealistic virtue and should be dropped post haste.


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From Beliefnet to FCC.gov

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Steven Waldman, the founding editor of Beliefnet, resigned yesterday to join the Federal Communications Commission as the Chairman Julius Genachowski’s special adviser and head a commission on the state of the media in challenging economic times. Writing on his Beliefnet blog:


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Cleanliness is next to an evolutionary strategy

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So Time magazine has an interesting story about social scientists looking at a connection between clean livin’ and Windex. Apparently studies suggest that people behave better when they’re surrounded by the Refreshingly Clean Scent of Streak-free Windex. I don’t doubt this as my own behavior ranges from disorderly mayhem to prim and proper based on the state of my house. (Things aren’t so great right now, thanks for asking.)


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Nasty ink about Anglo-Catholic move?

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So far, most of the mainstream media coverage of the Vatican’s move to open a door for Anglo-Catholics into the Church of Rome has focused on the Anglican side of the story. This has, in part, created a news template that says Pope Benedict XVI has played a winning card that will result in thousands, if not millions, of new members for his flock.


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Harry Reid and litmus tests

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Do you believe in God? Do you promise to follow him and forsake sin? And do you endorse God’s one-and-only approved stance on this latest piece of legislation? Then (and only then) may you be counted among the elect!


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Chastity, celibacy and continence

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Reporting from London, the Los Angeles Times‘ Henry Chu takes a look at what the Vatican’s new Anglican provision means for both church bodies. The punchy story is written well and includes some helpful information. It begins by looking at one Church of England parish that is likely to make the move before putting that congregation’s story in context:


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