Journalism

The surprisingly sad McGreevey story

When I first read this profile of James McGreevey, the former governor of New Jersey, I thought it was a pretty puffy piece. McGreevey, you’ll recall, resigned after a former aide accused him of sexual harassment. In one of the most exciting press conferences I can recall, McGreevey announced his resignation by saying “My truth is that I am a gay American.” Reporters live for this kind of stuff. I love a good sex scandal and I remember sitting in my newsroom with my mouth ajar, thinking “this will never be topped.” And then just five years later we had that press conference with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.


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Holy Catholic Rollers Praying For Osama?

I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that attempts to cover the following story are a mess. The hook is that South Floridian Henry Borga paid the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in West Palm Beach $10 to put bin Laden’s name on the prayer list there. The name appeared with four others under the mass intentions section in the church’s pamphlet, with a cross next to bin Laden’s name.


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Pod people: Talkin' about the f-word

First of all, my apologies that this Crossroads podcast is arriving several days late. You see, some key members of your GetReligionista team have spend quite a bit of time on airplanes in the past week or so heading hither and yon (seeing snow on the ground as I went through the Denver airport really brought back some high-altitude memories for me).


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French libertines, American Puritans, devout Muslims

On Sunday, the head of the International Monetary Fund was arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a maid at the Sofitel hotel in midtown Manhattan. And not just any head of the IMF but the man who was widely expected to become the Socialist candidate for the French presidency, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.


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Losing Huntsman's religion?

Remember when people used to take a break between campaigns? There would be an election and then some time off before the next campaign? What happened to that? I miss that. I hope it’s just because I live in Washington, D.C., but it’s hard to get a break from politics. So it’s with a bit of dread that I highlight some of the early religion coverage of the 2012 crop of GOP nominee wannabes.


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Religious zealots and instruments of God's will

Time has a very interesting take on what the death of Osama bin Laden means for al Qaeda in the May 20 issue. Written by Peter Bergen, he compares 9/11 to Pearl Harbor saying both events demonstrated “a stunning tactical victory that set in motion events that would end in the defeat of” the respective aggressors. We’re told that bin Laden was full of hubris and how some of his shrewder lieutenants didn’t support the particulars of his campaign to destroy the United States.


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J-politics and Islamist terrorism reporting

It’s been a while since I’ve contributed regularly around here, and I’ve changed jobs in the last few months so it’s probably best I give a quick update. I’m the online editor at The Weekly Standard where I write online and on dead tree pulp about everything from unions to mercenaries to graveyards. So that’s where I’m coming from, these days.


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