Mollie Hemingway

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About that non-existent slippery slope

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In a recent conversation discussing the New York Times‘ glowing hagiography of Dan Savage and his views in favor of adultery, we discussed how former Sen. Rick Santorum had said something years ago to infuriate Savage. The crime that resulted in naming the fecal slime that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex after Santorum? He argued that the legal reasoning being used in the Lawrence v. Texas (a huge gay rights case) could be used in favor of polygamy and various other private sexual acts.


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The Times grinds Its ax

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We don’t typically spend too much time looking at mainstream movie or book reviews, but I thought the cover of the New York Times Sunday Book Review was worth looking at. For one, it’s written by Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times. For another, the Review has this curious note from “the editors”:


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Of God and space

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Like many other Americans, I paused Friday afternoon to watch the liftoff of Atlantis Mission: STS-135. This will be the last Space Shuttle mission and the end of an exciting era of space exploration. As a kid, I used to go with my family to Edwards Air Force Base to watch shuttle landings. The early 1980s in California were so cool and fun. I still recall my spotting of Ricky Schroeder in the gift shop. But the landings were a huge party. Families from all around came and camped out and when the shuttle landed it was exhilarating. My husband and oldest daughter and I joined his family a few years back to watch a launch piloted by a friend of the family. Even though we allotted a full week in case the take-off was rescheduled, it took off after we had left.


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All hail the victors?

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Someone alerted me to this discussion from last weekend’s Reliable Sources show hosted by Howard Kurtz on CNN. I’ve never really watched the program but it’s a media program dealing with media coverage. So meta. This past week’s segment featured a conservative radio host named Dennis Prager and a liberal blog founder named John Aravosis.


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A priest by any other name?

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A couple of weeks ago, we looked at a particularly bad story about Roman Catholic Womenpriests broadcast on NPR. The story was an absolute train wreck, written by someone who clearly was a fan of the Womenpriests but theologically illiterate about how ordination and excommunication work. Here was how it was teased on NPR.com:


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Who is Dan Savage?

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Sunday’s New York Times magazine featured a cover story that approvingly discusses sex columnist Dan Savage and the propriety of consensual adultery. There is so much to say about the piece that I almost don’t know where to begin. Let’s first note that the piece is very nicely and ably presented by the paper’s religion writer Mark Oppenheimer and editor Vera Titunik. The quality of the writing is great.


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Got news? Pedophile Priest? Did Jefferts Schori Know?

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A story that has been hotly discussed among my Episcopal and Anglican friends has received, near as I can tell, almost no mainstream media coverage. And I have no idea why. But it’s been going on long enough that it certainly deserves a “Got news?” post.


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Pod people: the extended cut

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For this week’s Crossroads, host Todd Wilken and I talked about media coverage of changes in New York’s marriage laws and why the media isn’t more interested in exploring how those changes might affect religious adherents and their institutions.


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