Mollie Hemingway

In memoriam: Vaclav Havel

A GetReligion reader wrote in with a special request for a look at the media coverage of Vaclav Havel. Havel is a hero of mine and I’d been intending to write something on the media coverage, sort of waiting for that perfect article. Which is never coming.


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Does your Tebow hatred know no bounds?

Thank God that the Broncos lost on Sunday. And we better hope they keep losing if only to save us from the horrors of Tim Tebow Derangement Syndrome. Rabbi Joshua Hammerman wrote a piece so bigoted against Christians that Jewish Week pulled it. Here was a favorite portion:


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Speaking Kim Jong-il of the dead

What a week in deaths. We already talked about Christopher Hitchens. On Sunday, we learned that the great Czech playwright, revolutionary and president Vaclav Havel died.


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Pope Benedict's secret enthusiasm meter

Is there some kind of “enthusiasm meter” that journalists consult to judge the popularity of a pope? That’s what one reader asked, sending along this Associated Press story. Here’s the headline:


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Christopher Hitchens was great

We all knew it was coming but somehow that didn’t make the news any easier to bear. Christopher Hitchens, the mighty literary provocateur, died yesterday. This is a profound loss to his wife and family, who loved him so much it hurts to think about. And it’s a loss for the Republic of Letters and all those he touched, including the townfolk of Washington, D.C.


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Taking God out of the 'God Particle'

Yesterday there was big news related to the Higgs boson. That’s the theoretical particle that some scientists believe plays a role in the fabric of the universe. But the story really caught my attention because almost every article referred to it as the “God particle.” So, for instance, here’s the Washington Post:


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Do you believe in Tebow?

I bleed Orange and Blue, which means that I’m having a great year. My Denver Broncos, who were completely out of the running just a few games in, somehow managed to tie for first place in the AFC West last week. And this week we — yes, I’m a key component of the team’s success — had another amazing win in overtime to get first place on our own. I had already psychologically prepared for this week’s loss. We were behind 10-0 with just minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. Unbelievable.


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