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If you are into film, alcohol, claims of anti-Semitism and manic mood swings, you may already know that Mel Gibson is developing a film about, well, the man who could justifiably be called the Jewish version of William “Braveheart” Wallace. That would be one Judah Maccabee, the warrior whose story is tightly linked with the celebration of the once low-key Jewish holiday called Hanukkah.
Like many of you, I spent much of today watching a surreal combination of two kinds of television programing — 9/11 coverage and professional football. What is there to say about that?
So let’s say that you are covering a news story that focuses on some Catholic organizations that have been accused of fraud. Right in the middle of the scene is a Catholic priest who has been close to the accused and was clearly in communication with them during the time in question.
I’ve tried to stay out of the whole Dominionism thing in recent weeks, in large part because if you have read a fair share of church history you — literally — have heard it all before. The partisans simply work up new labels in each new round of combat.
A reader sent in the following story and I’m so glad he did. I read so many stories each day that sometimes I get desensitized to what I’m actually reading. Not this one. Learning about the subject of the piece — and the skillful storytelling — gave me chills as I got through it.
Regular GetReligion readers may have picked up, through the years, that I spent my teen years in the polluted Texas refinery town to end all polluted Texas refinery towns — Port Arthur. I went to high school with the younger brother of Janis Joplin and, trust me, I have always understood the roots of her anger about her hometown. Click here, folks.
You know that whole asking-questions thing that journalists are supposed to do as part of their work?
Get ready to start thinking about the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 if you haven’t already. NPR is one of many outlets preparing to tell you all about it, starting coverage on September 5. Of course, we’ll be interested in the percentage and the quality of religion news that comes out of it.
