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Some people look at Newsweek‘s precipitous decline as an example of how to destroy a magazine. (Its most recent issue had six ads.) Other people apparently want to emulate it. Or so I’m led to believe by TIME magazine’s decision to have former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham write its cover story celebrating Rob Bell and his views on hell.
So I am sure that GetReligion readers will be shocked, shocked to know that gay-rights conflicts continue in the great state of California and that a hot new conflict on the horizon is linked to a giant project in public schools.
If everyone reading this GetReligion post could be very quiet, we’re going to explore a New York Times feature on Ghanaian immigrant funerals in the Big Apple. I ask you to pipe it down because the Ghanaians are partying like it’s — well, like someone is dead — and we sure wouldn’t want to interrupt the dancing, laughing and drinking with something so benign as discussion of spirituality and/or religion.
Even though I’m the mother of two young girls, I’m not worried about them getting caught up in the whole princess complex. My husband is some kind of anti-royalist so he keeps any princess talk in check. Last time the girls tried to dress up as princesses, my husband gave them a lecture on Constitutional governance.
Sadly, it isn’t unusual to open up a copy of The Baltimore Sun and find a story about clergy sexual abuse. Our town isn’t that far from Philadelphia, after all.
Call me shallow, but I click on a story headlined “La Salle suspends professor who hired dancers.” Yeah, those kind of dancers. The Philly Inquirer reports:
Wedding bells can be found in Ben Roethlisberger’s future, but cohabitation will have to wait. The Pittsburgh Steeler’s quarterback revealed some of the nuptial plans to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but buried at the bottom of the story readers will find an interesting nugget with no details or explanation.
Trust me. It is rare for your GetReligionistas to receive email from readers complimenting mainstream news stories about Catholic sex scandals. However, this Mercury News piece about the fall of Father Michael Manning — leader of the Wordnet television ministry — was hailed by several readers as exceptionally balanced and fair.
Malta is 98 percent Catholic, making it one of the most Catholic countries in the world. A reader sent along a link to a story about the United States ambassador to Malta getting into trouble with the State Department Inspector General. Here’s how the Associated Press put it:
