On Friday, as news spread of the ghastly terror attacks in Norway, U.S. cable news outlets jumped to the conclusion that Muslims must have done it. Many talking heads were stunned to learn that the confessed killer was a blond,…
Category: Religion
The Christian Right’s Rigid Politics
Exclusive: Christian fundamentalism is in the news after a right-wing Norwegian justified his slaughter of scores of people as a protest against European tolerance of Muslims. But the attack was only the most extreme manifestation of how the Christian Right…
The Slaughter in Norway
Exclusive: A right-wing Christian fundamentalist has reportedly taken credit for the terrorist slaughter of scores of people in Norway on Friday. The alleged perpetrators’ stated goal was to spark a Christian war against Muslims, a reaction to what he saw…
Ray McGovern to Gov. Brown on Prisons
In recent weeks, prisoners in California’s over-crowded prison system have been on hunger strikes demanding more humane treatment. This crisis has prompted Jesuit-schooled, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern to write an open letter an appeal for justice to California Gov.…
American Right and Limits of Logic
American politics is increasingly defined by a struggle that pits religious fundamentalism and anti-government true-belief against rationality and liberalism, with the former combination gaining gradual dominance over the latter. But poet Phil Rockstroh says both sides fail to grasp the coming collapse of…
Gaza and a Liturgy for Justice
Exclusive: The Audacity of Hope, the U.S. boat among a small flotilla seeking to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza, was turned back by Greek authorities doing the bidding of Washington and Tel Aviv. However, for ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern,…
Religious Tests of Campaign 2012
Though the United States has a tradition of separating church and state, the 2012 presidential campaign may test the limits of that tolerance. Not only do some Republicans continue to question Barack Obama’s Christianity, but GOP front-runner Mitt Romney is…
Is ‘Delegitimizing’ Israel Anti-Semitic?
Israel and its backers are on the political offensive against critics who are putting non-violent pressure on the Likud government of Benjamin Netanyahu to address the legitimate needs of Palestinians and to recognize human rights for all people who live…
Spirits of Justice Going to Gaza
Exclusive: “The Audacity of Hope” is a boat that will carry Americans through the Mediterranean Sea as part of a small flotilla challenging the Israeli blockade of Gaza, where 1.5 million Palestinians live largely cut off from the world. One…
Israel’s Jewish Exodus
Hard-line Israelis reject the idea of reasonable compromises for peace, arguing that any significant concessions to Palestinian sovereignty would threaten Israel’s security or the Zionist cause, but Lawrence Davidson notes that demographic trends, including a growing Jewish exodus from Israel,…