Autiello: Will True Christianity Please Stand Up?
Nick Autiello, Contributor
The notion that homosexuality is a sin and un-Christian is one that is less than a hundred years old. It is wrong, and has no basis in scriptural or historical reality.
SASSO: The Coming New Year
James Sasso, Associate Editor
As the tumultuous 2011 comes down to its final day, this column could contain an obnoxious summary of the year’s extraordinary events. Rather than once again discussing the protests around the world, the death of Osama Bin Laden, Fukushima, America’s political ineptitude, Europe’s demise or the increasingly frightful weather patterns, here I attempt to predict what 2012 holds in store.
SASSO: Kicking the Can
James Sasso, Associate Editor
For one of the first times in his tenure as Speaker, John Boehner has made a statement with which every American, Republican or Democrat, should fully agree; the two-month Senate bipartisan extension of the payroll tax cut fails to fix the nation’s problems sufficiently. Providing a short-term band-aid to a long-term dilemma contradicts what a responsible government should accomplish, but fits the pattern of contemporary American politicking.
CIOCCI: A Foolish Consistency
Mitt Romney is guilty of serial hypocrisy, Newt Gingrich is guilty of being a public intellectual constantly scrutinized by the media and others, and Ron Paul never ceases to remind me about one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
AKMAN: Jon Huntsman’s Meaningless Campaign
Josh Akman, Columnist
Jon Huntsman did not participate in the CNN Debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Short of his family and small (and getting smaller) campaign staff, no one really noticed. In a bizarre and counterproductive effort to impress New Hampshire voters Huntsman skipped the debate to protest Nevada moving its caucus ahead of New Hampshire’s, which has always been the nation’s first primary. It’s bizarre because no one else skipped the debate. It’s counterproductive because right now, Jon Huntsman is polling 6% in New Hampshire.
SASSO: The 99% Rising
James Sasso
Associate Editor
For the past month a movement has grown out of Zuccoti Park in New York with the potential to grab at the very heart of America’s problems. “We are the 99%” is not simply a catchy phrase used by frustrated jobless Americans , but a commentary on the disgraceful economic inequality that has arisen in the United States since the 1970s.
SIEFF: On Fear and Democracy
Adam Sieff, Columnist
The reasonable man cannot doubt that there are likely subversive foreign agents among us, but nor can he allow himself to be seduced by epic conspirational fantasies. The conspiracies promoted by the far right pollute the quality of discourse that is essential to maintaining a mature democracy.
CIOCCI: Hearings on American Islamic Radicalization Long Overdue
Chadwick Ciocci, Columnist
Congressman Peter King recently announced that in his new position as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee he will hold hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims. The announcement has been met with outlandish cries of bigotry, racism and xenophobia. Home grown terrorism, however, is a serious and potentially deadly threat that must be understood before it is to be combated, and King’s hearings are a step in that direction.
PANDYA: Breaking the Taboo on Religion
Om Pandya, Columnist
Juan Williams, Angela Merkel and Geert Wilders are not figures on the fringe making insensitive outbursts. We should be able to have an adult conversation on religion without fearing reprisals and shame. Unlike race, gender and even sexual orientation, religion is a choice. Like every choice that people make, it can and should be open to discussion.
STORM: Intolerable Tolerance
Meg Storm, Columnist
The controversy surrounding the proposed mosque near Ground Zero is not necessarily a barometer of America’s tolerance but a mark of the rising backlash against double standards.
HOLLINSHEAD: Religious Freedom Must Triumph Over Islamophobia
Kevin Hollinshead, Columnist
The proposed Muslim center near Ground Zero will ultimately help the U.S. recover from the wounds of 9/11. Some victims’ families are understandably uneasy about the proposed mosque, but allowing Islamophobic scare tactics dictate our interpretation of the First Amendment would mean “letting the terrorists win.”
MINDELL: Last Imam Standing
Rob Mindell, Columnist
A new reality TV show in Malaysia called “Imam Muda” has turned the Western reality TV competition model into a contest to find the next Imam. Is this a positive or negative development for Islam and religious culture in general?
ROGERS: Caution, This Article May Contain Drawings of Mohammed
Conor Rogers, Editor
Conor Rogers takes a look at what happens when the liberal ideals of freedom of speech and freedom of expression collide with restrictive religious beliefs.
SIEG: The Rising Right…in the Land of Tulips?
Emily Sieg, Social Democrat
The recent local elections in the Netherlands, the rise of Geert Wilders and the right to the Freedom of Speech.
BARON: A Dangerous Hypocrisy
Noah Baron, Religious Progressive
For some reason, many on the campus left appear to have an apologist affinity for radical Islam, countries which enforce Islamic law, and terrorist groups. This is unacceptable.
SIEFF: Why They Want To Attack Us
Adam S. Sieff, liberal
At the end of yesterday’s White House press conference on the botched Christmas bombing, press corps legend Helen Thomas asked John Brennan, the President’s assistant in charge of counterterrorism intelligence, the money question that corporate media airheads and hacks have never really considered: “why does Al Qaeda want to attack us?”
MARIN: How Words Create Terrorists
The psycholinguistic effects of the phrase “Muslim World” can be more destructive than intended.
Sieff: Islmophobia and Public Political Speech
Ought the political speech of candidates be held to stricter standards?
BARON: The War on the West
Associate Editor Noah Baron denounces the anti-Muslim referendum in Switzerland.
JACOBS: The PC Threat Level Rises
Though it’s been moving in this direction for quite some time, political correctness has finally gone from a cute liberal idea meant not to offend anyone to become a dangerous idea that threatens the lives of American soldiers and citizens.
CARPENTER: Women Are Still Oppressed
Though substantial progress has been made in the last century with regards to gender equality, women across the world are often denied basic human rights.