Monthly Archives: June 2011

From Camping to Kurzweil, A Culture-Clash of Sweeping Predictions

by Kevin Healey In May, doomsayer Harold Camping garnered extensive coverage—from the curious to the condescending—for his ill-fated prediction of the Second Coming. While “The Colbert Report” spoofed the incident, NPR offered more sober speculations on an apparent “prophesy upswing.” … Continue reading

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Gay Marriage in New York: Rightward Ho!

by Nick Street As the New York Times reported yesterday, the Republican-controlled Senate of the state whose political establishment gave us the term “Rockefeller Republican” has passed legislation that, by the end of July, will double the number of gays … Continue reading

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Religion and Politics, by the Numbers

by Brie Loskota The great American political experiment has passed many milestones along the path toward a more inclusive society. Kennedy broke barriers for Catholics, Geraldine Ferraro for women, Lieberman for Jews and Obama for African-Americans. But there are a … Continue reading

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Stand Up And Ask Questions: Reporters, Gingrich and Islamophobia

by Chris Tokuhama “There are some genuinely bad people who would like to infiltrate our country,” Newt Gingrich asserted during the first Republican Presidential Debate in New Hampshire, “and we have got to have the guts to stand up and … Continue reading

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More of the Same: Peter King, "Radicalization" and the Mainstream News

Su'ad Abdul Khabeer “He's Back!” quipped the headline of a news report on yesterday's congregational hearings, sponsored by New York Rep. Peter King (R-NY), on the alleged threat of terrorist recruitment in U.S. prisons. Whether that opener is read ominously … Continue reading

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Latter-day Spin?

by Sandi Dolbee Newsweek's cover story this month about the mainstreaming of Mormonism is another reminder of how religion coverage has become the Detroit of journalism — largely abandoned as a specialty beat and left to generalists, who, like absentee … Continue reading

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The Cruelest Cut?

by Courtney Bender “Let's put aside the question of whether the people behind the bill to ban circumcision in San Francisco are anti-Semites,” Rebecca Newberger Goldstein suggests in a Washington Post blog. Instead she asks readers to consider the “big … Continue reading

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AIDS at 30

Many news outlets marked the 30th anniversary of the discovery of AIDS—or more accurately the first reports of five otherwise healthy homosexuals in Los Angeles who had contracted a rare cancer—with stories on the medical and scientific aspects of the … Continue reading

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Mood Lavender: Covering Black Religion and Sexuality

by Judith Weisenfeld Numerous recent events have illuminated issues around sexuality in African American communities, including NBA star Kobe Bryant's shouting an anti-gay slur at an official during a game and the firestorm over a Psychology Today article declaring black … Continue reading

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