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Pontifications

Anthea Butler makes the case at ReligionDispatches: We loved the music, but the trash sold much more. Yet, for all of the crass tabloid fodder, Michael was his best when singing these hopeful songs that called listeners to become better human beings. He most certainly reached more people than the average religious figure, and his…

The pop icon was raised a Jehovah’s Witness, but according to some accounts had been “disfellowshipped” for various infractions. Last fall it was reported that Jackson had become a Muslim and changed his name to Mikaeel: The 50-year-old singer, who has previously been photographed wearing a traditional Arab women’s veil, reportedly became a Muslim in a…

Sad life, sad death–great music. So much people are saying, but the music says it best. YouTube has a site dedicated to his videos here, and it’s interesting that the most popular ones are of a later vintage. Many are superb. Here’s a link to the “Thriller” video–it’s long—at least in today’s attention span metrics–almost a…

The actress who began as everyone’s favorite pinup (mine, too–I’m of that vintage) has died after a long and public battle with cancer. Hers was a remarkable journey, really, from those blow-dry feathered hairdos to really superb acting roles to the latest cancer icon, and martyr. With anyone so embedded in the public consciousness in one particular…

Now that the GOP hopefuls are flaming out, is Sarah the saviour? A new Pew poll shows Palin well ahead of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich among Republicans, with 73 percent favoring her as opposed to 57 and 55 percent respectively for her next most popular rivals. Among white evangelicals–a.k.a., The Base–her positives shoot up…

From the “Department of What Was He Thinking?!” here comes South Carolina’s Republican governor and a GOP hopeful for president, admitting that his five-day off-the-radar escapade was to visit his Argentine lover–not to hike the Appalachian Trail, as aides said. Unbelievable. Or, well, all-too-believable in the world of right-wing, Bible-thumping, family values Republican politics these days.…

As part of the protests over Barack Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame, one alum, David DiFranco, launched a website to get ND pres Father John Jenkins fired and to tally donations withheld from the university as a way of quantifying the displeasure and pressuring the board to replace Jenkins. The site’s last public tally, on May…

Together again, for the first time, on July 10: VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI will welcome U.S. President Barack Obama to the Vatican July 10 for an audience scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Obama will visit Italy July 8-10 to participate in the Group of Eight summit, a meeting of leaders of…

Well, sort of. Newly released tapes show that in the wake of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, Tricky Dick worried that legalized abortion would lead to “permissiveness,” and said that “it breaks the family.” But he also saw abortion as “necessary” in some cases: “There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When…

The simplest answer to that question is “yes.” Neda Agha-Soltan died terribly and publicly while at a protest for freedom against a repressive regime. Her story has spun around the globe, drawing broad support and rallying the reform cause at home. (I watched the graphic video of her death, clicking without thinking, and regretted it–but…
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