In the new documentary “Religulous,” comedian Bill Maher (in photo) takes stands against religion and against the very notion of faith (as the word is generally used these days) some of the time, and against the intermingling of religion and public policy all of the time. Maher is not alone: For many of us, it makes about as much sense to take the Bible (or any of the other religions’ texts) as absolute truth as it does to regard “The Lord of the Rings” (or “Gulliver’s Travels” or “Story of O”) as holy writ. The Bible’s exceptional status is more an accident of history than a proof of divine origin. And thinking God is actually speaking to you is, well, a little bonkers, whether you’re Moses or Joan of Arc or the guy on his knees praying, right down the street. – Andy Klein, www.lacitybeat.com
“Religulous” has the theological depth of a religion documentary by a seventh-grade church dropout, which is exactly what filmmaker Bill Maher is. He uses a more fundamentalist reading of Scripture than most fundamentalists do. The film is an alleged quest to find out if “religion is detrimental to the progress of humanity.” He concludes that it is, even though most of the believers he meets treat him with far more respect than he treats them. He makes no mention of any good ever done in the name of God, or of the millions killed by Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot in the name of atheism. There are intelligent arguments to be made against faith. This is not one of them. – Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Here is a sample of the questions that Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen would like to ask John McCain and Barack Obama at tonight’s final presidential debate:
Sen. McCain, I’d like to ask you why you’ve attacked Sen. Obama for associating with the former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, even though you have befriended G. Gordon Liddy, who was jailed for what amounts to subversion of the Constitution. Liddy also once told his radio listeners to deal with agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms by shooting them – “a head shot,” he recommended. What’s the difference between Liddy and Ayers? Take as much time as you want.
Sen. Obama, did you ever tell Bill Ayers to his face that what he did was wrong?
Sen. McCain, what lessons should we have learned from the Iraq war? Should it have been fought? Should we have stuck to Afghanistan? What are our limits as a great power?
Sen. Obama, if your plan for troop withdrawal in Iraq had been adopted, the U.S. troops would now be almost out of the country. That being the case, what do you think we’d have there now? Civil war? A peaceful country? An Islamic republic next door in Jordan?
Sen. McCain, do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and wonder if history will forgive you for Sarah Palin?
Sen. Obama, do you ever wake up in the middle of night for anything?
You bloggers have some of your own questions?
Democrat Jim Slattery isn’t kidding when he talks about the money gap in his race against Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. (in photo). Roberts said Friday he has raised more than $5.2 million so far – a record for a Kansas delegation race – including nearly $954,000 in the past three months. Because polls show him way ahead of Slattery, we wonder why Roberts needs that kind of cash. Could he be thinking ahead to another re-election campaign in 2014, when he’ll be 78?
There is no excuse for campaign signs to be placed illegally – including on public property or in the city’s right of way on private property, which is between the sidewalk and the street. But this year has been more amazing than most for the number of unlawful signs from campaigns of candidates for Sedgwick County District Court judge and, to our eye, of the GOP candidate for Sedgwick County district attorney. Illegal placement not only makes the candidate look bad but also wastes hard-to-come-by campaign dollars, because city employees just come along and sweep up the offending signs. Another heads up: All signs should be gone eight days after the election.
