Producer's Desk — politics

My latest post at Casting Stones:

“The American people have the odd habit of deciding for themselves what they think is appropriate and then acting accordingly. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” The facts seem to be that Americans, even those who never attend worship, are more than comfortable with people of faith being involved and speaking out on the moral implications of the public policy decisions facing the nation.”

Read the complete post…

My latest post at Casting Stones:

“…a national polling firm for LifeWay Research and the ERLC conducted a survey asking Americans to respond to this statement: “I am concerned that at times Christians are too involved in politics.”

Read the results…

My latest post at Casting Stones:

I was getting very sleepy as I drove across middle Tennessee the other day, so I stopped to get some coffee at a Waffle House in a rural area.

As I sipped my coffee, I eavesdropped on a conversation among some male blue-collar workers who were raising their cholesterol levels while solving the world’s problems. Sen. Obama’s clinging comments came up and one middle-aged man in bib overalls and work boots said, “I hate to say it, but he sounds like just another limousine liberal to me!”

Does this “cling-gate” story have a shelf life—Yep!

Read the complete post at Casting Stones…

On April 12, 2007, Richard Land appeared on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report

My latest post at Casting Stones:

Excerpt: “Do “conservatives” give more to charitable causes than “liberals”? Dr. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University, was quite astounded with the results of his own research, which was so at variance with the common perception of the generous “liberal” and the Scrooge-like “conservative.” “

Read the complete entry at Casting Stones, a Beliefnet.com blog.

The Economist reports on Arthur Brook’s latest publication, Gross National Happiness

“When researchers ask parents what they enjoy, it turns out that they prefer almost anything to looking after their children… Despite this, American parents are much more likely to be happy than non-parents. This is for two reasons, argues Mr. Brooks, an economist at Syracuse University. Even if children are irksome now, they lend meaning to life in the long term. And the kind of people who are happy are also more likely to have children. Which leads on to Mr Brooks’s most controversial finding: in America, conservatives are happier than liberals. “

Read the rest at The Economist…

An excerpt of my post to Casting Stones:

“Whenever Americans discuss the issue of race, there are always ghosts in the room with us—the ghosts of racial sins and racial hurts from our shared and tragic past.

Race has always been the serpent in the American Eden, the birth defect in our historic genetic code.

Senator Obama’s speech earlier this week used one of my favorite quotes from William Faulkner: “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past,” to make this point. Living in Mississippi, Faulkner understood the “Ghosts of Mississippi” always present in the room and part of every racial interaction. And that’s true of not just Mississippi, but the entire nation as well.”

Read the rest of this commentary…

• A Tennessee Church expands free English classes - Tennessean
• Rick Santorum says McCain must change views on social issues - Philly Inquirer
• The Washington Times editorializes the D.C. gun ban on trial
• “Newsflash”: The “right” is underrepresented in press’s diversity - Wash. Times
• Catholics Flock to the right Wash. Times

Richard’s latest post at Casting Stones

America’s National Security At Risk - Richard Land

“Americans are less safe today from terrorists than two weeks ago. On Feb. 16, a critical law authorizing our intelligence community to monitor foreign terrorists’ communications expired… Liberals in Congress appear more interested in empowering the lawyers to sue the telecommunications companies than they are in providing for the security of United States citizens…” - Richard Land