The first I heard of the controversy over 15 year old Miley Cyrus posing topless in Vanity Fair was when a colleague blogged about it.  I thought Grace's piece was well written and kinda took it for granted that most people would agree that the picture was indicative of our culture, which sexualizes our youth in order to sell products.  So I was rather surprised wh

than watch the Compassion Forum on CNN.  At 8 pm, I tuned in to see Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama answer questions on faith and how it affects their approach to public policy. (Fyi, the Compassion Forum was organized by Faith in Public Life, for whom my supervisor sits as chair of the board.)  John McCain was invited but declined.

First off, I am glad to see someone else who believes that we are in the middle of another Great Awakening.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, "Great Awakening" refers to historic periods of dramatic religious revival.

Whenever I evaluate a person's actions, particularly a politician's, I look at two considerations: 1) ethics - was it the morally right thing to do? and 2) logic - was it rational? These are not the same thing. One might commit a completely unethical act that nonetheless is logically expedient - helps advance your cause. Ultimately I would argue that unethical acts are not expedient in the long run, but still, I can understand why sometimes people choose the short-term gain.

With Mrs. Clinton's campaign these days, her choices seem neither ethical nor logical.

I am increasingly unhappy with Clinton's campaign. First there was the strange Christmas commercial where she is seen wrapping presents addressed with things like "Universal Health Care," "Alternative Energy," and "Bring the Troops Home." I am as much in favor of these things as much as the next liberal. But first of all, the Martha Stewart-esque imagery was disturbing. And secondly and more importantly, these things are not "gifts" from her to us. Her commercial trivializes these vital necessities.

When Rabbi Lerner (of Tikkun fame) brought his Network of Spiritual Progressives to DC two years ago, what drew me most to the movement he was starting was his giving a voice to the Religious Left. For too long the "battle lines" for the "soul" of America had been drawn along the Religious Right and the Secular Left. (For the purposes of exposition here, "Secular" refers to those who are hostile to religion.

First, the Pew Center on the States tells us that for the first time in U.S. history, more than 1 in 100 American adults is prison or jail. Per capita, that is more than any other country in the world. At the start of 2008, 2,319,258 adults were incarcerated.

Most people know today as Abraham Lincoln's birthday. What you might not know is that the man who saved the Union shares his birthday (to the year) with the man who proposed natural selection as the driving force for evolution. February 12th is "Darwin Day," promoted by some as an "international celebration of science and humanity," mainly in reaction against those that favor creationism/intelligent design.

Welcome to year 4706 of the Chinese calendar. It is the Year of the Rat, the first of twelve animal signs/constellations in the Chinese zodiac. (Click here for a story about how the twelve animals were chosen.)

I arrived in the office bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, having stayed up into the wee hours watching commentary on primaries that did not give a resounding victory to either Obama or Clinton as I had hoped. I almost don't care who wins the nomination at this point; I just want some resolution.