Cronkite, may he rest in peace, was nevertheless the beginning of the massive problems in media we're now having: agenda journalism. We can't count on reporters and news agencies to report on news anymore. That's too passe and pedestrian. Many reporters want to be agents of change...perhaps that's why they're so attracted to President Obama. At least Dan Rather got what Cronkite should have gotten.

Cronkite's legacy will be seen that way by most honest writers in the future.

We can't walk away from Israel, allow its destruction, and then think there will be no further consequences for the West. With Israel gone, what will the Middle Eastern axis of evil think of their capabilities and strength...and who will become their next target? Seems pretty obvious, since they've spent the last 25 years vilifying Israel and the U.S.

Christians can't simply view torture as "bad" and say no to it. We need enduring values and principles which illuminate and guide the application of those things we do, torture and war being just two of those things. It comes as no surprise Just War comes from Catholicism, since this religion had the responsibility to govern vast territories. And sometimes ruling gets ugly. To some, that sounds antithetical, just as theories of Just War do to those same people.

St. Augustine's wisdom needs to be ours. Sadistic torture is different than measures to obtain necessary information to save lives.

We should not listen to the idiots and mental midgets who can't distinguish and appreciate that difference. These are the same...

I hope not. Look at the explosion of costs of Romney-Care over the past couple of years. It is bankrupting the Commonwealth. Romney took his bows as the hero/statesman to get this started, but now he's long gone while his "legacy" is dragging down the whole state.

Don't we ever learn? You didn't have the time or space to mention that, Charles? I understand you're only pointing out what Obama could do to claim a victory and ultimately get what he wants down the road. And you're probably right. But was Balaam looked on kindly for his cunning advice to the king/ruler he was advising? His advice ultimately was to undermine Jewish identity to destroy/hamper it. Your advice would ultimately do the same to us: undermine our...

"Pick and choose" what to believe as a Christian? Wow. You clearly pick and choose what is rational too. You don't see that you statement is the end of a religion, not a strong point of one.

Do you pick and choose which dogmas of gravity you will and won't believe? Or is religious truth somehow more irrelevant? This is what your point really leads to: religious irrelevence.

But at least you admit it and are aware of it. I suggest you re-evaluate that opinion.

Are you paid to make dumb posts? Your constant use of non-sequitars and moral equivalence is maddening.

Blurring out the face of someone abused at Abu Graib is done to protect the privacy of someone humiliated. Refusing to publish photos of Mohamed -- who died more than 1300 years ago -- by NON-MUSLIMS because someone might die or get murdered is extraordinary. That's Dennis's point. Is Christ depicted in art? Moses? Why, even Mohamed is the subject of some of the greatest artist the world has ever seen. The prohibition from showing/making pictures of Mohamed applies only to Muslims, not Christians or atheists, any more than eating pork doesn't apply to non-Muslims. Or, Jeffrey, should the Student Union there at Yale stop...

Does anyone else get a gross feeling from a pole dancing 16 year old for public viewing. How about her doing a mock porno for her next music video? Boy, that would be really edgy and artsy. They think this is what we want and what will make them money, even though it has ended the career of virtually every child star who has tried the innocence-to-tramp pathway.

And there her dad is. Yup, their "friendship" -- documented in numerous articles -- is supposedly legendary. Maybe he's having a hard time figuring out his real role, whether it is father or buddy or money-making agent. At the end of the day, the prostitute and pole dancer invariably hate her exploiter and those paying to see the "show"...not to mention the...

So, according to your rules of argumentation, we can't say much about anything without a million qualifiers. Bullcrap.

You take your nonsense and speak with the Episc. Church who just authorized the appointment of gay bishops. I'm sure that will have no future impacts. No one would argue that that denomination is quite liberal. We'll see how much longer they'll be around as a viable denomination. "Liberal" Christians fall along the lines presented that you argue against, although not everyone obviously agrees with anyone all the time. Wow, what a great, compelling argument you make!! Imagine that, not everyone falls in step and that, therefore, accurate generalizatinos CAN'T be used. Foolishness.

I have noticed that Petraus has been pretty quiet since his transfer last year.

This is what happens when a tribal, chaotic, unorganized, terrorized populace confronts a unified force dedicated to doing the unimaginable for victory.

Hmm, kind of like Islam back at its founding: terrorist adherents of radical faith simply picked off tribe by tribe, town by town until it had conquered huge territories. A unified opposition back in the day may have staved off the onslaught, but once it got going it was all over.

I suppose we're seeing a redux right now...only on a much smaller scale -- at least for now. It certainly teaches us some humility, since we're learning again that the human spirit and faith are much...

Yeah, part of the reason the Post Office can charge less is because it gets gov't money to prop it up. If they had to do what FedEx and the others had to do, then they'd charge more and limit services...kind of like the health care reform coming our way.