I with TPM and am a tad bit shocked when I heard that apparently out of the blue that Keith Olbermann just had his last show. Really? Is that how it works? You have long and successful show, then you suddenly don't? Seems a tad arbitrary and unfair that fans did not get more of a warning. And, though I think he is a bit of a blowhard, I will miss his voice. Plus, the Young Turks or Chris Hayes would make a better replacement than an uber insider like O'Donnell.
A Christian friendly channel (shades of PAX) airs two shows that are among my current syndication favs -- Doc and Sue Thomas FB Eye, the latter having a theme song that is currently stuck in my mind. And, guess what: an actor on the program later was on a show involving a 1890s detective that is currently on my viewing list. Never-ending, as I said recently. Anyway, a quick nod to Love On A Dime, a Christian historical romance taking place about the same time that I was able to download for free on Kindle. I actually am enjoying it though at times it is pretty over the top to the degree that it also works as a sort of parody at times.
Doc recently had a subplot that I knew was a must see -- the adopted (foster?) son of a character had to do a school paper on whether 'under God' should be in the Pledge. After doing a slipshod effort, his teacher told him to do a better job, checking out both points of view. Well, he did a better job, but still only gave the 'pro' side. This bothered his teacher in particular because of a crisis of faith he had as his brother died. It is useful to note that "Doc" is a Christian of an evangelistic bent, though the show as a whole doesn't dwell on it, except that his final emails to his mentor tend to have such a focus.
A bit in bad form to bring that up to your young student, but still, he should have actually covered both sides of the issue. This is so even if you think God exists and that the First Amendment is not violated by the phrase being there. What about Render Unto Caesar and all that? The suggestion at one point that the First Amendment was written the way it was to uphold Judeo-Christian values was really a bit much. What about Muslims? We are talking a NYC located show and are a few here, you know. Seventh Heaven, which I also liked, also stacked the deck like that.
Religion and faith is a big part of many people's lives and it is appreciated when programs recognize the fact. But, I think there can be some sort of middle ground here. The teacher came off biased, and he was in the sense that he shouldn't have expressed his religious views to a twelve year old student (I guess he is about that age) as strongly as he did. Still, the teacher was right to be upset that he only gave one side of the story, and should not faith be made only stronger by respectfully facing up to the alternative, but not losing faith in the end?
Meanwhile, sneering at true believers on the other side is pretty counterproductive in my book. I seemed to have gained a bit of respect from someone whose views are quite different from mind there. It upsets me when the other side doesn't seem to be listening. Just talking past me. It isn't really that pleasant even when I see it among people whose views I support.
A Christian friendly channel (shades of PAX) airs two shows that are among my current syndication favs -- Doc and Sue Thomas FB Eye, the latter having a theme song that is currently stuck in my mind. And, guess what: an actor on the program later was on a show involving a 1890s detective that is currently on my viewing list. Never-ending, as I said recently. Anyway, a quick nod to Love On A Dime, a Christian historical romance taking place about the same time that I was able to download for free on Kindle. I actually am enjoying it though at times it is pretty over the top to the degree that it also works as a sort of parody at times.
Doc recently had a subplot that I knew was a must see -- the adopted (foster?) son of a character had to do a school paper on whether 'under God' should be in the Pledge. After doing a slipshod effort, his teacher told him to do a better job, checking out both points of view. Well, he did a better job, but still only gave the 'pro' side. This bothered his teacher in particular because of a crisis of faith he had as his brother died. It is useful to note that "Doc" is a Christian of an evangelistic bent, though the show as a whole doesn't dwell on it, except that his final emails to his mentor tend to have such a focus.
A bit in bad form to bring that up to your young student, but still, he should have actually covered both sides of the issue. This is so even if you think God exists and that the First Amendment is not violated by the phrase being there. What about Render Unto Caesar and all that? The suggestion at one point that the First Amendment was written the way it was to uphold Judeo-Christian values was really a bit much. What about Muslims? We are talking a NYC located show and are a few here, you know. Seventh Heaven, which I also liked, also stacked the deck like that.
Religion and faith is a big part of many people's lives and it is appreciated when programs recognize the fact. But, I think there can be some sort of middle ground here. The teacher came off biased, and he was in the sense that he shouldn't have expressed his religious views to a twelve year old student (I guess he is about that age) as strongly as he did. Still, the teacher was right to be upset that he only gave one side of the story, and should not faith be made only stronger by respectfully facing up to the alternative, but not losing faith in the end?
Meanwhile, sneering at true believers on the other side is pretty counterproductive in my book. I seemed to have gained a bit of respect from someone whose views are quite different from mind there. It upsets me when the other side doesn't seem to be listening. Just talking past me. It isn't really that pleasant even when I see it among people whose views I support.