Inappropriate Conversations

Should we tax adultery into oblivion or merely minister to its casualties? No, I don't really believe that using taxation as a punitive fine will stamp out infidelity in marriage, but it would stand a better chance of succeeding than other methods of "legislating morality." When I was a child, a wise man in our church taught me that the real answer to divorce is setting aside the urge to cast judgment and surrounding those dealing with the consequence of shattered relationships with the love of Christ. I wish the church today was filled with such wise people. Different Drummer: John Hughes

Charges of liberal bias in the mainstream media fail to take into account the power of publishers as an authority that is likely to be more conservative than writers and editors.  At the same time, the rise of politically conservative and evangelical-Christian alternatives for "the press" have led many people to turn away from large media conglomerates altogether.  More and more citizens who aren't obsessed with ideology are getting their news and commentary online from blogs and podcasts, and it is making America surprisingly more like our colonial model than we would have expected. Different Drummer: Lee Strobel Many partisan-conservatives believe the media never ask hard questions of pro-choice candidates during debates and on the campaign trail.  It isn't because those questions are difficult to answer.  The second half of the show provides an off-the-cuff example.

Lore of the United States' "founding fathers" is that they were brave, creative thinkers who were not afraid to discuss ideas and both learn from and break with the past to create a new vision of the future.  So why are our current leaders so frightened?  At election time, both Republican and Democrat candidates seem to be fearful about the future, their past, and anything resembling "truth."  Above all, they are afraid of independent political thought and 3rd parties -- meaning, non-RepubliCrats. Different Drummer: Pier Paulo Pasolini

As a genre, "thriller" is different from horror or other suspense films, but that distinction is in grave danger of being lost forever.  Before the most common forms of scary cinema became slashers or demonic possession, when serial killer movies were crime-dramas rather than gorefests, the thriller was the TV equivalent of the midnight movie.  Now, with Halloween approaching, you are more likely to see Friday The Umpteenth than any of the classics starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, or Vincent Price.  Film fans have lost more than we realize. Different Drummer: Jakob Rehlinger Arachnidisc's videos including Moonwood and Babel

When warfare turns ugly, as it so often does, how do we assign blame?  I often (with an almost adolescent sense of justice) ask "who started it?" or look to moments when compromise or surrender should have occurred.  It is from this perspective that I hold the Japanese military leadership during World War II responsible for the existence of nuclear warfare, even though they didn't develop the weapons that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki and they certainly didn't drop the bombs on their own country. Different Drummer: Terry Gross Dan Carlin's Hardcore History: Logical Insanity Extra "Logical Insanity" available for $1.99

Giving to charitable organizations is a good idea. It makes a difference. It helps. We must not confuse these types of contributions with missionary work, though. Being "in mission" is about intervening, and getting involved is not merely a financial offering. Different Drummer: Shane Claiborne Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way

Poetry takes something we know, or almost know, and makes it strange and wonderful, often transforming words heard before into a language we are hearing for the first time.  Such moments of insight can provide a new perspective for anything: politics, religion, relationships, sexuality, anything.  References include: "Old Man Bickford" from William S. Burroughs, and "Words Per Minute" and "Stop The Bleeding" from me. Different Drummer: Joyce Peseroff Poet Reads "The Hardness Scale"