Dr. Laura Quitting Radio Following N-Word Rant

In the wake of her controversial comments to an African-American caller last week, Dr. Laura Schlessinger told Larry King that she won’t renew her contract at the end of the year, saying she wants to “regain [her] First Amendment rights.”

…

Shirley Sherrod And The NAACP Make Up

After being condemned by the NAACP because of a misunderstanding about her comments, Shirley Sherrod and the NAACP have come to terms.

Sherrod and NAACP President Ben Jealous will appear together at a rural development conference in Alabama on Saturday, and Sherrod has written a letter to the group’s members encouraging them to fight racism like she has.

Jealous traveled to Sherrod’s house in Albany, Ga. two weeks ago to apologize once more for being “hoodwinked,” as she called it, by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart who in July posted an edited clip of a March speech she made to …

On Tuesday’s Radio Show…

Guest host Ellis Henican fills in for Alan.…

Blago Guilty On One Count

The former governor of Illinois has been found guilty of providing false statements to the government.

The judge has said that he will declare a mistrial on the 23 remaining counts in which the jury could not reach a verdict. Fox News reports that the prosecution intends to retry Blagojevich on those charges.…

Here’s The Building Where The New York Islamic Center Is To Be Located

Courtesy of Glynnis MacNicol at Mediaite, who stopped by to snap a few shots.

It is important to note that a mosque is part of a larger complex. It is also important to note that it is not at Ground Zero, but a couple of blocks away. Furthermore, why isn’t anyone protesting the mosque that exists at another 9/11 target, which should also be considered “hallowed groud”: the Pentagon.

Will the Amish protest because of the Amish market on the corner? And how about some of the other offerings near Ground Zero that surely could be more objectionable …

Taxing God

By William K. Wolfrum

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

If there has been one phrase reverberating across the United States the past decade or so, it’s that “Freedom isn’t Free.” So why is Freedom of Religion free?

As conservatives and liberals alike fret over the current U.S. deficit, Republicans have made it clear that they believe any new taxes would stifle growth and hurt business both large and small. But religion is not a business.

Ok, those last six words are, of course, terribly naive, but are correct in …

George Washington Vs. Anti-Islamic Fear-Mongers

by Bruce Friedrich

“To bigotry no sanction.” –George Washington

“Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate.” –Sarah Palin

…

“May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.” –George Washington

“Come on, we’re going to allow that at Ground Zero?” –Rudy Giuliani

Dana Milbank Compares The Words Of George Washington To Those Of Today’s Religion-Baiters

Greg Sargent notes Dana Milbank’s very smart column on the difference between the rhetoric of George Washington (note to Sarah Palin: He’s one of our founding fathers) and those who are using the lower Manhattan Islamic center for political ends. In response to Moses Seixsas of Congregation Kahal Kodash Yeshuat Israel in Newport, RI, celebrating religious freedom in the United States, Washington wrote what should be the standard reply for all who wish to worship in our country. Milbank contrasts Washington’s words with those of today’s opportunists.

Washington:

The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to …

Has Sarah Palin Been Talking To Frank Luntz?

Frank Luntz is the brilliant wordsmith who has helped the Republicans frame debates in ways that resonate with their base, most notably on health care. Luntz rephrased “estate tax” as “death tax”, vouchers as “opportunity scholarships” and “eavesdropping” became “electronic intercepts”.  It wouldn’t be a stretch to believe that he invented the phrase “death panels” or that that he inspired Sarah Palin’s description of the Islamic center in lower Manhattan as the “9/11 mosque”. (h/t Glynnis MacNichol at Mediaite). Last night she continued her attack on the proposed project.

“Just a block or two away from 9/11.” Palin …

The U.S. Just Misses The Top 10

In NEWSWEEK‘s list of the world’s top 100 nations, the United States weights in at number 11. A couple of wars sapping a troubled economy don’t help matters. And our inability to agree on climate change has hurt, too.

On any number of indicators, according to the NEWSWEEK list, the United States is not the worldbeater it was a decade ago. “On economic fundamentals such as GDP growth, household consumption, industrial production, and trade, the U.S. was ahead on most metrics 10 years ago,” says James Manyika, director of the McKinsey Global Institute. Today, in contrast, America barely makes …

Court Puts Gay Marriage On Hold Indefinitely

The AP reports:

A federal appeals court put same-sex weddings in California on hold indefinitely Monday while it considers the constitutionality of the state’s gay marriage ban.

The decision, issued by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, trumps a lower court judge’s order that would have allowed county clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Wednesday. ... Read more »

Lawyers for two same-sex couples had joined with California Attorney General Jerry Brown in urging the appeals court to allow the weddings, arguing that keeping the ban in place any longer would harm the …