A Different World

When Is Gambling Sinful?

I'm working on a story about the interplay between gambling and religion and how it varies (even the definition of gambling) among different faiths. Any thoughts or ideas you guys have heard of that would be good angles to purpose or people to talk about? Anyone know of folks in area houses of worship where this is an issue? I'm building the story off the local priest in Garden City Beach who will be returning to Los Angeles to try to win $1 million in a TV poker tournament. He has been clear that the Catholic faith does not frown upon what he's doing and thinks "gambling" becomes gambling only when it is destructive, such as a father emptying his check account in a poker game or any other such endeavor. If you have any ideas, please post them or contact me: 626-03357 or ibailey@thesunnews.com. Thanks in advance. (And have a Happy Thanksgiving.)

Unmending Wall

Unmending Wall

Spare Sarah Palin The Self-Righteousness

Spare Sarah Palin the self-righteousness

The Earth Will End, But When? (Probably not in 2012)

I watched the blockbuster movie "2012" this past weekend, which is based on a belief (a mistaken one, scholars say), that one Mayan calender has predicted the end of the world in December of 2012. It was fairly entertaining but not that realistic. But based on that, someone has come up with five ways the Earth could end, why and how. Enjoy ... if you can.

The Earth will end, but when? And how?

Advice And Dissent On Breast Guidelines

Washington Post: " ... Ideally, medical practice should follow the evidence. When drugs or procedures are proven to do more harm than good, or to do no more good than safer or less costly alternatives, incentives should be used to discourage them. In practice, though, as new studies overtake old research and new advice contradicts previous guidelines, the result can be confusion and even cynicism -- and political pressure to ignore the results. ..."

Men Are Becoming More Like Women

Men Are Becoming More Like Women. Is this a good thing?

"Daily Show" Serious About Media Criticism

This is no joke: some of the best media criticism I've seen has been done by John Stewart's "The Daily Show." It's a comedy first, obviously, but they do a good job of pointing out inconsistencies and inaccuracies that many in the traditional media allow each other to get away with too frequently. And though Stewart is a lefty, he goes after a variety of media outlets. He skewers Fox News, of course, but he also recently skewered CNN after CNN fact-checked a Saturday Night Live skit critical of President Obama. Bald-faced media criticism is an important check on an extremely influential industry. There should be more, not less.

Palin Came Off Looking ... Pretty Good

I'm posting this because, according to the folks who study these types of things closely, Sarah Palin may one day be our president. I still haven't seen anything to warrant that possibility, but maybe I'm just biased. Either way: Palin came off looking ... pretty good

Off The Chart

Off the chart

For U.S. and China, uneasiness about economic co-dependency

Another complicated economic reality: For U.S. and China, uneasiness about economic co-dependency