Nov 27 - Newt Gingrich Clip

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3918636&affil=kabc

Newt Gingrich discusses the role of faith and spirituality in politics. His discussion gives perspective to how faith and spirituality have an impact on politics. Also he helps to give an understanding of what happens when these two genres come together and meet.

Nov 22 - Religious Documentary

The French filmmakers behind CBS' Emmy-winning "9/11," have reunited with the network for another documentary, this one featuring 12 of the world's most influential religious and spiritual leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI and the Dalai Lama. Jules Naudet said the idea for the project was born on September 11, 2001. He was inside the North Tower of the World Trade Center when the South Tower started to collapse.

"As I was running for my life, I was confronted with mortality and questions about the meaning of life," he said. "These questions continued to be in the back of my mind, and after a couple of years, I decided we should ask them to the people who would have the answers."

The Naudet brothers began researching issues of religion and traveled around the world to meet 12 spiritual leaders: the pope; the Dalai Lama; Patriarch Alexei II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church; Bishop Mark Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation; Dr. Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention; Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England; Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a prominent Shi'ite Muslim leader; Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, Sheikh of Al-Azhar and a prominent Sunni Muslim leader; Yona Metzger, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel; Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the Sikhs' highest authority; Michihisa Kitashirakawa, high priest of the Shinto Grand Shrine of Ise; and Amma, a Hindu spiritual leader.

"We chose these 12 leaders because of the vast number of believers -- more than 4 billion -- that their faiths represent," Gedeon Naudet said. "We also wanted to explore the diversity of spirituality in our world today."

Nov 21 - Singapore Bans Provocative Video Game

Singapore has banned an Xbox video game because it contains a sex scene between a woman and a female alien. A Microsoft spokesman in Singapore said Microsoft respected Singapore's decision to ban the game. "'Mass Effect' features realistic content and interactions in the context of the science-fiction story line," Ian Tan, marketing communications manager for Southeast Asia said. "The game takes a mature approach to various relationships amongst characters throughout the game and the content in question is another dynamic of that."
"This helps to ensure that games are suitable for a general audience and do not feature exploitative or gratuitous sex and violence, or denigrate any race or religion," Chetra said.

Nov 20 - Donnie and Marie on Larry King

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/11/14/lkl.osmonds.on.romney.cnn

In this clip from Larry King Live, Donnie and Marie Osmond and some of their siblings discuss the presidential campaign of fellow Mormon Mitt Romney.

Speaking about John F. Kennedy’s historic address about being Catholic and running for president, Marie Osmond told King, “I hope we’ve grown up since then.” “I hope people look at the person and what they’ve done,” the Osmond sister added.

Romney’s advisers have told the Republican presidential candidate not to give a Kennedy-esque speech regarding being a Mormon.

Nov 19 - Abortion at Democratic Debate

The Democratic Debate in Las Vegas has live blogging. This is an excerpt from the debate where repondants discuss the issue of abortion.

Supreme Court | 9:57 p.m. Will you require your Supreme Court nominees to support abortion rights?

Mr. Kucinich says he would have a litmus test on abortion rights, but he would be a “healer” who would also advocate for things that reduce the need for abortions. The others don’t want to use the word abortion, saying instead that they support the right to privacy. Mrs. Clinton said her nominees would have to “share my view about privacy and I think that goes hand in hand.” Only when Mr. Blitzer prompted her did she say the answer is “yes.”

She also credits Mr. Biden for understanding the legal issues involved and how the government works. Mr. Obama says he would not appoint someone who doesn’t believe in the right to privacy.

Nov 16 - Obama Promotes Education

Mr. Obama provides a stark assessment of his own childhood, which was spent partly in Indonesia and mostly Hawaii, where he attended prep school. “My parents weren’t rich. My father left me when I was very young,” he says in voice-over, as family photos of his parents and a young Mr. Obama are displayed on screen. “The one thing I was able to get was a great education."

Nov 15 - Bishops Direct Catholic Voters

The nation's Catholic bishops today approved a statement on the nature of "faithful citizenship" that hammers home the "intrinsic evil" of abortion and reminds Catholic voters to consider their faith's teachings when voting for a president. It is "a summary of Catholic teachings; It is not a voter guide," said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn.

"Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position. In such cases, a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate's opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or in attentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity."

Nov 14 - Iran Accused of Spreading Extremism

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday accused Iran of spreading "violent extremism" across the Middle East and said a strong Palestinian state could act as a bulwark against this threat. Speaking to American Jewish leaders at a conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Rice reassured them of Washington's commitment to protect longtime ally Israel against threats from Tehran and said successful Palestinian statehood negotiations could counter Iran's power in the region.

"We will defend against any action, as we always have, that would compromise Israel's security,"

"A responsible Palestinian state can be a bulwark against that threat (of extremism)," said Rice. "This makes the two-state solution more urgent than ever," she added.

Nov 13 - Mitt Romney Advised Against Mormon Speech

Mitt Romney said that he wanted to give a speech on his Mormon faith, but that he had been advised against it by his political supporters. They believe that it may ward off many voters or might rub them the wrong way if he chooses to do so.

Romney was asked by an audience member about "prejudiced voters" for whom "Mormonism is a factor," and if Romney had to do a Kennedy-like speech.

Romney said that in a recent interview CBS's Bob Schieffer asked him "eight or nine questions, all about my church." Afterwards, according to Romney, Schieffer asked if he was "ever going to give a Mormon Speech?" Romney joked, "I just did."

In some sense it would be better for Romney to say what he wants to say. But in other ways it would ward off many potential political supporters. I believe it would be worse to suppress his opinions because they will eventually come out and may be an unpleasant awakening for the American population.

Nov 12 - Bias Ban Against gays

The house approved the first federal ban on job discrimination against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. This is a very progressive move in American politics. Many people who are of a religious faith were very against this proposal.

This is great because it is unfair to be biased against people based on their sexual orientation. It doesn't make sense that a person's sexual orientation would prevent them from getting a job. A person's sexual orientation has nothing to do with the ability they have in doing a job well. It should be required for all businesses to keep discrimination and bias out of the workplace.

Nov 9 - Christian Right Decision

The leaders of the Christian Right have been unable to decide who they will back in the 2008 Presidential election. The evangelicals are split on which Republican to help support. Three prominent religious leaders have each chosen a different leader which will be interesting to see how it plays out. What is very interesting is Robertson's decision to back the more moderate Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani.

"It is my pleasure to announce my support for 'America's Mayor,' Rudy Giuliani, a proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and who will cast a hopeful vision for all Americans," Robertson said.

Nov 8 - Televangelists

Televangelists honestly scare me. I really don't think that they believe in their religion but only try and steal the money from innocent, naive, and uneducated people. It is ridiculous that soo many people are unable to make the judgment that these people are thieves. I guess it is a reflection of the intelligence of America and the desperate desire to be part of a group.

Nov 7 - Warren Jeffs

Warren Jeffs is the leader of a polygamous religion. He is a self-pronounced prophet. Sitting in jail awaiting trial, this leader renounced his role as a prophet and said he had been "immoral" with a sister and daughter decades ago.

I truly think this guy is a complete sicko. I don’t understand how people can be fooled to fall for a polygamist religion. It shows how people are not willing to research what they believe or follow. I think it is ridiculous how uneducated some people are and how desperate they are in order to fit in.

Nov 6 - Ahmadinejad on Homosexuality

In this clip the President of Iran, Ahmadinejad discusses the issue of homosexuality in Iran. He claims that Iran does not have the "problem" of homosexuality. This was a very controversial speech made at Columbia University this year. However, it has been said that the translator of the speech was not 100% accurate on the wording of Ahmadinejad's speech. Because of this some of the things that were said may have been misconstrued.

Nov 5 - Benny Hinn

I honestly think Benny Hinn is a crazy person who has manipulated so many people into believing in his words. He has conned people into believing that by donating money to his televangelist church, they would be saved and be healed from any of their illnesses. I truly think Benny Hinn is a charlatan and an evil person because of his constant blatant lies to people. It is disgusting the trickery used to get money from people that is used to support Benny Hinn's lavish lifestyle.

Nov 2 - The Power of Nightmares

This video clip is part of a larger documentary called the "Power of Nightmares". It highlights how the small group of elite neo-conservatives know that religion is not real but they recognize how it's a very useful tool to gather a mass of people. They explain how religion is used to manipulate the people and the way they control the decision making process of the people.

Nov 1 - Bill Maher speaks to Ann Coulter

Bill Maher speaks to guess Ann Coulter on the show after her commentary against Jews in America. In her introduction Bill introduces her as a Communist instead of a columnist. It is interesting how much publicity Ann Coulter is getting by simply saying ridiculous and controversial statements. It is a shame that by simply being controversial anyone can get media attention these days in our culture and society.