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Although climate change is thought of as simply a political football, it has been a heated topic among meteorologists for years. I, for one, have changed my conclusion over time on whether humans are responsible for the increased heat content of the Earth. I write this article not to change your mind about global warming; I simply want to show you why I changed mine. Early in my scientific studies at Nebraska, most believed that humans could never pollute this massive globe enough to make a measurable difference. As a student, I learned to never exclude any possibility until ultimately...

Living on the Dark Side of the Cartesian Divide – A Reflection on the Gnosticism of our Times By: Msgr. Charles PopeThere is a line in the first letter of John, read this week at Mass, that is of critical importance to many difficulties we see today with heresy, unbelief, and moral decay. The line says:Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in...

Conservative student group Turning Point USA caused a stir last week by posting pages online from a textbook used at the University of South Carolina. The book calls Ronald Reagan “sexist” and says conservatives “take a basically pessimistic view of human nature” — one in which “people are conceived of as being corrupt.” Several avowed conservatives balked not just at the negative portrayal of Reagan but also at the idea that the conservative persuasion contains a measure of pessimism. On this point, the textbook is right and they are wrong. Russell Kirk was the man credited by William F. Buckley...

Character actor Richard LeParmentier, who as a young Death Star commander learned the hard way that Darth Vader brooks no disrespect, died Tuesday. He was 66. … As Admiral Motti in 1977’s Star Wars, LeParmentier's character mocks Vader’s “sad devotion to that ancient (Jedi) religion.” Vader responds with a demonstration, using the force to choke the young commander, but allowing him to live. …

Beloved of spiritualists and bored teenagers on a dare, the Ouija board has long been a source of entertainment, mystery and sometimes downright spookiness. Now it could shine a light on the secrets of the unconscious mind. The Ouija, also known as a talking board, is a wooden plaque marked with the words, "yes", "no" and the letters of the alphabet. Typically a group of users place their hands on a movable pointer , or "planchette", and ask questions out loud. Sometimes the planchette signals an answer, even when no one admits to moving it deliberately. Believers think the answer...

I try to see what the dark side is doing, but I couldn't see anything there. What is going on?

SNIPPET: "Many motives are cited for suicide bombings, from religious sanctification to revenge for Western foreign policy to hatred of Israel, but one thing ties them together: the boast that Muslims love death, whereas their enemies love life. From killing the infidel enemy through suicide attacks, to allowing the subordinate female to participate in suicide attacks, a pattern emerges. And just as honor killings are a perversion of the most basic of human ties, so love for martyrdom takes societies into a direct relationship with the darkest side of human nature. In trying to explain this, it may be feasible...

From a makeshift pulpit inside an Indiana Quality Inn, a baby-faced priest angrily denounces the Jews, saying they mean to "destroy all Christian nations." In offices in State Line, Pa., an intense, bespectacled man tirelessly recounts how the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia "predicts the anti-Christ will come from Jewry" and warns of the Jews' role in the coming "New World Order." At a gathering near the Philadelphia airport, men in priests' collars and brown monk's robes rage against the "Judeo-Masonic" conspiracy to destroy the Catholic Church, the "Marxist-Jewish" scheme to wreck American schools, and even an elaborate 9/11 plot, "predicted by...

Not for the squeamish. I understand that this clip is from the Wife Swap show.

I didn’t get to see Episode III, Revenge of the Sith in the theater. I wanted to, but things were just too busy, and I was less impressed by Episodes I and II than I was with IV through VI, so it wasn’t a matter of priority. I was also put off a bit by the title. I knew that Episode VI had originally been titled Revenge of the Jedi, but the title had been changed, even though it would have been correct. Here, it was dead wrong; there had been nothing for the Sith to take vengeance over. “Rise...

Re-focus Halloween! If your school insists on having some kind of Halloween celebration, recommend that they steer away from the ghoulish and occult and, instead, focus on the event as a fall festival. ... "When you turn evil into a game, it trivializes it and numbs children to its darkness." (excerpt from email) GREAT RESOURCE SITE for Teachers, Parents & Students.

A long time ago in a church, far, far away, a vicar and his flock sang their final hymn to the theme tune of the Star Wars saga. Well, not that long ago, or far away, really. Last week, in fact, in West Yorkshire, a parish church held a special service to mark the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It seems that in an increasingly secular Britain, vicars are turning to the Force to keep church attendance figures high, and to attract that crucial youth market. Reverend Paul Walker explained that the service was inspired...

The way "jedis" are taught to respect a greater power, fight for the defense of the innocent and bring peace and justice to their society, is also what Islam teaches all Muslims to strive forAs most “Star Wars” fans know, director George Lucas took spiritual elements, which are common in most major world religions to create his epic saga of good vs. evil. As a Muslim, I always thought of the “Jedi” as what a true follower of Islam should be like. Never mind the fact Jedi masters with their North African style cloaks and scruffy beards look like Sufi...

One by one, the landmark epics of the 1970s are tying up the loose ends -- alas, not always in ways that quite support the great mythic power invested in them. In ''Revenge of the Sith,'' George Lucas brings the ''Star Wars'' cycle to a close by revealing how Anakin Skywalker went over to the Dark Side, transformed himself into Darth Vader, destroyed the Republic and consigned it to the mad imperial ambitions of Chancellor Palpatine -- all because, er, he was a bit worried his beloved Senator Padme might die in childbirth. If Senator Padme had been like Senator...

YAHOOOOOO! It's FRIIIIIIDAAAAAY! Today, in honor of REVENGE OF THE SITH (which I ain't seen yet, but am gonna), we proudly present the TOP 10 COOLEST THINGS IN THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE... 10. The Imperial Walkers Who wouldn't sh** a brick watching one of these things coming over the horizon? 9. R2D2 and Chewie’s 3D chess game with the lil' monsters "He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help." 8. Red Three’s cheesy porn ‘stache goes without saying. 7. Jabba’s floating party barge Say what you will about the man; he knew how to travel in style 6....

Now that the new Star Wars film has been released, there has been a flurry of articles drawing facile comparisons between the Emperor (formerly Chancellor) Palpatine and President Bush, and between the Sith and the Republicans. The preening liberal elite, which has hitherto regarded science fiction as the province of lesser mortals, has seized upon statements such as Darth Vader’s “If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy” and gasped with orgiastic delight upon recognising George Lucas as a kindred soul.This liberal interpretation of what is in the final analysis, a fantasy film, has not confined itself merely to an...

AP) All those "Star Wars" geeks, who've been waiting for weeks outside movie theaters with their Yoda sleeping bags and their homemade lightsabers, finally have a film that's worthy of their perseverance. The Force is strong with "Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," the sixth and final piece in George Lucas' galactic saga, which represents a welcome return to the ideas and the spirit that made his original "Star Wars" a pop-culture juggernaut 28 years ago. The circle is now complete, as Lucas' characters are fond of saying, and much of the film's joy comes from watching these familiar...

A man who says he was Sadddam Hussein’s sorcerer predicts the Iraqi dictator will be found dead. The 62-year-old sprays perfume around the sparse, dingy room – “it smells nicer than incense” – then holds out his hands and feet for a visitor to bind, instructing him to knot the cloth three times and blow on it. The lights go out, and small red flashes appear beneath the black cloak that covers a bowl of magic powders and water. Something pokes at the visitors - “birds,” the wizard says – and water splashes from the bowl. The genies have arrived,...

<p>There is no simple or single explanation for the kind of gaping budget deficit currently facing California. However, it would be naive in the extreme to ignore the impact of large-scale legal and illegal immigration on a $38.2 billion shortfall in this year's state budget.</p>

I knew that the wave of anti-Americanism that would swell up after the Iraq war would make me feel ill. And it has. It has made me much, much more ill than I had expected. My anti-Americanism has become almost uncontrollable. It has possessed me, like a disease. It rises up in my throat like acid reflux, that fashionable American sickness. I now loathe the United States and what it has done to Iraq and the rest of the helpless world. I can hardly bear to see the faces of Bush and Rumsfeld, or to watch their posturing body language,...