LAST NIGHT'S memorial for the victims of the shooting in Tucson felt more like a political rally than a somber remembrance.  In fact, thousands of t-shirts with the slogan "Together We Thrive" were distributed to the attendees.  At the very least, it seems like a very odd tribute to the dead.  Don't miss the opening blessing (link opens YouTube video).
Elsewhere, Rick Warren has partnered with three doctors, including Oprah's favorite Dr. Oz (all professing the benefits of Eastern mysticism and, in Oz's case, influenced by the 18th century "Christian" mystic Emanuel Swedenborg), to create a purpose-driven diet plan.  Will anyone at Saddleback Church object?
Also: an iPhone app to read your mind; and hundreds of dead birds near St. Louis.

WHILE THE media focuses on the shootings in Tucson Saturday, a crisis brews in the Middle East.  The government in Lebanon has collapsed as Hezbollah ministers resigned.  Indictments naming Hezbollah officials in the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri were "hours or days" away from being turned over to a pre-trial judge.
The USS Enterprise carrier strike group, with 6,000 American service personnel, has been redirected to the eastern Mediterranean.  As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted yesterday, there are now an estimated 60,000 rockets — all made in Iran and Syria — now pointed at Israel.
Also: Iran building bunkers for Hamas in Gaza; a brief look at the prophesied war of Psalm 83; and more mysterious animal deaths.

FEAR CAN be a useful tool to a government.  People who are intimidated are more easily led.  We look at how the U.S. government is using its power to discourage dissent — we mean serious dissent, not the pro-wrestling-in-designer-clothing that passes for political analysis on cable news.
Also: headless bodies in Acapulco; leader of Saint Death cult arrested; and where our true allegiance lies.

TONIGHT'S SHOW focuses on the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others at a Safeway in Tucson.  We pray for the recovery of Rep. Giffords and the wounded, for their families and the families of the six who were killed.
The incident had barely been reported when conservative political talk was already being blamed for the incident.  Right-wing bloggers very quickly pointed out that a liberal supporter of Rep. Giffords had posted something inflammatory about her just two days before the shooting.  The blame game distracts us from the true powers and principalities responsible for this evil act.
We look at some of the unanswered questions and the potential consequences of the shooting.

WE LOVE technology, but we'd be naive not to recognize how it's being used against us.  For example, Apple filed a patent application in August for a phone that monitors its user's voice print, heartbeat, and facial features — and compares pictures of its surroundings and recordings of a vehicle's engine with ones in memory! — to determine whether it's been stolen.
While this sounds like a great security feature, it doesn't take much imagination to see how useful this is to a national security apparatus that doesn't need a warrant to download this data from your phone company.
Also: a million pigs buried alive in South Korea; the son of the Shah of Iran commits suicide; and Ted Williams, the prodigal son with the golden voice, returns home.

HAS THE "God particle" been found? One science blogger reports rumors that the Tevatron particle collider near Chicago has identified a light Higgs. Scientists at Tevatron say the rumors are false.
Here's a bit of interesting speculation: what if the rumors are true — and the discovery is responsible for the growing number of mysterious animal deaths all over the world (link opens a Google Map with locations and links to news reports)?
Also: more weirdness connected to the death of John Wheeler; Bill Daley goes back to D.C.; Harold Camping predicts the end of the world (again); and news about the fire that destroyed the home of Tom and Nita Horn.

WELCOME TO 2011!  Time may be shorter than we think:  a number of Christians, following the lead of a radio host, are convinced that Judgment Day is scheduled for May 21, 2011.
We respectfully disagree. Time is short, yes, but a lot has to happen before we arrive at the Day of the Lord.
Also: mysterious bird and fish deaths; "black alerts" at U.K. hospitals over flu outbreak; angry white (Christian) guys; and Glenn Beck dropped by WOR/New York.

PFC. BRADLEY Manning has been kept in solitary confinement for most of 2010, allowed only one hour a day out of his cell even though he hasn't yet been tried and convicted of a crime. Is Manning a patsy, a convenient excuse to criminalize investigative journalism and a clampdown on the Internet? See Glenn Greenwald's column on the treatment of Bradley Manning at Salon.com.
Also:  the UN mulls Internet regulation; a rush of 13s; and Adventures in Synthetic Biology.

THAT'S THE question of the day. Our federal government asserts the authority to tell us what to feed our children (and then do it for us), to buy health insurance for the privilege of breathing, and to assassinate American citizens without due process of law or oversight by Congress or the Judicial Branch.
When the president claims the right to kill citizens who pose a threat to national security and then his wife declares fat kids a national security threat, why are we even arguing over who gets to marry who?
Also: Obama admits we're in Afghanistan until 2014 at least; Army set to award mega-contract to train Afghan police; LA nuke "a survivable event; and Kosovo leader tied to black market in human organs.

THERE ARE days when the headlines make you wish for Christ's return even more than usual. Today, we discuss the convicted murderer who posts to Facebook from prison, security contractor DynCorp's latest link to the sex trade (read the report by Frontline on Afghan "dancing boys", and watch the Frontline program online free at PBS.org), the bizarre rape and stabbing in Vacaville, California, and the Federal Aviation Administration, which has somehow managed to lose track of who owns a third of the aircraft in the United States.
Keep that in mind the next time you're asked to step in front of an airport X-ray machine.