Commentary

Spokane author Victoria Ann Thorpe, and a small group of supporters, began a 185-mile “Peace Journey” across the state Tuesday night — hoping their steps will lead to the end of the death penalty in Washington.

Last year, President Barack Obama warned Syria that his position on their civil war would change if President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on his own people.

The Gonzaga University School of Law will present the 2013 Red Mass for the Legal Profession at 5:30 p.m.,, Sept. 17 at the University Chapel in College Hall (502 E. Boone Ave.). A reception will follow from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Cowles Rare Book Reading Room, on the third Floor of the Foley Center Library.

The Syrian civil war has become a humanitarian hell. More than 100,000 are dead, images of a state-sanctioned chemical weapons attack have evoked a global protest, and most Western leaders agree that Syrian President Bashar Assad is an all-around bad guy. But enacting another bloody and expensive war against an unstable Middle Eastern country, particularly one with the backing of Russia and Iran, is something many Americans have little stomach for.

The American workplace, like the rest of U.S. society, is becoming more religiously diverse and that is raising concerns about employer accommodations for believers — and increasing the odds for uncomfortable moments around the water cooler.

Yet one potential flashpoint among workers does not involve new immigrant faiths but rather two indigenous communities: white evangelicals and unaffiliated Americans who constitute one of the fastest-growing segments of the population.

My question is: does the LDS church have an official stand on capital punishment? Is there also a general belief system you could speak to on executions from a Mormon point of view?

For many years in the aftermath of the 9/11, we have been told that America is not at war with Islam or Muslims, but only with Muslim extremists/radicals/terrorists.

It seems that the New York Police Department has other ideas.