‘Broken City’

Jim Taunt’s long-winded critique of the Catholic Church (“What is wrong with my Catholic Church?” AFN, Nov. 7) has an astounding omission: he never mentions the pedophile scandal. Throughout the dismal progress of this immoral fiasco, the Church’s self-perpetuating patriarchy displayed monumental hypocrisy, plus incredible contempt for the priest-molested victims. The Catholic bishops intimidated abused altar-boys’ parents, urging them to keep quiet. They failed to warn parishes to which pedophile priests were irresponsibly transferred; and they failed to report the molesters’ crimes to local law officials.

For 85 years I have been a practicing Catholic. My career education is as an electrical engineer. Most of my time was spent in the computer industry. My job was to find and fix problems.

There have been quite a few scandals coming from the Phoenix Police Department in the past few years but the new chief of police, Daniel Garcia, is doing all he can to give the department a positive image.

Charlie Sheen can be the life of the party, but he also knows how to steal focus.

Charlie Sheen can be the life of the party, but he also knows how to steal focus.

More than a dozen years on "Dallas" still wasn't enough to help Linda Gray go back.

As a result of the New Orleans Saints’ bounty scandal and the rule changes the NFL has implemented in regards to illegal hits it’s clear that hard, clean football has more of a gray area than ever before.

“The jerks that are protesting: not only are we paying for police protection, are they all on welfare? They apparently don’t work?”

In response to Don Kennedy’s letter, “What does the U.S. Constitution Preamble Really Mean?” (AFN, April 4): It’s pathetic how the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, the flag, and anything resembling patriotism have been so cynically appropriated by conservative extremists in an attempt to bolster their agenda. I must admit that conservative think tanks have done an admirable job of this, but it has begun to grow tiresome. While true, most Americans may not be familiar with every provision of the Constitution, you should not count on that to give you license for self-serving interpretations, or try to give the impression that only conservatives truly understand the document. Or laying claim to having some exclusive, divine insight into what the framers intended.

In her opponent-mocking defense of the Catholic bishops’ opposition to birth-control financing, Linda Turley-Hansen (“Why you should pay for my birth control,” Feb. 19, AFN) ignores the annihilation of these bishops’ moral authority. During the massive pedophile scandal, these bishops collectively pursued these corrupt policies:

Pasadena, Calif. • “American Experience” executive producer Mark Samels pondered the question: When does history begin? At what point does it make sense for the respected PBS documentary program to profile a past U.S. president?

Pasadena, Calif. • “American Experience” executive producer Mark Samels pondered the question: When does history begin? At what point does it make sense for the respected PBS documentary program to profile a past U.S. president?

Christian Graca’s husband, Thomas, wrote a musical about minstrels 15 years ago and put it away until they found the perfect opportunity to produce the show. As their children got involved in acting, the Gracas found their way to Creative Stages Youth Theatre in Peoria, where they met artistic director Jim Gradillas.

Chances are that unless you traveled to a remote arctic village last week, you caught wind of the "tiff on the tarmac." Or "Fingergate," as the terse exchange between President Obama and Gov. Brewer's been dubbed. And it's a shame that singular event stole the real show. Not from President Obama's visit - but rather, from the good folks at Intel.

Chances are that unless you traveled to a remote arctic village last week, you caught wind of the "tiff on the tarmac." Or "Fingergate," as the terse exchange between President Obama and Gov. Brewer's been dubbed. And it's a shame that singular event stole the real show. Not from President Obama's visit - but rather, from the good folks at Intel.

A lot of people like to make predictions on what is going to happen. Too few of us take responsibility for their successes and, yes, their failures. Here is what I forecast on Dec. 22, 2010:

A lot of people like to make predictions on what is going to happen. Too few of us take responsibility for their successes and, yes, their failures. Here is what I forecast on Dec. 22, 2010:

I feel lucky that I have met and spoken with a number of our returning service men and women.

Without a single voted counted yet in Tuesday's recall election of state Senate President Russell Pearce, political observers say the historic race is impacting Arizona's political landscape.

Without a single voted counted yet in Tuesday's recall election of state Senate President Russell Pearce, political observers say the historic race is impacting Arizona's political landscape.

Arizonans don't need me to tell them that Fast and Furious is a big story. Our state is once again, a middle-man, caught in another debacle under this administration. This scandal started in our backyard - in the ATF's Phoenix office - and was administered by a U.S. Attorney appointed by President Obama.