DeChant-Hughes
& Associates, Inc.

Kelly Hughes
Phone: (312) 280-8126
Fax: (312) 280-8362
kelly@dechanthughes.com

Ersatz Passover Seders: Jesus On The Menu
ORLANDO — For Passover, the cheerful voice on the radio invites me and all other Jews in Central Florida to a "traditional family Seder" at an upscale hotel in this city's bustling tourist corridor.
— Mark I. Pinsky

My Phantom Valentine:
Across the Years With Another Woman

For more than 40 years, a decade longer than I've been married to my wife, another woman has had a hold on me, and shaped my life: A young community organizer named Nancy Dean Morgan, murdered in the mountains of North Carolina. It's a one-sided relationship to be sure, one based on sympathy, admiration and burning devotion, rather than love or even intimacy. Yet,
I think of her often, especially on Valentine's Day, wondering who or what she might have become
had she lived — and, almost obsessively,
who killed her.

— Mark I. Pinsky

Jews, Evangelicals and 2012: The Sky Is Not Falling
Unquestionably, there is a dark, fundamentalist
side to American evangelicalism,
most recently showcased in a new book,
"The Anointed: Evangelical Truth in
a Secular Age," by Karl Giberson and
Randall Stephens.
— Mark I. Pinsky





Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Evangelical?
As the run-up to the 2012 election accelerates,
one key to the outcome could be the votes,
turnout and enthusiasm of white
evangelical Christians.
— Mark I. Pinsky

 

The Truth About Evangelicals
In 1976, skeptical Jews in the Northeast and on the West Coast had to be convinced by their Southern cousins that Jimmy Carter, a "born-again" Georgia Baptist, was not too strange to support as the Democratic nominee for president. For a time, Jews made their peace with this growing American phenomenon called evangelical Christianity.

by Mark I. Pinsky

Could Catholic leader usher in a new Cuba?
Over the past half-century, Fidel and Raul Castro
have ensured — through exile, purges and execution — that no political figure or generation has emerged as their obvious successors. Time and again, the brothers have stacked the ruling Cuban Communist Party
with gray hard-liners nearly as old as they are,
determined to preserve their revolutionary legacy.

by Mark I. Pinsky

Presidential Race and Religion
The first of the blockade-busting flotilla of
boats bound for Gaza has set off; there are
fears of a repeat of the violence last year
which led to the death of nine protesters.
The BBC's Yolande Knell describes the
mood in Jerusalem.

by Mark I. Pinsky

Mitt Romney and a Broadway Show
on Mormonism From the 'South Park' Crew
Given his risk-averse personality,
Mitt Romney is unlikely to schedule his
formal entry into the presidential race to
coincide with the March 24 Broadway opening
of the musical comedy "The Book of Mormon,"
from the creators of the edgy,
animated cable series "South Park."

by Mark I. Pinsky

Churches mustn't neglect the disabled
Boomers are wearing down.
Hobbled war veterans are coming home.
Yet too many of our houses of worship
don't make accommodations.
What to do?
by Mark I. Pinsky





Alan Grayson Isn't Taking Any Crap From Anyone
by Mark I. Pinsky
•

Grayson Defying Convention in Fla.
by Mark I. Pinsky
•

Alan Grayson: Democrat attack dog
by Mark I. Pinsky
•

Alan Grayson: The Counter-Puncher
by Mark I. Pinsky
•

Florida Election: Pragmatism on Both Sides
Undermines Party Loyalty
by Mark I. Pinsky

Mark reading from The Gospel According to The Simpsons.
(Winter 2009) Photo by NSU Public Relations

The Greening of Jesus
by Mark I. Pinsky

Much of the modern dialogue between science and religion deals with the origin of the universe and
the development of life on earth—surrogate discussions over the existence of God and the divine role in life. In my relatively brief time at Cambridge, a day did
not pass without some mention of Charles Darwin—
an alumnus—and Richard Dawkins, the best-selling Oxford atheist.
[READ MORE]



Faith & Reason
A fresh look at science-and-religion tension
[READ MORE]

Pinsky at Cambridge

Mark with Sir Martin Rees, Britain's Astronomer Royal,
at Cambridge University. (Summer 2008) Photo by Sara Brown

By Mark I. Pinsky
Why Barack Obama should resurrect the Federal Writers Project and bail out laid-off journalists.
[READ MORE]

 

 

Polygamy sect raids
As part of a child abuse investigation, authorities in Texas have taken away a large number of young girls from a ranch near San Antonio belonging to the Mormon sect of Warren Jeffs. Jeffs himself is in prison, convicted of being an accomplice to rape.
[LISTEN]

TeflonTelevangelists
by Mark I. Pinsky
Faith and forbearance can sometimes be insurmountable barriers for religion journalists. When it comes to some true believers, I have learned, nothing you write that questions their idols seems to make any difference.

The Golden Rolodex
By Mark I. Pinsky
Imagine a time before the Internet and the explosion of cable television news and opinion shows. In those days, journalists looking for academic authorities for their stories relied on something called the “Golden Rolodex.” This was an informal list of easily reachable and articulate professors, experts and authors whom we could call. Only death or disgrace could dislodge those on it to make room for others.
[READ MORE ]

Paper cuts
The talk in American newsrooms is all about redundancies. But how did the situation get so bad for US papers — and what hope is there for the future?