Thom,

Earlier today, Wed., Jan. 27, I listened to your show and your "interview" with the guest who believes that he spent 20-odd minutes in hell (I know well whereof he speaks: I, too, have had to spend an even longer time at the DMV).

I will explain why I have typed the word "interview" in quotation marks. In the meantime, may I suggest that you cease and desist from devoting precious minutes of your broadcast to arguing with guests advocating a religious belief system?

I surmise that, like most progressives who are hip and trendy enough to reside in the hip and trendy Pacific Northwest, you are entirely too hip and sophisticated to believe in the existence of God, let alone that icky religion in which all those tacky, down-market, low-life, white trash who live east of the Cascades and west of the Hudson profess belief. If you are convinced of the philosophical and ethical merits of atheism, then that is your prerogative and you are to be respected for your belief system. Per Voltaire, I defend your right to profess an opinion to which I do not subscribe.

However, having a guest on your show for the intended purpose of baiting and mocking that person's religious beliefs (and you have done this at least more than once) is, at best, engaging in cheap shots. At worst, it perpetrates the public perception that progressives are contemptuous of religion and the faithful. Notwithstanding your right to demonstrate your contempt, this ultimately undermines the ability for the American democratic left to broaden its appeal. Whether you like it or not, religion --- and Christianity, in particular --- has a prominent presence in the lives of most Americans. These same Americans, if properly spoken to and educated, are amenable to a program of economic and social justice; however, mocking their religious sensibility has the affect of alienating this intended audience. Instead, when a progressive with a prominent media platform engages in this sort of mockery, that individual comes across not as someone with superior intelligence, but rather as a snotty elitist.

To quote Camille Pagila, "I believe it is fair to ask what drives obsessive denigrators of religion? Neither extreme rationalism nor elite cynicism are adequate substitutes for faith, which fulfills a basic human need --- which is why religion will continue to thrive in our war-torn world." Ultimately, your dialogue with your "hell-visiting" guest on today's show was less an interview than a verbal baiting, as demonstrated by your continuous interruptions of him.
You may not think that the contentions of religious persons are credible, but you were rude to continually interrupt him; indeed, if you don't believe in such claims, why bother spending your air-time with those who profess them?

P.S.: Lest one assume that this posting is the rant of a devoted follower of Sarah Palin, let me state that I stand well to the (democratic) left of the cowardly Democratic party. I revere the memory of my friend and Senator, Paul Wellstone; I miss him terribly.