Alas, one of the few remaining voices of measured, thoughtful debate from the Right, conservative talk show host Dennis Prager, has officially drifted into toolhood. When he decided to write insisting that a newly elected Congressman � a Muslim � be forced to swear in using a Christian Bible (instead of the Koran), the hair he was splitting (one I consider a legitimate point, actually) was surely one he knew would be lost on most.

Alas. Predictably, he has been labeled an Islam-hating Jew, a right-wing nutjob and worse. Sorry, Dennis. Gotta say, you asked for it.

I first came to know Prager many, many years ago, when he hosted a program called “Religion on the Line,” where representatives from various faiths (Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, etc.) discussed various moral and ethical questions. Always fair, always clear and precise in his thinking, Prager has, of late, skewed more and more Fox News. I listen (if I’m stuck in the car, mornings) because he’s an erudite, patient and articulate thinker with an eye on what matters most, ethics and morality. It makes me sad, for the same reasons.