Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - January 9, 2014

Talking about the "things that matter most" on January 

4:00 – Kresta Comments

4:40 – The Forest of Assassins
The Forest of Assassins is a great read, a novel as good as the best journalism, with vivid and accurate details driving a tale of danger and deception and betrayal during the Vietnam War. This book doesn't just feel researched, it feels lived. Whether tightening the suspense – our protagonist, Navy Lieutenant Hank Dillon eyeball to eyeball with a VC soldier and watching for the skin to whiten on the man’s finger curled around the trigger of his AK-47 – or describing the oppressive heat of an innocent afternoon on the Mekong Delta, David Forsmark and Timothy Imholt make you believe every word of it. Dave joins us.

5:00 – Why I Don’t Call Myself a Gay Christian
Daniel Mattson is a Roman Catholic, living with a homosexual inclination and committed to chastity. But he does not identify as “gay.” Rather, he says “I live with same-sex attraction.” He refuses to identify as gay because the label “gay” does not accurately describe who (or what) he is. More fundamentally, he refuses to use that label because he desires to be faithful to the theological anthropology of the Church. Dan joins us today.

5:40 – Challenges to the HHS “Contraception Mandate” Continue: Why and Where Do They Stand?A number of cases challenging the HHS co-called contraception mandate were heard and ruled on over the last two weeks. We talk to Rob Muise of the American Freedom Law Center and Erin Mersino of the Thomas More Law Center who are handling many of these cases.