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PBS stations around the country are currently running a deeply sobering film that is a must-see for people of faith. Called God on Trial, the film tells the story of a group of Jewish inmates at Auschwitz who don’t understand why God seems indifferent to their suffering. (Because of profanity, disturbing images, and other elements, the film is not suitable for children.)

As anyone who knows me knows, I love a good laugh. I’ve even been known to pull a practical joke or two, like the time years ago my assistant and I hauled a real stuffed bear into the hunting cabin of a friend late one night. Let’s just say he was surprised when he went back to the cabin and turned on the lights!

For those of you who remember Watergate, John Dean, the President’s counsel, famously warned President Nixon about Watergate, describing it as, quote, “a cancer on the Presidency.” That is a pretty good phrase to describe our economic mess.

As every school child knows, the Pilgrims arrived in the New World in the winter of 1620. After a difficult struggle for survival, by October 1621 the Pilgrims could celebrate a successful harvest large enough to sustain the colony in the coming winter. The grateful Pilgrims invited their Indian friends to a three-day feast of thanksgiving to God.

The ad ran all over California on Election Day—and surely sets a record for anti-religious bigotry. Two clean-cut young men knock at the door of a lesbian couple. The men identify themselves as Mormon missionaries. “We’re here to take away your rights,” they announce.

Last week I opened the New York Times—and read one of the most powerful ads I’ve ever seen.

Like many of you, I don’t look forward to turning on the financial news these days. These are troubling times. If you’re anywhere near my age, or about to send your kids to college, you can’t be happy when you see your retirement plans or college funds seemingly going up in smoke.

Over the past few weeks, oil prices have dropped from their record levels earlier this summer. The price of light sweet crude is down nearly 30 percent in less than two months.

This summer, my much-needed vacation coincided with my daughter Emily’s 50th birthday. The whole family gathered at a wonderful clambake hosted by Emily’s brother Wendell and his wife. It was a weekend at the beach none of us will ever forget.

Most of us have been badly shaken by the tumultuous events of the last 48 hours in Wall Street. If you have an IRA or some kind of retirement plan, no doubt you’re licking your wounds. You may even be fearful. I understand. I’ve experienced those apprehensions myself.