It's the birthday of the poet Robert Hass. He said, "Take the time to write. You can do your life's work in half an hour a day."

I'm listening to a CBC Radio documentary about two young women who recently did something very unusual in a mosque in Canada: one led a prayer, and the other delivered the sermon. I think that's wonderful. It's time for many religious organizations, including the Roman Catholic Church, to become more progressive and give women more rights. I think that the world would benefit greatly from having more women in positions of power in various religions and denominations.

It's time for the Pope to retire!