The bookstore chain Barnes and Noble issued a rather belated apology to Dr. Omar Amin, 73, of Scottsdale, after he was thrown out of a children’s book section in Arizona. He was told that men are not allowed to be in the children’s section unless they are accompanied by a minor. That’s right. He was told that as a man he was viewed as a danger if reading alone in the section.
Category: Uncategorized
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ignited a firestorm on this blog and elsewhere for his proposal to ban all but 16 ounce containers of sodas, energy drinks, sweetened iced teas and other sugary beverages in restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas and food carts (they will still be available in supermarkets and bodegas). Wondering why he’d make a proposal that could not possibly help him politically and was likely to draw the ire of Big Soda, I did a little research. Here is the abbreviated case against cola:
By Mike Appleton, Guest Blogger
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.” Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
The year 1648 saw the publication of Laws and Liberties of Massachusetts, a compilation of laws enacted by the colony’s General Court. The preface reminds us that “there is no humane law that tendeth to common good . . . but the same is mediately a law of God.” The list of capital offenses included adultery, idolatry, blasphemy, sodomy and witchcraft, with appropriate references to Leviticus, Deuteronomy and other books of the Bible.
And while the Puritan colonists were committed to their religious freedom, they firmly rejected the idea of freedom of religion, with its implication of doctrinal indifferentism. Banishment was the prescibed penalty for heresy, as carefully defined. Anabaptists and others opposed to infant baptism were likewise subject to banishment. A special section prohibited “those of the Jesuiticall Order” and ecclesiastics “ordained by the authoritie of the Pope” from even stepping foot in the colony, with death the penalty for repeat offenders. (In perhaps the earliest recorded example of compassionate conservatism, however, Jesuits who washed ashore through “ship-wrack or other accident” were permitted to remain until the departure of the next available ship.)
Yet despite the strongly theocratic foundation of their laws, the Puritans reserved to civil authority the solemnization of the most important relationship: marriage. Continue reading “Marital Discord”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Investigative journalist Michael Hastings recently broke a story on BuzzFeed about an amendment that is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill. The amendment would “legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences.” Hasting reported that the amendment would “strike the current ban on domestic dissemination” of propaganda material produced by the State Department and the Pentagon. He says the “tweak” to the bill would “neutralize” two other acts—the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act in 1987—which were passed in order “to protect U.S. audiences from our own government’s misinformation campaigns.” Rep. Mark Thornberry (R, Texas) and Rep. Adam Smith (D, Washington) are co-sponsors of the bipartisan amendment.
Hastings says that “the new law would give sweeping powers to the State Department and Pentagon to push television, radio, newspaper, and social media onto the U.S. public.” One Pentagon official who is concerned about the amendment told Hastings, “It removes the protection for Americans. It removes oversight from the people who want to put out this information. There are no checks and balances. No one knows if the information is accurate, partially accurate, or entirely false.” The official added that there are “senior public affairs” officers in the Department of Defense who would like to “get rid” of the Smith-Mundt Act “and other restrictions because it prevents information activities designed to prop up unpopular policies—like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
President Obama has issued an alarming executive order that would allow the government to crackdown of U.S. citizens and other individuals who “indirectly” oppose U.S.-backed Yemeni President, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Hadi was the right-hand man to the prior dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh and won an “election” composed only of himself. We, of course, immediately embraced Hadi and the Obama Administration is now threatening anyone who opposes him, including our own citizens. The Administration appears delighted that, while opponents are not welcomed in the country, American drones are.
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
I LOVE champagne mangoes. When they’re in season, I keep them on hand to eat as a snack or for breakfast with some strawberries. A few weeks ago, I puréed some champagne mangoes and fed them to my granddaughter for lunch. She loves them too!
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Angela Corey has become a minor legal celebrity for her tough-minded prosecution of the Trayvon Martin murder case. Her toughness has also drawn the ire of U.S. House member Corrine Brown in a racially charged case in Jacksonville. The case involves Marissa Alexander who was charged under Florida’s “10-20-life” law which mandates progressively tough penalties for violent felonies when firearms are involved.
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Here are some questions for you:
– Do you know how the United States Postal Service (USPS) is funded?
– Do you know why the USPS is having such serious financial problems?
– Would the closing of more than 200 postal processing centers and more than 3,000 post offices across this country, eliminating Saturday mail delivery, and cutting more than 100,000 postal jobs be the best way to save the USPS?
– Would slowing down mail delivery help the USPS to take in more revenue?
– What would happen to rural communities if their post offices were closed?
– What do you know about the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006?
– Have you heard about H.R. 1351?
Yes, the USPS is experiencing serious financial problems. I’ve heard on the news and read in the papers that drastic measures must be undertaken in order to save this great American institution. I think that it’s important to understand the causes of those problems and to know what could happen to the US Postal Service unless Congress solves them without severely impacting the institution and the services it provides to Americans.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
We present The Beatles without that annoying harmonica drop-out at the beginning.
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Since April is National Poetry Month, I decided to write a post about Woody Guthrie—a songwriter and a poet of the people.
2012 is the centennial of Woody Guthrie’s birth. Born on July 12, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma, Guthrie lived through the Great Depression and the Great Dust Storm period that afflicted this country. Like many “dustbowl refugees”—desperate farmers and unemployed workers—Woody “hit Route 66” and headed west in search of work in hopes of finding a way to support his family.
“Moneyless and hungry, Woody hitchhiked, rode freight trains, and even walked his way to California, taking whatever small jobs he could. In exchange for bed and board, Woody painted signs and played guitar and sang in saloons along the way, developing a love for traveling the open road—a lifelong habit he would often repeat.” (Woody Guthrie Biography)
Californians were not too happy about the massive migration of “Okie” outsiders to their state. Along with other outsiders, Woody “experienced intense scorn, hatred, and even physical antagonism from resident Californians.” Woody eventually got a job on radio singing traditional songs—as well as some of his own original songs.
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
On May 16, 2012, President Obama will take a gold star surrounded by a wreath of laurel and inscribed with a single word: “Valor.” He will present it to honor an American hero and to rectify an oversight almost 42 years to the day overdue. On that morning, the nation’s Commander-in-Chief will, on behalf of the Congress of the American People, present a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor to Rose Sabo, widow of Sgt. Leslie Sabo, Jr., Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”
The Obama White House is again striking out at the media for a lack of self-censorship. The Los Angeles Times correctly published the photos of U.S. soldiers posing with corpses in Afghanistan. Spokesman Jay Carney reacted to the publication of photos in the Los Angeles Times of U.S. soldiers posing with corpses in Afghanistan. Such acts are viewed as violations of the law of war and gross violations of human rights. Yet, White House Spokesman Jay Carney, a former journalist, criticized the newspaper and said the President was “disappointed.. [with] the decision to publish two years after the incident.” The most recent disappointment by the President involves a core journalistic obligation to inform the public. The pictures in this case are the story and to understand the abuse — and the reaction — it was important for the readers of the L.A. Times to see the images in my view.
I recently came across this story out of England over a confrontation at Gatwick Airport between security and David Jones, the creator of the popular animated children’s character Fireman Sam. Jones was detained for an hour for making a comment about a Muslim woman’s hijab at a security checkpoint — a comment deemed racist by a Muslim security guard. The incident is the latest in a series of stories that have raised serious concerns over the state of free speech in England, particularly over the enforcement of hate speech and anti-religious speech (here and here and here and here and here and and here and here and here and here).
It appears that even running a beauty shop can be an offense to the faith, according to leading Islamic experts. The latest such move came from the Islamic seminary Darul Ulum Deoband in India has issued a fatwa against women running beauty parlors as unIslamic and a violation of Sharia law. This follows a fatwa last November against birthday parties as unIslamic.
Continue reading “Fatwa Issued Against Women Running Beauty Salons”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
A couple of years ago, Jonathan highlighted a “Pet of the Week” post on Sundays. This Saturday before Easter, I’d like to return to highlighting a pet of the week–my cat Abby. Abby was a gift given to my daughter Sara by her high school boyfriend when she was a junior. Sara’s boyfriend got Abby for her after we had to have Amber, the cat my husband and I gave our daughter for her eighth birthday, put to sleep. (Amber had cancer, had difficulty walking, and was barely able to eat.)
Sadly, this week, we had to have Abby put to sleep. It was a decision that had to be made. I was at my daughter’s house late Monday night when my husband called with the news that Abby was in distress. He wanted to know where the nearest animal hospital that provided 24-hour emergency services was located. Fortunately, my daughter and son-in-law knew of an excellent veterinary hospital not too far from our house where they had to take their dog Jack last year when he suffered from heat stress. Like Amber, Abby had been having some difficulty walking recently. She also had a heart murmur and congestive heart failure. I’m glad that she didn’t suffer for long.
Continue reading “Pet of the Week: Meet My Dearly Departed Cat Abby”