Category Archives: Scribbles

On the other hand…

Posted on December 15, 2006 | Comments Off on On the other hand…

Why not a big menorah at Seattle-Tacoma airport? Lord knows, we could use some miracles. Apparently there will be one lit tonight at sundown, and every night through next Friday, at the Washington state capitol in Olympia, and there are other public ones around the country. It doesn’t have to be either-or, Christmas trees (or for that matter, manger scenes) or menorahs. Why not both? Why not a Muslim crescent or three during Ramadan? It could get out of hand, but it doesn’t need to, with a little common sense. The constitution says we have freedom OF religion here, not freedom FROM religion. Chabad-Lubivitch, for which I have had a soft spot since a memorable seder at Chabad House on the UT campus, has their side of what happened in the Sea-Tac airport controversy, and a good overall argument for religious pluralism here.  And as for Hannuka, which begins tonight, you can Google up your own explanation if you need one, but this short Flash movie commentary is a winner by itself.

Inspiration by the good folks at No Left Turns 

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Bad pennies, etc.

Posted on December 14, 2006 | Comments Off on Bad pennies, etc.

They do, in fact, always turn up. Eason Jordan, for instance, the disgraced former president of CNN (known to American veterans as the Communist News Network) has a new Internet news site focusing entirely on Iraq. Which is odd (or appropriate, perhaps) considering he was best known for sucking up to Saddam before the 2004 liberation. Until, that is, he asserted at several foreign venues that the American military was purposely targeting journalists for death. Something tells me his new venture will not be far afield of his old employer and may even come to rival al Jiz for mendacity. But we shall see.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Iraq, Scribbles, The War, Troops

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Kofi Anan, ironist

Posted on December 12, 2006 | Comments Off on Kofi Anan, ironist

Talk about gall. UN kleptocrat Kofi Anan journeyed to Missou to use the Truman Library for his last speech, digging at President Bush for various awful things, such as freeing 50-odd million people from tyranny, as Anan, a greater friend to dictators than even Jimmy Carter, handed in his resignation and left the building the US hosts and pays for. Truman must be rolling over in his grave.

But, then, Kofi has never lacked for irony. As another parting gesture, he inaugurated the UN Human Rights Council in June. And what has it done? Condemn genocide in Darfur? Seek to ameliorate the oppression of women in (pick one) any Arab country? Nah. It spends all of its energy attacking Israel. Go home, Kofi, and stay there.

UPDATE  Better late than never, he finally mentioned the situation in Darfur in another of his "last" speeches. Muslim women, however, are still off his radar screen.

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Posted in Israel, Scribbles

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Those Christmas trees in Seattle

Posted on December 11, 2006 | Comments Off on Those Christmas trees in Seattle

That rabbi who succeeded in getting fifteen Christmas trees banned from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport might be attracting rousing cheers from some Muslims, a secular busybody or two, pushy atheists and the ACLU, but at least one Israeli Jew finds his behavior antithetical to the Hebrew bible.

"I would recommend that the learned rabbi…check [the] Torah, there definitely must be a mention of ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (by Moses, I believe?) or, in simpler words: ‘What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man’ (Hillel). Unless there was a new edition I am not aware of."

Meanwhile, some Christmas trees are reappearing on airline counters at the airport. And the Orthodox rabbi, Elazar Bogomilsky, says he didn’t mean to be a grinch, although he did threaten to sue. He only wanted a Hannuka menorah, in honor of the Festival of Lights which begins Friday, to have equal time with the trees, but airport officials chose to remove the trees, instead.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Israel, Scribbles

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Vince

Posted on December 11, 2006 | Comments Off on Vince

The Longhorns sure missed him this year–and the Houston Texans–but he’s got bigger fish to fry.

"He doesn’t believe he’s going to lose. He’s comfortable with the game on his shoulders, at his best when the stakes are the highest."

Via Houston Chronicle 

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Posted in Scribbles, Texana, Texas Football

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Hannukah, Hanukkah, or Channuka?

Posted on December 10, 2006 | Comments Off on Hannukah, Hanukkah, or Channuka?

When you’re translating to English from a language with a different alphabet (especially one without vowels), nobody can decide how to spell it. But that’s no biggie. Not when the holiday begins only a few days from now (Friday, actually), and there’s the first-ever blog carnival about it to attend. So attend.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Israel, Scribbles

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Crackberry

Posted on December 9, 2006 | Comments Off on Crackberry

"In Austin, Texas, Hohlt Pecore, 7, and his sister, Elsa, 4, have complicated relationships with their mother’s BlackBerry. ‘I feel very annoyed,’ says Hohlt. ‘She’s always concentrating on that blasted thing.’"

One advantage, I’ve heard, for people who don’t have them but work for people who do, is their bosses spend so much time with the things that once-interminable planning meetings are shorter than usual, and the boss more distracted than usual. That’s bad, though, if you need a decision in a hurry.

Via Instapundit

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