March 28, 2009 archive

Bigotry, bigotry, on the wall…

(crossposted from Green Mountain Daily)

“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” – Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia (1782)

A core principle for many if not all of us.

As one blogger writes:

I love this quote. All at once Jefferson is asserting both the vital importance of separation of church and state, as well as the need for religious tolerance. People can believe whatever they want to and worship whatever they want, as long as it doesn’t harm others.

And there’s the rub – twice, stated in two different ways.

“As long as it doesn’t harm others.”

Which another blogger sems to be either missing, or deliberately obfuscating, in her post titled “Bigotry Abounds” that contains this nothing less than staggering statement:

…Vermont is one step closer to silencing Bible-believing Christians and forcing them to violate their religious beliefs – and they are giddy about it.

We’ll look at the classic religious conservative tactic of crying that their religious freedoms are being violated when they are stopped by the legislative process from violating the rights of those who do not share their beliefs, below the fold.

Late Night Karaoke

The Koban

SASC Full Declassified Report Due Out, Levin to Call for DOJ Referral

Jason Leopold reported today that the Senate Armed Services Committee is very close to releasing — “possibly as early as next week” — its 200 page, 2000 footnote

… voluminous report on the treatment of detainees held in U.S. custody and the interrogations methods they were subjected to, according to Defense Department and intelligence sources, who described the report as the most detailed account to date of how the Bush administration and Defense Department implemented interrogation methods widely regarded as torture.

Levin and the SASC’s investigation is a gold mine of information about how the Bush administration implemented its torture program. Both the documents produced by the investigation, and the declassified 19-page summary released by Sen. Levin last year contained important new information, such the details surrounding John Yoo’s drafting of the torture memos.

Random Japan

Nice move

In response to an increase in the number of women returning to the workforce during the economic downturn, the government has granted approval for daycare centers to open in private homes.

The Gap clothing store said it would open a shop in a 12-story building in Ginza after Louis Vuitton pulled out, citing sluggish sales of luxury goods. The store, due to open in 2011, will be the largest Gap in Japan.

The Imperial Household Agency announced that the emperor and empress would like to invite 100 couples from around the country to help celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on April 10. The couples, who have also all been married for 50 years, would join an hour-long tea ceremony at the Imperial Palace.

In response to a government move to lower the price of expressway tolls on weekends, JR West slashed fares by 40 percent on its Sanyo shinkansen line.

Documenting the Apocalypse

This is Tim on Thursday.

Photobucket

RANDOM DISTRACTIONS

Tonight the posted distractions are posted in random order to accommodate the randomness of the random people who may randomly click here.

I think this way, all bases are covered.

Remember I do not post these for comments, although I most certainly don`t discourage it, but if you do have any questions about any one of these images, I shall be happy to respond.

Have a great day, & please keep a thought for those in the flood plain of the Red River.

TOP KNOTS

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Friday Night at 8: Roots

Every now and then I re-read all of Chaim Potok’s books.  I get in a certain mood, you see.

Chaim Potok

You may know Potok’s work from one of his biggest selling books, The Chosen.

All of Potok’s books deal with protagonists who eventually must confront the limitations of the touchstones they were given through childhood, their bedrock belief systems.  With the exception of Davita’s Harp, that touchstone is an Orthodox Jewish community.

In My Name is Asher Lev, we get to know Asher, the son of a man accomplished in the Jewish community, the right-hand assistant to the Hassidic Rebbe who is the highest authority in the community, a man who works hard to build yeshivas all over Europe, a man of integrity, all that.  And Asher, his son, is an artistic genius on the level of Picasso.  Long story short, Asher finds that his masterpiece painting expresses itself with a crucifixion as part of its form.  Needless to say, that causes a bit of a stir in his community, which already looks askance at his painting to begin with.  Add the family dynamic to that, and Asher is confronted with a heavy task.  And he is fully aware after he paints the picture exactly how much it will hurt his family, why it will hurt his family, and the kind of disapproval and anger it will draw down upon him.

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