Sunday linkfest

1. Things are actually getting better: the libertarian perspective.

2. Aspen bomber. "1:26 a.m. Suspect is spotted driving green Jeep Cherokee with a spare tire on the roof." You should definitely be suspicious of a guy driving a Jeep on the roof. Bonus: Commenters blame Bush.

3. France, land of brie, wine, and car torchings. I omitted "body odor," because that's understood. (via Ace)

4. This Israeli video for HDTV is old but quite wonderful. Translation is available at the site. (Warning: video starts automatically.)

5. Among the "related" videos was this dumb Jewish "wazzup" commercial. (Same warning.)

Click here to read more . . .

Actually, it came from us

When my sister was in high school in the late 60s, they used a history textbook that included something like this: "As Jesus said, 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.'" We all had a laugh about that, because hundreds of thousands of people had said the same thing before Jesus. The line is from Deuteronomy 6:4. *

I recalled this after reading Dinesh D'Souza's article in the latest issue of Hillsdale College's Imprimis -- Created Equal: How Christianity Shaped The West. The title adequately describes the thesis, so read it only if you feel like it. D'Souza notes that Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. He says:

This idea of the preciousness and equal worth of every human being is largely rooted in Christianity. Christians believe that God places infinite value on every human life. Christian salvation does not attach itself to a person’s family or tribe or city. It is an individual matter.

Now, I certainly don't mean to disparage the contributions of Christianity to Western Civilization, which are significant, especially post-Enlightenment Christianity, and at a broad level D'Souza has a pretty good argument. But still, just like the line from Jesus, the equal worth of humans is not exactly a Christian innovation. It comes from Genesis 1:27, which says that God created man in His own image. I think it's fair for the Jews to get some credit for this.

And personal to DD'S: We know what you're implying when you say Christian salvation doesn't attach "to a person's family or tribe or city." You don't have to be cute about it. But if you were going to be fair, you'd have to admit that Jewish tribalism has little to do with the concept of salvation. Salvation just isn't terribly important in Judaism, which rejects original sin -- one of the innovations Christianity can really take credit for.

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* Something gnawing at me tells me it was actually, "As Jesus said, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself.'" Which would make more sense but would be equally amusing, because, while Jesus said it, the line comes from Leviticus 19:18.

Click here to read more . . .

Fourth of July linkfest

For the Fourth of July, instead of re-posting old July 4 posts, I'm going to bring you a linkfest. OK, I'll re-post one old post, too, but here's the linkfest.

1. While we're appreciating our independence and our freedom, some of our fellow Americans are not. Two years ago, I wrote about one such individual. And this week, a peculiarly repellent column out of the City of Brudderly Lub by a dude named Chris Satullo, who wants to cancel the celebration because "we have sinned." (via Stop the ACLU, via Ace) You already know the rest. No reason to read the column.

2. From last week: At the Seattle Mariners' ballpark, love is dead. (via Baseball Crank)

3. Mars, Saturn, and Regulus are converging in the evening sky.

4. "Police suspect giraffe in circus breakout."

5. Drink to Obama's victory? The tee-shirt.

6. Speaking of Obama, Jennifer Rubin explains his problem with Jewish voters in a single word, er, number: 1973.

7. If you're a white dude in England, whatever you do, don't call a white security guard "Honky!" (via HotAir)

8. Finally: A definition of torture.

9. It's hard to believe, but Maryland is only the 19th most corrupt state in the union. Should be higher.

10. David Wissing says you are what you Google. Anyone who's read my "Visitor of the day" series would have to agree.

11. New York dude moves to Atlanta and finds that "New York style" pizza in the South exemplifies major suckitude, so he returns to New York to "reverse engineer" real New York pizza. (via Fark)

12. Last but not least, for the woman concerned about "pelvic fitness," your own spa. (via HotAir) In case you don't understand, the New York Times article explains: "And now comes the first medi spa in Manhattan wholly dedicated to strengthening and grooming a woman’s genital area."

Click here to read more . . .

Backstop for the children of fallen soldiers

I sometimes get frustrated with the catcher on my fantasy baseball team, Jason Varitek, but the guy seems to have his heart in the right place.

On Memorial Day, Varitek wore specially designed camouflage equipment in support of the troops and is auctioning the equipment to raise money for the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund, which raises funds to allow the children of fallen soldiers from that state to attend college.

There's a fan site for Varitek, called Jason-Varitek.com, where you can see some terrific photos. Try this and this for starters.

And be sure to check out the auction site, in case you have a hankering for some slick catching gear and want to help a good cause.

Click here to read more . . .

The last refuge of patriotism?

Here's a great Memorial Day story from, of all places, New York in, of all places, the New York Times.

The flagship store of Lord & Taylor, one of the great old department stores, begins each day by playing a recording of the Star Spangled Banner. The former chairman of Lord & Taylor began this practice during the Carter Administration, when the Iranians took over our embassy in Tehran and held hostages.

Playing the national anthem each morning has become a ritual at Lord & Taylor. “The Star-Spangled Banner” is the same whether it’s a Wednesday in mid-March or a holiday like Memorial Day, which honors those who have died in service to their country.

* * * * *
The morning routine at Lord & Taylor is probably the longest-running daily ritual that can be traced to the 444-day Iran hostage crisis that began in 1979. The situation in Iran cast the United States in an unaccustomed role — a superpower that was powerless — as the administration of President Jimmy Carter could not win the release of the 52 Americans taken captive in Tehran.

Despite recent "re-branding" of the store, it has maintained this tradition, which goes something like this:

Five minutes before the store opens, the lights come up. On the public address system on Tuesday morning, a jazz combo was gliding through the Gershwin tune “Somebody Loves Me.”

That faded down, and out. There was a respectful pause before the orchestra struck up “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Then the sound system went back to soft jazz as the shoppers streamed down the finally open aisles.

It's a small thing, perhaps, but in an age when people are sometimes uncomfortable with expressions of patriotism, it's a good one.

And you have to read the article to the very end before the inevitable New York doubt creeps in. The last person interviewed for the story says it's inappropriate in a commercial venue.

But Patty Kahr, on her way to check on alterations to a dress she had bought to wear to a wedding, said it was “inappropriately patriotic for a commercial setting.”

“I think that kind of patriotism should be voluntary, not enforced,” she said. “You expect it at a sporting event, but when you’re going shopping for clothing?”

Because, as we all know, it's OK to be patriotic when 300-pound linemen are crushing the quarterback, but we certainly wouldn't want it to interfere with shopping for a dress.

Click here to read more . . .

Kaboom!

Your explosive news on July 4 comes from yesterday's New York Times Science section. There's a summer camp for explosively minded high-school kids at the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Here's your video from the Times.

Take away quotation: "We don't look to throw rock through the air," Dr. Worsey said. "When you do that, you’re wasting energy."

Click here to read more . . .

Happy Fourth!

No matter how often we express gratitude for being Americans, July 4th is an appropriate time to stop and celebrate the U.S.

I'm going to cheat here a little by doing what some newspapers do on annual holidays and republish a piece from one of the previous years. Here's what I wrote last year on July 4th about one wacko whose idiocy shows what a great country this is, and here's a post from the year before about the Gettysburg address in Hebrew.

Click here to read more . . .