Category: Bits and Pieces

I echo Danny’s Merry Christmas to you all!  Perhaps because it is Christmas Eve, I don’t feel like blogging on anything serious today.  Still, there is one problem President Obama promised during his campaign that he would fix that he has made no progress on at all. Indeed, I fear

To each and everyone, a very Merry Christmas! Whether Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim or other, please accept my family’s very best wishes to you and your loved ones for the peace and shared human fellowship that this season offers for us all.

. . . but if you are a football fan or just enjoy complete silliness, check out Mike and Mike’s Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks (something Bookworm herself would never post here).

At a minimum, Pat Robertson is calling for lower penalties for people who smoke marijuana.  I quite agree, but then I’ve been for legalization of  marijuana forever.  Anyway, what do you think, both about Roberton’s comments specifically, and about how our society should deal with drug (and alcohol) use generally?

As we approach Christmas, which celebrates of the birth of the Prince of Peace, I am visiting family deep in the mountains of Colorado with only intermittent access to the web.  I appreciate that this “season of peace” is a time of great tension for many (witness the shopping malls),

For months, I’ve noticed the growing number in the box to the side that counts Islamist terrorist attacks.  However, I’ve never before checked out the site that counter comes from — TheReligionOfPeace.com.  It is an awesome site, which I recommend you check out. I was especially taken by the following

I mentioned yesterday that I’ve been reading up on Judaism.  The history of that religion is filled to the brim with prejudice and persecution.  I think it would be hard being Jewish and coming to trust even that my Gentile friends were free of that prejudice.  This history may explain why,

The Daily Beast ranked the top “Grinchiest” cities.  Is it any surprise that four of the top 15 were California cities and that number 1 was Boston, Mass.?

I’ve been reading a book on Judaism (on which more later) when I came across a paragraph I found particularly interesting for its parallel to today: “As Moses Mendelsson achieved fame, he acquired the admiring acceptance of many of the leading intellectuals of Germany.  They were ready to befriend this

Haley Barbour has gotten himself into some hot water the last few days.  According to the linked-to AP article, Barbour originally said, “You heard of the Citizens Councils? Up north they think it was like the KKK. Where I come from it was an organization of town leaders. In Yazoo

Every time I visit the Bookwormroom I check the little section that shows where the last ten or so visitors are from.  I’m amazed to find people from all over the world are visiting here.  That, in turn, got me to wondering who these people were who visit and how

I’m heading for two weeks in Incommunicado-ville, a land with sunshine and restaurant food (yay, no cooking!), but no internet access.  Barring wandering in an internet cafe somewhere, which is unlikely, I won’t be blogging at all. Fortunately, the wonderful Don Quixote and the equally wonderful Danny Lemieux are both

Yay!  Palestinian Media Watch is back on YouTube.

Here’s an interesting story from the Philadelphia Inquirer (h/t www.smalldeadanimals.com): http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20101212_Critical_U_S__drug_shortage_worsening.html#ixzz18Vrz3bxL The nub of it is that we now (already) face increasing shortages of drugs all across the spectrum….from common anesthetics to key cancer-fighting drugs. Most of the shortages have appeared among generic brands, which have gone out of business