Religion

One of our religious whack jobs burns a book, and some of their religious whack jobs respond in a mob attack that leaves 20 dead. There is general agreement here that our whack job might be despicable but had the right to do what he did under the "flag burning is symbolic speech" precedent. But we shouldn't glide right by Terry Jones' moral culpabiity: Jones is not quite like the rape victim who is blamed for wearing too short a skirt:

With allies like this . . .

A senior Saudi prince questioned the need for a ban on women driving on Wednesday and said lifting it would be a quick first step to reduce the Islamic kingdom's dependence on millions of foreign workers.

The Gulf Arab state is a monarchy ruled by the al-Saud family in alliance with clerics from the strict Wahhabi school of Islam. Women must be covered from head to toe in public and are not allowed to drive.

I'm irritated by pushy sales clerks who keep pestering me while I'm trying to decide what -- or even whether -- to buy. I'm forced to deal with their agenda (to get me to spend my money) instead of being able to concentrate on mine, which is to sort through my needs and wants for a particular shopping excursion. That's why I appreciate car dealerships being closed on Sundays, remnant of our blue-law days it may be. I can comparison shop and narrow my choices down to a few, which I can then research on my own and even ask the salesman about, if I want to, later.

We all know Fred Phelps and his merry band. They are disgusting, despicable, depraved. And constitutionally protected:

The First Amendment protects hateful protests at military funerals, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in an 8-1 decision.

This is maddening, but not exactly a big surprise:

The Defense Department and the FBI should have recognized that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan had become an adherent of “violent Islamist extremism” before he went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 people, two US senators said Thursday in a special report.

[. . .]

The trouble with all the "Sarah Palin caused the Arizona shooting" talk is that it distracts us from an equally entertaining theory that the recent rash of bird deaths was caused by the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell:

Fort Wayne is often late in getting to the party when it comes to trends and movements, but this time we're in the vanguard as one of the few cities getting a heads-up about Posted in: Current Affairs, Hoosier lore, Our town, Religion

It's tough enough trying to figure out whether we're getting a bargain or getting screwed in the marketplace. Now, the Better Business Bureau warns that we should study carefully the claims of "green" companies who say they're helping the environment while making a profit from us:

Scoop of the week:

Good time for 40 winks:

Indiana State University Provost C. Jack Maynard nodded off for 15 minutes of a 20-minute presentation Friday that preceded the ISU Board of Trustees meeting.

Presentations about matters of importance to ISU routinely precede the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees.