Fresh Honestly Accidentally Come By

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“This is a war that requires intelligence.”

-- President George W. Bush

And he didn't blush.

The Republicans are still trying to sell the idea that the Democrats cannot be trusted with national security and terrorism. It is a concern, but we have been learning that Bush and the Republicans are not trustworthy either. Some Democratic power in Congress might enable our leaders to keep each other honest, or at least more so, as we see how things continue to evolve over the next couple of years.

xXx

Fresh Honestly Accidentally Come By

♠
“This is a war that requires intelligence.”

-- President George W. Bush

And he didn't blush.

The Republicans are still trying to sell the idea that the Democrats cannot be trusted with national security and terrorism. It is a concern, but we have been learning that Bush and the Republicans are not trustworthy either. Some Democratic power in Congress might enable our leaders to keep each other honest, or at least more so, as we see how things continue to evolve over the next couple of years.

xXx

The Niqab Controversy

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Anne Applebaum has put forth a strong piece on the British controversy over Muslim women and the niqab, the full-face veil. But I'm mostly posting this because I'm proud of my new Devil icon:

It would, of course, be outrageous if Tony Blair or the French government were to ban veils altogether -- just as it is outrageous that Saudi Arabia bans churches and even forbids priests from entering the country. But just because authorities persecute Christians and Jews in some parts of the Muslim world, that doesn't mean we need to emulate them. In their private lives, Muslim women living in the West should be free to use veils or head scarves as they wish. But freedom to practice religion in the West shouldn't imply freedom to hold jobs that impinge on that practice. An Orthodox Jew should not have an absolute right to work in a restaurant that is open only on Saturdays. A Quaker cannot join the Army and then state that his religion prohibits him from fighting. By the same token, a Muslim woman who wants to cover her face has no absolute right to work in a school or an office where face-to-face conversations are part of the job.

It isn't religious discrimination or anti-Muslim bias to tell her that she must be polite to the natives, respect the local customs, try to speak some of the local patois -- and uncover her face.

Of course, it is debatable whether teachers showing their face is as critical for their job as, say, pharmacists dispensing birth control is for their job regardless of their faith (notwithstanding how we unaccountably tolerate the fundamentalist pharmacists who refuse such service). I like the argument, but then I generally favor moving away from the negative influence of pre-Enlightenment religion.


(source: Anne Applebaum for The Washington Post)

xXx

The Niqab Controversy

♠
Anne Applebaum has put forth a strong piece on the British controversy over Muslim women and the niqab, the full-face veil. But I'm mostly posting this because I'm proud of my new Devil icon:

It would, of course, be outrageous if Tony Blair or the French government were to ban veils altogether -- just as it is outrageous that Saudi Arabia bans churches and even forbids priests from entering the country. But just because authorities persecute Christians and Jews in some parts of the Muslim world, that doesn't mean we need to emulate them. In their private lives, Muslim women living in the West should be free to use veils or head scarves as they wish. But freedom to practice religion in the West shouldn't imply freedom to hold jobs that impinge on that practice. An Orthodox Jew should not have an absolute right to work in a restaurant that is open only on Saturdays. A Quaker cannot join the Army and then state that his religion prohibits him from fighting. By the same token, a Muslim woman who wants to cover her face has no absolute right to work in a school or an office where face-to-face conversations are part of the job.

It isn't religious discrimination or anti-Muslim bias to tell her that she must be polite to the natives, respect the local customs, try to speak some of the local patois -- and uncover her face.

Of course, it is debatable whether teachers showing their face is as critical for their job as, say, pharmacists dispensing birth control is for their job regardless of their faith (notwithstanding how we unaccountably tolerate the fundamentalist pharmacists who refuse such service). I like the argument, but then I generally favor moving away from the negative influence of pre-Enlightenment religion.


(source: Anne Applebaum for The Washington Post)

xXx