WHAT'S IN A NAME -- Newsweek referred to the President as having "a Muslim name." Not quite. Many Arabic-speaking people have similar names, but not all Arabs are Muslim, and not all Muslims are Arab. Lebanon is predominantly Arab, but also has a large number of Christians. Many Egyptians are Muslim, but there are also many Christians. Strictly speaking, Egypt is not an Arab nation. And just as not all speakers of English are English (the WASP is a minority in America, and always has been), not all speakers of Arabic are ethnically Arab. Not everyone named Patrick is Irish.
POLE POLL -- How many people still refer to the wooden columns along the street as being "telephone poles," even though they carry electric and cable TV lines as well as telephone wires? Better to use the term "utility pole." We also still use "dial" for telephones, even though that circle of numbers is long gone. And people in New York City still refer to Sixth Avenue, which became Avenue of the Americas decades ago. Some battles may be lost before they start.
WARNING, WILL ROBINSON -- And for candidates and teenagers everywhere. If you don't want the world to know, don't put it into the computer. There is no privacy on the Internet.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -- Fundamentalists are a danger no matter their origin. They view any and all disagreements as heresy, and therefore evil. Galileo was called a heretic, but he was right.
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