Tuesday May 22nd 2012
Democracy in America
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Best line of the day
Jul 16th 2010, 15:18 by J.F. | ATLANTA
ACTUALLY, it's from yesterday, but it is too great not to repost. In an account of the squabble between Israel Beitenu and Likud over Israel's divisive conversion bill, a member of the former party responded to accusations that it had threatened the coalition leader: "Israel Beitenu does not growl," he said. "It only bites."
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We in this country do face an issue contained in this specific issue: how does a civil society talk back to people who claim the mantle of God? The religious zealots in Israel want control over who is Jewish (and, btw, my reaction is in the "bleep them" camp). We deal with people who want Christianity to decide the content of public school education, of actual science curriculums. We have people who want all laws to be grounded in the Christian Bible. (I assume in the future we may have Muslims insisting that laws conform to Sharia, etc.) How exactly is a civil society supposed to respond to theologically based political demands?
Yeah, that's a real knee slapper you got there.
Woof
"In an account of the squabble between Israel Beitenu and Likud..."
American democracy sure does have some funny names nowadays...
Oh, I get it. Puns don't seem to be getting through today. I'm either brain dead or mentally healthy today.
Haha, bampbs. No, the emphasis should probably be on "college reunion" rather than Memorial day. More of a bad drunk. I just got that "Israel beitanu" might be pronounced "Bite-anew." I had a feeling there were more layers to the humor than I was getting.
I suppose that the American adaptation would be, "The Doberman Party does not bark. It only bites."
Doug, are you a wildcat labor leader ?
I have to admit, though I didn't put it that well, I gave almost the same "I strike without warning" warning at a college reunion Memorial day weekend.