Reality stubbornly refuses to conform to our expectations, and some people really do not understand this

Greetings.

Jewish date:  4 ’Adhar 5770 (Parashath Terumah).

Today’s holiday:  Thursday after Ash Wednesday (Roman Catholicism).

Worthy cause of the day:  “DemocracyForAmerica.com » Become a Citizen Co-Sponsor” (on health reform).

Topic 1:  More anti-Semitism:  “Double Standards? Nato's Afghan Errors:  Why are Afghan civilian casualties "accidents" but Palestinian civilian casualties are "war crimes"?”.  This is even worse than the title suggests.  Not only is an Orwellian abuse of language being perpetrated, but also noted is even outright denial of contradictory evidence.  Major rule to keep in mind:  our universe never changes itself to be as we want it to be.  Therefore denying photographic evidence showing that Ḥamas stores weaponry in mosques is just plain stupid.  (Yes, I know that is not the most polite terminology possible.  But it is the terminology which fits best.)  The theme of denial of reality also shows up in “How Christian Were the Founders?”, which deals with the efforts of conservative Christians to modify textbooks used in American public schools to fit their understanding of reality, regardless of whether or not the available evidence shows they are right.

Topic 2:  “Give up your iPod for Lent, bishops urge”:  I am impressed by this.  Self-denial is not seen as an end it self but as a means towards self-improvement.

Image via Wikipedia; the guy on the right is indirectly responsible

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor:  “Cthulhu in Love Perfume”.  This product makes absolutely no sense once you realize what sort of character the fictional pseudo-god Cthulhu is.

Peace.

Aaron