Lemme see...

I'm not even going to address the head covering. It's not really an important aspect of this article. It's a thesis subject. It's thousands of pages of discourse, and not that relevant to the subject matter. But please note that probably 50% of Palestinian women don't cover their heads. As for honor killings: hideous, troubling, and more the exception than the rule. Genital mutiliation: hideous, troubling, and generally not practiced in Palestine. Let's be topical, shall we?

Seriously, this article was seen as pro-Palestinian? Because she mentioned that the Hamas schools were cleaned and well-manicured and that the hijab-clad administrators were energetic? Did anyone notice that the author used quotes around phrases like "Israeli occupation" as though this term differed from her opinion of what Hamas is doing? I thought that the Israeli occupation was well-acknowledged, but here, the author makes it sound as though it's a matter of opinion as to whether or not Israel is hanging onto land that doesn't belong to it.

The article was humanizing, but honestly, hardly flattering towards the women of Hamas. Who didn't cringe when reading about yet another pious muhajabat trying to save a disbeliever from the flames of hell, or telling the Jews to go back to where they came from? This article didn't change my view of my fundie brethren. But it did give a pretty good idea as to why Palestinians would even like Hamas to begin with (HINT: it's not just their bloodthirsty Arab nature).

Right. That's why we see movies. To walk away with a moral to the storey.

I'm just wondering if maybe the president has given much thought as to what is good for the country, as opposed to what is good for "Don". Probably not.

I know it can get a little confusing, especially for places like Canada (where, Lord knows, if you get an English-speaking Canadian going on the topic of bilingualism, they won't stop until you cry mercy), but many countries actually have more than one official language. In some places, like India, a few languages are chosen as official state languages, and hundreds of other languages are "recognized". I don't think it's unreasonable to think that one day, we might have more than one official language in the US. First candidate is obviously Spanish.

Now, I'm a linguist, an a liberal one at that, but I do believe that people who move to a country should make an effort to speak the main or official language of that country, if only to help themselves and their economic prospects. When I lived abroad, I made a point to earnestly study the official language of my country of residence, even though most people could communicate with me in English if they wanted to, and I could have gotten by living with groups of ex-pat Americans. I thought it was respectful (and empowering, to say the least) to be able to communicate in Chinese, Japanese, or Spanish without consulting a phrase book.

That said, I don't think it would hurt our country to have more than one official language. It will happen, be it in 20, 50, or 100 years. And those wrinkled old white folks shrieking about cultural heritage and insulting our forefathers are going to look even more desperate and pathetic than they do now.

Brian: Ever hear of something called language change? It has to do with the gradual processes in which languages evolve. It's why you and I can't read Chaucer without translation, even though it's in the same language. It all boils down to this: languages are not pure, perfect things. They do not make us who we are. They change over centuries, and a few hundred years from now, English will have changed so much that our Bill of Rights will need to be updated and translated so that your descendants can read it.

Chew on that.

I felt really bad for Kristin when they divorced. Lance Armstrong, for all is fundraising, is obviously and egomaniac, and being married to him must have been hell, then combined with the very public divorce and Sheryl Crow appearances, well, it must have stung.

I, too, have read Kristin's columns in Runner's magazine, but I've never found her inspirational or much of a role model. Sure, she gets up early to run. Great. And yeah, she sacrificed herself to a man who would never fully appreciate what it meant to give yourself to someone else, since Lance is central to Lance's universe. But this doesn't distinguish Kristin in any important way.

Marriage (or the prohibition thereof) has historically been used as a means to gain and maintain property. In our day and age and location, this isn't really the case anymore, but it doesn't mean that women don't get the short end of the deal. Of course, we get the short end of the deal on virtually every front. I don't think that the marriage and baby shower industries are really part of a larger conspiracy, unless you count capitalism as a conspiracy (I know, some of you do). I think that behind every wedding or baby shower is the notion that you deserve to be spoiled now, because in nine months, it'll be all on your shoulders. So enjoy the free diaper geenie.

I'll be interested to see whether or not Kristin remarries.