Open Thread–11/21/2010

Yesterday I kept up to date with replying to comments and returning visits.  You won’t see much of me today.  It’s a holy day for the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb.  In addition, my grocery order is being delivered this morning, and the effort of unpacking and putting it all away usually does me in.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today it took me 4:14 (average 4:52).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From NY Times: As he left Washington on Friday, Mr. Boehner headed across the Potomac River to Reagan National Airport, which was bustling with afternoon travelers. But there was no waiting in line for Mr. Boehner, who was escorted around the metal detectors and body scanners, and taken directly to the gate.

Mr. Boehner, who was wearing a casual yellow sweater and tan slacks, carried his own bags and smiled pleasantly at passengers who were leaving the security checkpoint inside the airport terminal. It was unclear whether any passengers waiting in the security line, including Representative Allen Boyd, a Florida Democrat who lost his re-election bid, saw Mr. Boehner.

When he said he would travel just like the rest of us, was he lying?  Orf was this an act of protest from TSA workers who refused to touch him out of fear of alcohol poisoning?

From Common Dreams: The report by The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) policy think-tank showed 92 percent of 1,000 Afghan men surveyed in Helmand and Kandahar know nothing of the hijacked airliner attacks on U.S. targets in 2001.

"The lack of awareness of why we are there contributes to the high levels of negativity toward the NATO military operations and made the job of the Taliban easier," ICOS President Norine MacDonald told Reuters from Washington.

After all these years, you’d think we could have informed them by now.  If we can’t communicate one key fact to the population, then what are we doing there?  They are almost as uninformed as Foxtopia viewers!

From Religion Dispatches: A group of Louisiana citizens, believed to be backed by the conservative Christian Louisiana Family Forum, are attacking the state’s proposed biology textbooks because, well, they teach too much evolution.

They may have a point.  One need only look at the incoming class of Republican legislators to realize that DEVOLUTION is the operative theory in the US.

Cartoon:

Good Sunday to all!