Wednesday, April 20. 2005
 The Truth, Finally
Read this! That smart Dartmouth boy John Hinderaker gets it. What the Left really wants, but cannot get via the ballot, so must get via the courts. No wonder the court issue is such a hot one - the Left wants the courts to run the country because they have given up on the voters. This from a recent Yale conference on the Constitution: "It is time for progressives to set a constitutional agenda for the 21st Century. In 1987-88, the Reagan Justice Department produced a white paper known as "The Constitution in 2000" which, by taking a long view rather than focusing on the immediate issues of the day, was immensely successful in influencing the Constitution under which we now live. If progressives are to rehabilitate that Constitution, they must now, more than ever, articulate constitutional ideals capable of inspiring the next generation."
Note that it is a "constitutional agenda," not a legislative agenda. This is WRONG WRONG WRONG! If I had any slightest doubt about the rule change to end court-nominee filibusters, my doubts are now erased, sort-of, mostly... John's essential piece here.
Tuesday, April 19. 2005
 Scam City
Every MD in America knew that the trial lawyers pulled off a huge scam with the silicone breast implant deal. Destroyed one fine and innocent company, and had every con-woman and deranged hypochondriacal female in America in on it. And isn't it just fine to now look at the science, and to find out that silicone breast implants are harmless? Personally, I feel the purely cosmetic use is ridiculous - accept what God gave you. Speaking as a fellow, trust me - whatever you have is very nice and very lovely indeed, especially if you have a good heart. But for breast cancer reconstruction - well, it's important to lots of women. The silicone is better than saline, many folks feel. I want to see all the $ returned, including the zillions that ended up with folks like that jerk who ran with Kerry - what was the name of that greasy sleazeball trailer-trash guy with the hair? Read here.
Ratzinger's Homily The focus of the homily is on Friendship with Christ. Thanks to Hugh Hewitt: CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER HOMILY AT THE MASS FOR THE ELECTION OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF At this hour of great responsibility, we hear with special consideration what the Lord says to us in his own words. From the three readings I would like to examine just a few passages which concern us directly at this time. The first reading gives us a prophetic depiction of the person of the Messiah - a depiction which takes all its meaning from the moment Jesus reads the text in the synagogue in Nazareth, when he says: "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk 4,21). At the core of the prophetic text we find a word which seems contradictory, at least at first sight. The Messiah, speaking of himself, says that he was sent "To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God" (Is 61,2). We hear with joy the news of a year of favor: divine mercy puts a limit on evil - the Holy Father told us. Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person: encountering Christ means encountering the mercy of God. Christ's mandate has become our mandate through priestly anointing. We are called to proclaim - not only with our words, but with our lives, and through the valuable signs of the sacraments, the "year of favor from the Lord." But what does the prophet Isaiah mean when he announces the "day of vindication by our God"? In Nazareth, Jesus did not pronounce these words in his reading of the prophet's text - Jesus concluded by announcing the year of favor. Was this, perhaps, the reason for the scandal which took place after his sermon? We do not know. In any case, the Lord gave a genuine commentary on these words by being put to death on the cross. Saint Peter says: "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross" (1 Pe 2,24). And Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians: "Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,' that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal 3, 13s). The mercy of Christ is not a cheap grace; it does not presume a trivialization of evil. Christ carries in his body and on his soul all the weight of evil, and all its destructive force. He burns and transforms evil through suffering, in the fire of his suffering love. The day of vindication and the year of favor meet in the paschal mystery, in Christ died and risen. This is the vindication of God: he himself, in the person of the Son, suffers for us. The more we are touched by the mercy of the Lord, the more we draw closer in solidarity with his suffering - and become willing to bear in our flesh "what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" (Col 1, 24).
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Blogs  Wondering how folks find the time to keep up with their Really Big Blogs, like Powerline and LGF. Must take hours every day to produce those things. Must be an obsession or ego trip or writing compulsion or whatever. Or probably just a wholesome hobby. But don't quit, guys - we rely on ya. Stay crazy.
Here, we just do what we can, semi-sanely, with good humor. But the b-world is wonderful, democracy in action, a writing universe for the unpublished and unpublishable. What a wonderful world !
NYT - Please Hire Steyn We have tried to say these things, but Mark does it better, as always: "The root of the Pope's thinking - that there are eternal truths no one can change even if one wanted to - is completely incomprehensible to the progressivist mindset. There are no absolute truths, everything's in play, and by "consensus" all we're really arguing is the rate of concession to the inevitable: abortion's here to stay, gay marriage will be here any day now, in a year or two it'll be something else - it's all gonna happen anyway, man, so why be the last squaresville daddy-o on the block?' Read entire here. Hillary Watch She is crafty but not wise. Why is she so scary? Or is she just a Repub fund-raising tool? As that, she excels. I think folks find her scary because she is a shrill, ruthless bitch. However, she does not wear well. Overexposure will damage her, and her false modesty is grating: "The former first lady and her top aides steadfastly maintain that her focus is on winning a second Senate term. In fact, they have stopped talking publicly about the White House and 2008. But Republicans say her sights clearly are on the presidency and they are determined to make sure she never gets anywhere near an Iowa nominating caucus." Read piece here.
Monday, April 18. 2005
Monitors Holy Cow. I always thought the computer was the important thing. Really like my new Dell flat whatever 17 or 20" monitor or whatever it is. It makes 8 pt. type legible at a distance. Dell slams you for the height-adjustable feature, but I don't know why they bother making them without it. Who wants to have to look up at a screen? I am always behind the tech curve. If you are too, check here.
The Holy Grail of Ancient Greece Not a minor story. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, rescued from the dump, have had a breakthrough, with possibly early versions of the Gospels, not to mention Homer, Hesiod, the Greek playwrights, etc.: "Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed." Read entire here.
The Death Tax We are agin it. We like the idea of being able to hand stuff down to the kids, especially land that has been in the family for generations. As an attorney, it breaks my heart to see families forced to sell grandpa's farm, or country place, to developers to rape the land to cover his estate taxes. In my experience, the extremely wealthy never pay them anyway - it's more professionals like me, or small business owners and farmers, who end up paying them. So, I ask myself, do we have this death tax as just one more source of $ for the govt, or as social engineering, ie to prevent prosperous, but not ultra-rich, families from accumulating capital, assets, independence and choice? If the latter is the goal, there's an easier way - a marginal income tax rate of 100% for everything over $150,000. Or make it 100,000 - what the heck. Don't screw the family and heirs - let's just screw the poor slob who is working and saving his whole life to build something, while he's still alive to feel the pain...and to vote. Two good and convincing pieces on the subject; one from WSJ and one from The View from 1776.
McCain New England Repub announces the end of McCain's political aspirations here. Right Wing Nuthouse RWN outdoes themselves: First, a cool and literate piece on Ann Coulter, comparing her to Tom Paine here. And then a thoughtful and complimentary piece about David McCulloch here. Good thinking and good writing. The Demise of Community Block Grants The excellent reporter Steven Malanga of The City Journal: "By killing the program, the Bush administration will do more than just save billions of taxpayer dollars. It will send a message that cities must cast off the 1960s dependency mentality that viewed federally subsidized programs as the only road to inner-city community revival and economic development—a notion that years of failed efforts should now put to rest." Read his detailed report of the program's failures here, and feel grateful that Bush is taking out some of the trash. Media Elite Something tells me that I'm not a member of the media elite. Raising this subject may be beating a dead horse, but it never ceases to amaze. Kathleen Parker: "With a few exceptions, journalists tend to think mostly alike about most things, and they generally tend to be more liberal than mainstream America. This isn't a criticism necessarily - there's no Fourth Estate conspiracy - it's just the nature of the beast. After all, what kind of person wants to labor long hours in exchange for public contempt and low pay? Brilliant people, obviously." Read entire here. Ramsey Clark Good for a laugh. A dog bone to NC via LGF: "Ramsey Clark’s radical left wing International Action Center will be hosting a conference tomorrow at Public School 41 in Manhattan, to fight a nonexistent draft and work out effective strategies for sedition: National Conference Against the Draft & Military Recruiting. (Hat tip: NC.)" Read entire comment here.
Saturday, April 16. 2005
Left-Handed, Left-Eyed, etc. Southpaws do have it tough. I am one, and I'm surprised we aren't an aggrieved minority so we could get free money. There's no doubt left-handedness is abnormal and maybe due to a touch of low oxygen at birth. It messes with your handwriting, but mainly with your shooting and tennis. Brain confusion. If you are left-handed, and left-eyed - no big problem. You shoot lefty and if you want, you can buy a lefty gun, but I doubt it's worth the trouble unless you shoot competitively. (Easy to tell which eye is dominant - roll up a piece of paper and look through it like a telescope - which ever eye you use - that's it.) If you're right-handed and left-eyed, it gets interesting. Mixed dominance for sure. Ideally, you would shoot lefty and play tennis righty, and just adjust and assume you'll never get to Wimbledon. Bill Hanus offers advice on this age-old dilemma here. Hey Dylanologist - I know this applies to you, big guy.
Friday, April 15. 2005
"Constitution Not a Living Organism" says Scalia. Funny figure of speech, brings odd images to mind. But of course he is right. It's a legal document - a contract between the people of the states and the federal government. As is said about the Ten Commandments - "It's not the Ten Suggestions." Without that contract, there would have been no real union, just a confederacy. Piece on Scalia's speech here. How did so many get hoodwinked into thinking that a contract was a living organism, anyway? Surely not lawyers? If you want to change it, you amend it. The Coming Showdown Please remind me again...Who won the election? The coming showdown over judges and the courts, and of course, the Supremes. HH gets the real story here. More France and the EU Chirac defends EU as polls turn negative: "Mr Chirac said the treaty was needed to keep the EU "strong and organised" and defend its interests against the power of the US or of India and China." Read entire here.
Thursday, April 14. 2005
France and EU More on the possibility of France rejecting the EU. Good post by Belmont Club here.
Max Ernst Yes, there are things we like from Europe. If visiting New York this is a must see. Let's try to forgive the Germans and the "Frogs" for their Anti-Americanism folly and take in some of the good stuff. Like Ernst. "A founding member of the Surrealist group in Paris, German-born Max Ernst (1891–1976) was one of the most inventive artists of the 20th century. His paintings, steeped in Freudian metaphors, private mythology, and childhood memories, are regarded today as icons of Surrealist art. Comprising some 180 works, this exhibition—the first retrospective to be shown in New York in 30 years—includes his most important paintings, his celebrated collages, drawings, sculptures, and illustrated books lent by private and public collections in Europe and the United States."
Click here: The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Special Exhibitions: Max Ernst: A Retrospective
Old News
The New Criterion does not always make friends in the Liberal, Anti-Dubya and all around beat up the Conservatives playground but what the hell sometimes "ya gotta do what ya gotta do." Although this piece on Berkeley was reported in 2002, it hasn't changed much. All the liberal thinkers and Berkeley grads might want to skip this link.
Good Blog
Here at Maggie's Farm we don't feel we have space to highlight every worthy blogger, but one has to give credit when credit is due. Here is another reason to like the Midwest - the land of nice people with good values. A quote from his recent post, which sounds like Mr. Grim's My Back Pages: "Etienne Gilson once remarked that "politics is the concern of the quarter-educated." Well, I think he overstated things a bit, but I do have to agree that I'm getting tired and bored of politics. There are plenty of bloggers around to comment on politics. But what is sorely needed is a voice for high art and culture. It's my metier and what I am going to focus on in the future. There are several reasons for this. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Conservatives have largely won the debate on religion/morality and completely dominate the field concerning politics and the economy. But where conservatives (from neo-con to paleo-con and from the religious right to freethinkers) have greatly failed in is the debate on culture and aesthetics. Conservatives have largely abandoned the cultural/aesthetic side of the equation to the loony left...and with dire consequences.
How Soon We Forget VDH summarizes all of the wrong predications, reckless claims, timid attitudes, and plain stupid things that have been said about the war on terror since 9-11. He does not omit our intellectual leaders in Hollywood: "Do not dare forget our Hollywood elite. At some point since 9/11, Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Whoopi Goldberg, and a host of others have lectured the world that their America is either misled, stupid, evil, or insane, bereft of the wisdom of Hollywood's legions of college drop-outs, recovering bad boys, and self-praised autodidacts." Read entire here. France has Always Hated the US Matthew Price reviews Phillippe Roger's "The American Enemy: The History of French Anti-Americanism" in the Boston Globe. It's a fascinating review of the long history of French condescension and contempt: "In his book ... published in English this month by the University of Chicago Press, Roger surveys two centuries of political polemics, pulp sci-fi serials, and travelogues, unearthing an often entertaining treasure trove of outrageous overstatement and bitter accusation that variously depict America as a stunted wasteland, a soulless technocracy, and a racist behemoth hell-bent on world domination." Read entire here. Gays in the Military Clinton's cowardly maneuver gave us the ridiculous situation which exists now in the military. It's not every politician's favorite subject, but people's sexual fantasies and habits are none of the military's business. We don't have to like everybody's habits. America should be, and is, grateful to, and proud of, anyone who is willing and able to pick up a rifle and serve the country. Period. Not surprised that the WaPo agrees.
Cost of Living "WASHINGTON, DC—A report released Monday by the Federal Consumer Quality-Of- Life Control Board indicates that the cost of living now outstrips life's benefits for many Americans. "This is sobering news," said study director Jack Farness. "For the first time, we have statistical evidence of what we've suspected for the past 40 years: Life really isn't worth living.""
Read entire here.
Wednesday, April 13. 2005
The Asian Century The US has gotten comfortable dominating the world economically and, more or less, militarily. Except for the usual anti-American moaners and groaners. Its' been a good deal for the world, but in our wealth and security we have become maybe too-comfortable. Even though we have done some foolish things, I doubt any nation in the history of the world can match our good intentions or our good deeds. And now our supposed "ally," Europe, is on a self-destruct mission. But now with China waking up - thanks to global capitalism - and with India on a tech roll - thanks to global capitalism, there is no doubt that a change is coming. It doesn't have to be a bad thing, but Jim Pinkerton is worried (not that this train can be stopped): "Thus the three wheels: First, China gets closer to India, as the two nations seek a New Asian Order. Second, China grows more hostile to the United States and Japan. Third, China bolsters nuke-crazy North Korea.
Those are three fuses burning across the Pacific, whether we like it or not - whether we know it or not."
Read his piece here.
Polls, Made to Order It's pretty well-known that the results of polls can be easily pre-determined by the way in which the questions are asked (eg "When did you stop beating your wife?"). When polls are intended to influence or to advocate, a savvy pollster can come up with just the numbers you want by tilting the questionnaire. So how do we know when to trust a poll? Unless we are poll experts, we need a Pat Caddell on TV to go over it for us. Michael Barone takes a closer look at some recent poll numbers, including Social Security and Schiavo, among others, here.
 Quick Thinking
"...thinking, Gladwell tells us—or, more precisely, thinking too much —can trip us up. Consider the curators at the Getty Museum who were offered the opportunity to purchase a rare sixth-century Greek marble statue of a young man. After a year of sophisticated archaeological and geological analysis that included core sampling and electron spectrometry and X-ray diffraction, they handed over nearly ten million dollars, cer-tain that the piece was authentic, a find. Meanwhile, two leading art historians, Frederico Zeri and Evelyn Harrison, and Thomas Hoving, the former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, each came to a different conclusion after simply eyeballing the piece: even in the face of such compelling scientific data they felt it was a fake. And they were right: In the first two seconds of looking —in a single glance—they were able to understand more about the essence of the statue than the team at the Getty was able to understand after fourteen months. "
Thus begins Susan Halpern's review of two books which deal with "intuition" and unconscious thinking, one by Malcolm Gladwell and one by Elkhonon Goldberg. The point, I suppose, is that we don't know what we know..but you already knew that, right? We bring much more to bear on decisions that we are aware of, so that quick decisions - not impulsive decisions - can be pretty good ones. An example from relationships: "as Gladwell reports, there is speed dating, where unclaimed singles scurry around a room sizing up potential mates in a couple of minutes. Gigerenzer's work shows that most people need not spend a lot of time, or encounter a tremendous number of new prospects, to find a suitable partner." Re the latter - duh. How about anyone who would talk to you. Read entire interesting but long piece in NY Review of Books here.
DeLay I don't think Tom DeLay is the nicest guy in the world. He is a tough guy, not a metrosexual, and his morals are probably about average for politicians, which isn't saying much. You maybe wouldn't have him over for dinner. But the guy has been targeted. Why? Because he is strong and very smart and effective at managing legislation. And the now-weak Dems want blood. Humans are most destructive when they feel small and weak. My advice? Take it on the chin, Tom. Take it like a man. Use the rope-a-dope technique, like Clinton did. It's part of the job we pay you to do. But stick around, Tommy. Here's The Real Story by Wes Vernon. Here's the Soros angle of the story. I'm with Stupid It's all over the blogosphere (we need a better name for it, it's an awkward word to type) that John Kerry has been complaining that Democratic Ohio voters were told to vote on Weds, Nov 3. Turns out his reference is a piece in The Onion, a satirical website. Prayer Immoral? I don't understand why the NYT/ACLU/Democratic Party etc. keep getting their panties in a wad about religion in America, because in fact it is beginning to feel like the pre-Constantine Roman Empire around here. My neice jokes about not using the "J" word or the "G" word in school. Here at Maggie's, we feel that a little prayer never hurt anyone. Massingale reports: "The Louisiana ACLU is recommending that officials at a public school in New Orleans be "fined or jailed" for failing to stop prayer before a high school baseball game. ACLU of Louisiana executive director Joe Cook says that prayer at a school related function is "un-American and immoral."" Well, at least they haven't proposed throwing Christians to the lions...yet. But would they object? My pastors would say "Pray for Joe Cook." Massingale offers link to: Ten Ways to Pray in School.
Tuesday, April 12. 2005
Tax Freedom Day is April 17th this year. That is to say, you have worked until then to pay taxes. An Alternative to King Parker Professor Bainbridge is a double threat - 2 blogs. His wine blog here. I hate the way Parker dominates the field - not his fault tho - no competition. Troop Cuts in Iraq Ahhhhh. That feels just right. Here. Vengeance The Delay pile-on and the Bolton thing are all about puerile political vengeance. Some folks haven't gotten over the election yet. Re Bolton - who wants a UN Amb. who won't criticize it?
Canadian Politics and Missile Defense "Condi has just handily taken one of those butt-kicking, knee-high leather boots of hers, sunk it into lil’ Paulie Canuckistan’s back bacon, and drop-kicked him into a state of irrelevancy. By adopting his position against the missile defense program, the Prime Minister has essentially guaranteed that Canadian business will be his cell mate in passive-aggressive hell." Read entire here.
Mondovino The movie is said to be the anti-globalist Fahrenheit view of the wine world. Kerry Howley reviews the documentary on US and French wine, which opened last week in NY: "Almost thirty years ago, nine French wine critics gathered in Paris to preside over a face-off of French and American wines. Chardonnays battled with white Burgundies, Cabernets sought to displace Bordeaux. The French had always said fine wine was primarily a function of place—and that place was France. But following the blind tasting, the critics found they had chose a Californian Cabernet as the top red and placed three Napa Valley whites within the top four. As he downed a 1972 Napa Chardonnay, one critic reportedly gushed, "Ah, back to France." " Read entire here. Sierra Club Sells Out Is this called "The ends justify the means?" How the SC determines it's position on immigration here.
Monday, April 11. 2005
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Too cool. Thanks, CL, for retrieving the link. Every edition of the famed Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1841-1902, on line, thanks to the Brooklyn Public Library. Back then Brooklyn was its own town - an NYC suburb with farms. You could easily waste hours on their site. Remember how difficult it used to be to review old newspapers? Microfiches? Awful things. Ain't the internet grand? Osprey My neighborhood Osprey is back - as of yesterday. I don't see it, but hear the screechy call. He/she/they will be screeching out my window for the next few months, and the babies will be crying for fish all day long. Will need to do an Osprey Bird of the Week...As annoying noises go, what could be better? Twenty years ago, you would never see one in these parts.
A Fifth "Great Awakening"? It just could be happening. In the US, the RC Church isn't participating, but it didn't participate in the first three either, did it? I don't want to give advice to the RC Church, being a Protestant, but the evangelicals are leading the charge in bringing the life of the spirit to a world of malls, self-obsession, and empty holidays. Not the Presbyterians, not the Methodists, not the RCCs, not even the Congregationalists or the Dutch Reforms. It's not a competition, and it's not a race, so whoever does it doesn't really matter. I have no fear of the role of religion in public life. In fact, I feel it's essential. Humans are worshipping beings, so we will find something small, like Self, or booze, or fun, or $, or power, or whatever to worship if we can't imagine something bigger and more worthy. Jack Kelly discusses here. Married Priests Why not? It's an 11th Century artifact. Just like infallibility is a 13th Century artifact. Nothing to do with anything Christ taught that I know of. Celibacy is fine for monks. Kristof in the NYT here What Direction for the Church? "If getting on the side of history means embracing the radical individualism at the core of what passes for today's thought, the church's slide could accelerate." Thomas Bray in the Detroit News. A thoughtful consideration of where the RC Church finds itself today. But his piece contains the common error of confusing filling seats with saving souls: "For the fact is that John Paul II, far from being a simple-minded reactionary who everywhere and always opposed modernity, was a theological moderate who wrestled hard to rediscover, on behalf of his drifting flock, the hard truths that lie at the center of human dignity and an ordered society. His real legacy may be less a matter of conservatism or liberalism than a church that uses both faith and reason as the means of finding its way -- a church largely reconciled to the Enlightenment, in other words." Good piece. Read entire here. Secularists Don't Get It, Says Steyn Why bother writing, when Steyn does it better: The root of the Pope's thinking - that there are eternal truths no one can change even if one wanted to - is completely incomprehensible to the progressivist mindset. There are no absolute truths, everything's in play, and by "consensus" all we're really arguing is the rate of concession to the inevitable: abortion's here to stay, gay marriage will be here any day now, in a year or two it'll be something else - it's all gonna happen anyway, man, so why be the last squaresville daddy-o on the block. Read entire here.
Saturday, April 9. 2005
The "Jewish Cabal" You have to check into Al Jazeera once in a while to see what some Moslems are thinking - and, in this case, some leftists in Britain. It's not news that the US supports Israel's existence, but this is nuts: "A Jewish cabal have taken over the government in the United States and formed an unholy alliance with fundamentalist Christians," said Tam Dalyell, a Labour party deputy and the longest-serving House member. "There is far too much Jewish influence in the United States," he added. Read entire here. Turkey
It pains me to see a wonderful, fascinating country run into problems. I love Turkey, and would hate to see it turn to the Dark Side. From The Week:
Why we are reading Mein Kampf: Dogu Ergil Turkish Daily News
Islamic fundamentalism is gaining ground in Turkey, said Dogu Ergil in Ankara’s Turkish Daily News. Hitler’s Mein Kampf is a current best-seller. So is that absurd anti-Semitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Strangely enough, this wave of hate has been growing ever since the U.S. invaded Iraq. The war angered many Turks, who feared that it would lead to Iraq’s Kurds forming an independent Kurdistan on their borders. That, in turn, would lead Turkey’s Kurds to want to break away, fracturing our nation. Over the past two years, Turkey’s ruling party has been steadily distancing itself from the U.S. Rather than derive their power from a close relationship with the superpower, Turkey’s rulers have begun to rely more on “internal forces,” particularly the “nationalists, statists, and Islamists.” These disparate “fringe groups” want to take Turkey in different directions. The one thing that unites them is “anxiety of change and hatred of the enemy,” and they view America, the Jews, and Israel as the enemy. Fortunately, these groups are not yet in charge. Turkey can still return to the pro-Western path if it regains a more positive “unifying idea”—the promise of E.U. membership.
Russia's Culture Wars "The absurd witch-hunt in Russia is a cautionary tale for the United States as well. If nothing else, it should show us the true worth of President Vladimir Putin's protestations that Russia is firmly on the road to democracy. It is also a demonstration of the dangers of hate speech laws, of criminalizing expression that offends people's sensibilities, and of equating criticism of religion with bigotry. These are relevant issues we face at home, too." Read entire piece by Cathy Young here: Click here: Reason: Religion in Art? Nyet!: Casualties in Russia's culture wars
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