QUEEN ELIZABETH II'S DIAMOND JUBILEE

The Diamond Jubilee Celebration begins today and continues through June 5.  The only other British monarch to celebrate a diamond jubilee was Queen Victoria in 1897.


The schedule is HERE.


I plan to watch some of the live coverage. I know that I will enjoy the pageantry and the elegance, both of which will surpass the pageantry and elegance of the royal weddings.

COVER THE SPHINX WITH WAX?

From this source:

The new and fresh like Arab Spring Egypt may desecrate the Sphinx...[and destroy]...the country’s $13 billion a year tourism industry while robbing the world of precious, priceless historical artifacts and landmarks. Welcome to Iran 2.0.

Fundamentalist Muslims do have a propensity for destroying artifacts. HERE is one example. Other examples abound.

What else might fundamentalist Muslims destroy in Egypt? See 13 things Egyptian your grandchildren will never see at Planck's Constant.

And Obama plans to praise the Arab Spring during the upcoming 9/11 commemoration.

Mandated Philanthropy

The title here, a break from politics, does not refer to the recently enacted bailout bill. Rather this title refers to a court ruling ordering the Washington Redskins to have captions for the hearing impaired available for all the games at FedEx Field. Excerpt from this October 3, 2008 article in the Washington Post:

A federal judge in Greenbelt has ruled that the Redskins must continue to run captioned play-by-play at FedEx Field and begin showing the lyrics of songs played in the stadium to offer deaf and hard-of-hearing fans the full game experience.

The decision mandates that the team do much of what it began doing voluntarily after being sued. The ruling appears to be the first of its kind in the country, and advocates for the deaf and hard-of-hearing said it could lead to challenges at sporting venues around the country....

[...]

The ruling requires that deaf fans also be treated to the lyrics, spelled out on the screens, of such tunes as "Who Let the Dogs Out" in all its repetitive resonance.

U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. ruled Tuesday that under the Americans With Disabilities Act the Redskins captioning was not optional but required. He said the team had made "what appears to be have been reasonable efforts" to accommodate the hearing-impaired but that the additional steps were needed....

[...]

The judge did not say precisely how equal access should be provided at FedEx Field but noted that the plaintiffs would not be aided by the assisted listening devices the stadium has long provided to patrons who request one.

[...]

In an interview, Redskins General Counsel David Donovan said the team would begin looking for ways to address the judge's remaining concern that deaf fans be able to read the lyrics of music used during cheerleader dance routines....

Because my husband is hard of hearing, completely deaf in one ear and substantially compromised in the other, I pay attention to stories related to deafness and accommodations for those hard of hearing. No doubt, compromised hearing does reduce one's ability to function and to enjoy certain activities. Indeed, my husband's handicap automatically precludes his enjoyment of crowded parties. Must the hosts of the parties we attend also provide captioning? Give me a break!

In my view, the Americans With Disabilities Act is being carried too far. The judge's ruling in the above case is but one example of how ludicrous our courts have become.

ARABIC CLASSES IN AMERICA

[Image source]

Since 9/11, we have heard of the importance of more of us learning to speak Arabic. Indeed, more and more people today are studying the Arabic language, many of these students enrolled in community colleges and prestigious universities as well as uncounted others studying by using software such as Rosetta Stone. I personally know a few young people who have attempted such classes, only to abandon their study of Arabic; the reasons they gave me, their former teacher, were vague but typically included a level of discomfort with the material or the instructor.

A July 5, 2008 Washington Post commentary, written by a student at Harvard Law School, provides disturbing information about the material offered in such classes:

To study Arabic in America today is to be inducted into a world of longing, abandonment and regret. And that's before you even touch the political issues....

Read the rest at Always On Watch.

MOVIE TRAILER: "A FACE IN THE CROWD"

A few days, I watched this Elia Kazan movie, perhaps the perfect film for an election year:



I've seen the film several times over the years. No wonder I'm so cynical about politics!

Rapid Social Change

I was doing my daily read of LGF and came across an interesting item on the Burka Band. An all girl band from Afghanistan. The music is kind of a bland techno, but the words of social commentary are in english and the visuals are interesting.

So I went looking in the comments of LGF to see if I could find out more. Commenter Peacekeeper gave a link to this site: Girl band in burka.

Here is the most interesting quote from the article.

The Burka Band has never performed in Afghanistan and at the moment the band is not active. During the Taliban regime music was totally forbidden, and women were not allowed to work. To sing in public could carry a death sentence. Today the country is still very conservative, and there is no market in Afghanistan for the Burka Band's music. The band members have to wait for a European or American record label to help them if they are to make a whole album one day.

- I'd like to play again, but right now it is not possible. Last year there was a big bomb at a concert here in Kabul , and lots of people are still against female singers because the religous leaders condemn it. It will probably take 10 years before we will have real girl bands here in Afghanistan , says Nargiz, who now works in an international organisation in Kabul.

From no music allowed to all girl bands in 10 or even 15 years is amazingly fast progress for a culture.

Given that this song was popular in Germany in 2003 it means that Afghanistan is well on the way to becoming at least a semi-modern country. It also points out the irresistability of Western and especially American culture. The old ways are dying.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

MAKING AN IMPACT ON YOUR CULTURE

My 3 older kids and I are headed to Missouri's Capitol Thursday night. On Friday my kids and I are going to attend the one-day Teenpact class for 8-12 yr. olds. We have been busy getting them ready for the class.

We have been reading the book Real Citizenship by Tim Echols who is the founder of Teenpact. It is good, although Echols is definitely a little more rigid and strict than I am but the kids and I are learning and being reminded of some good stuff. On the cover, after the title it says, "Practical Steps for Making an Impact on Your Culture". I want my kids to learn early how to make a positive difference in their culture instead of the other way around.

Their homework before the class includes:

1) Reading the book Real Citizenship
2) Memorizing I Timothy 2:1-3
3) Learn their State Rep & State Senator's name and district
4) Pray for and send a letter to them
5) Write a one-page bill

My kids sent an email to our State Senator LuAnn Ridgeway and she responded and said we could stop by her office after the class. My oldest daughter wants to write a bill outlawing abortion and my son wants to have his bill say you can't get married till you are 18 (not sure where that came from :-)). My youngest daughter is still deciding.

The class is going to last from 9-3 and we are also going to have a tour of the capitol building. I'm looking forward to it and excited that my kids are going to be learning how to make a difference.