27 Kislew 5769: Ḥanukkah, day 3/National Eggnog Day/Christmas Eve

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day: Free Pollard Now (a truly pro-Israel president would pardon Jonathan Pollard).

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Police probe assault on 50 "witches"”: Major rule: First, collect evidence. If there is evidence, then hold a fair trial. Only if the verdict is guilty does punishment make sense. Anything else in a situation which is not an emergency (e.g., a psychopathic killer chasing someone down the street with a sharp knife) is stands a good chance of hurting someone innocent.
   
2. “US Postal Service won't send "any matter containing religious materials contrary to Islamic faith" to overseas military post offices”: Trust the Bush administration to have a regulation in violation of freedom of religion.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Distorted Body Images: A Quick and Easy Way to Reduce Pain”
  
• “One World, Many Minds: Intelligence in the Animal Kingdom”
  
• “Indoctrinating Palestinian Children to Genocidal Hate
  
• “Incest may not be best, but marriage bans should be rolled back, scientists say
  
• “BBC's Christmas Odyssey”
  
• “Nothing Personal, You're Just Not My Type”
  
• “Six Legged Cinema”

These days, around this time of year some people panic at the multiplicity of holidays, fearing that Christmas will be toned down or lost in the shuffle. (Which is pretty strange, considering that at any time of year there are bound to be multiple holidays, both religious and what pass for “secular holidays”, yet there is much less multiple holiday panic. I would also like to note that “holiday” in any compound, such as “holiday season” or “holiday tree” comes off as a way of referring to Christmas without actually saying “Christmas”, and judging from the paucity of non-Christmas holiday specials on TV compared to the abundance of Christmas specials, I doubt anyone has any rational reason to fear about Christmas being lost in the shuffle.) Today’s weird thing is a classic parody roaming the Internet of the consequences of trying to treat this time of year as a “holiday season”, “Holiday Party”. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and happy Ḥanukkah or whatever other holiday you celebrate around this time of year.

Aaron