I couldn’t agree more with this:

Torture is a cancer. Extrajudicial imprisonment is a cancer. These things rot democracy. They rot nations.

The Boing Boing blurb or the full article on Salon.

My friend Suvi sent me the following email. *sigh*

So Hansi is *very* into dreidels now so I went hunting for them today. ToyrsRUs ended up having some nice things. Before I went there, tho, I went by Hobby Lobby. Here’s how it went:

Me: “Hi, do you have any dreidels?”

Cashier: “Any what? I don’t know what that is.”

Me: “You know, Hanukkah stuff?”

Cashier: “Yah, I’ve heard of that. You should ask the manager.”

Me to Middle-aged Manager: “Hi, do you have any dreidels?”

Manager: “What is that?”

Me: “You know, Hanukkah stuff?”

Manager: “Do you eat it? Smell it? Play with it?”

Me: “You know, it’s like a top.” “Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel! I made you out of clay!”

Manager and four assistants stare at me blankly.

Me: “Y’all never heard that song? You know, Hanukkah?”

More blank stares.

Me: “The Jewish people?”

Manager: “I don’t know; this is a Christian store.”

Me: “Well, there are Jews for Jesus.”

Manager and assistants now stare at me nervously.

Me: “But I’m not sure if they play with dreidels.”

Manager: “Maybe you should try ToysRUs.”

• Point
• Pointing out that, while the point is a good one, the maker is more than a little hypocritical