Hilary Clinton has been citing a trip she made to Bosnia as proof of her foreign affairs bona fides, noting that it was in a war zone, and they were warned that “there might be sniper fire.”
Perhaps. But if so, why was she bringing along Sinbad, Cheryl Crow, and daughter Chelsea? Personally, if I were a soldier or foreign service officer posted to, let us say, Bagdhad, I doubt my first instincts would be to take along a comic, a singer, and my teenage daughter.
“You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles.”
— Sherlock Holmes
Today’s fun quote from the past:
“We must welcome and promote truly free trade.”
— Al Gore, 2000 Nomination acceptance speech
Consider this recent news item:
NEW YORK (AP) — A former Pace University student who twice threw copies of the Koran into a toilet at the school after disputes with Muslims pleaded guilty Monday to disorderly conduct in connection with the incidents.
Stanislav Shmulevich, 24, pleaded guilty as part of a deal in which he must do 300 hours of community service. He has completed about 80 hours of the service at a hospital, his lawyer said.
Shmulevich, of Brooklyn, admitted he tossed the Muslim holy books into toilets at Pace on Oct. 13, 2006, and Nov. 21, 2006. A criminal complaint says the Koran that was recovered in the October incident “was covered in feces” [...] Shmulevich, a business major and immigrant from the former Soviet Union, initially was charged with two counts of criminal mischief as a hate crime. The charge is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
And this event from several years ago:
In 1989, a photograph called “Piss Christ” by Andres Serrano, which depicted a crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist’s urine, was on show at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The exhibition received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
So how come Shmulevitch doesn’t get an NEA grant, too?