News Roundup

And now, a new feature of this blog: the news roundup!

International News: Iraq is sadly spiralling into civil war, ever since the destruction of a mosque's golden dome. It's interesting how these events spark sound byte versions of national values. President Bush remarked that this was done by (you guessed it) "the enemies of freedom." On the other hand, a Muslim leader remarked that this was done by those "who are enemies of God and justice." Don't you wish our guy would have said that?

National News: In South Dakota, the Congress and Senate passed a bill banning abortion in most all cases. This is pretty huge news, and is seen as a test case for the new faces on the Supreme Court. Said one pro-abortion spokesperson, who was dismayed by this turn of events: "We are a nation split 50/50 on this issue, though truth be told many people favor bans on late term abortions anyway. So if the tide is turning against our side, that's really only fair. This is a democracy, after all, and we need to submit to laws that clearly reflect the state's majority opinion." (Note: This is not an actual quote, but we can only assume this would be the kind of response that would be given.)

Sporting News: Lindsey Jacobellis frustrated fans by showboating instead of snowboarding. A last minute "addition" resulted in a tumble -- and instead of gaining gold she settled for silver. When she remarked, "Oh well, it happens," some concluded she didn't take her event seriously. One columnist remarked, "Hey, it's her life. It's her Olympics. It was her race to win or lose, her medal to be gold, silver or bronze." I have nothing against this young woman and personally am not concerned about her tumble. But this strikes me as an interesting window into American values: was this "her Olympics," as the columnist said, or the United States' Olympics? Was she representing herself or her country? Are we a nation of individuals...or just a bunch of individuals?

Well, that's the news. Now you're caught up!