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McConnell Fumes at Smithsonian

From an article in The Washington Post on a letter from Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, to I. Michael Heyman, head of the Smithsonian Institution after McConnell's recent visit to the museum: "`I saw quite a lot, and much of what I saw, frankly, I didn't like,' said McConnell.... What he encountered, McConnell said, was part of the nation's `drift to political correctness.'.... McConnell's criticism centered on two exhibits: `American Encounters,' a look at American Indians, Hispanics, and white Americans in New Mexico, which opened in 1992, and `Communities in a Changing Nation: The Promise of 19th Century America,' which opened in February. `In the New Mexico Pueblo exhibit, references are made to "invasive forms of Christianity." Invasive! The characterization seems more apt for a parasitic virus, a plague, than as a means of describing the evolution of Christianity in this country,' McConnell said. He told Heyman the newer shows seemed to focus on `the darker side of capitalism,' and that descriptions of immigrants' experiences in the `Communities' show downplayed the contribution of hard work and emphasized `luck, just luck.' His visit, he said, `was downright depressing.'"

Atomic Trinkets

From an Associated Press story datelined Kirkland Air Force Base, New Mexico: "Souvenir earrings with tiny silver replicas of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 are being sold at the National Atomic Museum, causing indignation in Japan. `It's not the sort of thing you should be hanging from your ears or using to decorate your desk,' said Naomi Kishimoto of the anti-nuclear group Gensuikyo in Hiroshima.... Members of Gensuikyo found the earrings and other items, including medallions that commemorate the bombing missions, on the museum's web site, which is run by the U.S. Department of Energy. The earrings are shaped like the `Little Boy' and `Fat Man' atomic bombs developed during the war at Los Alamos under the Manhattan Project. They sell for $20.00.... Museum store manager Tony Sparks said the earrings are the most popular item in the store that offers a balanced view of events. `We're aware that it's sensitive,' Sparks said. `We have such a high contingency of Japanese visitors, most of whom are interested in hearing our side. We are careful not to glorify it.'"

Still on Board

From a letter dated August 6 by Tulley N. Brown, executive director of Direction Sports, a group founded in 1974 that works with convicted juvenile delinquents: "We had put together what may have been the world's most influential nonprofit advisory board, and we were featured on network news broadcasts.... What a gift for America to give a volatile world this millennium--not the latest technologies and policies, but a timeless secret that nurtures the birth of humaneness and a lifetime of unexpected optimism." Among those listed on the advisory board is O.J. Simpson.

Onward Christian Snipers

From an article in The Washington Post: "Christian Coalition President Pat Robertson suggested that assassinating troublesome world leaders would be a preferable alternative to U.S. policy that prohibits assassinations. `It would seem so much more practical to have that flexibility,' Robertson said. `I know it sounds Machiavellian and evil to think that you could send a squad in to take out somebody like Osama bin Laden or to take out the head of North Korea,' Robertson said on the 700 Club, his nationally syndicated religious television program.... `I don't see anything un-Christian about it.'"

Hell Ain't So Hot After All

From a Scripps Howard News Service article: "The Pope drastically lowered the temperature of hell recently when he declared the physical side of eternal damnation for sinners was less painful than being cut off from God. It was part of a concerted effort by the Vatican to purge clouds, harps, pearly gates, devils with pitchforks, and seas of flame from the popular images of heaven and hell, replacing the idea of infinite physical torture with something more akin to eternal loneliness."

Uncle Milty Sues

From an Associated Press article datelined Los Angeles, California: "Milton Berle has sued a real estate company and a gay publication over an advertisement that depicts him in drag and implies the ninety-one-year-old entertainer is homosexual, Berle's attorney, David Albert Pierce, said. The Century 21 advertisement features an old photo of Berle wearing a dress while doing a parody of singer Carmen Miranda in a television comedy sketch. The advertisement appeared in the spring-summer 1998 edition of Lambda's Out!, a resource guide for the gay community. The caption of the ad read: `Our team of friendly professionals knows how to cater to royalty ... after all, every queen deserves a castle.' `We are deeply concerned that a generation of Americans unfamiliar with Berle's classic schtick are seeing Berle as a homosexual within the pages of this magazine,' Pierce said."

School Board Sees Stars

From a Reuters story datelined Atlanta, Georgia, on Gulfport, Mississippi, high school junior Ryan Green, who was ordered to remove his Star of David pin before he enrolled for classes, a decision that the school board later rescinded: "The superintendent of Harrison County schools, Henry Arlege, said he knew of no gang that was using the cross as a symbol, but the board was advised by law enforcement officers that some gangs use six-pointed stars as their symbols. Mr. Arlege said that the school system forbids students to wear any gang emblem."

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