Opinion: In today’s pages: Trouble with Turkey, sinning with Joel Stein
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Columnist Joel Stein has dinner with A.J. Jacobs, the man who lived by all the Bible’s rules for one year:
However, the Hawaiian Tropic Zone did pose an unexpected threat, thanks to Leviticus 20:23. ‘It does say in the Bible that you should not take the customs of other cultures,’ Jacobs said, to which I countered that 1980s suntan lotion ads were not a culture. But my iced tea was tainted; there was no way to be sure that the lemon slice was from a tree at least 5 years old (Leviticus 19:23-25). And, by complimenting me on refraining from sacrificing a goat to the Phoenician god Molech, Jacobs tricked me into saying ‘Molech’ (a violation of Exodus 23:13), which he found hilarious. The Bible, it turns out, is much like other long books, in that reading it apparently turns you into a huge dork.I sinned by using a credit card (taking on debts, per Romans 13:8), not giving thanks after -- not before -- my meal (Deuteronomy 8:10), telling the waitress that ‘I’ll have the burger’ without adding ‘God willing’ (James 4:13-15) and ‘cursing the ruler of thy people,’ George Bush (Exodus 22:28).
‘The New Turkish Republic’ author Graham E. Fuller says the Armenian genocide isn’t the only issue wedging itself between the U.S. and Turkey. Former Times editorial writer Jacob Heilbrunn says neoconservatism isn’t dead -- it’s just regrouping. And Ronald Brownstein counts two distinct Democratic parties, one wooed by Obama and one by Clinton.
The editorial board says Monterey County residents have a right to know what’s in the state-approved pesticides they’re breathing. The board asks the city to more strictly enforce lobby regulations after an unregistered convicted felon was said to be lobbying officials. Last, the board wonders why Americans can’t be as civilized as the French, who have only shrugged at their president’s divorce.
Readers respond to Congress’ honoring of the Dalai Lama. See why Seal Beach’s Robert P. Sechler says ‘Bush’s honoring of the Dalai Lama is good political theater and very ironic.’