Opinion: In today’s pages: Supporting the surge and saving the Hollywood sign
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Gregory Rodriguez defends the Hollywood sign against Chicago companies, and cartoonist Joel Pett comments on Barack Obama’s Reagan-esque appeal. Former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew P. Napolitano strikes out at the creeping invasion of constitutional rights to privacy, and Skeptic magazine publisher Michael Shermer explains what recent protests by Anonymous reveal about Scientology and religion:
Envision converting to Judaism but having to pay to learn the story of Abraham and Isaac, Noah and the flood or Moses and the Ten Commandments. Or imagine joining the Catholic Church but not being told about the crucifixion and the resurrection until you have reached Operating Theological Level III, which takes many years and many tens of thousands of dollars. That is, in essence, how the Church of Scientology dispenses its theology, leading ex-members, critics and journalists to divulge Scientology’s sacred myth all over the Internet and in such national publications as the New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine, and even on the animated TV series ‘South Park.’
The editorial board applauds the political surge in Iraq, and wonders whether Harvard professors’ online publishing venture will ever have the cachet of ‘Obama girl.’ The board also defends philanthropist Eli Broad’s art deal with LACMA:
LACMA has long struggled to rise above its mishmash of buildings and installations. Its new addition marks one more step in that continuing campaign, one that is promising if not always successful. With Govan’s imagination and Broad’s generosity -- whether in the form of loans or gifts -- it is solidifying a place at the center of California’s high culture.
Readers react to an editorial on local teachers unions. ‘Finding solutions to ailing schools is never an easy task,’ writes Randi Weingarten, president of United Federation of Teachers, New York, ‘but pitting two unions against each other is not the answer.’