When the Texas Board of Education passed a resolution late last month decrying the "pro-Islamic/anti-Christian bias [that] has tainted... Texas Social Studies textbooks," indicating that they would "look to reject [such] prejudicial textbooks" in the future, they were basing their criticism on a biased anti-Arab review. In doing so, they took a dangerous step backward that threatens to widen the knowledge gap that has put the U.S. at risk in the Arab and Muslim worlds.

America has enormous interests in that region. In the past 30 years, we've spent more money, sold more weapons, sent more troops, fought more wars, lost more lives, had more economic and political interests at stake, and expended more diplomatic capital in the broader Middle East than anywhere else on the globe. And yet recent polling shows that two-thirds of all Americans can't point to Iraq on a map, just as many don't know the year that Israel declared its independence, the same number don't realize that Iran and Pakistan aren't Arab countries, and about one-half share prejudicial and stereotypical views of Arabs as angry, backward, violent fanatics.

More...

If beets could talk, and in my life they do, most of what is happening in Washington right now regarding food safety sounds certifiably nuts. I hear that we now have about 2% of the population controlling most of our money. One of the easiest ways to control the rest of us is to control our food supply. From the looks of it, large multinational interests, big corporations and legislators who have never been inside a health food store, to their local farmers' market, or grown a beet themselves, are giving the rest of us indigestion.

Food safety laws that were being discussed on the hill during September -- S.510 and S.3767 -- may be on a break for the moment. The issues remain and will be taken up when the senate reconvenes. We need a national conversation about food that is making us sick, and to ask each other: Why? Most of us do not know how to eat. This plays into the hands of those who would dictate food policy. We need a moment of awakening. We need to regain our beat with nature. We need to have some relationship with healthy soil and growing things.

More...

It's been just three days since Davis Guggenheim's much heralded documentary "Waiting for 'Superman' " opened in theaters in New York and Los Angeles. There is an enormous amount to praise in this film -- its cleverly animated factoids on the grim realities in our educational system and its heartbreaking stories of five families who relentlessly seek good public, religious or charter schools for their children. Because the schools these five families decide upon for their children are coveted, there are far fewer spaces than applicants. Admission -- thus fate of these five children -- is decided by against-the-odds-luck in lotteries. The documentary is intended to inspire us to act on the belief that "together we can fix education" and with a call-to-action web site. If ever there was a film that could move the debates about education front and center, this one can.

There are also flaws in Waiting for Superman and John Merrow of Learning Matters has done a solid job of pointing these out.

More...

Just because summer is over, doesn't mean you won't be leaving town. And just because you won't be sporting a swim suit for a few months, it doesn't mean you don't need to fit in your jeans through winter. Sure, it can be tough to stick to a workout regimen if your job takes you out of town. But there are plenty of ways to keep up your fitness routine while also breaking up the monotony of your "business" dealings.

Depending on the length of your trip, always try to make some time for you. Nothing can stress you out and make you sick quicker than lack of rest. Some business trips may require more of your time then others but keeping to some sort of fitness plan will help you get through the toughest of days. In addition, getting out and walking around the town counts and can be quite refreshing in the middle of tense times. If you can squeeze in a walking tour of the town, do it. Get a little history, sight seeing and exercise in in just a few short hours. You'd be surprised just how beneficial that little break can be.

More...

From the latest criticism of Elena Kagan for her support of an Islamic finance program at Harvard to the escalating mosque construction controversy across the country, there are now warnings emanating from some circles that Muslim leaders are seeking gateways through which to implement an "Islamification" of American politics and society. Such efforts, the assertion goes, are meant to surreptitiously paint Islamic sharia law in a good light through media and academia to the point where Americans willfully allow it to be imposed on the larger body politic.

Those issuing these dystopian theocratic predictions emphasize sharia's incompatibility with core American democratic values -- individual liberty, consent to be governed, equality, and private property -- that are generally accredited to the Judeo-Christian tradition (a shorthand ascription that basks in the undue status of conventional wisdom).

More...

On July 22, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion holding that Kosovo's declaration of independence in February 2008 "did not violate any applicable rule of international law." While analysts have underscored that the opinion resonates far beyond Kosovo, it is also worth noting that that the ICJ's ruling unambiguously confirms that Russia's continuing occupation of Georgian territory is a flagrant violation of international law.

The legal question before the court was "narrow and specific" and did not deal with whether or not territorial secession is lawful. The UN General Assembly asked only whether or not the declaration of independence is in accordance with international law. It did not ask about the legal consequences of that declaration. It did not ask whether or not Kosovo had achieved statehood. It did not ask about the validity or legal effects of the recognition of Kosovo by those states that have recognized it as independent. The opinion thus leaves unanswered the validity of Kosovo's status as a state and its recognition by the international community. The ICJ knew that affirming Kosvo's independence would have created a chaotic precedent for "breakaway regions" around the world.

More...

As a young girl, I the events of my childhood created a perception of reality that became part of my primary belief system growing up. The reality is that you can't count on anyone really but yourself, and that if you are in a position of "needing" someone, you'll get hurt or disappointed in the end. This way of thinking has likely been a driver in my career, as I was relentless in my pursuit to become independent and okay "on my own."

My mantra was to always have a back up plan in case the first plan or person you are counting on falls through. In other areas of my life however, this has caused me to be closed in relationships and extremely afraid to commit or be in the position of needing someone. Whatever it was, whether it was a job, a friend or the budding of a potential relationship, my attitude was if it wasn't working. Or if I was being mistreated, I could easily get up and walk away. Tossing something out was my method of staying in control, albeit a false sense of control that was really rooted in fear and insecurity.

More...

If you want to get a feel for how difficult it's going to be for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to thread the needle he needs to thread in his "major speech on health care today," Jon Ward's piece on these pages from yesterday is a great place to start. Yes, Romney will, in all likelihood, make it clear that as President, his Day One task will be scuttling the Affordable Care Act, but the internecine opposition he's drawing on his own health care record is going to be difficult to surmount. When Grover Norquist is telling you that your singular legislative achievement is a "boat anchor" around your neck, and Karl Rove is opining that your based-in-Federalism argument is insufficient to the task of defending your actions as governor, your problems are legion.

Jon's piece came ahead of an absolutely brutal editorial in The Wall Street Journal, which will only make matters worse. The sting comes right in the sub-hed: "Mitt Romney's ObamaCare Problem." And it contains paragraphs like this one:

More...