Monday Morning Blahs

There's nothing quite like a groggy Monday morning read of the news to make you think that you are still asleep and stuck in a bad dream cycling on a loop.

The New Republic has an online essay by Gregg Easterbrook on creationism in Georgia schools which begins:

Sometime soon a federal court will rule on a disclaimer that the Board of Education of Cobb County, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb, has ordered placed on high-school biology textbooks. Stickers bearing the disclaimer say, "Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered."

And from the great state of Ohio we learn that septugenarians are being recalled for active service in Iraq:

Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, an Army spokesman, said the service has taken back some 350 soldiers who had already retired from the military. But some of those could have done 20 years of duty and still be only in their late 30s. He did not know how many of the returning retirees are 60 or older.

Not that our allies are any better. From across the pond in The Guardian we learn that concerned civic groups want to outlaw the carrying of knives in public:

Families of stabbing victims today delivered a petition to Downing Street calling on the government to make carrying a knife as serious an offence as carrying a gun.

The group, which includes Damilola Taylor's father, demanded that ministers introduce a five-year minimum jail term for carrying an object with a blade longer than three inches, which would equalise the penalties for knives and guns.

They also want to see a six-month minimum jail term for carrying a blade shorter than three inches, or three months for juveniles.

When knives are outlawed, only the outlaws will be able to carve the turkey.