NEW CONTEST!!!: Probably very light blogging today, but I will post a lot of stuff on Monday–the death penalty, Israel/Palestine, anything else I can think of. For now, why don’t you all busy yourselves with a contest?

The new one springs off of this much-blogged news item: The New York State Education Department’s decision to bowdlerize the literature they used on statewide exams. Your task is to “edit” famous works so as to make them acceptable to the Dept of Ed. Get out the red pen! Send entries to [email protected] . A good entry is its own reward. Some samples to get you started:

Unpleasantness Comes for the Archbishop

Shakespeare’s Queen Cordelia

To Kill A Mockingbird without reference to race (or rape…)–or with a racially diverse cast of characters, e.g. Mayella is Chippewa, the guy she accuses is Irish, Scout is Haitian, her father Atticus is Chinese…

The Bible without Jews

Portnoy’s Complaint: He just can’t stop watching “Friends”!

Winners will be announced in two weeks(ish).