I read that some Iraqi cleric has warned us from conducting military operations in some town or other because it's considered a holy city. What a concept! It occured to me that there's a decided military advantage to declaring something to be holy and exempt from attack, and perhaps we should declare the 101st Airborne to be holy.
It also occured to me that we are sorely lacking in holy cities stateside, and who better than your Recognized Authority to designate a few. I figure we should have at least one per state. In no particular order:
Tupelo, Miss. You know, Elvis.
Green Bay, Wis. Even if you're not a Packer fan you can appreciate Lambeau Field.
Why not Lynchburg, Tenn.? Milwaukee, too, for similar reasons.
Las Vegas, Nev., of course, and Las Vegas, NM, too. Just to be safe.
I'm sure you can think of some more good candidates.
I realize you're not writing a deeply serious post, but this still reads rather oddly to me. Referring to Najaf and Karbala as "some town or other" and suggesting that "some Iraqi cleric [is] ... declaring something to be holy" is precisely as accurate as if you inserted "the Vatican" as a substitute proper noun.
Najaf and Karbala have been the holiest sites of Shiaism since the Imam Ali. It's kinda really weird to seem to imply that this is all some sort of made-up story from last month.
Posted by: Gary Farber at April 18, 2004 11:24 AMThis is what I risk when I make jokes about religion.
Posted by: Walter at April 18, 2004 04:15 PMTwo cities in Wisco as potential holy sites? Excellent. I'm originally from Green Bay, and if Lambeau Field, that hulking structure that it is protects my loved ones, so be it. heh.
Posted by: Erin at April 19, 2004 05:17 PM