Two from NPR

Here's a story to keep an eye on. Andrew Todd has been following it more closely than I have and he explains:

The authors of the"Left Behind" books have put out a videogame version of the series. Making a literary work into a video game requires that the rules have to be made explicit, and stripped of nuance. In consequence, the authors have crossed the line to teaching and advocating the murder of nonchristians per se. What is more, Wal-Mart opted to carry this game, in what one assumes can only be a fit of inadvertence. People are organizing protest campaigns-- at internet speeds. For a firm such as Wal-Mart, which is always in a little bit of trouble with the law, the usual statues of limitations, etc., do not apply. This is high-grade dynamite, in short. It would have been rather less dangerous to carry a new edition of _Mein Kampf_ with an eulogistic forward by the current Grand Kleagle.

I've not been inclined to use the terms"Islamist" and"Christianist," but this will be grist for the mills of those who draw those parallels. For NPR's story, go here; and for more information and links, go here.

NPR broadcast another story, on RateMyProfessors, on 22 December. Our colleague, Hugo Schwyzer, is interviewed toward the end of the piece. Beyond ranking as an outstanding teacher, Hugo's gets props at RMP for being the"hottest" history professor in the country. He's also high in the ranks of the"hottest" professor, regardless of discipline. You can"feel the heat" over at Hugo Schwyzer. Make of it what you will.