Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Waleed Basyouni is the vice president of the AlMaghrib (ahl-MAHG'-rihb) Institute. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (OO'-mahr fah-ROOK' ahb-DOOL'-moo-TAH'-lahb) registered online in April 2008, then attended a two-week program hosted by the institute in Houston in August 2008.
He says school records show Abdulmutallab identified himself as a 21-year-old Nigerian student at University College London and the London School of Economics who was studying mechanical engineering and business finance.
The Islamic academy in Houston features an instructor Suhaib Webb, an Oklahoma born person who converted to Islam, and studied at the Egyptian Al-Azhar University praised by Obama in his Cairo speech as a paragon of Islamic thinking. Webb is close with Siraj Wahhaj, the unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 Al-Qaeda World Trade Center bombing, and has given Wahaj a testimonial for fundraising purposes.
Obama on 22 December during his visit to the Boys and Girls Club in Washington, D.C., during which he had a free exchange (non-teleprompter) discussion with the children about Christmas. All seemed to be going fine until Obama read "The Polar Express" and led a discussion on what the kids wanted from Santa, when a few children brought up the real reason for the season.
Here's the actual transcript (with a bit of commentary):
President: I think one thing that's important to remember is that, even though there's a lot of fun at Christmas, you know, you got – especially when it's snowy like this, so it's pretty outside, you got the Christmas tree, you got the Christmas cookies, you've got presents. You know, I think that the most important thing is just to remember why we celebrate Christmas.
Child: I know!
President: Do you know?
Child: The birth of baby Jesus.
President: The birth of baby Jesus, and what he symbolizes for people all around the world is the possibility of peace and people treating each other with respect. And so I just hope that spirit of giving that's so important at Christmas, I hope all of you guys remember that as well. ...
President: You know, it's not just about getting gifts but it's also doing something for other people. So being nice to your mom and dad and grandma and aunties and showing respect to people – that's really important, too. That's part of the Christmas spirit, don't you think? Do you agree with me?
Children: Yes.
President: You do? (Then another child raises his hand, so the president leans over and asks him) Do you have an interesting observation?
Child: I know why we give gifts to other people.
President: Why is that?
Child: Because the three wise men gave gifts to Baby Jesus.
President: That's exactly right. But the three wise men – the reason (A sign falls off a wall. Is it a sign from God? What timing!) – uh-oh, I thought that was the cookies going down. We couldn't have that. You know, the three wise men, if you think about it, here are these guys, they have all this money, they've got all this wealth and power, and yet they took a long trip to a manger just to see a little baby. And it just shows you that just because you're powerful or you're wealthy, that's not what's important. What's important is what's – the kind of spirit you have.
(Matthew 2:11: "And they bowed down and worshiped him" as the Savior of the world.)
So I hope everybody has a spirit of kindness and thoughtfulness, and everybody is really thinking about how can they do for other people – treating them well, because that's really the spirit of Christmas. Does everybody agree with that?
Children: Yes!
President: I agree with that. Well, you guys all seem like really sharp, sharp young people. And I'm very proud of you. And let me just ask you one last question. Is everybody here working pretty hard in school?
Children: Yes!
President: OK, because the thing that I want everybody to remember, the most important message I can leave is, is that you guys have so much potential – one of you could end up being president some day. But it's only going to happen if you stay focused and you work hard in school. And you guys – there's nothing wrong with having fun and fooling around and playing sports and listening to rap music and all that stuff. But I want you guys to read and hit the books and do your math, because that's really what's going to determine how you do in the future. Alright? That's the most important thing you can do.
(The most important message is personal potential. And the "most important thing" children can do for their future is read and do math.)
President John Adams put it well when he said, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
As Benjamin Rush, also a signer of the Declaration of Independence, explained, "Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind."
To the founders, religion was an essential buttress of free government. That is why Patrick Henry wrote, "The greatest pillars of all government and of social life: I mean virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible."
Charles Carroll of Carollton, a Catholic who signed the Declaration of Independence on behalf of Maryland, wrote, "Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion whose morality is so sublime and pure … are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."
George Washington put it best in his Farewell Address: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation deserts the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
As Founding Father Elias Boudinot once said: "If the moral character of a people once degenerate, their political character must soon follow."
On the other hand, after his first year, Reagan had words about Jesus in his Christmas address to America:
Lawyer and politician Percy Sutton died at 89, and the major media are omitting mention of one of his most notable acts. The former Borough President of Manhattan, Sutton had a long and distinguished career as a lawyer (he was Malcolm X's attorney) and media mogul, who purchased radio stations in New York and other cities, making them into high rated black-oriented outlets. He also purchased and renovated (thereby saving from the wrecking ball) New York's legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
However, one of Sutton's most notable moments is absent from the media hagiographies I have seen: he stated on television that he knew that an Islamic supremacist, Dr. Khalid al-Mansour, and advisor to a wealthy Saudi, had paid for Barack Obama's education at Harvard Law School.
Kirk Lippold, retired Commander of the USS Cole and David Katz CEO of Global Security Group were interviewed on the Glenn Beck Show on Fox, December 30, 2009. Kirk Lippold has been warning about closing Gitmo and threats from Yemen all year.
Some of the issues Commander Lippold addressed directly and succinctly:
* Keep Guantanamo open.
* Military commissions process works.
* Not criminal actions. Terrorists are enemy combatants.
* This is a war on terror.
* Quit making the CIA the whipping boy of this administration.
People all over the world celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th. But why is the Nativity marked by gift giving, and was He really born on that day? And just where did the Christmas tree come from? Take an enchanting tour through the history of this beloved holiday and trace the origins of its enduring traditions. Journey back to the earliest celebrations when the infant religion embraced pagan solstice festivals like the Roman Saturnalia and turned them into a commemoration of Jesus' birth. Learn how Prince Albert introduced the Christmas tree to the English-speaking world in 1841, and discover how British settlers in the New World transformed the patron saint of children into jolly old St. Nick.
This documentary explores the origin of Christmas and how it came to be the way we know it today. The documentary also incites the thought as to how Christmas is on one hand a result of social, cultural, and political influences (hence somewhat obscuring the apparent purpose of the festival: Christ's Mass), and on the other hand a influence over people's lives (particularly consumerism).
Part 1
Christmas unWrapped- The History of Christmas [2/5]
Christmas unWrapped- The History of Christmas [3/5]
Christmas unWrapped- The History of Christmas [4/5]
Christmas unWrapped- The History of Christmas [5/5]
NEW YORK - A new report has found that nearly a third of the world's countries have stiff restrictions on religious practice, either because of government policies and laws or hostile acts by individuals or groups.
That impedes the religious practices of 70 percent of the people on Earth, since some of the most restrictive countries are very populous.
The study by the Pew Research Center found that of the world's 25 most populous countries, citizens in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India live with the most religious restrictions.
The United States, Britain, Brazil, Japan, Italy and South Africa have the most religious liberty and the least government infringement and religion-based violence or harassment, according to the study.
That’s why we thank the president for giving President Morales and me a chance to speak.
It would have been regrettable if they had attempted to veto us in this meeting. I don’t even want to think about it, no, nor suspect it.
As Lula already said, the Kyoto Protocol can not be declared dead or extinguished, which is what the US pretends to do.
Which is why Evo tells a great truth: If Obama, Nobel War Prize, said here, by the way, it smells of sulfur here.
It smells of sulfur. It keeps smelling of sulfur in this world.
The Nobel War Prize has just said here that he came to act. Well, then show it, sir, don’t leave by the back door, eh?
Do everything you need to do for the US to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol, and let’s respect Kyoto, and empower Kyoto, and respond to the world in a transparent fashion.
Hugo changed his mind from the last time he spoke at the UN about Obama, when he was saying “It doesn’t smell of sulfur here. It smells of hope.”
Readers are advised that when Chavez made this comment about Bush in 2006, the media were all over it.
A Google search of “Chavez,” “Bush,” and “Devil” yielded over 40,000 results. There’s even a Wikipedia page about it.
This was such a popular media incident that when Chavez told the U.N. the sulfur smell was gone in September 2009 — a reference to Bush being out of the White House and Obama being in — the press had another field day with the story.
With that in mind, it should be fascinating to see how the Obama-loving media report this now that the tables have been turned on the object of their affection.
Huntington, Samuel P., The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order;
Info World: Information Technology News, Computer Networking & Security;
Information Week: Business Innovation Powered by Technology:
Infostor: The Leading Source for Enterprise Storage Professionals;
Infrastructure Insite: Bringing IT Together;
Insurance Technology: Business Innovation Powered by Technology;
Integrated Solutions: For Enterprise Content Management;
Intel Premier IT: Sharing Best Practices with the Information Technology Community;
Irwin, Robert, Dangerous Knowledge: Orientalism and Its Discontents;
Jeffrey, Grant R., The Global-Warming Deception: How a Secret Elite Plans to Bankrupt America and Steal Your Freedom;
Jewkes, Yvonne, and Majid Yar, Handbook of Internet Crime;
Johnson, Chalmers, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire;
Journal, The: Transforming Education Through Technology;
Judd, Denis, The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600-1947;
Kagan, Donald, The Peloponnesian War;
Kansas, Dave, The Wall Street Journal Guide to the End of Wall Street as We Know It: What You Need to Know About the Greatest Financial Crisis of Our Time--and How to Survive It;
Karsh, Efraim, Islamic Imperialism: A History;
Kasser, Rodolphe, The Gospel of Judas;
Katz, Solomon, The Decline of Rome and the Rise of Medieval Europe: (The Development of Western Civilization);
Keegan, John, Intelligence in War: The Value--and Limitations--of What the Military Can Learn About the Enemy;
Kenis, Leo, et. al., The Transformation of the Christian Churches in Western Europe 1945-2000 (Kadoc Studies on Religion, Culture and Society 6);
Kepel, Gilles, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam;
Kiplinger's: Personal Finance;
Klein, Naomi, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism;
KM World: Content, Document, and Knowledge Management;
Koestler, Arthur, Darkness at Noon: A Novel;
Kostova, Elizabeth, The Historian;
Kuttner, Robert, The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity;
Lake, Kirsopp, The Text of the New Testament, Sony Reader;
Laur, Timothy M., Encyclopedia of Modern US Military Weapons ;
Leffler, Melvyn P., and Jeffrey W. Legro, To Lead the World: American Strategy After the Bush Doctrine;
Lendon, J. E., Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity;
Lenin, V. I., Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism;
Lennon, John J., There is Absolutely No Reason to Pay Too Much for College!;
Lewis, Bernard, The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror;
Lewis, Bernard, What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East;
Lifton, Robert J., Greg Mitchell, Hiroshima in America;
Limberis, Vasiliki M., Architects of Piety: The Cappadocian Fathers and the Cult of the Martyrs;
Lipsett, B. Diane, Desiring Conversion: Hermas, Thecla, Aseneth;
Livingston, Jessica, Founders At Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days;
Livy, Rome and the Mediterranean: Books XXXI-XLV of the History of Rome from its Foundation (Penguin Classics);
Louis J., Freeh, My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror;
Mackay, Christopher S., Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History;
Majno, Guido, The Healing Hand: Man and Wound in the Ancient World;
Marcus, Greil,Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes;
Marshall-Cornwall, James, Napoleon as Military Commander;
Maughm, W. Somerset, Of Human Bondage;
McCluskey, Neal P., Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education;
McCullough, David, 1776;
McCullough, David, John Adams;
McCullough, David, Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt;
McLynn, Frank, Marcus Aurelius: A Life;
McManus, John, Deadly Brotherhood, The: The American Combat Soldier in World War II ;
McMaster, H. R., Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam;
McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 1: Origins and Destinies (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 2: Persons and Groups (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
McNamara, Patrick, Science and the World's Religions Volume 3: Religions and Controversies (Brain, Behavior, and Evolution);
Meacham, Jon, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House;
Mearsheimer, John J., and Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy;
Meier, Christian, Caesar: A Biography;
Menzies, Gaven, 1421: The Year China Discovered America;
Perrett, Bryan, Cassell Military Classics: Iron Fist: Classic Armoured Warfare;
Perrottet, Tony, The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Olympic Games;
Peters, Ralph, New Glory: Expanding America's Global Supremacy;
Phillips, Kevin, American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush;
Pick, Bernhard; Paralipomena; Remains of Gospels and Sayings of Christ (Sony Reader);
Pimlott, John, The Elite: The Special Forces of the World Volume 1;
Pitre, Brant, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper;
Plutarch's Lives, X: Agis and Cleomenes. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. Philopoemen and Flamininus (Loeb Classical Library®);
Podhoretz, Norman, World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism;
Posner, Gerald, Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK;
Potter, Wendell, Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans;
Pouesi, Daniel, Akua;
Premier IT Magazine: Sharing Best Practices with the Information Technology Community;
Price, Monroe E. & Daniel Dayan, eds., Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China;
Profit: The Executive's Guide to Oracle Applications;
Public CIO: Technology Leadership in the Public Sector;
Putnam, Robert D., Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community;
Quintus of Smyrna, The Fall of Troy;
Rawles, James Wesley, Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse;
Red Herring: The Business of Technology;
Redmond Channel Partner: Driving Success in the Microsoft Partner Community;
Redmond Magazine: The Independent Voice of the Microsoft IT Community;
Renan, Ernest, The life of Jesus (Sony eReader);
Richler, Mordecai (editor), Writers on World War II: An Anthology;
Roberts, Ian, The Energy Glut: Climate Change and the Politics of Fatness in an Overheating World;
Rocca, Samuel, The Army of Herod the Great;
Rodgers, Nigel, A Military History of Ancient Greece: An Authoritative Account of the Politics, Armies and Wars During the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, shown in over 200 color photographs, diagrams, maps and plans;
Rodoreda, Merce, Death in Spring: A Novel;
Romerstein, Herbert and Breindel, Eric,The Venona Secrets, Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's Traitors;
Ross, Dennis, Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World;
Roth, Jonathan P., Roman Warfare (Cambridge Introduction to Roman Civilization);
SC Magazine: For IT Security Professionals;
Scahill, Jeremy, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated];
Schama, Simon, A History of Britain, At the Edge of the World 3500 B.C. - 1603 A.D.;
Scheuer, Michael, Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War On Terror;
Scheuer, Michael, Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq;
Scheuer, Michael, Osama Bin Laden;
Scheuer, Michael, Through Our Enemies Eyes: Osama Bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America;
Scholastic Instructor
Scholastic Parent & Child: The Joy of Family Living and Learning;
Schopenhauer, Arthur, The World As Will And Idea (Sony eReader);
Schug-Wille, Art of the Byzantine World;
Schulze, Hagen, Germany: A New History;
Schweizer, Peter, Architects of Ruin: How Big Government Liberals Wrecked the Global Economy---and How They Will Do It Again If No One Stops Them;
Scott, Sir Walter, Ivanhoe;
Seagren, Eric, Secure Your Network for Free: Using Nmap, Wireshark, Snort, Nessus, and MRTG;
Security Technology & Design: The Security Executive's Resource for Systems Integration and Convergence;
Seibel, Peter, Coders at Work;
Sekunda N., & S. Northwood, Early Roman Armies;
Seneca: Naturales Quaestiones, Books II (Loeb Classical Library No. 450);
Sewall, Sarah, The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual;
Sheppard, Ruth, Alexander the Great at War: His Army - His Battles - His Enemies;
Shinder, Jason, ed., The Poem That Changed America: "Howl" Fifty Years Later;
Sidebottom, Harry, Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction;
Sides, Hampton, Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West;
Simkins, Michael, The Roman Army from Caesar to Trajan;
Sinchak, Steve, Hacking Windows Vista;
Smith, RJ, The One: The Life and Music of James Brown;
Software Development Times: The Industry Newspaper for Software Development Managers;
Software Test Performance;
Solomon, Norman, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death;
Song, Lolan, Innovation Together: Microsoft Research Asia Academic Research Collaboration;
Sophocles, The Three Theban Plays, tr. Robert Fagles;
Sound & Vision: The Consumer Electronics Authority;
Southern, Pat, The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History;
Sri, Edward, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass: Understanding What We Say and Do In The Liturgy;
Sri, Edward, Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights from John Paul II's Love and Responsibility;
Stair, John Bettridge, Old Samoa; Or, Flotsam and Jetsam From the Pacific Ocean;
Starr, Chester G., The Roman Empire, 27 B.C.-A.D. 476: A Study in Survival;
Starr, John Bryan, Understanding China: A Guide to China's Economy, History, and Political Culture;
Stauffer, John, Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln;
Steyn, Mark, America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It;
Strassler, Robert B., The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories;
Strassler, Robert B., The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War;
Strassler, Robert B., The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika;
Strategy + Business;
Streete, Gail, Redeemed Bodies: Women Martyrs in Early Christianity;
Sullivan, James, The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America;
Sumner, Graham, Roman Military Clothing (1) 100 BC-AD 200;
Sumner, Graham, Roman Military Clothing (2) AD 200-400;
Suskind, Ron, The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11:
Swanston, Malcolm, Mapping History Battles and Campaigns;
Swiderski, Richard M., Quicksilver: A History of the Use, Lore, and Effects of Mercury;
Swiderski, Richard M., Quicksilver: A History of the Use, Lore, and Effects of Mercury;
Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver's Travels;
Syme, Ronald, The Roman Revolution;
Talley, Colin L., A History of Multiple Sclerosis;
Tawil, Camille, Brothers In Arms: The Story of al-Qa'ida and the Arab Jihadists;
Tech Briefs: Engineering Solutions for Design & Manufacturing;
Tech Net: The Microsoft Journal for IT Professionals;
Tech Partner: Gain a Competitive Edge Through Solutions Providers;
Technology & Learning: Ideas and Tools for Ed Tech Leaders;
Tenet, George, At the Center of the Storm: The CIA During America's Time of Crisis;
Thackeray, W. M., Vanity Fair;
Thompson, Derrick & William Martin, Have Guitars ... Will Travel: A Journey Through the Beat Music Scene in Northampton 1957-66;
Tolstoy, Leo, Anna Karenina;
Trento, Joseph J., The Secret History of the CIA;
Twain, Mark, The Gilded Age: a Tale of Today;
Ungar, Craig, House of Bush House of Saud;
Unterberger, Richie, The Unreleased Beatles Music & Film;
VAR Business: Strategic Insight for Technology Integrators:
Virgil, The Aeneid
Virtualization Review: Powering the New IT Generation;
Visual Studio: Enterprise Solutions for .Net Development;
VON Magazine: Voice, Video & Vision;
Wall Street Technology: Business Innovation Powered by Technology;
Wallace, Robert, Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to al-Qaeda;
Wang, Wallace, Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won’t Tell You About the Internet;
Ward-Perkins, The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization;
Warren, Robert Penn, All the King's Men;
Wasik, John F., Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream;
Weber, Karl, Editor, Lincoln: A President for the Ages;
Website Magazine: The Magazine for Website Success;
Weiner, Tim, Enemies: A History of the FBI;
Weiner, Tim, Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA;
West, Bing, The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq;
Wharton, Edith, The Age of Innocence;
Wilcox, Peter, Rome's Enemies (1) Germanics and Dacians;
Wise, Terence, Armies of the Carthaginian Wars 265 - 146 BC;
Wissner-Gross, What Colleges Don't Tell You (And Other Parents Don't Want You To Know) 272 Secrets For Getting Your Kid Into the Top Schools;
Wissner-Gross, What High Schools Don't Tell You;
Wolf, Naomi, Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries;
Wolf, Naomi, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot;
Woodward, Bob, Plan of Attack;
Woodward, Bob, The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House;
Wright, Lawrence, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11;
Wright-Porto, Heather, Beginning Google Blogger;
Xenophon, The Anabasis of Cyrus;
Yergin, Daniel, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power;
Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of this blogger. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited, before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but not hostile, libelous, or otherwise objectionable statements. Original writing only, please. Thank you.
A tax on toilet paper; I kid you not. According to the sponsor, "the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act will be financed broadly by small fees on such things as . . . products disposed of in waste water." Congress wants to tax what you do in the privacy of your bathroom.