So, who says you can't buy something relevant to read (other than the newspaper) for less than the price of a meal at Burger King? I picked up two books at Dollar Tree today which tie in to things I've been reading online.

1. I'm curious about the shock and dismay expressed by fans of author Orson Scott Card about his article in the Mormon Times claiming that gay marriage marks the end of democracy in America, and stating, among other things, that "when government is the enemy of marriage, then the people who are actually creating successful marriages have no choice but to change governments, by whatever means is made possible or necessary." Hmmmmm .... somehow I don't think the Ann Coulters are going to call that statement "treason," but how ducky does it smell? I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about, so I picked up First Meetings in the Enderverse, an anthology of short works by Orson Scott Card including the original 1977 novella version of "Ender's Game."

2. This is International Blog Against Racism Week (see the ibarwcommunity for further details), and one of the questions I always struggle with is whether it is "appropriate" or "appropriation" for a white person to write about racism. Because I am ethnically Jewish, despite my conversion to Christianity, I would certainly not be immune to racism, since in the eyes of a racist, being Jewish is about race and not about religion. However, people who are not obviously of color and who can "pass" as members of the majority don't have the same experience of racism as those who are visibly different. Today I picked up the anthology Everything But the Burden: What White People Are Taking From Black Culture, edited by Greg Tate. I'm hoping that some of the essays in that book will provide some useful fuel for thought, and for posts, during this week.