Fakery

There's a clever trick perpetrated by both the Christian fundamentalists and the rabid anti-Israel crowd.

The Christians ask us to look at Creation science as a legitimate scientific movement on par with the science behind evolution. They argue, each theory has merits and each theory has drawbacks, it's really just a toss up - so you decide. The trick is that it gives cover to those not really interested in science at all, but a reason to believe in creationism and oppose evolution, using scientific terms to a very unscientific end.

Of course, I'm not a scientist, nor have I personally looked at the evidence, but most scientists, when confronted with the evidence, believe evolution is a much more plausible theory than creationism. And to be honest, I don't think it's a close call.

You also see the same type of fakery used by those who oppose the existence of Israel. They argue that Israel is an illegitimate state, gotten by illegitimate means, and that while their Arab neighbors have done some bad things, so have the Israel's, so it's really just a toss up - you decide. It's the same exact trick, trying to use language of legitimate, democratic political values, to a very undemocratic, illiberal end.

I'm not a political scientist, either, but I read a lot about the Middle East and it seems to be Israel was begot by as legitimate means as any of the countries in the region. That is not to say everyone got a fair shake, but if that were the criteria for legitimate states, I doubt there would be any. And that's sort of exactly what the anti-Israelites would like you to think, that no states are more legitimate than others, and to make a case for "moral equivalence," as the Israelis put it.

Well, there's my outrageous connection of today.