Happy Easter, everybody.
My family was schizophrenic about Easter, since the church we regularly attended in Arlington, Mass, the Arlington Congregational Church, had its Easter service on the regular day while the Greek Orthodox Church, in which my parents were married, celebrates on a different day entirely (well, most years—this year, Greek Easter falls on May 5). The Greeks dye all Easter eggs red, which is a bit boring, but play a game where everyone in the family picks an egg and takes turns smashing its end against another family member’s egg (hitting an egg in the side is cheating). The Marshalls had this competition on regular Easter with multi-colored eggs; my mother often secretly dyed an unboiled egg and gave this one to my father, so his egg would shatter into a gooey mess when they had their egg duel. Today my sister is making me a traditional Greek specialty, avagolemono soup. My grandmother made it: Mom didn’t have the patience. If you’ve never tried it, you should.
That Easter hymn above was always sung at our church (which was riddled with scandals: a deacon leaving his wife and two daughters to run off with a gay lover; a beloved, charismatic young minister being revealed as a serial adulterer with female members of the congregation; the young woman who ran the Sunday school program hanging herself in the church bell tower). It’s by my pal Sir Arthur Sullivan, who was one of those freaks like Richard Rodgers, Edvard Grieg, Irving Berlin, Carol King and Paul McCartney who could create catchy melodies without breaking a sweat (unlike, say, Stephen Sondheim).
My Easter celebration, as always, began this year with my umpteenth viewing of the guilty pleasure champion film of all time, Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments,” which I first saw as a child and which planted the seed that made me aspire to being a director. The production’s ethics lesson is “If you are going to do something, do it right.” The grand, incomparable epic also stands for the principle that important stories in our culture should be told to rising generations in a manner that will cement them in their brains forever.
Every director, especially opera directors, can learn from the astounding Exodus scene, which thrills me every time I see it. CB spares no expense or imaginative detail: everything is going on: an old man praying is stampeded by geese; a small boy is nosed by a water buffalo (no mere oxen for CB!) ; the Nubians have a huge vulture flapping away on their cart. Brilliant colors, wild sounds, such organized chaos—and all those people are real, not CGI fakes. The fantastic boffo sequences are all so good you can forgive (if not forget) DeMille’s vulgarity and cornball instincts, as with the giggling daughters of the Sheik of Midion basically drooling over Charlton Heston, and various characters, but especially Nefertiri (played by Ann Baxter, who could be an effective actress, like she’s in a John Waters movie), saying, “Moses, Moses!” repeatedly. My favorites, other than Moses leading the thousands out of Egypt: the raising of the new obelisk…the burning hail—the plague of the first born moving down alleys and streets in a sickly green mist right out of a horror movie—God writing out the Ten Commandments with animated flaming lightning that does loop-de-loops and other stunts on the way to the tablets—-the parting of the Red Sea (of course), and CB’s insanely over-the-top orgy around the Golden Calf: Where did all those flower garlands come from in a desert?
1. Let’s begin with an “It isn’t what it is” (Rationalization #64) classic…Indigenous leaders of New Zealand, Tahiti and the Cook Islands signed a treaty that recognizes whales as legal persons. “Conservationists hope it will lead to legal protections,” explains the Times. Typical ends-justifies-the- means tactic: if you can’t get your way by persuading others with facts and reality, base your argument on myth, fantasies and lies. Whales aren’t people. End of debate.
2. Here’s a clueless NYT headline from today’s paper: “Some Potential Trump Witnesses Get Carrots. Michael Cohen Got the Stick.” Of course Cohen got “the stick”: Cohen deserves “the stick.” He was Trump’s lawyer (well, fixer), he was obligated to keep Trump’s confidences, and he didn’t, flipping on his long-time client to save his own skin. Of course he was disbarred. Cohen is now making whatever money he can by going on MSNBC and impugning his long-time client, which is still unethical: he is obligated to keep his clients’ confidences whether he still can practice law or not. Cohen is a proven serial liar with no credibility regarding anything, but that doesn’t matter to MSNBC. If it was going to present lime like Cohen as a “contributor” ethically, it would introduce him with a disclaimer: “Our next guest had been found guilty of perjury, and has lied constantly during his entire career. We suggest regarding anything he says in that perspective.”
3. Incompetent Desperate Pandering Dept. The White House decided to designate this Easter Sunday as “Transgender Day of Visibility.” Gee, what a catchy name. It’s only the date, March 31, that has been so designated, but using Easter for this inaugural transparent suck-up to LGBTQ+ voters is profoundly offensive to Christians, and should be. Republicans “pounced,” as the mainstream media instantly told us, with many saying that this was a deliberate insult to Christians and religious traditions. It certainly raises a Hanlon’s Razor question: the choice of Easter Sunday to unveil this weird “day” was either absurdly malicious or incredibly stupid. [Correction: Apparently March 31 was already designated “Transgender Day of Visibility,” why or how, I don’t know or care. That doesn’t mean Biden was obligated to trumpet the thing when it fell on Easter.]
4. Speaking of resurrections, self-banned commenter “A Friend” tried again to get a comment posted, breaking his own record for breaching the rules of the blog and refusing to accept the authority of the host, moi.
5. Back to Biden’s respect for Easter (the President is a “devout Catholic” and is serious about his faith you know!): There are new rules for the 2024 “Celebrating National Guard Families” art event at the White House,part of the White House’s Easter traditions that include the annual Easter Egg Roll. Easter egg design submissions “must not include any questionable content, religious symbols, overtly religious themes, or partisan political statements.” No religious symbols or content on Easter! Sure, that makes sense. The fact that the White House lumps religious expression on one of the two most important Christian holidays with “questionable content,” defined as “bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age” by the rules seems to provide a clue to whether Hanlon’s Razor applies to #3 above.
6. Irresponsible and incompetent gun safety advice: I’ve been waiting for someone to point this out. An advice column called “Ask Dr. Bob”was queried by with a parent who has firearms in the house along with children, and wanted to get tips on how to have both safely. Bob offered some good advice (though he repeated that anti-gun Big Lie that guns are the top cause of deaths among children), but included “Firearms should not be loaded, even when stored in a cabinet”; “the ammunition for firearms should be locked in a separate place,” and “a handgun should have a separate gun lock.” “Bearing Arms” correctly points out that this is gun safety advice being handed out by someone who would never own a gun and whose bias is typical for those who “don’t understand guns, don’t believe in having guns, and don’t believe in using a firearm for self-defense.” Tom Knighton writes, “A firearm that’s double locked and unloaded with the ammunition elsewhere is a gun that is useless for self-defense. You simply cannot get to it quickly enough if you need it, and if you got it to help you protect those children, well, you’re just wasting time and money.”
Bingo.
7. And for today’s “Harvard is a pit of radical indoctrination and ethics rot” entry, this: The Harvard Law School (HLS) Student Government this week passed a divestment resolution accusing Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. (Israel is pursuing a war that was started by Gaza.)
“Be it resolved, Harvard Law School Student Government formally calls upon [Harvard Management Company] to divest completely from weapons manufacturers, firms, academic programs, corporations, and all other institutions that aid the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine and the genocide of Palestinians, including withdrawing investments in securities, endowments, mutual funds, and other monetary instruments,” the resolution says. The vote was 12-4 in favor with 3 abstentions.
The resolution is contrary to facts, law and ethics. This is sure going to be a bumper crop of trustworthy lawyers coming out of Harvard Law in the next few years.
Ethics Alarms 
Avagolemono is one of my favorite dishes. It only comes in second when Tirokafteri is on the menu.
Biden has not shown himself to be a Catholic in any sense of the word. It is a scandal that he claims this, and while the Church is a hospital for sinners at least as much as it is a haven for saints, I really wish that man would quit calling himself Catholic as he flagrantly flaunts the teachings of his church. Easter is THE biggest celebration for the Catholic Church. To tell people to celebrate something that has been religiously celebrated for nearly two millennia without any religious symbolism would be offensive no matter the religion of the President, but for one who calls himself Catholic? I would like that added to his lie list.
Oh, it’s on my database, for sure.
Asking if there is a legit recipe for Avagolemono is like asking the same for a baguette, but is there one?
My sister’s today was pretty good, though she didn’t whip up the lemon into a froth like my grandmother did.
My great aunt Helen thought it was a shame that I did not cook very much Greek food and convinced my grandfather to get me a Greek cookbook put together by everyone at the Greek Orthodox Church she went to. A bunch of old Greek families put their family recipes into it. This was the Avgolemono recipe agreed on by a bunch of “crusty old Greek ladies” as my dad is wont to put it.
—————————————————————————
Heat 2c chicken broth and 1c water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually add hot broth mixture and 3T lemon juice to 2 large lightly beated eggs, while stirring contantly with a whisk. (Note, if you do not continue whisking this strongly as you pour in the two liquids, you can curdle the soup, so be careful. Having a second person who can help will speed up the formation of the soup.)
Return egg mixture to the pan and cook over medium heat until slightly thick, about 15 minutes, stirring constantly and vigorously. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp white pepper, and 1c orzo or long-grain rice. Ladle soup into six bowl and garnish each with a lemon slice.
—————————————————————————-
Do I think this is an official recipe? No. My family uses this one, though and it tastes about as good as most Greek restaurants, without the cost or wait, and is really easy.
Not very ethics related, sorry.
The lack of religious symbolism is a rule set by industry group the American Egg Board; a rule that has been in place “for over 45 years” according to their CEO Emily Metz, who told Politico, “the guideline language referenced in recent news reports has consistently applied to the board since its founding, across administrations”. Can someone provide a reference to anyone raising similar concerns over the identical lack of religious symbolism during the Trump Administration or is this a partisan attempt to create outrage for political purposes?
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2024/03/31/the-political-war-over-easter-00149860
Isn’t the real question whether any previous White House made a point of emphasizing this stupid rule in a public release, or was even aware of it? When was it instituted? Why has the White House allowed it to continue? Was it widely publicized at the time, or ever?
Jack, the answer to your “when was it instituted” question was in my post: “‘for over 45 years’ according to (American Egg Board) CEO Emily Metz.”
Not an answer. Whose White House instituted it? “Over 45 years” takes us to Carter and before. I had never heard of the contest or that restriction, and I try to follow such things. Were you aware of it?
No, but I don’t have kids and have never attended the Easter Egg Roll. I’ve known it happens but it’s not something which has ever interested me. This strikes me as an attempt to magnify a minor and previously uncontroversial aspect of a nonpartisan event and create a divisive political talking point from it.
I don’t think it is, Gregg. Taking the Christian subject matter out of a major Christian holiday is, I think, an insult and an afront, and the question should be asked, “Why?” LGBTQ symbolism would be allowed, presumably, not that there’s anything wrong with that. So if there is or was a good reason, let’s hear it. If not, and if this rule just slid under the radar all this time, then end it. Or justify it.
I’m not religious at all, and Grace and I never celebrated Easter except to make my mother happy. I have no bunny in this hunt. But it still looks like and anti-Easter policy at a White House that should be celebrating majorities as well as minorities.
(PETA has asked the White House to substitute potatoes for eggs. Not a joke.)
By the way, I can’t find anyone who knew about the “no religious eggs rule” before this year, including Prof. Turley, who is pretty meticulous in his research.
Well, the American Egg Board was apparently created by Congress in 1976 and we fund its operations every time we buy eggs — apparently there is a mandatory fee on every case of eggs.
So the egg board is only a couple years older than this rule, neither of which I’d heard of before this.
I think a pertinent question is what business the Egg Board has with the Easter Egg Roll. I mean their business is promoting American eggs. The Easter Egg Roll is not really about eggs, it’s an event celebrating a religious holiday.
I think perhaps a better question is why do we even have an American Egg Board? Are eggs a major export? Do our farmers face many barriers selling their eggs?
==================
Tee hee. Ok, some cursory results from the Google machine.
Apparently we export about over $500M worth of eggs, about 60% going to Canada and Mexico.
The Netherlands is the top shell egg exporter. It is also the #2 egg importer. Hmmm.
Canada is the #7 egg importer, importing $88M worth of eggs as the United States exports $161M to Canada.
Germany is the #5 exporter of eggs at $320M, and the #1 importer of eggs at $721M.
============
Yes, folks, Google will be here all week. You cannot just make this stuff up — who would believe you?
Apparently the Midwest is good egg land — the top egg producing states in 2022 were Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and then Texas. That was about half of the total production.
And aren’t those states where there’s a lot of fracking going on? Perhaps chickens are proponents of horizontal fracking….
OK, I know all of you are breathlessly waiting for the next egg bulletin, but I have to stop now.
Well, I have never heard of the American Egg Board, I don’t know who they are, and I have never heard of Emily Metz and I want actual proof, not her ‘word’. Remember, the FAA told us the pilot of an Asian jetliner was ‘Sum Ting Wong’. I want a contemporary newspaper, an old White House press release, anything. Try to find a high FBI official who hasn’t lied under oath in the last 6 years and you will understand why I am skeptical. For all I know, the ‘American Egg Board’ is staffed by atheist vegans trying to abolish humanity.
I find the Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter to be redundant. Easter celebrates the living God who already considers ALL humans as equal. Instead of being blasphemous and ungrateful for what they don’t have on this earth, they should be grateful for what they have eternally.
I think something went wrong with the last paragraph on the post.
Ya think? Ye Olde Hanging Paragraph problem…thanks. Fixed.
In summary, TDV is so devoid of legitimacy that it has to be positioned to glean crumbs from Jesus?
No, it’s not “positioned to glean crumbs from Jesus”. The date of the Transgender Day of Visibility is fixed; held every year on March 31. It’s Easter that has a variable date, which this year happens to be March 31. In 2025 Easter will be celebrated on April 20 — the “4/20” celebrated by marijuana advocates.
Will there be a similar outcry next year that weed legalization campaigns are piggybacking on a religious holiday?
Easter Sunday is Easter Sunday. It wouldn’t crush the trans movement to put off the “Day of Visibility,” whatever the hell it is, for a day, or, in the alternative, not to have the President pimp for it this year. No??
Never mind. Biden says he didn’t do that and anyone who says he did is ‘thoroughly uninformed”.
At yesterday’s Easter celebration, we sang two Sullivan hymns during communion.
“Welcome Happy Morning” (#179) and “Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain” (#199). Since both hymns were reprinted in the service bulletin, unlike the hymnal the information regarding lyricist and composer were absent. However, two of us choristers – basses and enthusiastic Savoyards – immediately recognized the Sullivan-composed harmonies and confirmed our suspicions using a 1982 Episcopal hymnal. Accordingly, it took an amazing amount of self-control to avoid adding a bit of inspired choreography to our singing.
Since it was Easter, the church organ was accompanied by a brass quartet. After the service, we requested that the organist (who is also the choir director) look into acquiring all-brass arrangements of both hymns for next year’s Easter service.
There’s just something about those Sullivanian tunes and harmonies that brings an extra element of joy to the hymns!