Friday Four

1. In lieu of one of my occasional beer recommendations, here is a bit about one I definitely intend to try, the soon-to-be-renamed "Submission Ale" by St. Louis's own Alpha Brewery:

The Riverfront Times reported Wednesday that head brewer Derrick Langeneckert confirmed [the name] "Submission" is already being used by another local brewery, a realization that prompted the ad hoc rechristening. As for the hijab-wearing swine, however, that part of the design is still set to adorn future bottles.

Other references -- some subtler than others -- on the label have been linked to Islam.

One passage, for example, begins, "Alpha Akbar!"

A description of the ale includes phrases including "blow your mind," "explode" and "shove this down your throat." [minor edits]

Yes! It's a beer that pokes fun at Islam (as the brewery has other religions), and no, the name change has nothing to do with cowardice or the social media vitriol directed at the label pictured above.

2. And speaking of Islam, I hear that a comic book artist has discovered a new technique for rendering Mohammed (pun intended).

Decorum forbids speculation about the medium.

3. John Stossel, commenting on the anti-science left:

Leftists often claim to be defenders of progress, but they sound more like religious conservatives when they oppose "tampering with nature."

Had the Alpha Brewery not offended so many leftists, they would have had to add, say, a "Silent Spring Bock" to their line.

4. Two quotes, one by a seven-year-old boy on ethics, and another by Ayn Rand on humor, seem apropos at this juncture. First, the boy, commenting on ethicists:

My son Davy, then seven years old, was in his booster seat in the back of my car. "What do you think, Davy?" I asked. "People who think a lot about what's fair and about being nice -- do they behave any better than other people? Are they more likely to be fair? Are they more likely to be nice?"

Davy didn't respond right away. I caught his eye in the rearview mirror.

"The kids who always talk about being fair and sharing," I recall him saying, "mostly just want you to be fair to them and share with them."

And now, the second:

Humor is not an unconditional virtue; its moral character depends on its object. To laugh at the contemptible, is a virtue; to laugh at the good, is a hideous vice. Too often, humor is used as the camouflage of moral cowardice.

To see the connection, observe the tweets in the very first link.

-- CAV