Archaeological finds – The truck convoy on the move – Abortion bill in Oklahoma – Evening statistics
A shrine has been discovered in Jordan. It is approximately 9000 years old. The ritual complex was found in a Neolithic campsite near large structures known as “desert kites,” or mass traps that are believed to have been used to corral wild gazelles for slaughter. There are many such traps scattered across the deserts of the Middle East. For most of these only the two long stone walls converging toward an enclosure are discernable, whereas nearly everything in this particular complex of buildings is intact: two carved standing stones bearing anthropomorphic figures, one of them accompanied by a representation of the desert kite, as well as an altar, hearth, marine shells, and a miniature model of the gazelle trap. It is an exciting find but also a sobering one in some ways. It is a reminder that religions, like all other human artifacts, come and go. The religion whose rites were performed in this shrine predates every religion currently practiced on the globe by several millennia and no doubt was looked upon by its adherents as eternal, but it has vanished long since and now we have only a few tantalizing hints as to how its rites were conducted.
Another major find occurred in Great Britain, where an elaborate Roman mosaic nearly 2000 years old adorned with flowers and geometric patterns was found in at a building site near the Shard in Southwark. It is the largest mosaic found in the London area in over half a century and a prime example of the heyday of art in Roman Britain. It appears to have covered the floor of a dining room. The rest of the building is still being excavated, but several rooms and corridors surrounding a central courtyard may eventually be restored.
Bob Bolus, who owns a truck parts and towing business in Scranton, is one of the organizers for the convoy currently headed towards Washington. He said that his goal is to organize a “giant boa constrictor” around the DC Metro area with his separate convoy that will paralyze traffic. No one seems to have informed him that his goal is already being accomplished every single weekday by that baneful group known as “rush-hour commuters.” In any case, he does not appear to have the following he has boasted about. He claimed that 25 trucks were joining him from New Jersey, but the video of his fleet shows a single 18-wheeler – his own – followed by four or five SUVs and pickup trucks. Authorities here are not taking any chances, however; about 700 National Guard personnel will be deployed to help control traffic at designated traffic posts and points leading to the Capitol.
Greg Treat, the Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore, has sponsored a bill that would ban abortions throughout the state 30 days after pregnancy. Most women do not receive confirmation of pregnancy until 5½ weeks into term. In addition, Oklahoma has a grand total of four abortion clinics, which have been overwhelmed by women from neighboring Texas after abortions have become virtually unobtainable in that state. However, Oklahoman women coping with this dilemma will undoubtedly be continually provided with sage advice and counsel by Senator Treat speaking from his long history of carrying to term myriads of . . . er, surely four or five at the very least . . . maybe only one or two after all . . . well, no children, actually, since he is a man and therefore unable to ovulate at all.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 429,781,998; # of deaths worldwide: 5,935,581; # of cases U.S.: 80,366,697; # of deaths; U.S.: 966,393.