Spencer Ackerman decodes the Orwellian language that's often used to talk about Iraq:
OMENS OF PROSPERITYHere's something that might count as a breaking euphemism. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki last week ordered 50,000 Iraqi troops to conduct raids throughout Diyala province, which U.S. officials boasted of being increasingly pacified in 2007. The operation is called "Omens Of Prosperity." Because nothing says "prosperity" like 50,000 troops kicking down doors and arresting people. Oh, and the Iraqi government refused to allow any Sons of Iraq to participate in the operation. Talk about your Bottom-Up Reconciliation!
And Kathryn Joyce fills in for Sarah Posner, giving us her take on this week's news about the religious right:
An 18th child was born on July 22 to Canadian parents Alexandru and Livia Ionce, Romanian immigrants to British Columbia. In the ensuing media flurry, few reporters bothered to look deeper at their motivations than reprinting the Ionce's stated position on family planning and children: "We just let God guide our lives, you know, because we strongly believe life comes from God and that's the reason we did not stop the life. We let life come." The Ionces' view is similar to that of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, whose family is approaching a similar size, due to their "Quiverfull" conviction that has led them to have 17 children (an 18th is expected this January). Nonetheless, few media outlets covering the story caught the religious significance of the Ionces' approach to family size, which is rooted in the new, pronatalist "family theology" spreading across Christian denominations and growing rapidly among Reformed churches and the homeschooling community.
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