Estimado Lector (y todos mis amigos a través del Atlántico),

Greetings from Barcelona. And it is Bar•ce•lona, not Barth•e•lona. That pronunciation is a shibboleth of the Castilian hegemony, and I am decidedly on the side of the Catalan separatists (I suppose this means I should have written "Benvolgut Lector (i tots els meus amics de l'Atlàntic).")

Shibboleth is a fun word, and not just because it sounds like what one of the kids from Fat Albert would say if he went to prison, got hard and mean, and told someone to "Shiv old Les." You know like, "Shib ol' leth in da shower durin' the guard change."

For those who don't know, it comes from the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Long story short, the Gileadites beat the stuffing out of the Ephraimites. When the surviving Ephraimites wanted to get past the River Jordan incognito, the Gileadites had a test to tell them apart from other travelers. They first asked the strangers if they were Ephraimites. If they said "No," the soldiers asked them to say the word "shibboleth," which referred either to a part of a grain plant or maybe a flood. But the definition didn't matter, the ...

March 15 2019

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Shibboleth Is a Fun Word Jonah Goldberg Estimado Lector (y todos mis amigos a través del Atlántico), Greetings from Barcelona. And it is Bar•ce•lona, not Barth•e•lona. That pronunciation is a shibboleth of the Castilian hegemony, and I am decidedly on the side of the Catalan separatists (I suppose this means I should have written "Benvolgut Lector (i tots els meus amics de l'Atlàntic).") Shibboleth is a fun word, and not just because it sounds like what one of the kids from Fat Albert would say if he went to prison, got hard and mean, and told someone to "Shiv old Les." You know like, "Shib ol' leth in da shower durin' the guard change." For those who don't know, it comes from the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Long story short, the Gileadites beat the stuffing out of the Ephraimites. When the surviving Ephraimites wanted to get past the River Jordan incognito, the Gileadites had a test to tell them apart from other travelers. They first asked the strangers if they were Ephraimites. If they said "No," the soldiers asked them to say the word "shibboleth," which referred either to a part of a grain plant or maybe a flood. But the definition didn't matter, the ... Read More ADVERTISEMENT Top Stories Don't Break Up Big Tech Rich Lowry Warren's proposal to rein in tech is formulated without taking any account of the interests of consumers, who are the ones who made tech companies so large. China's Insidious Institutes Rachelle Peterson The Chinese government uses Confucius Institutes on American college campuses to enforce control and suppress dissent. Australian Senator Blames Muslim Immigration for Mosque Shootings Jack Crowe Hours after a pair of attacks on mosques in New Zealand, an Australian lawmaker blamed the bloodshed on the country's tolerance for Muslim immigration. ADVERTISEMENT Orson Welles: Artist and Political Prophet Armond White Director Mark Cousins makes connections that emphasize the visual intent and virtuosity that stemmed from both Welles's pictorial training and innate talent. Gavin Newsom's Death-Penalty Overreach The Editors The reprieve power that Newsom wields is intended as a final check against injustice, not to nullify laws that the governor happens not to like. Emergency-Declaration Rebuke Splits Senate GOP John McCormack Twelve Republican senators joined Democrats Thursday to pass a resolution terminating the national emergency declared by President Trump last month. In the Woke War against Beto, Root for Beto David French Conservatives should do what they can to prevent the possibility of a President Bernie Sanders. Armed Man Chased, Fired On New Zealand Mosque Shooter Jack Crowe The unnamed man went home to retrieve his gun when the shooting broke out before returning to the Linwood mosque to engage the shooter. ADVERTISEMENT JOIN NRPLUS All Our Content. Fewer Ads. Members-Only Privileges. NRPLUS is everything you would associate with a digital magazine subscription, and a whole lot more ─ including up to 90% fewer on-site ads, access to our private Facebook group, full commenting privileges, and invites to our writer/editor conference calls. SAVE 30% TODAY Photo Essays Cat Yoga Albino Animals ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.