Posted by
Michael on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 12:35:46 PM
I have to agree with
Allahpundit. Keith Ellison is brilliant:
We’ve learned that the new congressman — in a savvy bit
of political symbolism — will hold the personal copy once owned by
Thomas Jefferson.
“He wanted to use a Koran that was special,” said Mark Dimunation,
chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library
of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December.
Dimunation, who grew up in Ellison’s 5th District, was happy to help.
Jefferson’s copy is an English translation by George Sale published
in the 1750s; it survived the 1851 fire that destroyed most of
Jefferson’s collection and has his customary initialing on the pages.
And as Allahpundit points out,
Virgil Goode, an outspoken critic of Ellison, represents Thomas Jefferson's birthplace.
UPDATE: Small bit of
commentary on the development from Dennis Prager's blogger Allen Estrin:
Don't think
he would have bothered
if Dennis hadn't made an issue of his oath-taking. Still, doesn't deal
with the key issue -- the Bible as the source of our values.