□ Some Christian—and other—groups are protesting against the placing, on federal property near the White House, of a set of plastic figurines representing a devout Jewish family in ancient Judaea. The protestors would of course deny that they are driven by any anti-Semitic motivation. Still, we wonder: Would they raise the same objections (of unconstitutionality, etc.) if the scene depicted a modern, secularized Gentile family?
□ Initial reports on the White House’s budget-cutting plans sound encouraging. The strategy is apparently going to be not just to settle for a budget freeze— which is politically salable but leaves current spending priorities intact—but to go for the abolition of a dozen or so of the worst programs, things like rural electrification, urban action grants, small-business loans, and cross-country Amtrak routes. This approach is politically braver than the across-the-board strategy, but if successful its effects will be much more permanent.
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