The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.
News of the Tautological
“Australian Boomerang”–headline, The Wall Street Journal Asia, Aug. 23
Bottom Stories of the Day
- “Little League Spectators Reflect on Present, Past Weather Conditions”–headline, AccuWeather.com, Aug. 23
- “The Hill’s Slow Rush Hour”–headline, Politico.com, Aug. 24
- “Hagel to Endorse Sestak”–headline, New York Times website, Aug. 23
Take Cover
“A woman who accused the Disney Co. of discrimination for refusing to let her wear a Muslim head scarf at work says she won’t wear a specially designed hat instead,” the Associated Press reports:
Imane Boudlal, who’s a restaurant hostess at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, says Disney’s suggested hat-and-bonnet is embarrassing and makes a joke of her religion.
She has gone home without pay seven times rather than remove her hijab or accept jobs away from customers.
Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown says the company believes the head covering accommodates both Boudlal’s beliefs and Disney costuming guidelines.
Last week, she filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Disney has both a legitimate interest in its servers’ uniform appearance and an obligation under antidiscrimination laws to make reasonable accommodations to its employees’ religious beliefs. We have no opinion as to which side is more in the right; the AP story doesn’t give enough information.
But the idea of a government agency making the decision is troubling in itself. How is some EEOC bureaucrat qualified to decide whether the Disney hat is acceptable to Islam? If Faisal Abdul Rauf [the imam who plans to build the mosque near Ground Zero] is really interested in being a reconciler, perhaps he could start small by offering to mediate this dispute. …
For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.
