tzor wrote:We have serious problems in the United States, but right now, the top two issues are one person saying someting biologically stupid and another person who skinnydipped in the Sea of Gallilee.
FBI probed GOP trip with drinking, nudity in Israel
The FBI probed a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee that involved drinking, numerous GOP freshmen lawmakers, top leadership staff — and one nude member of Congress, according to more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses.
During a fact-finding congressional trip to the Holy Land last summer, Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) took off his clothes and jumped into the sea, joining a number of members, their families and GOP staff during a night out in Israel, the sources told POLITICO. Other participants, including the daughter of another congressman, swam fully clothed, while some lawmakers partially disrobed. More than 20 people took part in the late-night dip in the sea, according to sources who were participants in the trip.
Congressman's skinny-dip is applauded by nudists
Freshman Rep. Kevin Yoder's skinny-dip in the Sea of Galilee certainly has made waves.
The Kansas lawmaker has apologized to critics including fellow Republican Mitt Romney, who say he should not have dived into the holy site (where Jesus walked on water, according to the Bible) nor should he have bathed in the buff during a night of revelry.
Is skinny-dipping in the Sea of Galilee sacrilegious?
Not really, Christian leaders and Holy Land experts said.
"Conservative Christians, obviously, aren't for getting naked in public or drunk anywhere," said Russell D. Moore, dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
"The location of the Sea of Galilee, however, doesn't make the story any more offensive to Christians than it is to the general public."
An absurd reaction to skinny-dipping in Sea of Galilee
But it’s also a resort. As Jonathan Tobin wrote, “ … it is a lake, not a church chalice. There are places on its shores where people pray but most of it is a vacation spot for Israelis and tourists. People boat there, fish its waters and swim in it everyday and I daresay the Kansan isn’t the first in the last 2,000 years to do so without a Speedo.”
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Yoder’s no doubt grateful that all this broke on the same day as the Todd Akin vortex, which should help it slide more quickly down the memory hole.
It reminds me of a famous poetry contest where the goal was to get a famous science fiction writer into the poetry. One person chose as their subject skinny-dipping. The poem ended thusly ...
And when it came to swimming,
His clothing he must doff,
Without a moment's hessitation,
Issiac Asimov.
