And here is the winning quote: "The arts community is generally dominated by liberals because if you are concerned mainly with painting or sculpture, you don't have time to study how the world works. And if you have no understanding of economics, strategy, history and politics, then naturally you would be a liberal."

Well, he is probably right — he looks like someone who's got a clue. I wonder if he ever did anything "creative" beyond those kindergarten craft paper & crayon days.

Is this the most sensible thing The New York Times has published in ages? Yes.

Neither the watery word "tolerance" nor the slippery phrase "mutual respect" will cut it as a guiding value. Why tolerate violent bigotry? Where's the "mutual" in that version of mutual respect? Amin Maalouf, a French-Arab novelist, nailed this point when he wrote that "traditions deserve respect only insofar as they are respectable - that is, exactly insofar as they themselves respect the fundamental rights of men and women."

from "Why Tolerate the Hate", an op-ed by Irshad Manji

Ingredients for 2:
1/2 lb. fresh sugar snap peas
1 1/2 cup shell pasta
hard salty cheese: parmesan, asiago, or romano
white wine vinegar
extra-virgin olive oil
fresh parsley (good handful), fresh thyme (several sprigs), garlic (2 cloves)

De-string the sugar snap peas; wash & dry.

Chop parsley & mince garlic — make about half a cup. Add thyme. Add vinegar & olive oil, stir well. It should be less like a vinaigrette than a small portion of parsley salad. Do not add to peas.

Cook shells in salt water — but absolutely do not overcook or you will get a gelatinous mess. Drain & wash with cold water. Drain again thoroughly.

Toss together the shells & peas. Add parsley mixture. Shave a bit of cheese over top. Toss well & serve. The saltiness of the cheese balances the sweetness of the peas and the acidity of the vinegar, & the parsley makes it a rather refreshing & light meal for hot days.

Two things off the bat: 1) no bread crumbs — I hate the soggy mush they serve in so many restaurants — which means 2) this isn't an authentic gazpacho, boo hoo.

Ingredients for 2:
4-5 good ripe tomatoes, pay $2.99 a pound if you have to, otherwise make something else
1/2 cucumber, seedless English variety
2 cloves of garlic
several sprigs of fresh thyme — fresh, not dried
good quality vinegar, sherry, wine, or balsamic
good extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Dice the tomatoes, or if you are lazy, coarsely chop the tomatoes in a food processor — the result of which, however, doesn't look as nice as the hand chopped variety. Some people like to puree the tomatoes & then strain out the bit of skin & seeds, I am not sure why. Add salt & pepper to the tomatoes & set aside.

Dice the cucumber. Some people add chopped green peppers, you may be one of them — I hate green peppers. Add to the tomatoes.

Mince the garlic. Strip the leaflets of the thyme sprigs, give a coarse chop. Add garlic & thyme to the tomatoes & cucumber.

Add vinegar & olive oil. Mix throughly & set in the refrigerator to cool for about 30 min - 1 hour, or not. Eat with bread, if you really must have bread in the gazpacho, tear some chunks and throw it in.

What else? If the tomatoes are very acidic, add less vinegar. If the tomatoes lack in sweetness, add a bit of sugar. Try a few times to find you preferred balance of the sweet vs acidic vs salt. As for fresh herbs, oregano works well, so does mint. Don't add too many varieties at once — often simpler is better. The really great thing about this is you don't need to turn on the stove.