My favorite show on the telly has been accused of anti-Muslim portrayals. Truth be known, I've been a little uncomfortable watching of late, myself. Navi, the Muslim father and the terrorist operative (dead as of 2/21's episode) is a cold murderer and an inhumane father and a righteous and faithful man who is disgusted by a show of flesh and extramarital activity. Pretty harsh. The writers have always been careful - for the previous three seasons - to avoid stereotyping. Once before they had a Muslim subplot but that was eventually revealed to be only a small part of a corporate web. After last night, it seems probable that the Arabic terrorists in this season might also be part of a larger scheme.

Regardless, "24" is still really great this year. Much better than my other nine o'clock date. If only I had more time for the eight o'clock obsession....

Speaking of sterotyping and racism, my daughter has to do a report on a famous African-American for school. For the first time, I've heard her identify a person as "black". And "white". I guess it took 6 1/2 years, but it is still bittersweet to reveal the world in full color to her. The person she chose was a first grader who heroically integrated a school. Ruby Bridges is a fascinating and impressive subject, but sadly, we are having to edit my daughter's research a bit. I don't have a problem with her learning that schools were divided in our country at one point, but I'm not sure what benefit my little girl would glean from seeing protestors carrying black dolls in coffins.

Boy, it's amazing what you can learn in first grade.