Coming Soon: What Color Is Your Kaffiyeh?

Here in Denver, we get national opinion columns--and sometimes news--a day late. So in today's Denver Post, there was Thomas Friedman's piece about Hamas from yesterday's New York Times, changed (I wonder why?) from "The Weapon of Democracy" to "A Weapon Called Democracy."

The last paragraph really got me thinking...once I'd stopped laughing:

...the West Bank AFP reporter told me that when he went into the main bookstore in Ramallah the other day and asked what was selling, the owner said he'd noticed Hamas people buying Dale Carnegie books on management.

I would have thought Hamas operatives would be reading Sun Tzu or Macchiavelli if they wanted to branch out. (Darling Child thought they'd be reading "How to Succeed in Terrorism Without Really Trying.") But...Dale Carnegie?

Maybe there's hope for peace yet. I don't think How to Win Friends & Influence People recommends blowing yourself up, or annihilating your next-door neighbors, or both. And once Hamas's doors are open to Dale Carnegie, who knows what will follow? The possibilities are endless (and hilarious): Og Mandino...The Purpose-Driven Life (oh wait, they've got that one down)...First, Break All the Rules (oops; did that too). Ooh, ooh! This one's perfect, though it does center on a--gasp!--woman: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable.