Typewriter history

From the ASME announcement:

The Sholes & Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful mechanical writing machine, will be recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for historic significance and contribution to the progress of mechanical engineering.

See also the typewriter's Wikipedia entry.

Religious Freedom

The Maryland Catholic Conference has an interesting document about religious freedom and how it is being attacked. Related to this is an article on "The Most Important Religious Liberty Case of the Past Thirty Years."