Well, gun haters. Now’s your chance.

What? Too soon?

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Freedom on Film, Freedom Meets Darwin

From the NYT:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ marriage-age crisis is over. A law that mistakenly allowed anyone — even toddlers — to marry with parental permission was repealed by a measure signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Mike Beebe, ending months of embarrassment for the state and confusion for county clerks.

Months of embarrassment? This is Arkansas. When have they not been an embarrassment?

Lawmakers didn’t realize until after the end of last year’s regular session that a law they approved, intended to establish 18 as the minimum age for marriage, instead removed the minimum age to marry entirely. An extraneous ”not” in the bill allowed anyone who was not pregnant to marry at any age with permission.

The bill read: ”In order for a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of parental consent to the marriage.”

I’m surprised they managed to catch the problem. In March 2006, the State of Arkansas Department of Education goal — yes, goal — for high school (9-12) literacy proficiency by the end of the year was 35.5%.

Next on the agenda: No Legislator Left Behind.

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Sexxx, Profiles in Governance

So, the Prez headed to the Boss’s home town this week — Freehold, N.J., that is, made famous in this particularly depressing tune from the mid-80s — to visit a debt counseling agency and give a “major economic speech.” If you were watching live, what you saw was the Commander-in-Chief standing amidst rows of cubicles filled with what looked like PBS pledge-drive volunteers on headsets, ready to take your calls:

INTENDED MESSAGE:  We’re so busy doing the good work of helping Americans in hard times that we don’t even take a break when the President drops by.

ACTUAL MESSAGE:  This lamest of lame duck leaders has been rendered so utterly irrelevant that he commands less attention than Bob from Accounting.

“Hey girl, what’d you do last night?…No shit. Aight, aight, cool…What’s that? Oh, I don’t know, they got the President or some shit talking here…Yeah, in my office. Bitch is being loud standing RIGHT next to my cubicle…I know! Like, why they got to be all up in my bidness? Anyway, we still going to Temptations tonight?”

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Profiles in Governance, Mock the Vote

Yes. It’s finally arrived! I now have 4000 unread messages in my Yahoo! inbox!

Oh, you thought I was going to write at length about the 4000th American fatal casualty in Iraq?

No.

Frankly, I’m disgusted that because we hit a round number that somehow the war is fundamentally more tragic, save for the families and loved ones of those just lost, than it was two days ago.

Get real.

End the fucking war.

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Daily Rant

There has been plenty written about Geraldine Ferraro’s comments re: The Obamanator. I think this cartoon sums it up pretty well:

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Mock the Vote

As noted in Suetonius’s last post, government lackeys will be going door-to-door asking residents to voluntarily turn over their first born sons…or I mean asking permission to search homes for contraband. The terror that such action strikes in the hearts of liberty lubbers should reverberate well beyond the borders of the district. But any action needs to emanate from D.C.

My suggestion: Let’s help them.

Make their job a little easier by letting them know ahead of time that you do NOT give them permission to search your home. I suggest putting a red sash on your door, signifying that the cops can Passover your residence.

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Jesus is Magic, The Homeland

Modern racism certainly rears its ugly head in a variety of forms. But this letter of discipline to an employee of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis is just so patently absurd I can’t…I just….I mean…wha??:

The Affirmative Action Office has completed its investigation of Ms. Nakea Vincent’s allegation that you racially harassed her by repeatedly reading the book, Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan by Todd Tucker in the presence of Black employees. In conducting this investigation, we interviewed you, Nakea Vincent, and other employees with information relevant to the mailer.

Upon review of this matter, we conclude that your conduct constitutes racial harassment in that you demonstrated disdain and insensitivity to your co-workers who repeatedly requested that you refrain from reading the book which has such an inflammatory and offensive topic in their presence. You contend that you weren’t aware of the offensive nature of the topic and were reading the book about the KKK to better understand discrimination. However you used extremely poor judgment by insisting on openly reading the book related to a historically and racially abhorrent subject in the presence of your Black co-workers. Furthermore, employing the legal “reasonable person standard,” a majority of adults are aware of and understand how repugnant the KKK is to African Americans, their reactions to the Klan, and the reasonableness of the request that you not read the book in their presence.

During your meeting with Marguerite Watkins, Assistant Affirmative Action Officer you were instructed to stop reading the book in the immediate presence of your coworkers and when reading the book to sit apart from the immediate proximity of these co-workers. Please be advised, any future substantiated conduct of a similar nature could result in serious disciplinary action.

Racial harassment is very serious and can result in serious consequences for all involved. Please be advised that racial harassment and retaliation against any individual for having participated in the investigation of a complaint of this nature is a violation of University policy and will not be tolerated.

This concludes this matter with the Affirmative Action Office. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Yeah, I have a question: What the fuck?

While I would wholly disagree with taking action even in the following circumstance, I could at least imagine someone getting offended at someone else reading Mein Kampf. But a book about a bunch of Notre Dame students taking on the KKK? Unless a fan of the Klan, USC, or Michigan, I just don’t see how any rational person could possibly be offended by this.

In a rare moment of sanity from the Ivory Towers, the university caved. But this situation is so ridiculous it borders on the obscene.

You can read the rest (at “this” link above) at Volokh Conspiracy.

2 Comments »
Filed under: Politics is Personal

I have, in recent years, become a bit of a fan of AFF’s Doublethink Magazine. Generally good for the genre, I think. And there’s been a bit of buzz lately about the article in the current edition, “D.C.’s Kid Speechwriters.” Interesting to know that our president’s words are written by 25 year olds.

Have to say though, that one of the kids interviewed for the story, Chris Michel–the “26 year-old number three speechwriter for President George W. Bush”–could, like many of his co-workers and superiors, I suspect, use a little fucking perspective.

When asked about the very clear negatives about being associated with the Bush administration, Michel says:

I’ve been there for an interesting sweep of history. I came right after Iraq started. I’ve seen the excitement of the transfer of sovereignty and the Iraqi elections. I’ve been there for the nomination and confirmation of the chief justice. One of my best days in the White House was when [former staff secretary] Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as a federal judge — a good friend, a lifetime appointment. I’ve gotten to travel around the world. So for me, it has not been a troubled time. [emphasis added]

Oh, well, good for you, Chris Michel, you lucky sonofabitch! I think we’re all pleased to know that as a significant contributor to one of the most dangerous and disastrous presidencies in recent history, you haven’t been troubled.

Honestly? I don’t even blame him for taking the job; that’s a sweet gig, dude. But just the tiniest bit of perspective would be nice.

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Profiles in Governance

A nice way to start the weekend:

Via instapundit.com

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Pop! Goes the Culture

I can’t make this stuff up.

The GOP felt they needed to conduct a survey to see how much trash-talk McCain can use in the upcoming general election campaign:

The Republican National Committee has commissioned polling and focus groups to determine the boundaries of attacking a minority or female candidate, according to people involved.

Normally, the general standard I tell white people is this: You know what not to say in front of black people in conversation– or women, homosexuals, etc. as the case may be. If you have a question about whether or not to say it, DON’T.

The fact that they hired phone banks and pollsters to figure this ditty out only points to the complete disconnect between the GOP hierarchy and those people not old, rich, male and white.

And those who want to point fingers at the GOP only should read further down in the story:

[The GOP] could simply have asked Joe Biden, John Edwards, Bill Clinton or any number of Democratic politicians who stung over their choice of words in this campaign already.

Foot-in-mouth disease, it seems, is not only a Republican problem.

Comments Off
Filed under: Politics is Personal, Mock the Vote