Gretchen A few months ago I wrote about Freakonomics author Steven Levitt’s “daughter test” for legality. Levitt didn’t invent the test; he just articulated it: “If I wouldn’t want my daughter to do it, I wouldn’t mind the government passing a law against it.” The inanity and offensiveness of this standard should be plain on its face, but … Read more
There’s an interesting discussion going on at Dispatches about Michele Bachmann’s recent statement to some Iowa high school students about gay marriage: JANE SCHMIDT: Then, why can’t same-sex couples get married?BACHMANN: They can get married, but they abide by the same law as everyone else. They can marry a man if they’re a woman. Or … Read more
The state of Georgia is considering a bill which requires that “In God We Trust” be on the license plates of all registered vehicles, unless the owner pays to have the slogan covered up: Georgia SB 293 would amend current law to mandate that, starting next summer, all plates would be imprinted with the religious … Read more
They’re suing a t-shirt artist for having the nerve to market shirts that say “Eat more kale”: A folk artist expanding his home business built around the words “eat more kale” says he’s ready to fight root-to-feather to protect his phrase from what he sees as an assault by Chick-fil-A, which holds the trademark to … Read more
Both the principal, Karl Krawitz, and Emma Sullivan are receiving all kinds of negative attention as result of the Brownback apology affair. Krawitz has apparently received some death threats from different parts of the country, while Sullivan is being bullied by peers who call her an attention whore, or just a whore, and demand that … Read more
Ah, the power of Twitter. It can help organize protests, keep people in contact in the midst of tragedy, spread news like wildfire, and allow governors to become aware of the fact that teenagers are saying mean things about them. And then take action! Emma Sullivan is an eighteen year old student at Shawnee Mission East … Read more
From Dr. X, discussing whether using “crazy” as a pejorative should be considered offensive to people with mental illnesses and therefore be stricken from the lexicon of a considerate person: Political correctness most certainly is about passing tests of radicals who are more interested in group identity signifiers than substance and true decency. P.C is … Read more
Cross-posted from State of Formation. University of Nebraska Assistant Coach Ron Brown prayed on behalf of his football team and that of Penn State prior to their game on November 12th, in the wake of the latter university’s scandal regarding former head coach Joe Paterno. Which you already know about if you haven’t been living under a … Read more
. This is University of Nebraska Assistant Coach Ron Brown praying on behalf of his football team and that of Penn State prior to their game on November 12th, in the wake of the latter university’s … Read more
This time on a cliff in Ireland, by a pilot called (appropriately) Sandra Clifford: Clifford, a pilot fron San Francisco, spotted the figure recently while visiting the famous Cliffs of Moher in County Clare with her friend, Fiona Fay. The two saw what Clifford thought looked like the image of Jesus on the side of one of the … Read more