Dancing through life...

I'm sure you've all heard about the Mississippi school board that canceled prom rather than let a lesbian student wear a tux and attend with her girlfriend.

Let's pretend for a moment that instead of a prom, it's a game on a playground, and instead of a school board, students, and the ACLU, we're talking about children.

School board: "We're going to play this game OUR way!"

ACLU: "Hey school board! Didn't you hear about the new rules? It's 2010, and there are new rules that make sure that everyone gets treated fairly."

School board: "We don't like those rules! We like OUR rules!"

ACLU: "Well, ummm...you kind of have to play by the new rules. It's...the rules."

School board: "FINE. We're taking our ball and going home!"

Except instead of just taking their ball and going home, they've effectively shut down the whole playground. On what planet is that appropriate adult behavior? Rich's nephew is seven and a half, and he's starting to grow out of the stage where everything is, "Rory wins, or it doesn't count."

I must say that Constance McMillen, the lesbian student in question, is handling this situation far more maturely than the adults on the school board. Who, by the way, are trying to blame the cancellation of the prom on Ms. McMillen, instead of on their own prejudices and bigotry.

Honestly, who is it going to hurt if this young lady goes to prom in a tux with another girl? Nobody, that's who. Sure, someone's delicate sensibilities may be offended, but as I mentioned above it's now 2010. These high school students are about to go out into the real world, where they're going to encounter all kinds of people that they're going to have to deal with whether they like it or not.

The school board is really setting a bad example with their actions. They're the ones who are doing more harm than good. The message they're sending is absolutely disgusting.

I for one am hoping that the ACLU wins the case, and that Constance and her girlfriend have an absolutely wonderful time at prom.

(RE: the situation I discussed in this post...)

Justice Keith Bardwell resigned!

Took him long enough...

I heard a story on the radio this morning about a "tea party" they're trying to hold in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Apparently, some people there are upset about the increase in sales tax, so they wanted to dump tea into the Cedar River, Boston-style. The morning DJ's were telling this story because those people in Cedar Rapids were told that they could not, in fact, dump tea into the river without a permit since it's considered a pollutant. Instead, they will be dumping water from buckets labeled "tea."

The DJ's were pointing out how stupid THAT was. I'm baffled by it for another reason.

The Boston Tea Party was in protest of taxation...without representation. Last I heard, we had fixed that problem over two hundred years ago.

In my opinion, these people are marring the memory and spirit of the original event. This article explains that "...[This]group opposes a 1-cent local option sales tax to go before voters Tuesday. The tax would bring in an estimated $17 million to $18 million a year for the city for five years, with 90 percent going to housing assistance, including buyouts, for hundreds of people whose houses were destroyed in the June 2008 floods."

What the hell is so unjust about that? The good people of Cedar Rapids elected the officials who are proposing this tax. It's not anything like the American colonists and King George III. The colonists had no say in that situation at all; no one was speaking for them in England. Duly elected officials discussing a small tax designed to help the people they were elected by is nothing worth protesting.

This is stupid on so many levels it makes my brain hurt.

Socks, the former First Cat, has passed away.

He was twenty years old, which is a very good age for a cat.

I still have the postcard I received when I wrote to him when he was the First Cat.

Y'all aren't entertaining me, so I'm just going to keep posting the crazy links I'm finding.

72-year-old ex-sprinter nabs would-be handbag thief.

I am amused!

I'm sure you've all heard about Nadya Suleman, the woman in Californa who recently gave birth to octuplets.

She already had six children, and no job. Her mother told her that once she comes home from the hospital, Grandma won't be around to help any more.

Now, she's set up a website so people can send her donations.

That's right folks. She had six kids she couldn't afford to feed already when she made the decision to go to a fertility clinic and have a few more. Now, she wants the rest of us to foot the bill.

Sounds to me like this woman is running a scam, and she's using her children to do it. To me, that is absolutely despicable.

Granted, she may need mental help. There have been reports of her being obsessed with Angelina Jolie to the point where she had plastic surgery to make herself look like the actress. She claims that all she ever wanted was lots of children, and she certainly has them now.

Personally, I think those kids should be put up for adoption. It's irresponsible to intentionally have that many children when you know you can't afford the ones you already have. There are plenty of people who are completely unable to have children of their own who would love to care for those babies.

This is an extreme case, of course. I'm not saying that poor people shouldn't be allowed to have kids, but when you already have several children, no job, and very little support, I really don't think you should be allowed to intentionally force yourself to have more.

Nadya Suleman should be made to take responsibility for her actions. She didn't get pregnant by accident for ANY of her fourteen children. They were all a choice she made, and now she needs to figure out how to deal with it. No one else was involved in that decision, and therefore should not be asked to pay for it.

I know it's immature, but I can't help but giggle at this headline:

NY Police on Pope Watch Snatch River Beaver

Clorox has purchased Burt's Bees.

I've been seeing their stuff a whole lot more in chain stores recently, and I was excited that it was becoming more widely available. Now...I don't know.