Gender Bending Nuttiness

No more segregated bathrooms. No more segregated sports teams. That's what the Maine Human Rights Council has ruled. All because of some gender-confused 12-year-old boy who wants to use the girl's bathroom. You would think that something like this would get tossed out on it's ear. But no, little Johnny's complaints were given due notice and then this stupid ruling was delivered. C'mon, couldn't someone just have told Johnny to suck it up and use the boy's room? He's twelve! No doubt there's some stupid mixed up parent driving this. We don't want little Johnny's feelings to be hurt. Gimme a break. I'm going to pass on the stupidity of the unisex bathrooms. 'nuff said. But unisex sports teams don't fly at all. What you end up with is a mixed team and a women's team. You see, it's simple to start off with unisex teams, but then the women want to branch off and create their own league because the men are too rough. No kidding. And as usual, the girls can do this because they're girls. Under this type of system, do you think there's any kind of chance that the boys would be able to break off? No way. Just look at the YMCA and the YWCA. News Scotsman (Feb 26, 2010) - Maine Commission Moves to Ban Gender Specific Bathrooms, Sports Teams in Schools The Maine Human Rights Commissions taking heat over a proposal to ban schools from enforcing gender divisions in sports teams, school organizations, bathrooms and locker rooms, saying forcing a student into a particular room or group because of their biological gender amounts to discrimination. The little girls' room won't be just for little girls anymore, if the Maine Human Rights Commission has its way. The commission is taking heat over a controversial proposal to ban schools from enforcing gender divisions in sports teams, school organizations, bathrooms and locker rooms. It says forcing a student into a particular room or group because of his or her biological gender amounts to discrimination. The issue came to light last year when the commission ruled that, under the Maine Human Rights Act, a school had discriminated against a 12-year-old transgender boy by denying him access to the girls' bathroom. Now the commission aims to issue guidelines on how schools should deal with similar situations in the future. It would make Maine the first state to implement such guidelines for schools as young as preschool and nursery -- and even some private schools. ... Read the full story here... Hopefully, the Maine Human Rights Council has as much bite as the Canadian Human Rights Council. They make rulings that involve judgements or money, but they have no real teeth. Their biggest proponent is that they get lots of air time in the news. The Canadian HRC until recently had a 100% guilty rate. That's right, all you had to do was make a complaint and the Council said that your rights were being infringed. If your feelings were hurt, seek restitution from the HRC. What a joke. Meaningless and a waste of time. Bil An Outraged Dad

No More Recreational Fishing

This isn't a political blog and I really want to stay away from politics completely. But there is always so much junk coming out of government regardless who is in power or whose side you are on. I couldn't resist this story because it is making the rounds just this afternoon. ESPN is making a big splash with it because it affects the many recreational fisherman and the whole industry. No Fishing off the Dock The report hasn't come out yet stating there will be a ban, but the discussions have been closed. According to the different recreational sports fishing groups, the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force is highly influenced by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) which recently were successful in convincing Ontario to ban bear hunting. Now I'm not against hunting or fishing, but if the fish or bears are in danger, then they should be protected. But to ban ALL sports fishing? Where is the sense of that? ESPN (Mar 9, 2010) - Culled out The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters. One sign at the United We Fish rally at the Capital summed up the feelings of recreational and commercial fishermen. This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is "fluid" and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn't issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters. ... Consequently, unless anglers speak up and convince their Congressional representatives to stop this bureaucratic freight train, it appears that the task force will issue a final report for "marine spatial planning" by late March, with President Barack Obama then issuing an Executive Order to implement its recommendations — whatever they may be. Led by NOAA's Jane Lubchenco, the task force has shown no overt dislike of recreational angling, but its indifference to the economic, social and biological value of the sport has been deafening. ... Read the full story here... This isn't really a story yet because no bill has been passed. But it sure looks like it is headed that way. The Obama administration seems to be headed in this direction because of different actions they have taken already. Expansion of the Clean Water Act In July of 2009 an expansion of the Clean Water Act was introduced that effectively gave the government control over that pond you have out back on your own farm: "Right now, the law says that the Environmental Protection Agency is in charge of all navigable water," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Western Caucus and an opponent of the bill. "Well, this bill removes the word 'navigable,' so for ranchers and farmers who have mud puddles, prairie potholes -- anything from snow melting on their land -- all of that water will now come under the regulation of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency," he said. The EPA's Man-Made Drought And then there was the man-made drought this summer in San Joaquin Valley, California's bread basket.  The canals to supply water to the thousands of acres have been in place for years and it is a big employer in the debt-ridden state.  But the EPA said the 3-inch delta smelt was in danger and diverted all the water to the ocean.  Farmers complained all summer but with little fanfare on the TV news.  Schwarzenegger said there was nothing he could do. The EPA priorities seemed to be very skewed. It is easy to see why the recreational sporting industry is worried. Bil An Outraged Dad

The Planet of Promiscuous Women

Here's another case of scientists with their head up there ass. It seems that there's this disease in some men that kills off the male Y-chromosome leaving only the X-chromosome. Which means that he will only produce female children. So in order to ensure the future of all humanity, women need to have sex with as many different guys as they can. You see, if she stays with one guy who has this disease, she will only have girls. So in order to ensure there will also be boys, she should spread the loving around. University of Playboy? I confirmed and no, it was NOT the University of Playboy that produced the study, it was the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool. The study does not give a time estimate for the downfall of humanity, but I think it is safe to say that you won't have to start preaching promiscuity to your daughter any time soon. I mean, we will probably have nuked ourselves or destroyed the atmosphere long before we have to worry about this. I wonder what other solutions they came up with to head off this disaster? I guess we could round up all these damaged Y-killers and shoot them. Okay, sterilizing them would probably do just as well. But since what the scientists are actually talking about a form of eugenics, why not just give a test to all pregnant woman and kill off these Y-killers in the womb, just in case some of them get away from the sterilizing police. Huh? Come on! How many women were part of this study? Or rather, how many were part of writing the conclusion? This is one of the most stupid conclusions I've heard. And I'm not talking about the moral or disease issues here. Think about it for a minute. You want women to have sex with more than one man to get a variety of genes to ensure she has sex with someone who is clean. But let's suppose the man she would have married didn't have the disease. All her children would have been Y-killer free. But now she's having sex with multiple guys and some of them are probably going to have the disease. Where is the plus side to promiscuity? What were they thinking? And who gave them money for this study? I guess the real stupidityy would be giving them any additional money. Read the whole article for yourself. News Scotsman (Feb 26, 2010) - Women who have multiple sex partners 'preserve humanity' PROMISCUOUS women who have children by different men could help prevent humanity from becoming extinct, scientists claimed yesterday. A study has shown that women who have multiple sexual partners reduce the risk of replicating a genetic quirk that means they are more likely to have only daughters. A study by the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool contends that if all women had children with just one partner, a male- destroying chromosome could be reproduced and spread until humanity eventually became 100 per cent female, precipitating its extinction. It claims that having multiple partners reduces the spread of a sex-ratio distortion (SR) chromosome that would lead to all-female offspring. The SR chromosome has the effect of killing all the "male" Y chromosomes before fertilisation. Polyandry, the practice of females having multiple partners to protect the future of the species, is common in the animal kingdom. Scientists believe that its occurrence has several benefits, including ensuring reproductive success and conferring more variation in traits to female's offspring, which would have a wider benefits for the health of a species' pack, hive or family. ... Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad

The Tsunami that Wasn't

Yes, there was no tsunami. After Chile's horrible 8.8 earthquake, scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii braced everyone for a possible tsunami and recommended that the coast be cleared. And the tsunami never came. Well actually, it did produce 4-foot waves on the beach of Hawaii, which is minor. The PTWC confirmed that it was a non-event, but defended its warning based on devastating tsunamis in the past. There are 300 early warning sensors in various places around the Pacific, but they do not say what the sensors indicated, if they indicated anything. By my way of thinking, the PTWC just made itself redundant. It basically stated that it will announce tsunami warnings just in case a tsunami does appear. So if there is an earthquake in the Pacific, there will be a warning. Well listen, how about you pay me the $10 million or whatever they are getting from the government and I'll issue the tsunami warning. For every earthquake, I'll issue a warning. Heck, I'll even do it fo $5 million. This is what happens when politics and lawyers take over. No one wants to be caught with their pants down. It's cover-your-ass, just in case. What the scientifc data says is less important. I could respect this warning if they said the sensors indicated that the there might be a tsunami. I'd even be happy with them saying that the indicators show that nothing is happening, but caution should still be taken in case they are wrong. It's simple, you state the science and then give your interpretation of it. But no, lets put out evacuation warnings just in case. That's nuts. AP, Honolulu (Feb 28, 2010) - The warning was ominous, its predictions dire: Oceanographers issued a bulletin telling Hawaii and other Pacific islands that a killer wave was heading their way with terrifying force and that "urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property." But the devastating tidal surge predicted after Chile's magnitude 8.8-earthquake for areas far from the epicenter never materialized. And by Sunday, authorities had lifted the warning after waves half the predicted size tickled the shores of Hawaii and tourists once again jammed beaches and restaurants. Scientists acknowledged they overstated the threat but defended their actions, saying they took the proper steps and learned the lessons of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami that killed thousands of people who didn't get enough warning. "It's a key point to remember that we cannot end the warnings. Failure to warn is not an option for us," said Dai Lin Wang, an oceanographer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. "We cannot have a situation that we thought was no problem and then it's devastating. That just cannot happen." ... Read the full story here... I'm also not limiting this to just the PTWC. Doesn't it make for great headlines when you talk about a huge tsunami headed for Hawaii. Disaster makes for great reading.  The media has it's own hand in spreading the warnings. You know, I'm thinking about it and I could probably manage to put out some decent tsunami warnings for $3 million if I try really hard. Bil An Outraged Dad

Killer Karaoke

What does it say about a society that has a series of killings grouped around people who sing the Sinatra standard "My Way" out of tune? It's true unfortunately. This weird situation exists in the Philippines where a number of people have been killed in fights over poor renditions of the song. Authorities seem to blame it on a cultural bias where the people pride themselves on being good singers. Talk about a poor stereotype. But then if you read the full story, you find that you will find karaoke machines in back alleys and other weird places, reflecting the how the craze has affected the people. Kind of hard to swallow, but is there a better option? New York Times (Feb 7, 2010) - ... The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.” The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song? Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks. And the country’s many Sinatra lovers, like Mr. Gregorio here in this city in the southernmost Philippines, are practicing self-censorship out of perceived self-preservation ... Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad

The Catcher in the Dictionary

Maybe it's all too fitting that a California school district tried to ban the dictionary for its explicit comments just days before the famed JD Salinger died. Salinger of course was the author of The Catcher in the Rye, one of the most banned books in American schools. And because of his death, his famous novel from1951 about adolescence and growing up is back on the top 20 over at Amazon. It's interesting, I know all about the book but have never read it. Maybe I'll have to pick it up. Regardless, someone down in southern California made a complaint that the famous Mirriam-Webster's dictionary was too explicit and not age appropriate for younger children. One of the offending entries was for "oral sex" which was defined as oral stimulation of the genitals. Now you see, I can't really get outraged with this one, because it's just too stupid. Words aren't offensive, it how they are put together and what their intent is that can cause damage. I daresay that words like "penis", "masturbation" and "orgasm" have been in the dictionary for quite a few years. It doesn't make the dictionary or encyclopedia dirty or unworthy. I'm sure there is a portion of the population that disagree, but they're not on the internet and definitely not reading my blog. Fox News (Jan 27, 2010) - California School District Reverses Dictionary Ban After 'Oral Sex' Flap Embarrass. -verb 1. To cause confusion and shame; disconcert; abash. As in: A California school district was EMBARRASSED after it tried to ban America's classic dictionary from 4th- and 5th-grade classrooms because it worried the book contained "age-inappropriate" words. After conducting an investigation of the very wordy book, Menifee Union School District has reversed its decision and invited Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary back into bookcases at Oak Meadows Elementary School. ... Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad

Political Correctness at McDonald's

Which Culture Should We Insult Today? This is one for the books. McDonald's created a series of 12 zodiac toys for their Happy Meals for the Chinese audience. The Chinese zodiac runs according to the full year in a 12 year cycle. Each of signs of the zodiac is represented by an animal, like the snake, rooster or monkey. And one of the signs is a pig. Which is verbotten to Muslims. So McDonald's decides to change the Chinese zodiac and replace the pig with Cupid. Can you imagine how the board meeting went: "Well, we can't insult the Muslims, so let's insult everyone else in China. Yeah, that's the thing to do." It's like someone representing the astrological zodiac using a frog instead of a bull for taurus.  Oh yeah, that would go over big. CNN (Jan 25, 2010) - McDonald's frantic backpedaling: The pig toy fiasco There is such a thing as being too culturally sensitive. The Straits Times reports that fast food giant McDonald's opened up a virtual beehive in Singapore when it deliberately omitted pig characters from its latest toy promotion, earning the ire of netizens and Chinese customers. The pig toy was suppose to be part of a 12-character Doraemon set depicting the animals of the Chinese zodiac calendar. However, management at the Golden Arches decided not to include the pig toy to avoid offending Muslim customers, and had a Doraemon Cupid toy in its place instead -- a move which seriously upset Chinese customers keen on collecting all 12 toys in the series. A flurry of irate emails and demands by collectors and customers followed, and now the fast food giant has reversed its decision, adding a pig toy back to the promotional line-up (Updated January 25, 2010). ... Read the full story here... Bil An Outraged Dad