Politics and other nightmares

When members of one side of the political divide argue among themselves, it can be instructive for the general population. So it is with the debate now being engaged on the right about the HPV vaccine Gardasil and Texas Gov. Rick Perry's executive order that required all Texas girls to receive it before entering sixth grade. There is a developing consensus among conservatives (it seems to me) that:

Oh, no, not a Ponzi scheme, no siree, and how dare any of those nasty presidential candidates say so:

Tony Bennett wants to add a new required high school course to the curriculum:

Indiana's superintendent of public instruction wants all Hoosier students to take one course online before graduating from high school.

[. . .]

Ah, the advance of civilization:

NANUET, N.Y. -  A 290-pound New York man is steaming mad at the White Castle fast-food chain, which he claims repeatedly broke promises to make the booths in his local eatery bigger.

Martin Kessman, 64, filed a lawsuit against the fast-food giant last week in Manhattan federal court, claiming that the uncomfortable booths violate the civil rights of fat people.

[. . .]

Gov. Mitch Daniels has a book coming out, which puts him in an elite group:

Of the nation's 50 sitting governors, almost a quarter of them are authors. Four, including Daniels, have written tomes while serving as their state's chief executive. That number is set to increase by one early next year when South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's book, "Can't is Not an Option," hits the bookshelves.

Well, he certainly was right, wasn't he?

US President John F. Kennedy "worried for the country" should his vice-president Lyndon Johnson succeed him, according to taped interviews of Kennedy's widow to be aired next week on US television.