The state of the culture

You'd think Bruce Sprngsteen and Paul McCartney would be smart enough to know that if there is a curfew that officials have been enforcing pretty seriously, it might be a good idea to start the concert in time for it to be over before the curfew. But, noooo, and of course it's somebody else's problem, not theirs:

So, if I have to sit down to urinate, would that make me a retromingent reactionary?

The U.S. Navy's new class of carriers will be the first to go without urinals, a decision made in part to give the service flexibility in accommodating female sailors, the Navy says.

Liberals seem depressed by the studies showing that conservatives have the edge when it comes to being happy:

An explanation for the happiness gap more congenial to liberals is that conservatives are simply inattentive to the misery of others. If they recognized the injustice in the world, they wouldn’t be so cheerful.

Well, duh:

Spanking as a discipline tactic has been linked to mental illnesses later in life, according to a new study. But it also showed that  cross-ethnic and international research found that when a culture views spanking as normal, then spanking does not cause later harm.

Hey, want something interesting to read that's not about health care? Charles McGrath has a fascinating piece in The New York Times about bad people who create good art:

THE ACLU is suing the Griffith Public Schools district over the expulsion of three girls in January because of comments they posted to each other on Facebook. The suit says the use of Internet slang and emoticons made it clear the girls weren't really serious and their First Amendment rights are being violated. Not so, says the school district:

Hey, what about the !@#$%^& First Amendment?

The residents of Middleborough, Mass., are tired of foul language, so they're decided to do what many parents do -- implement a swear jar.

According to the Associated Press, residents voted 183 to 50 in favour of a proposal by the police chief to impose a $20 fine on cursing in public.

A lot of young people today seem reluctant to face the adult world. More and more failure-to-launch slackers are living longer and longer in Mom and Dad's basement -- I know, 'cause I saw it on Dr. Phil. And when public policy makers have a chance, they seemed determined to contribute to the problem -- consider Obamacare's decree that children can stay on their parents' insurance until they're 25. No Empty Nest for you, you weary urchin spawners.

Love my Casual Fridays. But I think work would be even better with Slutty Wednesdays:

Nearly 100 smarties at the city’s top-performing high school bared their bodies in “risque” outfits yesterday to denounce their school’s conservative dress code — which bans the exposure of shoulders, midriffs, lower backs, bras and undies.

Yes, by God, get 'em when they're young, and you'll have them forever: