Politics and other nightmares

I think this is the wrong question:

Is a college campus a place for all views to be aired, or are some public figures too extreme to deserve the platform?

I have also felt like this about the Jena case:

"What The Hell Happened in Jena? I haven't commented because, frankly, I am still unsure of all the details of the case..."

A lot of people on the right are all exercized over Hilary Clinton's characterization of Dick Cheney:

September 20, 2007 -- Hillary Clinton pulled out her light saber last night at a fundraiser in New York as she called Vice President Dick Cheney "Darth Vader."

Another exciting idea from a Democratic presidential candidate:

ABC News' Teddy Davis and Nancy Flores Report: Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson called Wednesday for obese Americans to be brought under the protection of the Americans for Disabilities Act.

These don't seem like very good marks:

A statewide poll released today found most people surveyed think the Indiana General Assembly is doing at least a fair job.

A total of 65 percent of those surveyed in a WISH (Channel 8) poll rated legislator's performance as fair, good or excellent. 

Oh, no. What will we argue about now?

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — After a maddening two years in which Indiana residents saw the official time shift this way and that, it looks like the pendulum is finally about to stop swinging.

It was just 30 years ago that the guillotine was last used in France. That method of execution, as horrible as it sounds to us today, was adopted during the French Revolution as a more humane method of capital punishment than some of the methods then employed. In this country, our search for the most humane way of execution has taken us from hanging to firing squad to electric chair to gas chamber to lethal injection. The search continues:

Look, I know I'm a libertarian crank who sees Big Government lurking in every nook and cranny. And I know Americans are so dispirited about health care that a majority are ready for a federal "solution." But, God almighty, do you have any idea of what these people are thinking about?

1. Why do the news media still treat Jesse Jackson as a serious person deserving serious coverage instead of the race-baiting charlatan he is?

2. How has he managed to peddle his nonsense with public funds -- that would be you and me paying for him -- all these years instead of being forced to do honest, productive work?

His latest:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson called Tuesday on Democrats seeking the 2008 nomination for president to give S.C. voters “something to vote for” when they go to the polls in January.

If you ever get disgusted with city officials here, just imagine how much worse it could be: