Current Affairs

Another Greenie goes off the deep end:

"It's a strange old world" department:

It has been said there are three kinds of lies --  lies, damned lies and statistics. Maybe we should add a fourth worse than the other three -- the "stolen valor" kind, which, at least as far as an appeals court panel is concerned, are not unconstitutional.

A three-year-old federal law that makes it a crime to falsely claim to have received a medal from the U.S. military is unconstitutional, an appeals court panel in California ruled Tuesday.

No tears here for the departure of "Dr. Laura," though the controversy over the "N-word" seems to contain more than a little theatrical outrage. Actually, that only hints at the real problem:

Every year at this time, Wisconsin's Beloit College releases its Mindset List to show the "cultural mindset" of incoming college freshman as a "reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references." Actually, it's an annual reminder that we're really getting ooooold.

Shameful and inexcusable:

At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely to be suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.

Oh, for Pete's sake:

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Protesters have been rallying outside Target Corp. or its stores almost daily since the retailer angered gay rights supporters and progressives by giving money to help a conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota. Liberal groups are pushing to make an example of the company, hoping its woes will deter other businesses from putting their corporate funds into elections.

This "symposium on superstition" is from last year, but it also seems fitting for the present Friday the 13th. It's amusing to read stolid conservatives such as Ward Connerly admit to bursts of irrationality:

Golllleee, Ange, them Mormons ain't strange a'tall. Why, they're just as normal as us regular folks!

It's August, which means its time for governments to try "to buy off voters with their own money."

It's an annual ritual known as the sales tax holiday, which lets consumers make certain government-approved purchases without remitting the usual levy to the Department of Revenue . . . The gimmick usually is deployed this time of year so that parents can save on school supplies and clothing.

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