Gross Misconceptions of the Role of Government

Current Events
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Instead of making a new thread for every story of this category that pops up in the daily news, I’m going to centralize them all into a single thread. Others should feel free to use this thread for the same reason.

Illinois legislation takes on eyeball jewelry

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Some Illinois lawmakers want to make sure the twinkle in your eye doesn’t come from jewelry.

Repulsed by a body modification offered at a Dutch institute — where tiny metal hearts and half-moons are surgically embedded in the whites of the eye — one lawmaker has proposed banning the practice in Illinois.

A House committee Thursday approved legislation that would make it a felony to implant jewelry in someone’s eye.

“I don’t think anybody should be messing with the eyeball,” Democratic Rep. Kevin Joyce said today.

The procedure involves making a tiny slice in the membrane covering the eye and slipping in a small, flat piece of metal. The result is a shiny shape in the white of the eye. The procedure is performed under local anesthetic.

Dr. Janak Koirala, assistant professor of medicine at Southern Illinois University, said he is concerned about the possibility of infection or other damage — risks that would last as long as the person kept the jewelry in their eye.

“It’s not like piercing the skin,” he said.

In the United States, at least one California-based doctor is offering the procedure, but a tattoo artist said lawmakers are giving the issue more attention than it deserves.

“Most people in the Midwest, when it comes to body modification, are very conservative,” said Kevin Veara, the 43-year-old owner of Black Moon Tattoos.

He conceded, however, that as tattoos become more mainstream, people in Europe and the U.S. coasts are undergoing more daring and possibly dangerous body modifications — larger and deeper piercings through various body parts.

“It’s like you’re not a freak anymore if you have a tattoo,” Veara said. “To be a freak you’ve got to step up a little bit.”

Associated Press

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House Panel Issues Steroids Subpoenas

Jose Canseco, Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire and four other baseball players were subpoenaed Wednesday to testify before a congressional committee investigating the sport’s steroids policy.

Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Frank Thomas also were subpoenaed to appear at the March 17 hearing of the House Government Reform Committee along with players’ association head Donald Fehr, baseball executive vice presidents Rob Manfred and Sandy Alderson and San Diego general manager Kevin Towers.

Canseco, Fehr and Manfred had agreed to testify. Manfred will speak on behalf of baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

“The remaining witnesses, however, made it clear either by flatly rejecting the invitation to testify or by ignoring our repeated attempts to contact them they had no intention of appearing before the committee,” committee chairman Rep. Tom Davis and Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking Democrat, said in a statement.

“The committee will conduct a thorough, fair, and responsible investigation. It is important the American people know the facts on baseball’s steroid scandal. And it is important that all Americans, especially children, know about the dangers of drug use. Consistent with our committee’s jurisdiction over the nation’s drug policy, we need to better understand the steps MLB is taking to get a handle on the steroid issue, and whether news of those steps and the public health danger posed by steroid use is reaching America’s youth.”

ABC News

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The purpose of Congress is to educate children of the dangers of drug use and to educate the American people about the facts of the MLB steriod scandal? Makes sense to me! :dough:

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As for eyeball jewelry…

I imagine the legislature contains a large number of parents with images in their heads’ of their children showing up with eyeball jewelry one day.

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Illinois Moves Toward Banning Some Video Games

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s proposal to bar stores from selling violent and sexually explicit video games to children unanimously passed an Illinois House committee Wednesday, despite concerns that it might be unconstitutional.

Under the proposal, which now goes to the House floor, any store that violated the ban could face misdemeanor charges and fines of up to $5,000.

Blagojevich has been pushing the idea for several months, arguing in town hall meetings and national interviews that the games desensitize children to violence. He says they can lead to anti-social behavior and even obesity.

On Wednesday, he applauded the House civil law committee for approving the “sensible and necessary legislation.”

But courts have struck down similar laws in Washington, Missouri and Indiana as too broad and in violation of free speech.

Even some lawmakers who voted for the bill said they were concerned it is too vague.

“This bill does not have clear standards to the people that need to know what the standards are – the parents, the kids, the clerk, the manager at Best Buy,” said Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. “These are people that will not have a clear standard under this bill as to what is or is not OK.”

The legislation requires stores to label violent or sexually explicit games with black-and-white stickers reading “18.” Stores would have the burden of figuring out which games could legally be sold to minors and which couldn’t.

David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said the legislation’s restrictions on games depicting “human on human violence” could mean that stores can be fined for selling football games to teenagers.

He also questioned the sincerity of the bill’s supporters, suggesting they fear that voting against the measure would hurt them in future elections.

“It’s pandering, and it’s wrong,” he said.

Harvard University professor Michael Rich argued Blagojevich’s position before the committee Wednesday, saying the law is necessary because kids may act out in real life the violent or sexual behaviors they practice in virtual reality.

“Children are learning from video games,” Rich said. “The question is: what are they learning?”

Associated Press

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Illinois Moves Toward Banning Some Video Games

Even some lawmakers who voted for the bill said they were concerned it is too vague.

…

“Children are learning from video games,” Rich said. “The question is: what are they learning?”

Associated Press

Those are the two most disturbing sentences of that article.

What would a legislature vote for something they knew was too vague? :dough:

I’ve killed thousands upon thousands of people playing Quake I/II/III online, I doubt that this has made me any more effective at handling a rocket launcher :slight_smile: . Seriously though, do these people honestly think that children can’t separate what’s ok to do in a world of 3-D rendered polygons with what’s ok to do in reality?

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Bill Would Ban Abortions of ‘Gay Unborn Children’

The Pro-life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians (PLAGAL) is applauding a Maine lawmaker for introducing a bill that would prohibit the abortion of unborn homosexual babies.

“We recognize that at this time the gay gene has not been isolated, but with all the advances of genetics, we believe that it may just be a matter of time” before a test for the predisposition of homosexuality will be developed, said Jackie Malone, executive vice president of PLAGAL, in a press release.

PLAGAL hailed Maine State Rep. Brian Duprey, a Republican, for his solid support of pro-life legislation and said it is glad he will continue his fight for the unborn, even in the case of sexual orientation.

"PLAGAL would like to point out that “gay rights” has nothing to do with so-called “abortion rights,” the group said in a press release. “Gay, straight, male, female, or physically challenged – all are human beings that deserve every chance for life.”

Abortion is a way to get rid of real human beings who are threatening or undesirable, said Cecilia Brown, president of PLAGAL. “Children are routinely aborted now because of gender or disability, so it is not inconceivable to see people aborting because of a possible gay gene,” she added.

PLAGAL said all unborn babies should be respected just because they are human.

The Massachusetts-based Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians says it was organized in 1990 “to advance the pro-life message within the lesbian and gay community.”

CNSNews.com

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Florida Lawmaker Seeks Toilet Paper Tax

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida’s Legislature is flush with good ideas. Sen. Al Lawson’s involves a 2 cent-per-roll tax on toilet paper to pay for wastewater treatment and help small towns upgrade their sewer systems.

The Democratic lawmaker’s pay-as-you-go bill has been the source of many jokes - bathroom humor you might say - but he says the issue is a serious one, especially in some of the fast-growing Panhandle coastal counties in his district.

“They’re experiencing a tremendous boom in growth and they’re not able to accommodate the growth,” Lawson said. “We’ve got 17 million people in this state and all of them can contribute to protecting our underground water supply.”

In a Republican-dominated Legislature that doesn’t like new taxes, the idea is likely to pretty quickly end up in the tank.

Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said he didn’t think it would get too far, but didn’t rule it out.

“We’ll be getting to the bottom of it real soon,” Lee said.

The House is skeptical as well.

“We’re not wild about tax increases,” said House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City. “But we’ll certainly let it go through the system.”

If it were to pass, the extra two pennies would start being charged in October. Lawson said it could generate $50 million a year.

It would also need approval from Gov. Jeb Bush. He said that if toilet paper is taxed, people might use less of it.

“That’s not necessarily a good thing,” noted the governor.

And what about consumers? Wouldn’t they be squeezed by a tax on the Charmin?

No, says Lawson.

“Two cents is not going to hurt families at all,” he said. “This is one thing people don’t mind paying for.”

Associated Press

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Right,.. so, Cole, dude,.. WHERE do you find this weird stuff..!!?

Or more accurately, HOW do you find this bizarreness…?

Is there some sort of “Stupid Government Tricks” search engine out there, or is it

your profession to round up examples of legislative slapstick..?

Sheesh…! :slight_smile:

-Iakeo

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Obviously if you go to a newspaper site you can actually click on a link for the associated press and they the wire stories there for one to read.

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“Gay, straight, male, female, or physically challenged – all are human beings that deserve every chance for life.”

Where is the line?

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Right,.. so, Cole, dude,.. WHERE do you find this weird stuff..!!?

Or more accurately, HOW do you find this bizarreness…?

Is there some sort of “Stupid Government Tricks” search engine out there, or is it

your profession to round up examples of legislative slapstick..?

Sheesh…!  :smiley:

-Iakeo

No, unfortunately it’s commonplace enough that one need only read the daily news.

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Lawmaker Seeks to End Sexy Cheerleading

AUSTIN, Texas - The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without bumpin’ and grindin’ cheerleaders. Legislation filed by Rep. Al Edwards would put an end to “sexually suggestive” performances at athletic events and other extracurricular competitions.

“It’s just too sexually oriented, you know, the way they’re shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down,” said Edwards, a 26-year veteran of the Texas House. “And then we say to them, ‘don’t get involved in sex unless it’s marriage or love, it’s dangerous out there’ and yet the teachers and directors are helping them go through those kind of gyrations.”

Under Edwards’ bill, if a school district knowingly permits such a performance, funds from the state would be reduced in an amount to be determined by the education commissioner.

Edwards said he filed the bill as a result of several instances of seeing such ribald performances in his district.

J.M. Farias, owner of Austin Cheer Factory, said cheerleading aficionados would welcome the law. Cheering competitions, he said, penalize for suggestive movements or any vulgarity.

“Any coaches that are good won’t put that in their routines,” he said. And, most girls cheering on Friday nights were trained by professionals who know better, he said.

“I don’t think this law would really shake the industry at all. In fact, it would give parents a better feeling, mostly dads and boyfriends, too,” Farias said.

Although cheerleaders must meet the same no-pass, no-play academic requirements of athletes, cheerleading is not a competition sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League, the governing body of Texas high school sports.

The UIL also does not have performance regulations for squads who cheer for their teams at state championships, said Athletic Coordinator Peter Contreras.

“I think it should have been cut out a long time ago,” Edwards said. “It surely needs to be toned down.”

Associated Press

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EU Threatens Microsoft with New Fines

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union threatened Microsoft Corp. on Friday with new fines if the software company doesn’t make it easier and cheaper for competitors to see the blueprints of its server software.

After hearing from Microsoft’s rivals, the EU’s antitrust office determined that the system created by Microsoft for granting competitors access to Windows server source code was unsatisfactory.

“Based on the market tests, it doesn’t seem to be working at all,” said Jonathan Todd, the spokesman for the EU’s antitrust office.

EU antitrust regulators fined Microsoft a record 497 million euros ($665 million) when they ruled a year ago that Microsoft abusively wielded its Windows software monopoly to lock competitors out of the market.

They ordered, among other things, that Microsoft share Windows server code with rivals so their products can better communicate on networks with machines that run Windows operating systems.

Microsoft decided it would provide the information through licenses, which Todd said the European Commission felt were too expensive.

He said competitors were also having difficulty getting access to the information required to decide whether to buy a license, with Microsoft forcing everyone to buy a full license package.

Furthermore, Todd said vendors providing open-source products such as Linux were excluded from the process.

To date, no company has actually requested a license, said Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler. He added that the EU has not told Microsoft it can’t charge for the licenses. Microsoft had proposed charging a royalty fee of between $100 and $600 per server.

Todd said the EU could impose prohibitive fines of up to 5 percent of the company’s daily global sales if it refuses to better cooperate.

“The Commission remains patient but there are limits to the patience we are prepared to show,” Todd said. “The ball is now in Microsoft’s court and I am sure they will come back to us shortly on these issues.”

For its fiscal year ending June 30, Microsoft has said it expects revenue of about $40 billion.

Analyst Matt Rosoff with independent researchers Directions on Microsoft said it isn’t surprising that there is some back-and-forth between the software behemoth and European regulators over the terms of compliance. But he said a disagreement over whether Microsoft should make the code available to open-source providers could prove to be a major sticking point, since Microsoft is steadfastly against the concept of software that is freely shared.

Still, Rosoff said ultimately Microsoft may have to comply with regulators’ demands.

“The EC has the power to impose a pretty big fine, and I do think that Microsoft would not like to pay that fine,” Rosoff said. “Certainly shareholders would not like to see Microsoft paying that fine.”

Microsoft shares fell 23 cents to close at $24.31 in Friday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, near the low end of their 52-week range of $24.01 to $30.20.

The year-old EU ruling also forces the company to offer an alternative Windows version for sale without its Windows Media Player software. Friday’s criticism did not address that issue.

Microsoft said that version has reached manufacturers but will not be shipped to computer shops until it resolves a dispute with the EU over the product’s name. The EU rejected Microsoft’s first choice: “Windows XP Reduced Media Edition,” deciding that it would discourage sales.

The EU’s ruling against Microsoft went much further than the company’s 2002 settlement of similar charges with the U.S. Justice Department, which required only that users be allowed to hide Media Player and set another as the default.

Associated Press