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30 April, 2003

SOME RECENT DELETIONS FROM U.S. SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

A short biography of Gutzon Borglum, who designed the Mount Rushmore monument consisting of gigantic heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Why shouldn't school children read about this acclaimed national monument? Because the Lakota Indians, said the panel, consider the Black Hills a sacred place to pray and consider the sculpture "an abomination." Out

A passage about owls was eliminated from a proposed test because a panel member said that owls are taboo for the Navajos. Out.

California has informed publishers not to include references in their textbooks to "unhealthy" foods such as: french fries, coffee, bacon, butter, ketchup and mayonnaise among others. California, along with Texas, have the largest school populations, so when their book-buying panels command, the four major textbook publishing houses stand at attention.

Such prohibitions are promulgated by these powerful "bias and sensitivity review" panels not on the basis of any kind of research findings but "because the topics upset some adults, who assume that they will upset the children in the same way," writes Ms. Ravitch. "The guidelines ensure conformity of language and thought."

Four different agencies promulgate the bias guidelines, which have become a preemptive form of censorship: educational publishers, test development companies, scholarly and professional associations and the states themselves.

Some of these guidelines are simply mad. One commands textbook authors to acknowledge _ this will come as news to American historians _ that the United States was "patterned partially after the League of Five Nations, a union formed by five Iroquois nations." Literary classics by William Shakespeare, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, John Steinbeck and others are bowdlerized to a degree I never dreamed possible. The ultimate goal of the academic curriculum, says one publisher's set of guidelines, is "to advance multiculturalism."

The most stunning section of the book includes the 1993 guidelines prepared by McGraw Hill, one of the four conglomerate textbook publishers in the country. The basic thrust of the guidelines, says Ms. Ravitch, is not to depict the world "as it is and as it was, but only as the guideline writers would like it to be." She writes: "The bias guidelines are censorship guidelines. Nothing more, nothing less. This language censorship and thought control should be repugnant to those who care about freedom of expression."

More here

Once again thanks to Tom Scott of Alaska's Conservative Digest for the link.


HOW TO OFFEND EPILEPTICS

The term "brainstorming" has become the latest target of political correctness, according to a charity.Trainee teachers are being told to avoid the word for fear of offending pupils with epilepsy. Instead they are being advised to use "word storm" or "thought shower".

However, charities working with epilepsy say "brainstorming" is not offensive. "We had several inquiries from teachers about it so we did a survey of our residential home," said Gemma Baxter from the National Society for Epilepsy. "We also contacted people with epilepsy in the community and the overwhelming response was that 'brainstorming' implies no offence to people with epilepsy, and that any implication that the word is offensive to people with the condition is taking political correctness too far." People found it more offensive that the question was being asked of them, she said.



29 April, 2003

A CONSERVATIVE MISS AMERICA IS INCORRECT

The moments after Erika's crowning as Miss America were a blur. In the backstage area, family and friends crowded into a small ballroom where each state had its own table.

It is predictable that so much of the press coverage on Erika has focused on her multi-ethnic background rather than on her community service and four year involvement in abstinence-centered education.

When Erika competed for Miss Illinois, her platform was abstinence education among teenagers. This platform was somewhat controversial among the judges. After her third try, Erika was crowned Miss Illinois. But the Miss Illinois organization had decided the year before that all future Miss Illinois winners must use its state platform, prevention of youth violence, in the Miss America national competition.

The Miss America organization also wants to steer Erika towards discussing youth violence prevention, a more politically correct platform.

It is curious that this seemingly traditional organization with a mission to educate and empower women would not embrace the important message of abstinence among teenagers. Rashida said "The Miss America organization promotes positive role models who are passionate about their platforms. Miss America is the perfect vehicle to promote abstinence education."

The Miss America organization has also tried to downplay Erika's conservative views. Her official Miss America bio does not mention her involvement in abstinence education nor does it mention her volunteer work on the Illinois gubernatorial campaign of Patrick O'Malley, a pro-lifer and defender of home schooling.

Since Erika's crowning, many conservative publications and organizations have embraced her. Unfortunately, this has made it increasingly difficult for people to learn more about her. One insider told me that my phone calls probably would not be returned from the PR firm hired by the Miss America organization since I am writing for a conservative newspaper.

It is unfortunate that the Miss America organization, which boasts that their contestants are well-rounded young women who are intelligent, talented, poised and physically fit, are shrouding and in some ways silencing their new Miss America's conservative views. I hope this isn't a return of the "seen and not heard" view of women that the pageant has tried to escape.



28 April, 2003

DON'T MENTION THE ....

Tom Scott of Alaska's Conservative Digest writes:

Your article on PETA wishing to rename the town of Hamburg reminded me of the time PETA wanted to rename "Fishkill," a place in upstate New York. Many placenames in upstate New York end with the Dutch word "kill." Examples, Peekskill, Catskill, etc. Kill in Dutch means stream. Fishkill actually means Fishcreek. I googled it and here is a related article or two.



27 April, 2003

PEST EXTERMINATION ILLEGAL

Grant Griffin's one-bedroom apartment isn't big enough for him and the bats that have turned up in his shower, sink and sheets. But it's Griffin that's moving. Exterminators are not allowed to kill the bats, which are considered native wildlife and can't be trapped or poisoned, said University of Florida assistant professor Mark Hostetler. They can only be killed if they are rabid, which county health officials are testing for after Griffin and his girlfriend discovered bite marks. "I'm freaked out. I'm about as freaked out as I can get," said Griffin, 49. "I feel like there are things crawling all over me."

Via The Flummery Digest.


TOUCHY!

Nissan North America Inc. has drawn criticism, rather than praise, for a billboard celebrating Black History Month. The billboard shows the words "Black History Month," with "History" crossed out and replaced by "Future." The billboard is in eight cities, featuring the Nissan logo but no car images. Critics say the campaign disrespects and ignores black history. And it doesn't help that this is the first major work produced by Nissan's new minority advertising firm, True Agency of New York.

Glenda Gill, Detroit's bureau director of the automotive project for Rainbow/PUSH, is offended by Nissan's strategy. "Replacing history with future sometimes can rest in the philosophy of those opposing the leveling of the playing field for African- Americans," Gill says. "I would have felt better had it said 'Black History is our past and our future.'

Via The Flummery Digest.



26 April, 2003

INCORRECT HARRY POTTER

The Harry Potter series is back on library shelves in the Cedarville School District, following a federal judge's order to give students access to the popular books about the boy wizard. The board drew wrath from national free-speech groups for its June decision to require students to obtain parental permission to check out the books. The 3-2 decision, which overruled a decision by the district's library committee, came after a parent complained about the books. The books written by British author J.K. Rowling have been assailed by some Christian groups for their themes of spells, sorcery and magic.


CYCLING REALITY UNPOPULAR

"The photo of the pack of cyclists riding several abreast on busy Westlake Avenue serves to reinforce the notion held by cynical drivers that cyclists ride obnoxiously. A photograph of recreational and commuting cyclists riding single-file would have been much more appropriate and could have been easily obtained."



25 April, 2003

POLITICALLY CORRECT MEDICINE

If an award existed for the most politically correct publication in the world, The British Medical Journal would stand a good chance of winning it. There is practically no liberal nostrum to which that venerable periodical, with a worldwide circulation of nearly half a million, does not subscribe. A recent issue was devoted to the subject of war. The BMJ's attitude to war is like that of President Coolidge's to sin: it is against it. This is because war is so bad for the health. The white man has spoken.

Fortunately for the world, the BMJ has discovered the causes of war. They are the same as the causes of all the other evils in the world: inequality and poverty. Just eliminate these, and universal peace will reign.

It seems to have escaped the BMJ's notice that attempts during the 20th century to achieve radical equality were not themselves entirely pacific or good for the health. Likewise, it failed to notice that famine was much more likely to be a consequence of war than its cause. And the idea that wars are fought when "individuals are motivated to fight to seek redress" for their poverty is laughable in its historical and psychological ignorance


COFFEE CRIMINALS

Berkeley voters have rejected a measure that would have banned the sale of brewed coffee that isn't made from the right kind of beans. The ballot measure would've made it a crime to sell brewed coffee that isn't made from politically correct beans. The PC java would have had to be made from certified fair trade, shade-grown or organic coffee. Measure O would have made it a crime punishable by up to six months in jail for anyone to sell the non-PC coffee. Fair trade means that growers received a fair price for their beans. The measure has been defeated. Seventy percent of voters said no. Opponents had called the proposal a misguided and heavy-handed effort that would have stifled consumer choice and created coffee criminals



24 April, 2003

CHRISTIANITY INCORRECT

"As American religious groups bring food and aid to Iraqi families, will they also bring their religious views? Could this create new tensions? Watch World News Tonight." --ABC news promo How Awful of Christians to express religious views! Only Muslims can do that!


HAM IS VERY INCORRECT!

An animal rights group has offered officials in the American town of Hamburg $US15,000 to change its name to Veggieburg. How dumb can you get? There's no ham in a hamburger! Though I don't know what you would call a hamburger that DID have ham in it.


BUT STUTTERING IS CORRECT

A St. Louis man with a significant stutter has filed a complaint with the Missouri Human Rights Commission against a radio station that refused to let him on the air to dedicate a song.



23 April, 2003

PC IMPEDES AIDS PREVENTION

The only widespread program proven to curtail AIDS is known as the "ABC" approach. First pioneered in Uganda, ABC stands for "Abstinence, Be faithful, or use Condoms." Over the past 10 years, Ugandans were given the politically incorrect advice to abstain from sexual relations until after marriage. "No grazing," which meant no sex outside of a monogamous relationship, became the operative message. All persons, men and women alike, were seen as part of the solution.

So while the UNAIDS-sanctioned approach advocates "safer sex," Ugandans saw a message plastered on billboards that conveyed the opposite: "Have sex and die." The results confounded all the UNAIDS experts. In 1994, more than 60% of boys ages 13-16 were sexually active; by 2001, that figure had dropped to 5%. Dramatic changes were seen in other groups, as well -- in 1991, 21% of pregnant women in Uganda had HIV. Ten years later, only 6% of pregnant women had the deadly virus.

Outside of Uganda, feminist ideology has taken hold in the global struggle against AIDS. Article 14 of the UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS states, "...Gender equality and the empowerment of women are fundamental elements in the reduction of the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV/AIDS."


PC LITERATURE

Last spring a Brooklyn mother named Jeanne Heifetz noticed something fishy on New York state's standardized high-school English exam: an excerpt from a book she'd once read had been altered. Her curiosity piqued, she gathered 10 exams from the past three years and discovered that most of the literary passages had been expurgated. References to race, religion, sex and other hot topics had been removed or softened. A "fat" boy had become "heavy," a "gringo" was now an "American," and a childhood memoir about visiting "the Negro section of town" had been stripped of racial content. Elie Wiesel's declaration that "Man, who was created in God's image, wants to be free as God is free" had been reduced to the lifeless slogan: "Man wants to be free."

More here.



22 April, 2003

I'M SPEECHLESS!

From the London Times: HOSPITAL wards may run without doctors during the evenings and at night under government plans to comply with new European working regulations. From next year, trainee doctors will only be allowed to work an average of 58 hours a week rather than the 80 hours they often work. As a result, the Government is testing schemes across the country where doctors are replaced by a new grade of senior nurses, who provide clinical support during weekends, evenings and nights.


California Teacher Training Prefers Politically Correct Methods Over Proven Methodology

California's K-12 teachers are trained in student-centered teaching methods that lack support in research and undermine learning, according to Facing the Classroom Challenge: Teacher Quality and Teacher Training in California's Schools of Education, a study released today by the California-based Pacific Research Institute. The study found the California State University (CSU) system biased in favor of student-centered teaching methods, despite overwhelming evidence that teacher-centered teaching methods are more effective in improving student achievement.

"The hard evidence clearly shows that traditional teacher-centered, knowledge-based instructional methods improve student achievement more than the progressive child-centered methods favored by California's schools of education," said author Lance Izumi, director of the Pacific Research Institute's Center for School Reform. "This is especially true for children of low socioeconomic status."



21 April, 2003

MORE LONDON LUNACY: GAYS COMPULSORY

From Daily Diversions: Another faithful reader informed me of something that occurred that while he was teaching in a northwest London borough in the early 1980s. The council, controlled by that other party beginning with letter "L", had decided to hold a series of afternoon tea dances, ostensibly for retired residents. To promote this initiative, flyers were posted all around the borough. The posters naturally featured photos of older couples dancing. Someone employed by this council in a position to enforce political correctness had all of the posters removed. Why? There were no pictures of same-sex couples.


SCIENCE IS NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT

From an article about James Watson -- co-discoverer of the DNA double helix:

At a lecture at Berkeley in 2000, he argued that plump black people were predisposed to greater sexual arousal than say, skinny, white people, because of hormones associated with skin colour and weight gain. To illustrate this point, he flashed up a picture of Kate Moss looking typically miserable. Watson was interrupted from the front row by the chairman of the university's biology department, who informed him that 'This is not politically correct.' Watson replied, 'Ha!'

Watson is happy to say the unsayable, and indeed makes a point of it. 'People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,' he suggests. 'I say it would be great.' Most controversially, he believes that if the possibility were to exist, eugenics should be used to 'cure' stupidity among the bottom 10 per cent in schools.

'Political correctness is very inhibiting to science,' he says. 'There is among human beings a great spread of abilities, and to deny these differences is also to deny that we can change them: a situation that does not help the people too much who don't have the ability. It's no good saying that everything is about education, you have to accept that some people are always going to find school hard. There are massive consequences of refusing to accept difference. It is hard to say, for example, what the long-term effect on England will be for having abolished grammar schools, but my guess is that it will change things for the worst.'



20 April, 2003

THEY GOT THAT SQUAW

On 24th March I posted here about how the PC brigade hated "Squaw" mountain. They have now got their way -- it has now been renamed -- with very dubious priorities on display in the new name chosen.

It is good to see that there has been a lot of reaction to the move, however. As this writer aptly said: "Changing the name of Squaw Peak is just one more example of how the Looney Liberal Left is more concerned with image rather than substance"


ALCOHOL INCORRECT IN IRELAND!

It seems that political correctness in Ireland now extends to stopping the Irish from drinking too much alcohol -- with a whole range of dumb government policies designed to that end. Apparently Cathoic morality has been replaced by do-gooder morality. The Irish will still have their tipple regardless of anybody however so I suppose it keeps the do-gooders busy and thus stops them from meddling in other things where they might actually do harm.



19 April, 2003

KURDS LET DOWN BY PC

No sooner were Baghdad and Basra happily taken by American and British troops than PeeCee/Multiculturalism resumed its doleful chant. Though it was clear to a blind dog that Iraq should be broken up into three parts - for the Kurds, Shi-ites and Sunnis respectively - pious politicians and mediafolk talked of 'democracy', 'freedom' and of Iraqis running 'their own country'; and Turkey - which had been as treacherous as France to America - was allowed to send 'military observers' to ensure itself that the Kurds were not winning the tribal homeland they so wished.


SARS and PeeCee

As Chinese (and China-disguised) flu (which should be called Urbani's Syndrome after its brave discoverer, now dead from the disease) loomed in early April, the West did not even begin to discuss closing its borders. Such containment can only work in the earliest phase of an infectious disease, but peecee considerations forbade discussion. The disease was likely to kill one in five of its victims - for there would clearly not be enough hospital respirators for all sufferers once the numbers affected began to mount. A particular anxiety was that there would be a mass exodus from southern China to relatives in Canada and the USA - immediately, infecting large communities because of high-density living and unhygienic habits of eating from the same dish. {On 7 April, Australia took powers to isolate suspected victims and to seal its borders; but PeeCee reigned supreme in Downing Street and the White House.}



18 April, 2003

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY

"An SAS soldier has been charged with kicking a corpse and will be tried by a Defence Force magistrate." How insane and trivial-minded can you get? How are soldiers supposed to express their feelings towards somebody who has just tried to ambush them? This is yet another bout of crazy political correctness -- one that the Army could certainly do without.

(This item crossposted on Dissecting Leftism and PC Watch)


A FASCIST LONDON COUNCIL?

On 18th March both Peter Cuthbertson and I linked on PC Watch to a newspaper story about Tower Hamlets Council employees in London banning hot cross Easter buns because they might offend non-Christians. The council concerned is now threatening to SUE another blogger who linked to the story! They even tried to get his website taken down. What little Hitlers! It is notable that they say that the ban was not council policy but do NOT deny that a council representative may have tried to impose the ban anyway. It would seem that there is a desperate coverup attempt going on. I hope other bloggers link to this.



17 April, 2003

POLITICALLY CORRECT TO DESTROY ZIMBABWE

Doris Lessing writes:

Southern Rhodesia had fine and functioning railways, good roads; its towns were policed and clean.

It could grow anything, tropical fruit like pineapples, mangoes, bananas, plantains, pawpaws, passionfruit, temperate fruits like apples, peaches, plums. The staple food, maize, grew like a weed and fed surrounding countries as well. Peanuts, sunflowers, cotton, the millets and small grains that used to be staple foods before maize, flourished. Minerals: gold, chromium, asbestos, platinum and rich coalfields. The dammed Zambezi River created the Kariba Lake, which fed electricity north and south. A paradise, and not only for the whites. The blacks did well, too, at least physically. Not politically: it was a police state and a harsh one. When the blacks rebelled and won their war in 1979 they looked forward to a plenty and competence that existed nowhere else in Africa, not even in South Africa, which was bedevilled by its many mutually hostile tribes and its vast shantytowns. But paradise has to have a superstructure, an infrastructure, and by now it is going, going - almost gone. One man is associated with the calamity, Robert Mugabe. For a while I wondered if the word "tragedy" could be applied here, greatness brought low, but Mugabe, despite his early reputation, was never great; he was always a frightened little man. There is a tragedy, all right, but it is Zimbabwe's.

Mugabe is now widely execrated, and rightly, but blame for him began late. Nothing is more astonishing than the silence about him for so many years among liberals and well-wishers - the politically correct. What crimes have been committed in the name of political correctness. A man may get away with murder, if he is black. Mugabe did, for many years.


POLITICALLY CORRECT PRAYER ATTACKED

A specialist in liturgical language says a Vatican ruling against "politically correct" words in the liturgy should also encourage non-Catholics opposed to the dropping of "ancient and beautiful prayers." Father John Hunwicke, an Anglican priest who is head of theology at Lancing College in England, complained that "unending revision" of worship had produced "disgusting language, poor doctrine and politically correct versions." In a document, Liturgiam Authenticam, released in May, the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, states that translations of the Bible and liturgy "must be freed from exaggerated dependence on modern modes of expression."



16 April, 2003

TOUGH!

Muslims Angered by Rev. Graham Invitation:

Muslims at the Pentagon are incensed by what they say is an insensitive invitation to evangelist Rev. Franklin Graham, who has called Islam an "evil religion," to preach on Good Friday at the Defense Department. In letters to the Pentagon chaplain's office, Muslim office workers complained strongly about Graham's plans to lead prayers on Friday, one of the most religious days in the Christian calendar. The Muslim employees urged officials to find a "more inclusive and honorable" religious leader to replace Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham and head of a Minneapolis-based evangelist association in his father's name.


POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN MUSIC

Music critic Norman Lebrecht writes:

It has become, for example, impermissible to allude to the music that the cellist Yo Yo Ma recorded with a bunch of country friends as "hillbilly". When I did so at an ancient Pennsylvanian college where George Washington reputedly slept, I was instantly attacked by a liberal-arts professor for employing "defunct" and "pejorative" terminology.

Just so, I replied. The term "hillbilly" was case-specific, describing a localised genre of white country music, and I intended it pejoratively to criticise the classical soloist for slumming it with hootenanny musicians. "That's elitist", snapped the professor, reaching for the ugliest put-down in the PC lexicon.

Precisely, I said. I was seeking to differentiate between high and low music in order to define the terms on which they could usefully correspond. "You have no right to do that", was the common-room consensus, "it's discriminatory." In that case, I shrugged, what earthly point is there in attempting to describe or criticise art in any terms except nice and not-nice?

16 April, 2003

CAN I BE HISPANIC PLEASE?

It seems that the US Supreme Court is once again going to twist the Constitution to allow continued affirmative action for blacks and hispanics so it does rather encourage people to say they belong to one of those favoured groups. As it says here:

Skrentny was even more specific when referring to the automatic 20 points added to admission scores of blacks and Hispanics seeking entrance to the University of Michigan's undergraduate programs.

He asked "whether someone who is half_or quarter_Latino should get all 20 points, or whether Mexican and Puerto Rican applicants deserve more points than Salvadoran or Cuban applicants, or whether a recent Latino immigrant should receive all of the points," and so on, including applicants born in Spain.

He noted that "the public records of students admitted by colleges under affirmative action make no distinction between . . . black students born here and those who are immigrants, or the children of immigrants, from the West Indies or Africa."

Further complicating the question of who deserves preference in view of racial and ethnic discrimination in this country are certain results of Census 2000: A total of 6.8 million Americans told the Census Bureau that they are members of two or more races. And 80 percent of those who identified themselves as biracial listed white as one of those races

Via Two Blowhards



15 April, 2003

Immigration advocacy groups are challenging the Justice Department's decision to allow police departments to pursue illegal immigrants as part of the war on terror. How Awful! A law-enforcement agency enforcing the law!


$6000 for bad hair day

A JURY awarded $6000 to a woman who sued a hair salon, claiming that bad hair treatment left her depressed and led her to seek early retirement.

What a pissant jury! Shouldn't that have been $6 billion?



14 April, 2003

MOCKING SOME MINORITIES IS CORRECT

On Easter Sunday, the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence", a group of mostly gay men who dress in strange looking Nun's habits, elaborate make-up and wigs, celebrated their 20th anniversary in San Francisco. The Sisters also received unanimous approval from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to close a section of a city street in the Castro district for this celebration.

The Sisters are known for openly ridiculing Catholicism, performing "classy" acts, such as an "exorcism" during the Pope's visit in 1987 and holding a "Condom Savior Mass." The Sisters twist traditional church garments, symbols, and ceremonies into sexual displays in their open mockery of the Church. One doesn't have to be Catholic to understand why this would be, oh, maybe just a tad offensive.

Would the city officials of San Francisco permit a similar group to dress up on the feast day of the Eid ul-Adha, and make a mockery of the faith of Muslim pilgrims? Would the city officials embrace a group that planned to dress up as Orthodox rabbis or Orthodox Jewish men and women to make a mockery of the Orthodox Jewish faith on Yom Kippur or during Passover? Or better yet, how about a group of people impersonating African Americans, mocking their culture? Cries of intolerance and bigotry would abound, and very likely, the group would not gain approval from the city to close a street for their party.

Oh wait... I almost forgot. Catholic bashing is politically correct, and has been for a while now. Remember when Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night live, back in 1993? People applauded her actions. Can you imagine if she tore up a picture of Ghandi? Jesse Jackson? Would people have applauded that?


WHAT??

Sometimes PC gets REALLY hard to follow:


EQUAL OPPORTUNITY CRUELTY

Mary Quinones (nicknamed "Military Mary"), a supervisor at National Revenue Corp. in Columbus, Ohio, who touched and sexually propositioned a gay male employee, did not violate Title VII. The conduct, wrote the court "while unpleasant and perhaps cruel," was neither severe nor pervasive enough to constitute sexual harassment. Since Quinones screamed at and threatened all subordinates, "her conduct was merely even-handedly offensive."


HEMORRHOIDS ARE NOT A DISABILITY

Charlotte Davis, a store manager for BellSouth Mobility, failed to convince a federal judge in Alabama that her acute hemorrhoid condition constituted a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. "To characterize such a common malady as hemorrhoids, even severe hemorrhoids, as a disability would thwart the purposes of the ADA." Thank heavens the court didn't sit too long on that one.



13 April, 2003

PC ATTACKS AUSTRALIA's MOST SACRED DAY

A PERTH principal who tried to cancel the school's traditional Anzac Day ceremony yesterday defended his decision, saying he thought a formal service might traumatise students from war-torn countries. Koondoola Primary School principal Rudy Rybarczyk had decided it was not appropriate to have an Anzac Day service given the ethnic diversity of the students.

Anzac day is when Australians remember their many dead in the wars of the last 100 years.


Law protects cats' right to scratch

THE liberal Californian city of West Hollywood has struck a blow for feline rights by becoming the first in the United States to outlaw the de-clawing of cats, city officials have said. "We hope that this will send a message to other US cities and to the state of California and that they will also soon ban this cruel practice," The Los Angeles-area city of 3,500 residents has a history of passing controversial and progressive new laws, including an earlier resolution declaring that people cannot own pets, but simply become their "guardians."

But we all know what damage cats can do to furniture etc. What if some owners now opt to have their cats put down instead of de-clawing them? Is that what these "animal lovers" want?


LEFTIST BUREAUCRATS FACILITATE TERRORISM

Leftist bureaucrats do all they can to obstruct the arming of aircrew with those naughty guns despite a law requiring it. More 9/11s anyone?

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokeswoman Heather Rosenker told CNSNews.com Friday afternoon that, as part of the law that created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), "Congress included authority for TSA to establish an armed Flight Deck Officer program." Capt. Tracy Price, chairman of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance, balked at Rosenker's choice of words. "They don't understand this isn't an option, that this is a mandate, this is a command to [TSA Undersecretary] Admiral [James] Loy and the TSA," Price charged. "[Congress] told them to do it. They've told them to do it right now. They gave them until February 25th to begin training and deputizing."

12 April, 2003

PATRIOTISM INCORRECT

A disgruntled California man has demanded the mayor of Burlingame remove the many yellow ribbons displayed on a major retail thoroughfare and to apologize to "any person who may have been offended by his illegal actions," reports the San Mateo Daily Journal.

In his complaint to the city, Yatovitz mentioned his belief that the soldiers involved in the Iraq theater are actually criminals. "I find the yellow ribbons on city property offensive to my senses, as they are posted in support of violators of international law. I do support our troops that are not involved in illegal activity," Yatovitz wrote to the council.

Some businesspeople will not tolerate the city removing the ribbons. "We are at war and somebody wants to remove the ribbon? I think it's over my dead body if he wants to remove it," said Ashok Patel, owner of the Burlingame Smoke Shop, according to the report.

Ashok Patel sounds like he might be an Indian immigrant. Good to see that he is more patriotic than some Leftist Americans.


EXPOSURE TO HOMOSEXUALITY COMPULSORY?

The Pulaski County Special School District agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union and a federal judge that students have a Constitutional right to be openly gay in school. "We're very pleased that the court recognized right away that a school has no place telling gay students that they can't be out of the closet at school," said Leslie Cooper, a staff attorney for the ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.

What if parents don't want their young kids exposed to homosexual approaches at school?



11 April, 2003



A very interesting post here on the dangers of a politically correct diet.


INCORRECT JOCULARITY

The language censors have been sighted again at one of their favorite campuses - the mammoth University of Michigan. A student got in trouble there this fall for writing a term paper. More accurately, he got in trouble for the paper's vocabulary.

The undergraduate has been accused of harassment by a female teaching assistant on the basis of a hypothetical example he put in a term paper. The crime? It seems the hapless student was unwise enough to ignore the political science department's "Checklist for Nonsexist Writing."

Here's the offending passage, written by sophomore Shawn Brown for Political Science 111, Introduction to American Politics: "Another problem with sampling polls is that some people desire their privacy and don't want to be bothered by a pollster. Let's say Dave Stud is entertaining three beautiful ladies in his penthouse when the phone rings. A pollster on the other end wants to know if we should eliminate the capital gains tax. Now Dave is a knowledgeable businessperson who cares a lot about this issue. But since Dave is "tied up" at the moment, he tells the pollster to "bother" someone else. Now this is perhaps a ludicrous example, but there is simply a segment of, the population who wish to be left alone. They have more important things to be concerned about - jobs, family, school, etc. If this segment of the population is never actually polled, then the results of the poll could be skewed."

Now, it seems to us a sensible referee would see that what we have here is a wash: "Dave Stud" may strike some as a 15-yard penalty, but note that the student did use the sexless "businessperson" as well. In any event, Mr. Brown's point about the reliability of polls today is an interesting one. But none of these considerations caught the attention of his teacher, Debbie Meizlish. Instead, Ms. Meizlish was horrified at what she perceived as Mr. Brown's verbal assault on her. She wrote:

"You are right. This is ludicrous & inappropriate & OFFENSIVE. This is completely inappropriate for a serious political science paper. lt completely violates the standard of non-sexist writing. Professor Rosenstone has encouraged me to interpret this comment as an example of sexual harassment and to take the appropriate formal steps. I have chosen not to do so in this instance. However, any future comments, in a paper, in a class or in any dealings w/me will be interpreted as sexual harassment and formal steps will be taken. Professor Rosenstone is aware of these comments - & is prepared to intervene. You are forewarned!"

Thus threatened, Mr. Brown made a sensible decision. He dropped the course, presumably in the hope of finding a political scientist at Michigan who was interested in teaching him political science instead of political correctness.


10 April, 2003

PC CAN EVEN EXCUSE CHILD MURDER

Barbara Downey took her first-grade daughter to a wash near the Superstitions, made her lie face down on a baby blanket and shot her twice in the head, execution-style.

Now, not even five years later, Downey is headed home. She was freed from the state mental hospital this week, released to live with her mother. And, yes, with her remaining child, an 11-year-old son.

Downey claimed God told her to kill Jessica because she had been born out of wedlock and it was the only way she could get into heaven. Three doctors proclaimed the woman nuts.

In October 1999, she was allowed to plead "guilty except insane," a plea that makes her not a criminal but a patient. She was dispatched to the state mental hospital where her attorney, Pinal County Deputy Public Defender Bret Huggins, predicted she would be locked away for "many, many years."

Try three. On Friday, the state Psychiatric Security Review Board declared that Downey has recovered from her insanity and voted to release her.

It has been a blow to Steve Helms, the father, who believes that Downey should be behind bars. "It never will make sense," he says. "You can't just kill your child and then say that God told you to and get away with it."

Apparently, you can.


A politically correct version of "Little Red Riding Hood"


POLITICALLY CORRECT HATE SPEECH

''Go to hell, white man."
This hateful and un-Christian outburst came in the midst of a "sermon" by Reverend Butts damning Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and other New York City leaders who had appealed for help in maintaining peace following the acquittal of four white police officers in the shooting death of African immigrant Amadou Diallo.

According to the New York Post, Reverend Butts had charged: "There is an evil that permeates City Hall." "Though I cannot put the blame of the shooting directly in [Giuliani's] hands _ he did not pull the trigger _ but the climate of the city has been set by the uncaring, unsympathetic mayor," said Butts. "What you are doing, Rudy Giuliani, is reinforcing white supremacy in New York City." Then the caustic cleric told his Abyssinian congregation that he had been asked by city "leaders" to help maintain calm after the verdict had been handed down (by a jury that included four African Americans, including the jury forewoman). His response was to throw gasoline on the fire. Butts stated: "You want us to remain the status quo. Go to hell, white man."

Were there howls of outrage from the media moralists and the self-appointed "hate speech" commissars? You know there weren't. Aside from an editorial by the New York Post calling for Butts to be fired from his state university position, nary a word was heard.



9 April, 2003

PC "ETHICS"

Ben and Jerry's ice cream is renowned for being the ice cream for those who want to be friendly to the environment. Ben and Jerry's Homemade Inc. built a national reputation by (1) claiming to use only all natural ingredients and (2) sending a percentage of the profits to charities. The company's Rainforest Crunch ice cream supposedly uses only nuts and berries from the rain forests.

But there is a lot more to ethical behavior than a laid-back, socially correct agenda. An audit of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. revealed the use of sulfur dioxide preservatives and use of margarine instead of butter in some of the flavors. Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. also served on the editorial board of Anita Roddick's Body Shop, another company expounding the use of natural products. It took an article in Business Ethics to expose Body Shop's false advertising claims and other ethical failures. Synthetic colorings, fragrances, and preservatives were being used in Body Shop products

More on those "ethical" PCers here


THE MOTIVATIONS BEHIND PC

At the foundation of this movement is the belief that all education is political. Nowhere in the curriculum can one find a hiding place from race, class, or gender issues. Added to this assumption is the law of moral and ethical relativism: All systems of thought, all cultures, are equal in value. To assume otherwise is politically incorrect by definition.

Just how important this type of thinking is to those who influence our nation's students is reflected by some of their comments. According to Glenn Maloney, assistant dean of students at the University of Texas at Austin, "Multiculturalism will be the key word for education. I believe that will be the mission of the university in the 90's." Donna Shalala, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, adds that this movement amounts to "a basic transformation of American higher education in the name of multiculturalism and diversity."

A recent study of the New York school system found that "African Americans, Asian Americans, Puerto Rican/Latinos, and Native Americans have all been the victims of an intellectual and educational oppression that has characterized the culture and institutions of the United States and the European American worlds for centuries."

The report goes on to state, "Unfortunately, stereotyping and misinformation have become part of the dominant culture enveloping everyone. . . . Because of the depth of the problem and the tenacity of its hold on the mind, only the most stringent measures can have significant impact."

And stringent measures are what have occurred. Curricula, admissions policies, the hiring and promotion of faculty, and the freedom to debate issues have all been modified by those who currently define political correctness. There is a growing body of evidence that quota systems are now in place in many admissions offices across the country. Textbooks are being written and courses changed to promote multiculturalism at the expense of teaching about Western Civilization. Professors are unable to teach their courses or participate in the academic enterprise because their views fail to conform to the new guardians of culture.

What is most appalling is the attempt to remove the freedom of speech from students who fail to conform to the correct position on a broad spectrum of topics. What is ironic is that many of those now attempting to limit the freedom of speech of students in the name of multiculturalism are the very same individuals that began the free speech movement in the sixties, arguing for academic freedom and student input into the curriculum. It seems that the issue was more a matter of gaining power to control the curriculum and inject it with their views rather than truly to promote freedom of academic endeavors.

More on those "ethical" PCers here



8 April, 2003

INCORRECT TO HELP GAYS?

Psychiatrist Richard Fitzgibbons says people who are attracted to same-sex partners can benefit from therapy and some can change their orientation. That's the message he hoped to give at a one-day seminar course on homosexuality at the University of Michigan Hospital.

But two weeks before the seminar, an official from the Michigan State Medical Association phoned the seminar's organizers to say the association was yanking its accreditation of Fitzgibbons' course. The State Medical Association received a "flood of gay-activist complaints" after the conference brochure was mailed out, according to Dr. Cathy Dowling, president of the Catholic Medical Association, Lansing Guild, which supports Fitzgibbons' course. Gay activists also threatened to disrupt the seminar. Alarmed by the last-minute loss of accreditation, Dowling quickly located scores of scientific articles that documented support for Dr. Fitzgibbons' claim that homosexuality can be changed.

"We do not believe that people with same-sex attraction must undergo therapy," Dowling explained in a letter to the Medical Society. "Only that they have a right to know that it exists _ and that it can be helpful." But the Michigan State Medical Society refused to reconsider the case. Supporters of the Fitzgibbons seminar wrote the medical society to complain. One letter said "it is political decisions such as this that make patients like me suspicious of 'treatments' recommended by any doctors."

Another writer, a research professional, said homosexuality "is a developmental disorder, its causes and predictors are well-documented, it is treatable in adulthood, and it is highly associated with self-defeating and self-destructive behaviors and maladaptation _ and those four preceding points have been politically buried or denied."

Said another letter-writer: "I am a practicing psychiatrist with over 20 years' experience. It offends me deeply that all sorts of crackpot psychological ideas and theories are allowed_and even encouraged," while the argument that homosexuality is treatable gets 'the 'politically correct' all up in arms."



POLITICALLY CORRECT FISH

The "Give Swordfish a Break!" promotion was based on the myth that Atlantic swordfish were being over-fished to the point of extinction. But according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, that simply isn't true. Vicki Spruill, SeaWeb's executive director, admitted to a St. Petersburg Times reporter in 1998 that swordfish was chosen because it would capture the public's imagination, not because it was in any danger.



7 April, 2003

MORE ON THE ANTI-MILK BRIGADE

A Queens couple who fed their baby daughter a strict vegetarian diet, including homemade infant formula, were convicted yesterday of nearly starving her to death. A jury in State Supreme Court found the couple, Joseph and Silva Swinton, guilty of first-degree assault and two lesser charges. They were immediately taken into custody. Each faces 5 to 25 years in prison.

The case, described in some headlines as the Vegan Baby Trial, attracted widespread attention beyond the couple's Queens Village neighborhood. Prosecutors said that as exotic and sensational as it sometimes seemed, the facts were plain enough: a diet with no dairy products or infant formula is not adequate for a newborn child, and the parents should have known better.

"This community spoke through the jury and indicated that the weakest will be protected," said Eric Rosenbaum, the prosecutor. "The law protects children." The results of the Swintons' care, prosecutors and medical experts said, were disastrous. By the time the authorities intervened when the child was 15 months old, she was toothless, had rickets, broken bones and internal injuries. She was severely malnourished and weighed 10 pounds _ less than half the normal weight for a young toddler.

The girl, IIce (pronounced ICE), will be 3 in July and has been living in foster care since the authorities took her from her parents in November 2001. Prosecutors said yesterday that IIce was "now on the growth scale," and was physically progressing, but doctors suspect that she has neurological damage


POLITICALLY CORRECT PUNISHMENT

Here is a description of San Francisco's "Glamor Slammer" jail:

The 700-odd cons inside, who are doing time for everything from drug possession to armed robbery, are "clients." Instead of passing their time staring at their cell walls, the inmates mostly stay in open dormitories and spend up to 12 hours each day in some of over 50 separate treatment, counseling, training, and education programs. Prisoners can join such counseling groups as Tools for Healing, Drama Therapy, and Gay Life Skills. The jail's education center offers courses in ethnic studies, women's cultural studies, and film theory, as well as basic skills. Prisoners can take a yoga and meditation class twice a week. Those in violence- or drug-treatment programs receive acupuncture to reduce their cravings for drugs or their violent impulses four days a week. "Considering I have to be in jail, it's all right," says Bratt Woods, currently a Jail No. 7 "client"



6 April, 2003

MILK FANTASIES

According to PETA, consuming any animal product -- including milk -- is VERY incorrect. But their grip on reality is not good. Discussing a PETA anti-milk campaign staged at a Florida middle school, one of their activists said: "Parents were thanking me for being there .... The principal [at Palm Springs Middle School] handed me his card and invited me back to the school." The principal recalled the meeting a little differently: "I kicked them out", he said

The Sun-Sentinel (Florida) 31-Mar-03. Via Jerry Lerman.


HUH???

When Robert Pacuinas addressed the Sacramento City Council on Tuesday, he was talking a blue streak about red-light cameras. At one point, the 39-year-old lawyer emphasized his point by saying, "I think we should call a spade a spade." He had only three minutes to speak -- but it was enough time for Pacuinas, who is white, to step into the confounding quagmire of race, language and context. After he took his seat, City Councilwoman Lauren Hammond, who is African American, said sternly, "You -- made an ethnically and racially derogatory remark and I hope you think about what you said. -- It is not appreciated. It is no longer a part of modern English. The phrase just isn't used in good company anymore."



5 April, 2003

YOU CAN'T BEAT BRITISH JUSTICE FOR FOR IDIOCY

Procedural correctness trumps rationality in Britain:

A Manchester, UK employment tribunal ruled that a man was unfairly dismissed from his job as a health inspector because he wasn't given proper notice after having attacked a colleague with an ax. The council's attorney said he was "shocked and very disappointed." He said, "Our decision to dismiss Jim Robertson was based on the council's overriding concern to protect the public it serves and its own employees. We believe that in dismissing Jim Robertson, who worked with the public in the course of his duties, we made the right decision for the right reasons." Preston had served a jail term for murder prior to his job as the health inspector and was subsequently prosecuted for attempted rape.

From The Scotsman 2-Apr-03. Via Jerry Lerman.


INCORRECT DANCING?? -- MORE IDIOTIC BRITISH JUSTICE

And we thought that attempts to regulate dancing went out with Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans 300 years ago. Apparently Britain still has its Cromwells:

In England, the Pitcher and Piano bar company has been fined a total of o82,000 - for letting its London customers dance. This activity is illegal in pubs unless the premises have a licence. Fearing the public partaking in this arousing activity, licensing officers spent time spying on the chain's Soho and Trafalgar Square bars, where they spotted through the window revellers cavorting to music.



4 April, 2003

POLITICALLY CORRECT ABOUT TERRORISM?

The news media, the filter through which Americans receive their information, is reluctant to define the enemy. Indeed, within the last week, it has become politically incorrect to describe the Islamic terrorists who blew up the World Trade Center and Pentagon, murdering thousands of innocent Americans, as "Islamic terrorists."

As the Washington Times reported, "an organization of religion news reporters yesterday suggested that reporters avoid the term 'Islamic terrorist' or similar labels as Muslims and their beliefs receive greater scrutiny. The Religion Newswriters Association said it was 'troubled' by the frequent use of the term in the days after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington." At its annual meeting last week, the group adopted a resolution also rejecting "similar phrases that associate an entire religion with the action of a few."

OK, but at least we can still call them terrorists, right?

Wrong.

Stephen Jukes, Reuters' global head of news, decreed that the giant wire service's 2,500 journalists should not use the T-word unless in a direct quote.

So former Reagan staffer and columnist Paul Craig Roberts was right when he observed recently that "Americans might be so politically correct and racially sensitive as to be unable to deal with the problem at all."

More here



3 April, 2003

Politically Correct Terms

Dirty Old Man: Sexually focused chronologically gifted individual.
Perverted: Sexually dysfunctional.
Panhandler: Unaffiliated applicant for private-sector funding.
Serial-Killer: Person with difficult-to-meet needs.
Lazy: Motivationally deficient.
Fat: Horizontally challenged.
Fail: Achieve a deficiency.
Dishonest: Ethically disoriented.
Bald: Follicularly challenged
Clumsy: Uniquely coordinated.
Body Odor: Nondiscretionary fragrance.
Alive: Temporarily metabolically abled.
Worst: Least best.
Wrong: Differently logical.
Ugly: Cosmetically different.
Unemployed: Involuntarily leisured.
Short: Vertically challanged.
Dead: Living impaired.
Vagrant: Nonspecifically destinationed individual.
Spendthrift: Negative saver.
Stoned: Chemically inconvenienced.
Pregnant: Parasitically opressed.
Ignorant: Knowledge-based nonpossessor.


Source.


BRAINY COMPARISONS

When I referred yesterday to Hollywood's politically-correct brigade as "mini-brains" some may have thought that I was being unfair. Read this and see what you think.



2 April, 2003

MINI VEHICLES FOR MINI BRAINS

Sure, lots of black stretch limos pulled up to the Academy Awards last week. But the real hot wheels at the Oscars were fuel-efficient hybrid and electric vehicles. Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart were among the celebrities who arrived at the Oscars ceremony in a Toyota Prius. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson drove themselves in their electric Toyota RAV4. Arriving in complimentary chauffeur-driven Toyota Priuses -- a hybrid that runs on a combination of gas and battery-powered electricity -- were Cameron Diaz, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, and Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart.

Tooling around in a Toyota or Honda may not seem very glamorous. But the hybrid and electric cars are environmentally correct, which scores points with stars


ANOTHER GOOD SPOOF

Scientific and Technical University for Politically Intelligent Development

As of August 1, 2000, we have become the first university to ban all major forms of intolerance, including racial intolerance, gender intolerance, religious intolerance, and lactose intolerance. Violators are instantly expelled with no appeal.

We are an equal opportunity university specializing in higher-order thinking skills that provide students with raised consciousness, empowerment, and self-esteem. We are especially proud of our inclusionary policies which empower all members of society, regardless of differences in ability and background. For example, we were the first university in North America to ensure that every traffic sign on campus was not only printed in at least 5 languages, but is also marked in Braille. We are proud of our diversity and require gender and ethnic diversity from every student. All students accepted to S.T.U.P.I.D. are guaranteed passing grades and a successful graduation as a right. All students applying to S.T.U.P.I.D. are guaranteed admittance as long as our modest tuition requirements and entrance fees are paid - and we work hard to help students get the federal and state grants they deserve to attend our university. Competition is out - all classes operate on the principles of cooperative learning, self-directed learning, learning-to-learn, and active nurturing. This is facilitated by our well supplied computer and multimedia labs, now with Super Sega CD and Enhanced Super Nintendo. S.T.U.P.I.D. - the ultimate adventure in modern education. Funding for S.T.U.P.I.D. is generously provided by the taxpayers of the United States ..............



1 April, 2003

JAILED FOR SELF-DEFENCE

A BULLIED Brisbane schoolboy who murdered his teenaged tormentor has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

The 17-year-old boy, who was 16 at the time and cannot be named, pleaded guilty to murdering Aiden Liyange, 18, on March 24 last year at a northside Brisbane suburb. The year 11 student stabbed Aiden through the back of the neck with such force the steak knife entered his mouth. The Supreme Court in Brisbane was told the boy became miserable, frustrated and angry after being bullied by Aiden and his friends, who saw him as weak and vulnerable.

Aiden and his mates, who were all older and unemployed, would turn up at the boy's house looking for money for marijuana, would rummage through his room, subject him to constant teasing, and would bash him every few days, the court was told. Justice Cate Holmes said the boy lived with his mother, who had a serious mental illness which subjected him to extraordinary stress and left him with no adult support. She said just prior to the killing Aiden had gone to the boy's home, demanded money, punched him and demanded his discman.

When the boy got the discman he also collected two steak knives from the kitchen and set off with Aiden, stabbing him when they got to a football field. The boy told police he wanted to end the harassment, the court was told. As Aiden lay dying, the boy said: "I've got another one right here for you (referring to a knife)."

Justice Holmes said that at the time of the killing, she considered the boy was still in despair and anger at the most recent invasion of his home and the beating he sustained. She found the killing was not pre-meditated, pre-organised or cold blooded. Under juvenile justice legislation, the boy will have to serve at least 70 per cent of his seven-and-a-half-year sentence. He will spend much of that time in an adult prison.


FREE SPEECH IN PUBLIC INCORRECT AT UNIVERSITY

A University of Texas at El Paso policy requiring students to get permits for speeches and deliver them in "free-speech areas" is a violation of the First Amendment, according to a lawsuit filed by two students. The lawsuit, filed by sophomore Ruben L. Reyes and junior Kristofer Johnson, names four UTEP administrators, including President Diana Natalicio, and members of the University of Texas System Board of Regents

BUT: There is .........

A RIGHT TO FREE BARKING IN PUBLIC

A MAN was using his free speech rights when he barked back at a police dog, an Ohio appeals court has ruled. Jeremy Gilchrist, then 21, encountered the dog, which was in a police car, as he walked along a street with friends. His attorney said he was trying to be funny when he barked back.

State law makes it illegal to taunt, torment or hit a police dog or horse. Officer Krishea Osborne testified that Gilchrist's barking made the dog "work himself up into a frenzy". However, Athens County Municipal Judge Douglas Bennett threw out the charges last June, saying the law violated the right to free speech.