The Bigsibling Blog

This, I don’t understand. Looking at the FoxNews website this morning, I get this:

Now, ok, I get it, if Fox doesn’t want people to really watch live feed from the ‘net. Otherwise, how many people do you REALLY think will click through the link, to watch as NASA doesn’t fire an experimental rocket?

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When I read this article (EPA ‘Cow Tax’ Could Charge $175 per Dairy Cow to Curb Greenhouse Gases), I had to double check the URL I was at….several times. I was certain I was at some lampoon site, such as The Onion. But no, sadly, this appears to be legit.

…one of the suggestions offered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act is to levy a tax on livestock.

Seriously? Taxing cows, and pigs because they cause green house emissions? Seriously? This is some kind of pre-pre-pre April Fool’s joke,…right?

The EPA has this to say about the evil and vile livestock:

“If GHG emissions from agricultural sources are regulated under the CAA, numerous farming operations that currently are not subject to the costly and time-consuming Title V permitting process would, for the first time, become covered entities. Even very small agricultural operations would meet a 100-tons-per-year emissions threshold. For example, dairy facilities with over 25 cows, beef cattle operations of over 50 cattle, swine operations with over 200 hogs, and farms with over 500 acres of corn may need to get a Title V permit. It is neither efficient nor practical to require permitting and reporting of GHG emissions from farms of this size. Excluding only the 200,000 largest commercial farms, our agricultural landscape is comprised of 1.9 million farms with an average value of production of $25,589 on 271 acres. These operations simply could not bear the regulatory compliance costs that would be involved.”

Sheesh…and you thought it would be better under Barak Hussein Obama.

Suck-kers.

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The company that markets Absolut Vodka has opened their mouth wide, and inserted both feet. In an ad campaign running in magazines and on billboard in Mexico, the maker of the fine adult beverage ran a graphic showing the country of Mexico extending to Oklahoma, and all the way up to the state of Washington, eliminating the states of Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and parts of Colorado, Utah and Idaho – overlaid with the words "IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD".

Naturally, this campaign was not isolated in Mexico, but was found out by good, hardworking folks right here in the good Ol US of A, and they were none to pleased. Absolut says they weren’t trying to advocate the changing of borders, or making any kind of statement on the illegal immigration stuff currently plaguing this great nation. But how dense do you have to be to not know that this kind of thing was not going to be contained within Mexico’s borders?

Here is what Absolut has to say (from their web site):

The In An Absolut World advertising campaign invites consumers to visualize a world that appeals to them — one they feel may be more idealized or one that may be a bit "fantastic." As such, the campaign will elicit varying opinions and points of view. We have a variety of executions running in countries worldwide, and each is germane to that country and that population.

 
This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.

As a global company, we recognize that people in different parts of the world may lend different perspectives or interpret our ads in a different way than was intended in that market. Obviously, this ad was run in Mexico, and not the US — that ad might have been very different.

The ad "might have been very different" if run in the US? How so? What kind of differences? What, would it show in an Absolut World, just a bunch of WASPs running around with beaners picking lettuce and cleaning toilets? Would it show a giant-ass electrified fence running the border? What difference might it have been?

And then, they issued a ’sincere apology’:

During the weekend we have received several comments on the ad published in Mexico. We acknowledge the reactions and debate and want to apologize for the concerns this ad caused. We are truly sorry and understand that the ad has offended several persons. This was not our intention. The ad has been withdrawn as of Friday April 4th and will not be used in the future.
In no way was the ad meant to offend or disparage, or advocate an altering of borders, lend support to any anti-American sentiment, or to reflect immigration issues.

To ensure that we avoid future similar mistakes, we are adjusting our internal advertising approval process for ads that are developed in local markets.

This is a genuine and sincere apology,

Oh, wait, make that a ‘genuine and sincere’ apology. Umm…ok. Some folks are calling for a boycott of Absolut, but those things don’t ever work very well. Besides, Stoli’s is better vodka anyway, hell, there is a brand of vodka made in northeast Kansas, but by the prison, that is way better than Absolut. Not that it matters, once the stuff gets mixed with the cranberry, or orange juice, it all pretty much tastes the same anyway. If you drink your vodka as fast as I do, there isn’t much time to taste.

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One bright morning in New Haven, Conn., little Mikey Sheridan heads off to school – he is in the eighth grade. Mikey is a good kid. A great student. He’s on the honor roll, he is class vice-president, and has never, ever had any disciplinary problems. Not so much as a detention. Yet, he was suspended from school for 3 days. Three whole days, and stripped of his position as class vice-president.

His offense seems like one of the most grotesque transgressions that a student can do. He bought candy from a fellow student. A bag of Skittles. And not, that isn’t some euphemism for some sort of illegal (oops) undocumented drugs. What he really bought was a bag of Skittles.

Seems Mikey was caught red-handed by some over-zealous ardent teacher when the Skittles were found in his pocket. What the teacher was doing in Michael’s pocket, I have not idea. Maybe pocket searches are a usual occurrence in New Haven gulags middle schools. After all, we can’t have candy in the school. It’s just bad bad bad stuff.

Granted, Michael, as the class VEEP should have known about the no candy policy. But 3 days suspension? For a bag of Skittles? Sheesh, I wonder what they would do for playing tag, or hugging in the hallway.

source

Technorati Tags: New Haven, Michael Sheridan, Stupid School Policies, Idiotic School Officials

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Artists depiction of the Microsoft Santa 2.0?

The good folks over at Microsoft, last year created a Windows Live account, northpole@live.com. This account was supposedly linked to the main man of Christmas, the Kringleator himself, Santa Claus. Microsoft encouraged kids to IM Santa and talk about what they wanted for Christmas. All worked splendidly last year. Santa chatted with the kiddies and the kiddies loved chatting with Santa.

So, realizing the success of last years program, the good folks at Microsoft dusted off their virtual AI Santa and turned him loose on the kiddies again this year. But this year, Santa came back…with a vengeance (dum-dum-dummmm). Well, okay, maybe not a vengeance, but at least with a potty mouth. It seems if one prodded the AI Santa enough about eating pizza, he would reply “You want me to eat what? It’s fun to talk about oral sex, but I want to chat about something else.” And if one were to insult him, he would reply in-kind calling them a “dirty bastard.”

source

Technorati Tags: Santa, Oral Sex, Microsoft, Artificial Intelligence

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I swear, I love you Aussies. Really I do. Your women are hot, your beaches are to die for, you have that whole big rock thing going, not to mention Crocodile Dundee, and kangaroos & koala bears (yeah, I know, they aren’t really bears, but who cares?). But I will concede that it seems like I have been posting a few posts lately that could be construed as negative towards our great cousins from down under. Back on 16 November I posted about how department store Santas are not being allowed to say “Ho Ho Ho” and being instructed instead to say “Ha Ha Ha.” Personally, I don’t know why they don’t just make them say “Bah Humbug” but that’s just me.

Now we have the first firing to come from this overly politically correct crapola. Seventy year old John Oakes has been fired from saying the nefarious phrase so closely (and for generations) associated with Father Christmas, Pere Noel, Santa Claus or whatever else you want to call him.

Employment company Westaff, which supplies stores with red-robed, white-bearded Father Christmases, had earlier asked its Santas to say “ha ha ha” because the word “ho,” which is American slang for whore, could offend women, media reported.

In the latest incident, the Cairns Post newspaper said 70-year-old John Oakes was fired on Monday for saying “ho ho ho” and for singing the Christmas song Jingle Bells.

And what gets me even more is that the offending word “ho” is an American slang for prostitute, not an Aussie slang word. Seriously, how many Americans are going to be doing their holiday Christmas shopping in Australia?

source

Technorati Tags: Santa, Australia, Ho Ho Ho, prostitute, slang, John Oakes

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At first I thought this to be some “onionesque” form of satire. Surely this could not be true – but sadly it is. Political correctness has reached so far into people’s lives it is becoming downright ridiculous. It is beyond comprehension. Two versions of the story are floating, this one from SignOnSanDiego.com:

This year, there’s an Insanity Claus for Christmas
By Greg Gross
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

2:50 p.m. November 15, 2007

SAN DIEGO – Ho ho. . . no?

It’s about as quintessentially Christmas as you can get, that jolly “ho ho ho!,” as universal a symbol of Santa Claus as his red suit and reindeer.

Until now.

A U.S.-based employment firm that provides department-store Santas throughout Australia has asked that they refrain from using “ho ho ho!” because it might offend women.

Santa trainees are being instructed to say “Ha ha ha!” instead.

Seriously.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper in Sydney, which first broke the story, reported that at least some trainees were quitting in disgust.

A spokeswoman for Westaff, the Walnut Creek, Calif.-based employment firm whose Australian branch made the request of the Santa trainees at the request of an Australian store chain, said it only applies there.

The controversy over the term “ho” – a corrupted version of the word “whore” – began in the United States, where American rap/hip-hop artists spent years popularizing it as a generalized slang term characterizing women.

Since then, rap has gone global, and “ho” apparently has gone with it. The Aussie store chain apparently was concerned female customers might take Santa’s traditional laugh the wrong way.

So are feminist organizations such as the National Organization for Women looking to pull St. Nick’s beard over this?

“Oh, no. . . or no no no, I should say,” said Latifa Lyles, NOW vice-president for membership in Washington, D.C. “We saw this and laughed.”

A burst of mirth from a holiday figure hardly ranks with someone trying to verbally demean women, Lyles said.

“That’s a little literal,” she said, “just a tad.”

And this one from news.com.au:

Santa Claus banned from Ho Ho HoBy Renato Castello, Sue Hewitt and Andrea Burns

November 11, 2007 12:00am
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun

SANTAS working in shopping centres across Australia have been banned from bellowing “ho ho ho” because it might frighten children.

Recruitment firm Westaff, which supplies hundreds of Santas around the country, yesterday confirmed the edict.

Westaff national operations manager Glen Jansz said the company’s Santas had been urged to tone down their use of the “ho, ho, ho” phrase.

“The reason behind that is we find that in some cases the little kids can get a little bit scared of the deep ‘ho, ho, hos’ and we ask them to be mindful of keeping their voices to a lower level,” he said.

“And kids are probably more inclined to understand ‘ha, ha, ha’, than ‘ho, ho, ho’.”

Thirty trainees at a recent Santa course were instructed to replace the traditional Christmas greeting with “ha, ha, ha”.

A Santa veteran of 11 years told the Sunday Herald Sun the instructions were clear: “No ‘ho ho ho’.”

“We were told to say ‘ha ha ha Merry Christmas’,” he said.

Two Santa hopefuls reportedly left the course after the edict.

Family Council of Victoria spokesman Bill Muehlenberg described the ban as “nonsensical”.

“Potentially any big guy in a red suit with a white beard is scary but I don’t think him saying ‘ho ho ho’ would damage a child’s psyche.

“Let’s just concentrate on the kids having a good time.”

A survey of Melbourne children yesterday found universal support for Santa’s “ho ho ho”.

“It’s silly, we love hearing Santa’s laugh,” said Briony, 8, of Mitcham.

“It doesn’t frighten me at all. It’s what Santa is supposed to say,” said Byron, 9, of Melton.

Yesterday in the Bourke St Mall, Santas appeared to be ignoring orders to stop the ‘ho ho hos’.

David Jones’s bellowed to a delighted group of children and rival Myer’s Santa also kept up the jolly tradition.

Can anyone tell me what is so frightening to kids about “HO HO HO”? I just don’t get it. And are Aussies also supposed to come up with a different name for the garden implement that goes by the name ‘hoe’? Isn’t that offensive to the millions of female gardeners out there? Sheesh!

Technorati Tags: Santa Claus, WTF, Political Correctness, Christmas, Australia

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One hater cries foul, and the National Cemetery Administration runs for cover. A complaint, which the NCA is refusing to release, has been lodged about the flag folding ceremony at Riverside National Cemetery. The complaint prompted the NCA to issue a new flag-folding script to be read as each part of the American flag is folded.

The complaint was made about the recitation of the eleventh fold. The recitation is:

The eleventh fold, in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The twelfth fold mentions Christians:

The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.

No folds mention atheists, nor Muslims. In the past, atheist attacks on God and the flag (i.e, the Pledge of Alliegence) have fallen short of anything changing. In addition, no complaint was made regarding the words to the twelfth fold. The only problem the one complainant had was to the eleventh fold. The fold that mentions Hebrews, and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Kind of leads one to wonder, who would make such a complaint? Sure, there are plenty of anti-Semitics out there, the white supremacists and the neo-nazi groups, but they have never made a stink like this before. Also, one would have to wonder why the NCA would cave to such a group. I don’t believe they would. These people are not politically correct enough. They are unapologetic Caucasian folks, and thus, the antithesis of political correctness. No, only some group that would fall into a victim category under the thumb of political correctness could make such a complaint, and have the cowards at NCA quaking in their boots.

If one thinks about it for just a little bit, one can come to the same conclusion I have. Which one group of haters can fall into that victim category, and still be so staunchly anti-Semitic that it shames the likes of Senator Byrd?

h/t FHK

Technorati Tags: Anti-Semitism, Flag Folding Ceremony, National Cemetaries, Veterans, Disgrace, Cowardice

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It seems that Amnesty International doesn’t like the coppers using tasers. They think it is uncalled for and want police departments to ban them. Now I know what you’re thinking – “Great! That means the cops will just shoot more bad guys!” – and I was thinking that too. But then I realized, all those bullets are going to cost money. And the police get their money from our taxes. And more bullets means more taxes – so I’m thinking, keep the tasers!

A study conducted by Amnesty
International and funded by the US Department of Justice has found an
interesting conclusion. The study was conducted on the use of taser
guns by police departments throughout the United States. The study revealed that “99.7 percent of the people on the receiving end in the real world had either no
injury or mild injury”. I suppose that .03% of the people who actually suffer something more than mild injury is too much for AI to swallow. After all, AI claims that 277 people have died in the United States after being shocked by a taser. They don’t say what these people died of, or if the tasering had any thing to do with the cause of death.

Ah well, I guess they have to complain about something since nobody seems to be giving a hoot what they say about Gitmo.

source

Technorati Tags: Amnesty International, taser, police, use of force

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I feel bad for my kids. I really do. It has to suck to be a kid in this day and age. First, one learns in kindergarten they have to be wary of who they speak with and how they touch them. We have seen incidents where five year old kids are charged with sexual harassment because they give their kindergarten teacher a hug. Or because they give another school mate a hug or a peck on the cheek.

Add to this the fact that now, at Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park, ILL kids are not even allowed to hug anyone on school grounds…at all….ever. Hugging, banned. I try to wrap my mind around this whole deal, but I am miserably failiing. The reason, according to the principal, is because some students were forming what she called “hugging lines” in the hallways, giving each other hugs and making it difficult for some kids to get through the hallways. Okay, sure, there is a problem there, but really, is banning hugs the answer? Sadly, Victoria Sharts (the principal – I don’t think, in this case, ‘your principal is your ‘pal’ really fits here), believes that people should only hug at airports and family renuions. That makes me sad, really. That this lady is so devoid of emotion and any kind of caring human contact that she feels hugs are inappropriate anywhere by an airport or family reunion. It makes me wonder how such a cold person could be in charge of a middle school.

In addition to the hugging thing, over to the left a bit, and down the map we look at Colorado Springs, CO. There, the elementary schools have banned the age old game of tag. Yes, that is correct, it is not unlawful to play tag at recess in Colorado Springs, CO. It seems that some kids that played tag, didn’t want to be chased. So instead of telling the kids “don’t play tag” they just ban the whole shebang. It is like the little girl several years back who was being charged with assault for hitting a kid with a ball while they were playing…dodgeball. If one doesn’t want to be hit with a ball, don’t play dodgeball. If one doesn’t want to be chased, don’t play tag. But instead of just telling the kid not to play tag, the make it so no one can play tag. I suppose that way the kid who didn’t like being chased doesn’t feel like an outsider. Heck no, they probably just feel ostracized now. I know what my kids are like. And if this had happened to them, the whiny cry-baby kid would certainly not be welcome in any other games played. They would go out of their way to keep away from him. After all, if the kid is slow, does that mean a foot race is no longer a valid option at recess?

And what, to many kids, is one of the greatest holidays of all time is under attack as well. The holiday where kids get loads of candy, don’t have to be good, don’t have to wait for some bearded fat man, and can wear a disguise. Yes, I’m speaking of Halloween. The Kohl Elementary School in Broomfield, CO (again with the Coloradoans – when I lived there, we used to joke that Colorado was being Californicated – I guess that is over and the Californicators have won) has eliminated their Halloween celebration. In its place is – you guessed it – a “Fall Festival”. What the heck is a Fall Festival? And why are we celebrating the Fall? What does the Fall do that is so special it requires a festival? My guess is, some dimwitted parents of some kid complained that Halloween – for whatever reason – was simply inappropriate. So, in order to be ‘inclusive’ the school scraps Halloween, and replaces with this some crap festival. It seems to me it would have been better to just scrap the whole thing altogether. Not have any celebration in the fall. It isn’t like the kids are not going to celebrate Halloween anyway. They are still going to dress up in costumes and go trick or treating. They are still going to stay up light on 31 October eating way too much candy. The only thing this accomplishes is 1) kids don’t get to wear their costumes to school and 2) teachers have to come up with some lame excuse as to why they are having a great big party on 5 Oct.

No way. For all those who think they would like a second go ’round at youth, you can have it, I don’t want it. When I was a kid, we ran the neighborhood. In school we played tag, and dodgeball, and we had schoolyard fights. And you know what? Never were the police called. Not once was a kid arrested or accused or charged with anything. Usually we ended up in the principal’s office. And later that night we would end up on the wrong side of dad’s belt. But today? No way Jose. I’ll leave the mess that is childhood today to the kids.

Technorati Tags: Broomfield Colorado, Colorado Springs, Oak Park Illinois, childhood, youth, elemtary school, middle school, grade school

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