Britain takes another step towards making 1984 a reality

Little by little, government is trying to assert control over our everyday lives, thanks to liberals, moonbattery, and nannyism. Europe is about ten steps ahead of us, but American liberals are scurrying to catch up.

Van Helsing at Moonbattery notes,

One of the more disturbing aspects of 1984 is the way the government would attempt to control our thoughts by deleting words from the language. More disturbing still is the way real-life bureaucrats have followed suit.

The Justice Department wants the word "prostitute" removed from the national vocabulary, and "persons who sell sex persistently" will be used instead. A Justice Department spokesperson said,

"We just wanted to remove the stigma of the label 'common prostitute'. It's been around since 1824, so it was a bit outdated. It just wasn't really helpful to label people."

People are labeled, regardless. It doesn't change the act of prostitution if you take away what it is called. But I guess I'm missing the point. It's just another way to exert control over the general population.

Got an F? Sue!

The NY Post has a story today about a student who received an F -- and is suing Columbia's nursing school.

Nicholas Perrino was kicked out of the Ivy League institution's School of Nursing for missing an exam, and now he is suing to get back in.

"I should have went to Yale," moaned Perrino, who is representing himself in the case.

The 27-year-old Illinois native said he was working toward two master's degrees last summer, when his grandparents became gravely ill, forcing him to take a few days off.

He told his instructors he would be absent for a skills exam and tried to arrange a makeup, Perrino claims in documents filed June 15 in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Instead, he says, the school failed him in the course - part of a fast-track master's program.

Filing academic grievances and appealing to the Columbia provost got him nowhere, he said, and he was withdrawn from the School of Nursing.

"It's insane," Perrino said. "It's not like I killed someone."

Perrino is asking a judge to remove the "F" from his transcript, reinstate him at the school and reimburse tuition costs for classes he has already taken.

I would lambast Nicholas Perrino for this, but honestly, what do you expect? You can't use liberal propaganda day in and day out, brainwashing students with "multiculturalism" and "tolerance" seminars and have an overall nanny state without a good number of students actually swallowing the liberalism and eventually, having it come back to bite you in the you-know-where.

Although, just for fun, let's talk about Perrino. He not only wanted the F removed, but he wants to be reimbursed tuition costs and be reinstated?! Good Lord. Yet he's moaning, "I should have gone to Yale!" Oh, you poor little Ivy League kid! You know, getting an F sucks and all, but if you had time to notify your professors before you missed a few days, then couldn't you have done the work before you left, and not after? And he was on a fast-track program, so that means, well, missing a few days can be monumental, which I'm sure he knew.

It was a choice he had to make, an admittedly tough one: visit my ailing grandparents (this is assuming he is being 100% truthful, mind you), or potentially fail. Thing is, a professor does not have to honor you if you miss class if you took the time to notify him and didn't do the work in advance. It's a risk you take. Sometimes, it is school policy (I discovered that one myself once) and you have to go see higher powers, which, I know, he said he did. But all the same -- miss class, risk suffering the consequences, even if there is a very good reason for you to be absent. It's the chance you take and a choice he made.

He has to now deal with the consequences of the choice he made, something liberals simply do not understand.

And the far-reaching effects? Will this make college professors a little bit more nervous to hand out Fs for fear that a disgruntled student will sue? Who knows? But that doesn't matter to Perrino.

He's following his dreams!!

Snap, crackle, and pop right oughtta here

Cereal is probably one of my favorite foods. I know that sounds weird, but my dream pantry would probably have the entire cereal aisle at Winn-Dixie. I never get tired of it. With the exception of wheat cereals and those weird "organic" cereals, I could eat any cereal over and over and over again.

This probably goes back to when I was a kid. I loved sitting there with my Rice Krispies, listening to them "talk" to me, like the three elves (named Snap, Crackle, and Pop) said they did on the commercial. I wasn't as big a fan of Fruit Loops, but I loved Toucan Sam, and the leprechaun from Lucky Charms... well, I loved all the cereal commercials, with kids chasing them around to get these great cereals. It used to be that cereals were considered part of a wholesome and complete breakfast. Not by itself, of course, but the commercials would show these breakfasts with toast, bacon, eggs, orange juice, and a bowl of said cereal.

Now, moonbats are taking nannyism to a new level, and are going after Toucan Sam, who has been around since 1963, and Snap, Crackle, and Pop, who have been around since 1933. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) wants the mascots done away with.

Hannah Storm from CBS's The Early Show crowed about this victory over children's cartoon characters:

“Well, that’s a great idea Nancy, because you can’t even take your child to the grocery store because they’re clamoring for the products with characters on them. When are we going to see them disappear?”

The CSPI, along with Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), and two Massachusetts parents have threatened to file a lawsuit against Kellogg's to get rid of the characters, and Kellogg's in turn has decided to limit those commercials during children's shows.

Remember Saturday morning cartoons? Those commercials were a perfect match. I guess moonbats would prefer PSA's about safe sex practices, and tolerance for ways different than our own, like homosexuality and global jihad wars. They could sandwich Trojan Man commercials right in between them.

The CSPI feels that because cereals contain sugar, that means that they are unhealthy. They don't seem to understand that if kids remain active, as they used to be growing up, that won't matter. Kids are growing, they are full of energy, and no one needs to be freaking out over the fact that a bowl of cereal has some sugar in it.

Perhaps if parents didn't allow their children to have every game console underneath the sun, along with their own personal TVs and computers, and made them go outside and play, be active, we wouldn't see so much childhood obesity. Maybe it is the parent's decision what the child does or doesn't eat, and none of the CSPI's damn business.

Also, Ms. Hannah Storm, it shouldn't matter if your kids are "clamoring over" these cereals with cartoon characters on them. If you don't want them to eat them, you say NO, and that's the end of the story. If you are unable to do that, and give in every time your kids whine that they want something, you shouldn't be a parent. That leads to what we called "spoiled brats" when I was a kid -- what a shocker!

And what about kids' snacks with cartoon characters on them? Go down the snack aisle and you'll see all kinds of snacks with Spiderman, the Disney Princesses, and all kinds of cartoon characters on them. Will they go after those next? Will all children's foods have to be sold to us in identical, plain packaging because parents can't be trusted to say no to their kids if they feel something is unhealthy?

Slippery slope, slippery slope...

If we let radical left-wing groups like the CSPI continue to run free unchecked, we will truly see what a fascist nation is like. Funny how leftists are crowing about how George Bush is a fascist, when the nanny state they want to implement is exactly what will lead to that.

Hat Tip: NewsBusters

Denver targets global warming after the coldest June morning in over 50 years

I couldn't help but snicker when I read these two headlines on The Drudge Report:

'Warming' plan in Denver: Crackdown on residents

Denver sees coldest June morning in over 50 years

First, the global warming:

Denver is gearing up to fight global warming, and residents may soon be asked to make personal sacrifices to help save the planet.
The new plan is aimed at making Denver a national leader in reducing gas emissions that have been linked to global warming, giving a major push to alternative energy, stepping up recycling and changing building codes to encourage energy conservation.

But the proposal also contains some ideas that may be unpopular, such as penalizing heavy users of electricity and natural gas and basing auto insurance premiums on the number of miles traveled.

The ambitious goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4.4 million metric tons by 2020, the equivalent of eliminating two small coal-fired power plants or taking 500,000 cars off the road.

Mayor John Hickenlooper has made the "climate action plan" a centerpiece of his second term in office. More than two dozen people from business and community groups met for several months with city staff to hammer out the plan. Many of them fear Colorado will be slammed hard by global warming, with more droughts and forest fires.

"There was a sense we have to be bold," said Beth Conover, director of Greenprint Denver, the city office that coordinated the plan. "What's the cost of inaction to our water supply and tourism industry?"

The city also would give incentives for car pooling and the use of hybrids and other low-polluting vehicles, possibly by giving them priority in parking.

To cut back on use of landfills - methane gas from landfills is a major contributor to global warming - the plan would encourage recycling and charge residents for the amount of trash they throw away.

Denver may ask voters to approve higher rates for "excessive" use of electricity and natural gas. The plan also floats the idea of using insurance premiums to penalize people who drive long distances.

"You can think of them as penalties or you can think of them as market signals," said Conover. "There's some choice involved."

The nannyism. Oh, dear God, the nannyism!!

Meanwhile, while Denver bureaucrats fret over global warming, its freezing there:

Did you have frost on your windows this morning? It felt more like March or early April along the Front Range.

The temperature at Denver International Airport fell to 31 degrees at 5:44 a.m. Friday, setting a new record low for the date.

This shattered the old record of 37 degrees, last set in 1974.

The new record low will also become the latest freeze on record for the city of Denver. The previous date of latest freeze ever recorded was June 2, 1951.

Temperatures have only dropped below freezing two other times during the month of June; in 1919 and 1951.

The coldest June temperature ever recorded was 30 degrees on June 2, 1951.

Seriously. It's just too easy.

Democratic debate tougher than cotton balls!

CNN and Wolf Blitzer hosted the Democratic debate last night, with the usual puffball soft questions, designed to let it as obvious as possible how much each candidate hates our troops, democracy, and America. Pull out of Iraq now! Socialize, socialize, socialize! We must submit to the UN!

One of the best parts (for me, anyways), was when Hillary Clinton disagreed with John Edwards about the global war on terror being a "bumper sticker slogan" because... she's a New Yorker , and has seen first hand the effects of terror.

Since when is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker?! Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she have to purchase property in New York in order to hold a Senate seat there because she isn't a New Yorker? And does this mean that those of us not in New York are unable to comprehend how horrific 9-11 was?

Then there was John Edwards' line, "I don't know if I know what a rich person is!"

Gee, John, could it be someone who spends $400 on a haircut, and then an additional $225 at a spa and salon called the "Pink Sapphire" in "services"? Or maybe someone who made their living chasing ambulances and charging ridiculous fees pretending to be the advocate for the little guy?

Only two candidates -- Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel -- had the guts to mention that Clinton and Edwards both voted for the war initially.

At the end of the debate, each candidate was asked what they would do in their first 100 days of office. John Edwards said he would travel the world to "re-establish America's moral authority" -- because, ya' know, John Edwards just has so many morals! And the first 100 days as president of America should not be spent in... America!

Clinton and Obama both said bringing the troops home from Iraq, although Obama added in national health care. Hillary didn't need to, because we all know how she feels about health care.

Kucinich had the realistic goal of "reshaping the world for peace" and ending ALL nuclear weapons, everywhere! After he's done with that, he and Miss America will braid each other's hair and have a pillow fight.

Other responses included a $40k a year minimum wage for teachers (Richardson), and more ending the war in Iraq (Biden).

Some oddball answers were "restoring constitutional rights" to the country (Dodd), and not actually ending the war in Iraq, but simply reminding congressional leaders that they should (Gravel).

Funnily enough, although Shrillary said she'd pull out our troops now, she still refuses to admit that her vote was wrong. Whatever's most popular at the time, eh, Hillary? Oh, and she also mentioned her husband, saying, "Bill Clinton, my dear husband, would be sent around the world as a roving ambassador." Ugh.

Each candidate also said they'd get rid of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military as well.

Maybe next time, the Democrats will actually get asked real questions... like whether John Edwards prefers cherry or strawberry lip bloss better.

A City That Really Cares!

Maggie's Farm gives us a glimpse into the future of New York City under RINO Mayor Mike Bloomberg:

The Mayor's approval rating of 76% has been largely due to his efforts to safeguard city residents from tobacco smoke, trans fats, cars, guns, and other ills with which the ignorant masses are too stupid to deal with on their own. He seeks to build on this foundation with his ambitious new program, entitled "A City That Really Cares."

This futuristic iniative would put into place a 1,000 police force charged with enforcing new requirements such as:

The banning of all sales or wearing of women's heels over 2"

Required serving of broccoli and carrots with all New York City meals

The banning of sunbathing

Requiring the wearing of hats during sunny days, and wool hats when the temperature drops below 40 degrees F.

And so on and so forth. Seem implausible?

New York City cab fleets are being forced to phase into "environmentally friendly" hybrids by 2012, with all new vehicles required to be hybrids as early as two years from now. Ford Crown Victorias obviously are out as well, because politicians should be allowed to mandate how our businesses are run.

New York City: the greatest city on Earth!