Fool’s News

With no offense to the good people of Iowa, I was shocked by the recent district (trial) court decision of Judge Robert Hanson regarding the rights of same-sex couples to wed in Iowa. The 63 page decision issued by the Iowa District Court for Polk County said that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry based on the Iowa Constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment under the law. The case was filed by Lambda Legal on behalf of six same-sex couples and their families in Iowa.

This case came before Judge Hanson relatively early in his judicial career. He was appointed to the bench in 2003 and the lawsuit was filed in 2005. Judge Hanson is married with two (2) children.

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With regard to the Iraq war, if I am not mistaken, for the past two (2) years you have been hammering home the notion that the war strategy should be shaped by the military leaders who are on the front lines rather than my politicians and those who observe the war state-side. You have even gone so far as to assert that you give the military everything it asks for to bring this conflict to conclusion.  That being the case, how do you explain this article and, notably, the paragraphs that read:

All the while, according to internal military correspondence obtained by The Associated Press, U.S. commanders were telling Washington that many civilian casualties could be avoided by using a new non-lethal weapon developed over the past decade.

Military leaders repeatedly and urgently requested — and were denied — the device, which uses energy beams instead of bullets and lets soldiers break up unruly crowds without firing a shot.

Please explain.

Sen. Larry Craig has agreed to temporarily step down as the leading Republican on several Senate committees as pressure mounts within his party for him to resign. Why? Well, if you’re unaware, you must be living in a cave.In any event, Sen. Craig was arrested in June in the Minneapolis airport for lewd conduct. It seems that the formal charges are interference with privacy (peeping) and disorderly conduct.According to the arrest report, Craig attempted to solicit sexual contact in the men’s room of the Minneapolis airport.  Craig pleaded guilty to the charges on August 1, 2007.His statement is available here.There comes a point where you can’t believe a word that comes out of these people’s mouths.  I especially love this part:  “Let me be clear: I am not gay and never have been.”  Then there’s this part:  “Still, without a shred of truth or evidence to the contrary, the Statesman has engaged in this witch hunt. In pleading guilty, I overreacted in Minneapolis, because of the stress of the Idaho Statesman’s investigation and the rumors it has fueled around Idaho. Again, that overreaction was a mistake, and I apologize for my misjudgment.”Is he kidding?   He was arrested in Minnesota on June 11, 2007.  He pleaded guilty on August 1, 2007.   Almost two (2) months later!  Even assuming the senator was feeling stress, he claims in his own statement that the Idaho Statesman was “relentlessly and viciously harass[ing]” him for the “eight months leading up to June”.   But, the guilty plea took place almost two (2) months after the arrest.  Therefore, it would seem that his excuse is pretextual and has no basis in reality.What’s worse is that he supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He also voted to deny federal recognition of same-sex marriages and against including gays in anti-discrimination laws.  Is there a better example of hypocrisy?  The man who voted against recognizing sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws is the same man who seeks public sympathy because he feels that he was “relentlessly and viciously harassed” by the media.  Perhaps he now understands the protections that the anti-discrimination laws might afford gays in the country.  If expects sympathy for being harassed by the media, he should look somewhere far, far away.Of course, as an elected public official who votes on matters that involve people’s lives, his life is more open to inspection than those of his private constituents.  I couldn’t put it better myself:  ”Frankly, Americans will forgive us for being sinners. They won’t forgive us for being hypocrites,” said Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister.

A teenage girl was taken to the hospital after overdosing on coffee.

Jasmine Willis, 17, from Stanley had 14 small black shots of espresso while working in her father’s cafe.

The effect was so severe she started laughing and crying for no reason while serving customers who were bewildered by her behaviour.

But after her shift she went home to lie down and woke up with a temperature and unable to breathe.

Jasmine, who has just finished her GCSE’s at Stanley School of Technology, and is going to Derwentside College, said: “I had only had five hours sleep and was at work at 8am so I thought I would have a double espresso to perk me up.

“It did the trick and I felt better so I had one after another and they seemed to be working because I felt great, I could take on the world.”

With a nod to Likelihood of Confusion, this story about the refusal of a trademark application for WHITE PRIDE COUNTRY WIDE.  In 2004 Justin Moritz filed a trademark application for the mark WHITE PRIDE COUNTRY WIDE for goods in 4 classes.  After an initial refusal based solely on the identification of goods, the Examining Attorney issued an Office Action refusing registration based on Sec. 2(a) claiming that the WHITE PRIDE portion of the mark because it comprises immoral or scandalous matter.

Although Mr. Moritz tried to overcome the refusal (rather than “appeal” the decision), the refusal was made final and Mr. Mortiz’s application was ultimately abandoned. 

I am sure that I abhor Mr. Moritz’s politics as much as he loathes my homosexuality.  Nonetheless, I am troubled by the refusal of this mark for registration.  While Mr. Moritz had the right idea by pointing out the other marks that the USPTO has registered (e.g., African Pride, African Man Pride, Asian Pride, Bahama Pride, Black Pride, Brazilian Pride, China-Pride, Chippewa Pride, Choctaw Pride, Colombian Pride, Cuban Pride, Dakota Pride, Dominican Pride, El Salvador Pride, Ecuador Pride, Gay Pride Apparel, etc.), he did not submit evidence of these registrations in his response.

Again, while I do not agree with Mr. Moritz’s politics, I also do not agree with the USPTO’s decision in this case.  It seems that perhaps Mr. Moritz’s application was about 2 years too late.  Since his application was abandoned, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down some affirmative action programs claiming that the only was to be race neutral is to remove race from consideration and the USPTO has finally registered DYKES ON BIKES – after years of refusing the applicant’s mark based on its immoral or scandalous connotation.

It seems that the USPTO is ascribing different meaning to different races.  In other words, BLACK PRIDE is okay, but WHITE PRIDE is not.  Aside from my aversion to Mr. Moritz’s politics, it would have been an interesting case to see to conclusion.

As a final matter, Mr. Moritz gripes about the fact that he lost $1,300 in non-refundable filing fees.  However, he also likes to mention that he has been conferred Associate, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degrees from three Minnesota colleges.  He also writes that, “I did it as an exercise against political correctness.”

Well, if this was simply a political exercise and you have all those degrees, then why the hell did you file your application in four (4) classes instead of just one (1)?

It also strikes me how he describes himself, “I am white, male, heterosexual, married, employed, native born, English speaking, Christian-valued, have no criminal record, and am a retired law enforcement officer.”