I Wonder When Politicians Will Make Themselves a "Protected Class"?

John Whitehead: [H]ate-crime laws are shortsighted in that they favor a particular class of individuals for protection and seek to punish certain prejudices. As authors James B. Jacobs and Kimberly Potter ask in their book, Hate Crimes: Criminal Law & Identity Politics, “should all prejudices (ageism, anti-gay bias, bias against the physically and mentally disabled, etc.) be included in hate crime laws or only a select few (racism, ethnic bias, and religious bias)? Inevitably, if some groups are left out, they will resent the selective depreciation of their victimization.” For instance, the Hate Crimes Act singles gay people out for expanded protection from hate crimes, yet fails to address the thousands of crimes that occur each year against people who, while not gay, just don’t “fit in.” As one journalist asked, “Why not accord the same enhanced protection to kids who stutter, teenagers with bad acne, or adults who are overweight, homeless, or have unusually large ears?”


Of course, when politicians ban hate speech directed at themselves, they'll refer to themselves as "public servants" rather than politicians, and they will no doubt exempt themselves from their own laws, as they often do.

What Will Vegetarians Do Now?

Plants use a genetic memory to recognise when it is spring and can even count the number of cold days, Australian plant scientists have revealed.

So, I've been using these two Outlook add-ons...

for the better part of the day, and I have to say I'm very impressed. Both are huge time savers. Check them out:

http://www.gwabbit.com/

http://www.xobni.com//

Thanks to Larissa for recommending both of them!

I'd Rather Be Waterboarded:

ABCnews: Following an ABC News investigation last night that showed a Royal Sheikh from the United Arab Emirates mercilessly torturing a man with whips, electric cattle prods and wooden planks with protruding nails, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is being urged to initiate and carry out an investigation into the sadistic torture tape.


Here's the whole story, if you can bear it.

Who Knew Us Tn Rednecks Were So Progressive?

Women are in the majority on Tennessee's highest court. Tennessee is one of three such states.