Perhaps logic WILL prevail... probably not.

Greetings readers! I know, it's a Saturday night and normally I post these rants on Sunday mornings, but I will be busy tomorrow and rather than getting angry Facebook wall posts from my friend Mentos for not posting a new rant... I'm doing so now. Shout out to Mentos! I just want the world to make sense sometimes, rather than this, which still boggles my mind... Watch this video at the 1:15 or so mark about the Tango Makes Three book:

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Seriously? A book about gay penguins tops the list of banned books yet again? Clearly, America did not read this old blog entry of mine: http://pooniethegreat.blogspot.com/2009/01/special-update-news-that-make-you-go.html The United States of America... the alleged shining beacon of hope, freedom, and humanity chooses to ban books about penguins while China, a shining beacon of Communism and state-sponsored censorship let two penguins get married. Am I the only one that sees something wrong with that concept? It's a book about a penguin family... not porn! You close-minded folks sure are perverted if all you think about are the private lives of Arctic animals. How can something this adorable be wrong? And how about this to twist your medula oblongata? Midwestern stalwart Iowa allows gay marriages while supposedly liberal hippie California doesn't? Holy Jebus people! The world has gone insane... Okay, before everyone's brain explodes in a less than spectacular gurgle of gray matter... I offer you one small victory in our ongoing fight against the airline industry: http://www.wgntv.com/landing/?United-Airlines-bumping-bigger-passenger=1 &blockID=267721&feedID=209 In case the link doesn't work... here are the key excerpts: "Passengers who are too large to fit comfortably in a coach seat will be required to buy a second ticket or upgrade to business class, where seats are larger, if United's flight attendants can't find two open seats for them. The Chicago-based carrier said it decided to adopt the tougher policy after receiving more than 700 complaints last year from passengers 'who did not have a comfortable flight because the person next to them infringed on their seat,' spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said. Most airlines in the U.S. spell out similar rules in a legal document called the 'contract of carriage' that establishes services and charges for flights, airline analysts said." Sidenote: 700 complaints? That's it? I think there are more people that quietly suffer without telling anyone or perhaps post their stories on this wonderful website: http://flightsfromhell.com/ Anyways, the article continues with a mention of a fat people fighting for their right to be fat and this: "'We'll first try to re-accomodate you on another seat on the flight,' Urbanski said. "If the flight is full, and that's not often the case these days, you'll be bumped from the flight." If this occurs, passengers will be forced to either find a flight with open seating or be required to buy two seats or an upgrade to a class of service with wide seats. If seating is not available and a passenger decides not to travel, the ticket will be refunded without any penalty, even if it is a non-refundable ticket." HALLELUJAH!!!!! But before anyone gets all up in arms about discrimination against fat people... think about this logically. Consider these points... (1) If your bags are too heavy, you get charged extra. (2) If you take too many bags with you, you get charged extra. (3) I fly with my cat a lot and despite the fact that he doesn't take up any more room beyond the carry-on space underneath the seat in front of me... I have to pay extra for him. And about point number 3... don't you dare give me a sob story about how people may be offended by the smell or may be allergic to the cat. Milo doesn't smell (neither did the late, great Monty) and even if he does, it's nothing compared to some of the funky fresh people I've had the pleasure of sitting next to. So... if you take up more room than what is allotted to you... why shouldn't you be charged extra? Why do I have to pay full price for half the space? I am entitled not to have your fat rolls touching me. No, it's not discrimination... you PHYSICALLY DON'T FIT IN THE SEAT. How about I put it this way... There's a plane... open seating... but there is a weight limit. Technically, there are enough seats for everyone... however, if everyone boards the plane... the plane will crash because it's too heavy to fly. If it's my tubbalicious butt causing imminent doom... um, I wouldn't fly on that plane. It's not discrimination... it's PHYSICS. Besides, being fat is a lifestyle choice... your fat rolls don't really have to come out... You don't need to rub that in our faces. What you do in the privacy of your own kitchen is your own business. I just don't want my family and my children exposed to your lifestyle. I might catch obesity from you, just by sitting next to you. I don't need you to try to convert me to your immoral acts of deviancy... (I can keep going with this...) So... let's summarize... gay penguin family is bad... fat people demanding more room for themselves at the expense of everyone else is okay? Hmmm... Yeah. Rock on. But... kudos to United Airlines for fighting the good fight.

Special Update: News That Make You Go Hmmm....

I've come to realize that the news is a phenomenon of being a constant 24-hour feed for people with no attention span because every few seconds a new stream of information comes tickering past the bottom of your screen... that the truly huge WTF moments are completely lost amongst the filler. Although, I suppose that people that read the ticker on the bottom of the screen can legitimately say that they read the news. *sigh* Anyways... 3 things that have made me go, "Hmmm..." and surprisingly... Rod Blagojevich is not among them (mainly because I have reached a media saturation point for that particular story.) ***** Number 3: Sasha and Malia Obama Beanie Babies. One question: Why? I can understand turning the president into some action figure or something... go ahead, Google the words "President" and "Action Figure" the first two links that pop up are the Former-President George W. Bush in flight gear and Former-President Bill Clinton in a blue business suit available for purchase. (Although I find it ironic that the iconic images to be preserved for posterity in plastic is a GI Joe-esque figure and another that is advertised as a "Talking Action Figure.") Go figure. Anyways... those are little kids that some company is profiting off of. My friend Abby posted this on her blog: http://www.paradoxdaily.com/2009/01/arianna-huffington-saves-day.html It's a pretty interesting read. So... what's the What's YOUR Deal?!? take on something that has already been covered? Two questions: Why wasn't Chelsea Clinton made into some doll? Or perhaps the Bush Twins... Although... I do suppose they bear a slight resemblance to those latex blow-up dolls... (Too soon? Sorry.) ***** Number 2: Why Are Human Beings Having LITTERS of Children? Yes, I said LITTERS. OCTUPLETS?!? Seriously? And the woman that just had them already has SIX CHILDREN. This is an interesting article to read from the Brits: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5618449.ece This part of the article made me Scooby Doo-ify and go, "Rooooo?" with my head tilted: "However, most practitioners - while confirming that guidance tells them not to implant multiple embryos - acknowledge the choice is not ultimately theirs to make and rests solely with the mother. 'Who am I to say that six is the limit?' Dr Jeffrey Steinberg, medical director of Fertility Institutes, which has clinics in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York City, told the Associated Press news agency. 'There are people who like to have big families.' Dr James Grifo, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the New York University School of Medicine, added: 'I don’t think it's our job to tell them how many babies they’re allowed to have. I am not a policeman for reproduction in the United States. My role is to educate patients.'" So... with all the crap I've been giving the American Life League and the other EXTREMISTS in the Pro-Life/Anti-Choice movement... (I have to make that distinction because Pro-Life folks are cool... I think most of us are Pro-Life... it's the Anti-Choice part that's the incredibly stupid argument) the right CHOOSE pops up again!!! Anyways, why is the right to choose a GREAT thing when someone chooses to give birth to baseball team (minus one)? Or be able to have an entire NBA roster with one's offspring? That concept boggles my mind. So... Dr James Girfo... I salute you... "I am not a policeman for reproduction in the United States. My role is to educate patients." Ah... education... what a wonderful thing.... (SARCASM ALERT: But of course only when you're educated on just one slice of the opinion pie... and rest of it is SINFUL AND POISONED...) ***** Number 1: The Chinese Are Champions of RIGHTS?!? Well... maybe not HUMAN rights... but this story made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. What can I say? I'm a sucker for cute animals. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2176812.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=gay Gotta love the Brits... In case the link doesn't work, here's the article in its entirety: Gay penguin pair tie the knot By STAFF REPORTER Published: 27 Jan 2009 A PAIR of GAY penguins are so loved-up they have been given a WEDDING service. The besotted male birds turned out to be such a great parenting pair their keepers thought they deserved a reward and let them marry. They were once given the cold shoulder at the wildlife park in China for stealing heterosexual couples' eggs to nest as their own. But after being allowed to try out with eggs rejected by their mothers the couple have become the zoo's best penguin parents. Now keepers at Polarland Zoo in Harbin, north east China, have rewarded their devotion with a wedding day. One wore a tie and the other was dressed in a red blouse – a traditional Chinese bridal colour – as they stepped into their icy wedding room to the music of the Wedding March. Keepers then served them their favourite dish for the occasion – spring fish. "They have been a good couple and deserved their reward," said one keeper. ****** With all the drama regarding gay rights in the United States and the controversy of California's Proposition 8, which eliminated the previously existing right in that state for same-sex couples to marry, the CHINESE?!? PENGUINS?!? REALLY?!? Wow. (SARCASM ALERT: But before social liberals rejoice in this teeny tiny step towards equality in the animal kingdom, we must be prepared for the potential fall of penguin society and the possible extinction of the penguin race.) Do you think penguins can exist in the warmth of Hell? But seriously though, if the Chinese can open up their human rights trampling Commie hearts up to two adorable penguins in love... why can't everyone else?