Stop the Presses for Stop the Stupid!!

This will probably be the final Stop the Stupid until after Labour Day. The family is taking some much needed together time and will be traveling for part of next week and into the long weekend. So, you will all just have to content yourselves with today's edition. It is a bit sad considering that next week features the Democratic National Convention and as we all have come to realize, there is very little that is as patently stupid as politics. If any of you have anything really dumb to contribute that comes out of the convention, please forward it and I will include it in the next edition. And, away we go!!

1. The Dumbass in Chief has been strangely quiet since his return from the Olympics, but it appears as though he has passed the baton of ignorance (note the Olympic reference!) off to a worthy successor in the person of the presumptive Republican nominee. "In the 21st century nations don't invade other nations." --on Russia's military action against Georgia, in Birmingham, Michigan, Aug. 13, 2000. Has Mr. McCain forgotten about actions in Afghanistan and Iraq or is he merely suffering from a raging case of "senioritis"? As if that weren't enough, there was this gem emanating from his mouth when asked how many homes he and his wife own. "I think -- I'll have my staff get to you. It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you." How many of us cannot recall how many homes we own? I know that the taxes, fees and mortgage payments are enough to make most people's head swim. As Bob Cesca at The Huffington Post put it:

Ask any homeowner how many houses they own and they'll probably answer correctly -- or, if they're crazy rich, they'll at least answer within the margin of error (+/- one house). Ask Sen. Obama and he'll probably answer correctly (one). Yet Sen. McCain simply couldn't remember. McCain is showing the signs of being too old for the gig, and his recent history of forgetting things (whether simple details like the number of houses he owns, or more complicated facts like Sunni vs. Shia) ought to be the source of some serious panic inside the Republican loop.

For the record, Mr McCain and his family own 8 homes!! And he and his party have the nerve to call his opponent elitist and out of touch with the working class American voter. How terribly stupid!!

2. A California high school student wrote an editorial for her school newspaper concerning the school board's "abstinence-only" sex education curriculum. Margaret Dupes wrote:

"Why do the schools only preach 'abstinence only' education?" Dupes wrote in her editorial. "It is not the decision of your health teacher, your principal, the school nurse, or even your school board - but a decision forced upon state and local governments by the Bush Administration that is ideologically, rather than empirically, driven."

Impressive right? Wrong! The editorial never saw print as it was pulled by the school's administration. Apparently the principal was uncomfortable with its content. It constantly amazes me that schools have no problem giving students only half the story when it comes to sex education. Maybe if kids were fully informed, there wouldn't be misadventures involving STDs, unwanted pregnancies and AIDS. Not only that, in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech, there is a disturbing lack of it when it comes to truthful and healthy sex information. Here's hoping that the school administration rethinks a very stupid and poorly thought out decision.

3. I need to follow up on a Stop the Stupid that I commented on a few weeks back. I have been quite engrossed in the Olympics over the past two weeks, and while it has been a great deal of fun to watch, I still maintain that the equestrian events are amongst the stupidest in the Games. I know that you Canadians out there have every right to challenge me on this point given that 2 of our meagre total of medals have come from the "horsies", but I have several proofs to back up my thesis!! If you can explain the purpose or the reasoning behind the Dressage event, then you are a better sports fan than I. It looks like equine ballroom dancing. WTF? Some stupid horse prances around the ring with a top-hatted and tailed rider and we are supposed to buy into this as an Olympic sport? Not only that, but as the husband has most astutely pointed out that any sport that requires the participants to wear a jacket and tie cannot be a real sport. Check it out here! Finally, how absurd is it that 4 horses in these Games have tested positive for banned substances? 4 HORSES WERE ELIMINATED FOR DOPING!!!! Even the non-human athletes are dirty! The apocalypse is officially upon us in the form of the stupid equestrian events.

4. A New York lawyer is suing Columbia University for offering women's studies courses which he describes as "an indoctrination program responsible for spreading prejudice and fostering animosity and distrust toward men with the result of wholesale violation of men's rights due to ignorance, falsehoods, and malice." Huh? The suit continues on with "Columbia has thrown its influence and prestige into violating the rights of men by offering a women's studies program but no men's studies program." This is same moron who filed suit against NYC bars for offering "Ladies Nights" special at the exclusion of men. He was profiled in an August 2007 edition of The New Yorker. I have sat here for quite a while attempting to come up with a witty comeback for this a-hole, but I think it is better to direct you to some very intrepid bloggers who have unmasked him and his motives. His stupidity and hatred towards women defies comment. I think that my middle finger in the air says it all!

5. Tropical Storm Fay has been battering Florida for the past couple of days. Dangerous? Yes, but where there is danger there is always stupidity. Check out the idiot who decided to kite surf in the middle of a downgraded hurricane. I think that this jerk is an early candidate for a Darwin Award! Painful and stupid.

Enjoy the weekend and the upcoming long weekend! I know that as we all gear back up into regular routines, stupidity will increase the world over. Look at all we have to look forward to! Election season in both countries will be upon us, as will school and High Holidays. Enjoy the lull, because the best is yet to come!

Shabbat Shalom to all who observe.