Posted on 11/04/2012 4:10:44 AM PST by Kaslin
Ive had some fun on this blog by comparing moronic government policies in the United States and United Kingdom.
In my never-ending search for cheap laughs and juvenile entertainment, Ive ever turned this into a contest to see which nation has more pathetic and useless bureaucrats.
The United Kingdom has some very strong contestants.
As a patriotic American, Im proud to say that were giving the Brits a run for their money. As you can see, the United States is filled with equally stupid and clueless government officials.
These are all amazing episodes of bureaucratic stupidity, but I must confess that Ive been unfair.
Ive been sharing stories about moronic government officials and completely overlooking examples of idiotic behavior and decision-making in the non-government sector.
To be sure, youre more likely to find stupidity in government, but that doesnt mean its non-existent elsewhere.
So, to rectify that oversight, lets share two examples of jaw-dropping stupidity from non-bureaucrats in the U.S. and U.K. (or perhaps we should call them aspiring bureaucrats).
Well start with some clowns at Tufts University (a private school), who have kicked a Christian group off campus because it refused to change its internal policies so that non-Christians could be officers.
Im not joking. Here are some of the absurd details.
After the student leaders of Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) declined to revise their leadership policies, the Boston-area research universitys Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) revoked the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapters status as an officially recognized student organization. TCUJ originally suspended TCF for its requirement that any student who wishes to hold a leadership position within TCF must affirm basic Christian beliefs. The student judiciary told TCF that those statements violated the student body constitutions non-discrimination clause by excluding students who do not share these beliefs. TCF was given the opportunity to adapt its constitution and move the belief-based leadership requirement into its mission statement, which is not legally binding. However, TCF declined, resulting in the final TCUJ decision on Oct. 18.
Too bad they didnt have this policy when I was at Georgia. I could have applied to be an officer in the Black Student Union. Or Hillel, the club for Jewish students.
On second thought, I would have filed suit to join a sorority! Imagine how much fun I would have had hanging out by the showers. And then another lawsuit so I could have been quarterback for the Bulldawgs. After all, how dare they discriminate against the athletically challenged.
To be momentarily serious, I have to wonder about the students at Tufts who first brought the complaint against the Christian group. I bet they feel like big men on campus right now.
Maybe they should demonstrate that they have some real cojones by launching a similar attack on the local Muslim student group. But Im not holding my breath waiting for that to happen. Just like Im not expecting the same from the people in Hollywood who think theyre edgy and brave when they mock Christians and Mormons.
Not that I have any objection to humor targeting religious people. Or atheists, for that matter. But I dont have much use for cowards who engage in empty posturing.
But Im digressing. Now lets turn to our example of private-sector stupidity in the United Kingdom. It deals with bookstore chain that has decided to save impressionable British tykes from the life-scarring horror of buying shooting magazines.
Here are some details from the Telegraph on this ideologically motivated example of political correctness run amok.
WH Smith, Britains biggest chain of newsagents, has banned youngsters from buying copies of country sports magazines after a campaign by animal rights activists. The retailer says it has introduced an age limit on such magazines as Shooting Times because children are not allowed to obtain a firearms certificate until they are 14. However, sports enthusiasts point out that this is wrong. There is no minimum age for holding a shotgun licence in Britain They question why the high street chain does not restrict the sale of motoring magazines such as TopGear to those old enough to drive. It is extraordinary that in WH Smith you can buy a car magazine at any age, despite the age limit of 17 for driving, said Christopher Graffius, of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation. You can also buy numerous war magazines which depict the killing of people, yet WH Smith is concerned about children buying shooting magazines, a legal and an Olympic sport. They are also causing enormous offence to adult shooters who are stopped at auto-scan tills.
Kudos to Mr. Graffius for exposing the absurd hypocrisy of the company, but I gather his is a lonely voice. Its remarkable that a nation that once ruled half the world now produces people who decide that shooting magazines should be restricted like porn.
Not that Ive ever had a reason to patronize a bookstore in England, but I will make sure not to visit WH Smith on my visit later this month.
Since I believe in private property, I want to stress that WH Smith has the right to restrict access to shooting magazines. Or to ban their sale completely. But I sure hope English consumers will exercise their rights to patronize other bookstores.
Feel free to comment on who deserves to win the prize for empty and vapid stupidity, the clowns at Tufts or the buffoons at WH Smith.
P.S. I dont mean to slight the rest of the world. There are many examples of bureaucratic incompetence and political idiocy in other parts of the world, including Italy, Greece, Germany, and the European Union. So I hope nobody gets offended that their country isnt on the list. Theres only so much time in a day.
Reading english news for several yrs as a form of entertainment good topic..
from today
How about the Department of Justice taking affirmative action to hire mentally and intellectually incompetent attorneys?
I’d think that’s as good as anything the UK can offer.
This is outrageous. Political correctness has to stop!!!
Of course, Tufts University was also founded as a church-sponsored school in 1852 by the Universalist Church and with a land gift from local Boston businessman Charles Tufts. Their motto of "Pax et Lux" (Peace and Light) sounds suspiciously, if nonspecifically, Judeo-Christian.
Now we watch our various "Institutes of Higher Learning" push to ever lower "common denominators" and reject ours and their cultural heritage. Just an idle thought, are there Muslim groups recognized by these universities and do they operate under these identical rules?
Read my tagline.
Jacques Barzun just recently died at the age of 104.
Speaking of stupidity, this country elected obama in 2008. Any country in the world care to try to top that?
I’m not convinced we did. Why are they fighting so hard to maintain voter fraud?
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