A Stitch in Haste

Some quick updates to past posts:

--Kevin Warsh, President Bush's underqualified but well-connected nominee to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, was confirmed by the Senate. Perhaps Bush will take this absurd appointment to the next level by "pulling a Roberts" and nominating Warsh to the newly vacant Vice-Chairman position.

--The Georgia House passed a bill that would require students to get their parents' permission before they could join any extra-curricular group or club. The sole purpose of the bill is to abolish so-called "gay-straight alliances," since students would be unable to join them unless they "came out" to their parents. A fundamental purpose of GSAs is precisely to provide a safe zone where kids can talk about sexual orientation without fear of reprisal. Bottom line: A 17-year old high school student in Georgia can drop out of school without his parents' consent but can't join the "fag club." Lovely. Remind me again how it's "all about the children"?

--The latest "sex offender mania" report comes from Mississippi, where hack bureaucrats have announced plans to plaster pictures of registered sex offenders on billboards along state highways. Because, again, "it's all about the children." (Via CrimProf.)

--The Supreme Court has declined to review the case Hosty v. Carter, No. 01-4155 (7th Cir,. 2005), which held that if a school funds a student newspaper, then the school's administrators are permitted to exercise editorial review of the paper's contents without violating the First Amendment. As I blogged previously, this is the correct holding — it's not "censorship" when you own the paper.

--Regarding the "War on Sniffles," the Minnesota Attorney General is planning to sue the makers of over-the-counter decongestants containing pseudoephedrine for "enabling" the meth crisis in America. Because, of course, decongestants serve no other purpose than to be used as an ingredient in meth labs, and because pursuing the meth lab operators would be too unprofitable difficult. I swear the single best thing we could for America would be to abolish the position of "state attorney general" entirely. PolicyGuy, To The People and Point of Law Forum all beat me to punch on this one.

--The country in which the entire "Motoon" debacle began, Denmark, has kowtowed to the world's Islamofascists and is, according to reports from the Muslim World League, preparing to criminalize the act of "insulting Islam." Lovely. Remind me again why I'm supposed to buy Danish goods in support of such a country? Meanwhile, "the world's largest (faux) democracy" is sitting back and doing nothing about a Sharia court's fatwa calling for the murder of the Danish cartoonist. With "democracies" like India, who needs China? (Via Jurist.)

--The Maryland hack politician who wants that state to issue special "DUI" license plates has introduced his bill into that state's legislature. As I blogged previously, my problem isn't so much with the "shame factor" element that such plates incur, but with the concurrent provision that police would be authorized to stop any car with a DUI plate at any time without probable cause. Warm fuzzy feelings should not trump basic civil liberties so casually. (Via Fark.)

--Speaking of local hack politicians, back in December I noted a flagrant violation by the city of Manassas, Virginia, of a Supreme Court precedent holding that zoning boards can't discriminate against unmarried couples in granting building permits. Here's a repeat in Missouri. Still unconstitutional, still obnoxious. (Via Fark.)