Far be it from me to mock someone who obviously has serious mental issues, but I just want to point out this video, which I discovered through a post made by Rodney Anonymous on his blog yesterday. For the record, I find absolutely nothing hilarious about a man standing before a governing body violently shaking a lectern and describing his frustration over a mysterious helicopter buzzing his house. I did NOT laugh out loud when he called someone a “pussy,” and I certainly did not nearly shoot green tea out of my nose when it was pointed out to him that there were scared boy scouts in attendance.
I repeat, there is nothing funny about a scared boy scout.
Speaking of none of that, who’s up for a DNA sampling party? Fairly low-cost kits sold over the Interwebs now allow you to do all your swabbing at home, whether you’re wondering about your genetic heritage, concerned about that condom breaking last month, or just curious as to who exactly is yo’ baby daddy. The problem is that it may all turn out to be a big fat scam, since the results may be tainted and the company that sells you the kit may just be trying to sell you a bunch of supplements you don’t need.
Take, for example, the test performed by the Government Accountability Office for the Senate, mentioned in the above linked article.
The results, in some cases, were laughable. The nine samples sent from the baby girl received a variety of different recommendations. If the government pretended the sample was from someone who smoked, the recommendation was to stop smoking. In particular, the GAO cautioned against tests that purport to tell, by a sample of DNA, that the consumer should buy “personalized” dietary supplements that could cost $1,200 a year when the same ingredients could be purchased at a local store for $35 a year.
Good lord, that’s shocking! Who the hell let their 9-month old baby have a cigarette, and why didn’t the GAO prosecute?!
The moral of the story is that for now, it’s probably best to get your medical procedures done through trained medical professionals and not Prince Nuboku who is trying to escape Nigeria but needs your help to get his deceased father’s fortune into a bank in Switzerland using your genetic material and a cashier’s check.
The trouble is, Prince Nuboku has his hand in the pie, and *that's* why there's no ice in the arena.
There is a tricky line to be drawn with mental illness, at what stage do we deny people's rights due to illness (thinking of the right to vote etc)?
As the law currently is in the US, we deny it only when that illness leads them to commit a felony.
Think lizardmen are invading Earth? Allowed to vote.
Think you are a lizardman invading Earth? Allowed to vote.
Think the Earth consists of two oppositely-rotating hemispheres resulting in four simultaneous days? Allowed to vote.
Think Jews are less than human, and are advocating killing them all off but have not yet done so? Allowed to vote.
Scare Boy Scouts while maniacally ranting about a mysterious helicopter? Allowed to vote.
Think George W. Bush is intelligent and has strong morals? Allowed to vote.
One day shy of your 18th birthday but have a doctorate in Political Science? Not allowed to vote.
Yeah, it needs reform, but the problem is how to go about it without sliding down a slippery slope that would allow the government to decree that anyone they don't like can't vote (see Iraq pre-invasion).
Oh, Rebecca. You can sample my DNA any time.
…
Ok, that's kinda creepy even for me.
We're calling it the Interwebs now?
Dammit. The internet ate my name… Maybe I should go back to NAITA.
I was a Boy Scout Rebbeca and trust me you are right there is nothing funny about a scared one!
"I was a Boy Scout Rebbeca"
O Punctuaton, you are SO putting images in my head.