There was no shortage of bizarre stories in the news this week. Here are my choices:
-The Trump administration rescinded the Obama bathroom mandate. This is a front page story in the New York Times, believe it or not. Political correctness has been advancing in leaps and bounds in recent years, and liberals and conservatives are always looking for new issues to fight about. Why not bathrooms?
The issue is that people who have physical characteristics of one sex might want the right to use the other sex’s bathrooms if they so choose. It’s a little confusing , I know. Personally I’m not opposed to the rights and needs of any special groups. What I find interesting is that so many are willing to give up the privacy that is afforded both men and women when bathrooms are separated by sex. Frankly most women don’t even want to share bathrooms with their spouses. Why would they be amenable to using a bathroom with strange men?
I have a possible compromise. Bathrooms should be constructed with only stalls and no urinals. Since most bathrooms in our homes have no urinals, it wouldn’t be an imposition for men.
There is the issue of proper etiquette. The proposal will not work unless men agree to lift the seat when they urinate and lower it when they are finished.
After this plan is executed maybe we’ll be able to return to more pressing issues facing the country like the economy, nuclear proliferation, ISIS and immigration reform.
–Wedding restrictions in India. India has its share of destitute citizens. Some legislators think it’s outrageous that affluent families have opulent weddings that cost in the hundreds of thousand of dollars.
Under new regulations in two areas of the country, the government is limiting the headcount at weddings to 400 to 500 attendees, and only 14 dishes (7 vegetarian and 7 non-vegetarian). Another restriction being considered is capping wedding expenses to $7,500.
–Turkish women in the military may now wear head scarves. For years Turkey has lauded that it has a vibrant secular bias even while most citizens are Muslims. For this reason the military banned the use of scarves. This restriction has been abolished giving women the opportunity to dress more modestly as a sign of their faith.
–Millions face famine. The United Nations has announced that 20 million people are on the brink of famine in the world and 1.4 million children are at imminent risk of death. The populations of Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and South Sudan are in great peril.
The reasons for this problem are twofold. The U.N. needs $5.6 billion to address needs, most of it by the end of March. And the four countries mentioned are “reeling” from conflict. In some places it’s too dangerous to bring aid.
–Russia is responding to “fake” news. The government has established a web site that calls out “fake” news that is disparaging towards Russia. It’s ironic that a country famous for deception, cyber terrorism and election interference is so sensitive about what others are saying.