Traditionally, the week between Christmas and New Year's is slow for news. And it looked like it would be that way until Thursday when the Monona Library Board dropped its bombshell.
Are you ready for this? Monona will no longer be charging late fees for books and other materials. This is just the kind of liberal, permissive policy that Rick Santorum has been campaigning against and I'm sure the news from Monona will help his cause in Iowa. Late fees for children's books have been a thing of the past in the People's Republic of Monona for a long time, but what will it teach the children of Monona to see their parents flagrantly leaving books around the house past the due date? Is this the way responsible adult library users act?
As if that wasn't bad enough, it may not be long before kids checking out porn videos at the Monona library have to witness the use of a condom. That's if the Los Angeles city council gets its way. An ordinance has been introduced to require that all porn productions in L.A. feature the use of condoms. I don't know -- something about safe sex and the prevention of HIV transmission. Looks like just more government interference in private enterprise and more job-killing regulation to me. I'm guessing Rick Santorum won't like this one either. In any event the measure is getting stiff resistance.
And talk about obscene, in international news, North Korea (where I'll bet the communists have never charged a late fee under their socialistic policies) buried the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il in an elaborate two-day ceremony. North Koreans cried and carried on as ordered for the dictator who spent a fortune trying to develop nuclear weapons while his people starved. Bob Dylan was right when he wrote "steal a little and they throw you in jail; steal a lot and they make you king."
Kim will be replaced by his son Kim Jong-un. The hope is that he'll be the un-il, but don't hold your breath on that one.
That's it for the year, kids. Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve.
