WTF #1. Judge Liu, Ronald McDonald, Erykah Badu and Westboro Baptist Church.

Which one doesn't belong? Probably Professor Goodwin Liu - he seems the most normal of the lot.

1.) President Obama nominated Professor Liu to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As usual, the right is protesting. Had it been a Republican president doing the nominating, the left would protest.

In May 2008, Liu took part in a discussion of the documentary film Traces of the Trade, which explores the role of New Englanders in the slave trade. The right is saying Liu talked about "reparations" for blacks; the left said he said no such word. And he didn't - but he did say this:

...whatever our lineage, whatever our ancestry, whatever our complicity, still have a moral duty to ... make things right.

And I think, to add one more point on top of that, the exercise of that responsibility ... necessarily requires the answer to the question, "What are we willing to give up to make things right?" Because it's gonna require us to give up something, whether it is the seat at Harvard, the seat at Princeton. Or is it gonna require us to give up our segregated neighborhoods, our segregated schools? Is it gonna require us to give up our money?
So Liu did say "to make things right" and he begged the question, "is it gonna require us to give up out money?" . THAT'S REPARATIONS. If Liu asks that question now, he could very well be asked that question while sitting on the bench. Which means he could rule in favor of reparations. And that's why the right is up in arms.

2.) Corporate Accountability International is on a mission to retire Ronald McDonald. It claims that Ronald, who had been the face of McDonald's since 1963, has way too much influence over children and what they eat. Bad influence.

You know what? Where does "responsibility" on the part of the parents of these children come into play? Isn't it the parents who drive their children to McDonald's? And why can't the kids order a salad? Or eat a fish sandwich? Or just take the bun off the hamburger? Better yet, drive your kid somewhere else. This is bullshit. You know it. I know it. Go ahead and blame everyone but the God damn parents.

CAI must've forgotten that for nearly 35 years, the Ronald McDonald House Charities have been "creating, finding and supporting programs that directly improve the health and well being of nearly 4 million children worldwide every year."

3.) Erykah Badu shoots a music video for her song, "Window Seat" at Daley Plaza in Dallas where President Kennedy was murdered. Throughout the video she takes her clothes off until she's totally naked and falls down near where Kennedy was shot, at which time you hear a gunshot during the video.

I understand free speech. I understand artist's need to create. I practice both regularly. I enjoy the sight of a naked woman. But Daley Plaza is a public place, a historical site and there were children present. Badu didn't give a shit. She's an ar-tist. She stated that she attempted to "telepathically" convey her good intentions to the children.

Whack job. Fuck her and her album. And she should've gotten arrested for indecent, fucking exposure.

4.) More whack jobs. Westboro Baptist Church. You know who they are - they picket the funerals (among other events) of servicemen and gays and lesbians and yell out that God killed your son or daughter because they're gay or because homosexuality runs rampant in our country (among other things they protest). One father sued the church for interfering in his son's funeral, a US marine killed overseas. Two courts upheld the suit but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shot the ruling down AND ordered the father to pay the church's legal bills (around $17,000). He stated he couldn't afford it. The church said, "you get money from your son's death benefits; you can pay".

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. Bill O'Reilly of FoxNews agreed to pay the father's $17,000 bill. And people all over the country are donating money to see this thing to the end.

Is it me or is this world getting more and more fucked up each day? Parents of kids my age who used to want a better life for us...these parents, my parents are saying, "I'm glad I'm not you".