News Roundup for 4/1/09

GOP head Michael Steele lashes out

-Headline of the day-
"MIchael Steele chides GOP for infighting."

It was really the first paragraph that sold me on the funny here; "Embattled Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele lashed out at GOP infighting Tuesday and urged the party faithful -- some of whom have criticized his erratic statements -- to be more like him: 'unconventional, unpredictable... to do from time to time the unexpected.'"

If you're "lashing out" over squabbling, aren't you just becoming part of the problem? It's like setting fires to highlight the dangers of arson. And is the solution here really to become more erratic? That didn't work so well for John McCain.

Still, if Mike wants to throw a punch to end the Republican fist fight, I'm all for it. Maybe he can give John Boehner a poke in the nose and make him cry.

That's always fun. (Baltimore Sun)


-Guess what day it is?-
The social bookmarking site reddit.com has decided that it'd a super-funny prank to make their site look like a clone of fellow social bookmarking site Digg for April Fools Day. This is hilarious only if you've got a dog in the reddit vs. Digg fight.

Actually, no -- not even then.

Better is the fact that redditors feel the need to point out that they're not kidding about the stories they've submitted, which include:

Not an april fools joke: Attorney General Eric Holder voided Ted Stevens felony conviction

Not an April Fool's joke: Fox actually accuses Obama administration of trying to impose Islamic Sharia law in United States (video)

House GOP set to release another budget today. Do they even know what today is?

And my personal favorite:

The right wing is asking "At What Point Do People Revolt?" over, get this... a ban on phosphates in dishwasher detergent. As far as I can tell, this is not an April fools.

April Fools Day is starting to seem a little redundant; every day is April Fools Day. (reddit)


-Bonus HotD-
"Mom accused of daring teens to chug vodka."

BTW, I swear I'm not making this up for April Fools Day.

Kansas City mom Karen Christine Downs and friend Kelsee Guest face felony child-endangerment charges after "they provided liquor and beer to six 13- and 14-year-olds at a February birthday party for Downs' daughter."

According to the report, "Authorities say girls at the party told officers Downs offered them shots and told them not to tell their parents. While Downs allegedly offered money to the faster drinker, Guest is accused of pouring vodka shots."

"Parents who purchase alcohol for their kids -- and there are many -- should bear in mind that their job isn't to be cool in the eyes of their friends and their peers," reads an editorial in the Kansas City Star. "That's a hard sell in the best of circumstances. Their job is to be in charge and keep the kids safe from harm."

Paying kids to chug vodka is "cool?" I'm not sure I approve of the opinions of the KSS editorial board. (Raw Story)