Oink

If the swine flu wore turbans and sweater vests made of TNT, I bet the Republicans wouldn't have called all that pandemic flu money they chucked out of the budget pork barrel spending. But in the end, the flu kills more people every year than all the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists combined.

For a political party that supposedly stands up for business, they really do suck at math.

Let Freedom Ring...in Iowa?

Unlike those bigoted assholes in California, the open-minded, accepting, progressive people of Iowa have opened the door to legal gay marriage in their fair state.

You read that right. The open-minded, accepting, progressive people of Iowa.

You might be shocked by this bit of news but you shouldn't be. The state of Iowa has lead the way on equality for more than a century. Don't believe me? Read this Chicago Tribune Column.

It does a nice job of listing some of Iowa's historic stands against inequality. For example:

•The state did away with racial barriers to marriage in 1851—more than 100 years before the U.S. Supreme Court would ban miscegenation statutes nationwide.

•In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools are a denial of equal protection of the laws. Brown vs. Board of Education, which did away with school segregation nationally, didn't come down until 1954.

•And in 1873, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled against racial discrimination in public accommodations. It would be almost 100 years before the U.S. Supreme Court would reach the same decision.

Did you also know that Iowa has one of the highest literacy rates in the nation? In fact, Iowa students rank number one nationally when it comes to mean SAT scores.

So don't be surprised by the fact that Iowa is helping to lead the way in gay rights. It's just the way those wild and crazy Iowans roll.