You're not pretty enough to work here.

I read the most ridiculous thing I think I have ever heard in the paper this past week. Abercrombie and Fitch discriminates by looks. And we're not talking sloppiness, multiple tattoos and/or piercings, or poor hygiene -- we're talking prettiness. Employees are scored 0-5 on prettiness, and their scores are posted on the office wall. If you're not pretty enough, you get sent to work the backroom and cannot work the higher paying job on the sales floor. (They call their sales people "models").

Kristen Carmichael found out she didn't have the store's "sexy, effortless style" when she was pulled from a sales position at the NorthPark Center store in Dallas and moved to the stockroom. One of the questions on the report that got her pulled was, "Do all female models currently working have beautiful faces?" Kristen says, "I don't think I'm the most attractive person in the world, but I don't think I'm so hideous you have to shove me into a back room."

The ugly people (stockroom employees) are not allowed to speak to customers. Joshuah Welch, a 26-year-old recently hired as a manager, says, "It's a hierarchy of hotness." Wonder how long he'll be manager after the higher-ups read the newspaper? Kind of proves the point that they couldn't care less whether or not you have a brain as long as you look good.

"Workers: From the looks of it, beauty is key to job success." The Dallas Morning News; August 27, 2008; p. 1A.

We have lost all sense of decorum.

The Paris News had an article the other day about the North Lamar High School drama department fall production. They're staging the musical "Urinetown." Musical selections include "It's a Privilege to Pee" and "Snuff the Girl." There has been a lot of discussion locally about the propriety of high school students performing in something so low-brow. Many people, Essie May included, don't care to discuss bodily functions in public. Can you imagine a high school doing a play like this 25 years ago? How far we have fallen!

The newspaper article reeks of damage control. It's purported focus is the school district theme of promoting the environment. The drama department spokesman says this production fits right in to that -- yet the article also states that the play "emphasize(s) the importance of water conservation, although conservation is not the theme." Clue number two that it's mere damage control is that the title of the musical is not in the headline -- it's not even in the first paragraph.

In the play, private toilets are outlawed after a 20-year drought. Citizens must pay to use public facilities with wealthier people being able to afford better urinals. When a citizen cannot pay and is forced to relieve himself in the street, he is arrested and sent to Urinetown, a penal colony. In reality, people sent to Urinetown are exterminated. When the people turn against a leader of the revolution, they sing the song, "Snuff the Girl." A synopsis of the play says it "pokes fun at capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and petty small town politics, as well as advocating environmentalism. Urinetown rejects musical theatre convention, parodying successful Broadway shows . . . the unconventional plotline shatters audience expectations of a pleasant ending." Sounds real entertaining and cultured, doesn't it?

To sum up the newspaper article, Superintendent James Dawson is quoted: "If they see the title, they may want to come to see what it is about. It is not offensive . . ." Speak for yourself, Mr. Dawson.

"North Lamar plays to follow a theme." The Paris News; August 25, 2008; p. 1.

More evidence?

On June 9, I wrote about Barack Obama and a picture of him I had seen in the newspaper. He was moving through a crowd, and the people were pushing just to touch him. I said that I do not believe all the email "Obama is the antichrist" junk; however, this picture certainly gave me pause.

Now, there is something else that gives me pause to reconsider the Obama as antichrist thought. According to Reuters, he will address the Democratic National Convention from "an elaborately columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple." I thought temples were for deities! Sounds to me like they're conditioning us for acceptance of this pseudo-messiah.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080826/pl_nm/usa_politics_obama_stadium_dc_1

Mary Ellen's logic is -- illogical.

There has been a rule proposed by the Bush Administration that would protect medical workers from being forced to provide "treatments" that are against their religious beliefs -- for example, a nurse who finds abortion morally wrong could not be compelled to assist in the procedure. So Mary Ellen Geherardi of Coppell, Texas, questioned the logic of such a rule in a letter to the editor in yesterday's Dallas Morning News.

Mary Ellen compares it to military service. She says, that anyone who objects to murder, wouldn't have to fight. There's a little problem with Mary Ellen's logic, too. Number 1 -- military action is not murder. Not every instance of taking a life is murder. Number 2 -- let's give Mary Ellen her point and say that military casualties are murder. Helllooooo -- we have an all-VOLUNTEER army, so she is right when she says, if you find it "morally wrong to invade another country and murder innocent people" you don't have to do it. Number 3 -- Even when we had the draft, we had a thing called "conscientious objection." If your religious beliefs were compromised by combat, you could file for conscientious objection and be assigned something else. Number 4 -- Doctors take the Hippocratic oath which states, in part, "I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion. With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my Art." I don't think soldiers ever take an oath not to kill another person -- I think their oath involves protecting their country and following the orders of their Commander-in-Chief.

Mary Ellen concludes with the question, "Can you imagine this logic applied fairly, across the board?" I agree -- kind of looks like the medical field got the short end of the stick.

"Moral point, to logical end." The Dallas Morning News; August 26, 2008; p. 18A.

I really thought I had heard it all until . . .

The Catholics are holding a beauty pageant . . . for nuns. That's right, the "Miss Sister 2008" online pageant will start in September and will give nuns from around the world a chance to showcase their work and their image.

The Rev. Antonio Rungi, an Italian priest, came up with the idea. "Nuns are a bit excluded. They are a bit marginalized in ecclesiastical life. This will be an occasion to make their contribution more visible. . . We are not going to parade nuns in bathing suits . . .External beauty is a gift from God, and we mustn't hide it."

The National Association of Catholic Teachers doesn't like the idea. The group says that it "belittles the role of nuns who have dedicated themselves to God."

I agree. We used to have a Catholic hospital here, and I can remember the days when the nuns wore full habits. The few times I was hospitalized, they were a great comfort, and I just can't picture any of them parading around with sashes and tiaras. While I certainly believe they should be recognized for their works, I don't believe what they look like has one iota's bearing on their work for God. And I'll just bet that most of them are a bit embarrassed by Rungi's brainstorm!

"Priest calling nuns to new mission: pageantry." The Dallas Morning News; August 25, 2008; p. 6A.

Relax -- it's just a job!

I've written before about how my dog is my baby. Some people just don't seem to get that. In San Marcos, Texas, last week, a couple was rushing their little dog to an emergency vet. The dog was choking to death. And they were speeding -- I would have been, too.

They were stopped. Instead of Officer Paul Stephens using some common sense and helping them get the dog on to the veterinarian and then giving them a ticket if he wanted to, he insisted on giving them a ticket right then. When the distraught couple protested, he callously shouted, "Relax, it's just a dog! You can buy another one!" Of course, the twenty-minute delay was too much, and the dog died.

Instead of being fired, the Officer has received an "oral reprimand." This is ridiculous! If I were the police chief, I would have called him in and said, "Relax, it's just a job! You can find another one!"

"Police officer receives death threats." The Dallas Morning News; August 23, 2008; p. 3A.

Consumers Win!

Our government is doing something right! The FTC is banning recorded sales calls. The only problem I see with this is that it took this long to get it done. Effective September 1, 2009, sellers and telemarketers may place recorded calls only to people who have provided written and signed agreements to receive them.

More than 150 million people are on the "Do Not Call" Registry. Many people who are not on the registry don't want the calls, either. They just haven't taken the time to register their numbers. Doesn't this say something to telemarketers? We hate those calls!

Of course, this will not stop a lot of unscrupulous companies from continuing their harassment. But it should definitely cause a slow-down. I'd like it even better if the effective date was 2008 instead of 2009!

"Recorded calls to be limited." The Dallas Morning News; August 21, 2008; p. 2D.