Be wary of the hidden code in cooing pigeons! 

The U.S. military had to approve the text of a book of poems by Guantanamo prisoners with comments by former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky, due for publication by the University of Iowa Press, because of “the ease with which imagery could be used as coded messages to colleagues outside.” Here’s an example by Sami al Haj as quoted in a Wall Street Journal article:

“When I heard the pigeons cooing in the trees / Hot tears covered my face”

“My soul is like a roiling sea, stirred by anguish / Violent with passion.”

Only in Utah? We can only hope so!

In August, prior to a field trip that included sensitive security sites such as Chevron Refineries and Hill Air Force base, Utah law makers had been warned to leave their guns at home. The tour was delayed as four representatives ignoring the warning in order to make a point marched off to unholster their concealed guns: “If we have to find ways to carry our guns, we’ll find them.” One of the four, Rep. Wimmer of Herriman (a republican) stated that he’d “sooner leave home without his pants than his guns.” I guess that means we’re going to see a lot of pantless legislatures should Utah ever change its concealed gun laws. Now that would make an interesting law making session! Maybe Jockey or Calvin Klein could make a commercial out of that!

Beware! Extra wives require extra pension money!

Britain’s Office of Work and Pensions acknowledged to the Daily Mail in April that the multiple wives of polygamous husbands who are legally in the country routinely draw dependents’ unemployment allowances from the government even though polygamy is illegal in the U.K. A single person receives the equivalent of about $120 a week, and a married couple about $180, with $60 for each additional wife. 

Online wife, adulterous or game?

Consider a man who spends 30+ hours a week playing an online “Second Life” video game and is married to a real woman . His online self, a 6-foot-9 hunk living on an island recently married (online in the game) another woman and set up housekeeping with their two dogs. The online wife and Himself spend many hours together motorcycling and uhh umm or shall we say, other personal pursuits? Meanwhile when real life wife brings him a drink or tries to talk to him, he’s quite likely to be otherwife occupied, having sex (online of course) with the new online wife. Can real wife accuse her husband of adultery? This is not made up! It’s a real life story from the Wall Street Journal. 

Anger management could use a little tweaking!

A 20-year-old man in San Diego was charged in April with killing his teenaged girlfriend by stabbing her 122 times. He was arrested later that day at his anger management class.

Another man, this time in Gary, Indiana, had been teaching anger-management classes for accused criminals for several years. He was arrested in July. The charge? Beating his wife.

That’s about all the weird news I can take for the moment. I do have a question though. Is “Stupid” catching?