Just what this country needs, another easily bruise snowflake trying to create a nation of PC pussies.

The Ron Paul fan is on the grass.
The Ron Paul fan is on the grass.

Yep. Still works.

What will these guys do now?

FTA: Conrad said that by eliminating "lunatic" from federal law, the 21st Century Language Act, S. 2367, would help reduce the stigmatization of such conditions.

I thought Democrats were the ones waging a war on language. STOP FORCING YOUR WORD-SOCIALISM ON ME, YOU JACKBOOTED PC GOON THUG MARXIST!

C'mon subs.

Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would remove all references to the word "lunatic" from federal law, a step they said is needed to reflect the country's modern understanding of mental-health conditions.

Don't be a partisan ass.

As for the legislation, all I can think is how the Signers didn't like having "slave" in the constitution either.

Based on the thread right before this one, I suggest a footnote: see Arizona GOP for example of lunatic.

Doesn't the U.S. Code look more like a set of diffs than a true rewrite? Wouldn't the 'lunatic' terms still be in there, just superseded by the new wording?

I_Am_Weasel: The Ron Paul fan is on the grass.
The Ron Paul fan is on the grass.

Yep. Still works.

Legalizing weed
And pushing a flat tax
Got to keep the Paulites on the path

vudukungfu: Just what this country needs, another easily bruise snowflake trying to create a nation of PC pussies.

itnernettoughguymagazine.jpg

Diogenes: C'mon subs.

Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would remove all references to the word "lunatic" from federal law, a step they said is needed to reflect the country's modern understanding of mental-health conditions.

Don't be a partisan ass.

As for the legislation, all I can think is how the Signers didn't like having "slave" in the constitution either.

Yeah, but his name is Crapo.

/not subby

kronicfeld:
itnernettoughguymagazine.jpg

"Nothing wrong with our wrists, though"
~John Wayne.

Nation of pussies.
Afraid of "terrorists"

Damn... How else will I describe Tea Party members?

Ah, political correctness.

Lunatic doesn't even have any direct relation to specific mental health ailments, like "spaz" or "spastic" does. Lunatic refers to the misconception that madness was influenced by the cycles of the moon, hence "luna-tic." Someone who was driven mad by the moon.

Wow, talk about pandering to the GOP base...

SpecialSnowFlake: Wow, talk about pandering to the GOP base...

ummm

FTA: Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would remove all references to the word "lunatic" from federal law, a step they said is needed to reflect the country's modern understanding of mental-health conditions

he may be right...

How many jobs will this create, asshole?

Diogenes: C'mon subs.

Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would remove all references to the word "lunatic" from federal law, a step they said is needed to reflect the country's modern understanding of mental-health conditions.

Don't be a partisan ass.


Subby just thought that "Crapo" was a funnier name than "Conrad." Sorry.

csi_yellowknife: Diogenes: C'mon subs.

Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would remove all references to the word "lunatic" from federal law, a step they said is needed to reflect the country's modern understanding of mental-health conditions.

Don't be a partisan ass.


Subby just thought that "Crapo" was a funnier name than "Conrad." Sorry.

OK. I'll forgive him this time.

There's so much unfair sniping these days I try to keep it as honest as possible. Unfortunately it cuts into one's sense of humor.

So when is he going to introduce legislation to change his own name?

Dammit, I was kind of hoping that headline was true.

bonefish: Damn... How else will I describe Tea Party members any of our elected officials?

Bloody William: Ah, political correctness.

Lunatic doesn't even have any direct relation to specific mental health ailments, like "spaz" or "spastic" does. Lunatic refers to the misconception that madness was influenced by the cycles of the moon, hence "luna-tic." Someone who was driven mad by the moon.

Silly superstitions. Nowadays we know that it's not the moon itself that drives them mad, but the moon-beasts from the destroyed city of Ib.

Words are scary and offensive and should be banned.

Seriously though, bills like this could end up being train wrecks. You're talking about amending very old laws indiscriminately to ensure political correctness. Using the wrong synonym could completely change the meaning of some laws and deleting words without replacement could have all kinds of unintended consequences. For example, if an old law says that "lunatics" cannot be convicted of crime X, and you delete the word lunatic, you've just taken away the insanity defense.

Diogenes: C'mon subs.

Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) on Wednesday introduced legislation that would remove all references to the word "lunatic" from federal law, a step they said is needed to reflect the country's modern understanding of mental-health conditions.

Don't be a partisan ass.

As for the legislation, all I can think is how the Signers didn't like having "slave" in the constitution either.

Huh, so in this case, both of those sides are bad.

Ah, another job creating bill brought to you by the GOP.

remove all references to the word "lunatic" from federal law, a step they said is needed to reflect the country's modern understanding of mental-health conditions.

Right, because that made such a difference when we stopped officially using words like "moron", "imbecile", "idiot" and "feeble-minded".

When I was a kid in England, schools stopped referring to the low performers as "retarded" and introduced the term "Educationally Subnormal", with the requisite ESN special classes. It took about one day for "ESN" to become the new insult of choice in the playground. I see that the term "Special Education" in the US was equally successful in promoting tolerance and understanding.

/Still surprised that The Fairly Oddparents uses the term "spaz", though

NeverDrunk23: Huh, so in this case, both of those sides are bad.

In a sense. I think in this example it's that both sides are useless. I suppose this is a nice thing to do. But Congress has gotten to the point where at it can do is pass nice legislation that accomplishes nothing.

Even if we narrow the scope to mental illness, isn't there something more impactful they can be doing like improving quality of care, better identification of mental disorders among the homeless, or improving access to care that allows the mentally ill to function in society?

imontheinternet: You're talking about amending very old laws indiscriminately to ensure political correctness.

"Conrad said he and Crapo have worked with the Senate Banking Committee to confirm that eliminating the term "lunatic" would have no impact on federal law, and is supported by many mental-health advocates."

I know reading is very hard for you, but we try to be understanding towards lunatics mentally ill people.

"all it can do"

Sorry, I'm cranky and unfocused today.

/sinus infection

Diogenes: Even if we narrow the scope to mental illness, isn't there something more impactful they can be doing like improving quality of care, better identification of mental disorders among the homeless, or improving access to care that allows the mentally ill to function in society?

You won't get any Republican support for those things.

Eh... I think "lunatic" would be more appropriate for Newt "Moon base"Gingrich supporters.

"Delusional" is a far more appropriate word for Ron Paul supporters.

Philip Francis Queeg: Diogenes: Even if we narrow the scope to mental illness, isn't there something more impactful they can be doing like improving quality of care, better identification of mental disorders among the homeless, or improving access to care that allows the mentally ill to function in society?

You won't get any Republican support for those things.

I hear what you're saying. But the Democrats aren't immune from "feel good" legislation of their own.

I hope this turns into a Paultard thread. They are high on my annoyance list as of late. They genuinely believe His Holiness the honorable Dr. Paul is going to fix everything by dipping his dick in gold bullion and waving it around.

As long as the big issues have been dealt with. I'm sure all the lunatics read the US Code front to back AND are offended at being labelled lunatics. Yeh.

Diogenes: Philip Francis Queeg: Diogenes: Even if we narrow the scope to mental illness, isn't there something more impactful they can be doing like improving quality of care, better identification of mental disorders among the homeless, or improving access to care that allows the mentally ill to function in society?

You won't get any Republican support for those things.

I hear what you're saying. But the Democrats aren't immune from "feel good" legislation of their own.

No, of course they are not. They are still politicians after all. It's just that they aren't adamantly opposed to any and all legislation that would actually DO good, like the Republicans are.

What should the word "lunatic" be replaced with? And how is that not offensive or stigmatizing mental conditions? Changing a word in federal legislation merely because people consider it to be offensive is retarded. (pun very much intended)

I hope he's watching, because I'm doing it as hard as I can

From the Farking Article:

Conrad said he and Crapo have worked with the Senate Banking Committee to confirm that eliminating the term "lunatic" would have no impact on federal law, and is supported by many mental-health advocates.


What the fark does the Senate Banking Committee has to do with the wording of mental health laws? Or is he saying all bankers are mentally ill?

vudukungfu: Just what this country needs, another easily bruise snowflake trying to create a nation of PC pussies.

1/10

You're trying too hard.

imontheinternet: Words are scary and offensive and should be banned.

Seriously though, bills like this could end up being train wrecks. You're talking about amending very old laws indiscriminately to ensure political correctness. Using the wrong synonym could completely change the meaning of some laws and deleting words without replacement could have all kinds of unintended consequences. For example, if an old law says that "lunatics" cannot be convicted of crime X, and you delete the word lunatic, you've just taken away the insanity defense.

3/10

Good use of the scare tactic. Protip: Insanity defense is rarely tried and even in those cases rarely works. I can tell you get all of your legal understanding from movies.

czetie: remove all references to the word "lunatic" from federal law, a step they said is needed to reflect the country's modern understanding of mental-health conditions.

Right, because that made such a difference when we stopped officially using words like "moron", "imbecile", "idiot" and "feeble-minded".

When I was a kid in England, schools stopped referring to the low performers as "retarded" and introduced the term "Educationally Subnormal", with the requisite ESN special classes. It took about one day for "ESN" to become the new insult of choice in the playground. I see that the term "Special Education" in the US was equally successful in promoting tolerance and understanding.

/Still surprised that The Fairly Oddparents uses the term "spaz", though

8/10

Solid trolling, but points lost for the fake story.

Sudo_Make_Me_A_Sandwich: "Conrad said he and Crapo have worked with the Senate Banking Committee to confirm that eliminating the term "lunatic" would have no impact on federal law, and is supported by many mental-health advocates."

Oh, nevermind then. If the Senate Banking Committee and some lobbyists say it's okay, then I'm sure it's fine, what with them being infallible and all.

Well I'm glad that they've fixed the economy, settle the healthcare debate, and balanced the budget.

Lunatic and idiot don't seem like politically correct technical terms, but they were once perfectly acceptable.

It's only a matter of time before we can't say "mentally challenged" or "insane". It's not like people don't run around using them as pejoratives already.

They problem isn't language.
The problem is people.

People are assholes, and for every obstruction you put in their path they'll find another way to act like assholes.
So go ahead and waste your time prettying up the letter of the law for common sensibilities. You'll just have to do it again in a few more years.

GhostFish: They problem isn't language.

Goddammitsomuch.

csi_yellowknife: Subby just thought that "Crapo" was a funnier name than "Conrad." Sorry.

Crapo has defended his name by saying that it is French. What he usually doesn't say is that it comes from the word "crapaud" (which is pronounced "crapo") which means "toad" in French.

Exactly what would someone have to do to be given a last name of "Toad"?

As long as we have Republicans, we will have lunatics.

HairBolus: csi_yellowknife: Subby just thought that "Crapo" was a funnier name than "Conrad." Sorry.

Crapo has defended his name by saying that it is French. What he usually doesn't say is that it comes from the word "crapaud" (which is pronounced "crapo") which means "toad" in French.

Exactly what would someone have to do to be given a last name of "Toad"?

Wait, so he's a toad among frogs?

Actually "moron" and "idiot" (not to mention the R word) used to have valid scientific meanings regarding intelligence. But they have become just insults.

Soon in politically correct speech there will be absolutely no way to refer to "below average intellect." I guess we'll just have to call everyone "average" (and then that will become a insult.)

Federal law is already clear enough:

"the words "insane" and "insane person" and "lunatic" shall include every idiot, lunatic, insane person, and person non compos mentis" ~ 1 USC § 1

bonefish: Damn... How else will I describe Tea Party members?

Total non issue. Teabaggers, Teahadists, there's still adequate adjective availability.

That said, just how much is the word lunatic currently used in Federal law?

SkinnyHead: Federal law is already clear enough:

"the words "insane" and "insane person" and "lunatic" shall include every idiot, lunatic, insane person, and person non compos mentis" ~ 1 USC § 1

Pretty ridiculous.
The only thing clear is that the text should have ended with "...and the author of this law."