One State Fights Drunk Driving With Talking Urinals

Friday, February 16, 2007

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Must Apologize

Five more members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have threatened to resign if Democrat Chairman Joe Caca of California doesn't apologize for allegedly calling Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez a "whore." Among those now threatening to resign are two more women, including Hilda Solis who also accuses Baca of insulting her, and her sister, Representative Linda Sanchez.

Chairman Baca has denied the allegations. But the issue has now moved beyond an apology, with several members wanting to take away some of Baca's powers as chairman.

'Mud Flap'

You've probably seen mud flaps on trucks with odd sayings or even an outline of a buxom, naked woman. Well, in Arizona, some Democrats in the state legislature wanted to ban any splash guards with "images that are obscene or hateful."

Related

The amendment's sponsor, Representative Ed Ableser said he's seen truck mud flaps with a derogatory term for black children on them and wanted to put a stop to any hateful images.

Democratic State Representative Theresa Ulmer had a different objection — those drawings of naked women. "I personally am tired of explaining to my 11-year old son," she said, "why they are depicted on mud flaps. But not all women are 36D's. He's very confused by that."

Missed Votes

Indiana Republican Dan Burton apologized this week for missing nineteen votes in the House last month in order to play golf. Burton told conservative radio host Greg Garrision that he'd made reservations to play at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, a tournament he's attended 17 times, when the Republicans were still in control of Congress.

After the Democrats took charge, they scheduled votes earlier than Burton expected. So he missed votes on cutting oil industry tax breaks as well as hearings on Iraq and North Korea in order to play in the celebrity-studded event, which pairs amateur players with politicians and movie stars such as Clint Eastwood and Ray Romano. Bob Hope and his wife were the original co-founders of the tournament and Congressman Burton was an acquaintance.

Talking Urinal Cakes

In an effort to keep drunk drivers off the road, the State Department of Transportation in New Mexico has turned to talking urinals. It bought 500 deodorizer cakes to put in the urinals in bars across the state.

When a man approaches, a motion detector sets off a recorded woman's voice hidden in the little round cakes, which says: Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you had one too many? Then it's time to call a sober friend for a ride home."

The surprise of a female voice rising from the porcelain might be enough to sober up some drinkers. But the message ends with even more sobering words, "Remember," it says, "your future is in your hand."

—FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.

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