Don't Drop the Soap

[AdamSmith]

Ain't free enterprise wonderful? Ditto many things that come out of the Rhode Island School of Design. (Double-ditto Gov. Sebelius, a Democrat who appears able to fight back the tide of far-right wingnuts without alienating moderate Republicans.)

Wonder -- do jokes about situational homosexuality advance straight people's acceptance of and comfort with gay people? Or do they move things backward in insidious ways? Or can a joke be just a joke?

Son of Kan. Governor Creates Board Game

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The son of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is peddling a board game titled "Don't Drop the Soap," a prison-themed game he created as part of a class project at the Rhode Island School of Design.

John Sebelius, 23, has the backing of his mother and father, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Sebelius. The governor's spokeswoman, Nicole Corcoran, said both parents "are very proud of their son John's creativity and talent."

John Sebelius is selling the game on his Internet site for $34.99, plus packaging, shipping and handling. The contact information on the Web site lists the address of the governor's mansion. Corcoran said the address will change when John Sebelius moves.

The game also goes on sale starting Jan. 31 at a shop called Hobbs in the college town of Lawrence.

"Fight your way through 6 different exciting locations in hopes of being granted parole," the site says. "Escape prison riots in The Yard, slip glass into a mob boss' lasagna in the Cafeteria, steal painkillers from the nurse's desk in the Infirmary."

The game includes five tokens representing a bag of cocaine, a handgun and three characters: wheelchair-using 'Wheelz," muscle-flexing "Anferny" and business suit-clad "Sal 'the Butcher.'"

Corcoran said John Sebelius sought legal advice to be sure he followed proper requirements, and he even took out a loan to pay for the production of his work.

"This game is intended for mature audiences — not children — and is simply intended for entertainment," Corcoran said.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzb-oqi...7TKt0AD8UEEVI00

[Lucky]

Well, first ask yourself this question: Would you want to drop the soap in a prison shower? Would your answer change if you were a cute 19 year old straight guy in prison for his first time?

I realize that prison sex necessarily involves homosexual acts, but it is not homosexuality, it's just a matter of takiing what is available to satisfy sexual drive.

To compare that to the general state of being a homosexual and living a gay lifestyle, I think they are not the same.

So, in short, the board game doesn't really bother me as an example of anti-gay bias.

[Guest StuCotts]

Ain't free enterprise wonderful? Ditto many things that come out of the Rhode Island School of Design. (Double-ditto Gov. Sebelius, a Democrat who appears able to fight back the tide of far-right wingnuts without alienating moderate Republicans.)

Wonder -- do jokes about situational homosexuality advance straight people's acceptance of and comfort with gay people? Or do they move things backward in insidious ways? Or can a joke be just a joke?

Son of Kan. Governor Creates Board Game

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The son of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is peddling a board game titled "Don't Drop the Soap," a prison-themed game he created as part of a class project at the Rhode Island School of Design.

John Sebelius, 23, has the backing of his mother and father, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Sebelius. The governor's spokeswoman, Nicole Corcoran, said both parents "are very proud of their son John's creativity and talent."

John Sebelius is selling the game on his Internet site for $34.99, plus packaging, shipping and handling. The contact information on the Web site lists the address of the governor's mansion. Corcoran said the address will change when John Sebelius moves.

The game also goes on sale starting Jan. 31 at a shop called Hobbs in the college town of Lawrence.

"Fight your way through 6 different exciting locations in hopes of being granted parole," the site says. "Escape prison riots in The Yard, slip glass into a mob boss' lasagna in the Cafeteria, steal painkillers from the nurse's desk in the Infirmary."

The game includes five tokens representing a bag of cocaine, a handgun and three characters: wheelchair-using 'Wheelz," muscle-flexing "Anferny" and business suit-clad "Sal 'the Butcher.'"

Corcoran said John Sebelius sought legal advice to be sure he followed proper requirements, and he even took out a loan to pay for the production of his work.

"This game is intended for mature audiences — not children — and is simply intended for entertainment," Corcoran said.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzb-oqi...7TKt0AD8UEEVI00

There was a time when we were expected to be mildly titillated at the statement that "everthang's up to date in Kansas City". Looks like we'll now have to make the stretch of extending that thought to Topeka. Is the world ready?

Lucky -- There are vast swaths of Americans who take their anti-gay bias anywhere they find it, or imagine they do. If not from this game, then from the label on a can of beans. Logic is not a big factor here. So I guess this game doesn't matter one way or the other, which I think is essentially your point.

[Lucky]

Stu, I can't imagine that the game will sell anyway as who wants to play a prison game? Anyway, a Washington Post columnist lists the boy's mother as one of the top contenders for vice president if Obama wins the nomination:

Washington Post column, The Fix:

* Kathleen Sebelius: Perhaps the early leader for Obama's veep pick is Sebelius, now midway through her second term as governor of Kansas. Sebelius's ability to win in strongly Republican Kansas and Obama's personal ties to the Sunflower State make her a fascinating choice.