It really takes a lot for me to bitch about the "nanny state"

...but this did it:  lawmakers have proposed a bill in the House that would ban access in federally funded schools and libraries to any site that "allows users to create Web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users and offer a mechanism of communication with other users."

In case you missed it, that's a shot across the bow of myspace, facebook, and essentially any non-static page on the internet.  From the article:

The legislation is aimed at "protecting children from
terrible individuals who would aim to use Facebook and MySpace to harm
young children," says Michael Conallen, chief of staff to Congressman
Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who sponsored the bill.

Where, oh where, do I begin?

First of all, facebook is for college kids, not young children.  Myspace doesn't allow young children on it--you have to be at least 14, by which is a nice segue into point #2:

how about you teach your kids a little common sense, and while you're at it, maybe take a shot at raising them yourself instead of letting the internet or television do it? 

Whatever happened to the whole "Never talk to strangers" bit that was so prevalent when I was a kid? When I grew up, my father had me convinced that everyone he didn't personally introduce to me was an axe murderer he had put in jail himself (Dad was a prosecutor.)  I was 12 years old before I learned that garbage men weren't always convicts.  Once I even attempted to spread the word about the dangers of garbage men to every kid in the neighborhood (which, in my neighborhood, meant the little girl whose backyard bordered mine, and a kid who lived three blocks over.  The rest of my neighborhood was basically a retirement community.)

Sometimes I really hate election years.  This is obviously a stunt to get the soccer-mom vote.