More Prudish Than Ashcroft

That would be officials from Los Angeles County*, who have circumcised a big, wooden representation of the county's geography displayed at this year's California State Fair:

Embarrassed by suggestions that the 3-D map resembles male genitalia, county officials this week ordered a small section near Malibu lopped off.

"We didn't want to offend the public," said Judy Hammond, the county's director of public affairs.

Story here.

UPDATE: PDF map of the county here, thanks to commenter Brian Courts.

* Original post was confused about some details, and even spelling.

Comments

[Akira MacKenzie]

Who really has the "dirty mind?" The snickering teenager who might look at the "un-corrected" map, or the bible-beating prude who sees genitals in just about every object?

[Jennifer]

Hee hee hee. It's a pity Matt Welch used a "Rorschach" reference on a thread yesterday, since it would be far more fitting here, don't you think? These county officials sound like the type of pure-minded individuals who would have Rorschach prints taken out of libraries, on the grounds that children should not be exposed to such obvious images of sexual violence and depravity.

Now if y'all will excuse me, I'm going to go outside and look for pornographic images in the clouds. If I find any, who do you think I should sue?

[CodeMonkeySteve]

JPEG! JPEG!

[The Wine Commonsewer]

Code, no doubt man, we need a picture.

This is the same county that took the cross (symbolizing the missions that formed the basis of modern civilization in Ca) off the county seal because the ACLU said 'Boo'. Not much spine there.

[Brian Courts]

Haven't seen the map they were talking about but this map might give some idea what they were talking about at least. 🙂

[Nathan]

From the same county that banned the use of the terminology "Master/Slave" for its county IT workers and suppliers.... why does this not surprise me.

[Nathan]

I'm going to go outside and look for pornographic images in the clouds. If I find any, who do you think I should sue?

NOAA

[agentalbert]

Akira - This is the LA county council. Why do you assume they are "bible beating prudes"? The article gave no indication that either the council or the "handful of passers by" were such. Don't you think you're being a bit quick to assume here?

[Larry A]

I can see the resemblance. Not to the real thing, of course. But it does look like the kind of pencil drawing you would find in some of the more circumspect sex ed manuals.

[Duane]

I think you will find that this is the California State Fair not the Los Angeles County Fair. Here in LA County we are proud of the way we look.

[Warren]

Damn it Welch, if I've told you people once I've told you a hundred times:
ALL SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE POSTS MUST PROVIDE LINKS WITH PICTURES.

[Eddy]

So I imagine there is going to be a multi-billion dollar project to alter the coastline to match. Then the street maps and nav charts will have to be changed so kids won't be able to get 'porn' from Rand McNally.

[Syd]

I was worried about all those people in Malibu now treading water, then I realized this is Malibu and they're treading water anyway.

[dead_elvis]

So why is Florida still on all of our maps?

[Number 6]

I don't see anything even vaguely phallic, and I have a filthy mind.

[The Wine Commonsewer]

LOL, dude that map is funny.

And see, that's why prudism is bad, I never would have noticed how funny it is if they woulda kep their mouths shut.

Nathan, forgot about that Master/Slave thing.

[Swede]

Yeah, I don't see it either. The provdied map makes no sense to me and it really does not help the reader understand why the wooden representation looks like a cock. Why is there no picture? Is Reason afraid that they will offend readers? Is there some sort of conspiracy that we need to investigate here?

[Akira MacKenzie]

"Don't you think you're being a bit quick to assume here."

I don't make any assumptions regarding the ideology of the LA City Council. They're just whoring themselves out like most politicians. However, it's a pretty safe bet that the morons who would be offended by phallic land masses do thump their King James editions rather loudly..

[Homer]

Florida?! But that's America's wang!

[Jeff]

There's an urban legend that Peter Wolf Toth's indian head statue "Omiskanoagwiak" in Springfield MA was designed to resemble an ejaculating penis from behind (the side facing the city skyline) as a result of Toth's unhappiness with the city during the project.

Picture of the front of it here:
http://www.foamtotem.org/postcards/20000525-omiskanoagwiak.html

[Born Again Iconoclast]

Akira - This is the LA county council. Why do you assume they are "bible beating prudes"?

Agreed. The left, for it's own purposes of political correctness and "equalization" of groups in society can often out-prude the religious right. After all, it was "I Married a Democrat" Tipper Gore who gave us the "Musical Surgeon General's Warning" (PRMC) that now graces any CD with a naughty word.

Guess these California politicos read one too many issues of Maxim ("Found Porn?") ...

[The Mad Scientist]

I assume the wang we're speaking of is Point Dume? For many years in the 70's Jim Rockford kept his trailer parked just to the east of Point Dume on Paradise Cove Road. And since everyone knows Jim was a manly kind of guy, it's no wonder they think of Point Dume as a big, giant cock (albeit populated mostly by mobile homes). I say, why stop at excising the phallus from the map? I'm leaving for a ride down the coast to Santa Monica in about an hour. If the offending peninsula isn't removed by the time I go by I'll register my complaint with the Army Corps or Engineers.

[Jeff]

If that's a phallus, it's certainly a chode.

[Brian Courts]

I assume the wang we're speaking of is Point Dume?

I don't think that's it - Ok, for those who don't see it, I believe the (in the words of Eric Cartman's mom) 'hoo-hoo-dilly' in question is the entire um... westward protrusion of LA County that includes Point Dume. To see it you have to think of the whole LA County map as one of those cross-sectional drawings medical books often use to explain the inner workings of male and female plumbing.

[Ruthless]

Florida?! But that's America's wang!
Comment by: Homer at August 13, 2005 04:53 PM

Homer,
Wood that be wang or wong? Billions of inquiring Chinese minds want to know.

Has the globe ever been illuminated internally to graphically illustrate how the US is pissin' on Cuba as we speak?

Happy Birthday, Fidel!

[Ruthless Mercator]

And is the Baja in Mexico the diabolical "tail" of the US, or hemorrhoids?

Are illegal Mexican immigrants suppositories or Preparation H?

[Phil]

However, it's a pretty safe bet that the morons who would be offended by phallic land masses do thump their King James editions rather loudly..

Now, now . . . they could be castrating Feminazis, too. Let's be fair.

[Plant psychologist]

"They prefer the 'Sunshine State.'"

[Hakluyt]

This reminds me of the currency scene from "The Nasty Girl." 🙂

[Douglas Fletcher]

This has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard of in months.

[Ambiorix]

That's nothing. You Yanks are obviously not familiar with the euro coins.
Since Norway isn't a part of the EU they left it off the map on the coins.

Now look at Scandinavia!

http://www.euro.ecb.int/en/section/euro0/coins.CoinPar.Singlecd2.CommonFaceImage.gif

[Ambiorix]

Crap, it isn't very visible!

[mediageek]

Is there a reason that Ashcroft's name is misspelled in the headline?

[mediageek]

Oh, and after looking at that pic, I don't think it's sexually suggestive enough to even earn honorable mention in Maxim's Found Porn contests.

[Matt Welch]

Is there a reason that Ashcroft's name is misspelled in the headline?

Dyslexia? Sloth? Whatever it was, thanks for catching it, and sorry for the brainfart.

[Mo]

Ambiorix, check out here. The 50 cent map is the most egregious one.

[Floridian]

If ya'll like the shape of our state, you'll love our capitol building...

[Gold Star for Robot Boy]

On the map, dig the gerrymandering of District 1!

[Jim Walsh]

Are illegal Mexican immigrants suppositories or Preparation H?

Reminds me of a joke: A rude Frenchman is working his way through customs at JFK, much to his obvious frustration.

"America is the asshole of the world," he screams.

"Oh," says a customs agent. "And you're just passing through..."

[Eddy]

"On the map, dig the gerrymandering of District 1"

4 is pretty impressive also, I'm guessing together they make the taint.

[Ruthless]

I have a wierd globe up here in the attic, but has anyone else ever noticed the Indian Ocean forms a Bactrian camel ambling east? One hump is on one side of India. The other hump on the other. The nose is just under New Guinea.
Some of the remains of the larger flies and bugs I've smershed against the beveled ceiling have the faces of Jesus, and several of his disciples, but I'm not going there.

[poco]

I think Manhattan looks like a penis.

[Ruthless]

poco,
Ya think Long Island gives Manhattan penis envy?

[Stevo Darkly]

I looked at the PDF, and to me the map looks like a creature with a birdlike beak, screaming with it's mouth wide open, and with a tall, flattop "Eraserhead"-style haircut. It's facing left, and the number "3" is where it's eye would be.

[Emo Phillips]

And I go over to the psychologist, and he says, "Emo, what does this inkblot look like to you?" I said, "Oh, it's kind of embarrassing."
He said, "Emo, everyone sees something, so don't be embarrassed. Tell me what the inkblot looks like to you."

I said, "Well, to me it looks like standard pattern #3 in the Rorschach series to test obsessive compulsiveness." And he gets kind of depressed. So I said, "Okay, it's a butterfly."

[Stevo Darkly]

For two threads in a row, I've typed "it's" when I should have typed "its." My apologies.

[Kahn]

Stevo, I cannot forgive you. Do you know what the extra, absolutely unnecessary apostrophe could be mistaken for? DO YOU?

what does this inkblot look like to you?

Given what he's found on his attic ceiling, I think Ruthless is the one we should be putting to the ink blot test. I'm sure his answer would make us all proud to know that he's among the libertarian ranks.