Monday, January 28, 2008

UPDATED: Gov. Sebelius' son's "Don't Drop the Soap" prison board game

Non-Kansans were introduced to Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat from a red state who is considered a rising star within the party, as she gave a flat rebuttal to President Bush's final State of the Union address.

Her son John created a prison-themed board game, "Don’t Drop the Soap," while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design.

From the Wichita Eagle Editorial Department Blog, aka WE Blog:

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius isn't the only member of her family getting media attention; so is one of her sons — albeit in the "news of the weird" category. John Sebelius, 23, is selling "Don't Drop the Soap," a prison-themed board game he created as part of a class project at the Rhode Island School of Design, Associated Press reported. The description of the game on his Web site (which also lists the governor’s mansion in the contact address) 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, avoid being cornered by the Aryans in the shower room, fight off Latin Kings in Gang War, and try not to smoke your entire stash in The Hole."

Nicole Corcoran, the governor's spokeswoman, noted that the game — which sells for $34.99, plus packaging, shipping and handling — isn't intended for children.

Well, isn't that a hoot.

The WE Blog left out a little bit, though. Governor Sebelius and her husband, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Sebelius, "are very proud of their son John's creativity and talent." What's next for the kid, a concentration camp project?

Since AP and the WE Blog reported on the game, the governor's mansion address has been removed from the "Don't Drop the Soap" web site.

What was John Sebelius thinking? I realize that parents can't be expected to be accountable for all of the actions for their children, particularly when they're adults, but if the board game entrepreneur is still living in the governor's mansion, it's fair to confront the governor with it.

Prison rape is a real problem for incarcerated men and women. As a society, when we sentence someone to a correctional facility for say, getting raped while behind bars isn't supposed to be part of the punishment. Of course professional (and amateur) comedians seem to think it's funny when a man is the victim.

To further illustrate my point, let's say John Sebelius' game involved female inmates with male guards....

Do you think that would be funny?

I hope not.

The same rule applies to "Don't Drop the Soap."

Drop the board game, John.

UPDATE January 29 12:00AM CST: There is speculation that Governor Sebelius will endorse Obama at the El Dorado (scroll down one post) rally this morning. There is, you guessed it, a prison there.

2nd UPDATE 11:30AM CST: Sebelius announced her endorsement of Obama in Topeka about an hour ago.

3rd UPDATE 5:30PM CST: Governor Sebelius did appear with Obama at the El Dorado rally. No word, however, if the governor visited the prison, or if she dropped off any of her son's entertaining board games there for the inmates.

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