"Diversity" is right up there with personal technology as a platform for poor judgement, and the Tacoma News Tribune editorializes that the Washington State Department of Corrections erred badly in issuing to employees a "diversity" calendar which in the name of "provoking thought" highlighted as noteworthy the birthdates of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Karl Marx, Ho Chi Minh, and Isoroku Yamomoto, who led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

A DOC spokesperson defending the calendar notes that it is an instructional tool that "just lists people who had an impact on the world" and was meant to "provoke thought." What a lame explanation. What exactly is magician Doug Henning's (May 3) impact on the world? What thoughts are provoked by songstress Sheena Easton (April 27), other than that she was smokin' as Sonny Crockett's wife on "Miami Vice" and that her hairdo spoke volumes about everything that was wrong with the '80s? What aspect of "diversity" is highlighted by including the birthdays of Audrey Hepburn (painfully thin women?), Peter the Great (unusually tall czars?) and Eva Peron (overambitious actresses?).

It’s commendable for the DOC to celebrate diversity, but this calendar falls far short. If it's too hard to find legitimate examples of diversity, then the department should come up with a different theme. How about "notorious names in history"? Ho and Yamamoto would fit right in. What the department really needs to do is admit it screwed up - and identify just who signed off on this clueless project.

So let's see. The department head reports to Mrs. Gregoire. Who is all about accountability, right?

UPDATE: The Yakima Herald-Republic, which has left the Seattle dailies in the dust on this story, has a story today that reveals the Gregoire administration is floundering badly here. WA Corrections Sec. Harold Clarke has now put in writing that future versions of the calendar will bear a disclaimer. It will say that notables therein are not being honored or celebrated, but "are listed to represent diversity in many ways." Well, yes, Harold, there certainly is much diversity among murderous despots and socialists. But does pointing that out actually strengthen the case for diversity? Why are you trying so hard, pal? Lemme see. Is there a performance bonus for state department heads and managers who implement "diversity" initiatives? If so, Harold, you may want to have your point man on the project complement the inclusion of Lenin and Ho Chi Minh by adding the birthdates of Idi Amin and Saddam Hussein, as well. I may have missed it, but I didn't see any mass-killing African or Middle Eastern national potentates on the calendar.