By Betty Parker • FLORIDA CAPITAL BUREAU • April 18, 2008
The Florida Senate on Thursday passed an amendment to impose a $60 fine on Truck Nutz, one brand name for the novelty item on vehicle trailer hitches that resemble the dangling southern end of a northbound bull.
The proposal would make displaying bull genitalia reproductions on a vehicle subject to a $60 fine, moving violations and points against a driver license.
The penalties were proposed by Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis.
Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, said he had a set on one of his vehicles, which he described as "all pimped out." They are no more than "an expression of truckliness," he said, although he'd acceded to his wife's request to take them off.
"I find it shocking we'd tell people with metallic testicles on their bumpers that this is a violation," said Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale. "There's got to be better things for us to spend time debating."
Geller suggested this ban might be followed by prohibiting silhouettes of nude women on truck mud flaps.
"We're basically going to have the bumper police," King said.
"All their concerns are legitimate," Baker said of the critics. "And I do have more important things to do this session. But I think this is important, too."
You know, I don't think this can pass 1st amendment muster. They are not a safety issue, and as far as morality goes, are far less offensive than some bumper stickers. This dumb bunch of idiots has wasted the taxpayer's money with even bringing this up. What if I am from out of state? Am I gonna get ticketed for the nutz on my truck?? My state allows them. Unbelievable!!! These straws just keep piling up. As Cory would say - it is going to eventually lead to an open rebellion in this country!!!
Well, can't say I like to see the gov't regulating anything, but I have to say if something is going to get regulated, this may as well be it. So, how do you explain what "they" are to a little girl? Sometimes I think it's in the public's own good to regulate stupidity and plain poor taste. Sorry if anyone here has them on their truck, but when I see them on a truck I automatically think that the driver is just another of the great mouthbreathing unwashed masses.
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The eyes are the groin of the face -- Dwight Shrute
Umm, wow. Whats the diference betwean that and say seeing a non neutered dog walking on the street?
Thats the same family of bull shit as cartoons are too violant theese days when half you guys as kids probibaly grew up shooting eachother with bb guns.
I thought you guys down south were all about your civl rights? so much for the freedome of expression.
Michelangelo's David, sculpted from 1501 to 1504, is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture and one of Michelangelo's two greatest works of sculpture, along with the Pietà. It is the statue of the young Israelite king David alone that almost certainly holds the title of the most recognizable stone sculpture in the history of art. It has become regarded as a symbol both of strength and youthful human beauty. The 5.17 meter (17 ft)[1] marble statue portrays the Biblical King David in the nude, at the moment that he decides to battle with Goliath. It came to symbolize the defense of civic liberties embodied in the Florentine Republic, an independent city state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the hegemony of the Medici themselves. This interpretation was also encouraged by the original setting of the sculpture outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence. The completed sculpture was unveiled on 8 September 1504.
Well, for one, you have the choice of whether or not you want to go to Italy and see the statue, you don't have a choice if some dumbass pulls up next to you with these on his truck.
And a dog walking down the street isn't calling attention to the very fact that it has balls, is it? The dog's sole intent is not to celebrate the fact that he has a sack, no? Why not throw a big chrome schlong on there while you're at it, that would be hilarious. "Har har har, lookit dat, that ole boy gotta schlong on his truck" Oh my sides, hilarious.
I think that most people that know me would tell you, I'm anything but a prude running around with my skirt in knots. I just believe that there should be some level of decorum in society, just a reasonable level of common decency so as to not sink to the lowest common denominator that seems to be inevitable due to everyone claiming they have "rights", no matter how counter to common fucking sense. I suppose when some urban youth is serving your dinner with his ass crack hanging out and his pants down around mid thigh, that's perfectly acceptable because he's simply expressing his artistic self? Goodness, I wouldn't want to impinge on the freedom of expression of some young man who figures his ass crack is paramount to modern fashion.
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The eyes are the groin of the face -- Dwight Shrute
Chilly
[Quote] Well, for one, you have the choice of whether or not you want to go to Italy and see the statue, you don't have a choice if some dumbass pulls up next to you with these on his truck. [/Quote]
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Well I don't recall what century it was you went to school. But I remember learning about Michelangelo, and seeing drawings of him, just as he is there, in second grade, so what 8-9 years old?
My little brother came home the other day, and said that his teacher explained what gay means...
I call this a little over the top... A dumb ass teacher voicing what "she" believes children of 7 years old need to know.
So don't give me that shit, I think if you're not mature enough to explain to your 7-9 year old child what balls are in a mature manner, and if you can't come up with something in your own mind that is good enough to explain, yet be toned down enough for a child, then well you aren't mature enough to have children.
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Chilly
And a dog walking down the street isn't calling attention to the very fact that it has balls, is it? The dog's sole intent is not to celebrate the fact that he has a sack, no? Why not throw a big chrome schlong on there while you're at it, that would be hilarious.
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Well you obviously do not have children, because they start to question those long before they are even tall enough to see out the car window and recognize those as something that doesn't belong on the truck.
Do I think they need to be on trucks? Not really, it is pretty asinine.
But do I think that they shouldn't be on trucks just to save you the embarrassment of explaining to your child what "Balls" are in a mature manner. Absolutely not.
You choose it, your child can learn it from you in a mature manner, or they can learn it from some little punk ass in school thats older brother made it out to be based entirely on a poor explanation about sex, and is completely misinforming your child. Making it out to be bad.
Only reason your child would recognize it on the truck is because they've noticed them somewhere else. You don't think your child is going to go:
"Wow, I've never seen anything like that before, but it caught my eye, so it must not be part of the truck, they appear too round to be manufactured or to have absolutely any purpose whatsoever so I'm going to endlessly bother my father about what it is just to annoy the hell out of him because he can't come up with any mature way to explain it to me..."
Gary, your 5 year old daughter can't read it to understand it in the first place...
Although I do think that bumper sticker is a little overboard. it wouldn't be difficult to explain what it means, in a mature manner.
I know I'm being a little harsh here, but it's plain and simple.
You don't teach your child what it is, someone else will. And if you don't like the way they taught your child, THAT'S TOO DAMN BAD!, you should've been the one to teaching them about this kind of stuff in the first place!... You fucked up!
My opinion on banning truck nutz, is that the state is just wasting a hell of a lot of tax payers money, for something this ridiculous.
I watched a guy on his cell phone paying absolutely no attention to the road, plow into a semi trailer, damn near beheading the stupid fuck. Luckily the guy survived the crash, but he is expected to be a Vegetable the rest of his life.
Banning cellphone use on the roads so people not paying attention don't plow into you and kill your child.
Seems like a hell of a lot better way to spend my tax payer money then trying to save you guys a little embarrassment.
And that is that, I'm strongly using my right to be an asshole...
Cmon now, Those of you worrying about your 4 year old's question have never hear of the white lie?? Just tell em what ever. Don't tell me about lying to children either. After all, there is Santa and the Easter Bunny etc. I live in a rural area. What if my toddler asks me about the things hanging off the rear of a bull? What if you drive by and a Bull is mounted on a cow?
I am not defending the truck nutz as good taste. The problem with regulation of this is in what is next? It is a very slippery slope. Our government regulates too much. Our Government then has to tax to regulate. The more our government does for us, the more we will be taxed, and the less say we will have in our government.
Here is 'David's Law' - "Any piece of regulation or law will eventually be perverted to it's worst possible use."
That is very cynical. Unfortunately it is true. This is why I do not like laws that give any more power to the government than what it already has. A law can be passed with the noblest of intentions, yet can be twisted to cover things never imagined.
I've gotta go with Ed on this one. While a bit tacky & tasteless I see no reason to make a law about this. These are the same bunch of idiots who are passing or trying to pass those "anti sagging" pants laws. My pants generally sag, big farking deal..
Those truck nuts and the decal ain't got nothing on the tail gate that was on my old 72 F-100. It was all filled & smoothed & had a completely naked chick laying across it. Nothing at all was covered. period.
I never got any open complaints about it, but I sure got a lot of comments.
Just another example of some petty politician abusing their position to try and fix some personal peeve instead of getting busy doing what they were hired to do. Heard something like that from a legislator in Houston - wanted to limit lawn mowing to certain hours and limit the noise level to boot.
Don't ge me wrong guy's I don't like the politicians telling us what we can hang and cannot hang on our vehicles or boats or trailer or anywhere... I just thing the ballz are tasteless out in public...
I agree that politicians generally are useless, but besides keeping the economy in check, I think they can help step in when warranted to keep society running smoothly. So, if you all are for complete freedom of ones expression, where exactly is the line of demarcation???
So, now I'm sitting at lunch and I feel like whipping out my schlong and showing it to the pretty waitress, I guess that's OK because it's what I want to do and the young lady has to learn about schlongs sometime, right? Hey, some bull on the side of the road gets to show off, why can't I, right??? Don't tread on me with your rules man. Granted, it's an extreme example, but I'd venture to say that if you asked a Southern Baptist in the 1940s about a guy hanging nutz off his truck, he'd say that ridiculous as well. Things evolve, not all for the better.
If you go down the path arguing that people may do whatever they please, then you're basically saying you're willing to accept anything. I'm just calling for a little restraint to remind people that at least in theory, we're a civilized society.
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The eyes are the groin of the face -- Dwight Shrute
And I think "spinners" look stupid on any car, especially an Escalade. But I don't think there's any need to pass some law to ban them. And just because somebody in office happens to not like it doesn't mean it ought to be banned either. I'm dodging giant pot holes and paying big bucks for sewer and water while the city pols are in deep discussion about truck balls.
Displaying your schlong in public is indecent exposure and probibaly sexual assult pending what officer/ judge is talking to you.
Hanging a piece of plastic or steel off of your truck is just that no matter what it resembles.
If they make the truck balls illegal as well as the girls on mud flaps what about vintage nose art? "American History" the insperation for the decal on my truck.
Just to add, I dont think anyone who died fighting in any of the past wars did it so people could be regulated for what they want to stick on theyre truck or anything. They died so you could do what ever you wanted without being persicuted or regulated within reason and not hurting anyone else.
I'm all for free speech. All for as little intrusion from government as possible as well. However, I draw the line at public display of genetalia, whether male or female, plastic, brass, chrome, or whatever. You're welcome to disagree. Just remember, if you follow this "anything goes as long as it doesn't hurt anyone" line of thinking, the little "custom painted" VW that appeared on theses pages would be acceptable as well and there'd be no movie ratings either. There's a reason Hustler, Playboy magazines are behind the counter and have a sleeve over em...
I understand that we don't want people running around nude except in certain parts of the country. We already see bull's balls. That is basically what a truck is emulating. Bad taste - yes. Shockingly indecent - no. I get very wary when we want government legislating morality. That is better left to society. Peer pressure and disdain from those amongst whom one lives is the better regulator. Of course, one has the right to ignore those around you, and then one suffers shunning and scorn from his neighbors. The problem with government legislating morality is that it is really quite subjective. To some Porky's is just a filthy scandolous movie and should be banned as obscene. Others may think it a harmless comedic romp through the teens of the 50s. The same group that think Porky's should be banned may think that Passion of the Christ is a wonderful exercise in a realistic portrayal of what Christ suffered. The group that was ok with Porky's may think the Passion is simply an obscene display of violence. Do we want to allow the government to decide something like this? Now I realize that you have a choice to go to a movie or rent it etc. When you go down the road and there are the nutz... well it is harder to sheild someone. Again, I would say the balance lies with if your child asks about them, just say they are a truck decoration and leave it. If your child is at the age where sex should be explained...well..... Or you could just tell a rural kid that the truck is trying to look like a bull. If we give all this to government, then where does it end?
Exactly, it's indecent exposure, because it's thought to "cross the line" of decency. As we go along as a society, seems that we keep moving that line further and further, until "what"?
As for the WWII nose art, do you think there's a little difference in the audience between a bunch of guys on an air base, and the audience that shares the public road?? Wonder why you don't see every '40 Ford with a nekkid lady painted on it from the factory?
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The eyes are the groin of the face -- Dwight Shrute
...And someone please explain to me why I should be "forced" to tell my child, regardless of age, ANYTHING pertaining to animal or human genetalia that happens to be hanging from the back of some moral backwash's truck? Indeed, why should I be forced to see it at all? If he wants to wear em on a chain under his shirt, in his pocket, or even in the seat beside him, no problem. His right to show em stops at my eyes which don't have a choice but to see em.
As we go along as a society, seems that we keep moving that line further and further, until "what"?
Bingo. That's a trend that is equally disturbing to me today as the issue of goverment intervention. I'm a lifelong, true conservative of the "less government" ilk, and I am disturbed by this administration's encroachments on liberty, but I wouldn't put a local crackdown on truck scrota in the same camp as federal wiretapping! I think to do so is a disingenous stretch at best. Our society is becoming so callous and just plain trashy that in my mind it's a bona fide threat to our long term welfare. We just have no expectations and value placed on quality of any kind any more, up to and including quality people.
On this issue I would question whether it really warrants a rise to even the state level, but if a local group of involved citizens, which is all local government really is at the end of the day, wanted to clean up their town's act in that way, more power to 'em I say. I suspect other communities and even states would soon follow.
The local government may be where this belongs if in government at all. To me, the damn brass balls don't matter - and I have three girls. They are polite and well mannered (well one is 1 year old so.....) The kids don't even pay attention. The muppet show was filthy - just the filth was over the kids heads. Ol Dom sees Kermit in a swamp, and Kermit sends out the tongue for a fly. Dom states, "Think of the millions of people you could make happy with that tongue." As a kid, I never caught that. I was watching the thing when I was twenty and about choked on my drink. Regardless, this is not something that should be occupying a state legislature's time. They have real issues to address. This is tawdry but in my opinion is not anywhere near obscene. As far as being forced to see something, get real. I don't like to see kids walking around with their pants 20 sizes too big and falling off. I don't like hearing most hip hop. I don't like being in an elevator when someone gasses off. I don't like seeing "click it or ticket" signs everywhere. I don't like seeing 400 pound women. I could go on and on and on. The point is that we all see, hear, and smell things every day that we would rather not. WHO is the judge of what is allowed? SHould it be me? What about Eric or Doug? Maybe Chuck?? Maybe not. The point is our constitution protects this. You don't like the truck nutz. I can't say I am thrilled about them either. What I won't do is condone laws or proposed laws that can be used as precedents to supress any arbitrary thing further down the road. We have too many damn laws already.
You see, they may be scantily clad, but they are indeed clad. And CK has been in trouble for some of its ads, so your argument doesn't hold water...as usual. http://store.soliscompany.com/kpoco.html
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The eyes are the groin of the face -- Dwight Shrute
I find those CK billboards much more suggestive and offensive than the truck nutz. So we will get the government to supress both to spare our sensibilities and while we are at it let the government supress anything else that offends somebody somewhere. While we are at it lets supress any idea or speech that offends us. lets supress any book that proposes and idea that offends us. The government will do all this for us. Honestly, think it through to the end. Do you want to live in a society where the government has that much power? The issue in my eyes is NOT the nutz. It is in the whole 1st amendment to our constitution.
Like it or not, the supreme court has relegated "obsenity" issues to local communities, (i.e., the states). If the state legislature in question wants to ban cow balls on pick-em-up trucks, then that's their perogative. Matter of fact, it's their duty, especially if their electorate tells em to. So, if my community bans em, what's it to you? Don't like it? Live in that community? Either sue to have the law overturned on constitutional grounds, vote the folks out of office, or both. Meanwhile, I'll be voting to keep the few left with a moral compass and a modicum of common sense around.
{QUOTE} "so much for "the glory of gods creation" and "land of the free home of the brave"
just a bunch of hypocritical bs {END QUOTE}
Are you looking for an ass whoopin?
You keep talkin crap...
I think we ALL agree that the idiots wasting tax dolalrs on this legislation is one of the stupidest thing's done here lately... And that Some people have to moral Tact.
But you really need to lay off the good old USA for a couple minutes...
We live here and know exactly how fuct up we look to other countries. But comments like that get right the hell up on top of my nerves
Is the way the Redskins owner keeps getting HIS nutz in the way of any coach he hires. He needs to hire a competant coach and GET THE F@#$ out of the way!!! And I am not a skins fan. But Snyder is an ass.
If any form of American Government spent half of the time on real important issues concerning the future of America and its citizens as they spend on this trivial bullsh&t the USA would be a much better place to live. Don't whine to me, go tell the guy you think his shit is offensive! Probably some small peckered runt who thinks his big ass truck and phoney balls make him more of a man. Maybe to his queer ass buddies!!! Throw the damn things down in the road and run them over. Whatever makes you feel better about it.
Then once you calm down ask yourself if you are happy where the good old USA stands in the world? We have lost the lead in just about everything but our military. Anyone ever heard of the British Empire? Remember what happened to them? Wake up America!!! What really pisses me off is the fact that I DID NOT COME UP WITH THE BIG BALLS IDEA! Probably made someone a small fortune.
Who's next???
On the contrary Rich, your opinion and mine and everyone's matters to some extent. As fellow members here we just have to keep it civil.
Here's a guess on my part. Someone who would buy Truck Nutz and put them on their truck is someone who suffers from a lack of moral guidance from a family unit or someone who has never had, or has quit having, any kind of church or faith based religious influence in his or her life. What do you think?
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