People like to go to Hawaii. It's nicer there than where they live. When they go to Hawaii, they get guidebooks, and go to the places that the guidebooks recommend. Sometimes, some people fall down and get hurt at the places they read about in the guidebooks. How to solve this tourists-getting-hurt-sometimes problem? By making the guidebook people pay.

The WSJ informs us that Hawaii legislators have proposed a state law (not an actual law yet, thankfully) to hold guide book writers "personally liable for deaths or accidents at spots they recommend." Go visit the Hawaiian lava fields. But don't step in the lava! Don't! I have a kid to put through college! Just look at them, from far away! Some might say this law is, you know, blatantly unconstitutional. That's where some are wrong.

But the politicians say they aren't backing down. "This has never been about First Amendment rights, it has always been about safety," says Sen. Ronald Kouchi, a backer of the liability bill.

I propose holding Sen. Ronald Kouchi personally liable every time someone in Hawaii gets a headache by trying to follow his logic. This has never been about First Amendment rights. It's always been about getting Sen. Ronald Kouchi to stop saying dumb things.

[WSJ; photo via]