A company Down Under is selling screaming dolls. They emit shrieks when you stretch them lengthwise, and their little eyes bulge out, a la Bart Simpson, when you choke them. The anti-violence types are, rhetorically at least, up in arms–they’re afraid that it will desensitize children to violence.

But it brings to mind other applications, much less violent, employing voice-recognition technology. How about a Tom Daschle or Dick Gephardt doll, that screams in agony whenever you threaten it with a tax cut, or non-union federal workers? Or a Bob Byrd doll (with optional white hood accessory), along with a pair of scissors, that whines when you cut out amendments for new proposals to move the federal government to West Virginia? Or a Chuckie Schumer and DiFi matched set that quiver at the sight of a gun? Or a Hillary doll–you supply the screams yourself…

The possibilities intrigue.