Ricky Bobby Kerry Billie Jo Elvis????

And I thought our government was far too involved in our lives! Check out this article about a recent lawsuit in Sweden:

Elvis no name for a girl
Published: 4 Jun 08 09:05 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.se/12214/

Swedish tax authorities have informed a couple in Stockholm that they may not keep the name Elvis for their five-month old daughter.

Forbidden names: identity and the law (26 Nov 07)
Couple 'will divorce' if son can't take mother's name (16 Oct 07)
Baby Metallica allowed to keep her name (19 Apr 07)

The girl's parents have appealed the decision, Metro reports.

"We talked about lots of names and then Elvis popped up. We thought it was a name that was both pretty and gender-neutral. We're not Elvis Presley fans at all," the infant's mother, Linda, told the newspaper.

The most important factor for the couple, who do not own any of The King's records, was for the name to be "gender-neutral".

But not everyone agreed with their assessment that Elvis fit the bill. In its ruling, the tax board wrote:"It is the National Tax Board's view that Elvis is a first name of a masculine type and as such may, in light of standard practice, be considered clearly inappropriate as a first name for a woman."

The girl's mother however believes that her appeal will be successful and has vowed to continue calling her daughter Elvis whatever the eventual outcome. The family can also take heart from the experience last year of the Tomaro family, whose daughter was eventually allowed to keep the name Metallica after a protracted battle with the authorities.

Blech! While I think Elvis is an awful name for a little girl, I certainly don't think it's government business to decide whether or not parents can use it for their baby.

Leave it to socialist Sweden to actually use tax dollars on an appellative committee.

Thinking on socialism quite a bit lately, and now with this article I think it's my official cue to read Hayek's Road to Serfdom in its entirety vs. just the small excerpts I had in class circa '99.

Ah, Dr. Hayek, 'tis true what you say, socialism is contrary to freedom.