A Colorado Springs elementary school recently announced a ban on a timeless playground pastime – tag. While not the first school in the country to ax the game, the addition of Discovery Canyon Campus Elementary is indicative of a growing trend: the sissification of America.

When asked about the ban, Assistant Principal Cindy Fesgen claimed that “it causes a lot of conflict on the playground” and an apparent increase in tattletailing:

“Well, I don’t want to be chased, but he won’t stop chasing me, or she won’t stop chasing me.”

The kids are still free to run as long as no one is running in front of them. While the notion of “tag, you’re IT!” is now only a very distant, painful memory for these fortunate elementary students, Discover Canyon is also spearheading a brave new educational model, mainly that:

Because life is fair. And let’s none of us waste our time trying to solve the actual problems surrounding our mediocre-at-best public education system.

Featured Song: “We Are The World” by USA for Africa

Source:
Springs elementary gives tag a timeout

“Wait, how much is it?”

It’s always something with transporation in New York: if it’s not a blizzard, it’s a steam pipe. If it isn’t a steam pipe it’s a strike.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance is rallying against a new mandate that would make drivers put GPS machines in their cabs and is asking its 10,000ish members strike for two days starting Sept. 5.

Great idea guys; let’s frustrate paying customers because of something they have nothing to do with. Anyway, the Alliance’s Bill Lindauer explains why they’re right:

There are two issues. One is moral and constitutional, the other is financial…Under the system [mandated by the Taxi and Limosine Commission], drivers are tracked, they’re spied upon. It’s like we’re under surveillance. Not only are we under surveillance we have to pay for the dubious privilege.

Moral issue? Really, now. There are plenty of contract and freelance workers out there who repeatedly use company-owned equipment for personal use, and we’re they’re just as likely to get caught dowloading 100 plus songs a day not working by company technology.

It’s actually more complicated than that, but all the same, how else is tourist supposed to get from Union Square to Fort Hamilton Parkway when he realizes his particular subway line turns into an express route after 11 p.m.?

Featured Song: “Drive My Car” by The Beatles

Source:
New York Cab Drivers to Strike Over GPS EWeek

A panda that was originally mistaken for possibly being a hermaphrodite or for having “undeveloped” sexual organs gave birth to twin bear cubs this week.

In 2000, he/she was shipped to Japan to mate with some lucky female panda, but he/she just wasn’t into “it”. Possibly our favorite quote of the week:

Jinzhu was believed to be male owing to her inconspicuous secondary sex characteristic and behavior…When the pandas showed complete disinterest, experts decided to turn to artificial insemination, leading to the discovery that Jinzhu had no penis.

So it took the scientists a while to figure it out. But it’s not their fault:

‘The penis of an adult panda is only about 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) long,’ Xinhua quoted Li Deshen, a panda expert, as saying, as a possible reason for the mix-up.

Featured Song: “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Grizzly Bear

Harris County: death penalty capital of the world and now home to more Hispanics than Anglos. That’s right; Anglos are now in the minority in almost one in 10 U.S. counties and Pat Buchanan can’t do squat about it.

The Houston Chronicle tells us that as of July 2006, Harris County alone has an estimated 1.48 million Hispanics (38.2 percent of the population), compared to the 1.44 million Anglo residents (36.9 percent). Harris is still second in the country, though, tied with Miami-Dade. Los Angeles is in the lead. Typical. LA already took the title of most polluted city away from Houston. Might as well take all the Hispanics, too.

And in case you thought this is a freak accident, CNN is reporting that minorities will account for half of U.S. residents by 2050.

Reconquista!

Featured Song: “Mexican Guy” by The Stooges

Multi-racial, opinionated and probably not going to bother voting

The New York Times is reporting that a new poll they conducted with CBS and MTV has found that young people, those between the ages of 17-29, are leaning heavily towards the left on almost all the issues. This may not come as a surprise to you since you’re probably between these ages yourself and not an idiot. Just to note though, four years ago the numbers weren’t quite like this. Young people were pretty much split between red and blue because apparently we’re just as easily bamboozled by President Numbnuts as anyone else is. But in any case, there is actually something sort of interesting about this new poll: The rest of the country feels almost exactly the same way as we do. Each answer is shown next to the answers given by the respondents from the “all ages” group, conducted last month. The 17-29 year-old group is indeed more liberal on practically every single question, but just barely. Five points, at the most, depending on the question.

Here are some examples: Of people between the ages of 17-29, 72% dissapprove of George W. Bush, which is the same number of people of all ages who dissapprove of him. 54% of young people think Congress is doing a shitty job while a mere 52% of all people think the same thing. 58% of young people have a favorable view of the Democratic Party while only 53% of everyone else has the same view, etc.

So, really the news here is that basically the entire country is pretty much fed up with the ass-backwards way the world is being run, but that’s hardly news at all. Top reporting, New York Times!

Full poll results [NYT]

Featured Song: “My Generation” by Patti Smith

When a woman in her 70s died onboard a flight for a BA flight to Delhi, the crew scooped her up and moved her to first class, where there was more room. However, they had no unoccupied row and placed her next to passenger Paul Trinder, who found the whole experience “deeply disturbing.” The dead lady was accompanied by her grieving daughter. When he complained after the flight, he says BA told him to “get over it.” From the Times Online via Boing Boing.

And is it going to effect the price of the iphone? cause, you know, we need one.