Stupid Brits

Well now here's an interesting law that seems quite ridiculous:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/28/council-bans-parents.html

They want parents to abdicate responsibility for their own children? Isn't a day at the playground supposed to be a time of interaction with your child? I can see this backfiring, and parents will just use these parks as a dumping ground for their kids. They're being watched by a certified, responsible adult after all, right?

When my kids were little, they sure as heck were not going to leave my side and go play on the big scary slide by themselves. And how many playground supervisors are there going to be? One for every 2 or 3 children? I highly doubt that. In a typical park, at least all the parks near me, you've got big kids stepping on little kids, all kinds of running around and smacking into each other, fights over who got to the teeter totter first, little kids needing a push on the swings or a catch at the bottom of a slide. And the list goes on. With that many small children, you need all the parents you can get. And I can't even imagine what kind of liability this could actually open them up to. "Your back was to my child and he fell off the swings!"

Granted, not all parents participate as fully as they should in their child's playground time. Some sit far off to one side, on their cell phones, not noticing as their precious little Johnny runs around screaming, stepping on toddlers' toes, shoving them, not saying excuse me, etc. But for the most part, all the parents are engaged in ensuring the safety and enjoyment of their own children. These people are the MOST qualified, and entitled, to be performing that task. I'm not even sure what exactly the government is trying to protect the children from. Are there hundreds of reports of weirdoes stealing or molesting children in parks? I highly doubt it -- far too many other parents there. If I ever hear a viable explanation, I'll publish it here, but meanwhile I am not holding my breath.

This kind of thinking still exists?

Sorry for the long delay between posts. I've seen some stupid things out there, but none too spectacular. Just the Balloon Boy and his parents, but that's already been given so much coverage.

So there is a judge in Louisiana who refuses to wed interracial couples:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/17/interracial.marriage/index.html

I wish I had something witty or wise to say here, but I'm just not too good with words. I only like pointing out the cases of stupidity I happen to come across. I just don't know what this judge's rationale is for not doing his job. He is supposed to act according to the law, and there is no law against interracial marriage, as far as I'm aware. He claims that children of interracial couples have a hard time in life, and that seems like it could be true, but it certainly isn't a known fact, and I'm sure it isn't true for many parts of the country. And most importantly, it is not for him to decide.

Stupid Blog

The blog itself is not stupid; the customers listed in the posts are. I read through a few posts and couldn't decide which one was the best one to publish here, but I ran across this one from Portland, OR, and since I'm originally from that area I decided to share this one with you.

http://notalwaysright.com/the-wicked-witch-of-the-pacific-northwest/2350

If you like it, you can click the Home link on their page, and read all the other hilarious posts. Just when I think people can't possibly be that stupid, I read about someone else who is even more stupid.

Cuckoo

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,557760,00.html

I have no commentary for this. It speaks for itself.