weird news round-up - thawing turkeys, Charleton Heston would have moved to Florida, and adios Simpsons

I'm entirely too tired and sleep-deprived today to write much coherently, so I'm just going to go through a couple of weird news stories that I found.


story 1

This article mentions that law enforcement in Spokane, Washington maintain a tip line where people can call with information about crimes. However, not everyone apparently knows that they're supposed to *leave* tips, not ask for tips on how to do various things. Ummm, if you have a question about thawing turkeys, you should call the Butterball hotline or look at their online help information/FAQ. (OK, I digress here, but this is a story about some of the "extreme calls" that have come into the Butterball hotline. The last story is just hilarious.) I guess these are the same people who call 911 with completely stupid non-emergency issues.


story 2

They have an official day where you can take your sons and daughters to work, so why not have equal time - you should be able to bring your GUNS to work every day! At least that's how Florida legislatures would have it. They've passed a bill that has gone to the governor for signature that would allow employees to keep guns in their cars. Of course, the person has to have a permit to carry a gun, and they would have to keep the gun locked in their car. Because you know, if you actually need the gun for protection, then you can just make a quick trip out to your car to get it. I'm sure whomever is making you feel like you need it will just wait around for you while you do that. Hey, at least it doesn't apply to places like nuclear power plants or prisons or schools, because you know, only in those places would it be a bad idea.


story 3

Venezuela has evicted "The Simpsons". With the reasoning that the show is a bad influence on children, what appears to be Venezuela's equivalent of the FCC has forced the local television station to stop showing episodes of the long-running sitcom after receiving complaints. Apparently, like in the U.S., Venezuela also has people who are too stupid or inept to control their children's viewing habits and who can't do something as simple as turning the channel or turning off the TV. The television station has instead been showing a much more wholesome and child-friendly show - "Baywatch".