Odd Stories: "Please Don't Bring Weapons" Asks Church

Milwaukee - After a new law permitting people to carry concealed weapons was passed, Catholic bishops in Wisconsin are asking their parishioners not to bring them to church.

The statement, read by Archbishop Jerome Listecki, reads “intuitively, we understand that acts of violence, destruction, and murder are antithetical to the message and person of Jesus Christ and have no rightful place in our society, especially sacred places," the bishops said just before the law went into effect on Tuesday.

"We ask that all people seriously consider not carrying weapons into church buildings as a sign of reverence for these sacred spaces.”



Listecki said the law makes it an individual church's decision whether to ban weapons or not. The permit allows people to carry concealed handguns, electric weapons, any knife except for switchblades, and clubs. Machine guns, short-barreled rifles, and shot-barreled shotguns are not part of the law and are still banned.



An employer may bar an employee from bringing their concealed weapon to work but cannot stop them from keeping them in the car even if it's on workplace property.



In order to get the permit a mandatory four-hour training course or hunter-safety course must be passed.



Since the bill passed on Tuesday, there have been more than 20-thousand permit applications. So far 879 were approved and 793 were printed. The state's Justice Department said 117 were rejected due to incomplete applicant data, insufficient training documentation, or a missing payment.

Odd Stories: Pole Almost Crushes Cop.

Anchorage – An Alaska police officer was almost crushed Tuesday by a falling light pole.

Captured on-tape by the car's dashboard camera, the pole is shown falling from the right before crashing on the highway.

The pole fell after it was struck by Dale Cooper, who lost control of his truck, slid across traffic, entered a ditch, and knocked over the pole.

Officer Rick Dykstra was unable to stop the car in enough time to prevent running over it.

Both he and Cooper are okay and Cooper will not be facing any charges.

Odd Stories: Comedian Gets the Best Laugh of All

Nigerian Comedia Gets the Biggest Laugh of All

Nigeria – Babtunde Omidina, 53, was arrested by Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency while attempting to board a plane from Lagos to Paris. He was stopped after what seemed like little bags of powder appeared in his stomach.

After three weeks and 18 bathroom trips later agents have found nothing but porridge.

“If nothing incriminating is found on him, he will be going home a free man,” Bamidele Aturu, Ouidina's lawyer told Reuters.

Odd Stories: Doughnuts Scattered on Interstate

Chenango, New York – Police officials already have one lane of an interstate reopened after a semi carrying doughnuts overturned.

According to the Associated Press Sgt Tom Sienko says around 2:30 a.m. the driver of the truck fell asleep at the wheel. He only has minor injuries.

There have also been a few people inthe town who commented about the speed at which people drive through the area.

Odd Stories: Fake Corpse Causes Stir in Germany

Bad Ems, Germany – A fake corpse of AiWeiWei, a Chinese artist and dissent, bothered small-town German citizens. They believed the “body”, placed face-down in front of a glass windows, was real and called the police.

Chinese artist He Xiangyu used real human hair – hand-knotted onto plastic and fiberglass – to make the realistic features. Xiangyu created the statue as praise to WeiWei's criticism of China's corruption and censorship.

Earlier this year he was detained for 81 days, resulting in criticism from Western governments. He was also ordered to pay 15 million yuan – the equivalent to $2.4 million – in fines and taxes.

Update: Thanks to the all-watchful eye of Jenny, it has come to my attention I forgot to find a picture before this article was released.  I collect the odd stories throughout the week and time them to come out on the weekends.  Somehow trying to find the pictures escaped my mind.  Anyway here they are, provided by the Washington Post.

Odd Stories: Man Falls Through Ceiling, Into Hands of Police

Portland - After threatening some of his relatives with bodily harm, Aaron Deon Kinsey barricaded himself in the attic.  The relatives called police to take him to jail but after discovering he wasn't a threat at the moment, the police decided to check up on him later.

Shortly after they left him alone, the police heard a noise.  It was Kinsey as he fell through the ceiling.

After being sent to the hospital for a few minor injuries Kinsey was charged with domestic violence, fourth-degree assault, and harassment.

Odd Stories: Realistic Decoration Too Scary for Some Drivers

Dublin, Ohio - Five complaints to the police has caused a man to move his Halloween display, a six-foot hanging man, away from the road and closer to his home.

The man, who wished only to be called "The Cryptkeeper" (yes really), said "It's all in good fun.  I made it from some material I had left over from work."

The police said the drivers claimed the decoration is too realistic, disturbing, and could cause an accident.  It's not what The Cryptkeeper wanted so he obliged the police by moving it and in its place is a sign saying "Less realistic decoration."

He told reporter Chelby Kosto "They said it was too offensive to them. I said 'Well, there is a certain shock value to Halloween.' Let's leave the creepy in Halloween!" and "Halloween is supposed to be fun, and I'm exorcising my demons."

Odd Stories: Patina Falls Victim to Cleaning

Dortmund, Germany – A cleaning woman accidentally damaged a piece of art valued at $1.1-million dollars. The work of art, Martin Kippenberger's “When It Starts Dripping from the Ceiling”, remains in its place after the cleaner scrubbed away a patina meant to look like a dried rain puddle, Reuters reports.

It's not yet determined if the patina would be restored or kept in its current condition but the insurance adjusters are assessing the damage. Dortmund city spokeswoman Dagmar Papajewski said the company employing the cleaning staff told them to stay at least eight inches away from the piece and it's not exactly sure why the patina suffered such a fate.

Odd Stories: A Really Small Fine

York, Nebraska - A 57-year fine for speeding is finally paid off.

With the mounted and framed ticket and payment in his possession, a man walked into the station and told police chief Don Klug he found the ticket amongst his mother's belongings and wanted to pay the fine. He said he believes his mother was visiting York on July 13^th, 1954 and lost track of the citation.

Making the story a little weirder is the wording on the ticket.  It reads "We are sorry to have to leave this tag. However, our parking space is so limited we have to divide it up. A charge of 10 cents is made for your extra time. You may enclose a dime in this envelope and deposit it in the red box located on the corner.  “We hope you understand our parking problem.  Help us solve it, won’t you? Thanks! Come again!” It was signed “York Police Department.””

The York News-Times reports Klug explained in those times parking meters were used to regulate time in the downtown stalls and on each corner was a red deposit box. Violators could simply put the fine money in the accompanying envelope and push it through the slot on the red box. Each day, an officer or parking administrator would collect the fine money with the meter change collected once a week.

Officer Klug says he doesn't know the name of the man who left the ticket.

E-verify.Com to Be Forced on Businesses

Washington – The verification system known as “E-verify”, known for it's “please fear everything and rely on us” commercials, will be forced to onto businesses to combat illegal immigration. From presidential candidates like Mitt Romney to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to the American Meat Institute, high profile industries and people in the business section are pushing for the bill, named H.R. 2164.

The name of other promoters of the verification system, which does background checks and more, can befound at this link.

CIA Spying on Domestic Social Media Sites

Washington - Although the CIA is forbidden by law to do domestic spying, it's doing so in the form of monitoring social media sites, including of course Facebook and Twitter.

Information which is gathered by the agency is then compared with intelligence gathered by others to make better details of likely terrorist suspects. Intelligence mining has become such a part of the government system it's even included every day in President Obama's daily security briefings.

The agency monitors approximately five-million messages a day just on Twitter.

Aurora Borealis Can Be Seen in Ohio

Cleveland – Citizens of Ohio will be given a rare treat: a chance to see the Northern Lights this weekend. Normally not seen in the continental United States, the massive display may be seen as far as Atlanta.

AnttiPuikkinen said “The sun is on an 11-year solar cycle of minimums and maximums. It should reach a peak in the middle of 2013 or so. Because of this, solar activity over the past year or two is much more. The stronger the eruption, the stronger the interaction with the earth, the more southern the auroras will be seen." Earlier this week Spaceweather.com reported one of the biggest sunspots seen in years. It's estimated to be 40,000 kilometers and 80,000 kilometers in length.

Although the solar flares are going to be big, Puikkinen says she doubts anything like what happened in Quebec in 1989 will happen this time. Then, an eruption resulted in an electrical blackout. Other than “some possible radio and power grid issues.”

Jon Corzine Gets a Sketch from OWS

New York – Jon Corzine has more problems on his hands than most people think. Enter Wall streetartist named Geoffrey Raymond. He made his name known for his paintings of Wall Street people who found themselves in trouble.

Raymond said after he heard the news about Corzine he went to his studio and instead of doing a sketch of Ken Lewis, he'd do one of Jon Corzine.

When asked what inspired him to do this sketch instead of the Ken Burns one he said “The missing $600 million dollars” making a reference to the amount of missing money from MF Global customers' future accounts when Corzine failed to turn the brokerage into an investment bank.

So far 35 portraits of executives, politicians, and government officials have been painted since he quit his job in 2006. Originally he painted waitresses and bartenders. His old job was as a PR executive.

Fake Drugs Confiscated By Chinese Police

Beijing – Chinese police arrested 114 people after a four-month investigation into fake drugs. A statement released by the Ministry of Public Security says more than 65-million pills were confiscated from a network that was spread around eight of the country's provinces.

Some of the drugs were made using corn powder or starch while others were simply repackaged past their use-by dates. Police also found animal feed, chemical pigments, and other harmful ingredients.

The investigation started after police noticed a woman in a pharmacy substituted real medicine with fake.

Climate Change Strikes Hard in Thailand

Denver – The Listera virus is continuing its outbreak and claims a 29^th life. The victim is the eighth death in Colorado. According to the Centers for Disease Control 139 people either died or were sickened in 28 states.

The reason why new listeria outbreaks are occurring weeks after they were pulled from the shelves is its symptoms may not show up for three months.

Some of the other deaths happened in Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming, Reuter adds.

Anonymous Declares War

The Mexican drug cartel known as the Zetas has been threated with war by Anonymous. The group says their reaction was triggered by an abduction of a hacker. Anonymous has announced it will release thousands of names of the people connected to the Mexican gang. The hackers said they've got their hands on 25-thousand emails from the Mexican government. Called OpCartel, the plan is then to out people with ties to the Zetas. They have at least 75 people's names ready to be released.

To any possibly new Anons. You are warned to stay out of this one.

According to Commondreams.org and Democracy Now military prosecutors are asserting the United States government is able to hold a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay as long as it wishes. Being proven innocent in a military tribunal doesn't seem to matter, as they have also stated the person may still be indefinitely held.

The Senate is also considering a piece of legislation which will demand any foreigners who are even suspected of terrorist links to be held in military custody, outside of the usual American justice system

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker heckled at Chicago's Union League Club from WBEZ on Vimeo.

Up until about 1:30 moments like these make me happy. After that point I want to cry blood. The fact he said "No matter how loud you shout the facts are the facts and the fact is our policies worked" means he is absolutely deluded in his Ayn Rand philosophy. Scott Walker should've been stripped of his clothes, dragged outside, and left there so everyone can point and laugh.

Military Member Facing Spy Charges

Anchorage – United States Army officials are keeping quiet about the details surrounding the arrest of Spc. William Colton Millay, a 22-year-old solder facing espionage charges. They did say on Wednesday there's no connection between this and a case involving an Army analyst facing accusations of disclosing classified information to Wikileaks.

Millay was arrested Friday in a Joint Base Elmendor-Richardson barracks and is being held without bail. The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation conducted by the FBI and Army.

Army Lt. Col. Bill Coppernoll says Millay's allegations did “not involve the transfer of data on computer networks...Millay was being observed well before any damage could have occurred.”

FBI spokesman Eric Gonzalez also refused to give any details.

The punishment for espionage charges is death.

Israel, UK, United States Considering Attack on Iran

Washington – When asked Wednesday about rumors that Israel is seeking support for an attack against Iran press secretary Jay Carney said “I’m not going to respond to that kind of speculation.”

Carney was asked after a report in Haaretz earlier in the day cited an Israeli official who said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to gain support for attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.

England is also preparing itself to attack, with British officials saying according to The Guardian "that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government."

However there is opposition to the idea within the Israeli government.  Some of them include Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor, Strategic Affairs Minister and Netanyahu confidant Moshe Yaalon, and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz.  Others are army chief Benny Gantz, head of Israel's intelligence agency Tamir Pardo, the chief of military intelligence Aviv Kochavi, and the head of Israel's domestic intelligence agency Yoram Cohen.  Recently-retired head of Mossad Meir Dagan publicly advised against attacking Iran, saying it would be stupid and risks causing a region-wide war.

The Israeli people are nearly split on the issue. In a poll, which asked Jews and Arabs where they stand on the issue, 41% say they're opposed to an attack against Iran while 39% support it. 20% are undecided.

Commentary: Obama and the Keystone Pipeline

President Obama's game of football when it comes to the Keystone XL Pipeline seems to have finally ended with the ball in his hands. Monday Jay Carney, his press secretary, said the decision on what happens with the pipeline will be in the State Department's hands. However the State Department really has nothing to do it. Tuesday he turned that around and said he himself will make the decision.

Obama said on KETV “We need to encourage domestic natural gas and oil production. We need to make sure that we have energy security and aren’t just relying on Middle East sources. But there’s a way of doing that and still making sure that the health and safety of the American people and folks in Nebraska are protected, and that’s how I’ll be measuring these recommendations when they come to me,” he said.

Note the emboldened words. These buzzwords need to be addressed. Instead of actually investing in alternative energy sources, probably because he's afraid of the conservative media backlash, President Obama is promoting dirty nonrenewable energy. As far as “energy security” goes what's more secure than harnessing natural and renewable sources? Is he afraid Iran will turn off the Sun (I admit I'd be fascinated if it happened)?

The fact several strong lobbyists, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Industry, and several more are backing this idea also should make one pause before they think this is a good idea. These are powerful groups which stand to make a huge profit if he decides to go forward with the pipeline. As usual they also hit their oft-repeated mantra of “This will create jobs and improve energy security.” I'd like to know how many jobs and lives would be destroyed if this pipeline – and it will if the oil lobbyists get this done – polluted the water, air, or ground. I'd also like to know who is going to be held accountable when people start getting incredibly sick. I promise you it won't be the companies. The BP oil spilled proved it.

Originally Obama's decision was supposed to come near the end of the year but now it seems it will be next year at the earliest.  Now, according to Reuters says an anonymous official said last week the deadline is likely to slide.

Fracking Possibly Linked to Britain's Tremors.

London – Cuadrilla Resources, the only company in Britain using the process known as hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) stated on Wednesday probably is what caused the country's tremors in April and May of this year. In its report however it said they were the result of a mix of geology and operation and aren't likely to happen again.

Fracking has come under fire from environmental and health activists. Environmental actvists say it can poison water supplies and health advocates state it has unforeseen consequences on those who drink the water. Fracking became more well-known in the last few years thanks to the movie “Gasland” in which a man demonstrates how water is able to be set on fire.

The report states if fracking did start another tremor the strongest one would be around a 3 on the Richter Scale, meaning it would barely be felt by anyone.

Fracking as been put on holdas of May 27^th after a tremor was detected outside the town of Blackpool.

Currently five people are protesting one of the company's rigs. Four of them attached themselves to the machinery.

Legal Adviser: News Corp Executives Knew About Hacking

London – Despite what high-level executives at News Corp say, they were warned by a legal adviser about the overwhelming evidence showing several journalists at News of the World were hacking and using other illegal methods in an attempt to get information.

In documents released Tuesday there are claims phone hacking was more widely known than they told British officials.

Michael Silverleaf, the lawyer who told the executives in 2008, stated in the documents there was "overwhelming evidence of the involvement of a number of senior journalists in the illegal inquiries."

Until earlier this year News Corp. executives said the phone hacking which lead to the now-famous company-wide scandal was the work of one reporter. After evidence showed the claim was more widespread and the British public became more outraged over proof a missing 13-year-old gir's phone was hacked, Rupert Murdoch shut down the tabloid.

If anyone is able to find the documents online, please send me a link through my email.

Bank of America Stops Checking Fees, Increases Others

New York - After a countrywide outrage about its five-dollar debit fee Bank of America has decided to drop it.

Placing the blame on a new federal regulation introduced by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Bank of America introduced the five-dollar debit fee in September.  The regulation places a cap on how much banks can charge when someone swipes their debit card to make a purchase.

In the past the uproar over it stopped other banks like JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo from testing the same practice last week, followed by Suntrust Bank and Regions Financial Corp. on Monday.

Spokeswoman for Bank of America Anne Pace did not say whether there was an increase in account closures but other banks definitely have and answered by calling the police to arrest their customers.

Some people are not willing to let this move stop them from closing their accounts anyway.  The movement US Uncut called on people earlier this year to withdraw their money from large corporate banks and put them into community ones as well, which pay more attention to their customers.

One of them is Molly Katchpole, who is responsible for the online petition requesting Bank of America to drop the debit fees.

"When I heard about the fee, it was the last straw for me," she said.  "I'm living paycheck to paycheck and one more fee was just too much."

Others however decided to stay with the bank since it changed its decision.  Diane Abela  is one of them.

"I had a feeling if there was big outcry, they wouldn't go through with it." She said she would've canceled her account if the bank had followed through.  "I'm unemployed and $5 makes a big difference.  When you're working on a budget every week, it's the last thing you need."

Don't think it means it isn't considering other avenues.  Bank of  America raised the monthly fee on its basic account from $8.95 to $12 last spring.  The company is also testing a new menu of checking accounts in three states, Arizona, Georgia, and Massachusetts.  These start with fees ranging from six dollars to $25.  Pace stated so far it's "seeing good results" and the bank is planning to go ahead with the plan next year.  Alongside this, BoA also started a five dollar fee to replace debit cards as well as charge $20 for overnight delivery.  In the past both services were free.

Bank of America customers aren't the only ones to do such practices despite the backlash against the debit card fees.  Chase doubled its fee on basic checking accounts from six to twelve dollars per month but says it will end a test in Georgia that offered a basic checking account charging $15 per month.  Wells Fargo, much like other banks, ended its debit rewards program earlier this year after getting rid of its no-strings attached free checking account last year.

Commentary: The Seven Billionth Child

While everyone is excited about the birth of the seven billionth child.  News organizations such as the Associated Press are even doing symbolic stories about it and how it is affecting certain countries.

In the story the Associated Press covered, under the fluff about the celebrations going on around the world, is a story about how the country of the Philippines is looking at birth control for a solution to its population issues.  Although the Catholic church is still against it, the country's government is supporting a "program that includes artificial birth control" in the words of the AP.

Citizens of the Philippines, such as Danica Camacho who is the mother of the country's "symbolic seven-billion baby", are taking it upon themselves to try to cut down on the world's population.  Aware of the Vatican's stance she decided to start using birth control anyway.  ""The number of homeless children I see on the streets keeps multiplying.  When I see them, I'm bothered because I eat and maybe they don't", she said.

I'm sure even those who love children more than anything else in the world are aware it is time this planet gets this problem under control.  If we fail to do so the world's resources will be so scarce any child born will face an extremely difficult life.

It's time for us to willingly decrease the number of children we have through things like birth control and other family planning methods.

Children: The Unseen Consequences of War

Washington - Not only are men and women in the military or their significant others affected by being deployed overseas, their children are as well.  A study on military families shows children of deployed service-people are almost three times as likely to be involved in acts of violence such as joining gangs, carrying weapons, or getting in fights.  The numbers include boys as well as girls.


Sarah Reed, who led the research, said "This study raises serious concerns about an under-recognized consequence of war."

The first-of-its-kind research is based on a 2008 survey involving approximately 10,000 students in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grade.  Five-hundred and fifty of them stated they had parent who was deployed in the past six years.


While the results are high the rate of violence between girls and boys of deployed parents shows an even wider gap.  The boys were twice as likely to be violent than girls.  In other words sons of deployed service members are six times as likely to be violent as civilian girls.

This seems to be a wake-up call to mental health professionals.  Dr. Gregory Gorman, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md, said "Maybe if we make assumptions about children, we may overlook other ways they may be suffering."

Police Arrest 30 in Occupy Portland

Portland - Early Sunday morning Portland police arrested approximately 30 Occupy Portland protesters after they refused to leave Jamison Square, a park in Pearl District.

Although the downtown camps at Lownsdale and Chapman Square will be permitted, Portland police chief Mike Reese and Mayor Sam Adams stated the city's no-camping ordinance will continued to be enforced.


The occupation of Jamison Square took place after around 100 people protested a Bank of America event at the convention center.


People who decided to stay and be arrested instead of leave face charges of interfering with a police officer, criminal trespassing, and disorderly conduct.  Although most were released Sunday morning, six who refused to give their names weren't released until later in the afternoon.


What may not be reported however, and I hope I'm wrong on this, is the fact the Portland Police Department released not only the names of those arrested but their ages as well.  Why they chose to do this is anyone's guess but mine is to send a chilling effect to anyone who is considering joining or willing to risk arrest in support of the Occupy Movement.

Climate Change Skeptic Now a Believer

Washington D.C. - Prominent climate change skeptic Richard Muller has concluded after two years of his own research mainstream scientists are right in saying the planet's temperatures are rising.

He even went as far back as the times of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson – two of the greatest minds of their times – and studied their readings.

While what he's saying is now no different from what climate scientists have been saying for decades, the fact the Koch brothers – Charles and David – bankrolled a quarter of the money is of particular interest. TheAssociated Press reports:

Muller said that he came into the study "with a proper skepticism," something scientists "should always have. I was somewhat bothered by the fact that there was not enough skepticism" before.

There is no reason now to be a skeptic about steadily increasing temperatures, Muller wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal's editorial pages, a place friendly to climate change skeptics. Muller did not address in his research the cause of global warming. The overwhelming majority of climate scientists say it's man-made from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Nor did his study look at ocean warming, future warming and how much of a threat to mankind climate change might be.
Still, Muller said it makes sense to reduce the carbon dioxide created by fossil fuels.

What one should ask themselves however is how this will be spun by the climate change deniers. There will no doubt be allegations that he was paid off by a global conspiracy of scientists. There will be others who say he didn't “really” do the research or he's politicizing the issue. All kinds of claims will be thrown at him and given the fact the multi-billionaire Kochs supported his research only to get another person – their person – saying what they're doing is harming the environment will not help him at all in the near future. So far the Koch Foundation simply stated Muller and his team didn't examine things such as the temperature of the oceans or the cause of climate change and it will keep funding the research.

Criminal Enters Home to Watch T.V.

Portland - Instead of doing what most criminals would after breaking into a house, one man decided to sit down and watch television.

Oregonlive reports 32-year-old Jason Bastrom entered the house through an unlocked front door when he was discovered by the homeowner.  After calling 911, the owner called a nearby family member.

During the confrontation the family member noticed Bastrom had a hand in one of his pants pocket, leading him to think he may have a weapon.  A single strike to the head was enough to knock out Bastrom, who remained unconscious until the police arrived to arrest him. 

Odd Stories: A Sandwich and Beer To-Go Please

Ross Township - After ordering a Reuben sandwich, a man failed to escape with a stolen forklift.

Sean Faulkner ordered the sandwich at the counter of Sieb's Restaurant and told his server, Kelly Donatelli,  he was "gonna go eat it in the corner and he ended up running out the front door, down the parking lot with the sandwich."

KDKA reports Faulkner is facing a felony theft charge for stealing the $45,000 forklift and misdemeanor theft for stealing the eight-dollar sandwich.

Why did he steal the forklift? Not only was he hungry, but he was tired from carrying his case of beer as well.

Odd Stories: Officer in Rush to Work Arrested

Miami - Late for his security job at a school, a police officer drove 120 mph to arrive as soon as possible.

Officer Fausto Lopez then, according to Florida Highway Patrol via The Associated Press, went on a high-speed chase. It concluded with him being arrested at gunpoint.

The police report about the event states another officer spotted Lopez's car dangerously changing lanes and constantly ignored orders to pull to the side of the road.

What punishment Lopez will face after his criminal case is to be determined.

 October 31st 2011 Update: Watch the video, which has more than 200-thousand hits already, here.

Commentary: Dog Survives Gas Chamber, News Misses Big Story

What I will never understand is why do we, as people, read so much into these kinds of stories.  I'm sure the other animals wanted and deserved to survive the gas chamber as well, probably moreso than Daniel.  Instead of acknowledging the beauty of each animal and embracing measures which would stop their needless deaths (like spaying and neutering, not getting an animal if you're not ready for it, stopping the sale of animals in puppy mills, etc.) we cast this great and holy light on the fact a dog lived through it.

The religious aspect of this story really unnerves me, especially this part:

"Linda Schiller, the shelter's founder and president, said the facility has already received about 100 applications from people around the country seeking to adopt Daniel. About half said they weren't interested in adopting another dog if the 20-pound Daniel wasn't available."

The fact so many people would not want a dog if they couldn't get Daniel is exactly why we kill animals.  Those 50 people could save a great amount of animals by adopting a dog or two instead of insisting on just Daniel.  Those people seem to be more interested in having a "miracle dog" than the plight of dogs and other pet animals in our country.

Odd Stories: Get a Shot, Get a Ticket

Pittsburgh - Fire Chief Darryl Jones is hoping a judge will show leniency for his firefighters after they got a ticket for parking in spaces meant for city council members.

The fire trucks were parked in the spots for approximately five minutes according to the Des Moines Register.  Mayor Luke Ravenstal says the firefighters were encouraged to get the shots to stay healthy and shouldn't have been ticketed.  The trucks were taken so they could stay on-duty while being given their vaccinations, says the firefighters' union attorney Josh Bloom.