Some observations from news I’ve read at lunch:
- From the So What Happens to the Babies? Department: According to Reuters, Limbo is being deprecated (going away). No, not the dance. The place where, according to Catholics, unbaptized babies that die go. According to Italian media reports on Tuesday, an international theological commission will advise Pope Benedict to eliminate the teaching about limbo from the Catholic catechism. Three questions come to mind: (1) So what happens to all the babies already there? (2) Do we now need to change the name of the dance? (3) What will George Carlin do?
- From the Put a Nickle In The Slot Department: According to CNN, a school district in St. Paul MN is starting to charge teachers an annual $25 fee to cover the cost of electricity for the teacher’s microwaves, coffee pots, pencil sharpeners, and other personal electrical devices. This is due to the district’s over $6 Million annual energy bill. This doesn’t make the teachers happy at all, given all the other sacrifices we make. It’s not just folks in MN. The Daily News is reporting that California has failed to meet many of the basic health and education needs for its 10.5 million children with education spending ranking 44th in the nation, obesity soaring and economic and food security faltering. One wonders where our priorities are?
- From the You Wrote What as a Headline? Department: Headline seen on CNN: Bush: ‘America will not run’. I don’t know about running, but certain parts don’t seem to work very well.
- From the One Food To Serve Them All Department: The Daily News is reporting on a new product from Dick Van Patten‘s company, Natural Balance Pet Foods. This product, called Eatables, a line of human-quality meals adjusted for doggie digestive tracts. Sold in independent shops and at Petco, the $2.49 cans come in flavors normally reserved for human palates – spaghetti and meatballs, hobo chili and Chinese takeout. It doesn’t taste any different from what you might enjoy for dinner or your dog might pick out of your trash can, but it has none of the small bones to injurious to dogs, no rich ingredients to upset doggies stomachs and no preservatives. According to the President of Natural Balance, Joey Herrick, he keeps cans on hand at home in case of an earthquake. When the big one comes, he’ll be supping on the same stuff as his 19-year-old poodle mix, Mingo. They are talking about expanding into cat food.
