Take your shoes off, but the knife is OK

  • Dick Farrell
  • March 11, 2013
  • 331
                        
It’s another one of those weeks during which I have more questions than answers. –Who’s idea was it to allow people to carry small knives aboard airplanes after they were banned in the wake of 9/11 because one of the hijackers used box cutters (which are, in effect, a kind of knife) as a weapon. Were a couple of Transportation Safety Administration officials smoking something funny when they decided to change the rules? As of this writing, virtually everyone connected with the aviation industry, including airline executives, stewards and pilots, have asked the TSA to reconsider the rule change. I’m asking too, for what it’s worth. –What have the striking Strongsville teachers accomplished thus far in their strike against their school district (and as of this writing we’re at Day 8)? I do not see a groundswell of support for the teachers (nor for the board of education, for that matter), so from a public relations standpoint I think it’s probably a huge failure. Settle it, people. (If this has been done by the time you read this, then congratulations all around.) --What was the Medina Board of Education thinking when it decided to give its superintendent an $83,000 bonus on top of a new five-year contract worth at least $130,000 a year? Over the last few years, the school district has cut 25 percent of its teaching staff and has been unsuccessful in persuading voters to approve additional operating levies. In addition, the board also approved paying for the superintendent’s student loans in the neighborhood of $200,000. Again, I ask, what, pray tell, is going on up there? (This is the kind of thing that pushes teachers to strike when they can’t get a contract.) –Exactly what does the Corps of Engineers expect to hear from the citizens of Zoar? The Corps is inviting public comments on the proposals at hand, which include flooding the village, but I rather doubt anyone would actually favor that idea. Am I nuts? Have I missed something? –How far would New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have gone with banning stuff that’s bad for us if the New York Supreme Court had not struck down Bloomberg’s smackdown on supersized sugary drinks? What about triple quarter pounders with cheese? What about Waffle House hash browns smothered in sausage gravy? How can you ban large sugary drinks but not those heart-attack-inducing foods? (Heck, maybe New York City doesn’t have a Waffle House.) –What were eight teenagers doing in an SUV at 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning? I realize it’s still early in the highway patrol’s investigation into the crash that killed six of those teenagers, but certainly someone would have such an answer 36 hours later. You know my next question. It’s about the parents. –Should we be taking North Korea seriously? Let me rephrase that. Seriously, should we be taking North Korea? Dennis Rodman? Seriously? –If women do most of the shopping for members of the family, why don’t retailers such as JC Penney put a woman in charge rather than a dumb guy who does away with sales in favor of low everyday prices? –Why does Dick’s Sporting Goods keep sending me coupons that are virtually worthless because most of what they sell is excluded from the deal? –So, how is the new no-texting-while-driving law working? Maybe I missed it, but I have yet to see any evidence that anyone in Ohio has been cited under the new law. –Speaking of laws, has anyone been cited lately for allowing smoking in a tavern? –Do you know of anyone who can say he/she was a winner at one of the new Ohio casinos? (I don’t. Note: The buffet is pretty good at Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino, so you’ll have that going for you.) Read more from Dick Farrell at TuscBargainHunter.com.


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