You Can't Make This Up Archives - Page 13 of 34

California Senate Bill Would Jail Parents if Kid Skips School

Washington Post: “The California Senate just passed a bill that could send parents to jail for up to a year if their kids — from kindergarten through eighth grade — miss too much school.” Wow! This is a perfect example of the blindness of do good legislators to the unintended consequences of their stupid laws. Consider the possible consequences if little Johnny skips school repeatedly and his mommy and daddy go to jail for a year:

Dad loses job
Mom loses job
Family has no money to buy food
Family evicted from home or loses home to mortgage foreclosure
Kids go to foster homes
Kids have no parents for a year
Parents may lose custody of the kids
Kids are ashamed that their parents are criminals
Millions of dollars California does not have spent investigating and prosecuting skip-parents
Violent criminals let out of jail to make room for criminal skip-parents
Little Johnny is proud of himself for the damage he’s done because he hates his Dad and Mom and/or family
California’s unemployment number goes even higher
More money California does not have paid out for unemployment benefits.

Other than those unintended consequences, the new law sounds awesome.

Arizona Spends $1.25M to Save 250 Squirrels

ABC News: “Arizona is spending $1.25 million to build bridges for endangered squirrels over a mountain road so they don’t become roadkill and then monitor their health. The money is being spent, officials said, because cars kill about five of these squirrels each year.” If the bridges save five squirrels a year for the next 20 years, that is 100 squirrels saved at a cost of $12,500 for each furry little creature.

While the animal lovers are blowing money on squirrel bridges, “Unemployment inches up in Arizona.”

Man Slips on Bus Steps Sues & Wins $1.3 Million

Seattle Times: “A King County Superior Court jury has awarded $1.25 million to a man who alleged King County Metro Transit was negligent after he fell while exiting a bus in downtown Seattle in 2006. The jury also awarded $87,500 to the man’s wife for the impact his injury had on her.”

Drunk Passenger Jumps from Moving Car Sues Driver

The Star: “Says he should have stopped her from jumping out of car. A lawsuit launched by a woman who drunkenly jumped from a moving car during an argument with her partner could make drivers liable for intoxicated passengers who cause themselves harm.”

Proposed Louisiana Law Would Ban Any Online Speech Intended to “Embarrass, or Cause Emotional Distress” to an Under-17-Year-Old

The Volokh Conspiracy: “The bill (HB1259) — which passed the state House of Representatives by a 78–16 vote . . . would make it a misdemeanor to transmit any Internet communication or other computer communication ‘with the intent to coerce, abuse, torment, intimidate, harass, embarrass, or cause emotional distress to a person under the age of seventeen’.”