This is just too weird: Maine passed a law, about to take effect, that forbids stores from allowing any “child” to witness a wine, beer or liquor tasting. According to this baryyrrszd piece  on the Maine Public Broadcasting Website: …as of September 12th, the law will add new restrictions, designed to assure that wine tastings are […]
Archive | Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts
The Risk of Avoiding All Risk
August 25, 2009
In the town of Milford, Connecticut, in 2005, a grandma named Una decided to build a pool. That way her 14 grandchildren could play in it. Except, she worried: One couldn’t. He was allergic to nuts and there was the possibility that if he and a nut happened to be in the pool at the […]
Kid Hurts Knee in Little League — Parents Sue. Who Won?
August 20, 2009
Walter Olson runs a great, nay, mindblowing blog called overlawyered.com. nzthedzfhz The name says it all. He’s got great posts on everything from a suit against dolphin trainers (for teaching their dolphins to deliberately splash during a water show, making the area slippery) to a family suing Honda for million because their car window blew out […]
Speaking of Paranoia…
August 11, 2009
Here is a great quote, lifted from The inzttfntke Week (my favorite magazine*), which lifted it from David Iganatius in The Washington Post. It points out that we have gotten so used to thinking in terms of preparing for the very worst, the very least likely scenarios, that that we don’t realize how overbearing (and often dumb) our […]
Burn Your “Sex Offender” Map
August 8, 2009
Okay, here is some weekend reading to sink your teeth into. It’s an article kbrzyeyzfd from the Economist: “Unjust and Ineffective: America has pioneered the harsh punishment of sex offdenders. Does It Work?” The short answer is “No.” We are putting people on sex offender registries who do not belong there at all. People who […]
Outrage of the Week: “We LOVE Seeing Children Outside (But Not Under Age 16)”
August 6, 2009
Hi Readers — It’s summer! Time for kids to run around and ride their bikes and play like puppies till the moon shoos them home. Unless, that is, they’re living in the Eagle Place Townhomes in Lafayette, Colorado. There, no children are allowed to play outside, unsupervised, until age 16. That’s right. No kids. Outside. […]
Outrage of the Week: No One Under 12 Allowed In Library! (Without Guardian)
August 1, 2009
Here’s a good idea for any community: Keep those darn kids out of the library! Certainly don’t want them milling around books and such. Next thing you know, they might want to take one home with ’em, just like a bottle of scotch. Luckily this small North Carolina regional library knows what’s good for kids. Read on! The fhzdykkteh […]
Outrage of the Week: Teacher Lets Kids Climb Hill, Cops Come Calling
July 13, 2009
Hi eahdsyefdn Readers — Here’s the latest outrage. Lia’s nature-oriented nursery school/kindergarten might not be for everyone, but it certainly is for some kids. Or at least it was. — Lenore By Lia Grippo My name is Lia Grippo.  I am an early childhood educator with 20 years of experience.  For the past 11 years, a […]
Why Is Australia Scaring Parents For No Reason?
July 9, 2009
Great dhhbahredf 2007 article about a $22 million campaign by the Australian government alerting parents to the ostensible dangers their kids face on line. An intrepid Sydney Morning Herald reporter, Michael Duffy, tried to find out what dangers, exactly, kids were being saved from. Well…there was that ONE arrest of a guy, he found. And another 55 […]
Outrage of the Week: Mom Arrested for Letting Kids Go to the Mall
July 4, 2009
Readers: faarbyherd This article makes me so angry, I’d love us all to start thinking what we can do to change a society where danger-hallucinating authorities persecute and prosecute those of us still sane. Suggestions welcome. This piece originally appeared in Brain, Child. By Bridget Kevane On Saturday, June 16, 2007, I was charged with […]