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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Minneapolis City Council bans elephant rides |
| 2008-01-30 |
| James Lileks, buzz.mn I knew they weren't much for Republicans up that way, but sheesh! Last year the City Council, which seems to think that running a city poorly qualifies them to run a circus well, passed an ordinance governing the treatment of elephants. Increased fees – always a favorite – and increased inspection. The show would go on. But as Council Member Ralph Remington put it – in words we should all memorize – “We’ve come a long way. But it can go just a little bit further.” So now the City Council Member Cam Gordon has proposed a new amendment to the ordinance, banning elephant rides. The reason? Public Safety. Not that Jumbo has ever tossed a kid. Not that anyone’s ever had a toe trod upon by an elephant or fallen off. But it could happen: "We could still have a great circus experience and a profitable one if we did without this act," said Gordon during last week's public safety and regulatory services committee meeting. "This would be a way to proactively avoid a horrible situation." . . . . . . As for having a profitable circus, the Shriners say they’ll “seriously consider leaving the city” if they can’t have the rides, because they raise a lot of money. Apparently they are mistaken; we can only hope that the City Council, which surely has an intimate knowledge of circus economics, shares some tips and hints. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #8 I can sell them my patent (not pending) Elephant Repellent Device cheap. Low power consumption and 100% effective! It's kept elephants away from my home for many years. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2008-01-30 22:24 |
| #7 Frank, Every time somebody reads your comment your moustache gets bigger? |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2008-01-30 21:12 |
| #6 Barb - that line's so old it started working again. I have a Goose Gossage++ moustache :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-01-30 20:29 |
| #5 Number of people killed in Minneapolis by elephants? Number of people killed in Minneapolis by poor bridge design and government oversight? The amount of government time, effort and paper to ban the former and the amount of time spent dealing pro-actively with the latter? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-01-30 19:13 |
| #4 ROFL, Grease! Haven't heard that expression in years. :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-01-30 19:00 |
| #3 Whew! That's a relief. At least they didn't ban mustache rides! |
| Posted by: Grease Dark Lord of the Algonquins9226 2008-01-30 18:20 |
| #2 There is one, and only one time when elephants are not just dangerous, but extremely dangerous. That is when people try to mate them. For many years, Europe was averaging one human death each year while trying to mate elephants. Ironically, the elephants are still friendly when they are trying to mate, just less likely to pay attention to their surroundings, like they typically do, having their minds on other things. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-01-30 18:01 |
| #1 Meteorites (or defunct spy satellites) could strike us at any time! Hey Cammie, let's ban those, too!!! |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2008-01-30 16:43 |