Scuttlebutt Pipeline

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HOUSTON - An infestation of bats at Texas Southern University has health officials concerned.

The bats took over a dormitory, forcing more than 200 students into hotels. Now, there are worries the students may have been exposed to rabies.

Videos posted on the Internet show students swinging a broom and a tennis racket as several bats fly about in a dorm hallway. One student said he killed dozens of bats but didn’t know if anyone was bitten.

Health officials asked students who had been in the dorm to meet with them this week to determine whether any would need rabies vaccinations.

Texas Southern officials, meanwhile, say they’re trying to rid the dorm of the bats. It’s not clear how many bats were in the building.

(source)

I’m actually kind of surprised that bats would even think of making a dorm their home. Bats generally need somewhere dark and removed from intrusion for their resting grounds. Caves, trees, burrows, this is where you would expect to find bats. Not a University dorm.

I don’t think that says very much about the dormitory conditions at that school.

HOUSTON - In a confrontation captured on videotape, a hospital security guard fired a stun gun to stop a defiant father from taking home his newborn, sending both man and child crashing to the floor.

Now the man says the baby girl suffers from head trauma because she was dropped.

“I’ve got to wonder what kind of moron would Tase an adult holding a baby,” said George Kirkham, a former police officer and criminologist at Florida State University. “It doesn’t take rocket science to realize the baby is going to fall.”

(Full Article)

Well, on the stupidity scale with 1 being the least and 10 being the stupidest I’d have to give the security guard an 8.5. Basic common sense says that if the person holding the baby falls than gravity will take effect and the baby will come tumbling down as well. Depending on the person’s reactions to the voltage they may involuntarily clutch the child too hard or drop it all together, either way it does not bode well for the infant. Then there is the fact that electricity can jump and travel and the amount you would use to taser a man you do not want hitting a newborn child.

But wait, people do lack common sense it seems. Then there is the fact that security guards don’t have to have much in way of training or an education beyond a high school diploma either. Now that’s a recipe for disaster.

Of course the man trying to walk out with the child didn’t show that much intelligence either and if I didn’t know any better, which granted I might not, I’d be inclined to believe he’s trying his damndest to get some money and publicity out of this.

Thoughts?

ARLINGTON, Texas - A megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay.

Officials at the nondenominational High Point Church knew that Cecil Howard Sinclair was gay when they offered to host his service, said his sister, Kathleen Wright. But after his obituary listed his life partner as one of his survivors, she said, it was called off.

“It’s a slap in the face. It’s like, ’Oh, we’re sorry he died, but he’s gay so we can’t help you,”’ she said Friday.

(Full Article)

Seeing this article just completely pissed me off. If the church knew he was gay and offered to hold the service then there was absolutely no reason to turn around and cancel because his obituary listed his life partner, and twenty-four hours before the service to boot! This is completely fucked up! Excuse my French. This was a man who helped to protect our rights and our freedom and this is how they honor his memory? His sexual preference does not and did not change the kind of person that he was; it had absolutely no bearing on his character whatsoever. That said, there was no reason to cancel his memorial service. This was a good man who lived a good and noble life, something that these church members cannot boast.

SAN ANTONIO - A tiger at the San Antonio Zoo attacked a keeper Saturday, critically injuring the man, the zoo said.

The zookeeper was attacked about 2:30 p.m. in a nonpublic area by the tiger, said zoo spokeswoman Dawn Campos. The man was expected to recover, she said.

The zookeeper, who specializes in large cats, was flown to a hospital and was in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. The keeper was in his 20s, Campos said.

The male Sumatran tiger was 4 or 5 years old, Campos said.

Campos said she did not know the extent of the zookeeper’s injuries but said: “He was very, very fortunate. He’s going to be fine.”

The zoo was closed after the attack and was expected to reopen Sunday, Campos said.

(Article Source)

Perhaps this is callous of me, but why does this surprise people? These animals are all wild and are not in anyway domestic. You’re taking a beautiful creature used to roaming free and shoving them behind bars, how the hell do you expect them to react?

For the zookeeper and his family’s sake, I hope they have Globe Life. I can see more such incidents in his future.

DALLAS - A new round of flooding swept through portions of Texas, leading officials in one county to declare a fresh disaster area in the hard-hit Plains.
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Smith County officials made a disaster declaration Sunday night, asking for state and federal aid. They say flooding has caused about $200,000 worth of damage to their eastern Texas county and the figure could increase as water recedes.

“We still have areas that are dangerous,” County Commissioner Bill McGinnis told KLTV of Tyler. “We have barricaded those off. We beg people not to go around those barricades because it is just so extremely dangerous to do that.”

The search for a missing rafter who capsized on the rain-swollen Trinity River near Fort Worth was suspended Sunday night and it was unclear when authorities would resume looking for the 26-year-old man.

(Full Article)

You know, with the severe heat waves hitting the country and flooding in another part I wouldn’t be surprised to see the ever vigilant and ever paranoid begin stock piling on the can goods, flashlights, batteries, and shelling out for portable water filters. Sometimes I like to laugh at the absurdity of people, granted it’s great to be prepared but there is a limit folks.

My heart and thoughts do go out to th missing man and his family along with the other victims of this flooding however. I sincerely wish that they hadn’t called off the search but in all honest probability the man is dead by now.