Let's check out some political stories we found this week Below the Fold.
Lost in the Translation
Some German language experts got an unexpected vacation this week, when they flew to Monterey, California — home of one of the most prestigious foreign-language institutes in the world.
The problem was, they were supposed to provide translation services in Monterrey, Mexico — 1,500 miles away and far from the blue and beautiful Pacific Ocean. The Mexican city was hosting a UN conference on development. The UN is blaming a German travel agency for the error.
What Were They Thinking?
When a Kansas City third grader lost five dollars and no one stepped forward to confess guilt, officials at the Pitcher Elementary school reportedly took swift action. They strip-searched an unspecified number of students — boys dropping their pants before an adult male; girls, before an adult female.
The Kansas City School District has suspended the school's principal and one teacher in the incident, claiming that while the search didn't necessarily break school rules — you probably shouldn't have to write rules governing such bizarre situations.
Do the Crime, Don't Do the Time
Meanwhile, an arbitrator has ordered the Escambia County Schools in Florida to rehire an employee who reported for work high on cocaine, with 50 times more of the drug in his system than required to register a positive drug test.
Schools superintendent Jim Paul complains, "We are expelling kids for taking aspirin or No-Doz. Now, we are talking about someone taking cocaine, and that's OK."
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