Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine...
Bidenisms
As Wendell Goler mentioned, and as we have reported numerous times here on the Grapevine, Vice President Joe Biden is no stranger to the verbal misstep.
Friday in Joplin, Missouri he spoke of the powerful EF five tornado that hit the city in 2011.
The vice president's accounting of the death toll was a bit overstated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Tens of thousands of cars tossed around like leaves in a fall wind storm -- 161,000 brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandparents lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
In fact, 161 people were killed, not 161,000. Joplin's entire population is about 50,000.
Timing Is Everything
Now, to a case of very unfortunate timing for a Dallas news magazine.
It featured this cover story online, "Taste of Africa Comes to Dallas!"
As you know, doctors at a Dallas hospital are treating the first patient to be diagnosed with the West Africa Ebola virus here in the U.S.
The article profiles a cultural festival.
Publishers could not know about the Liberian man who had travelled to the Lone Star state carrying the virus.
Still, the irony was not lost on those who saw that cover.
Quote -- "Dallas Weekly wins the award for world's most untimely feature story."
Quote -- "Dallas Weekly picks the wrongest of all weeks for its 'Taste of Africa Comes to Dallas!' cover."
A search of the magazine's website no longer brings up that particular article.
Batten Down the Hatches
And finally, reports of a suspicious person locked down four North Carolina schools last month.
A local TV station reports police searched for the man in question to no avail.
Hours later, authorities determined that person was only guilty of a crime of fashion.
He was a school employee dressed like a pirate for International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
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