It’s Thursday and you’re on. Closing out:
* BAD VIBRATIONS: The TSA has removed a screener from passenger duty (not in LR) because he/she wrote a note “get your freak on” to a female air passenger in whose bag the screener apparently discovered a vibrator. Stupid, offensive, etc. But dig down into the link to where the traveler posted photo of the note and shake your head at the comments from juvenile so-called men who just don’t get how invasive and offensive this is. Men!
* FELONY ANIMAL ABUSE: An El Dorado man has been charged with felony animal cruelty for allegedly breaking the neck of a miniature chihuahua during a dispute with his girlfriend.
* WALMART LAWSUIT: The lawyers for women claiming gender discrimination against Walmart will limit the claim to practices in California stores now that the U.S. Supreme Court has blocked a national class action.
* GONE TO MEXICO: In case you missed the update of an earlier item, it’s official that Whirlpool will finish off its Fort Smith plant in mid-2012, putting the last 1,000 workers out of work. This completes an erosion of jobs that began with movement of production lines to Mexico years ago. The City Wire in Fort Smith has the corporate BS statement.
* WATCHING WALTON MONEY WORK: The Walton Family Foundation is distributing the work of one its paid hands as he describes a plan to enhance its attack on conventional public schools with financing of parent groups working toward “choice” — meaning anything but conventional public school districts. Fix those in need? Not on the agenda. The concern of the Walton planners is to unite charter/voucher/anti-union forces into one grand movement and not have them quarreling among each other as they open the door to privatization, charterization and otherwise the demise of America’s great leveler. Gone forever are concerns about duplicative administrative structures and too-small school districts. Let thousands bloom is the Walton motto. And they have the money to pay for it.