Thanks to the votes of so many people (seven), we have a new Idiot of the Week to grace our home page in the Virtual Dunce Chair: Chad Ian Lieberman. Mr. Lieberman wins for losing his sweet $100/month rent deal in the Upper East Side of New York City by not keeping quiet. You see, he was upset after inheriting his grandfather’s apartment about the 25-story building next door keeping him in shadow. So, he sued to have the building torn down. Ends up that building is owned by the same folks who own the building where he lives, which alerted them to the fact his rent deal isn’t transferrable from his grandfather. So, now he gets to pay the same as everyone else in his building: $3000/month. Nice going, Chad! You win — for losing!
And here’s your reminder of the nominees Chad was up against this time:
Town of Tuszyn, Poland: Tuszyn town officials have decided it’s in the best interests of the children to reject Winnie the Pooh as mascot for the town playground. Their reasoning? Pooh is “half naked” and a hermaphrodite. That last, of course, is entirely wrong since Pooh has no gender at all. No word on if any fully-clothed cartoon characters exist that meet the town’s criteria.
United States Congress House of Representatives: The House passed two bills this week to overhaul the way the Environmental Protection Agency gathers evidence for its reports. Among the bills’ new provisions: Ensuring the Science Advisory Board is “more balanced and transparent” by allowing more corporate lobbyists on the board but not allowing any scientists who might talk about their own science work. Because, who needs experts to make decisions, right?
Mattel: In Mattel’s book Barbie: I Can Be A Computer Engineer, Barbie claims to be a computer engineer, but spends all her time manipulating boys into programming her video game and then taking credit for it. Mattel published the book in 2010, but now they’ve finally taken notice of negative reviews and a surge in interest on various news sites and have decided an apology is the best course of action. Removing the book from sale is not a priority so far.
