The feds weigh in on another crisis. (It's for the children.)

I'll bet you didn't know that your federal government is on guard against the vast peril of backpack disease.

"A federal study found backpack-related injuries among children and teens have risen 41%  in the past five years. The study says more than 14,000 people between the ages of 5 and 19 were treated for backpack injuries nationwide last year. The total cost for those injuries was nearly $29-million."

That works out to f $2071.43 per overburdened  kiddie, although the number might require adjustment for armed and uniformed 18- and 19-year-old children huffing and puffing under a hundred pounds or so of rifle, ammo, and MOLLE gear, etc. -- courtesy of that self-same federal government.

The  reporter even found a local and highly concerned "back-pain expert"  -- a chiropractor, and stop that giggling -- to advise parents not to put a high-school capacity back pack on their pre-schooler. Thank you Doctor. We never would have thought of that.

Dr. Crunch warned  that no child should carry more than 10 per cent of his or her body weight. If he proposed that Washington enact such a law and form a new corps of backpack police, the reporter missed it. But would you really be surprised?

Besides, I question whether the problem is widespread. My observations lead me to believe that the vast majority of tykes carry nothing heavier than Mom's Visa card. 

Gasp. Maybe he even had nail clippers.

*Here's one for you to think about next time you're standing barefoot in the airport with a TSA perv groping around between your legs.

While the feds and the airports are getting pretty good at thwarting terrorism by twiddling your willy and confiscating your Coke, they haven't quite mastered the art of building a useful fence around JFK.

"(A) 31-year-old man swam to a Jamaica Bay shore and then walked past motion sensors and closed-circuit cameras of the airport's state-of-the-art Perimeter Intrusion Detection System. The $100 million system* is meant to safeguard against terrorists."

The cops have charged the swimmer with criminal trespass. Wrong. He rates whatever kind of reward the feds give to heroic whistle blowers.

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* I wonder if  this is the same fence company hired to "secure" the Mexico/U.S. border?

Speaking of home invasions

A threat yesterday to the Camp J Transient Officer Quarters

But ever-vigilant New Dog Libby to the rescue. A few seconds after this shot there was a certain amount of growling, shrieking, and fur flying before Woody retreated beneath the deck. I feel so protected.

Little Leon, Iowa. doesn't make the news often. Pretty quiet down there in the quasi-Ozarks of southern Iowa. So imagine our surprise to discover some sort of redneck ninja outbreak.

Now, a young woman and her three kids can be terrorized anywhere, any time; but by four guys all dressed in black armed with a bow and arrows -- plus a stun gun --  demanding guns, money, and drugs?

For once I agree with the news writer that "bizarre" is an appropriate adjective for a home invasion. There must be a whole lot more to this story than meets the eye, and I hope there's some followup reporting.