Local notes
1. A refreshing protest against Sensitivity. Background: Hillyard is the northeast corner of Spokane. Originally a separate town, Hillyard was named after James Hill, the founder of the Great Northern Railroad. Naturally enough, Hill's Yard has always centered on rail yards and steel mills. No gentrification in that corner of River City: bikers set the tone.

Recently the cheerleaders at Rogers High School, which serves Hillyard, have been taunting the more hoity-toity teams with a set of cheers emphasizing Hillyard Pride, and pointing out the shame of being beaten by those low-rent Hillyard hoodlums. The principal of Rogers decided this was a form of bullying, and prohibited the cheers. In response, a couple hundred Rogers students walked out of school and spent the day picketing her! Bravo, Rogers kids! They understand that learning to give and take a tease is part of education.

2. Meanwhile, in the hoity-toity parts of town, hundreds of adults are protesting against a proposed WalMart store, which threatens to bring jobs, convenience, and affordable prices. Too horrible to contemplate!!!

Hmm. Put those two together and you've got a South Park episode.

3. Full-strength Sensitivity in Canada. Earlier today, police chased a criminal from the Seattle area up to the border crossing at Blaine. When the unarmed Canadian border guards got word that an armed chase was approaching, they walked off the job, leaving the crossing unguarded. This is apparently part of their labor agreement. The same thing happened two weeks ago.

Hmm again. South Park again.

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UPDATE 2/12: The Canadian border guards have gone public to state that they want to be armed, and dislike the rules that keep them unarmed. So the problem isn't the guards, but the Canadian gov't.

  ¶ 7:15 PM