Stories from South Carolina

For those that don't know, I live in the greatest state of the union. There were two stories that came across the news tonight that proved once again just how great my state is.

First up is this little gem. For those that don't want to click the link, it shows our law-makers superior rational abilities in action. First, the background: a few weeks back, they busted up an illegal gambling operation using a law that makes "any game with cards or dice" subject to prosecution. The sponsor of the bill was concerned that similar rules would prohibit such items as Chuck-E-Cheese. However, this bill won't be making it into law due to the fact someone somewhere in our great state could instantiate a scenario that could bring back the most evil of all evils, video poker.

The second story discussed in this entry didn't earn a posting on wcbd's website, and I have to wonder why. It concerned a bill being discussed that would prevent commercial ads from being display on the insides of school buses. Regardless of how you feel about this, here's the point that I would like to make. First off, I ride CARTA to/from work and have for about two years. My employer pays the fare and today's gas prices motivate me to take advantage of this opportunity.

Now, CARTA does allow commercial ads on their buses, and I have no problem them doing this to make a buck. However, their ads only appear on the outside of the bus. True, there are some CARTA materials (including the outdated free-vet-ride one), and a few drug study recruitment posters; but there isn't anything from the .com side. I have often found this funny, because I know CARTA could (finally) make some good money allowing them on the inside.

This feeling has now been further amplified by this non-webpage worthy news, simply because I have to ask the question: Why is it when these ads can't get in front of adults, are we discussing having them in front of our children? What does this really tell us about my state's marketing priorities?

Come on down, move in today.