Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

I had a hard time believing this story at first. It was so ironical that, while we were watching a movie about rats who sneak into a Paris kitchen, a chipmunk had managed to sneak into the theater.

I wonder how many theaters in the US are infested with chipmunks? It's a question worth asking. If a wild, disease-carrying animal that size can break into an 18-screen theater and live off the crumbs of moviegoers, how many smaller pests--mice, moles, termites, even real-live rats--might be lurking there?

This is a public health issue that needs to be addressed. The US Department of Health and Human Services should be spending less on unnecessary flu shots and more on routine inspection of public places. Moreover, municipal governments need to dedicate more resources to urban revitalization. Finally, instead of fumigating these places with dangerously toxic chemicals, the exterminators should make use of mousetraps. As for termite-infested theaters, they should be torn down and rebuilt altogether.