Absolutely Reliable News & Rumors.

New Law: All Amusement Park Rides Must Be Xtreme

As the United States Congress reconvenes, many issues loom which will be of great importance to the country, including such problems as the economy and possible war with Iraq. None has a greater impact on the future of the planet than amusement parks, however, which is why the Senate has given highest priority this week to create a resolution banning each and every US amusement ride that is not Xtreme.

Said Orrin Hatch (R-UT), "In order to reflect the Xtreme power and fortitude of this proud country, the Senate will put into effect new regulations banning any new non-Xtreme rides, and will order the demolition of all current rides that are not Xtreme. Parks will be given one month to make existing rides conform to Xtremeness standards." Hatch then bungi-jumped naked from the Capitol rotunda with a can of Mountain Dew, most of which spattered on the head of a visibly miffed John McCain (R-AZ).

"Yeah, this is gonna be some totally kick-ass Xtreme law!" yelled Arlen Specter (R-PA), prior to giving the "secret devil sign metal" sign with his hands and turning to share a savage NBA-style chest bump with deposed majority leader Trent Lott (R-MS). Earlier in the day, Lott had caused a commotion by showing up for work in blackface and demanding the repeal of the Voting Rights Act.

"It was only a matter of time before this law was passed," stated Tom Daschle (D-SD). "Other sectors of the economy have already adjusted successfully to their new-found Xtremitude. Movies now have to be Xtreme, like XXX or Extreme Ops, though we would prefer that movie to have dropped the troublesome 'e' from the title. Every toy now manufactured must be Xtreme. Ohio's Hiram College offers an Extreme Education. The food industry is also finally complying...for instance, at Burger King you can get an Xtreme chicken sandwich, which is Xtreme because it has lettuce. Or you can be Xtreme by drinking Dew, just like those inspiring submorons who skateboard off cliffs behind powerboats. Then there's the Xtreme quesadilla at Taco Bell, which is extreme because it has 2 kinds of processed cheese food product."

Daschle added that "things also tend to get pretty Xtreme for me in the bathroom after I eat an Xtreme Taco Bell quesadilla!"

Some parks have complained about the regulations. Says spokesman David Whiteside of Six Flags Magic Mountain, "we are very upset by his rule. We had a totally, completely, and stunningly unique idea to name a coaster 'X'. No one has ever named a ride anything remotely like that before. We anticipate tremendous loss of income due to people thinking other rides are more Xtreme than ours, which is not the case. We will vehemently protest this decision."

Knott's Berry Farm (Xcelerator), Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (X-Flight), and other parks also are protesting that their highly unique, non-trendy, and creative coaster names are being rendered non-cutting edge, perhaps even non-extreme, by the ruling.

Smaller parks also worry over the changes they may need to enact. Says Paul Fletcher of Kennywood, "I guess if we gave the rats some inline skates and some Jackass videos, we could just change Exterminator to XXXterminator and be okay. However, I don't know if we have the money to turn Jack Rabbit into Death Rabbit Xtreme Hell Challenge or whatever. Maybe we'll just rename the coasters X-Racer, Xtreme Jack, XT-Bolt, and Phantom's Skysurfing Revenge and see if the government will be content with that."

--JCK