Florida Legislature Bans Three Stooges Reruns

In an unprecedented move by the Florida State Legislature all Three Stooges reruns were officially banned throughout the state today.

Local networks, cable, and Direct TV companies were told to pull the plug on the Stooges by Monday, Nov. 8 or face "steep fines."

The vote was nearly unanimous with only a few die-hard fans of the Stooges voting against the motion. 

One congressman from Brevard County was heard saying, "Curley Howard was one of the best actors to have never received an Oscar nomination and I will not vote for this bill. It's just bad legislation."

The bill swept through both houses even though Florida's Governor Charlie Crist made an eleventh hour plea to hold off on the final vote until, "We come to our senses."

The Governor is reported to be a huge Larry Fein fan and considers his autographed picture of him one of his most prized possessions. The picture is framed and said to be displayed in the Governor's mansion in Tallahassee.

The public outcry for the banning of the Stooges started about 6 p.m. this past Saturday when University of Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes tried to gauge the eyes out of a player on the Georgia team during their game in Jacksonville's Gator Bowl.

Womens' and Childrens' advocacy groups made thousand of calls demanding some kind of action be taken.  The director of one such group said, "We can't let our children see this on television anymore. We can't let them see the Three Stooges doing it and we can't let them see our own Florida Gators doing it."

Similar groups throughout the state have been making appeals on local radio and television for parents to confiscate any Three Stooges videos their children might have in their possession.

Spikes, who's been given a half-game suspension by Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer, was in a scrum when the eye gouging occurred.

In addition to the ban, the state is conducting it's own investigation to find out if Spikes was a fan of the Three Stooges and could have possibly been influenced by the eye gouging routines in their films.

The state has already brought in video experts and Marshall Arts experts to review the tape from Saturday's game.

We've learned that all experts are in agreement that the technique that Spikes used in the Georgia game was the same technique that Moe used on Curley during a five year period from 1938-43.