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The Patriot Post Digest 9-19
From The Federalist Patriot
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____________________________ Georgia's GOP Governor Vetoes Tax CutGeorgia Republicans recently passed a capital gains tax cut and several tax credits for small businesses, but they were thwarted by their own governor. Sonny Perdue, the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction, vetoed the tax cut Monday, saying, "Georgia is a balanced budget state. It's very difficult to do the stimulus-type bills in a state that is starved for revenues." However, it seems that Perdue's problem has to do less with the budget than supply-side economics in general. In fact, he says he doesn't buy into "supply-side theory within a state government," period. Indeed, Perdue signed a big tax increase in his first term. The veto leaves Georgia not only with demoralized Republicans, but also a blown opportunity to attract businesses that would readily flee states with higher tax rates in hard economic times.
CULTURE & POLICY
Regulatory Commissars: Zeal Knows No BoundsCheerios is a food product. Or is it a drug because it reduces cholesterol? Enter the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates, well, food and drugs. CBS reports, "The Food and Drug Administration scolded the makers of Cheerios about the way they promote the cereal's health benefits. The FDA sent a letter of warning to General Mills accusing them of making unauthorized health claims. Current boxes of Cheerios are touting what the company calls exciting news -- the cereal's ability to help lower cholesterol 10 percent in one month."
The FDA informed General Mills that its advertising violates the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by claiming that Cheerios can lower cholesterol within a certain amount of time, as well as help fight cancer and contribute to heart health. Doing so apparently makes Cheerios a "drug." No drug in this country can be legally marketed without an approved new drug application.
So, what will be the FDA's play? Have Cheerios stop its ad campaign? That doesn't affect the nature of the cereal, which will continue to be eaten to lower cholesterol. Have Cheerios pulled from the market while it undergoes testing to qualify as a drug? Prescription Cheerios?
Village Academic Curriculum: Abuse Swept Under RugThe Los Angeles Times reported Sunday about repeated instances of sexual abuse in the Los Angeles Unified School District. A teacher's aide had been accused of molesting students three times before finally being arrested, tried and convicted. The first two times, the aide was quietly moved to another school, where he apparently went right back to his old ways. Similar situations involved two elementary school teachers and a middle school principal, as well.
The situation at LA Unified is strikingly similar to that in the Catholic Church, where priests credibly accused of abuse were simply moved instead of punished. Yet, according to Newsbusters, LA Unified's story has garnered no media attention outside of the LA Times. On the other hand, "Remember how the Boston Globe handled the Catholic Church abuse scandal in 2002," notes Newsbusters' Dave Pierre. "It wasn't just one article. The Globe ran a mind-blowing 989 articles related to the scandal in the 2002 calendar year alone!" We guess if such news doesn't make Catholics look bad, it's not news.
Is College for Everyone?As students graduate from college this spring to find a less-than-receptive job market, a growing number of critics are questioning the value of a college education for the vast majority of Americans. Besides grade inflation and other factors that have steadily eroded the curriculum, tuition and other costs continue skyrocketing with no end in sight. Between 1986 and 2006, tuition and fees increased an astounding 122 percent at public schools and 80 percent at private ones, adjusted for inflation. Critics argue that for most students, a B.A. will never be worth the tremendous debt burden they assume at a point in life when they have the least resources to handle it. Fresh out of school, many B.A. grads find themselves saddled with a debt that could have bought their first house and will take decades to pay off.
"The education industrial complex" has intentionally perpetuated a deceptive "image of college as a sure-fire path to a life of social and economic privilege," says financial columnist and author Kathy Kristof. Parents frequently believe that a B.A. is the best hope for success, and millions of teenagers, who a generation ago would have begun their careers right after high school, are now being pressured into college instead. One study found that 90 percent of teenagers had been urged by their guidance counselors to go to college.
All this is fine with college administrators. The growth of the college student population has created a huge demand for loans, and the federal government has been happy to supply the money via loans, and grants to students, schools and states, etc. According to the College Board, federal aid in 2005-06 totaled $94 billion, a real increase of 95 percent during the previous 10 years. And as the federal money increased, tuition rose even faster, enabling universities and colleges to make a few "improvements" on campus, recruit big name professors and make other enhancements not possible when money was tight.
Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute has studied education for decades. He contends that a large percentage of students pressured into college do not have the necessary skills, and they suffer real harm from the experience. He proposes a system by which individuals obtain certification in their desired occupation by passing tests in the necessary skills. Such tests already exist for accounting and a few other professions. "Young people entering the job market should have a known, trusted measure of their qualifications," Murray asserts. "They need a certification, not a degree."
Hope 'n' Change"How many of you kids want to go to college? Well, guess what? Barack Obama and Joe Biden are going to make sure that every single one of you who qualify are gonna get to go to college, even if you don't have the money in your family to go. We're gonna make sure you get there." --Vice President Joe Biden to students at Bellevue Elementary School in New York
And Last...In April, three eco-adventurers left Plymouth, England, on a solar- and man-powered boat to make a 5,000-mile carbon emission-free trip to Greenland. Mother Nature didn't cooperate, however, as the three encountered severe weather after only 12 days. The boat capsized three times, and, the BBC reports, "In one incident [one traveler, Ben] Stoddart hit his head and the wind generator and solar panels were ripped from the yacht." In the end, the three had to be rescued, which is where the story gets even better. They sent a mayday to Falmouth coastguards, who coordinated the rescue with the Overseas Yellowstone -- an oil tanker. Nothing like a little irony to put things in perspective.
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Veritas vos Liberabit -- Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot's editors and staff.
(Please pray for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world, and for their families -- especially families of those fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, who granted their lives in defense of American liberty.)