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Back in the ‘60s, the federal government decided it was in our best interest to have cigarette packages carry a warning that smoking could be a health hazard.  It appeared on the side of every package.  Soon it appeared in all ads as well.  The next move was the banning of all cigarette advertising on both radio and television.  Then, there were more and harsher warnings along with educational campaigns that spread the woes of second-hand smoke.  This led to smoking bans in restaurants and virtually anyplace outside of ones home or car.  Now, even these once safe havens are also under attack.  

Continued pounding away at the dangers of cigarettes achieved the desired result of reducing the number of Americans who smoked.  However, with this came reduced revenues, since tobacco products were an important source of tax dollars.  So, the government did what it does best and raised taxes on tobacco products, particularly cigarettes.  All the while, subsidies were still being paid to tobacco farmers.

Less than half the percentage of US adults smoke today compared to a half-century ago.  However, what seems to be a never ending quest to control the electorate, politicians and their bureaucratic colleagues are pushing harder to reduce cigarette usage.  This seems like a strange way to treat a legal product that generates considerable tax dollars.  But the decision has been made to scare people to stop or never start smoking in the name of better health for everyone.

Have you seen the illustrations that will be adorning the cigarette packages?  There’s a clean lung next to a smoker’s lung.  Another has a smoker sporting a tracheotomy.  And, of course, there is one that features a corpse, with the body obviously being that of a smoker.  There are others, but you get the idea.

Only the die-hard smoker in denial, a cigarette company executive or a politician from a tobacco growing state will extol the benefits of smoking.  Therefore, we will probably see tobacco usage decline further.  Taxes will be increased so the cash cow can continue to fund the projects aimed at shrinking the size of the market in this game of round robin. 

What non-smokers have to worry about is if the government will use the same heavy-handed tactics to stop us from eating the foods we enjoy.  This, then, becomes an attack on our freedom.  Are we willing to allow Big Brother to usurp individual choices and personal responsibilities in order to conform with what someone else says is good for us?  Isn’t it time to let the elected representatives know, as Americans, we still claim the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

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These and many more questions must be answered, with all honesty, if our grandchildren hope to have an education approaching the kind received by New Seniors and Baby Boomers.  In an effort to “make things equal” we have actually found a way to dumb-down the typical classroom agenda with bi-lingual teaching or slowing down the educational process so the poorer students can keep pace.  Such actions have proved to hurt the majority of students rather than leveling the playing field to accommodate a few.

There was a time, not too long ago, when schools recognized the fact that while we are all created equal we do not all possess the same interests or skills.  Some were gifted with the ability to excel in science and math.  Others did better in language and the arts.  While mechanical and vocational courses attracted those that preferred to work with their hands.  This is akin to the fact that some students play football, some play in the marching band and some sit in the stands and cheer.

Somewhere along the line, we accepted the notion that anyone who graduated from high school was a candidate for college, even though the child may not have wanted to or would succeed if they did.  This concept was part the desire that equal opportunities exist all, which came out of the civil rights and women’s rights movements of the 1960s. 

Today there are more women enrolled in our universities than there are men, and diversity, some say, has resulted in good students being passed over so quotas can be met.  And, the community colleges are much like an extension of high school rather than effectively serving as a gateway to the four-year institutions of higher learning.

In the meantime, the elementary school students are being taught gender diversity, revisionist history and in some instances being philosophically brainwashed instead of teachers following the proven methods that helped New Seniors and older Boomers get what was once the world’s best overall education.

With Washington, DC trying to take control of education and the teacher’s unions not willing to budge on tenure, seniority and benefits all we can expect is higher costs and poorer test scores.  For now, local school districts do have something to say about what happens in the classrooms.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us who had the privilege of a good public education to be a voice for the children in our communities.

A good education is vital to the future of our grandchildren and the entire nation.  But they will miss out on this if the schools don’t get back to educating rather than bending to the whims of every political action group.      

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The biggest culprit is the education system.  America spends more money per student and gets the worst return on this vital investment, because education is a political football with special interest groups coming first and teaching our youth is a distant second.  There never seems to be enough money to do the job schools are supposed to do. 

What happened to the school money from the bonds voted on at the state and local levels?  The dollars generated from cigarette taxes?  The portion of sales taxes that was for education?  Or, the educational windfalls that state lotteries were going to provide.  How are these things working out in your state?  In the meantime, charter schools and other school system refinements are blocked by unions and their political lap dogs.

In spite of a noticeable lack of academic improvement, there are lots of additions to the rules and regulations being imposed on schools.  Current curriculums are under attack.  The rewriting of history is an ongoing battle at all grade levels.  Parents are also concerned that younger students are being exposed to sexual orientation education.  In one California school district, gender diversity is now being taught to first graders.

No longer are parents the ones to decide when it is appropriate to discuss sex with their children and how they want to form the conversation.  The schools, with the support of the teachers’ unions, are leading the way to determine what is said and when this kind of information will be instilled in the minds of children. 

Any attempt to stop this kind of indoctrination is quickly met with cries that homophobic groups and ill-informed parents are harming children and causing disharmony in the classroom and bullying outside the school.  Of course, the PC (politically correct) police are on the scene to point fingers at anyone who baulks at this subject matter being taught to kids, even at the elementary school level.  Activist judges and supportive media outlets work in concert to jam these changes into school curriculums now and forever.

Young minds are sponge-like and have yet to develop the ability to discern.  Learning what is right and wrong, what is and is not actable behavior as well as determining moral and other values is the responsibility of the parents. 

Knowledge of social behavior should be imparted by teachers who also demonstrate and monitor the application of these necessary skills within the school community.  However, the schools are usurping the parents’ authority by making unilateral decisions about teaching debatable subjects.  After all, is it not reasonable for parents to be the ones to decide when their children have come of age to lose their innocence?  

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The $2 million study is being conducted by the government agency in five schools in the poorest section of San Antonio, Texas.  According to the research firm in charge of the project kids faces won’t be photographed.  Parents will be provided eating information through a bar code system in hopes that at-home eating habits can be changed.

Unfortunately, the study does not expand its scope of interest to include the other known factor relating to the obesity issue: exercise.  If a camera was aimed at a child’s physical activities during and after school, maybe officials would come to the same conclusion the rest of us reached many years ago.  There is a simple answer to most weight issues, which is to burn more calories through exercise than we take in by eating.

The schools where the four-year study is being conducted has an obesity rate of 33%.  This is about twice the national rate of 16% for both elementary and secondary schools.  Obesity has increased by 50% since 1994 and three to four times the levels of 1970 and before.  Few will argue that there is a problem, but are the choices made by the children or the foods available at the schools the answer?

Back when the obesity level was at 4 and 5%, the fare at school was not particularly good or healthy.  That’s why many kids brown-bagged lunch.  It was also cheaper for mom to make lunch than to have the kids go through the cafeteria line.  Given a choice, young people will usually make the wrong selection when it comes to what they put into their bodies, because kids will be kids.

The food police, individual moms and the government, have made strides by getting vending machines operators to stop offering high-calorie, high-fat foods and drinks in favor of healthier products.  When New Seniors and most Baby Boomers were in school, snacks and soft drinks could not be purchased from vending machines, because there were no vending machines in the schools. 

Those of us who were considered middle-class kids back then ate junk food and candy when we had the money. However, we did not have much extra money, so we did not load up on junk.  Why do today’s impoverished children have money to eat bad food away from home? 

Will knowing that the kids don’t eat well at school cause their parents to change the way they eat at home?  Is this government research program just one more in a long line of poor spending choices?  Or, worst of all, does big brother plan to dictate what we eat be starting with the children and working its way up until we all eat the way it wants?

Did you hear about the impetuous high school senior who hung his invitation to attend the prom on the school wall and got in trouble?  The girl said yes to the date, and the principal said no to the prom but later reversed her decision.  There is a lesson we can learn from this story that has been boosted by media and social network publicity. 

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The guy, while basking in his fifteen minutes of fame, has been suspended and can’t attend the big dance, because he hung large letters on the school wall asking a classmate to go to the senior prom.  He did this in the middle of the night, which meant he was trespassing on school property.  The girl was impressed, and the principal was upset.

It’s difficult to run a high school these days and provide an atmosphere for learning without having the support of the parents, the school board, local politicians and all the other factions that think they know how to motivate, educate and control the students.  Well-meaning people flocked to the support of the young man and his date.  Some are romantics, others believe that rules are made to be broken, there are the opportunists and, of course, a sprinkling of folks who think anyone in authority must always be wrong.

Hundreds of thousands of people from around the country let their displeasure be known on a Facebook page devoted to the prom issue.  Most believe the original punishment was too harsh for this simple offense, which they say was goodhearted in nature and did not hurt anyone.  Their attitude is no harm no foul.  

However, the school principal countered by saying, “There has been a practice at the school for many years that any student receiving an in-school or out of school suspension after April 1 for any reason would not be allowed to attend the prom.”  School board and outside pressure resulted in a change of heart and a new policy to decide such issues on a case-by case-basis, which amounts to no policy at all.

Two state representatives, both Republicans, have drafted legislation that would require schools to come up with alternative punishment for youthful pranks rather than banning students from school-related activities.  Where is the wisdom in this?  Don’t these politicians have more important things to do, such as keep the state afloat financially? 

Isn’t the idea behind school policies to be consistent in punishing offenders as well as discourage others from engaging in inappropriate behavior?  If we don’t teach our youth that their actions have consequences and that laws are there for the good of everyone, how can we expect to be a nation governed by the rule of law? 

This story is already yesterday’s news, but there is one thing to remember from this incident: the United States is a republic and not a direct democracy.  We can thank the Founding Fathers for this.  Otherwise, there will be more knee-jerk reaction to the whims of those who want to override policy as they did with the principal who is, in the final analysis, the peoples’ representative.  Too bad they did not let her do her job.

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Proposed standards announced in late April are said to be voluntary.  However, there will be a combined effort by powerhouse government agencies to get marketers to adhere to the administration’s wishes.  The FTC (Federal Trade Commission), FDA (Food and Drug Administration), CDCP (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) are all expected to exert pressure in order to obtain compliance with this plan.  Marketers realize the gauntlet has be thrown.

Food products marketed to children between the ages of 2 and 17 would need to have a “meaningful contribution” to a healthy diet.  That means items such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and lean meat while limiting sodium, sugar and saturated fat (no trans fats) in each serving to comply with the government guidelines or the product cannot be advertised.  This will affect more than sodas and junk food.  Staples like soup, juices, cereals and others that were once thought of as healthy foods may not qualify either, even though these products are not illegal.

Clever advertisers won’t be able to get around the issue by advertising to the parents, because the government wants to apply the rule (make that guideline) to all television programs were 30% of the audience is made up of kids between the ages of 2 to 11 or 20% of those 12 to 17.  Where in the world did these percentages come from?  According to trade groups, this includes some 1,700 programs.

There are those who believe cutting back on advertising opportunities is simply the first step in the eradication of all foods deemed by the government to not be healthy.  Sort of a slow but steady prohibition.  This movement starts by enlisting the gross offenders such as fatty snacks, sugary junk food and fast food to voluntarily stop advertising.  It will likely continue beyond fun foods until all foods consumed by America’s children are in compliance with what will be new government standards in the form of laws rather than merely suggestions.

When New Seniors (those 65+) were kids, there were plenty of sweet, fatty and salty foods around.  The differences were that in those days kids played hard every day, ate what was put in front of them and treats were an occasional bonus.  There were no nutritional facts on labels; in fact, many products had no ingredients listed.  And, generally, the decisions as to what we could or couldn’t eat were made by parents.  It should be that way now rather than allow the government to usurp this responsibility.  And it must be remembered, if the government can dictate what the children can or can’t eat, maybe adults will be next on the list.  

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According to a recent Rasmussen survey, 80% of adult Americans had some sort of family meal in celebration of Easter.  And, 61% said they would attend church services.  Another poll conducted by the same firm showed that 83% of adults believe Jesus actually walked the earth some 2,000 years ago. 

Nearly 8 in 10 respondents believe Jesus was the Son of God.  And, 74% say He rose from the dead.  Why, then, does a relatively small but vocal number of our follow citizens insist on ignoring or trying to undermine the beliefs of so many by trying to downplay or in some instances ban the public celebration of Christmas and Easter?

Research confirms this nation is strongly Christian.  Yet, every year the politically correct, the atheists and the anti-Christian segment of the population go all-out to exercise their Constitutional rights in an effort to trample on the rights of those practicing their freedom of religion during the most important events of Christianity: the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Religious, or at least spiritual, holidays are among the most important days of the year for Americans.  Christmas is ranked first followed by Fourth of July (Independence Day), Thanksgiving and Easter.  Close behind are Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day.  Rounding out the top spots are Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Labor Day followed all the others.

New Seniors, those 65+, represented the highest percentages of people believing Jesus is the Son of God and that He rose from the dead, 83% agreed with both statements.  Among respondents less than 40 years of age 74% believed Christ was the Son of God.  However, when it came to the resurrection, 71% of the 18 to 29 age group believed compared to 62% of those 30 to 39.  About 8 out of 10 in the 40 to 49 and 50 to 64 age groups indicated they believed in both statements.

Americans who care about their heritage and beliefs should not hesitate to stand strong and unite in opposing the forces that would strip Christians of the right to publically celebrate their religious holidays.  Christians have long been advocates for others to have religious freedoms in America and around the world. 

Most of those of other religions do not try to remove the Christian symbols of Christmas or Easter.  It is the bureaucrats and elected officials that are all too willing to cave under pressure from opposition groups for fear of losing votes.  People of faith should tell them what the above numbers show.  Then, they may realize who has the most votes.

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Bureaucrats, if they had their way, planned to kill other games as well, but citizen protests resulted in a change of mind.  The list included, but was not limited to, those mentioned above along with red rover, capture the flag and even the use of wiffle balls. 

A 2009 law prohibits indoor camp from operating without oversight.  An update to the legislation would have impacted any program with two or more of the “risky” activities and require camps to pay a fee and have onsite medical staff.  There are 2,300 regulated summer camps in New York.  Statics indicate that over 640,000 children attend these camps, and less than two-tenths of one percent experienced any injuries. 

Although this regulation won’t be inflicted upon the New York kids this summer, the nanny state issue is still alive and well.  School districts around the country have tried to soften and slow down the extent of physical activities by prohibiting some of the same games targeted by New York. 

So why talk about a story that appears to be over?  There seems to be a continuing effort on the part of some politicians and bureaucrats to make the United States more like other countries than to recognize American exceptionalism.  We are not encouraging our children like we once did to be competitive.  Nor are we rewarding them for it.  Rather, kids get trophies and medals just for showing up as opposed to being the best. 

To keep things fair and not hurt anyone’s feelings, baseball, soccer and other team sports are often played without keeping score.  The adults are not supposed to talk about it, but all the kids know what the score is.  Even the President remarked in a recent speech that he wants to live in a country that is fair.  What about freedom and the opportunity to pursue ones dreams?  That’s what fair is about.

The great fear is that the government will continue to grow in size and power.  This leads to more control on its part and the loss of liberties for us.  Getting the nation’s youth acclimated to this notion is easy.  However, there is the individual motivation factor that cannot be ignored.  This is a uniquely American trait that has been passed on from generation to generation.  This spirit must not be allowed to die.    

Concerned adults will continue to instill young people with winning attitudes.  Yet, there is an ongoing outcry from the federal government to get our children to eat healthier at school, at restaurants and at home while competitive physical activities are being scrutinized.  Something does not seem right.  What do you think?

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I live in suburban Los Angeles.  The polling place where I voted the second week of March is located in an upscale residential area.  The first thing I noticed after parking was a sign stating that ballots were available in 6 different languages besides English.  Statewide, ballots are printed in dozens of other languages and distributed through some 25,000 precincts.

To vote, I did not have to show any photo identification, written confirmation of my address or proof of citizenship.  I did have to tell them my name and address and sign my name in the allotted space.  Then I was able to vote, using a paper ballot, in any of the languages available at that polling location.

The people manning the poll allowed that there were few requests for these foreign language ballots, but would not provide any details.  They did say, however, that this is a federal requirement.  While Washington might be to blame for complicating the election process, the state goes even further when it comes to communicating in many languages.  

Southern California has long been a melting pot — make that a mixed salad – and city and state information comes in a variety of languages.  Providing this service is a costly proposition.  For instance, I recently renewed my driver’s license and was required to take a written test this time.  At the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), I learned that the 100 + page study guide is printed in more than 30 different languages.

The cost of translating, editing and printing the drivers education manuals as well as registration materials and test forms must be exurbanite, to say nothing about the costs involved in hiring and training people fluent in these languages to be part of the DMV staff.  More important, it just doesn’t make sense to me that in a state where all highway and traffic signs are in English to allow people who can’t read the “language of the road” to qualify for a divers license.

Ever travel to Europe, South America or Asia?  Governments operate in the language of their country.  It’s up to those who want to live in the country to learn the language.  To become an American citizen, people must learn about the rules and regulations and are expected to have an understanding of the language before taking the oath.  So, why does government insist on separating us by language rather than pulling people together?

Do we not realize this is a form of discrimination?   Do we simply ignore the waste, fraud and abuse that come with programs communicated in many languages?  Or, do we let our elected representatives know about these any other problems that we see?  You decide.

Since an overwhelming majority of adults are for prayer in our nation’s schools, why has the practice been all but eliminated?  Continued attacks by individuals and small yet vocal groups, including the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) have been orchestrated over the years to make this country free from religion rather than one that subscribes to freedom of religion.

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In a little over 200 years we have gone from a nation under God to one that sparks protests by the very mention of a Creator.  Removing God from the Pledge of Allegiance, our coins and public events is the goal of those who resent and even fear the fact that our country was established on Judeao-Christian principles.  So the naysayers will continue to chip away at accepted practice, because most folks are too busy with their lives to mount an effort against those opposing God as important to most Americans.

A breakdown of the recent Rasmussen Report on this subject shows that women favor prayer in school by 70% versus 59% for men.  More than 60% of all age groups favored it, with those 65+ being the highest at 71%.  White and black respondents came in at 66% and 67% respectively while the broad category of others was 57%.

Regarding the importance of religious faith in daily life 54% of the sample said it was very important and 32% claimed it was somewhat important for a combined positive total of 73%.  The “important” response increases with each age cell from 58% for those 18 to 29 to 82% with New Seniors.  Among blacks this was 91% and fell to 71% with whites and 70% for those in the other category.

When asked how often do you pray, 83% of the answers ranged from several times a day to every day to occasionally.  Only 15% said they rarely or never pray.  However, nearly a third (35%) of the 18 to 29 age group does not pray; just 7% of those 65+ made the same statement.  About 22% of men don’t pray compared to 10% of women.  When race is considered, 18% of whites and 13% of others do not pray while this drops to an low of 1% among blacks.

Cleary, the results show this is a nation that believes in God and relies on this Higher Power to guide and help its citizens through their daily lives.  But the people have allowed their beliefs to be hijacked by more passionate disbelievers.  This may be part of the reason younger Americans consider religion and prayer less important than their elders.  However, this could simply be a reflection of youthful independence and self-reliance that will change with maturity.

Rather than let our very foundation be destroyed, we must ask our elected representatives to fight to preserve this country as one nation under God.  A little more faith for all of us is needed if we hope to prevail over the disruptive forces, both within and outside, who strive to pull us down.  Please do your part.  God bless America.