Dimitrios Menas, front, and Zach Freese talk to Plum High School cafeteria workers Doris Drop and Diane Pivik in this file photo. Students are protesting higher lunch prices by bringing in their own food. Lillian DeDomenic | For the Plum Advance Leader
In 2010, Michelle Obama went to a lame-duck session of Congress with a request: pass a nutrition bill giving the United States Department of Agriculture broad new powers to regulate school lunches. That bill was passed in late December of that year, and the new regulations have started to go into effect, with the predictable results of wasted food and angry, hungry children.
The cinnamon rolls and chili everyone loved from their childhood are now gone. Bands and other school groups can no longer sell candy bars as a fundraiser. The government is mandating everything from portion size to how many tomatoes have to be on a salad.
P.J. Moran, a food service director for a small district in rural Kansas, said wastage has gone up “at least 20 percent” over last year, as students, particularly at the grade school level, cannot refuse anything on their trays — but, of course, cannot be forced to eat it.
At the high school and junior high levels, things are more flexible, but not much. Moran said those students can refuse up to three items on the tray, but must take the fruit and vegetable servings whether they plan to eat them or not.
The district’s principal, Jim Bolden, said that at the beginning of the year, food service put fresh peaches on the students’ trays, only to helplessly watch them be thrown away by students who didn’t want them:
I bet we threw away four boxes of peaches.
The 8th grade class, which had planned — as always — to sell candy bars to fund its class trip this spring, has had to find new ways to fund it as sales of candy bars this year are allowed only during certain hours. Says Bolden:
Next year we will not be able to do any selling of food products at all. Right now we cannot sell from an hour before lunch until an hour after lunch ends.
Not only is the mandated food not popular and often wasted, there also is not enough of it, and students are protesting … CONTINUE READING
An affordable, reliable energy supply is fundamental to a prosperous and growing economy. With the right policies in place, America can become an energy superpower – and we can end our expensive and dangerous dependence on OPEC. Until recently, this would have been unthinkable. But as is so often the case, the hard work and innovation of American workers and businesses have yielded astonishing results. While the government was throwing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars away at Solyndra, new technologies developed in the private sector have unleashed an energy revolution in this country.
A successful national energy strategy will have a fundamental influence on the well-being of the nation. Dramatically increasing domestic energy production can bolster the competitiveness of virtually every industry in the country, creating millions of new jobs from coast to coast. With fewer energy imports and more exports of manufactured goods, America’s trade deficit will decline and the dollar will strengthen. The benefits even extend beyond immediate economic growth. The lease payments, royalties, and taxes paid to the American people in return for the development of our resources will yield more than a trillion of dollars in new government revenue over time. And all Americans can rest assured that the nation’s security is no longer beholden to unstable but oil-rich regions half way around the world…
MITT’S PLAN
Mitt Romney will make America an energy superpower, rapidly and responsibly increasing our own production and partnering with our allies Canada and Mexico to achieve energy independence on this continent by 2020. This will require genuine support for increased energy production, a more rational approach to regulation, and a government that facilitates private-sector-led development of new energy technologies by focusing on funding research and removing barriers, rather than chasing fads and picking winners and losers.
Empower states to control onshore energy development
States will be empowered to control all forms of energy production on all lands within their borders, excluding only those that are specifically designated off-limits. Federal agencies will certify, but the states will lead.
Open offshore areas for energy development
Mitt will establish the most robust five-year offshore lease plan in history, that opens new areas for resource development – including off the coasts of Virginia and the Carolinas – and sets minimum production targets to increase accountability.
Pursue a North American Energy Partnership
Mitt will approve the Keystone XL pipeline, establish a new regional agreement to facilitate cross-border energy investment, promote and expand regulatory cooperation with Canada and Mexico and institute fast-track regulatory approval processes for cross-border pipelines and other infrastructure.
Ensure accurate assessment of energy resources
Instead of relying on decades-old surveys developed with decades-old technologies, Mitt’s plan facilitates new energy assessments to determine the true extent of our resource endowment.
Restore transparency and fairness to permitting and regulation
Mitt will pursue measured reforms of our environmental laws and regulations to strengthen environmental protection without destroying jobs or paralyzing industries. Mitt’s plan will also streamline the gauntlet of reviews, processes, administrative procedures, and lawsuits that mire so many new projects in red tape.
Facilitate private-sector-led development of new energy technologies
Mitt will promote innovation by focusing the federal government on the job it does best – research and development – and will eliminate any barriers that might prevent new energy technologies from succeeding on their own merits. Strengthening and streamlining regulations and permitting processes will benefit the development of both traditional and alternative energy sources, and encourage the use of a diverse range of fuels including natural gas in transportation.
MITT’S PLAN HAS WIDE-RANGING BENEFITS FOR AMERICA.
More than three million new jobs, including over one million in manufacturing;
An economic resurgence adding more than $500 billion to GDP;
A stronger dollar and a reduced trade deficit;
More than $1 trillion in revenue for federal, state, and local governments;
Lower energy prices for job creators and middle-class families; and
National security strengthened by freedom from dependence on foreign energy supplies.
BLOGGER’S NOTE: I heave heard many people say, “Well, Obama has been bad for the USA, but what will Mitt do?” Try as I might, over the last few weeks, I haven’t read much about MITT’s plans. Lots about why Obama is a failure and needs to be replaced, but little about MITT. I assume much of that is due to the MSM bias and lack of coverage for Romney/Ryan on the campaign trail. With this in mind, I have taken it upon myself to inform myself AND any of my readers as care to learn what Mitt is all about. The obvious place to start is on his website. Explore!
Look, the world looks at the events going on. They don’t see these events as bumps in the road. These are lives. This is humanity. This is freedom. Freedom must be on the march.
We must stand for freedom. I see these extraordinary aircraft here and know that behind them are men and women who’ve flown them in peace, in times of danger. They fly them to protect us. They fly to make sure the world is a safer place.
American leadership is derived from a strong military, which, by the way, is derived from a strong economy, which is derived from strong values and principles. I will strengthen America by restoring the principles that made us the hope of the earth!
The cinnamon rolls and chili everyone loved from their childhood are now gone. Bands and other school groups can no longer sell candy bars as a fundraiser. The government is mandating everything from portion size to how many tomatoes have to be on a salad.
At the high school and junior high levels, things are more flexible, but not much. Moran said those students can refuse up to three items on the tray, but must take the fruit and vegetable servings whether they plan to eat them or not.
blogsense-by-barb 