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February 13, 2012
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
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Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
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Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
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January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
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January 13, 2012
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January 12, 2012
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Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
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Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 18, 2005
/ 15 Tishrei, 5766
Power of the parent
By
Ruben Navarrette Jr.
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Years ago, NBA superstar Charles Barkley put America's parents on notice.
"I'm not a role model," Barkley famously declared in a television commercial. "Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids."
You tell 'em, Sir Charles. It's too bad the institution of government never learned that lesson. It is always concocting innovative and intrusive ways to try to raise people's kids.
You hear about government officials with "nanny problems." But more worrisome is the problem of the nanny state.
This bad public policy starts with good intentions. Lawmakers conclude that there is some scourge poised to wreak havoc on the next generation. Then they convince themselves that they are uniquely positioned to save the day with feel-good legislation. Then, the next thing you know, you're knee-deep in cases of government acting in loco parentis.
For instance, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed a bill that prohibits the sale to minors of video games that "depict serious injury to human beings in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."
Have you noticed? Politics can be surreal. Remember the "Terminator" movies? In his previous incarnation as an action hero, Arnold was exceptionally skilled at inflicting "serious injury to human beings in a manner that (was) especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."
Anyway, California isn't alone. Michigan has passed a similar law banning the sale of "ultra-violent explicit video games" to minors under the age of 17. And Illinois also has a law on the books that bans the sale or rental to minors of violent or sexually explicit games.
Most of the opposition has come from, shall we say, interested parties. There's the video-game industry, which pulls down about $25 billion annually worldwide. And an outfit called the Entertainment Software Association, which has sued to try to block the legislation in Michigan and Illinois from taking effect. The group insists that those laws amount to censorship and violate the First Amendment.
On the junk-food front, Schwarzenegger recently signed a bill that imposes a ban on soda machines in high schools and another that sets fat, sugar and calorie standards for all food sold in public schools, except cafeteria lunches. In school vending machines, candy, chips and sodas are on their way out and yogurt, juice and milk are coming in. The legislation which supporters insist will help curb instances of obesity in children and adolescents won't take effect until 2007.
That gives schools time to find replacement foods and renegotiate what are often lucrative licensing contracts with soda companies.
The opposition to the anti-junk-food bills comes from another cadre of interested parties candy makers, soda companies, even the normally Schwarzenegger-friendly California Chamber of Commerce. Opponents argued that the reasons for childhood and teenage obesity go well beyond what schools can control.
That may be true just as it may be true that banning the sale of video games is a violation of free speech.
But there is a better argument to be made against these kinds of bills, and no one seems to be making it. The problem is not that there are people who are making tons of money peddling violence and mayhem and sugarcoated goodies to our kids. That's the market. As long as children continue to buy these things, companies will do everything they can to ring up a sale.
Once again, the problem is parents. Many video games sold nowadays carry labels warning about violent content, and yet parents either turn a blind eye when their children buy these games, or they actually go out and purchase the products for them. As for junk food, if parents make it a point not to give their children candy or soda pop at home, or to let them see other family members consuming these foods, then chances are the kids won't feel the urge to buy them at school.
Of course, there are those who will say that peer pressure is more powerful than parental control. And no doubt, there are cases where that's true. But it shouldn't be. And it wouldn't be if parents weren't so eager to surrender whatever control they have.
That includes giving up more power to government. It's the job of parents to steer their children away from things that are unsafe, unhealthy or unsavory, and they shouldn't be so eager to outsource it.
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