The latest AP-Ipsos poll has President Bush’s approval rating at 33 percent, the lowest of his presidency. And fewer and fewer conservatives are willing to back Bush. Forty-five percent of self-described conservatives disapprove of him, and 65 percent of conservatives disapprove of the Republican-controlled Congress. You can bet this means Karl Rove will be pulling out all the stops for the midterm elections.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Topeka, were among lawmakers lending their names in recent days to resolutions calling for the national anthem and Pledge of Allegiance to be sung and recited, respectively, only in English. That will make sense to most Americans. “To do otherwise undermines our symbols of national unity and discourages people from learning our common language” is how Ryun put it.
But the issue isn’t as clear-cut as many would like. It turns out that the U.S. government commissioned a Spanish-language version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1919. There also are four separate Spanish-language versions of the national anthem on a State Department Web site, and some German ones available at the Library of Congress. And both Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and first lady Laura Bush signaled that they don’t have a problem with the “Nuestra Himna” version of the national anthem. Besides, don’t we have bigger issues to work through — such as immigration reform itself?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
War coverage isn’t helping American young adults know much about geography. Nearly two-thirds of Americans ages 18 to 24 couldn’t find Iraq on a map, and 88 percent couldn’t find Afghanistan, according to the National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study released last week. In addition, 70 percent couldn’t locate Iran or Israel, and 54 percent didn’t know that Sudan is a country in Africa. Those surveyed didn’t do much better on American geography: 33 percent couldn’t locate Louisiana, despite all the Hurricane Katrina reporting, and only half could identify New York on a map. How can Americans compete in a global marketplace if we don’t even know where other countries are located?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Under an agreement reached last week between Bill Clinton’s foundation and America’s soft drink giants, non-diet sugary pop such as Coke and Pepsi will no longer be available in the nation’s elementary, middle and high schools.
True, it’s nothing more than a small step in the fight against this nation’s growing childhood obesity crisis — but that’s OK. If the nation is serious about tackling this complex problem, then actions such as these are at least part of the solution.
Upgrading the food and beverage offerings at schools is not a trivial effort, considering that’s where children spend a majority of their developing lives.
Schools should be providing healthy options and encouraging students to think about the food choices they make. This sends the welcome message that student health is at least as important as raising money for the pep band.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The following satirical headlines come from the Web site borowitzreport.com:
BUSH’S LOOK-ALIKE TROUNCES BUSH IN NEW POLL; Majority of Americans Prefer Comic Impostor to Actual President
SATAN’S TESTIMONY ROCKS ENRON TRIAL: Lord of Darkness Becomes Surprise Witness for Prosecution
FEMA SENT TO IRAN TO SLOW DOWN NUCLEAR PROGRAM; Agency Uses Bureaucracy, Red Tape to Hamstring Nukes
BUSH RAISES BOUNTY ON BIN LADEN TO A GALLON OF GAS; Highest Reward Ever for World’s Most Wanted Man
FOX NEWS-WHITE HOUSE MERGER COMPLETED; Bill O’Reilly Named Secretary of Defense
RETIRED OIL EXECUTIVES VOICE SUPPORT FOR RUMSFELD; Chauffeur-driven March on Washington Draws Hundreds
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
