Posted on 06/10/2005 3:07:21 PM PDT by Still Thinking
Texas Agricultural Commissioner and self-described "Food Czarina" Susan Combs -- famous for using state-level fiats to tell local school boards which foods they can allow and even banning children from sharing their gummy bears -- is robbing Peter and pummeling Paul. The Dallas Morning News reports that Combs has taken the unbelievable step of fining already cash-strapped public schools more than $8,000 for failing, even in small ways, to follow her dictatorial dietary decrees.
For years, Texas has attempted to remedy a systemic funding problem that has plagued its schools. The issue is so severe that legislators have suggested everything from soda and snack taxes to legalized gambling to bridge the budgetary gap. According to the Morning News, Combs' Draconian regulations -- one of which, a ban on cupcakes, was overturned by the state's legislature -- have only added to the monetary misery:
Wylie, like districts throughout the state, revamped its snack, or "a la carte," offerings this year to follow the complicated new rules. Snack portions are smaller. The beloved curly fires are gone. Consequently, it's been a tough year financially, said Theresa Johnson, the district's director of student nutrition.
As if that weren't enough, Combs is now exceeding normal bureaucratic slaps on the wrist to actually financially punish schools. Among the absurd fines:
As long as they have time for this kind of nonsense, you can be sure that the Government is overfunded.
'Zackly.
beauracratic waste says what...?
When it comes to the curly fries, it's not the fats and oils that lead to serious health problems ~ no sirree bob ~ it's the potatoes themselves.
All that excess starch in the diet makes the kids fat, surly and unemployable, if not diabetic, at an early age.
Banning Crystal Lite demonstrates how thorough the ignorance down there is ~ they probably think it's junk food, and have only the vaguest notion of what "low carbohydrate content" really means.
But the bottom line is that it's an issue that should be decided between the district and the parents of children who attend that district. There is no need for the state to get involved in this issue at all (but don't expect that to stop them).
We are talking scientific facts here, not parental versus bureaucratic rights.
Last night we were debating a situation where the parents who belong to a non-doctor cult had decided to pull their daughter away from medical treatment before it was completed. We had people in here arguing the inalienable right of parents to do just that ~ . Interestingly enough they did not argue outright that the parents had the inalienable right to kill the kids, but I think that was simply out of politeness.
When it comes to eating starches, it's time to cut back in the school lunches. The kids need more protein and Omega 3 fat.
Texas also needs a new Agricultural Commissioner who is educated in the field to which she is assigned.
NJ was just blessed with this food ban too.
Ahhh, the iron curtain ::grrr::
I am wonder why my generation (1970's), and all the ones before it, didn't have a problem with good old fashioned school lunches. They didn't create obesity, diabetes, or any other ailments in the population.
I can't remember any debates about Omega 3.
I can't say I agree with this amount of interference in something like a school lunch.
Sure they did. You just didn't notice it for another 35 years.
Bull. ALL issues are ones of liberty vs. central control. Whether the state is right on the merits of the issue or not, this issue is not within their mandate.
It's the same with children's diets.
Why is it necessary for schools to feed the kids anyway? Let the parents pack whatever lunch they want and have the kids buy milk or juice for their lunch.
Nope, their still stuck in the *fat and sugar are evil* 'mode.
They won't even LOOK at the carbs OR the fact the healthiest' meal in the world won't do you any good if it tastes like $hit and the kids won't EAT it.
It's plain ridiculous, the amount of waste....you'd THINK they'd get a clue when their numbers keep dropping.
We did manage years ago to get the local school district to quit forcing milk off on kids with lactose intolerance. The dieticians objected because, they said, the children would be consuming too much juice with too much sugar.
That's just ridiculous...but then again, so is a lot of stuff that goes on in school cafeterias.
There's a couple of ladies I work with that have been there 18 and 19 years, respectively, and all the ladies know their stuff.
Its the bureaucratic bs that's the problem. NO school has the right to be health Nazis.
Food, in and of itself, doesn't make ANYONE fat, lack of exercise does.... and making a perfectly healthy meal is pointless when a kid goes home and eats 4 bowls of cereal.
Besides, if their going to make the kids do without a soda machine, they need to quit being hypocrites and remove them from the teachers lounges too.
Texas needs to stay out of peoples lives. It isn't up to the state of texas to tell people how their children should eat. If school lunches don't meet parents standards they can send the child to school with a bag lunch. We don't need food police. Parents rights override states interference and I am sorry to see you don't agree. Get the government out of our lives, don't give them more control.
Children's diets are not the purview of the state, federal or state level. It is really strange that the life expectancy of men is now 75, and women's life expectancy is 79 because the people who are living that long ate pretty much what they wanted and the schools fed them what they wanted at lunch time. We all lived through eating however we pleased and feeding our children how we wished and they are still living and doing fine.
If you wish to feed your children a certain way that is fine, leave other people alone and that includes schools as well. Control is what it is about and it is easy to tell you are a control freak, you want to force your opinions and life style on everyone hence you see nothing wrong with the government having food police. I feel sorry for you because I suspect underneath your conservative outer layer you are really a closet liberal.
Whether or not the kids eat it is a different question.
We might find out if kids can bring their own lunches.
What you said, Calex (not that I think he'll listen). He keeps trying to debate the scientific merits of the actual policies, choosing to ignore that they are completely beside the point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.