Conservative Wanderer

“A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.” — Ronald Wilson Reagan

Massachusetts House Passes Bill Overturning Bake Sale Ban

A couple of days ago, I posted a story about Massachusetts schools banning bake sales. Apparently, State Representatives of both parties thought this was worth undoing:

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve seen in my career,” state Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord), moments after the House unanimously voted to ease the statewide cupcake crackdown. “Talk about hitting the nerve of government reaching far into people’s lives.”

State Rep. Brad Hill (R-Ipswich) offered the amendment, which leaves it up to local school committees whether to adopt the Department of Public Health rules, after hearing about an Ipswich school arts group that would have had to cancel bake-sale field trip fundraisers and fielding complaints from the local football Boosters concerned about their concession stands.

“I was outraged,” said Hill. “This is not what government was set up to do. Then when I started hearing from the groups and how this would affect different fundraising activities, it upset me even more.”

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Massachusetts Bans School Bake Sales

Just when you thought the lefty haven of Massachusetts couldn’t get any more wacky, they come up with something like this:

Bake sales, the calorie-laden standby cash-strapped classrooms, PTAs and booster clubs rely on, will be outlawed from public schools as of Aug. 1 as part of new no-nonsense nutrition standards, forcing fundraisers back to the blackboard to cook up alternative ways to raise money for kids.

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Mixed Feelings About “Little Buddy”

I am of two minds about this use of technology:

The “Little Buddy Child Tracker” retails for $100 (far less than other devices that sell for $200 to $500). It combines global satellite positioning and cellular technology to signal the child’s whereabouts to a computer or smartphone.

Parents can program the device to set up specific times and locations where the child is supposed to be — in school or at home, for example — and the device sends a text message if the child leaves the site in that time.

It seems a bit Big-Brother-ish to me, but then again, with all the stories of child abductions out there, something like this might be a very good tool in keeping kids safe.