According to the Associated Press, nearly 23 million people in the United States woke up early to watch Kate marry the Prince. To them, and to the bride and groom, I say mazel tov.
Where I come from, the tradition is that the wedding is paid for by the bride’s family. But the groom’s family is responsible for the music, flowers and the liquor. I have two beautiful, happily married daughters. If one of them had married a prince, I’d be in debt for the rest of my life.
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Is your son graduating from high school in a few weeks, but he’s still not sure if he should go to college. The following information from a recent edition of USA Today may help him decide.
Since January, employment for Americans holding a college degree has grown by 521,000 jobs. For those with only a high school diploma, employment has fallen by 318,000 jobs. So, Jeffrey, what do you think? Does it pay to get a degree?
This one is hard to believe but it comes from Rasmussen, as reliable a pollster as any. Even after the crisis in Japan, with the Japanese finally admitting that the problem is as bad as Chernobyl was, 42 percent of likely voters are still in favor of building more nuclear power plants in the U.S.; 37 percent oppose. Twenty-one percent are busy watching “Dancing with the Stars.”
The Josephson Institute of Ethics tell us that 59 percent of American High School students admit that they have cheated on a test during the past year. Eighty percent say they lied about “something significant” to a parent. And one out of every five say they stole something from a relative.
So what is happening to honor and integrity?
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A new national telephone survey finds that 63 percent of likely U.S. voters say that when it comes to immigration reform, gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States. Janet Napolitano seemed to agree when she spoke about all of the border assistance that’s supposed to be on the way.
“It’s coming,” she said. “Border assistance is coming.”
Hey there Madam Secretary — so is Christmas. There are loads of problems in Arizona and the federal government doesn’t seem to care. How about using your influence to push the White House to send that help NOW?
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According to the National Employment Law Project, jobs paying $17.43 — $31 an hour accounted for almost half the jobs lost during the recession. The current administration is busy telling us that things are getting better. What it is not telling us is that 76 percent of the jobs created during the better part of 2010 pay $8.92 to $15 an hour.
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And finally, my weekly feature to Mr. Raisman on where I think the U.S. could save a couple of bucks.
Maybe it was OK to be the sheriff of the world when our economy was healthy and Uncle Sam wasn’t deep in debt. Going to war in another country is costly in both cash and lives. At this moment, according to the Washington Post-ABC News Poll, 62 percent of Americans say that the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting. This is the highest percentage yet to say so. I am StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net telling my president to bring ’em home.