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State Debate: Don't lower the drinking age
An 8/29 roundup of editorials in state papers
Don't lower the drinking age, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
A group of university presidents, including David Joyce of Ripon College, have signed the Amethyst Initiative, which has among its goals reopening debate over the nation's drinking age. Their move is well-intended: Alcohol is frequently abused at college campuses around the country -- including University of Wisconsin campuses. Kids are hurting themselves. But this is actually a well-settled question.
It's unwise to consider lowering the drinking age, especially if that lower age is 18, which would put alcohol into the hands of high school students.
For nearly a quarter-century, the federal government has enforced a drinking age of 21 by penalizing states that fail to comply by taking away highway funds. One measure of this policy's success is that drunken driving fatalities among the young have declined.
More must be done, including greater use of such technological improvements as ignition interlocks, which prevent drunken people from starting a car, and criminalizing the first offense for drunken driving.
Lowering the drinking age is exactly the wrong answer.
Check the accuracy of political statements, says the La Crosse Tribune.
In the weeks ahead the barrage of ads and other information about the presidential candidates will be running hot and heavy.
Pay close attention to what candidates are saying. But take the allegations with a grain of salt. The more lurid and shocking the charges are, the more your natural skepticism should kick in.
While there is lots of good information on the Internet, it also can be the misinformation highway -- and also can pass along outright lies.
There are two good Internet sites for checking information. One is the Urban Legends site (Snopes.com).
Our favorite political fact-checking site is FactCheck.org, run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Pay attention to the political debate, but don't let anyone bamboozle you.
Storm will test plans by officials since 2005, notes the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
The worst-case scenario for Tropical Storm Gustav is that it would slam into New Orleans with the force of another Katrina. If so, the storm would become a test of what officials have learned in three years.
The storm was projected to make landfall Monday somewhere along the 800 miles from south Texas to the Florida panhandle. The cause for alarm is in the New Orleans area and southern Mississippi, where recovery from the devastating 2005 storm is still in progress.
Emergency crews were working Thursday to shore up areas where reconstruction of levees and flood controls have been ongoing. Evacuation discussions were under way.
President Bush was just in New Orleans last week to celebrate the Katrina recovery effort and declare that "hope is coming back" to the area. Here's hoping first that this latest storm is not Katrina II but, if it is, this time people who need help get it in a timely and compassionate manner.
- It's 3 a.m., Hillary's on the phone
- Should the bus fare be increased from $1.50 to $2?
- Democrats put Main Streeters in charge of Assembly
- State Debate: Tie auto bailout to recovery plan
- Reversing bias against gays
- State debate: Medical marijuana should be considered in Wisconsin, the Green Bay Press Gazette says
