Which is cheaper?

Today marks the beginning of a new cigarette tax in Tennessee.

The Tennessean did an article on smokers stocking up yesterday before having to pay 42 cents more per pack. (The money, incidentally, goes to education and the state's trauma care centers.)

In the "things that make you go 'hmmmm ...'" department was this gem:

Or they could drive to Kentucky. That's what Cynthia Brown said she plans to do for her weekly carton.

"That's just the way it goes," she said. "But that doesn't make it any easier to accept."

According to the article (which I have to trust, since I neither smoke nor buy cigarettes), "a $26.77 carton Saturday will cost $30.97 today." Using my handy-dandy calculator, that's a difference of $4.20.

Gas is at $2.69 to $3.09 per gallon in Cynthia's corner of the world, according to Nashville Gas Prices.com. And Google Maps indicates its 41.6 miles to the Kentucky border.

So ... why would smokes be cheaper in Kentucky? After you factor in the gas and wear-and-tear on the car on a weekly basis?

It seems to me there are two cost-effective alternatives here: Suck it up and pay the tax. Or quit. Either is going to be cheaper than a weekly trek to the Bluegrass State.

(I wonder why they don't call it "the Bluegrass Commonwealth"?)

Other laws in effect in Tennessee today:

• School resource officers must be sworn police officers.
• Parents face fines if their children don't wear helmets on motorcycles or ATVs.
• Partners seeking divorce must go through mediation. And if children are involved, there's a waiting period.
• Students who gang up to fight an individual student face a mandatory one-year-expulsion.
• A new misdemeanor is removing a radio collar or microchip from a dog without the owner's permission.
• Driving a motorcycle with the front tire off the ground will be considered reckless driving
• Prisoners flashing prison guards face indecent exposure charges.
• Make a non-emergency call to 911 and you'll face a fine of up to $500.
• The tax on food drops one-half cent.
• It is now illegal to have sex with an animal.
• Anyone charged with vehicular homicide is not eligible for any form of diversion, which can get the charge removed from their record.
• The minimum sentence for offenders convicted of child rape increases from 15 to 25 years. That is where the judge starts, and then considers enhancing factors that can increase the sentence or mitigating factors that can decrease it.
• Drivers can now use deadly force if they believe they are in immediate danger from a carjacker.

Sources: WBIR-TV and Bristol News

Incredible

Incredibly sickening, that is.

The Girl is on throes of the four-year life's journey known as high school. Naturally, friends want to know my impressions as the first-time mom of a high schooler.

The latest contenders are a couple of her father's friends, who have a son a year younger than The Girl. As the mother and I chatted, the father informed his wife that their son likely would not be going to high school next year.

Apparently, that was news to her, for she replied, "Really? Why?"

"My son," this baboon declared, "will not go to a high school where a f** is the principal."

(My apologies to baboons. It's the first metaphor that entered my mind that was family friendly.)

The mother, who normally is not my favorite person, became my hero with her next carefully chosen words:

"Uh-huh." Insert huge pregnant pause here. "Well, you'll be homeschooling him, then, because I'm not going to do it."

As much as I love my little corner of the world, I abhor these attitudes. Said principal is a caring man whose priority is the students. I don't know his sexual orientation, nor do I care.

The students in this district couldn't be in better hands. I'm proud and delighted my daughter will be in high school with an exemplary leader at the helm.

Unfortunately, The Baboon's attitude is rampant here. If the principal were African-American, I have no doubt he would have inserted the n-word in place of the f-word.

Disgusting. It truly is.

Did I mention that The Baboon has a highly regarded job? Yeah. Scary thought.

Asshole.

***
Dark ages attitudes aside, mornings like this one remind me why I love East Tennessee.

After a much-needed downpour yesterday, it is sunny and beautiful outside. The lush greens are showing off, and the mugginess has lifted.

It's a clear, beautiful day. Enjoy it.

Got class?

The New York Times has a graphic in which you can identify four aspects about yourself and choose which class you fall into.

According to the graphic, I'm average. Great education, good job, but my salary and worth suck rocks. Hey, two out of four ain't bad. ;)

Lowering the standards

Earlier this year, those great bastions known as the Tennessee General Assembly decided that it's OK if your city or county mayor and their boards didn't graduate from high school.

Now they're looking at lowering -- yes, lowering -- the GPA required for the state's lottery scholarships.

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_5499206,00.html

Right now, it takes a 3.0 GPA -- a B -- to qualify for the what will be $4,000-a-year gifts under Gov. Bredesen's education plan. To keep it, they must sustain a 2.75 GPA the first year of college and a 3.0 subsequent years.

The plan, which, sadly, has the support of Bredesen, is to lower the GPA to 2.75 for those later college years.

We're giving these kids free money, folks. Isn't the least they can do is work for it?

Things happen, and I understand that. But wouldn't it be better to impose a probationary semester to give students a chance to improve?

Lowering the standards is one of the factors putting us behind in education. It's simply not acceptable, in my opinion, to drop the requirements.

What kind of message does that send to young people? Oh, yeah -- I forgot. This legislature doesn't CARE about the impression their actions make on the state's youth. Silly me.

Unfreakingbelievable

Thirty-two people dead. Fifteen injured.

Young people on the cusp of their lives who simply woke up/reported for class on campus.

God, what a tragedy.

I personally have never been on the Virginia Tech campus. But one of my best friends and his wife are alums, and they're Hokie faithful. An intern at work completed her schooling there. And its name is displayed prominently in one of the supervisor's office at work -- a supervisor whose child plans to be a second-generation VT grad in the family.

It's sad. Senseless.

My prayers are with the families and friends of those lost. May God give you strength at this difficult time.