Off the Editor’s Desk – August 29, 2012

Last Saturday morning I was watching television a program called “Studio 63, Auction King”. This is a place where people bring in items to be sold at a consignment auction.

One person brought in an Andy Pafko baseball card from 1952. The owner of the auction house called in an expert to appraise the card. He noted that the card was not in great shape. It scored one and a half on a ten scale. The appraiser noted that if it was a ten it could be worth sixty to seventy thousand. But this card was appraised at $500 and sold at the auction later for $650.

Anyone in Boyceville or this area have an old Andy Pafko card? Let us know.

Being out of the office for most of last week, I quickly checked my e-mail on Monday morning to see if anything interesting came across that I might like to write about.

One news release was an announcement that last Wednesday, the Obama administration released the application process for undocumented youth in the United States who may qualify for temporary relief from deportation under the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)” program.

“More than one million young American immigrants now have the opportunity to work and live in the United States as they seek permanent citizenship,” the release stated.

I looked at this and had mixed feelings about this. It sounds great that we are allowing these “undocumented youth” the opportunity to become productive citizens of the U.S. But are they here legally? And, do we need another million unemployed people in the United States?

How many times have you heard about kids and their lemonade stands being shutdown by local authorities? Kids always took to the curb-side to sell a glass of lemonade to people passing by. How many of you may have stopped and enjoyed it?

The Washington Times reported last week that two groups, one called the Raw Milk Freedom Riders and the other, Lemonade Freedom Day want the government out of their business. Driving home a message by protesting at the Capitol that the government should butt out.

Now I can relate to that.

— Carlton