The ever reaching arm of a burdensome, un-constitutional government

[muh_muh]

all this aside am i the only one who got the feel from reading the article that the inspector overstepped his boundaries massively by taking away the childs lunch and this has nothing to do with the program being a problem but is simply a case of an overzealus inspector who should get fired?

[hippifried]

all this aside am i the only one who got the feel from reading the article that the inspector overstepped his boundaries massively by taking away the childs lunch and this has nothing to do with the program being a problem but is simply a case of an overzealus inspector who should get fired?

Well that's been my take, but I'm not willing to assume even overzealousness. The reality is that we know what Mom put in the bag, but we don't know what was in the bag when the inspector took a peek. These are children. Am I the only one with vivid memories of childhood? "Hey, I'll swap you a piece of gum for your apple."

[Faldur]

all this aside am i the only one who got the feel from reading the article that the inspector overstepped his boundaries massively by taking away the childs lunch and this has nothing to do with the program being a problem but is simply a case of an overzealus inspector who should get fired?

Your not the only one, although the thought of me agreeing with you probably won't sit well.

When did parental rights get trumped by government? Since when did we surrender that kind of power to big government? It is a slippery slope when you empower a bureaucracy to manage so much of your lives. How far off can it be that we will be told which websites we can visit and which we can't? Is that any different than inspecting your lunch?

[fred41]

all this aside am i the only one who got the feel from reading the article that the inspector overstepped his boundaries massively by taking away the childs lunch and this has nothing to do with the program being a problem but is simply a case of an overzealus inspector who should get fired?

I believe this could very well be the case. It could also just be a misunderstanding. I say this because there probably would have been more outcries than this.

[Prospero]

Oh Fred - you are way too reasonable. This is surely just another indication of the evil jackboots of big government trampling all over the constitution and on the rights and freedom of ordinary American citizens. Abolish all government. Especially that which tampers with the rights of corporations to flood the election process with huge sums of money.
And big government works right the way down the system - like those States passing new laws requiring photographic ID to register to vote (funnily enough all Republican administrations) which effectively excludes many students, the very poor, many Black people, the unemployed etc. And funilly enough those thus excluded would tend to be democrat voters. Funny that.

[muh_muh]

When did parental rights get trumped by government?

1) if im right and he did overstep his boundaries then its not the government that did this but one lone inspector so your whole point is invalid
which wouldnt be terribly surprising since you have a habit of doing that
2) parents dont have a right to malnutrition their children

[trish]

It's has already been established in the U.S.A. that children have no expectation of privacy in public schools. Some schools districts routinely and systematically inspect the contents of lockers. Some school districts invite the municipal police onto school property with drug sniffing dogs to sweep parking lots, hallways, lockers, classrooms, locker rooms, gyms etc. Other school districts subject their student body to random drug testing (for cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes and birth control). All of these activities have been challenged in court and the courts have persistently found that children do not have the same expectations as adults under the constitution. Children in private schools sometimes have even fewer individual rights.

Not that I agree with all this surveillance, but I do recall that when I protested against the implementation of some of these procedures at my own school district, I was joined by the liberals in the community and opposed vociferously by the conservatives (and also the clergy) who felt children needed very close attention.

It seems to me muh-muh has the appropriate reaction in this particular case. There's nothing wrong with a program that attempts to make sure students get balanced meals. Moreover, parents do not own their children, rather they are entrusted to care for, educate and guide their charge into adulthood. Parents and program employees both have been known to be over zealous or sometimes to overreact while carrying out their duties.

[fred41]

Many are getting ahead of yourselves regarding this and all other personal freedoms. There are gray areas everywhere...it's never black & white. When it comes to searching areas of school for drugs...or much more important - weapons, it often becomes necessary for everyone's overall safety to give up some "perceived" personal freedoms.

But on the other side of the coin...I think it would be a very rare instance indeed, where you would give the state the right to go into your child's pre packed lunch and deem it unfit...and then replace it. Don't get me wrong: I don't for a minute think that happened here...but that would, in my opinion be a gross governmental overstep. I don't have any children of my own, but I can't see any parents that would agree to something like that.
I think we all basically agree on some of this.