The American Cancer Society does not think highly of any of the nine cities within Stanislaus County.

Every year the ACS comes out with a "report card" with "grades" of cities based on their criteria of how much control they wielded over the lives of private citizens. It's a shaming technique, to be sure. Hence, if a City Council is conservative and doesn't believe in government overreach, they get terrible grades. Ceres got an F and as did Oakdale, Newman, Patterson, Waterford and the county itself. Receiving "D" grades were Hughson, Modesto, Riverbank and Turlock.

Did you ever stop and think that personal liberty weighs into decisions with regard to activities like smoking? I mean, we've outlawed smoking in many public places; how far can this go? How far should this go?

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A young psychology student spoke at last week's Ceres City Council meeting about how those who are around 21 years of age don't have fully matured brains. That might explain all the wacky, weird ideas coming out of our colleges these days.

I received a press release from the so-called College For All CA Initiative. It should be named the "Kids Want Everybody Else to Pay for Their Tuition" ballot measure.

The University of California Student Association (UCSA) is endorsing the College for All CA Initiative. No surprise.

The group wants their college paid for by soaking people who inherit property. They are seeking to qualify a statewide ballot measure to reinstate California's Inherited Estate Tax to cover tuition for Californians attending UC, California State, and community colleges. To qualify for the November election, 585,407 registered voters' signatures must be gathered by April 24.

I used to be a liberal when I was that age, and truthfully, I didn't know s--- from Shinola. What can any 21-year-old know? So I chuckled when I read a comment made by Aija Nemer-Aanerud, a young millennial who said, "We see this ballot initiative as a model for the student movement across the country. Taking on Trump's billionaire backers with a tax on their inheritances is exactly how we should be funding free public higher education."

Do you detect the seething hostility toward successful people as she wants to "take on" the so-called Trump billionaire backers?

I don't have to tell you that anyone inheriting property would qualify as a "billionaire backer" as far as young Aija is concerned. She doesn't care that the government rob all of what our hard-working families worked for and passed down - she just wants it all handed to her. It's their way of getting something for nothing. That's so noble of her and so typical of this generation who wants everything for free - including free birth control, free education, free cell phones, free internet, free rents, etc.

Hey, I'd like free gas to fuel my car to get to work to earn the pay and the taxes that support all of these freeloaders but I wouldn't expect anyone to just give me free gas. There is no such thing as a free lunch; someone always has to pay for it.

As far as free college goes, I can also tell you that the attitude of someone given something is far different from someone worked hard to earn it.

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Speaking of education, we might want to rethink college, believes Bryan Caplan, author of the book, "The Case Against Education." He suggests all colleges are doing is putting a stamp on students' foreheads to signal employers that they are "good enough to be trained." Caplan correctly observes that the stamp doesn't make people wealthy. The college grad must still find the job - if they can - and must learn the job through on-the-job training separate from college.

Caplan suggests we need less education. Why? He notes that in 1945, 25 percent of American adults had finished high school and yet one could become a business manager. The labor market has changed, of course, and while degrees do get the foot in the door for some, there are lots of college grads who are working as waiters, parking lot attendants and bartenders. There are also a lot of high-paying jobs for those without college diplomas.

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Of course he's against it. He's against everything Trump. Attorney General Becerra is now fighting Trump on fracking for oil and gas on Indian tribal lands.

Does this pathetic public figure know that fracking is leading to prosperity and energy independence?

In a press release, Becerra states: "Once again, President Trump and Interior Secretary Zinke didn't let the law or facts get in their way in their zeal to repeal the 2015 Fracking Rule."
Perhaps Trump should put out his press release about the indictment of Becerra with this: "Once again, Xavier Becerra didn't let the law or facts get in his way in his zeal to ignore federal immigration law."

Becerra really should be arrested and federally indicted for obstructive of justice. Travis Allen, candidate for governor is now saying it. If only Trump had the courage to do it.

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I was amused to read coverage of the recent Modesto Women's March. Let's be honest, this wasn't a Woman's March - it was an Angry Liberal Women's March (with some angry liberal men mixed in) that was yet another desperate attempt to convince themselves why they should continue being upset that the American people elected Donald Trump as president a year ago.

Get over it already, would you? Trump is going nowhere.

You might have also termed it the "March to Rally Toward the Defeat of Jeff Denham's Re-election." Which is odd because Denham consistently favors protections for so-called Dreamers.

I watched the Modesto Bee video in which Opinions Page Editor Mike Dunbar uttered remarks. Digest his statement slowly: "Set aside the politics of this moment - although that's hard to do - and think about what this means. They're marching. They're moving. They're taking a direction and taking a direction, doing something, is what's important."

What kind of nonsensical gobbledygook is that? The entire demonstration was about partisan politics and nothing else! Taking a direction is what's important? What about the context of the march? I mean, do you remember how friends of Daljit and Baljit Athwal staged a protest in Sacramento to get Stanislaus County prosecutors to back off, yet these two are having murder charges pressed against them? Anyone can stage a march for any reason. A noble march is about standing for something noteworthy, not the expression of sour grapes. What was the point of the Liberal Women's March other than feel good about being with others who have a seething hatred for a president who is setting a course that quite frankly is improving our economy which isn't being reported by lefties in the media like the Bee?

There was no substance to their message other than "We hate Trump and he has to go." In the words of Richard Nixon, "Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself."

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Do I have this straight? Some mayors who are defying U.S. law by protecting illegal aliens from being flushed out by federal agents and are being called out by Attorney General Jeff Sessions decided to protest by not showing up to a White House meeting? Then NY Mayor Bill de Blasio had the audacity to call Sessions a racist and say flushing illegals out of American society "doesn't make us safer." Excuse me? The audacity to say it "violates America's core values"! Would that be the core value, Mr. Mayor, of respecting the rule of law? Are these the same mayors who took oaths to preserve, protect and defend the Constitition?

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If President Trump is such a radical on immigration, why wasn't Bill Clinton when he said on Jan. 24, 1995: "All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants; the public services they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That's why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens."

Of course, most millennials were in poopy diapers when Clinton said those words. They might do a little boning up on history, or are they too busy posting selfies or playing video games?

They may not remember Obama himself saying in June 2012: "America is a nation of laws, which means I, as the president, am obligated to enforce the law. I don't have a choice about that. That's part of my job."

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If you wonder why the new generation thinks as it does, look at what some of their teachers are exposing them to. An El Rancho High School teacher in Pico Rivera (east LA) is under fire for speaking in degrading terms on Jan. 19 on our military men and women, calling them the "lowest of the low" in terms of human quality. He was also quoted as saying "the data is in - we don't have a good military." Gregory Salcido is also a member of the City Council there. A secret recording has Salcido saying "Think about the people you know who are over there [in the military]. They're your freaking stupid Uncle Louie or whatever. They're dumb s---ts. They're not high level bankers, they're not academic people, they're not intellectual people. They're the freaking lowest of the low."

Salcido also condemned football stadium flyovers of military "killing machines."

The rant was laced with profanity, too.

I know we have great teachers but we have a lot of teachers who are hardly instilling the right perspective in life. People like Mr. Salcido don't understand that some people serve in the military not because they are stupid, as he insinuates, but because they actually love their country and the freedom that our country offers.

Do you have any feedback about this column? Let Jeff know by emailing him at jeffb@cerescourier.com. He will read it, promise.