Roger that.

No. I didn't misspell editorial.

In today's online edition of the Gainesville Times, the edicts flow like the microscopic flora and fauna of a septic tank.

"Over the years, we've learned a couple of lessons. First, throwing more money at education doesn't fix it. Second, neither does more regulation and government intervention in schools."

There's so much of a septic nature in that paragraph, maybe I should not waste time ridiculing the writer.

But, I'm one of those nasty Yankee kind of guys, who unlike Lincoln, tells it how it is.

When exactly did your state throw money at education? How much was thrown? By who or whom?

Obviously the esteemed author went to school in the south and never learned basic writing skills. Cliche'

The esteemed author doesn't know how to throw a cliche'. I hope heads don't roll but I am calling for someone to take the bull by the horns at the Times. But, I never put all my eggs in one basket but if this cloud has a silver lining, maybe the Edictorial Staff will get a better ghost writer.

Did Herr Ghost Writer compare the population growth rate to the education spending growth rate before issuing the Edictorial cliche's?

I would have. Georgia is growing and growing very rapidly. Among the states, some claim it is the 6th fastest growing state. Let's cut and paste a couple quotes.

" In the last ten years alone, Georgia grew by 26 percent—one-fifth faster than the rest of the nation. Between 1995 and 2000, the state had a net increase of over one million people—the fourth largest net gain in the nation. Georgia adds about 540 people every day. "

"Between April 1, 1990 and July 1, 1999, natural increase in Georgia accounted for net growth of 527,844. During the same period, the Census Bureau estimates net domestic migration for Georgia at 665,418 and net international migration at 105,839. Thus, 40 percent of all growth in Georgia came from natural increase, and 60 percent came from migration from other states and countries." (http://www.npg.org/ga_poll/georgia.html)

From the U.S. Census, "One of the primary purposes of the U.S. Census is to measure population distribution and change. Although the nation as a whole has continued to expand, growth has been far from uniform. Between 1990 and 2000, 684 of the nation's 3142 counties reported a population loss, many of these in the Great Plains states. At the same time, five counties (three in Colorado and two in Georgia) more than doubled their population, and another 80 counties experienced growth rates greater than 50 percent. Altogether, 1109 of the nation's counties reported growth that exceeded the national growth rate of approximately 13 percent between 1990 and 2000."

If I were prone to throwing cliche's, I'd say the world has been throwing kids at our schools.

I promise to get back to this topic of throwing money versus throwing septic flora and fauna.