You Have To Watch What The OTHER Hand Is Doing...

Magic is a bit of a hobby for me.  I have fun with it and once in a while I'll do some for friends or colleagues.  There is a saying among magicians, "The closer they watch, the less they will see."  It's very true.  As a magician I want you to look very closely at what I am doing.  You will see what I want you to see.  What I don't want you to look at is what my other hand is doing.  That's the hand that is either under the table or off to the side.  That is the hand that is making the "magic" happen.  It's called misdirection and it's essential to the success of the magician.

Congress is engaging in some misdirection of their own and we need to get the word out so people start looking at "the other hand".

While the debate goes on about H.R. 3200, H.R. 3221 has been making its rounds and is facing little opposition.  It is a bill, that if allowed to pass, would effect our Higher Education system in ways never before seen in history and would give our government unprecedented control over our colleges and universities.  In a nutshell, H.R. 3221 eliminates private student loan lenders and funnels all lending and funding through a government controlled system.  There is a bonus too, we'll get into that later.

Basically, the bill would shut down all private providers of student loans, drive up costs for universities, and become a bureaucratic nightmare for institutions of higher learning. The professors may be leftists, but the administrators have to pay attention to the bottom line.

The Director of Student Financial Strategies at University of Notre Dame warns in a letter to Congressman Miller, “Any legislation that eliminates choice and competition and mandates that all institutions adopt an all-government run program for the 2010/11 academic year is filled with immense risk and would create massive confusion.

The other big problem is control.  If you give government complete control of the funding, you give them complete control of the Universities.  "Do as we say, or students receiving loans won't be permitted to attend your institution."  The implications go without saying and the possibilities are frightening.

Remember I told you there was a bonus?  How about another Czar for you?

H.R. 3221 creates a "Green School Czar".  I'm not joking.  I wish I was.  The Green Schools Czar and his committee would examine the institutions and see if they can make them more "environmentally friendly" and then find ways to make sure they are if they're not.  THEN, if they don't comply, the Feds can deny funds to any student that wishes to attend a non-compliant school.

Watch the other hand folks!  Watch the other hand.  While you're at it, call your Congressman and tell them to vote "no" to H.R. 3221.