Posted 9:56 PM by Floyd

The good news is that the Mercury News has given up trying to alter our opinions by means of their insipid, mealymouthed, have-your-cake-eat-it-too recitations of received liberal piety. The bad news is that they are going after our kids:

Kids: Talk trash to your parents
Mercury News Editorial

OK kids, here's a question you won't find on the STAR tests:

How many candy wrappers, styrofoam cups, cigarette butts, cardboard boxes, apple cores, and old running shoes does it take to build a mountain?

Answer: About as many as you can find littering Bay Area roads.

To prove this point, the folks at Caltrans have been building a litter mountain next to Highway 101 to remind all of us not to trash the freeways. They're hoping folks like, ahem, your parents will get the message.

But adults can be oblivious sometimes, as every kid knows. Who has to remind them to wear their seat belts? Who has to scold them for using bad language when they're stuck in rush-hour traffic?

So go ahead, be the litter police. Set a good example by keeping those candy wrappers in your pockets where they belong. Remind anyone you see littering that little pieces of junk can add up to a mountain of mess.

On second thought, avoid the word ``mess.'' It might remind them of your room. Don't go there.