Blunt: Underage drinking is bad, decision on beating puppies awaited

One of the joys of the last year of Gov. Matt Blunt's administration is seeing how many irrelevant news releases his office will send out.

Today, the governor, taking the risk of offending a large portion of his constituents, has come out against underage drinking. Rumors are Matt Blunt has other weighty issues on his plate during the next few months, and will come out in favor of motherhood and against beating puppies.

Here is the latest news release:

Gov. Matt Blunt today announced his support of the Federal Trade Commission’s We Don’t Serve Teens 2008 campaign.
"It is important that we provide information to the public about the importance of deterring underage drinking," Gov. Blunt said. "I encourage all Missourians to make it a safe summer for our teens and remind Missourians not to serve alcohol to minors."
We Don’t Serve Teens (WDST) is a national campaign to reduce underage drinking. It focuses on the social sources that may provide teens with access to alcohol. Over the past two years, the program has received tremendous support from its public and private partners, including federal, state, and local governments, alcohol and advertising industry members, and consumer groups.
Gov. Blunt encourages Missourians to understand that underage drinking is not inevitable. Fighting underage drinking is a group effort and parents, relatives, friends, communities, schools and retailers can join forces in the effort against underage drinking, especially during the summer months which sometimes means reduced supervision from adults.
Last year, Gov. Blunt signed legislation strengthening Missouri’s law against underage drinking by changing penalties to address both the possession and consumption of alcohol by minors. In Missouri a minor can be found guilty of a "minor in possession" if he or she is visibly intoxicated or has a blood alcohol level of .02. The legislation also prohibits adults from allowing minors to drink on their private property unless they are minor’s legal guardian, and requires school districts to create a policy detailing the consequences if a student is found to either possess or drink alcohol on school property or at school events.
Earlier this month, Gov. Blunt signed legislation requiring repeat drunk driving offenders to modify their vehicles with ignition interlock devices to ensure they cannot endanger other Missourians by drinking and driving. The governor also signed legislation to promote safer boating on Missouri waters by lowering the legal intoxication limit from .1 of one percent to .08 of one percent, ensuring consistency with the legal limits for operating a vehicle.
For more information on stopping teens’ easy access to alcohol, practical tips on talking to kids about alcohol and alcohol advertising, and what to say to friends and neighbors about serving alcohol to teens, visit http://www.dontserveteens.gov/safesummer.html.
Or for a resource for information related to underage drinking, visit the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse website at http://www.dmh.mo.gov/ada/adaindex.htm.

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Underage drinking is a serious problem, but seeking out activities that other organizations are doing, so a paragraph extolling the governor's skill at signing bills into law can be tacked on, seems to be a waste of taxpayer money.