Real pieces of work

The BBC has developed a computer program allowing Internet usersto reduce the volume of player grunts and screams at Wimbledon whileincreasing the volume of the commentary. Some of the grunts of MariaSharapova, for example, top 100 decibels, reports say.

Given the political grunts and screams of President Barack Obamaduring last Wednesday's news conference, maybe the BBC device couldbe employed for future presidential intemperance. ...

Government intervention in markets usually has the exact oppositeeffect of what the government interventionist intended. Witness oil.

Last month, the Obama administration tapped America's strategicoil supplies supposedly to help counter the loss of Libyan crudeand, supposedly, to drop gasoline prices.

Oil and gas prices were on a downward curve before that. Butcrude prices are rising again, including futures contracts. Why? Themarket knows that the United States will have to buy 30 millionbarrels of oil -- and other countries 30 million more -- to replacewhat was incoherently dribbled into the supply chain.

One perversion begets another. ...

What a great scam Pennsylvania's colleges and universities havegoing.

For decades, they've used public subsidies (then thrown hissyfits when the public wanted an accounting of the money) as cover torepeatedly raise tuition far in excess of inflation.

And now that tough budget times have befallen the commonwealth,they're using reductions in those subsidies to jack up tuition evenmore.

So much for the Age of Austerity. ...

All of this higher-education higher spending, though, might justbe coming back to slap Penn State and Pitt.

The U.S. Department of Education ranks them No. 1 and No. 2,respectively, for the highest tuition cost of four-year publiccolleges in the nation.

Sounds like a great marketing tool.

True to form, Pitt blames "the commonwealth's de-emphasis onhigher-education funding during the past decade."

Pitt and Penn State might fancy themselves as too big to fail.Look for the education market to make that decision for them. ...

The president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association,Jim Testerman, says that the fiscal 2012 budget just signed by Gov.Tom Corbett, which includes $860 million in cuts to K-12 publiceducation, will cause students, their families and local taxpayersto "feel the pain."

As if students, their families and local taxpayers haven't beenfeeling the pain of the educratic establishment for far too long.Nearly half of all public-school teacher strikes in the nation occurin Pennsylvania.

Mr. Corbett should send Mr. Testerman a little note: "Ready toact like the 'professionals' you claim you are?" ...

Bill Brooks, president of Pittsburgh Building Trades, praisesU.S. Rep. Tim Murphy for the congressman's latest sop to organizedlabor.

The Upper St. Clair Demolican voted to eliminate a provision thatwould have stripped cost-raising and discriminatory provisions suchas "project labor agreements" (PLAs) from federal contracts. Mr.Brooks likens PLAs to a "market-based" tool that protects "communitystandards."

My, what an inventive way to describe extortion. And talk aboutknowing an obscenity when it's seen.