In general, regulation has a bad connotation. It conjures images of the story I have told of a police officer of high rank talking about the mugs and tokens that have the five vision words of the department on them. When a certification auditor comes around, employees are required to know those vision words, and if they can pull the wooden nickel out of their pocket and read it, it is the same as if they had memorized them. Why, the department may even be rocked with scandal and still be certified.

In the news today, we learn two area colleges are threatened with sanctions against their accreditation. If they were to be discredited, I might apply at one for work. I was taught calculus by a guy who did not teach at the university because he would have had to take the courses he was teaching in order to qualify. The newspaper article is PC, and states the probationary status is due to “struggles” and “concerns.” Perhaps the official write-ups are equally vague. We are also informed the sanctions are not likely to result in the schools closing.

Then, regulation can make sense sometimes. An area nursing home – er, adult care home – is now going to shut down. Again, the newspaper is very PC in its description of why, but it does hyperlink to a TV news blurb in which neighbors complain about how the residents have been breaking into their buildings if not just snooping and lurking. A previous violation pertained to housekeeping.