Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton is a clever politician who, upon taking office, initiated a children's reading program that gives him good PR. Mayor Peyton's Book Club is a city-wide program that promotes reading for young children. In addition to reading picture books to groups of children at public libraries, Peyton also hosts a weekly TV program in which he slowly reads a mock book aloud while the camera pans over illustrations.
The focus of the readings and illustrations are the wonderful things that the municipal government does to make Jacksonville a good place to live. In the illustrations, children look at libraries, police, and firefighters and admire their noble work for the public good. Isn't government wonderful?
That is the decidedly unsubtle tax-supported message of the program -- big government is your friend. To present a more balanced show, I would suggest that Mayor Peyton read a book that gives a different perspective.
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