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A constitutional threat

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The Globe’s editorial early in the month welcoming Sarah Palin and tea party activists was fine. But Globe commentators are flailing wildly at this point about who TP activists are. It’s boring, overwrought and hypocritical. Neal Gabler draws a parallel between the tea partiers and, uh, al-Qaeda leaders. Neal, take the chill pill. (No, not the blue one.) As my daughter puts it so eloquently, Neal is talking a pig pile o’ poopie. (Working on her writing for content: I know “a pile o’ pig poopie” is a more sensible articulation.) In Neal’s world, people who marched against the wars from 2001-2008, accusing the previous administration of blood for oil, fascism, racism, and “genocide” against Arabs are fine. They may […]

Not an American political convention

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Saturday post. Off topic but hopefully a fun video. Intro. The Telegraph maps out the broad lines: In a rare public debate among Mr Berlusconi’s Party of Freedom, lower house speaker Gianfranco Fini, a co-founder of the party in 2009, levelled a raft of criticisms at the style and substance of the prime minister’s leadership… Mr Berlusconi stepped up to the podium right after Mr Fini’s speech, criticising his ally for making political statements while holding a post that requires him to be impartial and for not participating in the campaign for regional elections last month to thundering applause. In another life, I lived in Italy, was into the politics, and showed up on TV to comment on American stuff. […]

MA & FL should get together to drive ed reform in US

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I often say two things in different ways: (1) MA is #1 on the Nation’s Report Card and in the top 6 “countries” internationally on math and science – yadayadayada. (2) The feds don’t know their &ss from their elbows on education. Not their fault but they are too far away to do anything useful. Name one great reform USDOE has put in place since its creation in the 70s… … still waiting… Yeah, okay, let’s table that. As much as I like what MA has done, there are other states that are hard-charging on reform and have something to teach us. Matt Ladner points out that 64% of FL’s poor 4th grade students (free and reduced lunch) score basic […]

IN says no thanks to RttT

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So I guess Arne Duncan’s “pretty please” letter to the Governors did not do the trick. After Kansas pulled out of the running for Race to the Top, now it is Indiana’s turn. This from the Indiana DOE: Indiana Department of Education: IDOE Halts Race to the Top Efforts, Focuses on Implementing Reform Plans FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, April 22, 2010 Media Contact: Kim Preston 317-232-6615, kpreston@doe.in.gov Yesterday, the Indiana State Teachers Association declined an invitation (letter attached) to meet and further discuss union support for vital components of the state’s Race to the Top (RttT) application that are the foundation for Indiana’s student-focused reform agenda. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett issued this statement in response: “I […]

Letter from Arne Duncan: Please re-apply…

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When translated from the language of the feds, the US Secretary of Education’s April 15th letter to the Governors pretty much can be summed up as “pretty please.” After the round 1 Race to the Top grant awards to DE and TN, the reaction from the states was a little, well, unimpressed. States grumbled about what “reform” meant for the USED, and states like Kansas pulled out of round 2. So Arne Duncan put pen to paper and asked the Guvs to, well, uhm, please re-apply. With a cherry on top. April 15, 2010 Dear Governors: Let me begin by thanking you for your leadership on education. Thanks to you, America has entered a new era of education reform and […]