The idea that Americans students lag behind others is a myth. One around since the Cold War (see the 1958 cover story of Time). Fact is, once you control for poverty, American students are as good as anyone else in the world if not better. The Finns and Singaporeans aren’t smarter or better taught than Americans; they’re far less likely to be below the poverty line.
But if cities such as NYC insist on appointing rank know-nothings to head their public schools, that’ll change soon.
Really? In the 21st century, a plurality of Mississipians [EDIT: Mississippi Republican primary voters](PDF) want to outlaw interracial marriage? We fought a war to keep this place?
Let’s face it — the rebels in Libya aren’t going to win on their own. All the no-fly zone is doing is slowing down their losses.
If I were betting on it, I’d say Brown gets re-elected in November. Hope that changes, but I don’t know who could beat him right now. I repeat — Menino’s our best shot.
Revisit your predictions — how’ve you been doing so far? I was wrong about the Pats, right about Portugal.
Very disturbing news from North Korea — the presidential succession seems rather unsettled, from reading the tea leaves. Leaving the putative successor unnamed in an official release points to severe disagreements behind the scenes.
Good riddance Manny.
jconway says
1) She is a great pick, I hadn’t seen your VEEP post back then but she would’ve been a great pick for that job too. Also a great person to shoot for a Senate seat or watch out for in 2016. I would argue you are to the left of the mainstream of the party, I am a little to the right, and we both find her incredibly compelling and she has a great no nonsense style that would resonate with independents too. Sad to say Muslim Kosovo is the latest to join the growing list of countries that have had a female heads of state (and it only took them three years of statehood to achieve that) before the United States and I really hope our next nominee is a woman, and this might surprise you, I wouldn’t mind if she were our current Secretary of State either, though I’m convinced she’s too burned out on politics to want another shot (though I’m likely wrong).
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p>2)Again while we disagree on aspects of school reform this fact remains the largest contributing factor. Pinning it on dumb kids, video games, tv, or teachers unions doesn’t cut it. If we returned to our party’s legacy of maintaining an end to poverty in its platform, a vision of ideologically diverse Democrats from FDR to LBJ to Clinton, and one we haven’t seen from this President, we would not only win more elections but we would solve most of the other problems we deal with (the scourges of drugs, crime, out of wedlock pregnancies, urban decay, unemployment, incarceration, etc.). It all starts with poverty. Give a man a job and the means to provide for his family and everything else falls into place.
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p>I’ve said this earlier, but the party needs to seize the ‘pro-family’ mantle and re-frame it around an economic vision. I am convinced socially conservative outcomes (stable families, two parent households, Americanization of immigrants, stronger churches and communities) can only occur through economically progressive means. The wealth has to be spread and it can no longer be so concentrated in the hands of the few. Tonight at a high school concert in swing city Naperville in the swing districts of Illinois, I heard some people grumble after the show about the sexual content of some songs but I heard a lot more grumbling about how difficult it is for so many parents to even afford to have their kids involved in extra curricular activities, especially when the school is increasing fees and cutting back (and this is one of the wealthier districts, they didn’t even have extracurricular activities at the school I tutored at on the South Side of Chicago). Decoupling school funding from property taxes and directly funding it from the DoE is a good place to start to ensure equanamity, along with longer days, and a nationalized set of standards. I did comparison research between Chicago Public Schools and their international sister city components, and noticed we were the only industrialized country that did not set a nationalized curriculum. And that also seems like a big reason why we are behind. This should be the Apollo project we focus on and its an investment that will pay far more dividends than most government programs.
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p>3) The irony is these “patriotic” Americans also frequently fly a flag of open treason against their government, a threat to our internal security far more numerous and insidious than Communism or the current Muslim scare ever seriously were. That state in particular has the flag of rebellion and treason sown right into its own state banner. Also these places are where the majority of ‘small gov’ment’ people tend to live, even though they get the most amount of federal funds for what they contribute. They also don’t like us liberal gay marrying Northerners and have the highest divorce and rape rates around. More reason why Barbour is a laughable prospect.
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p>4) Brown wins in a walk, we got no one. At this point I say Draft Deval, he is the only one with the statewide recognition and organization to swiftly start knocking punches and taking Brown down a peg. I’ve always felt he’d make a better Senator than Governor, and my man Murray would rather Deval’s job anyway so it works out for everyone-except Brown which is the point. Mumbles (I say that out of love by the way) isn’t going to run. He will be dragged out of City Hall in a one way ambulance.
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p>5) I can’t disclose too much for fear of getting torture like Manning, but when I worked at State we didn’t know what was going on in North Korea or whether Kim was even alive let alone who would replace him. I highly doubt that has changed.
hoyapaul says
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p>Presumably the other problem is that our best potential candidates are waiting for the other Senate seat to open if (when?) Sen. Kerry becomes President Obama’s Secretary of State next term. It’s a lot easier to run in an open seat race against a generic Republican than it will be to run against popular moneybags Brown. So chances are that in this race we’ll end up with someone mainly seeking to improve his/her name recognition for some future run.
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p>Of course, that was what Scott Brown was doing in the first place when he ran, so you never know.
david says
Just to clarify the point about the MS poll, it was a poll of MS Republican primary likely voters, not Mississippians in general. So, there’s that.
joeltpatterson says
It’s easy for Democrats far from Mississippi to see what the power majority does in that state and assume that most Mississippians do the same. There’s a ton of voter suppression in Mississippi that keeps a lot of people down.
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p>At one time (when Howard Dean was pushing the 50-state strategy) 3 out of 4 Mississippi Representatives were Democrats.
somervilletom says
The poll, and your clarification, lead to the question “Are likely Mississippi Republican primary voters racist cretins, or are racist cretins likely to be Mississippi Republican primary voters?”
cos says
Brown’s not getting re-elected in November, for the simple reason that his term runs for a whole other year, and there won’t be an election for his seat in November. It’ll be the following November, 2012.
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p>Who knows who the candidates will be, but there’s still plenty of time for good ones to emerge, and Brown is very definitely beatable. Menino is IMO one of many who could possibly beat him, but he’s far from my ideal candidate! I’d rather get someone good out of a primary, and I think think of a few I’d prefer to Menino who could also beat Brown. There are likely others I haven’t thought of who are mulling a run.
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p>Menino is a very flawed candidate because he’d get some sliver of the progressive vote but array a majority of progressive activists and organizers against some portion who would go with him. Menino in the race strengthens the hand of anyone who wants to win the primary by consolidating conservative Democrats, but that’s the sort of candidate who’d be weakest against Brown in the general. So, Menino running for this seat gives Brown a better chance of re-election.
kbusch says
Brown’s campaign literature harps on how the Democratic “machine” is going to try to unseat him. That message does not play so well against someone like Warren. It’s pretty good messaging, alas, against Menino.
jconway says
Which candidates do you speak of and why aren’t they running yet?
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p>Either Warren is a bad option. Elizabeth because she will be so much more effective in her current position and I want her to stay there. Seti because being Mayor of Newton for a year is hardly qualification to become a Senator, though I would agree that Brown and Deval do demonstrate that name recognition pales in comparison to organization in terms of importance so I would count that out as a factor at this point. Coakley has the most name recognition out of any potential candidate but I doubt anyone would run her again.
kbusch says
specifically of Brown’s readiness for Menino.
jconway says
I agree with Sabutai that Mennino is a progressive figure contrary to popular interpretation, but I disagree with him that he would make a viable candidate for statewide office. And like I’ve said elsewhere, the only way he leaves the Mayor’s Office is feet first in a pine box.
sabutai says
I’m not an idiot. However, I still don’t see who’s going to take him on. Sure, somebody could emerge from nowhere a la Deval Patrick. But for every Deval Patrick there’s an Alan Khazei — a much-hyped candidate from outside government who rallies liberals and fails miserably.
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p>I agree with your statement that Menino would not rally a majority of progressive activists and organizers. D’Alessandro and Khazei were those candidates; obviously one can win without the people Menino wouldn’t get. As for whether Brown would do better or worse, everything is conjecture until/unless a polling firm polls a Menino-Brown matchup.
jconway says
We are at a precarious place right now, also as for the Deval/Brown flash in the pan comparisons, Deval was out campaigning hard in the spring and summer of 2005 (I know I was doorknocking!) and Brown had a last minute surge due to the special nature of the special election (bet Andy Card, Kerry Healy, and Michael Sullivan are still kicking themselves). So if there is a no-name candidate out there they have to start NOW in order to get any kind of traction. Also if we are talking about small town mayors and rich ex-Romney supporters (didn’t we try that with Pags) we are definitely digging into B or even C benches for the state party. A Gabrielli run would be more credible than any of the mentioned candidates (but don’t give him any ideas!)
jconway says
The State Party is sitting on its ass and assuming Obama turnout will elevate a Generic D over Brown, have they learned nothing from Coakley’s failure? Organize early, define your opponent early, and campaign vigorously and early.
christopher says
…you clearly are not involved in state party activities. There are already doorhangers being distributed. I do wish there were TV ads, but those cost money.