Ranger from the North

Amidst all of this talk about education this week, there’s an omission that drives me crazy. Yes, yes, the horrid state of American education is an American problem, and to that extent we’re all to blame in some abstract sort of way. But is there another major area of American public policy that is more screwed up and more completely the fault of one ideological side? Which party do the teachers’ unions support overwhelmingly? What is the ideological outlook of the bureaucrats at the Department of Education? Which party claims it “cares” more about education and demagogues any attempt by the other party to reform it? Who has controlled the large inner city school systems for generations? What is the ideological orientation of the ed school racket? Whose preferred teaching methods have been funded and whose have been ridiculed?

# posted by Ranger @ 4:21 PM 0 comments

The federal government could pay people to dig holes and fill them in again, and most Democrats, I suspect, would consider that a stimulus to the economy.

The case is much the same with respect to the unprecedented extensions of unemployment benefits that have been enacted by the Democratic Congress. Most Democrats, I suspect, don't understand why such benefits should ever expire. Economists and many others with common sense, meanwhile, warned that extensions of unemployment benefits would help keep unemployment high. That has turned out to be true, but don't expect the Dems to catch on any time soon.

# posted by Ranger @ 4:18 PM 0 comments

President Barack Obama is returning to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to ask young voters who helped propel him to the White House to support Democrats in key governor and U.S. Senate races.

Tuesday's visit carries a different political atmosphere than the one that surrounded the then-candidate in 2008, when a boisterous overflow crowd of more than 17,000 people greeted him at the Kohl Center on the Madison campus.

Obama's popularity has dipped, and many Democrats are facing tough challenges in the Nov. 2 midterm election.

Among them is Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold. Feingold has long courted young voters but is skipping the president's rally and staying in Washington, where the Senate is in session.

# posted by Ranger @ 4:11 PM 0 comments