tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2460005.post1912463383860282787..comments2023-11-05T04:28:29.961-08:00Comments on Adventures in Capitalism: Hard Questions Don't Have Easy Answers: Thoughts On Chief Justice RobertsChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00927628412285314176noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2460005.post-73345633749404187342009-05-19T14:20:07.150-07:002009-05-19T14:20:07.150-07:00Gabe,
I've long since given up on the current sch...Gabe,<br /><br />I've long since given up on the current school system as an instrument of change. It is simply too dysfunctional to save. That is why I support both the charter school movement as well as vouchers, and why I believe that the teachers' unions are pretty much the most evil force in American politics today (well, aside from Dick Cheney).<br /><br />Money give to our schools, without a radical change in governance, is simply money wasted.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00927628412285314176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2460005.post-6834798486877673672009-05-19T14:04:00.000-07:002009-05-19T14:04:00.000-07:00“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of ra...“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”<br /><br />The statement has a breezy logic but is ultimately disingenuous. Justice Roberts would have more credibility if there was an equal drive, on the part of him and his ilk, to increase equality of opportunity.<br /><br />Conservatives criticize, undermine, and eliminate programs designed to help achieve equality of outcome. But without any effort to increase equality of opportunity, their campaign to eliminate equality of outcome is revealed as motivated by something less (some would say the opposite) than a high-minded fidelity for republican (small r), democratic (small d) ideals.<br /><br />To be clear, I'm no fan of affirmative action. But until our country gets serious about working towards equality of opportunity - specifically, as embodied in the structure of funding for primary and secondary schools, I think we should keep it. <br /><br />"Instead, why not fund NGOs that are chartered to help specific groups of people? Surely an institution that focuses on evidence-based methods of improving the performance of underprivileged African-American schoolchildren would have a greater impact than simply admitting deserving but less-qualified applicants to college, who then struggle to keep up with their classmates."<br /><br />Err... yeah - those institutions are called schools. They're not NGO's.<br /><br />I'll close with a quote from an article in today's Daily Beast:<br /><br />"Whites talk about the “race card”—blacks almost never use that terminology because we know race impacts everything, it’s not a card that can be played from time to time. Asher reminds us that there’s a whiteness card that’s far more powerful than the imaginary race card. If there was an ad for the whiteness card it’d be like the Visa ads. Tie: $180. Brioni shoes: $800. Tailored suit: $7,500. White privilege: priceless. The Whiteness Card, it’s everywhere you want to be."<br /><br />http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-19/ode-to-a-white-rapper/Gabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08106607939473939801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2460005.post-85918283480948427362009-05-19T12:58:00.000-07:002009-05-19T12:58:00.000-07:00"It is, of course, the Golden Rule - the call to t..."It is, of course, the Golden Rule - the call to treat one another as we wish to be treated. The call to love. To serve. To do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share the same brief moment on this Earth."... and not God Bless America, God Damn America! God Damn America! It's in the Bible!Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15359356247912896495noreply@blogger.com