No more State of the Union for me

I used to feel guilty if I didn’t listen to the State of the Union address, as if I were failing to be informed about politics and our nation.  No longer do I feel that way.  The annual speech is merely unbearable theatrics – worse than even pure politics, although that’s bad enough.  The applause, the camera shots of approving, disapproving, and famous faces, and the after-show analysis all disgust me.  How many times will TV audiences get to see Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama?  Plenty, I bet.  Worst of all is the actual speech.  I can hardly bear the tone, cadence, and content of most politicians’ speeches, and the State of the Union is no exception.  It will be all positive spin, and new programs and “initiatives” that will rarely be implemented.  I’m fine with Bush as a president, but even so, I don’t enjoy hearing that kind of talk.  Some people must, but why do the speechwriters feel that they have to cater to the lowest common denominator in America?  The day that a president speaks honestly, clearly, in a normal tone of voice, and without pausing for applause, is the day that I will enjoy listening to the address.  

Strikes on Iran?

While reading an op-ed by Jackson Diehl on Bush's options with Iran, I learned that both Lieberman and McCain have endorsed military action. That info was incidental to the main point of the column, but interests me nevertheless. Why haven't I already heard about these senators' recommendations? Did they just barely endorse military action, or is there another reason the media hasn't broadcast it more loudly? Or maybe I am just not keeping up with the news like I should.

Too Bad for Asthmatics

Inexpensive over-the-counter inhalers (which literally save lives) may soon be unavailable due to their CFC propellants, which pose little, if any, threat to the ozone layer.

Palestinians' True Colors

I had been willing to believe that the majority of Palestinians were desirous of living in peace with their Israeli neighbors, with a minority being murderous terrorists. These election results have been a real eye-opener for me. It's hard to make excuses anymore, or feel much sympathy for them (although some in this country surely will try). I doubt that bypassing Hamas to continue talks through the PLO will come to anything. The majority of the people have made their feelings clear by voting in a party whose main goal is to destroy Israel.

Part II

To continue my thoughts from my last post – what can be done differently to help those in poverty?  Very little was done to help immigrants a century ago, free public education being the major exception.  Going back to that low level of aid just isn’t going to happen, even if you think we should.  So how can public dollars be better spent?  If my theory is at all true (that not-so-bad living conditions don’t motivate people enough to improve their lot in life), then perhaps we need to stop providing “affordable” government-subsidized housing, except on a very short-term basis.  More money could be spent on transporting people to job training centers and jobs.  But this would be way too radical, I know.  Kicking families (or partial families, as it often is) onto the streets just doesn’t sit well.  But somehow we need to figure out a way to make living below the poverty line less comfortable.  Hunger is a great motivator.  Ouch.  How uncompassionate I sound!  I’m not really that hard-hearted.  It’s just discouraging to see how decades of government social programs and handouts have hurt rather than helped so many people.  Here’s a sample idea: to be eligible for WIC or food stamps, you may not subscribe to cable TV.  But wait, that requires more government regulation – probably a commission to study it, and a whole bureaucracy to enforce it.  What a quandary!

Tenement Living and Bootstraps

Bookworm comments on 19th/early 20th century NY tenement living, and wonders why most of those residents escaped their surroundings in a generation, when so many other people in other bad surroundings do not.

No one simple answer to her questions - but here's one idea.  Those tenements were just too awful to be endured for more than a generation.  People did whatever they had to do to get out - and were able to because of the freedoms of this country.  The slums of New Orleans were not as bad as the tenements.  People had more square footage and plumbing.  I've been in the projects in France, and while they are yucky, again they are not anywhere as awful as those old NY tenements.  So I think that people have less motivation in these latter examples to do the extremely hard work necessary to get out.

Then, in some parts of the world living conditions are indeed horrific, but they do not have the economic and political freedoms we do here.

Along the same lines, I frequently ponder on the enigma of run-down trailer parks and their plethora of mini-satellite dishes.  Does the escapism of cable or satellite TV give the residents enough pleasure to lessen their motivation for self-improvement?

Canada's Election

Back when Bush was reelected, to the horror of liberals, I recall hearing (on NPR?) about how increasing numbers of U.S. citizens were emigrating to our liberal neighbor to the north. Canadian immigration officials were even coming to the Seattle area to hold classes for those interested. I wonder how those former Americans feel now!

Better vocational education as a solution for some

To continue on the subject of my last post: I was pondering the wisdom of pushing nearly all students to go to college when I stumbled across a Jay Mathews column on vo-tech education. It is mainly an email exchange that he had with an educator who is passionate about improving technical training programs. I found their dialogue extremely thought-provoking. An excerpt:

I am not talking about the old, stand-alone, dumping ground shop classes that are slowly but surely -- and rightly- disappearing from the scene. I'm talking about comprehensive, career prep programs that will culminate in actual professional certification in high need areas that offer solid, middle class $15-$20 an hour wages -- licensed nursing, computer systems maintenance, auto mechanics and culinary arts among others.

There is much more that is very worth reading!

The Trouble With Boys

Newsweek's cover story brings up the problems boys are having in school these days. Based on my own experiences, this is indeed a big problem in education, and worthy of some attention. Lest some shriek that if we pay too much attention to boys that girls will lose their hard-earned gains, let me point out that disengaged, disruptive boys in the classroom hurt the girls as well as themselves.

I like the idea that a few schools are starting to do -- forming some single sex classes within a coed school. That way teachers can better tailor their lessons to their students, but the students still have that important interaction with the opposite sex at lunch, recess, and maybe a few subjects. Plus it doesn't cost anything!

The Left Wing

The West Wing is going off the airwaves this spring.  The finale will deal with the inauguration of the new president.  Of course, who wins will be the big surprise, but I know what won’t be a surprise: the Democrats will come out of it smelling better.  Even if the Republican candidate wins (just to try to show viewers that NBC isn’t biased), he and his supporters will nonetheless be portrayed with some negativity.  That’s my prediction, anyway.  I gave up watching the show several years ago, so I’m not the most informed viewer.