In my dreams, we pay a whole lot more attention to the academic performance of our colleges than we do to their athletic performance. So, national letter of intent day looks something like this. It's a nice fantasy.
Rep. Doug Lamborn, finger firmly in the wind, is sponsoring a bill to prevent Guantanamo detainees from being sent to the Supermax facility in Florence. He has an ally in Democratic Rep. Salazar, who echoes Lamborn's fear of placing military prisoners in federal prisons. Who, exactly, do these two gentlemen think is already housed in Supermax? The list includes some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. If the fear is that Supermax becomes a Qaida target, there are already a dozen or more al Qaida-linked terrorists serving time in Florence. If the worry is that the Guantanamo detainees will recruit other inmates, the roster of prisoners includes plenty of folks who already hate America, including the Unabomber, abortion clinic and Atlanta Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph and Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols, not to mention the aforementioned jihadists. Supermax was built expressly to house these folks. I'd sleep much better knowing they were securely housed there than released to other countries for safekeeping.
They're at it again, attempting to repeal the smoking ban in bars and casinos. The evidence continues to mount that the smoking ban has had a profoundly positive effect on public health. Heart attacks actually decline in cities that ban indoor smoking. This will never stop the diehards, though. I do feel a bit for those few neighborhood bars which are suffering business loss because of the ban, but understand: this bill is being driven by gambling casinos, not by small mom and pop establishments. The casinos have seen a big drop-off in business because of the economic downturn, and want to repeal the smoking ban to get more folks in the door. Sorry, the public health is more important than your profits.
I single out DPS in this cartoon only because it's the largest district around, and as such, is representative of the inability of many school districts to prepare its college-bound students for the rigors of higher education. As the parent of two former DPS students now doing quite well in college, I know that this drawing paints a somewhat inaccurate picture. My kids got a good education in DPS schools. That said, many of their classmates did not, and they went to two of the best-performing high schools in Denver.
I'm guessing that many readers will be only too happy to blame the teachers' union, so-called "educrats," lack of discipline, lax standards, grade inflation, or liberalism in general. Oh, that it were so simple that we could blame one thing or group and be done with it. My kids had all the advantages: a home full of books, computers, two educated parents who read to them, worked with them and demanded high performance, met with teachers and administrators, and had enough time and money to support their speech and debate, choir, theater, sports, National History Day, Model UN, Odyssey Club, newspaper, and whatever else they became interested in doing.
I'm convinced that parents are our children's primary teachers, and that the school is only one of the educational tools that we use. If we don't do our job, the school cannot possibly pick up the slack, no matter how skillful and dedicated the teachers may be.
Colorado's anointed senator is now on a tour of the state with the governor who appointed him. I still find the choice odd, to say the least. It certainly defies conventional wisdom, and bypasses any number of seasoned politicians with deep Colorado roots, not to mention established political campaign operations and staffs. Senator-select Bennet is starting from zero, and has only two short years to establish himself and build name recognition in the entire state. It's amusing in a way that he has to begin his political career with a re-election campaign. What better way than to assure folks on the West Slope and the Eastern Plains that he is, indeed, a Coloradan, and that he speaks their, uh, language.
This just struck me as funny. I was reading about the candidates for the Broncos coaching job, and I started to wonder if Pat Bowlen would surprise us with an unorthodox pick. At that point this cartoon popped into my head.
These are desperate times, and Colorado is no exception. The estimated budget shortfall is a whopping $604 million. This is no time to worry about the fine points of political ethics. As Illinois Governor Blagojevich understands, this thing is golden, and we shouldn't give it away. There must be some multi-billionaire out there willing to pony up large for a senate seat. The bidding starts at $604 million.
I'm trying really, really hard to understand this nation's priorities. Let's see, if you're a greedy Wall Street broker who makes tens of millions while wrecking the economy, the government will give you hundreds of billions of dollars, no strings attached. If, however, you're a dedicated patriot who toiled in the nuclear bomb-making arena during the Cold War, and are now suffering from illnesses brought on by exposure to radiation, we will treat you like a common thief and deny you any compensation for your service to our country. Laura Frank's ongoing series on the plight of our nation's radiation workers should make all of us hang our heads in shame. Unfortunately, the bureaucrats in charge of the worker's compensation program seem immune to compassion, much less remorse. I have an idea. Let's put them in charge of the bailout and put Treasury in charge of paying our Cold Warriors before they all die of their illnesses. Maybe then something good will happen.
Newsweek's Jonathan Alter reports that he's betting on Denver Public Schools superintendent as president-elect Obama's choice for Secretary of Education. Bennet, a graduate of Wesleyan University and Yale Law School, would join an impressive cast of appointees hailing from Harvard and Yale, a Kennedyesque collection of the best and brightest. I'm all for brilliance in Washington. Dubya's batch of cronies, scoundrels, zealots and dim-bulb yes-men created the what may be the most incompetent American government in history. I want my leaders to be way smarter than me. A cautionary note, though: we all know how the last group this bright, talented and confident fared--they failed to stop Castro's revolution in Cuba and led us into the quagmire of Viet Nam.
The continuing economic problems and unexpected increases in the cost of construction materials are playing havoc with RTD's plans for developing an expanded regional transportation system. The projected budget for FasTracks has exploded to the point that it's no longer possible to build the system as it was originally proposed. The unpalatable choices are to try to raise another tax to pay for the bloated budget, to extend the time frame well past the original estimates, or to cut back the system. More bike paths, anyone?
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