Something about the phrase “Leave No Child Behind” is a set-up for unmet expectations. Of course, children are going to be left behind, even if you have a brilliant policy and devote every collective resource as a society to keep them from failing in school. It’s admirable to aim high, but when the hard realities […]
I’ve been maintaining throughout this war that Iraqis would likely consider the US invasion as imperialism and would be justified in doing so. Now today John Judis has a piece in the New Republic making that point at greater length and clarity than I could. I won’t quote here, but it’s definitely worth a read. […]
It’s early in the campaign, but one of the most distressing sign is the return of retrograde, if not downright protectionist, trade policy from just about all of the Democratic candidates. Offender number one, of course, is Howard Dean, whose brash calls for tearing down the WTO and requiring international labor standards the same as […]
Once again, American Prospect editor Michael Tomasky gets it right:
I could make this into another column about this administration’s mendacity…But there’s another argument about this administration, and about the Republican Party in general, that needs to be made….The Republicans are total incompetents.
Republicans, at least since the 1980 election, have gotten lots of mileage out of […]
We can parse economic data on the business cycle all we like, but those cultural markers are reminding us that yes, we are in a recession, or at least down from the bubble heights for a while to come. First, the financial sector (in Boston at least) seems to be heading steadily back to business […]
It appears Slate has finally upgrading its music reviews. The latest, by Sasha Frere-Jones, attacks rockism head-on, using Justin Timberlake as the occasion. As a rockist who furthermore thinks that Timberlake’s “street” performance is laughable, I have to admit that much of what Frere-Jones says is right:
Ross’ attack on Timberlake’s legitimacy is simply another appearance […]
CalPundit has a few thoughts on Martin Feldstein’s tax proposals:
I often read articles where the author says “We need to do X” and then gives an example of how to accomplish this Â- an example that’s frequently very clever indeed. Unfortunately, it often turns out that the example given is the only one the author […]
Commonwealth magazine has an online forum responding to last issue’s article on why the Democrats can’t win the governor’s office. The original article is quite good, and a number of the responses worth reading, but one in particular, by Central Connecticut State University professor Jerold Duquette, brings up a point that’s applicable not only to […]
Well, Romney has signed the bill that effectively allows the MBTA to raise fares. The agency promises public hearings and increased efficiency before hiking fares, but it looks like a done deal. It’s clear that both the legislature and the governor want the MBTA to take the heat rather than entertain a debate over how […]
It’s nice to see the Economist call a spade a spade:
This chronic [homelessness] problem dates back to the 1970s, when libertarians persuaded states to stop locking up the mentally ill unless they had actually broken the law. This saved the states money, because the federal government took on the financial burden of their disturbed charges […]
A couple of days ago, I went on about the slipperiness of the term “grassroots.” Now let me add two new glittering generalities to the list - “environment” and “justice.” Both of course have specific meanings, but the terms are invoked increasingly for their warm feelings than any actual reference (What does “Fight terrorism with […]
Joan Vennochi comes through with another sharp take on local politics, this time on Gov. Romney and the UMass tussle:
Eliminating the office of university president never had anything to do with cost-cutting or improved management, as Romney initially claimed. It was all about eliminating Bulger, an icon of old-style Massachusetts politics. Romney was never quite […]
Sometimes Brad de Long is a little harsh on those who get their economics wrong (economics is one of those areas that people need to try to understand and grapple with, even if they aren’t experts - the stakes are just too high), but his criticism of William Saletan and Ben Jacob’s attack on Gephardt […]
The Howard Dean folks can’t stop gloating over how grassroots their campaign has been. But the term “grassroots” has proliferated to the point of meaninglessness. At its worst, it’s just a self-satisfying label middle-class activists put on themselves when they want to invoke the people’s interest. So I’ve been thinking what exactly grassroots […]
The Globe’s priest abuse scandal coverage has not weighed in yet, but this weekend the Observer and the BBC report on a Vatican document urging church officials to shuffle accused priests around and keep the accusations secret. The Church has retorted that the document has long since been superceded by canon law providing for the […]