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A very real problem with

ArchPundit September 20, 2002 0 Comment

A very real problem with limiting citizen suits is explored by Rich Miller. The Illinois Supreme Court has stopped a citizen suit to recover state money spent on G-Ry’s election campaign. This is especially relevant since Daniels will be indicted probably after the election for similar use of state funds and Madigan is under investigation.

The more important point is, citizen suits are a check on government. Federal suits have limited standing, as this case essentially echos, but limiting the ability to sue limits checks on the powerful. This is exactly the principle that Bush is trying to subvert in both forest fire reduction and transportation projects. Democracy is often slow, but that is okay—the process is the point in democracy.

Via Tapped the administration is

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

Via Tapped the administration is trying to reduce time for environmental reviews. EDF is challenging them and saying that projects aren’t significantly delayed by environmental review. Maybe the administration would like to provide another like they tried with fire reduction.

TNR has posted its McBride

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

TNR has posted its McBride story.

Kinsley does a fine analysis

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

Kinsley does a fine analysis of the “it’s just evil.”

More on Bob Greene at

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

More on Bob Greene at Chicago Magazine. I think he covers the issues very well and much better than the weird posts by Kaus.

Additionally, in the move on category he offers up Steve Johnson as a potential candidate. I like the idea and Johnson did some great work on TV and Media. Zorn would be okay, but frankly his best columns are when he does hard news. He does it to seldom, but when he does he adds an interesting perspective.

Another option, now that Chicago Magazine is a part of the Tribune family—Steve Rhodes.

At the end, Rhodes mentions Neil Steinberg of the Sun Times. The quote is quite funny:
“?I hope that Smarmy Nostalgist isn?t an actual job slot at the Tribune that they have to fill,? he said.”

He adds to that at Salon

His descriptions of Greene’s extracuriculars makes it clear why him and Michael Jordan got along so well.

Rothstein offers an excellent critique

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

Rothstein offers an excellent critique of the Leave No Child Behind Act.

You have to make a choice. Either you leave standards to the states and allow them to measure themselves or you institute standards nationwide. If you do it half-way, you create an incentive for low standards.

USA Today lists the number of failing schools by state that have to allow transfers to better schools. This isn’t really true because there isn’t enough room in other schools in the same district. But it sounds nice.

Here is a Rand Report on test scores over time to compare states.

Montana has more failing schools than does Missouri. Controlling for population that looks strange doesn’t it? Of course, it could be that Missouri has better students, right? Wrong, Montana does pretty good on nationally normed test compared to Missouri. So how are there more failing schools? Montana tries harder..

As Rothstein points out, even if you measure the same way, states performance is based on what their goals are. Arkansas has 0 failing schools? ROTFL….sure. Louisiana has 24? New Orleans itself should have 24 let alone the whole damn state.

Michigan has 1500? Michigan isn’t at the head of the pack, but it isn’t that bad. It is above average according to the Dept of Ed.

What does this mean for the future of education reform? Given state funding is dependent on this, states have every incentive to lower their standards. So it isn’t going to leave no child behind, it is going to leave every state behind.

One might also notice that Vermont and Iowa do better than the national average. Dean is pointing this out and how much it is going to cost states that have been effective in education in the past. It is a critical point.

A hell of an education president.

The problem with an Arnold

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

The problem with an Arnold write in is that his advisors are from the Wilson administration. The same people who brought you the energy dereg bill that resulted in the California Energy Gouging. Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New York haven’t had a crisis–why has Cal? Riordan would be better.

Rothenberg describes the circular firing

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

Rothenberg describes the circular firing squad A.K.A. the Illinois Republican Party. The big news is that Phelps may be ahead in the 19th. I hadn’t heard this and it is sort of amazing. It makes sense given the series of commercials Shimkus has launched.

MyDD argues that McBride-Rossin is

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

MyDD argues that McBride-Rossin is wise since they’ll have limited GOTV money. The Political Wire cites a US News is reporting McAuliffe is heading down to start a GOTV operation.

I hate McAuliffe, but go get ’em boy.

Unfortunately, this is about the

ArchPundit September 19, 2002 0 Comment

Unfortunately, this is about the same argument as Huntington makes int he Clash of Civilizations. Both are simplistic and unrealistic and avoid discussing institutional mechanisms that promote the sort of decay we see in much of the Arab World. If you are fascist pig, as Huntington is, it makes perfectly good sense to say Americanize them. It is virtually the same argument Pinochet makes.

If, on the other hand, you actually care to understand institutional mechanisms that affect culture the answer is a much more difficult. One might start by reading a little Laitin.

It might not be as satisfying since it does call for a war against the world, but it does explain how identity is formed. It also shows that it is possible to address many of the problems we see through institutional change.

I support military action in Iraq conditionally. However, the Huntington argument is simply Ann Coulter’s argument about Christianizing them dressed up in academia.