The Weakly Wimps

 

In spite of the last eight years of Republican bulldozing of the Republic, the Democratic Congressional leadership still does not seem to get it: holding firm is a more promising strategy than folding. Indeed, the leadership has taken folding as an art to a new level, gently waving in the right direction, and then giving up at what should be merely the beginning of the legislative battle.

Two cases on point this week:

1. Including the right to carry loaded guns into our National Parks in the credit card reform bill, offered an easy opportunity to paint the NRA as extremists. Instead, the leadership complained that they had been outmaneuvered by a parliamentary trick by the Republican minority. At the least, they could have recommended a Presidential veto. At the least, the President could have vetoed the bill on his own, while conveying the proper message. Neither happened. The NRA now will introduce pro-gun riders at will, until we reach back to the (fictional) Old West and everyone carries a gun in a holster, and an automatic rifle in the car. 

2. Congress overwhelmingly rejected authorizing funds for closing Guantanamo. It is not enough that this was a major campaign issue for the Democrats. It is not enough that closing Guantanamo is an essential first step toward restoring the rule of law and some integrity to the country, in the eyes of the world. Instead, Democrats massed with Republicans in what has to be labeled hysteria, facing the prospect of terrorists being brought onto mainland America. 

Is it that such prisoners could escape, plot attacks from prison, start riots, or the like? The reality is that high-security prisoners, including currently incarcerated terrorists, are safely behind bars in U.S. prisons. Why are we so afraid of these people? Are they larger-than-life pure evil, bound to hurt the country if imprisoned here? What is the fear about? Or do we want to keep the “war” on terror far away, less real if distant? Easier not to think of the prisoners as people.

The truth is, we captured these people in foreign lands, and brought them to Guantanamo to face our justice. We now have an obligation to afford them that justice in U.S. courts, and if convicted, U.S. prisons. 

The Democratic Congress, and an apparently weak White House, have disgraced themselves this week.

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Friday, May 22, 2009

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Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Filibuster?

 

Mr. Obama and the Congressional leadership have focused too much on the threat of Republican filibusters, in managing their massive bailout bills. Not too long ago, bills were passed with a majority vote, and filibusters were rare, and to be avoided. Now, the Republican minority threatens to use the filibuster to block any legislation, and the Democrats believe that they need 60 votes to get anything done. Nonsense!

The people voted for change, and it will not do anyone any good to fear filibusters. Especially when massive change and massive government intervention is needed, the Democratic approach should be to dare the Republicans to filibuster. Would the Republican Party long survive if the public saw them spending weeks holding up needed legislation? Would their pretense at fiscal responsibility long survive review, when they threw massive billions at the military with little oversight and much waste, when they passed massive tax cuts doubling the national debt, and when they conducted two wars without paying for them out of current income? 

The Republicans have become the party of "cut tax and spent wildly." No filibuster by this bunch would last long. The Obama administration should welcome their filibusters, because they soon would collapse. Then, we could return to majority rule, instead of Republican bluster.

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Friday, February 13, 2009

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Educational Reform

 

The country’s future depends upon properly educating its children, and we are not doing a very good job. While there have been many calls to improve our educational system, we have not yet succeeded. Here are a few modest proposals for such an improvement.

College has become too expensive for many otherwise qualified people. Our goal of equal opportunity is slipping away. Yet, a college education is more of a job requirement than ever. Every qualified student should be able to attend college.

The government should pay for college for anyone with good grades. In return, each student would commit to one year of public service for each year of college paid for. The overall program could be titled, “American Service Corps,” or ASC.

Early childhood is a time for children to learn by playing, but we subject them to discipline and passivity at ever earlier ages. We need pre-school and early school environments which allow children to follow their interests through play, well before imposing a rigid behavioral code on them. We need fun and opportunities for learning in the classroom, not more rigidity.

Elementary and High School structures tend to be lectures, but lectures are not efficient modes of learning. We think faster than we hear, meaning boredom and loss of attention are inevitable in lectures. Similarly, we learn more by doing than by sitting passively. We need to let go of the lecture as our prime teaching mechanism. Our school structures need to be more open to experimentation, and to more effective means of learning. The nation needs to begin wide-scale experimentation in alternatives to the current system.
 

Saturday, March 15, 2008