March 31, 2006
Is Joe in for a Tough Game?
Joe Lieberman faces a potential primary run against upcoming challenger Ned Lamont. Will it happen? Is the dissatisfaction with Joe big enough to translate into problems at the Democratic State Convention? Can Ned raise enough cash? Check out the video for Political Sports' expert analysis.
Posted by Chip Spear at 4:57 PM | Comments (2)
August 3, 2005
Government Run Amuck
An 11 year old girl was arrested on a deadly weapons charge for throwing a rock at a boy who hit her with a water balloon. You can read the article here. What is up with that? Kids do stupid things all the time, that is why they are kids, they don't have fully formed social knowledge and skills. It certainly seems inappropriate to punish her so severely for her act. Her parents should certainly punish her and she should apologize to the boy, but for the local government to get involved seems way over the top. Officials have lost their sense of proportion and what is appropriate. To often they want to appear tough on crime to satisfy an imagined need of their electorate. Yes, people want authorities to protect them and punish criminals, but one has to have common sense too.
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 18, 2005
The Sad State of Education
My town held a referendum late this week for a new K-2 elementary school building. The referendum lost by almost a 2 to 1 margin. This was the third referendum in 5 or maybe 6 years for a new school for the little kids. The last one lost by something like 19 votes. The building's location changed to appease critics and compromises occurred to cut costs, yet the school still lost. In the past six years the town passed a referendum for a new fire station. Many members of the school community supported the firement because they recognized the need for a new fire station. In addition, the school groups gave that support with the understanding that the firemen would help them get a new school when the time came. Yet the firemen officially opposed the new school. It appears that the firemen are going to have to come before the town for additional money due to cost overruns on the new fire station. Gee, I wonder what sort of support they can expect from the school community? Our seniors also voted against the school. They are very concerned about rising taxes, but at the same time they want the town to support some type of senior housing. I doubt there will be much support for that as well.
One major concern is not the fact that the school proposal lost, but like many political campaigns there was a great deal of deception, scare tactics and lying in our small town. Members of the Board of Education and the school administration, who are intimately concerned with the welfare of these children recognize a serious need for new facilities. The Board lives in town, pays taxes and is exceedingly careful about expenses, yet they were painted as irresponsible, extravagant and unknowledgeable by a few older white men who said that the student population was not a problem. The kids now taught in permanent portable classrooms, common areas converted to classrooms, storage areas for special programs and have lunches that begin at 10:30 to accommodate all the kids. These guys don't have children in the school, but they are experts on the issues and wrote letters to the local papers attesting to that fact. Something seems out of wack to me here.
The pressure on schools these days is tremendous. It seems parents start focusing their children on the best colleges from the time kids are in kindergarten. Competition is fierce. There are all sorts of special study and sports programs to improve chances to get into top colleges. I think much of this is crazy, however I do think that children should have the best facilities that we can afford to give them a comfortable, engaging educational environment. To force children, who will have to live and work in an increasingly competitive "Flat World" (Thomas Friedman), to study in converted storage areas and hallways does not seem to be the best that we can do, especially when the cost was only $100 per household. When such attitudes permeate our country one understands why our educational system is falling behind so many other countries.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 29, 2005
Board of Finance - May Campaign '05
I am running for the Board of Finance in a small New England town. I replaced a person who moved in January and have to run for my own seat in municipal elections this spring. Saturday I was campaigning door to door, speaking with whomever might be home on a beautiful spring day. Taxes were on many minds, which is not unusual. Of the many people I spoke to, one in particular stood out, not that he was so unusual, but that he was perhaps most usual. When I asked what he was concerned about he mentioned taxes and waste in government. "Ah," I asked, "what is the problem? Can you give me some details of where the town is wasting money" He could not answer me with any specifics. He had not been to a Board of Finance meeting. He had not been to a Board of Education meeting, where most of our tax money goes, he had not even been to a Town Meeting where we approve the yearly budget. He just knew that we wasted at least 10% of our budget, because that is what he saw in his company. Hmmmmm. I have had an opportunity to sit on the board for the past three months while we have gone through the budget process. I watched as the board examined every expenditure, every purchase, including paper goods. If this board is wasting money they have sure fooled me. This man, like many others, is absolutely, without question, convinced that the town is wasting money, his money, yet he has never, ever, been to a board meeting, never spoken to Board of Finance members, never been to a Town Meeting to approve a budget and still KNOWS that the town is throwing his money away. He will vote accordingly. Would you respect a person like that?
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:42 PM | Comments (5)