Rhee's Hope for Reform

This month's issue of the Atlantic included a wonderful in-depth profile of Michelle Rhee, chancellor of the DC Public School system, and the issues around the controversial reform initiatives she's introduced to the system.

Prior to reading the article in the Atlantic, I was only somewhat familiar with Rhee's policy initiatives within the DC public school system. But based on what I knew-- merit-based teacher salaries, restructuring of schools, rigorous performance evaluations-- I was thrilled that someone was finally making radical reforms to a long-broken system. My support was further compounded when I saw Michelle Rhee speak at an event in which she addressed the closing of several schools in front of a massive irate mob of teachers and parents. I thought for sure I was about to witness a crucifixion, but Rhee spoke to audience with such firmness and candor that I swear I think she managed to turn some hearts on the spot.

Being a DC-outsider (meaning not living in and paying DC taxes) with no real personal stake in the success/failure of the system, it's easy to throw in my support for the brash new chancellor that's shaking things up and enforcing accountability. But the article in the Atlantic forced me to consider the implications and potential costs of these kinds of reforms.

The writer, Clay Risen, illuminates the context behind the DC school system and how it became one of the primary political battlefields in DC. This is important to note because Rhee has famously noted that she has no intention to play politics with her role as chancellor, and as her actions show, she's not afraid to make enemies with her policy decisions either. But Risen, who seems to admire Rhee's mission and tenacity, questions how fair, realistic, and even democratic (or anti-democratic) it is for an individual to make (essentially) unilateral reform policy decisions in isolation of city politics, even when they are in the best interest of the children.

It's a fascinating read, and I still don't know how I feel about it: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/michelle-rhee

Heat: Just Skip to the End

I received the 1995 movie "Heat" by Michael Mann in my Netflix queue this week. I forgot that I had even queued it up in the first place; it was always meant to statically sit at the bottom of my queue, much like the Criterion Collection DVDs that I never intend to watch. I added it after playing the mission "Three Leaf Clover" in GTA IV, because it reminded me of the shootout scene at the end of the Heat.

I remember thinking so highly of this movie in high school. It had a stellar cast: De Niro, Pacino, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore... It had well-choreographed action scenes, 'good' dialogue, and a well-paced plot.

Unfortunately, revisiting this movie was a bad idea. I was basically wrong on all counts except the action scene. Man, watching Pacino makes me want to drive two stakes thru my temples and take my eyes out in the process. And the characterization of women in this film is appalling, even for 90s action flick standards.

That bank heist and shootout scene however, is timeless.

Maybe.



P.S. - They are coming out with a videogame based on the movie, using the original voice actors. I look forward to playing Pacino's character and forcing him off tall building rooftops.

The Day of Reckoning

Al Gore's incredible stump speech at the Al Franken campaign rally:



Great quote:

"I gotten to the point when a new outrage comes along, I’ve got to download some existing outrage to make room for the new outrage in order to react to it."

And the takeaway:

"There are as I say 31 days, one month from today, 31 days and a few hours. Early voting has already started. You have a very clear choice. One of the problems in our modern political system is that the effort to hold people in political parties accountable sometimes runs up against the outpouring of special interest money from the powerful groups that want to twist perceptions and distract people and put out things that will try to cause people to vote on something other than the issues. Other than their own self interest. Other than what democracy is supposed to be about at election time, and that is making clear choices and holding incumbents accountable and making a choice as to what the direction is for the future.

But this time, if this record on the war, on torture on mass wire-tapping without warrants, on financial mismanagement of a scale that’s unprecedented in the whole history of our country, of wrecking the economy, of ignoring the environment, of actively choosing the interest of these special interests over the interests of the people, if this record were to be rewarded rather than used as a basis for a clear and decisive choice to go in new direction, what would it say about the vitality of our democracy?"

Words I Never Want to Hear Again After This Election

In an effort to preserve our collective sanity, I propose that we strike the following words from the remainder of the campaign:

change
fight
main street
maverick
hockey moms
joe six-pack
'the media'

I'm sure I'm missing a few, and will try to keep a notebook handy the next time I experience uncontrollable ticks upon hearing overused and hollow words.