Author: whodeanny

Governing First, Elections Second

 

Will Saletan wrote:

Politicians have tried and failed for decades to enact universal health care. This time, they succeeded. In 2008, Democrats won the presidency and both houses of Congress, and by the thinnest of margins, they rammed a bill through. They weren't going to get another opportunity for a very long time. It cost them their majority, and it was worth it.

And that's not counting financial regulation, economic stimulus, college lending reform, and all the other bills that became law under Pelosi. So spare me the tears and gloating about her so-called failure. If John Boehner is speaker of the House for the next 20 years, he'll be lucky to match her achievements.

 

 

While I disagree with Saletan on the merits of health care reform, I think his points here are underreported and extremely important. Modern American politics now seems to be more about elections than about governing. Certainly, it’s more about elections than Big Picture governing. (Of course, when one party consistently claims that government is inherently problematic, I suppose that makes perfect sense.)

 

The transformative legislation that has been passed in the last two years will create long term changes in the US. While some of those changes are currently controversial, how many folks will argue in, say 2015, that they want to get rid of the laundry list of projects, programs and developments embedded in that legislation? Well, how many people want us to get rid of Social Security? Or Medicare? Or the federal interstate system? People may say they hate big government but they sure do like what it provides.

 

Ultimately, producing valuable results is what people want most from our government and the Obama era has already moved us in that direction. So yes, there is a real chance that Obama will be a one term President. There is also a real chance that in 50 years, he’ll be perceived as the best one term President. Not the trade he’d suggest, but certainly a good one.

 

 

FDO

 

BTW- I think Obama has an excellent chance at winning re-election in 2012. He has a great combination of skills for campaigning. He’ll also have an improved economy, the incumbency edge and a long list of sound bite worthy successes. I also believe there will be ‘hate fatigue’ in which many folks will be turned off by the constant barrage of vitriol thrown his way. One of the important lessons of John Kerry’s 2004 race is that the independents who vote in Presidential elections, but not mid-term elections, will be much more likely to vote for someone as opposed to against someone.

 

 

The Minnesota Vikings- The Ewing Theory 2012 Super Bowl Champions!

 

As a Vikings fan, I am desperately holding onto hope for this season (Rodgers is the next Packer to hit the IR, the Bears play like they are who we think they are and the Lions, well, never mind.) but if none of that works out, here’s a new possibility for us. The Ewing Theory! In a nutshell, this idea says that many teams dramatically exceed expectations in the season after their signature star leaves the team. Examples abound.

 

The Vikings will be a perfect candidate after Brett Favre, their Hall of Fame bound quarterback, fails in his quest to bring the Vikes that elusive Super Bowl win (and move up the list of all-time greats). He's "Ewing".

 

Brad Childress will be fired and Leslie Frazier will be his replacement, giving the team a renewed emphasis on defense. Tarvaris Jackson is not the incompetent many of his detractors claim and combined with Adrian Peterson and a healthy receiving corps, the Vikings will be at least average offensively. In the weakened NFC, the combination of a solid offense, aggressive defense, awesome home field advantage and a giant chip on their collective shoulders may be enough to make a deep playoff run.

 

(If Childress is fired this year, there’s some modified Ewing Theory hope for this season. Randy Moss would be the Ewing in that scenario.)

 

Now, if only there were some hope for the Timberwolves…

 

 

FDO

 

 

Justified Use of Force (for Oscar Grant)

 

 

Every year there’s a new one

A Diallou, King or me

Clamoring loudly

Faces on TV

We ask so many questions

But no one’s forced to answer


 

With sympathy’s short half-life

Soon most are hoping for the noise to stop

And the questions to disappear once again

Just like us

In our lives

And our deaths

 

 

 

 © Gayle Force Press 2003

 

RIP Oscar Grant

 

Once again, Black folks in California are publicly distressed about a police shooting. This time, the victim was Oscar Grant, a 22 year old Black man who was shot and killed by a White police officer in a subway at the beginning of 2009. The officer was convicted of the shooting (involuntary manslaughter) and given a 2 year sentence. The frighteningly short sentence is the source of the protests. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, will probably be out of jail by Memorial Day 2011. 


The CNN article linked above is indicative of the attention that's been/being paid to the entire situation. Grant's name does not appear until the 11th paragraph. 10 paragraphs before this dead person is even acknowledged by name. 

 

The basic outline of the shooting is tragically familiar. White officer kills unarmed Black man. Momentary outrage. Down the memory hole. Wait a little while. Repeat. 

 

A few years ago, I wrote about this cycle of police violence but I wasn't bold enough to follow it to the ultimate conclusion for so many young Black men, death. Instead, I wrote about the violence that wounds, heals and scars. Today, that doesn't feel like quite enough. It's not quite enough for me. It's not quite enough for Oscar Grant. But it's all I can give him now. 

 

 

FDO

Ta-Nehisi Coates on a Culture of Poverty

 

<Sigh>

 

I immediately related in many ways to Ta-Nehisi Coates' recent post about almost beating someone up at a professional gathering. In the super short version, TNC was accosted by a stranger. TNC and the stranger had an interaction that got heated and then got superheated. When TNC tried to physically leave the situation, the stranger followed him and refused to end the exchange until TNC made it clear he was willing to move from verbal to physical. The guy left. (Hey, I can admit that I still have the occasional dayflash about beating the hell outta someone.)

 

 

Fortunately, I think, I never wore the tough pose very well either. That lack of fit made it much easier to take off when I needed. The notion of code shifting is very important because those of us who do it well simply have more choices than those who don't. It sounds to me that the conversation TNC had at the party shifted into being a confrontation and his default response to confrontation is radically different than his default response to conversation. He shifted codes subconsciously.

 

 

This gets to the broader notion of poverty's culture in that TNC had lots of teachers for both the 'street' and 'elite' codes he now knows well. Most kids who grow up poor only get one set. That's one of the core reasons why I believe many elite institutions hold more value for non-elites than for elites. My poor students, Black and White, get much more out of our program than the rich kids do. The poor kids learn academics and culture. The rich kids just learn academics. That's largely because my school replicates many of the norms and themes of elite life. One area where I think we push some rich kids to code shift is our emphasis on social justice. They don't get those kinds of messages from the rest of their culture and the leaps many of them have to make to embrace social justice as a value often mirror the leaps poor kids here make to personal restraint (which I argue is an elite value).

 

 

The kind of restraint TNC wishes he'd demonstrated in the story he relates fits perfectly in The Atlantic but would be laughable if he were telling the story to his friends at the domino table. My guess is that he would feel pressure to alter the ending in that setting. In the new telling he'd probably make sure his friends knew a) how serious he was in his threat b) how well the threat worked and c) how much he wishes he'd been able to act out the threat.

 

 

But maybe I'm just projecting.

 

 

FDO

 

Hoosier Autumn

 

Yellow orange green gold red

And nearly brown

Coexisted on the third full day

Of Hoosier Autumn

With tall, thinning pines

 Swaying in the background

Our sweetly deciduous forest

Shimmers cleanly, clearly

And warmly

Much warmer than the winds themselves

 

 

 

© Gayle Force Press 2004

 

 

 

Say It Loud!

 

These kinds of stories (this one is about Kokomo, IN) demonsrate the short term impact of the stimulus bill and who knows how vast the long term impacts will be. The biggest problem with the Obama administration is the typical liberal concept that good works are sufficient. Good works are rarely sufficient! Broadcasting successes, loudly and frequently, should be standard operating procedure. Everyone seems to agree that bad news travels fast but good news often stays put.

 

I have begun thinking that I need to put this idea into practice in my own life. I try so hard to be thoughtful and considerate that I don’t do a good job of letting, or even allowing, people to know when I have important successes. Being afraid to appear arrogant or self-aggrandizing sounds nice but where do nice guys finish?

 

Okay, I don’t actually believe nice guys finish last. But do you know where they do finish? I don’t. That’s because they’ve never told me. They were looking out for my feelings instead.

 

 

FDO

 

Me and Kim Novak

 

 

If you’re not current, you don’t count.

 

I don’t want this to be the way of the world in 21st century America but I think it is. I saw the name Kim Novak at the top of a Yahoo search list and instantly assumed Kim Novak has recently died. My thinking was pretty simple. Why would Kim Novak be a hot topic right now? She must be dead.

 

Kim Novak has almost no meaning for me. I think she is (was?) an actress in Hitchcock movies and that makes me think she’s (she was?) blonde. I’m putting together some impressions I have of her but that’s all I got. It’s possible that Kim Novak is a) not at all who I am thinking, as in, an entirely different person b) the same person but famous for a totally different reason c) doing something that warrants an uptick in interest but I didn’t get to choices a-c until actively pausing to consider other options besides dead. Sad but true.

 

If you’re not current, you don’t count.

 

 

FDO

Momentary Transformation

 

Each moment

Deserves the special place of privilege

We hesitate to allow

Ourselves to acknowledge

 

For since we are not gods

It must stay unknown to us

In which of these moments

Our lives will be transformed

 

This is the power of the sacred

And the sacrality within each of us

That our lives and world may be changed

In the blink of our human eyes

 

 

© Gayle Force Press 2004

 

Teaching and Stretching

 

In exploring another school this week, on an accreditation visit, I am learning much more about my own. Specifically, I’m learning about the relationship between education and expectation.

 

I teach in the ways that make the most sense to me, for my students as I perceive them. I am already beginning to wonder if I should invoke a more aspirational model. What that would mean for me is steadily moving toward higher expectations for all my students. Some of my students feel as though my classes are already (too) difficult but they really aren’t tough. The genuine issue is that most of the kids at my school are unaccustomed to working without a teacher holding their hand, making sure they don’t stumble. Oh yeah, they are also unaccustomed to working hard.

 

Curse you, Professional Development!

 

FDO