Democracy is Hard

Watch this video to be reassured about the greatness of the American democracy. Skip to 13:30 of the linked video to see my point.

As an IT manager I am also struck by the reliance on Microsoft Excel and Access and uploading spreadsheets to databases. This continues to cause heartburn throughout government.

H/T Hotair via Temple of Mut.

Term Limits for the School Board?

"Sign the petition for term limits for the school board." The scraggly signature gatherer outside my local grocery store had my attention. "Really," I asked, "what else does it say?" "Local district elections," was his reply. Wow, sounded great. I picked up the petition board. He also told me there was more on the back. Taking a read, I became less impressed. There was some language about increasing the number of districts, but having some of the members nominated by particular community groups. I admit that I signed anyway, figuring we could debate the merits later.

Now I wish I hadn't. The petition drive is the brain child of an innocuous sounding group called San Diegans 4 Greater Schools. Scott Himmelstein is the organizer and he is given a full page to explain himself in the VOSD. My key problem is that four of the nine members of the school board would be appointed by people based on their positions as leaders of committees that are part of education/community partnerships. Such a plan has two key drawbacks, of which I am sure that Mr. Himmelstein is aware, but isn't discussing. First, these well meaning and dedicated people are, by the nature of their volunteer efforts, part of the education establishment. They wouldn't have been elevated to their positions without being able to work effectively with the educracy. This plan is a clever way for the education establishment to pick its own board. Look at the people who would be on the nominating committee if this plan were in effect today, and tell me honestly that these people aren't education insiders. I have no problem with their work, I just don't think they should be appointing members of the board.

Second, because of the new power that would be vested in these positions, inevitably, there will be political pressure to ensure that those appointed tow the mark with respect to the type of people nominated. One could easily see members being removed or replaced for political reasons, with the possible exception of the university presidents. This would be a disservice to these community leaders who are presumably working to make our schools better.

If we have learned anything from the Obamacare debacle, it is that process matters. School reform is too important an issue to be pursued with a school board that has members not selected through the democratic process, even if they are a minority. There is nothing about their plan to improve schools that couldn't be accomplished through an entirely democratically elected school board. Go to their web site and ask these same questions. If school reform is important, then those impacted need a grass roots movement of their own to start electing like minded board members. Further, I could be convinced that term limits and district only elections for the members of the board might also be a good thing, but undemocratic processes cause my gut to recoil.

Image courtesy of my lefty friends at OB RAG, with whom I seldom agree, but met at the coffee party meetings and seemed decent enough folks. They aren't down with this plan either.

Mumbai and Gun Control

So why is the terrorist gunman, pictured at right, in the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, able to walk around with impunity, no protective cover, so much so that a photographer can get a clear picture of him? American Thinker has a solid piece on the failure of poorly paid police and a regime that actively discourages ownership of guns by its citizens and the comments of the photographer, Sebastian D'Souza who took this photo:

There were armed policemen hiding all around the station but none of them did anything. At one point, I ran up to them and told them to use their weapons. I said, "Shoot them, they're sitting ducks!" but they just didn't shoot back. I told some policemen the gunmen had moved towards the rear of the station but they refused to follow them. What is the point if having policemen with guns if they refuse to use them? I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera.

American Thinker lays out the long history of the Indian government's hostility towards gun ownership by it's citizens. The end result:

At the Jewish outreach centre, bystanders pelted the terrorists with stones in a vain attempt to ward off the attack, but had to retreat when the terrorists opened fire with automatic rifles. Our citizens were trying to ward off the terrorists with stones! I cannot think of a more extreme example of how helpless the government has rendered it's own citizens.

Thanksgiving Toast

The blogging was light lately, helping Mrs. Daddy get ready to host ravenous Thanksgiving guests. To accommodate really great couple, we had turkey dinner on Friday this year. Thought I would share my toast:

"To Democracy! Where else, but in a democracy as great as ours, could a humble community organizer, whose greatest achievement was editor of Harvard Law, could rise through the cauldron of Chicago politics to become the President of the United States. To Democracy!"