"Politicians are tearing down the guardrails because they're convinced they're always right"

 The Instapundit Glenn Reynolds penned this column. Is there where we are right now? The politicians are doing anything and everything because they have the right and ability to, not because they know there are long term consequences?

Civilizations are complex machines, invariably run by people who don’t fully understand them.

They’re generally also equipped with safety devices, in the form of rules, customs and informal understandings, designed to keep things from going off the rails.

Our previous generations of politicians weren’t great.

As Will Rogers said roughly a century ago, this country has come to feel when Congress is in session the same as when a baby gets hold of a hammer.

But most of our politicians were products of political machines, which, whatever their flaws, had a vested interest in society holding together and a deep firsthand understanding of people and institutions.

Then, too, 100 years ago, or even 50, there was some institutional memory of the last time things really broke down, which led to the Civil War — which spread death and economic devastation across America that far exceeded what the nation experienced in the 20th-century world wars.

Nowadays, we’ve lost that cautionary memory. (We even took down many of the statues.)

Politics are driven more by social media than by anything else — and by “driven,” I mean something like “careening, drunk, around twisty mountain roads from which most of the guardrails are steadily being removed.”

This process has been going on for a while, but it seems to have accelerated in the past decade or so.

LA Times: Is California ready for more Black people to legally carry guns in public?

I didn't exactly follow another ruling last week by SCOTUS regarding gun rights. So this column from the LA Times goes into this issue a bit further using the racial angle.

So, on Thursday, while many were apoplectic over the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the rights of gun owners to carry a loaded weapon in public — throwing gun control laws in California and New York into limbo at a time when shootings are increasing — Jones was thoughtful.

On the one hand, he wants it to be easy for law-abiding citizens to be able to defend themselves “if and when the time arises.” But on the other hand, he’s a 50-year-old realist who knows that fear and hatred of Black people run deep in the United States, especially when we’re armed.

“There’s no overt racism when we go to the gun range, but we know how people are looking at us,” Jones said of the dozens of Black members who meet up to go shooting. “We know the things that people think.”California Democrats are scrambling to craft and enact new legislation this week that would somehow salvage the requirement — assuming local law enforcement continues to enforce it — that residents get a permit before carrying a concealed weapon.

“Our state will continue to lead in the fight to keep our people safe,” Gov. Gavin Newsom insisted on Thursday. Indeed, of all states, we have one of the lowest rates of dying by a bullet.

But the governor and lawmakers could fail, and the Supreme Court’s ruling could stand. And then, California could be forced to confront a reality that has long made many self-proclaimed liberals uncomfortable: Black people — potentially a lot of us — legally carrying guns in public.

Law abiding citizens including Black Americans have the right to own a gun for their own self-defense. Anyone engaging in any criminal behavior should be punished and certainly not a simple gun owner should be punished. And the racial angle shouldn't matter at all.

This column further discusses for example the issue of Black Panthers and of course thanks to the unrest of 2020 and continuing volatility expsecially after the Roe V. Wade ruling this would be a good time to start taking advantage of your rights and learn to use a firearm.

h/t Newsalert

Walter Williams: The Tragedy of Black Education Is New

 One of his last columns as I learned he passed away recently, Walter E. Williams was an economic professor and columnist. He occasionally guest hosted the Rush Limbaugh program, and I've heard a few of his programs over the years

Via The Daily Signal:

Several years ago, Project Baltimore began an investigation of Baltimore’s school system. What it found was an utter disgrace.

In 19 of Baltimore’s 39 high schools, out of 3,804 students, only 14 of them, or less than 1%, were proficient in math.

In 13 of Baltimore’s high schools, not a single student scored proficient in math.

In five Baltimore City high schools, not a single student scored proficient in math or reading.

Despite these academic deficiencies, about 70% of the students graduate and are conferred a high school diploma—a fraudulent high school diploma.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District scored the lowest in the nation compared to 26 other urban districts for reading and mathematics at the fourth- and eighth-grade levels.

A recent video captures some of this miseducation in Milwaukee high schools: In two city high schools, only one student tested proficient in math and none are proficient in English.

Yet, the schools spent a full week learning about “systemic racism” and “Black Lives Matter activism.” By the way, a Nov. 19 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article asks: “How many Black teachers did you have? I’ve only had two.” The article concludes, “For future Black students, that number needs to go up.”

That last paragraph I excerpted, a pattern is developing. Less of learning of fundamentals, more learning of an agenda. The agenda that isn't going to help educate the young people.

Surely parents of school aged children have more to say about this than that. It could be worse children who learn this agenda can take this to Yale University and treat their privileged university as just like the world as they've been taught in K-12.

h/t Instapundit 

Chicago political history...

Before I went to bed last night, I sort of went backwards a bit in time noting the death of a former Republican Cook County state's attorney in Bernard Carey. He was in that office until defeated by a future Mayor of Chicago in Richard M. Daley - who just so happen to be the son of Richard J. Daley who held that office for over 20 years.

Today I found another column and while Mr. Carey wasn't mentioned it talked about the rise of Richard M. Daley. Of course this article is passe now since the current mayor is none other than the seemingly unpopular Rahm Emanuel. Another reason this article is passe is that it was written by the late Chicago columnist Mike Royko who died in 1997.

It's interesting to see how he draws parallels between 1955 when Richard J. Daley was elected mayor and then presumably 1989 when his son first got elected mayor (BTW, this article had a publishing date of April 14, 2017 so perhaps it ran in the Chicago Tribune a year ago). Both men knew how to get along with the various factions of Chicago politics, especially within their own Democrat circles. Rivalries between the north and south sides of Chicago or more recent the battles between the various ethnic and racial groups politically. Then of course the battle between the machine and those pesky reformers. Seems like a never ending struggle and both Daleys navigated them to become long-term mayors.

Having read a biography of the first Mayor Daley, which I'm just giving you a simple title of American Pharoah, it showed how he rose in local politics. It also illustrated how he seemed to have been able to remain a force locally and nationally. Richard J. Daley was a smart man who knew how to play the game. And yes, he did play the racial game as he did nothing about segregation in Chicago though only to preserve his base among the various white ethnic groups of Chicago. Another interesting thing about the book is the pecking order among the ethnic groups of Chicago between say the Polish, the Jewish, the Irish, the Italians etc. Perhaps by the time he became mayor now we're including the Blacks.

Either way we have a Mayor Emanuel, the Blacks of Chicago well we could say they may not be the force they used to be in city politics as well the population of Blacks are beginning to diminish in Chicago though slowly, the Hispanics and Asians are rising population wise in the city. It's safe to say in the almost 30 years since this column was written a lot of changes in the windy city with more changes to come!

BTW, Royko himself wrote a biography of Richard J. Daley titled Boss. I've yet to read that unfortunately so perhaps I'll add this to my reading list in the near future. If you don't understand this title just remember that the first Mayor Daley was often referred to as the last of the big city bosses. We can just say at the very least patronage had some strong play during his time in office from 1955 to 1976.

Several income streams

I'm thinking more and more about many ways of earning income. These past two years, there has been a lot of luck in finding good jobs.

For example for the first time in life as of last year I work full-time and with benefits. It took some time to get there, but it's often a matter of luck or being in the right place at the right time. Of course as with life expect some unexpected circumstances at work.

Also I consider some goals for the new year and I want to always improve financially. Save money, find ways to make more money aside from working a job, keep an eye on my 401k account. There's always something that I can do to move ahead.

At least there's this article as a base for learning, perhaps as we all go forward in 2017 there are other articles to look for on personal finance.

Speaker Madigan's rep

I'll have to admit I've never worked with or even gotten near the speaker of our state house he's a smart man. Rich Miller writes about his well deserved reputation and the limitations - even if they have been self-imposed. It's a fascinating look at Illinois' powerful legislator. Let Miller know what you think of this post at his blog.

Is a college degree truly necessary?

Glenn Reynolds who writes the Instapundit blog did a column about Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker...

Yeah yeah I know he's a Republican who cares...

Anyway if we know nothing about the backgrounds of US Governor's one thing Reynolds brought out was that Gov. Walker never finished college. In my mind this would be unfathomable because I would think anyone seeking high office had as least a bachelor's degree.

So Reynolds surmises that well if Walker chooses to run for President and wins he could break the idea that you need an "Ivy League" education to run for our nation's highest office. The main idea however is that bachelor's degree is supposed to be a "leg up".

To which I've started to come to a few conclusions in recent years. I see that one tag line for the Chicago Public Schools is that all students will be 100% college ready and college bound (found on their FB page). It's a laudable goal, but is it realistic?

I was stuck with this idea that everyone should go to college, but then I realized...should they? Everyone isn't meant for college and that doesn't mean they won't be a state governor, President or even successful in life.

I've started to conclude that college is used as an entitlement now. It's more expected than it was of previous generations to the point where it's a ticket to another high school diploma. At that for another high school diploma many students spend a lot of money or go into debt. Many may choose not to take is seriously and finish but don't do as well for the money they spend.

My point is if a bachelor's is something you're looking to achieve you have to want it. That means you do what you need to do to pay for it in addition to studying not only your field. That also means you have to study a variety of other subjects that have little to do with your field.

It's only YOUR expectation of what you hope to do with a degree. If going to college isn't the path that's for you then hopefully you can find another path that makes you happy. A college degree should never make or break your life or livelihood.

2014 election in Illinois

To be honest I haven't really written about the elections coming up next Tuesday. There hasn't been much interest on my part this year primarily because of other priorities.

In 2010, I certainly built that election up as an important election. Of course that's not to say all elections aren't important and important could be said of this year.

Just like the 2010 gubernatorial election neither candidate looks great to me. I chose one regardless as I will this year.

I'm still not sure Pat Quinn deserves another term this year as I knew he shouldn't have a full term in 2010. He won and it was a close election as I suppose most people in this state wasn't feeling Quinn and they really weren't feeling his then Republican challenger Bill Brady.

This year another wealthy Republican Bruce Rauner - Brady was portrayed as a wealthy central Illinois businessman in addition to being a state senator - is running to be Governor of Illinois. He's looks much better than Brady, but I get the sense that most people in this state aren't feeling him either.

It's often stated - and very true - that where Chicago goes so does the rest of Illinois. The Chicago area is where most of the votes are. And you definitely have to cut into totals in Chicago in order to win statewide as a Republican. And look no further than the 2010 election totals for Governor and US Senate to see how true it is!


I'm learning in Rich Miller's recent column that some ads were shown in Chicago that wasn't shown in the rest of the state. That lets us know that in this state candidates will target the voters they seek.

Either way, I've already decided this will be a close election. Neither Rauner nor Quinn could possibly run with this election and I'd be surprised if either did. Time will tell if Rauner's reaching out to "minorities" in this state will gain him any benefit or that Quinn will actually barely pull out another victory.

See you on Tuesday!

Ask A Manager: Hate Your Job?

How many of us are in this situation and looking for an escape plan. Here are some steps to follow from the blogger at Ask A Manager who writes this piece at US News.

Never quit a job until you've found another one...

There have been times I wish it was this simple. They say it's easier to find a job if you already have a job. In my case I have a job, but the new job so far has continued to elude me. This column is for those of us who play it safe, and yes it is best to line something up before you quit a job.

It's either that or go back to school full-time. ;)

George Ryan is a free man and he is talking...

AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times talks with former Governor George Ryan as a free man. He was released from his five year stint in federal custody last year and finally ended his probation this morning at 12:01 AM.

Ryan talked about his time as Governor, the event that helped send him to jail on corruption charges, and the fallout from his moratorium on the death penalty. It was a really excellent column and I recognize that people will either respect him or continue to hate him.

At least his mind is clear on the death penalty. While I may not have been entirely happy with his decision before he left the governor's office over a decade ago I can safely say now I can respect it. He did what he thought was right and not as a political calculation. At least this was how I read the comments he made in this column.

I especially ached because he wanted to be with his wife as she was dying. Of course prison is such a harsh institution as much as Ryan wanted to be with his wife he could only visit her as she was dying or at her funeral. He visited her as she was dying, however, in his words she had no idea he was by her side.

The harshness of politics and prison another thing Ryan noted was that he found out who his friends really were. He lost friends because of his stance over the death penalty - he told one instance of that here - and he found out who his friends were when he want to federal prison.

I wonder if Rich Miller will talk about this column today.

Ask a Manager: How to create a resume from scratch...

I've enjoyed reading Ask a Manager you may not necessarily agree with her opinions on all things workplace, but I do like her recent article on writing a resume. While I do believe my resume is adequate, there is always room to tweak it to make it more attractive. Also she does have an offer which will run-out at some point to offer her services as far as resume critique. She won't outright rewrite it for you, but at least you'll know what she's looking for if she were a hiring manager.

Daily Princetonian: Many people shouldn't go to college

Found this over at Instapundit with the quote: "So you've heard it from me, you've heard it from Barack Obama, and now it's the Daily Princetonian"

I'm assuming that the Daily Princetonian is a student newspaper and this column was written by a religion major. So therefore was it a matter of time before a college student or college newspaper write such an opinion. Some of the arguments here make sense:

Policymakers and university administrators have admirably worked to expand access to college over the past several decades. In terms of enrollment rates, their efforts have been successful — matriculation increased by thirty seven percent between 2000 and 2010. So, the good news is that we’re getting young adults on campus. But we are profoundly failing them as a country after that; America’s graduation rate sits at an abysmal 53 percent, including community colleges. This disparity betrays a critical disconnect, one not discussed often enough — that a large swath of those lured to college should never have attended.

Seemingly insurmountable odds work against the typical young American. A college graduate today has to contend with an average of nearly $30,000 in student loan debt. The overall jobless rate for those between sixteen and twenty four is fifteen percent, more than double the national average. That said, the reality is that a large number of college students have no business being at four year universities.

American culture aggressively pushes the college experience and dismisses skeptics as snobs. Master plumbers, for example, make roughly between $50,000 — approximately the national average — and $80,000 a year. So why is it considered so wrong to encourage people to pursue the profession, or another like it, instead of a college degree? One path all but ensures a life in the middle class; for far too many, the other only guarantees crushing debt and no degree.

Therefore those who are in college now, probably weren't ready or qualified for college. This is something you'd really have to want in the first place, expectation or no expectation. And you can't expect everyone else to take care of it for you, if you have no skin in the game anyway.

Of course skin in the game for me would mean cash money, if one is lucky no loans at all! Perhaps some grants and scholarships, but nothing would beat a part-time job while you're in school. Especially if you can't afford to go on your own.

Williams: Racial trade-offs

Speaking of Libertarianism, here's a piece of interest by economist Walter E. Williams - you may hear from him from time to time on the Rush Limbaugh program where he has served as a guest host. Anyway, here's a topic I like to visit from time to time which just so happens to be public education. Williams writes:

Trade-offs apply to our economic lives, as well as our political lives. That means getting more of one thing requires giving up something else. Let’s look at some examples.

Black congressmen and black public officials in general, including Barack Obama, always side with teachers unions in their opposition to educational vouchers, tuition tax credits, charter schools and other measures that would allow black parents to take their children out of failing public schools. Most black politicians and many black professionals take the position of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who is on record as saying, “We shouldn’t abandon the public schools.”

Taking such a political stance is understandable because black congressmen and other black elected officials are part of a coalition. As such, they are expected to vote for things that other coalition members want in order that those coalition members vote for things that black politicians want. There’s no question that these black public officials are getting something in return for their support of teachers unions and others who benefit from the educational status quo. The question not addressed by black people is whether what black politicians are getting for their support of a failed educational system is worth the sacrifice of whole generations of black youngsters, educationally handicapping them and making many virtually useless in the high-tech world of the 21st century.

Though many black politicians mouth that we should fix, not abandon, public schools, they themselves have abandoned public schools. They see their children as too precious to be sacrificed in the name of public education. While living in Chicago, Barack Obama sent his daughters to the prestigious University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. When he moved to Washington, President Obama enrolled his daughters in the prestigious Sidwell Friends School. According to a report by The Heritage Foundation, “exactly 52 percent of Congressional Black Caucus members and 38 percent of Congressional Hispanic Caucus members sent at least one child to private school.” Overall, only 6 percent of black students attend private school. 

Over at my other blog, The Sixth Ward, I had recently posted an article about three Chicago families who elected to move out of the city into the suburbs. They did so with the idea that their children would thrive in suburban public schools. One takeaway from that piece showed how a school system full of mostly low-income children can prove to be a detriment.

Let me be careful though, every low-income child has the right and potential to rise above their current station in live. In fact we should be very hopeful of that and hopefully many of them can rise to the occassion. What I can recognize is that being low-income can be in more ways than one an impediment and unfortunately for many of our youth in that situation it's not entirely their fault either.

My only wish is to find a way to make the public schools work for the families who utilize the system. They have to work and insure that our young people are educated and that they are successful in their lives whatever they choose to do. Although I don't have kids yet as a product of public education myself I'm not sure I have great faith that they will do right by my future children.

BTW, the Williams article was posted to LewRockwell.com which was one of the sites I noted in a recent article about libertarianism. Found this via a link over at Newsalert!

Capitol Fax: Embrace politics and get things done

California Gov. Jerry Brown

Rich Miller at the Capitol Fax posted a piece by the IllinoisTimes' James Krohe Jr. that compared two blue-state governors. California's Jerry Brown and Illinois' Pat Quinn and the difference it's argues is both night & day. Gov. Brown so far has been plenty more successful than Gov. Quinn in handling the fiscal issues of their respective states.

Apparently Brown has been more successful in navigating the political climate of California than Quinn has in this state. It seems the Governor of California has utilized the skills of "deal making, persuasion and sheer immersion in politics".

Of the Governor of Illinois this Krohe observed, "As a citizen-advocate and later as a largely ceremonial lieutenant governor, Quinn got experience demanding what government should do but never had to learn how to do it."

As I've often stated Quinn is an honest man. He's a marked difference from the last two Governors who as a result of their political activities in office (corruption) were sent to prison. Alas when it comes to the many issues affecting this state during his tenure in office he has largely found himself inneffective. Although to be sure he has had some successes and has shown a willingness to work on these issues. Unfortunately, it appears after the end of the recent spring session of IL's general assembly some bad habits die hard.

Another observation by Krohe of Gov. Brown was that he "didn’t steer California back into deep water by being a “leader” but by assessing possibilities accurately, picking fights he could win, resorting to compromise when it was needed and exhortation only when it was likely to work."

Krohe also stated:

Illinois used to routinely produce politicians with similar gifts; its voters even elected some of them governor, the most recent one being George Ryan. But these days much of the public (and much of the Republican Party) thinks that possession of political skills disqualifies a person for public office.

The greatest politicians who just so happen to be executives whether Mayors, Governors or Presidents were those who were able to face great crises. Sometimes that means being a politician and doing what it takes to instill confidence in the government and finding ways to make the most difficult decisions. The recession starting in 2007-08 was a time to make difficult decisions and even now they still must be made.

We see the difference between two blue states. One is in better shape than the other and we're still trying to figure out how to become once again as Miller says "a state that worked". There's an election next year in Illinois, could any potential candidate on either side of the aisle be the politician who can utilize the same skills Gov. Brown has to bring this state back?

What's going on in DuPage County?

DuPage County is directly to the west of Cook County (and yes this is being written for those who may not be from the area who aren't familiar with Chicago area geography). If you take I-290 - a highway I also know only as the Eisenhower Expressway - this road will take you into DuPage which turns into I-88 that will take you towards Aurora, Illinois.

It was noted by Rich Miller in his Sun-Times column for today that in both elections for President Obama he carried DuPage. Why is this significant? Well it's significant because DuPage has historically been a reliable Republican county and Miller notes that things are changing there and it's not as solidly Republican as it used to be. He checks out a poll that shows where DuPage residents are on the burning issue of gay marriage:

The We Ask America poll I wanted to talk to [former IL state Senate President James "Pate" Phillip] about found that a plurality of DuPage County’s likely voters support gay marriage.

According to the poll, 49 percent of DuPagers say lawmakers should pass legislation to allow gay marriage while 45 percent oppose it. The poll of 1,052 likely voters taken April 22nd had a margin of error of plus/minus 3 percent.

The poll found that 62 percent of people aged 18-24 support gay marriage. In fact, every age group backed gay marriage except for senior citizens, who opposed it 55-40.

If you had told me a year ago that a poll could turn up these sorts of results in DuPage, I would’ve thought you were dipping into your medical marijuana stash.

The comments at the link are interesting. Makes the case of ceasing the need for determing a "true" Republican vs. "RINOs". At least as far as this state's concerned as the state GOP is struggling at the moment.

Here's some history Republicans took control of the state legislature in the election of 1994 - the same election that saw Republicans take control of both houses of the US Congress. Republicans already had control of the state Senate and for two years following the 94 elections Republicans snatched control of the state House of Representatives from the "dreaded" Michael J. Madigan. After the 96 elections the IL General Assembly was a divided legislature where Democrat Michael Madigan regained control of the House and until 2003 the Senate was still held by Republicans.

Everything changed in 2003 when the Republicans lost the state Senate, it's 25 year dominance of the Governor's mansion to none other than Rod Blagojevich. Also until the 2006 elections there was only one Republican who held statewide office. Well you could say two as Peter Fitzgerald was a Republican member of the US Senate although he eventual didn't seek re-election in 2004 and was replaced by none other than our current President.

All the same, Republicans in this state has been struggling ever since 2003. There were two good state elections in 2006 and 2010, but neither Republican nominee was able to edge the incumbent Governors (Blagojevich & Pat Quinn). The question we have to ask is will 2014 - that's next year - be any different?

Mary Mitchell: Black clergy hypocritical on same-sex marriage issue

Remember what was posted her last Friday about whether or not Black ministers are chasing the wrong issue with their opposition to gay marriage. Well Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell has her own take on this issue.

So I’m not impressed that a group calling itself the African American Clergy Coalition has geared up to battle a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Illinois.

The coalition is attempting to persuade 20 Black Caucus members, who may be the key to passage of the legislation, to vote against the measure.

The coalition, led by the Rev. James Meeks, has partnered with Cardinal Francis George to conduct an “aggressive street campaign” that includes robocalls to African-American households.

“It’s time for the church to wake up,” said Meeks, who also was a vocal opponent of same-sex marriages when he was a state senator.

But it seems hypocritical for black clergy to put this kind of energy into blocking people who want to get hitched legally while doing so little about the absence marriage in the communities where most of their congregants live.

To his credit, in 2010, Meeks challenged 25 unmarried couples in his church to take the plunge at his expense.

Unfortunately, marriage rates in the black community have been in decline for decades. In 2011, there was a lot of moaning and groaning when the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found that only 52 percent of black women will marry by age 30. That means 48 percent of black women will sit out their prime childbearing years, or give birth without the support of a committed spouse. Today, 70 percent of black children are born outside of marriage.

Researchers blame a host of factors for black people not getting married, including high unemployment and their failure to inherit or accumulate wealth. Instead of marriage, a lot of people have serial relationships that may or may not involve cohabitation. The problems associated with these kinds of arrangements are well-documented. Children of unstable families are more likely to do poorly in school and end up in the criminal justice system.

Here's a real ball of fire thrown here!

Additionally, black clergy need to be careful about where they throw stones.

Despite the hostile attitudes they may encounter, there are gays and lesbians in the black church, and some of these young people are being victimized.

For instance, the black church was recently rocked when the pastor of one of the country’s largest megachurches was caught up in a gay sex scandal.

In 2010, five young men accused Bishop Eddie Long, of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, of lavishing them with gifts and coercing them into sex acts. Long admitted giving the gifts but denied engaging in sex with the men. The pastor settled the cases out of court.

Despite the settlement, one of the accusers, who said he was gay, released a tell-all book in February alleging that he and Long were in an abusive gay relationship.

 OK, so the Black church should tackle the issues of out of wedlock births and the lack of commitment between men & women in Black communities instead of chasing down the issue of gay marriage. In addition, Mitchell is right, there are gays & lesbians who attend church on Sundays as well. Even worse we see an example of a sex scandal when it comes to a Black minister.

I generally don't support gay marriage although I do accept civil unions. At the same time gay marriage should be the least of our concerns. Besides if this is an issue that socially conservative people want to address then perhaps instead of focusing on gay marriage perhaps they should focus on the issue of why people are choosing not to get married.

The American Spectator: Shush!

Reading this write-up it reminds me of the one place that I haven't visited in a while, Harold Washington Library Center. During my visit they usually include spending some time on the computers however you do run into plenty of vagrants using computers or just sitting around. Thankfully, there haven't been any incidents although my goal isn't to become a victim of such individuals.

It's time for me to visit my local library and this time just avoid the computers since thankfully one is available at home. Just go over and check out some books as libraries were intended and it's been since since I did that.

The Economist: The America that works - states v. federal government

This article from The Economist focuses on what's working here in the states. The bickering going on in Washington is one aspect of what's going on in this nation. If you want to see real progress, it's in the individual states:

Yet there is also another America, where things work. One hint comes from what those bosses like to call the real economy. Recent numbers from the jobs market and the housing sector have been quite healthy. Consumer balance-sheets are being repaired. The stockmarket has just hit a record high. Some of this is cyclical: the private sector is rebounding from the crunch. But it also reflects the fact that, beyond the District of Columbia, the rest of the country is starting to tackle some of its deeper competitive problems. Businesses and politicians are not waiting for the federal government to ride to their rescue. Instead, as our special report this week shows, they are getting to grips with the failings Congress is ignoring.

One reason for optimism is that America’s inventors are as busy as they have ever been, and its entrepreneurs are seizing on their ideas with the same alacrity as always. Investment in research and development as a share of output recently matched the previous record, 2.9% of GDP, set at the height of the space race. America is home to 27 of the 30 universities that put out the most-cited scientific research—and it is still good at developing those ideas. Although many countries possess big reserves of oil and gas trapped in impermeable rocks, American businesses worked out how to free that energy and then commercialised that technology at a rapid pace; the resulting “shale gale” is now billowing the economy’s sails.

Some of the money for fracking technology came from the federal government, but the shale revolution has largely happened despite Mr Obama and his tribe of green regulators. It has been driven from the bottom up—by entrepreneurs and by states like North Dakota (see article) competing to lure in investors with notably more fervour than, say, France.

This fits a pattern. Pressed for cash, states are adopting sweeping reforms as they vie to attract investments and migrants. Louisiana and Nebraska want to abolish corporate and personal income taxes. Kansas has created a post called “the Repealer” to get rid of red tape and pays a “bounty” to high schools for every vocational qualification their students earn in certain fields; Ohio has privatised its economic-development agency; Virginia has just reformed its petrol-tax system.

In this second, can-do America, creative policymaking is being applied to the very problems Congress runs away from, like infrastructure spending. While the federal government twiddles its thumbs, states and cities, which are much shorter of cash, are coming up with new ways to raise money for roads, bridges and schools. Chicago has a special trust to drum up private funds to refurbish decrepit city buildings. Indiana has turned to privatisation to raise money for road-building.

Even education is showing some signs of change. The states are giving America’s schools their biggest overhaul in living memory. Forty-five of them are developing new curriculums. Tests are becoming more rigorous, and schools and teachers are at last being held accountable for results. Thirty-eight states have reformed teachers’ pay, tying it, in many instances, to their students’ exam results. Forty-two now allow independently managed, but government-funded, “charter schools”. It is too soon to tell what this upheaval will yield, but a long overdue shake-up is finally under way.
Regulation, innovation, infrastructure, education: each of these is crucial to competitiveness. Put together the small things happening in the states, and they become something rather big. That is the essence of the America that works.

Of course let's note not all states are working the way you see in the examples here. Illinois continues to struggle and in fact there is even a debate over fracking here as well. This state is certainly looking for answers to jobs and economic growth and fracking is one although there are certain constituencies that want to get into the way of that.

In the meanwhile, the federal government is doing what it does and well certainly many are still waiting for leadership there.

Via Instapundit!

Chicago’s deadly gun control lessons

GO FALCONS!

Over the weekend was the funeral for Hadiya Pendleton who had been murdered almost a week after attending President Obama's inauguration. Today I share with you a column that mentions her and the other incidents of gun violence that has claimed lives here in Chicago:

Fifteen-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was an honor student, volleyball player and majorette who one week earlier was performing with her high school band at President Obama’s inauguration ceremony. On Saturday, first lady Michelle Obama flew to Chicago to visit Hadiya — paying respects at her funeral.

The King College Prep student was one of 42 homicide victims in Chicago during the month of January. Pendleton’s story is an all-too-common tale in the Windy City. You wouldn’t know it, though, due to the media and political efforts to control the conversation — using this deadly epidemic for the national cause of gun control instead of actually making life safer back in Chicago.

Last year, more than 500 individuals were murdered in Chicago. The public perception is that the violence is always gang related — criminal killing criminal. Gun control advocates use this point of view to combat critics who claim that Chicago, which has the toughest gun laws in the country, is an example that gun control doesn’t work. What Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel don’t want to discuss is that gang related or not, innocent children are being buried in their own backyard.

Fifty-six children — under the age of 18 — met violent ends last year in Chicago, while 133 individuals — nearly one-third of all the murdered victims — never saw their 21st birthdays. Still, the city and the state don’t want to talk about the nightmare that Chicago’s African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods have become. Nobody is asking how the disastrous economy of Illinois is contributing to violence on the streets of Chicago.

I suggest you read the whole thing!