About that recall idea
by David Safier The Pima County Democratic Party has weighed in on the "We don't like the results, and we have money" City Council recall effort. Special interests in Tucson have set upon a new strategy: Don't like the results of an election? Just buy a new one. Council Members Regina Romero and Karin Uhlich … Read more
NYC charters better than traditional schools? Probably, yes
by David Safier A study from a Stanford researcher a few months ago claimed students at New York City's charters outperformed the equivalent students at traditional district schools. Another Stanford research group questioned the methodology and did its own study. It ended up coming up with similar results. If 2 reputable studies come to similar … Read more
Just a couple of 60s guys sharing
by David Safier I was just listening to NPR in the car. A filmmaker was being interviewed about his career. He talked about how back in the day, he and his friends, all filmmakers, all semi-outsiders, would sit around and watch each others' rough cuts, criticize and make suggestions. Very helpful, communal, non competitive stuff. … Read more
Quiz: Who has the most anti-Obama headline?
by David Safier And the winner for the most anti-Obama headline is, once again, The Arizona Daily Star. Obama gave a speech yesterday talking about the intelligence failures that led to the would-be terrorist boarding a plane and almost blowing it up. Obama has always said there were failures. It's not like he's changing his … Read more
Fool’s Gold Redux: phony per student numbers
by David Safier Sigh. We've been down this road so many times before — the Goldwater Institute making a fool of itself with its purposeful misstatements about Arizona's per student spending numbers. And yet, if the media accepts the numbers and parrots them, and if Republican legislators like Al Melvin continue to quote them, the … Read more
Rendering health insurance companies unnecessary.
by David Safier Today I read a wonderful piece in last week's New Yorker by James Surowiecki on a topic I happened to be talking over with friends this weekend. The article is only a page long, so I actually read it from beginning to end. (Right, like you read entire, long-enough-to-be-a-short-book New Yorker articles!) … Read more
The First Rule of Holes
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: "The first rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging." – Molly Ivins Oh how I miss the wit and wisdom of Miss Molly. She made a career out of mocking the clowns in the three-ring circus of the Texas Lege. Imagine how much fun she could have with our Arizona … Read more
