ICE!

DZ points out that half their snowstorms over the past three years are really ice storms, and she attributes it to global warming. I think it's true here, too. Our driveway is a rink, it's snow/raining, and I'm too chicken to go to the woodpile without crawling on my hands and knees.

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View from My Office

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What If They Gave a War, and Nobody Cared?

I can characterize most people's reactions to what's happening in Gaza in two words: "What, again?" Of course there are exceptions--we know one person who's in the American version of the Israeli reserves. He's rather committed to that side. But for the rest, it's a version of Middle East Burnout, I think.

I'm intrigued by the semantics. If Hamas is indeed the duly elected government of Gaza, shouldn't the dudes firing rockets be called "soldiers" instead of "militants"? At what point is a terrorist a "freedom fighter" or terrorism "armed resistance"?

I don't love Hamas. They grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood, and those guys are nuts. They make Arafat's Fatah look like the Cub Scouts. But a 100-to-1 mortality rate isn't much of a battle, is it? I can't find any similar rates in this list of battle death statistics; he tends to lump such incongruous ratios under "massacres."

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How We Hire Teachers

In this fascinating New Yorker article (thanks, Mark), Malcolm Gladwell explores what's wrong with the way we hire teachers.

A group of researchers—Thomas J. Kane, an economist at Harvard’s school of education; Douglas Staiger, an economist at Dartmouth; and Robert Gordon, a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress—have investigated whether it helps to have a teacher who has earned a teaching certification or a master’s degree. Both are expensive, time-consuming credentials that almost every district expects teachers to acquire; neither makes a difference in the classroom.

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Oh, Too Bad.

DZ and I are getting our jollies at the fact that our recent publisher, Lerner, was one of two scammed by the Fake Holocaust Couple. Lerner's book was a children's version of the tale. Lerner's website now has a disclaimer and offer of a refund.

I shouldn't make too much fun, since I've had a good time working for Lerner (for pfennigs, but the job has been educational).

I should also point out that DZ herself has a brand-new website, now that she's a soon-to-be ridiculously successful HarperCollins author.

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The Kennedy Flap

I haven't weighed in yet on our soon-to-be open Senate seat, mostly because I think it's a tiresome situation that won't be resolved by the rest of us flapping our gums. However, now that Shelly Silver has announced that he'll support Caroline Kennedy, albeit unhappily (will someone please make that man irrelevant?), I will put in my two cents. I don't think she's a bad pick. Like HRC, she gains NY immediate clout through her personal fame. Is that what we need in a senator? Well, it can't hurt. I have no reason to think she won't work hard, and I am sure that she'll have the ear of other senators in a way that other potential candidates won't. Is that fair? Who cares. Has she earned it? I don't know, shall we talk about Al Franken for a minute? Does she understand upstate? No. Do I? Does anyone? Should we vet our senators based on who has eaten blooming onions at the State Fair?

There's absolutely no indication that Andrew Cuomo would be better. Naked ambition in a nice suit is all I get from him (Schumer is a similar case, minus the suit), and his cadre of henchman frankly scares the bejesus out of me. (Say what you will about HRC, she was never one of those people who, in a conversation, constantly looks behind you to see whether there's someone more important back there. Chuck and Andy are EXACTLY one of those people.) There's also the barely-mentioned issue of Andy's connection to predatory lending and subprime mortgages as director of HUD. He's not Mario, that's for sure.

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Happy New Year

Thank goodness, 2008 is over, and we're into a brand new year. And we begin with an interesting challenge on the county legislature between two potential chairs. Although I think it's fair to say they share a left-leaning vision, Martha would certainly be my choice for someone who has the work ethic to power important changes through. However, in a legislature of 15, where 4 votes are automatically given to (probably) Frank Proto, I'm not sure either Mike or Martha can come up with the 8 votes needed to chair. But I'm guessing that Martha would not mount a public challenge if she didn't think she had the numbers. I do wonder who leaked the story to the Journal. Fun!

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