"In no other cabinet department is the lack of expertise, lack of accomplishment, lack of a degree in the field found acceptable but in Education." ~Greg Palast (Obama Slam-Duncans Education)

For those of you who voted for "Change" you got this instead... another incompetent administration. Obama has chosen Arn Duncan as the Secretary of Education. His career path isn't even decidedly in education; he's a lawyer. He does have some "experience"... For those of you who aren't familiar with his work, he is responsible for the failed state of school systems in Chicago. The thing that really strikes me is the fact that during his brief period of "servitude" to our school systems, Senator Obama was one of the only local officials whose children did not attend Duncan's public schools. Why then, is he fit to have influence over the education of the entire nation?

"Here's how Duncan operates this Bush program in Chicago at Collins High in the Lawndale ghetto. Teachers there work with kids from homeless shelters from an economically devastated neighborhood. Believe it or not, the kids don't get high test scores. So Chicago fired the teachers, every one of them. Then they brought in new teachers and fired THEM too when, surprise!, test scores still didn't rise." ~Obama Slam-Duncan Education
Standardized testing inhibits analytical and creative thinking... why are we going to continue to promote this obviously ineffective, generic approach to education. What happened to this change we supposedly voted for???

American educational standards are already abominable compared to the rest of the world. What is going to happen with this "lack of expertise, lack of accomplishment, lack of a degree" within a sector of our society that is so vital?

Maybe Duncan was selected because of his appeal to teacher union hating Republicans." Sorry to break the news to you but the Democrats won and I think it's time that you stepped up a little. If you're going to continue with the same moronic policies and administrations that we have been dealing with for the past 8 years we might as well have skipped this election because nothing has CHANGED. The Republicans will learn to deal with their loss... but only if you can learn to deal with your triumph. People are counting on you (or at least they were).

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

"Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit."

This is an excerpt from the Declaration of Human Rights, a document of the United Nations. In it is a statement saying that education (of an elementary stage as well as higher levels) should be made equally accessible to all. Now the U.S. is a member of the U.N., and yet in recent days I don't see them holding up American's right to education.

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As the worldwide economic crisis worsens, it seems as if we have yet again left our trust in people incapable of accomplishing anything. $700 billion bailout? It seems to have done little as banks shares continue to plunge and established corporations verge on bankruptcy.

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“The Korean War ended 55 years ago, and the US still has troops in Korea.

Germany was defeated in 1945, and the US still has troops in Germany.

A country that must go hat in hand to its creditors must first look to where costs can be cut. Annual military spending of $700 billion is certainly a good place to start.

But the US government has far more hubris than intelligence and is on its way to being a failed state that has to print money to pay its bills.

It is not too late for the US to save itself and the dollar standard, but it would require a rapid transition from arrogance to humility. The rest of the world can bring America down by not lending to us, in which case neither the trade nor budget deficits could be financed.”

~ Paul Craig Robert

"Obama will undoubtedly be better than Bush was and better than McCain would have been, and the differences matter. But a realistic assessment of the scope of those differences is imperative. Without it, people who really care about changing this country’s direction will end up counting on one man, Obama, instead of on themselves to bring about the change we need. Those people will inevitably be disappointed."
~ Now What? By FRANK J. MENETREZ

The past few days I have been thinking about the results of the election. And I can't help but feel slightly apprehensive about the whole thing. No doubt some form of change will occur and I do believe that Obama is going to be a better President than Bush was (not that he left much to live up to). I also believe that he was the lesser of two evils in this election. I just don't necessarily think that all the change people are expecting is going to happen... and after waiting all this time, that is a huge disappointment.

With our economy in turmoil, many people believe that Wall Street should have more regulation... Why should people pay for the mistakes of bad investments made by those who thought they wouldn't have to pay? Yet during his Presidential campaign, Obama received more money from banking and financial services than McCain's did. This makes the chances of financial reform in the interest of the majority of Americans questionable if you ask me.

Lets move on to another controversial issue... the war in Iraq. Many people have grown tired of the mounting casualties and damage that has been caused in that region. They looked to a candidate who would support a withdrawl strategy. Someone who would bring an end to this fiasco. This direct quote from Obama tells a different story...

“What I’ve said is that we need a residual force to start with. So, without putting a precise number or a precise time frame, I’ve set a series of missions that we’re going to have to continue to perform for a decent stretch of time. We’re going to have to continue to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Iraqi military. We’re going to have to continue to provide training to the Iraqi military. We are going to have to continue to protect our diplomatic forces, our civilians on the ground in Iraq. Our embassy, we’ve got to protect. And, I believe we’re going to have to continue to have a counter-terrorism strike force, if not directly inside of Iraq then certainly in the region, that can provide insurance against any resurgence of either Al Qaida activity inside of Iraq or serious, destabilizing violence inside of Iraq. Those are all tasks that we’re still going to have to perform, and that means a certain number of troops. What those troops would be to accomplish those missions, I would leave up to the commanders, or I would at least consult closely with commanders in order to achieve the goals.”

I'm not saying that Obama is going to be the next Bush by any means... I just don't really see him bringing the progressive reform that so many people seem to expect from him. So don't be disappointed.