Gingrich is so caustic and toxic. He is starting to implode now.

The New Orleans stuff is so sad and rage-making. The charter system is so effed, for so many reasons. I know the old school system had pervasive problems, but I don't think all-charter is any kind of solution. Uggh. I love this city, and it breaks my heart.

World murder rates: [link] ~ the darker the blue, the murderier.

My god, still in the ER. Hopefully just a heparin flush left to go.

I could eclipse the natter thread with my furious typing over charter school movements and the attempts to bust teacher unions and Michelle Rhee previous superintendent of schools of DC, but New Orleans is emblematic of the result of widescale charter school implementation.

Charter schools are an important part of educational schools systems, but there is a reason why public school movements in this country led to a more education populace and rapid economic expansion. Furthermore, if you depress teacher salaries and make school environments places where people don't want to work, it is no fucking wonder you have hard time recruiting teachers.

There's a very cynical part of me that believes that the mind boggling refusal to turn away from the all charter solution that's being forced down our throats is in fact to keep the majority of the citizens here uneducated and poor. 'Course, as Tom says, don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to stupidity (and a centuries old culture of corruption.) But I swear, this all charter solution is far to vigorously supported for me to believe true racist malice isn't in the mix somewhere.

I also love this city, but I also know I have extraordinary privilege to do do, given the color of my skin, my employability, my income, and my education. I would love to hope that I am helping here in my tiny way through the work I do, but that seems...unlikely. (pretty sure the issues here will not be resolved through the collective well intentioned works of white folks from Other Places.)

Frank, so glad you got to the doctor's -take it easy, though, these kinds of deep infections can be serious business.

Basically, what le n and Nora said.

Frank, also glad you went to the doc and got the medicine you need.

There aren't words for this.

There aren't words for this.

No but there is laughing out loud.

Frank, be well.

(pretty sure the issues here will not be resolved through the collective well intentioned works of white folks from Other Places.)

Don't downplay your contributions, Nora. Yeah, one well-intentioned person of whatever color doesn't solve the problem magically; it's adding all those well-intentioned people's efforts together that makes differences.

Ha, Jessica!

Amy,

ha! young adolescents who like vampires might be all over this! I love lunapads, but their patterns need some variety, though I wasn't thinking exactly of your example.