WSJ.com - 3 articles related to John McCain

 

WSJ.com - Opinion: McCain's School Choice Opportunity*

...what if the Rev. Wright had used his pulpit to direct a little fire-and-brimstone against a very real outrage: a public-school system that's depriving millions of children of the education they need...?

Scarcely half of American children in our 50 largest cities will leave their public schools with a high-school diploma in hand... These children are disproportionately African-American... And the failure is a scar on this great land of opportunity.

There's a good opening here for John McCain. As a senator, he has been a forceful voice for giving lower-income moms and dads the same options for their children that wealthier parents already enjoy. What if he took this campaign into the heart of our cities – and gave a little straight talk about the scandal that their public-school systems represent in this great land of opportunity?

 

WSJ.com - Opinion: Getting to Know John McCain*
The Arizona senator can't run on biography. Neither should he ignore it.

...it is clear that Mr. McCain is one of the most private individuals to run for president in history.

When it comes to choosing a president, the American people want to know more about a candidate than policy positions. They want to know about character, the values ingrained in his heart. For Mr. McCain, that means they will want to know more about him personally than he has been willing to reveal. 

 

 

WSJ.com - Opinion: McCain's Progress* 

John McCain delivered another speech yesterday on health care that offered a sophisticated set of policies that could lead to some of the most constructive changes to the system in decades.  

 

He contended that the health insurance and delivery system is in fact failing many Americans – but that it was failing because of market distortions mostly created by the government itself. Fixing these irrationalities would both make insurance more affordable and increase overall coverage in the bargain.

 

WSJ.com - Russia's Pre-Olympic Nightmare

Powered by           Will we have to wait for the 2014 winter games before somebody pays attention to us? President George W. Bush recently visited Vladimir Putin in Sochi and did not object to the Kremlin's assault on private ownership. ...there are only two things that Mr. Putin and his gang really care about: total control inside of Russia and legitimacy outside of Russia.             Click the following to access the sent link:       WSJ.com - Opinion: Russia's Pre-Olympic Nightmare* This article will be available to non-subscribers of the Online Journal for up to seven days after it is e-mailed.                 Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information.   *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://online.wsj.com/wsjgate?subURI=%2Farticle%2FSB120916663619146211-email.html&nonsubURI=%2Farticle_email%2FSB120916663619146211-lMyQjAxMDI4MDI5OTEyNjk2Wj.html

WSJ.com - Twenty-Five Years Later, A Nation Still at Risk

If you're interested in K-12 education reform, see my note below.  -John

 

Powered by           Today marks the 25th anniversary of "A Nation at Risk," the influential Reagan-era report by a blue-ribbon panel that alerted Americans to the weak performance of our education system. The report warned of a "rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people." That dire forecast set off a quarter century of education reform that's yielded worthy changes – yet still not the achievement gains we need to turn back the tide of mediocrity. And just as "A Nation at Risk" warned, other countries are beginning to eat our education lunch. While our outcomes remain flat, theirs rise. Half a dozen nations now surpass our high-school and college graduation rates. International tests find young Americans scoring in the middle of the pack.             Click the following to access the sent link:       WSJ.com - Opinion: Twenty-Five Years Later, A Nation Still at Risk* This article will be available to non-subscribers of the Online Journal for up to seven days after it is e-mailed.                 Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information.   *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://online.wsj.com/wsjgate?subURI=%2Farticle%2FSB120916804732546311-email.html&nonsubURI=%2Farticle_email%2FSB120916804732546311-lMyQjAxMDI4MDI5ODEyNjg4Wj.html

 

 

Readers: Since my oldest is nearing school age, I've become very interested in educational thought and I have begun to research the debate about the best way to educate our children.  I know I still have much to read and learn on this topic, but I recently finished a book by E.D. Hirsch called "The Schools We Need & Why We Don't Have Them."  It's more than a decade old, but I found his arguments and diagnosis still very much on the mark for what continues to be argued today.  I highly recommend this book. 

Here's a link to Amazon book reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0385484577/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books  

If any of you have read other books on this topic, I'd like to hear any suggestions you have for future reading.

- John

WSJ.com - Immigrant Scapegoats

Powered by           As the U.S. economy softens, look for anti-immigrant sentiment to harden, at least in the short run.  The question is not whether the U.S. can survive without foreign labor. The question is whether the country would be better off economically by moving in a protectionist direction. Social conservatives fret that too many immigrants will have America slouching toward Guatemala. The bigger concern is that too few immigrants will have us slouching toward France.             Click the following to access the sent link:       WSJ.com - Opinion: Immigrant Scapegoats* This article will be available to non-subscribers of the Online Journal for up to seven days after it is e-mailed.                 Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information.   *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://online.wsj.com/wsjgate?subURI=%2Farticle%2FSB120899747810440043-email.html&nonsubURI=%2Farticle_email%2FSB120899747810440043-lMyQjAxMDI4MDI4NTkyOTU3Wj.html

WSJ.com - Bailout of the Year

Powered by           The Congress that created the student loan mess now wants you to pay for it. "What's now clear is that Congress didn't merely wring the profits out of student lending. It's blown up the entire student loan market. ...like airline passengers stranded this month due to panicky inspections, the current student loan "crisis" didn't have to happen. It is entirely a product of Congress."             Click the following to access the sent link:       WSJ.com - Opinion: Bailout of the Year* This article will be available to non-subscribers of the Online Journal for up to seven days after it is e-mailed.                 Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information.   *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://online.wsj.com/wsjgate?subURI=%2Farticle%2FSB120899430294839827-email.html&nonsubURI=%2Farticle_email%2FSB120899430294839827-lMyQjAxMDI4MDI4NTkyOTU0Wj.html