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Four hundred dollar haircuts.

John Edwards cannot seriously expect anyone to vote for a man who just paid $800 for two haircuts. This is according to his own filings with the Federal Elections Committee. I have hair. Well, maybe only a fraction of what I once had. But I still need to get it cut. I checked with local tonsorial emporiums other than my own and I know for a fact that you can get a very good haircut for only $200.

I am not suggesting that the former Senator and current presidential candidate move his 28,200 square foot, carbon footprint encrusted dwelling from North Carolina to Portsmouth in order to save money on haircuts. If he did, we might have to bring the old second Seabrook nuclear reactor online to keep NH residents’ lights from dimming when he powered his dwelling up.

Four hundred dollar hair cuts - 28,200 square foot dwelling - who can take this man seriously?

Posted by Mark Brighton at 12:36 AM | Comments (0)

A Not So Silent Spring

As we consider Earth Day 2007, it is important to realize that there is a genocide being perpetrated in Africa. It is bigger than either George Clooney or Allison Janney of West Wing fame can imagine, as they piously reprimand George Bush for the tragedy that is Darfur. It is linked to Earth Day because this current genocide began simply enough with the publishing of the Bible of the environmental movement –“Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson.

Miss Carson’s book almost single-handedly led to the banning of DDT. This chemical is quite possibly the cheapest, most effective pesticide ever developed. Because of this miracle chemical, Malaria, a mosquito borne disease, was in the process of being eradicated from the face of the earth. Typhus was also facing the same fate. It is estimated that Malaria has caused more death than any other single event or disease in history.

http://dwb.unl.edu/Teacher/NSF/C06/C06Links/www.altgreen.com.au/Chemicals/malaria_toll.html Link to Malaria death toll

Posted by Mark Brighton at 08:44 PM | Comments (4)

Obama

After attending the Barak Obama event put on by the Portsmouth Herald on April 3rd, I came away thinking how refreshing it is to hear a candidate who admits he does not have all the answers. It would be a mistake to underestimate this man, and although it is early days, soon the Senator will have to commit to the issues and have a platform.

The discussion on the cost of medical care went straight to the cost of insurance and co-pays. The crux of the problem is employer based health insurance where the consumer has been removed from the actual cost of medicine. The Senator even correctly identified the root of the problem. During WWII that great stalwart of the Democrats, FDR, instituted price controls, but left employers the option of providing health care to entice employees. After the war, the government gave tax incentives to businesses for providing health care. Senator Obama stopped his analysis there, but when you consider that the government has included Medicare, Medicaid, and now a drug program, the pattern is clear. The more the government interferes, the worse it gets.

Most people in attendance were in favor of some version of a single payer, i.e. government, health provider system. But history has proved from the Roman times to the present that there are three irreducible variables in bringing any product to market: cost, speed, and quality. You can control only two of these; the third will have to vary. There is no silver bullet that can alter this reality. We have only to look at the Army’s Walter Reed Medical Center to see how thoroughly government bureaucrats can screw up medical care. The price is controlled, but God help you if you need speed and quality. The bureaucracy of the private insurers can be brutal, but it is still somewhat answerable to the market place. Imagine putting all the eggs of our health care coverage into one basket - a federal bureaucracy answerable to no one.

We aging Baby Boomers are engaged in magical thinking when in the face of all available evidence we still believe the government can and will supply the answer to everything. This is not an intellectual exercise for me. Last year my wife and I spent one-third of our income on medical costs. We have to make tough choices every day, but they are our choices. It scares the hell out of me to think of putting those choices in the cold hands of a federal bureaucrat – or worse, a federal oversight committee.

Posted by Mark Brighton at 09:22 PM | Comments (4)

Mistah Mayah

Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand is running for the Senate. I wish him well. As mayor of Portsmouth he has done a hell of a job bringing transparency to the budgeting process. He has been an outspoken proponent for keeping budget increases down. He has done such a good job as mayor that I would ask him to reconsider his run for the Senate and run for the city council instead.

Remember, Mistah Mayah, it’s better to be mayor of a small town then vice president of the United States or, in this case, a US Senator. Big Fish in a small pond versus small fish in a Big Pond. Something tells me that he probably won’t listen to my advice. There’s no reason he should - no one does, including my dogs.

I’ve visited our Mayor’s web site http://www.stevemarchand.com/ and admit to being confused. His web site is clear. He’s against the war in Iraq, for investing in alternative energy sources (usually this means government spending), believes that, “with the right plan, we can halt global warming, stimulate our economy and improve our national security,” and in tax reform.

It’s the last that leaves me confused. Locally, he has grasped that spending is what drives taxes and not the other way around. But in his campaign for the Senate he talks more about tax code manipulation as a way of reducing tax burdens than actually reducing spending. If he gets to the Senate every special interest group will be tugging at his heart strings. He needs to steel himself now.

Steve will be a worthy opponent for anyone running against him. The question that really matters in life is whether even in disagreement you can respect a person. With Steve Marchand the answer is yes.

Posted by Mark Brighton at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)

Outsourcing teaching

Hillary is on the campaign trail complaining about school systems having to spend money on tutors. It seems that under the No Child Left Behind Act, when a school district repeatedly fails to meet state testing standards it has to provide free tutoring. Hillary was speaking before the National Education Association's New Hampshire chapter, so it was obligatory for her to take a swing at Bush and No Child Left Behind. What is amusing is that she is quoted as saying, “Nobody's looking over their shoulder. And we're not really seeing results.” Why on earth does she think students are being sent to tutors? Could it be that public schools are failing them?

When you couple this with Monday March 26th’s headline in the Herald, “City stands out in poll of schools,” the problems with modern public school education become clearer. A poll conducted by the Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations assessed students' academic aspirations and attitudes toward school. The institute is a particular favorite of Lionel Tracey, former Portsmouth School Superintendent and now head of the NH Department of Education. The poll asked questions “geared toward understanding children's perception of belonging and a sense of accomplishment.”

Apparently Dr Quaglia states there are eight conditions necessary for a student to achieve his or her personal goals. Performance is not measured or even seriously considered. Dr Quaglia says, “There's more to learning than math.” Yes there is - the other two long forgotten curricula in addition to ‘rithmatic’ are readin’ and ‘ritin.” They aren’t on Dr. Quaglia’s list, either.

In fairness, Dr Robert Lister, Superintendent of Portsmouth’s schools, credits Quaglia’s approach with significantly reducing the dropout rate of the city’s student body. This may be true, but if none of Quaglia’s eight conditions emphasizes the 3R’s, why are we keeping students in school? When you include grade inflation and social promotions, it becomes clear why students need tutors. And it isn’t because of George Bush.

No Child Left Behind emphasizes results on standardize testing, demanding accountability - and this is something that The Left seems to abhor. In her speech Hillary says that testing ignores the fact that there are many ways to learn. She may be right, but if that learning can’t be demonstrated concretely, then what happens to the student who becomes an employee?

As an employer, I expect my employees to function confidently in math and to know the King’s English. I don’t ask if they feel good about these skills, but they will feel crappy about being unemployed if they don’t have them.

When I attended Portsmouth High, Francis “Babe” Malloy, the assistant principal, didn’t ask if I felt good about school. He wasn’t worried about whether I felt “engaged” by my environment. He made sure I was in attendance, properly attired, and didn’t give the teachers any lip. He and most educators of the time had the quaint notion that self esteem would follow performance.

The bar seems to be getting set so low, that I’m no longer surprised by the look of panic from a young clerk when faced with ten dollars and two cents on a $9.02 tab. I’m embarrassed for the clerk and for our schools that demand so little.

Posted by Mark Brighton at 10:44 PM | Comments (1)