Wednesday, April 3

The War On Drugs On Schools

NIXON'S the One, Reagan's the Beard:

Indiana could be first to require armed employee in every public school

This thing passed out of the Indiana House Education Committee almost before the NRA's armed press conference announcing the template was over.
“This is a common-sense approach to a horrible situation,” said Rep. Jim Lucas, a freshman Republican from Seymour who led the effort to add the protection-officer mandate to Senate Bill 1. 
An armed employee, he said, could have prevented the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in December that killed 20 students and six adults.
And if pi was a rational number God would still be in His Heaven thanks to the Indiana General Assembly.
“Basically, these people were defenseless,” Lucas said. “We know for a fact that Sandy Hook, they did everything by the book. The school was locked down, the shooter came in, broke dozens of laws and shot his way into the school.”

Yeah, and Nidal Malik Hasan killed thirteen people at Ft. Fucking Hood, where they also do everything by the book and are armed to the gills. That Navy Seal-ish dude got gunned down at a gun range.

I'm married to a public school teacher. It ain't like we don't take school security seriously. It ain't like we don't bleed into our collective chest cavity here about all these little 2nd amendment displays.

It's not like, since she's an urban public school teacher, we aren't already familiar with putting armed law enforcement in the hallways.

Security is security. Danger is danger. Life is untidy, unwieldy, and often less than pleasant. And bullshit is bullshit. Especially when it's bullshit at the service of a well-oiled gun manufacturer's lobby, from its eager mouthpieces and willing sycophants, eager to insist that the obvious is not true.

Maybe this should be the big education issue in this country: the current idea that the soul of wisdom lies in not listening to anybody you don't already agree with.

I broke the news of the bill to my Poor Wife yesterday. Her response was immediate. "We have an armed guard now. He goes to the bathroom. He gets lunch. He patrols, or gets called, outside. He gets called to every disturbance. He files reports. He's got a handgun. There are three main entrances to the school. I could get the drop on him."

There is, for now, the ready estimate of "$10 million" to implement the law (in a state which happily cut 20% from its education budget a few years ago because Mitch Daniels is an entrepreneurial genius). It's almost assuredly low, almost assuredly bogus. And almost assuredly predicated on the idea these people have that there's always a willing weapons fancier ready and able to do the job, so we won't be spending money on salaries.  "Students, continue reading Chapter 7. I'll be back as soon as the shootin' stops."

Listen, I don't know about you, but I went to public schools, and there were teachers there I didn't think should be trusted with chalk. Or dodge balls. Particularly dodge balls. I had a science teacher once who was later fired for lifting a student off the ground by his neck. A move which he'd already gotten a reputation for. The guy was fully capable of winging somebody over an untucked shirttail. Come to think of it, he probably was better suited to Door Patrol than teaching. Provided you don't mind a little collateral damage.

Yeah, they did everything by the book at Newtown. Including leaving that woman alone to arm her crazy hothouse son like he was a forward observation post. Yes, a trained sniper aiming at the front door could'a brought Adam Lanza down, assuming he'd shot first, assuming Lanza didn't know to expect him. If you're absolutely serious about this (answer: you aren't), then put a SWAT team in every school in Indiana. Maybe they can help change test answers in their down time.

Which, oh, what th' fuck, Slate:
A March 29 grand jury indictment details the shockingly sick culture of adult cheating that existed within the Atlanta public schools under former superintendent Beverly Hall, who resigned in disgrace two years ago.

Shocking? Sick? What effing country do you hail from? If that's not a description of unfettered capitalism going back to the 14th amendment, you find me a better one. Atlanta's just the largest and most blatant example we know of. Unless you want to count Michelle Rhee, who was fortunate that her rabbi got tossed by the voters before she ended up in stir. In fact, the only shocking thing to me in all this is that Beverly Hall isn't running her own billion-dollar slush fund now, and advising Los Angeles schools on how to get in on the scam before the marks get wise.
A one-time “Superintendent of the Year” who earned $580,000 in performance bonuses, Hall...

Here's what's Sick, Ms Goldstein, though, unfortunately, it won't shock anyone. We just blithely assume that of course a professional educator, who had sought the superintendent's position for the Failing Atlanta Schools™ system, should pull down half a mil in "performance bonuses".  While her charges make do with whatever the taxpayers begrudge them this year. Of course she should pull down a few hundred thousand extra shekels because test scores improved miraculously. Not because anyone gives a shit about what inner-city children in Atlanta are being taught. Because she's a walking fucking advertisement for the people who want to dismantle public education just to scorch a union. Beverly Hall shouldn't by facing prison just for running a enormous scam on the willingly scammed. She should be facing hard time for selling out a sacred trust. If we ever decide to judge the sickness of that we'll be well on our way to understanding just how unshocking cheating and lying are out there in the Marketplace. And Slate will be out of, you should pardon the expression, business.

Really, is it possible this country has learned nothing whatsoever from the War on Drugs? It's just, like, a four-decade Iraq War?

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:25 PM EDT

    Here's the thing. I don't own a gun, so why am I paying for an armed guard to stop a gun nut from shooting my kid? At the bare minimum we should TAX those gun owning fuckers who are demanding we hire armed guards to protect us from them.

    Oh, and my 22-year-old niece just graduated with a degree in elementary education and is now working on her teaching credential. I'm sure she'll be a fine kindergarten teacher, but I'm not so sure about her marksmanship or steely-eyed resolve to confront heavily armed gunman in a public place. Just sayin'.

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  2. prairie curmudgeon1:10 PM EDT

    Bobby Knight?

    Crazy world selects for crazier ways. Damn if we are not witnessing the crazy cascade. Not sure if I'm gonna be able to keep my own shit together in this sanity fail.

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  3. While the wingnuts have been convincing a large percentage of the population that our country is heading towards hell in a liberal hand basket, it's actually been careening towards hell in an out of control right wing dumpster. It's as though every state has replaced its legislative body with an frightened and misinformed mob.

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  4. Anonymous3:57 PM EDT

    I must ask, once again; does the NRA want us to believe that an armed guard in every school will carry a weapon which actually stops bullets?? Because otherwise you just increase the possible numbers of bullets flying through the air, only to be stopped by the chest of a six-year old. Yeah, great idea you got there, chum. Mr. Riley, thank you again for typing it up all purty for us. You are a national treasure, sir.

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  5. Anonymous7:12 PM EDT

    OK, I gotta say the new site is not an improvement. It's hard for us elderly folk to read black print in a deep grey highlights box.

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  6. They hate women. They hate children. They hate liberals. They hate foreigners. They hate the poor. They hate the working class. They hate people of color. They hate the gay and transgendered.

    They should all suck on their guns til they change their minds in what appears to be the only way they can, so the rest of us can get on with our lives without the ball and chain of their prejudice and dominating ways.

    I hate them, now. I don't think it's possible for me to love anyone else without doing so. I hate them with all my heart and soul and consider it loving to do so.

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  7. Anonymous5:51 AM EDT

    Excuse me, Mr Riley, but are you aware that Charlie Pierce gave you a nice shoutout last night?
    Just thought I would mention it in case you hadn't seen it.
    Suezboo
    PS. Well-deserved IMVHO.

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