Downeast Schoolhouse » wishin’ & hopin’

“There’s the State! They’ll save me!”

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:01:33 +0000

There's the State! They'll save me!

Cartoon from Boots and the Mystery of the Unlucky Vase, Edgar Everett Martin, 1943. The caption came to us one night in a dream.

The Race is On

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:55:51 +0000

Poll results being reported today (Bangor Daily article here, enlarged graphic here) would appear to show “No” votes growing on on the first four referendum items. We’ll have to see if this poll with any accuracy predicts the actual results of the voting a week from today.

The strong feelings around these questions suggest a volatility [...]

The “Education President”

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:00:59 +0000

Juan Williams, a mild-mannered, slow-to-anger guy, gets angry about the hypocrisy of Obama and Duncan and Congress regarding the D.C. voucher program:

This reckless dismantling of the D.C. voucher program does not bode well for arguments to come about standards in the effort to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. It does not speak well of the [...]

How the World Begins

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:00:41 +0000

Some folks say that stimulus money is just like crack cocaine; one little taste and you’re hooked. Both are dangerous. Some Maine legislators have been careful to point out that the stimulus money needs to be used carefully, and for one-time uses only.

Unfortunately, this thin red line, between one-time and long-time, is being [...]

Sweet Nothing

admin — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:47:05 +0000

We’re waiting to hear from the feds. Time passes slowly. The DOE puts out non-info. (Thanks for the heads-up, Matthew!) And more non-info (except they hope to know something sometime this week, certainly before the pow-wow on the 16th). And keep watching this page (DOE) and this page (State).

In the meantime, here’s the one-and-only Brenda [...]