I‘m last to this party because, well, I’ve been last to most parties lately. Here’s my question to you, since I don’t really feel like getting back on my blogging horse this morning: what do you think Sonny Perdue’s school closings (login) on Monday and Tuesday accomplish, good and bad?






It’s funny - Katrina and Rita have shifted this country Left in ways that we’re only beginning to see. From housing and feeding the poor, to demanding services from the federal government, to deciding that teleworking and mass transit and conservation are good ideas - this country is having an attitude adjustment from the selfish “screw the world and screw you” attitude it developed in 2001.
Unfortunately, the people in charge are still Republican, so Purdue’s attempt to get parents to telework or just take days off to conserve gas backfires. Why? He forgot that not every parent has a job with that kind of flexibility. He forgot that when you’re working for minimum wage at McDonalds, you can’t telework or just “take off” for a day. Instead of pursuing long term policies that would have the same effect (CAFE, FMLA, …), he tries a short term fix and will probably never understand why it didn’t work. Maybe it even convinced him more that Democratic policies won’t ever work.
Yeah. What Scott said.
This is still the same governor who supports building more highways at the expense of comprehensive public transit.
All these little grandstanding gestures (suspending the gas tax, telling kids not to go to school) don’t really do much about our dependence on an ever-more-costly natural resource. On wednesday, when kids are back in school, we’ll still have to figure out how to live in an oil-scarce world.
Then again, I do think the grandstanding is probably smart from a political perspective. Sonny can finally run his re-election campaign on something.
It’s just a shame that it took such a horrific disaster to do it.
But let’s just hope that this attitude adjustment persists.
Purdue, however, is so out of touch with the people and with reality, that who knows it it even matters to him.
Why couldn’t he shut down my work? I’m sick and need another day to recover.
Come on, Jen, be honest… are you sick or hungover?
I can’t believe I misspelled Perdue. Must be all the football talk ’round these parts.
Ha! No, I am bona fide sick this time.
I conclude Sonny overplayed his hand for disingenuous purposes. So let it be said, so let it be done.
If I were a public school teacher, I’d welcome the opportunity to get caught up on my grading. If I were the parent of a child in a public school who couldn’t afford to take a day off of work or to hire a babysitter, I’d be pretty pissed off right now.
There are so many other ways in which Sonny could have helped. Two days off of school is utterly trivial.
Then again, I never have to vote in that state again…..
Amber wrote:
Don’t worry Amber in three months we as Americans will say, “Rita and Katrina who?” just as we are now saying, “Who was Charlie, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanine.”
Our cynicism is only bested by our lack of effort. Effort to plan, effort to care, and effort ameliorate.
I am with Chuck (at least the part about being a school teacher), my partner is a teacher, and it is like a big sigh of relief for him to be off today and tomorrow. I wish it were me!!!