As much as I disagree with him politically, when I've seen Clarence Thomas on television, he comes off as a very smart guy. I think there is merit on both sides of this discussion.

          But.

          I was watching a presentation by Howard Zinn on C-Span, and he was asked, if he could do just one thing to correct the problems in America, what would he do?

          His answer was, "Double teacher's salaries."

          When one stops to think about it, this would address a number of issues. Teachers would get the respect they deserve, but more importantly, the profession would begin to attract people who, for one reason or another, had a lot of talent, but felt like they simply couldn't afford to go into teaching. Frankly, I think Howard Zinn was right.