The fact that Dubya is saying, right now, on the radio, that to protect the peace you have to have the power to use force, is an interesting piece of doublespeak.

Another side to the Bush agenda which is overshadowed now is his plan to industrialize education. I am afraid this may slip in unnoticed while the war drums are beating. The Bush family has been best buddies with the McGraws of McGraw-Hill for three generations, and every so-called panel of experts his team has put together, from Texas to D.C., has been packed with McGraw people. They just happen to always recommend as "scientifically based" McGraw-Hill products. Workbooks, phonics drills, and such. Critical thinking skills in public schools will fall by the wayside. Reading for pleasure will make way (is making way) for reading to answer questions (ie, follow basic directions in an unskilled labor force). And don't even get me started on the reward-the-schools-which-improve scheme.

ergh!