The Daily Top Five: March 7, 2006

1. One of the most interesting stories to me is this one about an Iranian General who has apparently defected to the west. As Dave Schuler points out, this has to to have Iranian leaders more than a little nervous. This general probably has at least some information on the nuclear program, the possible link between Iran and Iraqi insurgents, Hezbollah and a host of other infromation. Even if he doesn't have a lot of details, his knowledge can start investigations and intelligence in new directions.

2. The Justice Department's Voting Rights Section is going to working overtime in the next few months pre-clearing changes in state election laws in some states. One problem is the move of primary dates to early February which seems to be all the rage in state legislatures this year. The problem, Feb. 5, 2008 is Fat Tuesday and a number of states have parades that may affect the ability of people to get to the polls. Alabama's move to Feb. 5 may present a problem. Hat Tip: Mary Katherine Hamm.

3. Phillip Mella discusses the lack of congruence between many Democratic presidential aspirants' public persona and their private behavior. [

A]ll of which raises the deeper issue: To wit, the degree to which our politicians' public convictions are disconnected from their private behavior.

Shelby Steele wrote about this during the Clinton impeachment trial, noting that in our age if one's politics are correctly aligned--read, Mr. Clinton--one's private sins are forgiven. Double standards, which have historically been rightfully used to challenge the sincerity and therefore the legitimacy of one's deepest values, have been transformed into cultural conventions that we can jokingly dismiss without the least consequence.

That stated, no one would expect Mr. Gore to live the life of a Trappist monk, but having one's personal life nominally reflect one's public persona is not an unreasonable expectation. When one fails to comply, and especially if the failure is as egregious as Mr. Gore's, it ought to effectively undermine one's credibility. That, in turn, should result in said person being summarily and unceremoniously ejected from the game.

While Mella talks about Al Gore and his environmental stands, I noted that on an issue much closer to home, the Democrts still take the mindset, it is OK for me, but not for thee.

4. If this story is true, why the hell can't I get a job with one of these firms?

5. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oy, Oy, Oy. Apparently there is a great deal of similarity between the American educational system and that of Australia. Were it not for references to the Commonwealth and Australian localities, this story could almost be about American Teacher education. Apparently, bureaucratese is a common langugage. What in the world does this mean:

Students, in the words of the commonwealth report Teaching Reading, are treated as "self-regulating learners who construct knowledge co-operatively with other learners in developmentally appropriate ways". And there's more: "Adoption of a constructivist approach in the classroom involves a shift from predominantly teacher-directed methods to student-centred, active discovery learning and immersion approaches via co-operative group work, discussion focused on investigations and problem solving."

Apparently, incompetence knows no geographic boundaries either.