Don't (just) throw more money at it

I really can't fault Tennesseans for not wanting to spend more money on public education, as a new Vanderbilt study indicates:

The study showed that Tennesseans are concerned about their public education system and do not rate it highly or have confidence it is on the right track. But respondents said they are not eager to spend more money on the system, even though they say they would like teachers to be better paid.

Don't get me wrong--it's not that I don't want to see public education improved. I do. I also think a major portion of the local budget should be dedicated to education in order to help allieviate crime and poverty.

I have two disclaimers to make: I never attended public school, and I have no idea what is wrong with our schools. It seems like a very complex problem with plenty of politics and competing agendas. (See my previous post regarding Nancy Pelosi and replace the political references with educational ones.)

Only increasing the budget isn't enough. Is there a diagnosis and proposed strategic solution for improving our schools? Has there been an independent audit to look at how existing funds are spent?

Partnership, not partisanship

Representative Nancy Pelosi (above), who was elected Speaker of the House today, is expected to emphasize partnership over partisanship in her remarks this afternoon, according to CNN.

Former Rep. J.C. Watts, participating in CNN's coverage, noted that that spirit will last about "100 hours" before gridlock ensues. He also noted that Washington is driven by ego and power and that that combination is "dangerous." No kidding.

Can this ever change? Why won't the Democrats seize the opportunity before them to genuinely try to build consensus and focus on constructive compromise? I'm not just singling out the Dems, either, because the GOP didn't do much in the way of bipartisanship over the past 12 years despite much mention of collaboration.

Is Congress designed, whether intentionally or not, to drive division and reward arrogance and hostility? It is a sad state of affairs, I think, that our leaders cannot come together and find a way to act in the general best interest of the nation. Here's hoping that the spirit of hope and opportunity that will be heavily promoted today is more than smoke and mirrors by next week. Please, Dems, take this opportunity to make our country a better place, together with the GOP.

Map your happiness

Have you seen this world map measuring happiness?

The academic term is subjective well-being (SWB), but that's essentially an analytical euphemism for happiness. Adrian G. White of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom has developed a visual depiction of the world that is color-coded by overall level of happiness, as measured in individual nations.

Some of the findings aren't surprising. The United States and most industrialized nations rank high on the SWB index (indicated in deep red on the map). Poor and undeveloped countries, including Russia and most of the former Soviet republics, generally rank low (yellow on the map). There are no yellow countries and only one orange-yellow nation in all of the Western Hemisphere (French Guiana). There isn't a single country in Africa that is red or light red. Reviewing the map, I couldn't help but think of the U2 song, "Crumbs From Your Table:"

Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die

Unfortunately, in too many places in the world, that is exactly what it does. According to White, SWB generally correlates to health, wealth and basic education access. It would be easy to conclude that money buys happiness after looking at the map, and there is a case to be made to a degree. I wonder, though, if something is else more predictive of happiness, something that is frequently associated with good health, good income and good education: the resources and the ability to change your circumstances.

Does SWB boil down to a personal sense of empowerment? Consider that Mongolia, a poor nation in a remote location, is red. Then again, so is Saudi Arabia, and even Iran is orange. Albania and Bulgaria, former authoritarian Communist Bloc countries that continue to struggle economically, are yellow. Perhaps personal empowerment combined with political stability are prerequisites for happiness.

Progressive and (relatively) pacifist countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Canada rank highest on the list, all of them above the United States. Yes, they've benefited greatly from military strength of the U.S. and Western Europe, but should they also be telling us something? If so, my guess is that we should lighten up on worrying so much about moral issues and focus on making sure as many people as possible have enough to eat, access to sound medical care and the ability to read. Here's hoping this map someday looks like a giant tomato. [Image: University of Leicester]

Auction to benefit James Kim family

Several artists are holding an online auction to benefit James Kim, who passed away last month while attempting to save his family in the Oregon wilderness.

An auction of fine art + craft to benefit the family of James Kim organized by sisters Lisa Congdon and Stephanie Barnes and their mother Gerrie Congdon. 100% of the auction proceeds will go to the The James Kim Memorial Fund. Auction items from the artists listed below will be available for bid starting January 3, 2007on eBay. There will be a link to the eBay listing for each item from this site starting the morning of January 3. Bidding ends January 7th. Thank you for visiting and bidding!

This is a great cause for a family that has clearly been through a lot in the past several weeks. Spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested. [The image above is an abstracted quilt depicting Spooner Lake near Lake Tahoe by artist Gerrie Congdon. Source: Kim family auction blog site.]

Like we care

Now that New Year's Day has passed, I think we're safe to discard all of the kindness, compassion and peace-on-earth mumbo jumbo that we've been force-fed and spewed forth since mid-November.

Just kidding. Or am I? Why do we only celebrate (and encourage) compassion and goodwill once a year? If Christmas really is not our birthday, why can't every day be a little more like Christmas? Well, why can't every day be a little more like Christmas could be: Everyone could just try a little harder to treat each other with respect and kindness?

I don't mean the Southern flavor of kindness, the one where you pretend to be nice because you'd feel guilty if you didn't (guilty as charged, although at least we're not all swinging at each other down here). I mean the authentic variety where you take responsibility for yourself and your actions and think about other people pretty often, too.

Yes, this is a little idealistic, but I can be practical, too. I know we're all going to have days between now and 2008 where someone cuts us off in traffic, gives us a nasty look or flips us a bird. On some of those days, we're each going to be that someone, too, in one form or another. We're going to have bad days, and people are going to disagree with us. Still, I'd like to think that at least somewhere in our souls, nearly all of us meant what we said or read or sang (or all of the above) a week or two ago, including the parts about loving our neighbors and being kind to others.

It's not Christmas, and it won't be again for another 356 days, but let's all resolve to pretend that it is, OK? [Image: allposters.com]

Franklin cinema update

The Tennessean is reporting the following encouraging news this morning via its Web site:

Franklin Mayor Tom Miller says he is acting as a facilitator to bring together two potential financial backers who may buy or lease the 70-year-old, two-screen Franklin Cinema.

This is wonderful news for a beloved and historic venue scheduled to close permanently this Sunday night (Jan. 7). Mayor Miller says he is "guardedly optimistic," and I hope that his efforts are fruitful.

I've previously written about the Franklin Cinema's fate and acknowledged that I haven't done much to support it in the past. If it survives, I plan on seeing movies there more often. I'm pulling for you, Franklin Cinema! [Image: thefuntimesguide.com]

I can't say it any better...

Happy 2007 everyone!