Links of the Usual Variety

Paul Krugman on 9/11. Truer words.

I finally watched "Waiting for Superman." Just because it can make me get teary-eyed doesn't mean it's true. (I'm looking at you, Spiderman 2.) That is to say, public education probably isn't as bad as you might think, charter schools are not uniformly excellent, and teachers' unions are not the devil. My favorite ridiculous lie in the film is claiming that more money clearly does no good and it's not a question of bad neighborhoods or broken families, then holding up the success in Harlem as a shining example, while ignoring that those successful charters receive tons of extra private financial support and have an approach that starts with the parents in the child's infancy.

NYRB has a fantastic takedown of the movie here, and another couple related book reviews by the same author here. (h/t JS)

USA Today is looking into whether there was cheating during Michelle Rhee's supposedly miraculous tenure as DC schools chief here.

The New Yorker film review, with some insight, is here.

Here the New Yorker says the crisis is overblown.

Lastly, no matter how much I ride my bike, or we all choose to conserve on our own, Earth is doomed without major policy changes. Isn't that a happy thought?

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