Careful With the Cronies, Barack

I have been highly unimpressed with the reign of Arne Duncan over the Chicago Public Schools system. Most notorious among his "achievements" was the institution of the pay for grades program, where students get cash payments from the schools for each of their grades. CPS already has a big spending-per-pupil number, and this scambo doesn't do anything to improve it, in my judgement it just throws some hush money into the equation.

So I was rather disturbed to see that Barack was putting old Arne up for Secretary of Education. I know that Arne has a decent jump shot and he's an awesome rebounder, but after the White House basketball team finishes its season, there is some actual work to be done, and Checkbook Arne doesn't impress me as the guy to do it.

Then I caught a story in the SunTimes last Thursday that the CPS had spent $67,000 on expresso machines last year (along with some other interesting mal-administration, detailed in the audit), adding to the resume of Arne Duncan, Power Forward. Let's see, the CPS year in review...some loony preacher takes busses full of kids up to New Trier, cash payouts to kids, changing grades for athletes, spending $250,000 bussing kids into a school in Gage Park they weren't supposed to be in and expresso instead of algebra books. We're only half way through the school year, too, so there's surely more to come.

Arne might foul out early in this game. Maybe Barack should be looking for bench strength, say the accomplished veteran, Paul Vallas. I'm not sure about Paul's jump shot, though.