Oh, the minds of politicians!
Caught, sometimes with their pants actually down, in some scandal or another — that, rather coincidentally, is the moment when political minds tend to experience a "flash of genius".
(Momentary digression: the film Flash of Genius, about a real flash of genius, starring Greg Kinnear, is awesome.)
Firmly ensconced in a scandal involving the likely intentional closing of lanes on a public road to punish a political rival (good thing the government is in charge of the roads, eh? Mayor Sokolich should count his lucky stars that it wasn't a medical emergency the governor held up. And there's a village in Pakistan that should count its lucky stars the governor doesn't have access to cruise missiles), Gov. Christie became positively inspired.
According to NBCNews, he decided to propose longer school days and an extended school calendar in last night's State of the State Address.
"Our school calendar is antiquated both educationally and culturally," he planned to say, according to notes from his speech that conveniently landed in the hands of an NBC reporter. "Life in 2014 demands something more for our students. It is time to lengthen both the school day and school year in New Jersey."
Yawn.
Uh, Governor: it's our schools themselves that are antiquated, both educationally and culturally. Subjecting children to twelve years of mind-numbing, stultifying boredom; rigid conformity; "zero-tolerance" insanity; civil liberties violations; ringing bells; rote learning; brutality; political-correctness; anti-male indoctrination; dumbed-down curricula; and hyper-sensitivity are among the many reasons that school is bad for children. Making them endure more isn't going to help one bit.
While we do appreciate your sudden concern, Gov. Christie, please get back to the business of screwing commuters, running for higher office, and other acts of political thuggery. It's the only thing a political mind actually understands.
