Oh man talk about shifting....:(

[BanginJimmy]

We have a very capable military ready to go, how is that not back up? Better yet Economic sanctions that are crippling even to the Hussein ruled Iraq.. theres surely more than one way to skin a cat. Diplomacy works and it saves lives, that is hardly appeasement.

Our military is capable, but we still need to use it once in a while to remind people. When a dictator can blatantly ignore diplomacy for a decade then something needs to be done.

Sanctions were crippling to the average Iraqi citizen, but not to Saddam. In a country that the leadership needs to be at last like they care about the welfare of it citizens this would be enough, but Saddam didnt care about the civilians so it was useless.

And what kind of competition should there be in education?

Competition among private schools. If a parent wants to send their child to a private school then the school should receive a voucher covering the tuition to that school up to what it would cost the govt for the same child for the saem year. At worst this would cause the govt to break even, at best the govt would save money.

Competing to get the teacher to know your name because there are 30 other students in your class room? Because that is the problem that we have now, rather than competing these kids need teachers that can devote the time attention needed to help them succeed.

America spends more money per student than several of the countries that outrank us in education so money isnt the issue. The issue is the poor quality of education they are receiving.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Edu.../EdNotes42.cfm

http://kapio.kcc.hawaii.edu/upload/fullnews.php?id=52 (8th paragraph)

Education is not a free market economy.

I know its not, and thats a big part of the problem.