I was thrilled when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister. Thrilled. My devotion to him made me resent Tony Blair even before he supported Bush’s war when I suspect he knew it was a very bad endeavor. I may not have read the book The Pact, but I know Tony should have exited gracefully many years ago to allow Gordon his turn.

Finally Gordon’s administration began, my friends afar got great jobs, and I waited to see the wonderful things this incredibly smart, savvy, populist would do.  And his first year has been… less than stellar.  This piece in the The Guardian details part of the problem… a seemingly obsessive drive to learn every detail… which doesn’t allow for the accomplishment of much really. A workaholic, which is not a surpise.  Someone who needs to learn how to let go. 

I’ve noticed the best leaders generally aren’t the best folks on paper. I hope Gordon can turn things around and prove to be an exception.

That’s right, all the cool kids (at Harvard) are… pursuing careers in the money fields, like investment banking and management consulting.  This NY Times article brings up the notion that it is a little sad that our nation’s best and brightest are using their abilities and their top-notch education to get rich rather than to serve others.  Interesting how the students site the competitiveness of the process as part of the lure. Maybe we should create more competitive fellowships to pull kids like that into government, like Teach for America has done with (you guessed it) teaching.  Or maybe we should allow public service to draw on its own merits… maybe the type of folks are are more interested in service than in the money fields will prove more valuable in the long run.  Just a thought.

This is a fabulous companion article from The American Scholar:

The Disadvantages of
an Elite Education

Our best universities have forgotten
that the reason they exist is to make
minds, not careers

While Wes was very different in nature in many ways, thankfully, a lot of this is true… the entitlement, the track it puts you on, the willingness of those around you to cater to you, living the ”best and brightest” phenomenon. This is the best articulation of the issue that I have seen.

Plenty lost, little gained with out-of-wedlock motherhood

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has managed to completely reverse a nation’s attitude about drinking and driving, which used to be a joke, something to brag about, even cool. Today? We think it’s horrible, shameful, cruel, a selfish who-gives-a-damn.

What we need around here is a MADD-style reversal in attitude about unwed mothers and the who-gives-a-damn boys/men who bear zero responsibility for the life they made. Here are some possibilities: Mothers Against Deadbeat Dads. Or Mothers Against Doomed Deliveries. Or Mothers Against Delusional Daughters dreaming of a baby who will love them unconditionally – but they’ve got the unconditional backwards: It’s the mother who’s supposed to love unconditionally. Babies unconditionally need.  Full Article