Sent this to my paper I am somewhat puzzled by today’s - TopicsExpress

Sent this to my paper I am somewhat puzzled by today’s conservatives and the convenience, based on the subject matter, of their principles. When it comes to keeping our nation safe, they cannot throw enough money at the Department of Defense. They defend the obscene salaries and bonuses of the Wall Street people based on the concept of high salaries bring the best and the brightest. They continue this line of thinking even after the “best and the brightest” nearly destroyed our county. Strangely, when it comes to educating our children, they want to throw less money in that direction. They play on the public’s desire to blame someone and tell us to blame the teachers and their union. Many people seem to accept this argument without giving it any thought. I’ve not found a single private sector job that was lost because we had too many teachers or we pay them too much. Newt Gingrich made a big deal last campaign out of the record number of people on food stamps. I would argue that the fact so many qualify for food stamps is a failure of Capitalism. The fact these people don’t starve is a success of government. Teachers are not our enemy: they are the hope for the future. In order to compete in the global economy, we will need well educated citizens. Our future security depends on how well we educate our children. Viewing teachers as public enemies does not help