Do You Like Muslims?

News flash!  40% of Americans don't like Muslims!  So what?  At least 50% of Americans don't like Republicans.  And I hope every American doesn't like the Dallas Cowboys.  And the University of North Carolina.


Each of us is entitled to like or not like whoever we wish.  Not liking people of a certain race is not racism; not liking Muslims is not racism; not liking old people is not ageism.  You have to actually treat all members of a class differently to even begin to raise a moral issue.  And I would argue that you have to treat all members of a class badly for it to become a moral issue. 


The thought police want you to believe you must like blacks or gays or Muslims or whatever, or else you're a racist or sexist or whatever, whether or not you actually do anything.  Don't buy it. 

Teachers Unions Win Again

The teachers unions have prevailed once again in their quest to keep American students less educated than their non-American counterparts.  The feckless American education system has been deteriorating for a long time, with American students falling further and further behind.  No Child Left Behind was the best hope for improving American education to emerge in many years.  It was instituted in the Bush years and supported by the Obama administration (one of the too few good accomplishments of that administration).  But relentless lobbying by the teachers unions has now succeeded in forcing a wary and weary Congress and a beaten-down President to agree to gutting No Child Left Behind.  This is a sad day for  American education.