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Quote of the day. “This is the higher education equivalent of the moon shot. The president is putting a bet on one sector to get a lot more graduates. They want to have a measurable impact on work force development.” Jamie Merisotis, president of the Lumina Foundation, which supports community college initiatives, on President Obama’s plan to increase funding for community colleges. (New York Times)
Sotomayor hearing. Sotomayor Emphasizes Objectivity, Explains 'Wise Latina' Remark “Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor sought yesterday to reframe critics' portrayal of her as a judge swayed by her gender and ethnicity.” Nominee Says Identity Wouldn’t Distort Decisions “Republican senators sparred with Judge Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday over racial bias, judicial activism and temperament as she presented herself as a reliable follower of precedent rather than a jurist shaped by gender and ethnicity, as some of her past speeches suggested.” Sotomayor answers her Senate critics in hearing “Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor proclaimed Tuesday that she would not let ethnic or gender biases influence her decisions on the court, during a grueling round of questioning from skeptical Republicans who vowed to pursue their tough examination of her record today.”
Health care. House Health Plan Outlines Higher Taxes on Rich “House Democratic leaders took a big step toward guaranteeing health insurance for most Americans as they unveiled a bill that detailed how they would expand coverage, slow the growth of Medicare, raise taxes on high-income people and penalize employers who do not provide health benefits to their workers.” House Democrats Propose Surtax on Wealth to Fund Health-Care Plan “House Democrats announced a plan yesterday that would force the richest 2 million U.S. taxpayers to shoulder much of the cost of an expansion of the nation's health-care system, by imposing a surtax of as much as 5.4 percent on income above $350,000 a year.” House Democrats unveil healthcare overhaul plan “Among the provisions in the 1,018-page bill: creation of a new government insurance option, increased regulation of the insurance industry and other steps to ensure near-universal medical coverage for the first time in U.S. history.”
Community colleges. Obama unveils plan to invest in community colleges “With unemployment continuing to climb, President Obama on Tuesday unveiled a plan to pump $12 billion into the nation's community colleges over the next 10 years to help struggling workers prepare for new careers, saying a better-educated workforce was crucial to long-term prosperity.” Obama Announces $12 Billion Community College Initiative “President Obama came to this economically struggling state Tuesday with a sobering message about its vanishing jobs and a promise of renewal through a new federal investment in community colleges.” A Boon to 2-Year Colleges, Affirming Their Value “The Obama administration’s proposal to provide $12 billion to community colleges is widely seen by educators as explicit recognition of the two-year colleges’ importance to the economy.”
Race & education testing. Racial Gap in Testing Sees Shift by Region “… black students have made important gains in several Southern states over two decades, while in some Northern states, black achievement has improved more slowly than white achievement, or has even declined, according to a study of the black-white achievement gap released Tuesday by the Department of Education.”
Unemployment. Part-Time Workers Mask Unemployment Woes “The national unemployment rate has risen to 9.5 percent, the highest level in more than a quarter-century. Yet it still excludes all those who have given up looking for a job and those part-time workers who want to be working full time.”
Climate change. U.S., China try to reach accord on reducing greenhouse gas emissions “The participation of these two polluting superpowers is essential to building a global consensus heading into next year's United Nations conference on climate change.” [UK] Government unveils sweeping plans to transform UK into low-carbon economy “The government has unveiled detailed plans for transforming the UK to a low-carbon economy and meeting its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Iran. U.S. urges Iran to respond to offer “U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to warn Iran that the U.S. will not extend its offer of engagement 'indefinitely.'" Supreme leader Khamenei diminished in Iranians' eyes “His decision in recent weeks to so stridently support the nation's controversial president after a disputed election has dramatically changed his image among his people, setting in motion an unpredictable series of events that could fundamentally change the Islamic Republic.”
Israel-Gaza. IDF soldier: Gazans used as human shields to check militants' homes “The soldier's testimony appears in a collection of accounts being published this week by Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects IDF soldiers' testimony on human rights abuses by the military.” Israeli soldiers in Gaza describe a 'moral Twilight Zone' “Israeli combat soldiers have acknowledged that they forced Palestinian civilians to serve as human shields, needlessly killed unarmed Gazans and improperly used white phosphorus shells to burn down buildings as part of Israel's three-week military offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter.”
Afghanistan. Army head calls for more troops “More troops are needed in the Afghan province of Helmand to provide security, the outgoing head of the British Army has told the BBC.” Afghan War’s Buried Bombs Put Risk in Every Step “And though the Afghan insurgency’s improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.’s, are less powerful or complex than those used in Iraq, they are becoming more common and more sophisticated with each week, American military officers say.”
Iraq. Iraqis have told U.S. military no patrols permitted in Baghdad “Two weeks after U.S. combat troops withdrew from Iraq's major cities, amid sporadic outbreaks of violence countrywide, Iraqi authorities aren't asking American forces for help. Although U.S. troops are 'just a radio call away,' in Baghdad and five other major urban areas, it appears the Iraqis haven't asked even once.”
Honduras. Hondurans 'have right to revolt' “Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has said his supporters have 'the right to insurrection' in their bid to see him reinstated.” In Deeply Divided Honduran Society, a Potentially Combustible Situation “The two diametrically opposed views underscore the deep divisions and simmering anger evident in Honduras, where those who support Zelaya are generally poor and those who oppose him tend to come from the middle and upper classes.”
Opinion. Obama's Scientific Peacemaker (Michael Gerson, Washington Post) “Collins's appointment says something good about the maturity of President Obama. This move has invited criticism from the secular left. It is unlikely to appease religious conservatives who assume cynicism from Obama. But this seems to be a case where the president simply picked the best person for the job. In the process, Obama has affirmed something important: that anti-supernaturalism is not a litmus test at the highest levels of science.” Goodbye Iraq, and Good Luck (Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times) “After we invaded and stabilized Bosnia, we didn’t just toss their competing factions the keys. President Bill Clinton organized the Dayton peace talks and Richard Holbrooke brokered a deal that has lasted to this day. Why are we not doing in Iraq what we did in Bosnia — when the outcome here is 100 times more important?”
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