Scott Douglas’ Terse Bloviation

From 7/17/09 column:

If you visit a four-year college, you can predict what sort of student you are going to bump into. If you visit a community college, you have no idea.

From 6/16/09 column:

Because you have a lofty perspective on things, you know there are basically two ways to fix this mess. There is the liberal way, in which the government takes over the health care system and decides who gets what. And then there is the conservative way, in which cost-conscious consumers make choices in the context of a competitive marketplace.

From column of 6/5/09:

That means they contain both sides of The Great Tension. In Chicago, there is a tension between the lakefront and the neighborhoods inland. The lakefront tends to be idealistic, earnest and liberal. The neighborhoods are clever, cautious and Machiavellian. In all great endeavors, the Obama administration weaves together both of these tendencies.

From May 8, 2009 column:

These results are powerful evidence in a long-running debate. Some experts, mostly surrounding the education establishment, argue that schools alone can’t produce big changes. The problems are in society, and you have to work on broader issues like economic inequality. Reformers, on the other hand, have argued that school-based approaches can produce big results.

I’m in one of those stages with no big projects or adventures or cool trips to look forward to, so I need to remind myself to not forget quotidian items that reliably pierce the clouds. Ten off the top of my head:

1. Solo trail runs.
2. Trail runs with friends.
3. First 83 cups of coffee in the morning.
4. Dinner with Stacey.
5. Harold Mabern at full force.
6. For some reason, merino wool tops make me very happy.
7. A good chai is nice.
8. Interesting e-mail exchanges.
9. Perusing Slate.
10. At some point during the day, each of the pets does something that makes me smile.

Your list?

According to Forbes, Stacey and I have lived in two of the three most livable metro areas in the U.S. Portland tops their no-doubt 100% accurate list, with Bethesda, Md. and Des Moines rounding out the top three.

To be honest, I haven’t done more than scan the beginning of the article, so maybe later on it clarifies that Bethesda is considered most livable for McMansion-loving/traffic-loving/former school class president/unjustifiably self-satisfied uptight overachievers whose preferred architectural style is silos.

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Look out world! The demo process for the next great band, Reistershell, has begun.

It’s true, Maine has a slower pace of life than the D.C. area. Consider the following, found by Stacey this morning:

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The Portland Daily Sun is published Tuesday through Saturday

From 2/3/09 column:

The essence of the problem is this: Rich people used to set their own norms. For example, if one rich person wanted to use the company helicopter to aerate the ponds on his properties, and the other rich people on his board of directors thought this a sensible thing to do, then he could go ahead and do it without any serious repercussions.

But now, after the TARP, the auto bailout, the stimulus package, the Fed rescue packages and various other federal interventions, rich people no longer get to set their own rules. Now lifestyle standards for the privileged class are set by people who live in Ward Three.