Anyone think that a new citizenship test should also apply to native-borns?
Would-be citizens no longer have to know who said, “Give me liberty or give me death,” or who wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner.” But they do have to know what Susan B. Anthony did and who the speaker of the House of Representatives is.
If you’re going to deny citizenship to people who’ve jumped through all these regulatory hoops, why not give the test to Cletus? What share of Americans know the answer to even one of these questions?
The true test of an American (immigrant or native born) is the ability to cut through byzantine bureaucracy to get what you want and need. Anyone on the verge of U.S. citizenship has already passed that test.
The Milken Foundation delivered the bad news:
Kentucky cities’ showing has slipped in this year’s “Best Performing Cities” index.
The index measures which cities are the most successful at job creation and retention and demonstrate the best overall economic performance.
It is compiled by The Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank, and Greenstreet Real Estate Partners, an investment and asset management company.
It ranks cities based on measures such as job growth, wage growth, high-tech output and population growth.
In the large city category, Louisville ranked No. 169 out of 200 cities. The city’s ranking in the last index, in 2005, was No. 151. Louisville’s best performance was in one-year job growth, ranking No. 107, and its worst was in high-tech output, ranking No. 169.
Lexington fell to No. 129 this year from No. 97 in 2005.
In the small city category, which ranked 179 cities, Bowling Green fell to No. 46 from No. 36 two years ago.
Owensboro fell to No. 153 this year from No. 126 in 2005.
The best-performing large city was Ocala, Fla., which owes its position to a robust housing market and consistent growth rankings in categories such as wages, job creation and high-tech output, according to the study.
The best-performing small city was Bend, Ore., which has experienced a 23.4 percent population increase during the past five years, outpacing the rest of the nation.
I don’t generally like rankings, but when you’re the 50th largest city and you rank near the bottom of a list of 200 cities for job creation and retention, there is something wrong.
Intra-blog discussions are always the best fodder.
I’m pulling for Milwaukee. No, it is not just because I spend 6 years living there as a member of the most hallowed and esteemed workforce they employ. (I was a bartender.) It’s because I adore the Cubbies.
I adore the Cubbies losing record. I love their perennial losing records. I love their fans, who show up at my hallowed home of Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark with annoying regularity anytime the Cubs are above .500. The Cubs are the only lovable losers left in American baseball.
For months now, the Cubs have been playing well and my erstwhile but well-meaning girlfriend has pointed this out to me. I maintain my original conviction: “They’ll blow it.”
They ALWAYS blow it. It’s part of their charm. At least Red Sox fans were merry and cheerful before they finally won the series. Cubs fans seem bitter, disappointed and constantly angry.
I admit it. I revel in seeing their hopes dashed. To me, that’s part of baseball. Long live baseball tradition.
But having been to six straight Brewers opening day celebrations in the parking lot of County Stadium and then Miller Park, I have to cheer on the other lovable losers, the brew crew. They aren’t just a team with a “cheese-brat buried so far up their asses,” they’re the ones that are going to send the Cubs home… again.
