Monday Morning Reads

A few quick notes ...

» The Dynamo have won their second-consecutive MLS Championship. Does anyone really care?

» Decent Chronicle profile of CD22's Nick Lampson. I'm sure many of his votes will give the loyalist base their own bit of grief. But I suspect that a Republican being sworn in in 2009 would be received far worse.

» Annette Dwyer for City Council District E ... that's from District E's very own Democratic activist, John Coby. It'll be interesting to see where other Dem types go in the dual-GOP runoff. Stace, fwiw, has noted his preference for his own local in the hunt, Mike Sullivan. A few more voices in this mix ought to make the conversation even more interesting.

» Seeking a 'Gold Standard' in D.C. Charter Education (Jay Mathews)

Leading into my project for next week, this is a pretty good indicator of some of what I'm sure to cover. I've been a fan of charter schools for a long while, but there's a good deal of work that needs to happen in order for them to maintain their advantage. Mathews identifies a certification system for the better performing schools. It strikes me as interesting that such a concept has taken hold when it's been - for the past 8 years, at least - a government perogative to certify and label schools. It sure would seem more fitting to allow a third-party independent group with a stake in the outcome to do some of this. Guess some conservatives actually do think that government has some of the answers ;-)

» Mike Huckabee's obviously been making some strides in the polls lately. And not the bogus Ron Paul polls. One aspect of his strategy that hasn't gotten much pub is his outreach to churches. Frank Lockwood notes that Huckabee has taped segments for appearing on Kenneth Copeland's broadcast. Huckbee's also made a stop at Southlake, TX's Gateway Church (6/16/2007). I'm guessing that wasn't his only jaunt to the pulpit set. There's bound to be others. Anyone looked through some Iowa church websites?

In a way, I like Huck. there's an element of fairness in him that's admirable. He's defended the Clinton's marriage as well as Hillary's faith. There's loads of areas where I disagree with him on policy, of course. But at a point in time where everyone seems to mint their own coin of insult, Huckabee warrants a little praise there. On the downside, his sense of humor is lacking and I'd bet that it puts a damper on the ability of people to connect to him. Still, he's in the second-place mix with Thompson and McCain ... ya know, the two guys whose inexorable rise to the top was all-but-certain at various points in the past?

» Speaking of pastors under federal investigation, I made it out to see Joyce Meyer Friday night. Joyce - aka, the second coming of Polly Holiday* - actually wasn't all that bad. My primary draw was the music of Darlene Zschech, which was decidedly and very much my cup of tea.

Oh, and a little extra something to think about this morning here in H-town:

* - If you're a real glutton for punishment, try this link for your Polly Holliday fix!