While You're At It, Why Not Let Dubai Run the Schools?

A friend of mine wrote earlier today to suggest that, while they're handing over control of things like ports (Bush Aides Stand Firm, Saying Port Deal Raises No Alarms NYT), maybe the Bush Administration should bring in a United Arab Emirates-controlled company to run a few of the nation's largest public school systems.

There are lots of reasons why giving a Dubai-based company control of school systems like Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle would be fun. For starters, it would give Democrats something to complain and look tough (though idiotic) about. And, among educators, it would blow the whole privatization argument out of the water.

Why bother talking about mere domestic companies taking over public education when there are foreign-controlled corporations in the mix?