Still waiting for Megan McArdle's return from Cambodia, I point those who share her certainty that public school supporters wouldn't possibly send their own children to distressed urban school systems to this article on James Liebman. He used to be my criminal law professor, but he now works for Chancellor Joel Klein as chief accountability officer for the New York City public school system. Even NYC has some public schools good enough that the affluent liberals McArdle rails against will send their children to them, as Liebman's kids attend schools that earned an A and a B on his report card. Students whose schools under-perform have the option to enroll at better schools, including at the public charters.

My current professors in the NYTimes: Perhaps envious of Gordon's prescient piece on A-Rod's signaling, Coffee has an analysis of the Barry Bonds prosecution in today's paper. I admit to some confusion regarding a sentence in the first paragraph: "Unless the government has an undisclosed eyewitness who saw Bonds receive injections or heard him admit to steroid use, this trial stacks up as a classic credibility contest."

Wouldn't testimony from someone who heard Bonds admit to steroid use be considered hearsay? I'm running the hearsay exceptions song (contrary to the YouTube description, created by E-Spat's classmate) in my head and can't think of one that fits the situation. I suppose there is the hearsay exemption for admission by a party-opponent, though that would seem to force Bonds into testifying so he can say the government's witness is a liar. On the other hand, Coffee notes that waiving his 5th Amendment right would be very unwise. (The prior statement by a witness exemption doesn't work because the statement to which the government's witness would testify wouldn't have been made under oath.)