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UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL
End the witch hunt

Leak probe reflects city's culture of secrecy

Too many in the city's political establishment – rather than own up to the gross negligence and mismanagement that led to the systematic underfunding of San Diego's pension system – are determined to punish those who object to the culture of secrecy that led to the pension scandal and now keeps its sordid details hidden from the public.

Californians still have a month until the special election, but it's hard to imagine we'll see a more dishonest TV commercial than the one now running against Proposition 75, which would bar public employee unions from using employees' dues money for political purposes without their written consent. The commercial features a teacher named Lisa Dickason earnestly proclaiming, "If Prop. 75 passes, who's going to be there to speak for teachers – and who's going to be there to speak for students?"

The claim that the goals of teachers are in sync with the needs of students is laughable. All you need to confirm this is a look at the California Teachers Association Web site (www.cta.org). If the CTA were really concerned about improving schools, the site would be brimming with policy proposals and ideas about reform. Instead, its agenda is one-dimensional: increasing teachers' pay and perks while preventing objective evaluation of teachers' competence. This is why we see outrages like the Michigan teachers union blocking a bequest of $200 million to set up charter schools in cash-strapped Detroit simply because the charters' likely success would show up teachers in other public schools. This isn't hardball. It's, well, disgusting.

I can't decide which is more nauseating: Bill Bennett's stupid remarks suggesting that aborting black babies could solve the crime problem; or the way in which some of Bennett's pals in the conservative media have tried to excuse what he said by pooh-poohing the idea that his remarks were, in any way, offensive.