escalation in the reading wars

I've mentioned a few times that Ed's been talking to a parent here who has spent quite a bit of time in Washington.

He says that in politics, when you start pushing things, people threaten to do two things:

• sue you
• investigate you

This will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I hope it stays with you, too.

So here's Representative George Miller threatening to put the Direct Instruction folks in jail:

Christopher Doherty, the former director of Reading First, defended his operation of the program. But Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and chairman of the education committee, said Reading First ''officials and contractors created an uneven playing field that favored certain products,'' particularly those that emphasized phonics.

Turning to the inspector general, Mr. Miller said, ''I think when we put the evidence together we may end up joining you in those criminal referrals.''

You have to love it, people playing hardball over phonics.

And by the way, should anyone want to stage a protest march in Washington with Representative George Miller's face plastered on every plackard, I'm available.

Seriously.

Go read Ken.