OK, the cat’s out the bag. I live in Delaware, and only work in Philly. Why? My property tax is a quarter of what it would be in PA, and why would anybody want to live in over-taxed New Jersey? Cheap gas isn’t enough of a reason. Are the schools in PA four times better than Delaware? Hell no, they’re even better than PA in many cases. So who cares if you’re a few more miles from Center City Philadelphia? I have a bigger house, smaller mortgage and property tax payment, and thanks to all the companies that incorporate in Delaware (Bank of America, DuPont, etc.), there’s no need for a sales tax.

Now I’m a product of the Catholic schools on Long Island. My high school was such a Republican factory, it’s amazing I’m a Democrat. They cranked out many successful people from business to politics (we’re talking household names), and even, as I shake my head, Bill O’Reilly. I learned in speech and debate club early on that if you just tell the other person “you’re wrong” over and over, you’ll eventually win the argument, and the other person will give up and walk away. But how can such a fine institution (I really do like the place) graduate somebody like the leather man from the Village People? Oh, no! A faggot! In our ranks? Yes, class of ‘69. I kid you not.

So it really is no surprise that I’m in favor of uniforms. We had a strict dress code in high school, jacket and tie, not uniforms, but people need less choices, because if you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. And while charter schools have been successful in inner cities, they’ve also been a great tool here in Delaware for the gifted…a challenging push, but without the tuition bill of a Catholic school. But if you really want to increase the test scores, productivity, etc., SEPARATE THE BOYS AND GIRLS!!! The secret to my high school, for better or worse, was that we didn’t have girls. Yes, we had staircases, even though fairies fly. The bulk of us managed to fit in a social life with the fairer sex, but the pressing issue of the day was getting thought the 3 hours of nightly homework. Like they say in Rob and Big, “Do work!”