Twitter Fail. Also politics.

School started and I've been so busy that I forgot about my linking-blog-and-twitter business. However, I seem to have failed in my endeavor. A lot of the blogs I read have twitter pages, and they have the first 140 characters of their blog appear on their twitter, then the tiny URL. So far it seems as if just the tiny URL posts. Blah.

In any case, I'm hard at work finishing the paper for Education Policy Analysis. I'm over 1/2 way done... the political analysis section is taking longer than I would like. Political analysis has so many elements that it's hard to focus on merely a handful. I'm aiming for power (uh, duh), coalition building/bargaining, and agenda setting. He who controls the agenda controls the game. I guess power is really the governing concept here, though - because without power, you have nothing to bargain with or for, and without power, there's no way you can control the agenda.

Most people see politics as an ugly game but the theorists claim that it takes will and skill to exercise power - and often what people lack is the will, since they don't like the idea of power. I really like this quote from Boleman and Deal:

"Enduring differences lead to multiple interpretations of what is important and even what is true. Scarce resources require tough decisions about who gets what. Interdependence means that people cannot ignore one another; they need each other's assistance, support, and resources." (Boleman and Deal (2003). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. p. 204)