Fire power.

• Author: Peters, Charles
• Position: TILTING at windmills - Brief article

We have a problem in Washington, where identifying incompetent bureaucrats is often met with charges of racism. The reality is that the majority of the city's employees are black, so a lot of the incompetents are black. This incompetence is probably worst at the administrative offices in D.C., where it is hard to find anyone who knows what he or she is doing.

Michelle Rhee, the new head of the D.C. school system, is trying to get authority to fire those who need to be fired. Predictably, some of the politicians are resisting.

A few weeks ago I was watching a city council meeting on television--okay, I know this proves I'm a masochist--as Rhee explained to the council that she only wanted the same authority they had to hire and fire their staff. Some council members bristled. She had them. Instead of admitting it, however, they became...