Just one first-glance thought on Bush's 2005 budget

Anyone paying any attention to the presentation to Congress of the Bush Administration's 2005 budget must have been aware of the quoted 150 programs and agencies that were going to be targeted for elimination. Obviously we'll hear more about the details in the coming weeks as Congress, ahem, "massages" the budget, but the AP reported a snippet that was very encouraging for believers in not only limited government in principle, but local control for education specifically:

About one-third of the programs targeted for elimination are in the Education Department, including federal-grant programs for local schools in such areas as vocational education, supporting drug-free schools and Even Start, a $225 million literacy program.

We can be sure that Democrats and teachers' unions will cry foul, but those of us who see the requirements foisted on public schools by the NCLBA as doing more harm than good should be encouraged.