The Most Fantabulous Difference of Opinion Ever

In this corner we have Patrick Dowd, who on KDKA Radio told Fred Honsberger that the Promise is so ground breaking, so game changing, so paradigm shifting and earth shaking, that now is the time for all Pittsburghers to set aside concerns about public process, about long-term risks, and about unintended consequences -- and focus only on the immense growth sure to come about as a result of it.

And in this corner we have Char, who in not one post but two posts highlights the many differences between the Pittsburgh Promise and the oft-cited Kalamazoo Promise, including: who actually qualifies for scholarship aid, what the requirements are, where they may live, whether Pittsburgh's additional layers of complexity and uncertainty will be discouraging to parents contemplating a move to the city, and whether or not the tax environments of the two regions are even comparable.

Both think that sending some Pittsburgh children to college is better than sending none. Both are grateful to UPMC for providing the inspiration and the foundation.

One is so unreservedly enthusiastic, he's not pausing to really hear questions. The other is so cynical, she's throwing more and more tiny darts into the Promise on a daily basis.

Only in America! Only in the Burghosphere! Let's see the Kalamazphere compete with this!