“This country was built on American respect for education” R. Reagan. Thomas Jefferson warned that government “tyranny” would emerge unless “the people at large” were “educated at the common expense of all.” Yet more than half of Americans (51%) say our public education system is going in the wrong direction. We have been “fixing” education since … More Golden Rule Days
“O say does that star spangled-banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” The American flag still waves today, but does it wave over the land of the free? Our nation, any nation, claiming Democracy must work to increase freedom for its citizens. That’s a word we all … More Defining Freedom
Are people with moderate views an endangered species? Does our entrenched two-party system block new competitors, restrict voter choice and ensure their near-total domination of our elected leaders? Does it even matter, does anyone really care? People are disgusted and concerned about the dysfunction we see our our election process. Can we change the system … More Open Primaries/Ranked Choice Voting
Wars often have an accidental beginning. History demonstrates this to us. Do our leaders acknowledge that? In my earlier days perhaps motivated by self interest I studied the US entry, as a nation, into the Vietnam conflict. Did our leaders actually visualize a monolithic communism, comprised of various countries, spreading their unified tentacles across the … More Containment Forgotten/Accidental Wars
Open space is essential for any community but is the public buying land for open space a rational way to regulate development and keep growth orderly? Are there other options that work to both provide open space and distribute density? Growth equates to development, more houses, apartments, roads and traffic. Those are only some of … More Growing Separately Together
In rapidly growing communities, the need for a traffic management information center (TMC) should never be decided based on political misbeliefs but rather facts. In a community where extremists abound a proposed traffic management center (TMC) was suddenly dropped by the regional planning organization after at least two public meetings with over 300 people objecting … More Reason Must Supersede Self Preservation
Why would anyone believe depleting funds public schools need by giving public money to private schools would improve public education. We are told our public schools are failing. We accept that without question. Why? We all were educated, got jobs, raised families following the American dream believing education is the path to achieve it. Have we stopped believing … More Is American Education Failing or Are We?
Is Public Education “Woke”? Improving education is the claim of elected types across America. They’ll have a fight on their hands by extremists who see public education as a dragon to be slain, which is sad because it’s actually a knight in shining armor. (CDA Press). What do the extremists across our country hope to … More Is Public Education “Woke”?
Get the wall finished, more storage containers and buses headed North. Some leaders yell people illegally crossing our Southern border are headed for a dramatic increase if Title 42 is ended. Republican attorneys general in 15 states have argued that ending Title 42 will increase the flow of migrants into the U.S. What is Title … More Title 42 for Who(m)?
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. These two awards are bestowed by the president of the United States and by Congress to recognize people who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, … More An Honorable Person
Phil's Personal Perspectives 