There is only one way to change things: we the people need to vote for leaders who will represent us. And I do mean vote.  Without citizen leaders who are elected to serve the people back home, we will continue as a pseudo-democracy resembling monkeys playing in circus tents. What we the people need to remember is how to restore the great experiment of democracy that was once placed in that shining city on the hill. None of this may surprise you. You may be thinking this is just one more story of... more

Little did I know that the Republican Party of my state, along with house assembly “leaders,” would take out its own sitting governor. These same leaders would be investigated and indicted within the same month for felony misuse of public office. This was more than simple “sibling rivalry”—it was something far more brutal. It involved Republican leaders smearing the reputation of their own political party’s governor and then ruining any future career he might have in public office. I... more

Evidence shows constructive district reactions to presence of charter schools in urban districts The McCormick Standard strongly recommends this article for the sake of an ‘honest’ dialogue about the future of public education in the United States. (Reposted from Educationnext.org) Charter school enrollment in urban areas has increased by 59 percent in the past 6 years, and their presence is inducing traditional public schools to respond, innovate, and look for improvement. Although some districts... more

The McCormick Standard strongly recommends this article for the sake of an ‘honest’ dialogue about the future of public education in the United States. Beginning teachers subsidize handsome payoffs to superintendents, guardians of the public interest (Reposted from Educationnext.org) The costs of retiree benefits for educators, including benefits for previous retirees, are consuming a large and growing share of public spending on K–12 education. Between 2004 and 2012, pension costs for public... more

Soul-searching took me to my first inspiration and role model in political office, Representative Earl McEssy. It was this man’s act of kindness after my father had died that lingers with me still. “Go to Representative McEssy if you or Mom need me after I am gone,” Dad told me when he knew that his death was certain. I remember standing in the hallway of Rep. McEssy’s large home on Forest Avenue, just down the block from ours. It was there that I would find the help my mother needed. It... more