May
3rd

Defining Social Security

Social Security is really a widely encompassing description for a variety of government assistance programs including Medicare, Medicaid, disability benefits and retirement programs, to name the most common. Social Security programs, specifically the retirement program, have long been considered a perilous “third rail” for politicians, meaning that if you tamper with the existing program you […]


Apr
25th

School Funding and Local Control

When we pay for something tangible, we own that thing and may use it, for the most part, as we see fit. This rule applies to our cars, our houses, our clothes, and on and on. If we want to paint all the windows in the house black, we can because we own it. Likewise, […]


Apr
21st

Realistic Expectations For Successful Education

In the world of racing, you will never see a race between a Ferrari, a Volkswagon van, and a bicycle. The reason you will never see this is because the three vehicles are in completely different classes with regards to maneuverability, performance, and power. But if for some reason such a race were to take […]


Apr
17th

A Nation of Teachers

Every event in a young persons life is a teaching moment, whether we recognize it as such or not. Every first sound, every new sight, every new sensation is an opportunity to learn, especially in the first few years of our lives. And as people grow they continue to learn new things and ideas and […]


Apr
14th

The Purpose of Public Education

It is not a misstatement to say that education is the equalizer of humanity. If you teach a person the skills to master modern civilization, they stand a much better chance of becoming a contributing, responsible member of the species. All parents wish that their children might someday have a “better” life than they had, […]


Apr
11th

Social Consciousness Or Social Charade

I’ve spent the last few days looking through my tattered, pocket-sized Constitution, searching high and low for the portions within that authorize or regulate our government’s implementation of various social programs that now are ubiquitous in America. I thought for sure that somewhere in the Constitution I would find something about education funding or medical […]


Mar
28th

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

When you mention recycling to most people, they instantly conjure images of aluminum cans, soda bottles, and old newspapers. For most of us, that is where recycling begins and ends. In our culture of replaceable products, the idea of reusing something, anything, is almost antithetical. Western culture and the rise of consumerism has instilled in […]


Mar
23rd

The Future of Energy

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy energized the imagination and aspirations of this nation with a challenge that was, for its time, simply fantastic. At the dawn of the space age, President Kennedy made it a national goal to send a man to the moon and return him to Earth safely. No matter that such […]


Mar
19th

Man vs. Earth (A Fight to the Finish?)

It is a uniquely human quality to destroy that which we depend on. Whether from a lack of knowledge, a lack of foresight, or a lack of caring, human advancement has exacted a heavy toll on the resources and species of Earth. To any rational person, that fact is indisputable. From the extraction of minerals […]


Mar
17th

The Framework of Society

Order and prosperity in societies depend upon more than just national security and an effective legal system. While both of those are vital to the longevity of a society, they are not enough to stimulate the productivity and achievement of society alone. A vibrant, healthy society requires an infrastructure that facilitates movement of goods and […]