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
A couple of friends asked if I would join them to watch the movie “Boys in the Boat.” Having spent most of my life on the East Coast, this movie was not particularly significant to me. Now, residing in the Pacific Northwest its importance in this region became obvious. In 1936 in this part of … More Winning The Race, Losing The Gold
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
Is the party over – the Republican Party that is? This is not a description to demean but rather to warn of the demise of the current Republican Party through a review of the significant detours which it has taken. Political parties are not necessarily permanent political fixtures. Parties endure as long as they alter … More Is the party over – the Republican Party that is? (6 min read)
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
Grumbling about federal control of local lands is nothing new. Understanding how the federal government came into possession of land does matter. The US government owns about half of western lands. This is partly due to the fact that much of the territory in the western United States is either mountainous or dry and infertile … More Public Lands for Profit or Public?
Phil's Personal Perspectives 