http://politicalcivility.com/blog8 Constructive Political Dialogue's New Home Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:37:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In education circles (see NEA Foundation -- Building A Profession -- the NEA has decided not to call themselves a union anymore but by the more modern term: a teacher organization) I have heard talk about really 'professionalizing' the teacher function so that those working everyday to educate our children can be looked at ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/07/21/uea-dilemma/ Many of you may have seen the news story in today's papers (here's the DesNews version) that North American missionaries will no longer be sent to Russia.  As a former Russian missionary (I served in St. Petersburg), this is sad news, but I can't say unexpected.  Last year when I ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/07/15/russia-goes-dark/ According to Mayor Joe Thomas, most mayors in Utah are there for ribbon cuttings and to talk up the city, but they lack any real authority to make meaningful change.  One of the major eye openers for Thomas was coming to the quick realization that what most citizens don't realize is ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/07/09/utahs-mayors-figureheads/ I posted awhile back on possible campaign finance reform.  Obviously the best campaign reform starts with "we the people," versus some mandate from back in Washington, which is why I am very happy to see that the McCain-Feingold bill continues to see defeat after defeat in the courts. Most recently the ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/07/07/mccain-feingold-continues-to-crack/ With tomorrow being Independence Day, a "patriotic" post is in order.  Today I read two OpEd pieces, one from John McCain and the other written by Barack Obama where each puts to paper his own definition of Patriotism.  I enjoyed reading both and appreciated the sentiments articulated on the whole and ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/07/03/defining-patriotism/ Because every now and then a string of comments or a topic I write about forces me to take a long hard look in the mirror.  My post from Monday and yesterday and the ensuing comment threads did just that.  After the past couple of days, I am more convinced ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/07/02/why-i-love-blogging/ What's next a 35 hour work week? http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3625548 I have a sinking feeling that whole going to the DMV experience just got much worse.  I guess on the bright side, friday commutes should get a little lighter. http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/07/01/utah-becoming-france/ Ponder this quote from Allan Bloom, author of The Closing of the American Mind: "Indignation is the soul's defense against the wound of doubt about its own; it reorders the cosmos to support the justice of its cause...Recognizing indignation for what it is constitutes knowledge of the soul." Example No.1 from SLCSpin: ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/06/30/the-next-time-your-blood-boils/ Last week I was at an education conference in Orlando and heard some very interesting presentations on a wide range of education reforms.  One of the most interesting sessions I attended featured the former Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent, Roy Romer (Romer is also a former Democratic governor of ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/06/25/biggest-obstacles-to-quality-teaching-teachers-unions/ To no one's surprise, the LDS church has come out in strong support of the passage of CA's marriage amendment, which will be on the ballot in November.  This open support for marriage puts the age old question back on the table for politicians and here in Utah for Mormons, ... http://politicalcivility.com/blog8/2008/06/24/gay-marriage-debate-brings-up-old-question-dilemma/