QUESTION: Any 9-12ers in CT? Please reply...

QUESTION: any 9-12ers in Connecticut? please reply...

I respectfully disagree with playing by the other side's rules. For me, it boils down to character. You should do the right thing no matter what, no matter who is or isn't watching. Winning elections isn't EVERYTHING...or the ONLY thing; preserving our nation's historical values is what matters most. To do that, we must become citizens who faithfully exhibit moral character.

William Wilberforce labored for YEARS in the British Parliament to abolish the slave trade. When he could have made backroom deals and bullied people into his camp, he decided to go about things the legal and moral way. His conscience and character remained intact while he rallied for liberty for ALL people.

Just like the scores of other White House employees, he was hired by President Obama--not elected. The only "guaranteed" way he could be removed from his position is to elect a different President in 2012.

However, if you look at previous administrations, press secretaries don't always stay the length of the Presidential term. You can always hope his stint is short-lived.

Oh, one more thing...My dad always said, "Never become so 'educated' that you lose common sense." There's a danger to having too much head knowledge without any practical hands-on experience of whether all of those "educated" theories actually work.

A few thoughts about the idea that "everyone should go to college"...
1) If the school system adequately educated everyone, a high school diploma would be worth something--like it was when my parents graduated in the 1960's. They didn't go to college but had good, stable jobs; high school (for my mom) and technical school (for my dad) prepared them for lifelong vocations in finance and the skilled trades. You cannot excuse the school system because we have made numerous technological advances since that generation. Kids are able to learn the technology quite fast; it's the problem-solving and critical thinking skills that they're lacking--not to mention a moral compass.

2) College education still doesn't guarantee you a stable, well-paying job. Look at all of the college and grad school graduates who are either not making enough to pay off their school loans quickly or are unemployed; unfortunately, level of education doesn't equal gainful or stable employment.

3) FInally, why do we want to deny people the opportunity to pursue their own career dreams for the sake of having a college diploma? We would be taking away a person's chance to find a truly satisfying career. My dad was HAPPY to be a skilled tradesman; outside of work, he was ALWAYS building or making something. So many people try to leave their "work" at the workplace; I think it's because they're not in their dream job.

We have become so disillusioned with the current two party political system because neither party has been faithful to the ideals our Founding Fathers set forth in the Constitution. When someone mentions "political party" we can be prone to run for the hills. However, historically, specific political parties, like the Whig and Federalist parties, phased out and the members of those parties formed "new" parties or joined already established ones. It's happened more often than many people realize.

Our country was not founded by professional politicians or stalwart members of a particular political party; rather, it was founded by people who were willing to sacrifice everything for individual liberty. Both the Republican and Democrat parties have been guilty of fostering bigger government, using different ideological catchphrases to dupe the masses for "the greater good."

If returning to the principles our Founding Fathers based this country on does not become part of the "party platform" for either these two groups, we may need a another way to change our government. It might just mean starting a third party that eventually takes enough ground from one of the other two, causing the loser to fade away, and then becomes part of the "mainstream" political climate.

Here's a link to the news article about the protest today...

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/05/alan-k...