2014

Parents should embrace educator role In my book Neil Zeron was one of the greats.  As a rookie teacher struggling to hold my head above water in a sea of 13-year-olds…

Blaming victims, victimizing blameless Behind every personal and/or group interaction, what Herman Melville calls the “living act, the undoubted deed,” is a message intended to communicate a psychological construct or emotion…

Our republic needs to be saved Lately there has been considerable conversation, including a letter in last week’s Courant by Dave Stahl, about the ongoing militarization of our local police forces. …

Education key to drop in teen pregnancy It’s that time of the year—school’s back in session—and with it will come the incessant, oftentimes acrimonious debate over the state of public education.…

Americans’ views seem contradictory A few recent news items, each powerfully pointing a finger at us and to our system, disconcertingly indicate why things are askew. The first deals with the…

A civics lesson on a living Constitution A letter writer to the Denver Post wrote, “Colorado citizens voted against gay marriage. Now we have judges (who were not voted in, but…

Time for school board to come clean “A little water clears us of this deed.” – Lady Macbeth Let’s pick up where I left off last week: with the untimely decapitation…

Life lessons can be a rude awakening he other day a friend asked me how I come up with ideas about which to write, and I told her the problem isn’t…

Imagining a news conference with Cory Gardner “It’s simple: Mark Udall is avoiding an unpopular president,” former state GOP chairman Dick Wadhams told the Denver Post after Sen. Udall chose to…

Business and religion don’t mix “The court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield,” writes Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg about the recently adjudicated Hobby Lobby case.  In it her…

It’s good to find common ground Three rulings made last week a good one for civil liberties and, therefore, for civil libertarians, despite one ruling causing consternation for some women and…

Slacker a boon for runners, Clear Creek It’s called the Slacker given it’s primarily a downhill course, but running 13.1 miles beginning near 11,000 feet is still taxing.  Runners from Europe,…

Democracy all about listening It was great to read Dave Stahl’s letter to the editor last week about Sen. Mark Udall being a senator who listens.   Way too often we read…

School Board owes Clear Creek public an explanation Stunned, like so many in Clear Creek.  Todd Lancaster, home-grown superintendent unceremoniously axed in a chaotic forum that according to several accounts resembled…

Maya Angelou showed a rare form of courage The news of Maya Angelou’s passing reverberated through me.  Though not a big woman, she stood tall among modern American writers and poets…