Why another blog?
I have begun blogging because I want to express a point of view that I believe is missing from the commentariat. Here is where I am coming from:
1. I am blogging from a small town in west-central Illinois. As a small-school, high school teacher of history and government, I stay current with local, state and national news. This is a point of view rare among serious bloggers.
2. While I am very liberal, I believe I am also a practical observer of what is going on around me--again locally, in Illinois, and nationally/internationally.
3. As a Vietnam veteran (1972, Navy), I believe I have the legitimacy to comment on today's crop of chickenhawks and their easily-expressed opinions, now that they are too old for government service. It is endlessly fascinating to me that war hawks like Dick Cheney seem perfectly willing to sacrifice other's blood and our treasure in wars of foreign adventure, after he was "too busy" or had "other priorities," so couldn't be drafted on five different occasions.
4. I plan to do little original research but instead comment on what's already out there. I realize this puts me at least a step below those intrepid journalists I admire--those few who still actually practice the profession. Again: I believe I am different because of my perspective.
5. Other subjects I will tackle include Illinois state and local government and the disastrous state of public education--an institution I absolutely believe in but one that is being systematically mangled by bureaucrats and educational "experts" who understand little about American classrooms.
6. I will blog from two relatively unheard points of view: small-town/rural America, and America away from the "coasts." I will particularly point out our nation's big city and bi-coastal arrogance toward and dismissal of what is often called "the heartland." I don't think we're nearly as stupid and out-of-touch as those who live in crowded areas or near large bodies of water believe.
