Introduction
Public education in Virginia has had a long, strange history. Most of the current laws regarding the establishment of school systems date to 1950 and §22.1 of the Virginia code establishing that school boards shall be established by a school board selection commission either elected by the population or appointed by the county “governing body”, in most jurisdictions a county board of supervisors.
I will not get into the philosophy of the Middle-East conflict. Palestinians believe wholeheartedly that the land today occupied by Israel was promised to them by their God. Likewise, Jews and Christians believe that land was given to them by theirs. I do not debate either of these points, as neither has any validity over the other. The land is land, it can be shared, it should be shared. This is my stance.
Florida, the United States’ 27th state, is being returned to Spain for repairs under a colonial-era warranty plan. Britain acquired Florida from Spain, who had allied with the French, after winning the French and Indian War in 1763. Part of the Treaty of Paris agreement ending the war included a 300 year warranty against defects for the modern-day State of Florida.
(Written for Prof. Mandaville’s Intro. to International Politics [GOVT132] class at George Mason University.)
Introduction
“The Promised Land” is what Israelis call the land that is today the nation of Israel, though their Palestinian neighbors would beg to differ. This region of the middle-east has been a hotbed of religious and ethnic conflict for nearly as long as humans have had the ability to write about it, but in these modern times of explosives and firearms the bloodshed reaches levels unfathomable in Biblical times.
You know, the more time I spend at this “George Mason” place the more I realize that despite its respected Public Policy department, it has some real troubles with its own public policy. When I first came here, I thought college was just absolutely wonderful. But as the “euphoria-of-newfound-freedom” and such wears off, the ugly face of public education is rearing its head again to me—but this time, it’s costing LOTS of money.
Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.
