Verne Duncan came from a period when public service was respected. True idealists went into public service. No longer the case. Public service nowadays is for the rich and powerful. Speeches on CSPAN are made to empty chambers because fellow members of Congress are in their offices dialing for dollars. When I worked for Child Welfare in Oregon, public service was respected, smart, intelligent idealists went into public service. Many were the cream of the crop. Less often the case. It began with Reagan and with Supreme Court decisions that allow legal bribery of politicians.
Speaking of Verne Duncan: In 1986 I was working for USA Today, on a four-month loan from the Salem Statesman Journal. My wife and I decided to visit New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., because the Rev. Jesse Jackson was scheduled to be the guest preacher. I looked across the pew aisle and there was Verne Duncan. New York Ave, where President Lincoln had worshiped, became our church home while away from Oregon. Duncan remains an active Presbyterian in Oregon, as am I.
Verne Duncan came from a period when public service was respected. True idealists went into public service. No longer the case. Public service nowadays is for the rich and powerful. Speeches on CSPAN are made to empty chambers because fellow members of Congress are in their offices dialing for dollars. When I worked for Child Welfare in Oregon, public service was respected, smart, intelligent idealists went into public service. Many were the cream of the crop. Less often the case. It began with Reagan and with Supreme Court decisions that allow legal bribery of politicians.
Speaking of Verne Duncan: In 1986 I was working for USA Today, on a four-month loan from the Salem Statesman Journal. My wife and I decided to visit New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., because the Rev. Jesse Jackson was scheduled to be the guest preacher. I looked across the pew aisle and there was Verne Duncan. New York Ave, where President Lincoln had worshiped, became our church home while away from Oregon. Duncan remains an active Presbyterian in Oregon, as am I.