LCCC Dems host presentation by author Andrea Batista Schlesinger Oct. 18

The Laramie County Community College Democrats in Cheyenne kicked off their first semester of existence this week with a successful bake sale (loved those brownies).

Next up: A presentation by Andrea Batista Schlesinger, author of "The Death of 'Why?': The Decline of Questioning and the Future of Democracy." It will be held in the LCCC Student Lounge on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Free and open to the public.

Wyoming Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities plans "public meeting by phone" Friday

My two children were both served by Individualized Education Plans (I.E.P.) during their time in Laramie County School System No. 1. My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5 and my daughter struggled with mental health issues and learning disabilities.

I bring this up because the Wyoming Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities, the group that advises the Wyoming Department of Education on services for youth with disabilities, is conducting a "public meeting by phone" Friday. One of the hard lessons learned by parents of special needs' students is that eternal vigilance is the price of a public school education. There are a whole set of federal regulations that assist students with disabilities. School administrators aren't always up to date on those rules and regs. Sometimes they know the rules but choose to ignore them. This would be a great time to point out that there are superb administrators and counselors in our school system -- I'm looking at you, Cheyenne Central High School. But many of our schools can do better.

My kids have left the K-12 system and are on their own (and doing very well, thank you). If you have a child whose needs are not getting met, get on the phone Friday and see what's happening:

The Wyoming Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities will hold a public meeting by phone Friday to discuss proposed rules for student seclusion and restraint, among other issues.

The panel, which advises the Wyoming Department of Education about ways to promote services for children and youth with disabilities, will also talk about an upcoming federal report that examines the unmet needs of such students, said Barb Yates, the panel's administrative assistant.

As required under a new state law, the panel is asking for public comment on proposed rules for when and how students can be secluded or restrained while in school.

Yates said the panel may decide to offer its recommendations on the policy as well.

The meeting will be held from 8 a.m. until noon at the Wyoming Advisory Panel for Students with Disabilities' Riverton office. Members of the public may offer their opinions to the panel from 11:30 a.m. until noon by calling 877-278-8686; the passcode is 095102.

Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_f12ec331-1f66-5eea-9777-9b3df0c04996.html#ixzz1XvjqWUg7

The Progressive: ALEC, Republicans Beat Up On Kids in Special Ed

To see what's coming Wyoming's way in the form of ALEC-sponsored "education" bills, read this story in The Progressive: ALEC, Republicans Beat Up On Kids in Special Ed

Wyoming Republican legislators will be traveling to the ALEC wingnut conference in August to get their marching orders for the next session. Beating up on special ed kids will be in the mix.

I am the father of two children who benefited from the very comprehensive special education programs offered in public schools in Colorado, Maryland and Wyoming. While not all teachers and administrators were easy to work with, they all had to comply with federal regulations as spelled out in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other legislation.

It's a different story in private schools. Those schools do not have to comply with IDEA. And some of those schools according to The Progressive, are fly-by-night academies who prey on parents desperate for solutions to their children with learning disabilities and/or behavior problems.

1971: Eighteen-year-olds get the vote; 1972: Nixon wins in landslide

Marching for the vote in 1971

In 1971, the U.S. Congress ratified the 26th amendment, lowering the voting age to 18.

I was five months shy of 21. New amendment or no new amendment, I as going to be eligible to vote for president in 1972. My politics were rapidly shifting from conservative to somewhat liberal. I had lost my ROTC scholarship in January but still had my college deferment at U of South Carolina. This was a good thing since my draft number was 128, low enough to go if I ever was 1-A. So my politics were this: convince Pres. Nixon to get out of Vietnam before I had to go there. Or elect someone else who would get us out.

Self-serving? Of course, that's what politics is about. If it hits home, it's important at election time. It's the economy, stupid. Or, it's the war, stupid, especially if you're draft-bait.

One word about the draft as practiced by U.S. Selective Service: unfair. If you don't believe me, read the exhaustive and sometimes dense book on the subject: "Chance and Circumstance: The Draft, the War an the Vietnam Generation." The authors, Lawrence M. Baskir and William A. Strauss, were members of Pres. Gerald Ford's clemency board. The book was out of print in 1990 when I read it on microfiche for a writing project at CSU. I was lucky to find the cover art (see photo).

In November of 1972, I found myself voting in an historic church on Boston's Beacon Hill. I voted for George McGovern, a U.S. Senator from South Dakota, a World War II combat veteran, and an odd person to be an anti-war firebrand. McGovern lost, the Vietnam War continued until April 1975. More young Americans died and many more Vietnamese. This is one of the roots of my stubborn Democratic Party voting pattern and my antiwar activism.

I am astonished that everyone doesn't vote. I was astonished by this in 1972, although the polls were darn crowded on that cold Boston night -- I was outside waiting in line. But was less impressed when the results came in, with only Massachusetts and D.C. coming in for Sen. McGovern.

Young voters came out big for Obama in 2008 (read Pres. Obama's proclamation celebrating the 26th amendment anniversary here). They disappeared in 2010. What will they do in 2012, with the the future of America hanging in the balance?

It's good to remember an historic event such as the ratification of the 26th amendment. But when it's 100 years old, it may just be an historical oddity.

Warning to Governors: Don't use publicly-employed Guard troops to quash dissent by public employees

I've had sidebar links for both Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and its older brother, Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) for years. I am not a veteran but support them and their causes.

This time, they're standing with their fellow public employees. This sums it up:

We believe military service members are public employees too. It is dishonorable to suggest that military personnel should be deployed against teachers, health care providers, firefighters, police officers, and other government employees, many of whom are themselves serving in the National Guard.

It's true that U.S. Army and National Guard troops have sometimes been deployed to quash dissent. This happened regularly during the Vietnam War protests in the sixties and early seventies. I was a ROTC student at University of South Carolina in the spring of 1970 when the Guard was called out to police the campus after Kent State protests erupted. Some of the Guard guys were Carolina students, which made it strange. To my knowledge, none of them beat the crap out of their fellow students. It was a different matter with S.C. Highway Patrol troopers, who swarmed into dorms and beat up any longhairs they could find.

The Guard has been deployed by Governors to carry out racist and anti-union policies. In September 1957, Gov. Faubus called out the Arkansas National Guard to make sure that African-American students didn't enter the state university.

Arkansas National Guard commander blocks black students from entering their taxpayer-supported
university 

Only after Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Guard and sent in the 101st Airborne, did these brave students (Little Rock Nine) get to attend the university that their tax dollars supported.

Does this seem crazy? I was six years old and don't really remember it. But I look back on it and am astonished that this happened in my country.

Here's another photo pitting soldiers against workers from the IVAW web site.

And, finally, a quote from the IVAW web site:

Troops have been called out in the past against worker strikes, campus protests, and urban uprisings. However, recent events in Egypt and numerous examples from U.S. history have shown that service members have the power to side with the people and refuse to use violence against their fellow citizens. Troops activated for duty in Madison, WI will have to decide if public sector workers are really the enemy. IVAW says they are not and that troops should support workers fighting for decent jobs, wages, and benefits.

Teachers, get out your yardsticks to see if classroom flags measure up

Culled from this week's legislative report from the Wyoming Democrats:

Patriotism in the classroom (HB 204):  Rep. Gerald Gay (R-Casper) introduced legislation that would require all classrooms to have a standard sized American flag and that at the first period of each day students must recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  It also requires school boards to "ensure that no other flag or banner containing a political message or connotation is displayed higher" than the flag and that they have a policy for students who do not wish to recite the pledge.  The proposal passed the House on Monday and the Senate Minerals Committee on Friday on a vote of 4-1.  It now goes to the full Senate.

Wyoming teachers survived a legislative assault on their status as tenured educators. However, they now will have to carry a yardstick at all times, not to whack student knuckles (I went to Catholic school) but to ensure the proper size of the U.S. flag in their classrooms. No more of those disruptive "My American flag is bigger than yours" battles among teachers. When asked by their parents if their school room has a standard-sized American flag made in China, students can now answer loudly and proudly "yes!" or add emphasis with the German "yavohl!"

What are the consequences should a first-grader refuse to recite the pledge to the standard-size U.S. flag? That's when teachers will be allowed to use their yardsticks in a punitive manner. The details have yet to be worked out, but I'm sure Rep. Gay is working this weekend on the guidelines.

See how simple legislation can be? 

Wyoming's UPLIFT displays the better side of human nature

It was a week marked by savagery and bravery.

A disturbed young man shoots 18 people in front of a Tucson grocery store. Six of them die, the rest wounded, one -- Rep. Giffords -- critically.

Amidst the slaughter, people rushed to save the wounded and subdue the attacker. You're heard the stories, if not from Cable news than from Pres. Obama's eloquent speech at Wednesday's memorial.

What causes some people to run away from chaos and others to run toward it? I've been asking myself that question all week. Daniel Hernandez ran toward the gunfire and tended to his boss's wounds. He didn't leave her side until the ambulance got her to the hospital. When he spoke Wednesday, we saw a self-confident and self-effacing 20-year-old college student. He's devoted himself to a life of public service. We saw that commitment to both the "public" and "service" parts of the equation this week.

When challenged, we will sacrifice our own lives to help our fellow humans. This is the good side of our nature, the empathetic and charitable side. Researchers announced recently that there is a part of us -- the "altruism gene" -- that promotes charitable instincts. We also know that there are parts of us that respond to the venal and violent.

In the end, which wins out? Physiology is only part of it. Family upbringing makes a difference, as do other role models. Intelligence and education do to too, although we know that many sins have been committed by "the best and brightest." Religion can play a part. Again, many slaughters have been committed by the righteous.

I was thinking of this yesterday during the quarterly board meeting of UPLIFT in Cheyenne. We are a volunteer board of 14 members. We just welcomed a new one, LaWahna Stickney, from Thayne. We now are a truly statewide board, with members from Cheyenne, Laramie, Casper and Thayne. Most of us became involved in children's mental health and behavioral issues because our own children were struggling. Teachers complained that our kids were unruly and defiant. Other parents complained when our children got aggressive on the playground. We were at wit's end at home because we could not understand why our little darlings were such monsters. Weren't we kind and generous and educated human beings?

We were stymied when we attempted to find help in the community. We were either told outright -- or it was implied -- that we were bad parents with bad kids. We knew that wasn't true. By the time our son, Kevin, was five, we'd seen practically every specialist along Colorado's Front Range. We finally found a psychiatrist in Fort Collins, Dr. James Kagan, who diagnosed Kevin with ADHD and helped put us on the right road. That involved medication in the form of Ritalin. Therapy, too. But we still had this weird sense that we were all alone in this, that it was our struggle to bear and understand.

Finding UPLIFT when we moved to Cheyenne gave us some handy tools, especially when it came to dealing with schools. We also found similar struggles among its staff and board. We discovered helpful ways to deal with schools. It was cathartic to share our stories and hear those of others.

Here's UPLIFT's mission statement:

Encouraging success and stability for children and youth with or at risk of emotional, behavioral, learning, developmental, or physical disorders at home, school, and in the community.

UPLIFT just marked its 20th anniversary of service to Wyoming. At yesterday's board meeting, we heard details of our recent financial setbacks. UPLIFT is an organization that gets 97 percent of its funding from governmental (mostly federal) sources. Sometimes you get turned down for grants, and sometimes funding streams dry up. Strings are attached to most government funding. So, while your organization has a significant budget, you may not have enough money to pay for the basics, such as salaries, electricity and a office space. It's a truism in the world of non-profits -- keeping the lights on is the biggest challenge.

UPLIFT had to cut the administration budget. That includes salaries and benefits, including health insurance. Two employees left because that health insurance was crucial to them -- many employees have kids with special needs. One employee moved out of state. The ones that remained not only stayed and worked with their clients around this very rural state, but they even stopped claiming travel reimbursements. Some employees even made cash contributions. That's something, isn't it? Salaries and benefits get cut, yet you still find the means to put some cash in the kitty.

They know that this is a short-term problem. They also know that the cuts bring pain to their boss, Peggy Nikkel. They are certain of the good work they do and don't want it to stop or interrupted. Most of their time is spent working with families. They accompany parents to school meetings, helping them make sense of the requirements with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Individualized Education Programs. At these meetings, the principal and school psychologist and half the teachers are arrayed against you. We have had several of UPLIFT's family support specialists (Judy Bredthauer, for one) at these meetings and it made a huge difference. They are cool and calm and knowledgeable. They can get tough when presented with intransigence. But the main thing is that schools now know that UPLIFT can be trusted. Oftentimes, they welcome the participation of UPLIFT staffers.

As I've recounted often on these pages, Wyoming is a huge, rural state with many challenges when it comes to children's mental health.

UPLIFT, an affiliate of the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, fills a huge gap. Its staffers don't provide clinical services, but they are the great connectors between families and those services. They can translate government regulations. For cash-strapped families, they find funding. They make sense of the great big world of mental health.

They are on a mission. Maybe, as were the Blues Brothers, they are on a mission from God. Whatever their motivations, they come from the better side of human nature.

By the way, if you want to stimulate your own better natures, you can donate to UPLIFT by going here.

Looking for help, call toll free 888-875-4383.

"Three Cups of Tea" author Greg Mortenson to speak in Cheyenne March 29

From a post on Facebook (cross-posted from wyomingarts blog):

Two-time Nobel Prize nominee Greg Mortenson will share insightful commentary and stunning photography to educate and promote awareness of the importance of primary education, literacy and cross-cultural understanding about the remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

He will speak at the Taco John’s Events Center in Cheyenne on Tuesday, March 29, 7-10 p.m. Limited amount of tickets go on sale on Friday, Jan. 7. Tickets: $5 Students (K-College)/$15 General Public. Contact the Taco Johns Events Center at (307) 433-0025 or on-line at www.cheyennecity.org

Greg Mortenson promotes peace through education. He is the co-founder of nonprofit Central Asia Institute www.ikat.org, founder of Pennies For Peace www.penniesforpeace.org, and co-author of New York Times bestseller "Three Cups of Tea" which has sold over 4 million copies, been published in 47 countries, and a New York Times bestseller since its 2007 release, and Time Magazine Asia Book of The Year.Mortenson’s new book, "Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books Not Bombs, In Afghanistan and Pakistan," was released by Viking on December 1, 2009.

As of 2010, Mortenson has established over 145 schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide education to over 64,000 children, including 52,000 girls, where few education opportunities existed before.

Laramie County Partners are bringing Greg Mortenson to Cheyenne for a series of activities, including talking to school children and a public event in the evening on March 29. The partners include: Laramie County Community College Foundation, Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne Rotary, Laramie County Library, Laramie County Library Foundation and Laramie County School District No. 1.

http://www.facebook.com/LaramieCountyPartnersPresentGregMortenson

Tea Party Slim's budget worries

My old pal, Tea Party Slim, told me that he had a great time at this week’s inaugural festivities in Cheyenne.

“Now that Republicans rule the roost, the days of government throwing money at problems are a thing of the past.”

“What’s the government throwing money at?” I asked this in all sincerity.

“Education, for one. We throw more and more money at the public education system and still get the same results. Why not cut funding and see if that helps.”

“Why not just eliminate public school spending?” I said. “Home-school all the kids. Put those overpaid socialistic unionized teachers out of work.”

Slim smiled. “Sen. Hank Coe has those socialistic unionized teachers in his sights. He’s proposing a bill to end teacher tenure.”

“That’s one way to save money. Get rid of all those highly-paid experienced teachers and replace them with low-paid inexperienced teachers. Better yet, just close all those expensive schools and do that book-learnin’ at home. If it was good enough for pioneers, it’s good enough for us.”

Slim chuckled. “If this wasn’t such a great all-Republican week, I might take offense at that.”

“What other ways will the Legislature save money?”

“Glad you asked. End Obamacare. It’s expensive and unconstitutional. Gov. Mead says that we can do health care better in Wyoming because we have true grit.”

“Didn’t a legislator propose a bill that would earmark $2 million for that lawsuit against healthcare reform?”

“It’s not an earmark. And you know as well as I do, Mike, that lawyers cost money.”

“But it’s the Wyoming Attorney General’s office that’s doing the suing. Aren’t those AG attorneys state employees getting paid at the high end of the scale?”

“Sure, but you have expenses.”

“Lots and lots of trips to D.C. Phone calls. Photocopies.”

“Research, too. Lots and lots of research.”

“Still, $2 million is a lot of money for a lawsuit that doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding.”

“Says you. “ He chuckled again. “You’re not going to ruin this week for me. I’m feeling good and I plan on feeling this way right through the next presidential election.”

“When Sarah Palin gets elected?”

“She supports the Tea Party. She’s from Alaska – and an N.R.A. member. She’d be a great president.”

I could have fallen off my chair laughing. But I let it go. “What other cost-cutting measures are in the works?

“I have two words for you: illegal immigration.”

I waited patiently for more. When nothing was forthcoming, I had to ask how stopping illegal immigration into Wyoming would save the state money.

“Illegals are taking our jobs. Those jobs should go to Americans. We have unemployed people in this state.”

“We have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. Jobs go begging at fast-food joints and motels and farms. Illegals do the jobs that we don’t want to do.”

“We educate their kids too – and teach them English. That’s expensive. And don’t forget law enforcement. You’ve seen what those Mexican gangs are doing in Arizona. Cutting off people’s heads! You don’t want that here, do you?”

“Gov. Brewer invented the story about headless corpses littering the Arizona desert.”

Slim removed his hat and placed it over his heart. “Gov. Brewer is our hero. Don’t say anything bad about that great lady. She’s saving her state by kicking out illegals and stopping unnecessary heart transplants.”

“Not to mention head transplants.” I laughed this time.

“You Liberals think you’re all so smart. But you’re a dying breed in this state.”

“Don’ I know it. What are you going to do when all the Liberals are gone and this is the only one-party state in the U.S.A.?”

“Have a party,” said Slim with a grin. “And put up a big fence.”

“Won’t that be expensive?”

Slim looked thoughtful for a minute. “Unemployed teachers can build it. We’ll pay them Wyoming’s minimum wage, which is the lowest in the country.”

It was my turn to be thoughtful. “That would save the state money.”

“And we’d all sleep better at night knowing that we live in the safest and most secure place on earth.”

UPLIFT presents Rodger McDaniel with public service award

Photos by Mindy Dahl

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle education reporter Josh Mitchell wrote about UPLIFT’s 20th anniversary celebration in Wednesday’s edition.

The celebration was held Tuesday evening in the Cole Elementary school gym. One of my fellow UPLIFT board members, Brenda Ducharme, teaches at the school.

UPLIFT, the Wyoming affiliate of Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, presented Rodger McDaniel (shown in lower left in photo with UPLIFT Director Peggy Nickell) with its public service award. McDaniel is the outgoing director of the Wyoming Department of Health’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Division. He will be missed.

I served with Rodger in the early 1990s on the first board of Laramie County Habitat for Humanity. I moved on to other volunteer roles and a few years later, Rodger and his family were in Nicaragua directing that country’s Habitat projects. He returned to his law practice, became an ordained minister and was eventually tapped by Gov. Dave Freudenthal for public service. His retirement was announced last week.

Rodger’s been crucial in bringing vision to a state that struggles with some rotten mental health and drug abuse statistics. Crisis centers – even in the Capital City – are few and far between, as are clinicians. The division’s Medicaid Waiver program for children and teens have helped pay for residential treatment and, even more importantly, aftercare when the child returns home.

Here’s hoping that Rodger and his colleagues have put us on a course that even 2010-style regressive politics can’t change. Wyoming’s new “Code of the West” may be fine for ropin’ and brandin’, but it doesn’t help curtail alarming teen suicide statistics and the state’s shortage of quality children's mental health treatment.

Josh interviewed me for the Nov. 17 story. My two cents worth:

Mike Shay is an UPLIFT board member and both of his children received help from the organization.

UPLIFT outreach coordinators attend school meetings with parents, Shay noted. The organization helps navigate parents through the complex system and connects families with different services, Shay added.

“UPLIFT”s been crucial in Wyoming,” Shay said.

I’d send you to the WTE site to read the rest, but it’s not on there.

As I've said here before, my son struggled with ADHD and my daughter has mental health issues. Both were helped by the incredible UPLIFT staff. We need these professionals to navigate school and government and treatment centers. They serve as guides to us confused, stressed-out parents.

You can find out more about UPLIFT at http://www.upliftwy.org/

On Veterans Day... A story from the front lines of empathy

Six days before Veterans Day 2010, Afghanistan War veteran and author Wes Moore had this message:

“As a society, we need to be more empathetic, tolerant and proactive.”

This was unlike other speeches I would hear in the week leading up to Nov. 11. It was a crowd of some 700 people whose mission includes empathy, tolerance and activism. It is the annual gathering of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. While I’m sure there were military veterans in the room, most attendees you would fall under that term sneared at by Mrs. Palin and her pals -- community organizers.

Lest you think that Mr. Moore is some namby-pamby community organizer…. Well, he is a community organizer. Not much namby in his pamby (or vice versa).

He served in Afghanistan in 2005-2006 with the U.S. Army’s elite First Brigade of the 82nd Airborne. Trained in the art of combat and the art of jumping out of planes in full battle gear. He grew up in a single-parent family in a tough Baltimore neighborhood. He graduated from military school and Johns Hopkins. He later became a Rhodes Scholar and studied in scores of foreign countries. He was special assistant to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2007. He writes. He thinks. Soon, he’ll be a father for the first time.

We should be thanking him for his service. Instead, he thanked us.

“Thanks for the work you do,” he said on this chilly Atlanta Friday. “There’s no way we can advance in society with only a sliver of society engaging in the conversation.”

He added that there are “no expendable kids and no expendable zip codes.”

As a teen, Moore felt that he was expendable. He started getting in trouble. His mom was scared. She found a military school who agreed to take her son. He went to Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania -- but wasn’t happy about it. Moore ran away. His mom sent him back. He ran away again. His mom sent him back. After returning from his fifth AWOL, Moore felt something click in him. He found himself in the midst of an opportunity. He was being encouraged to excel.

So he did.

As he pursued military service and education, Moore discovered that others who had grown up in his neighborhood were falling through the cracks in those beat-up mean streets.

One was Wes Moore – the one in the title of the book The Other Wes Moore. He and three other young men robbed a jewelry store. As they fled with $400,000 in stolen goods, one of the men drew a gun and shot and killed an off-duty Baltimore police officer. A multi-state manhunt ensued. The robbers were captured and tried. The other Wes Moore now serves a life sentence without parole in prison.

“This was the wind in the back of the project – I wanted people to understand these neighborhoods we come from.”

Moore corresponded with the other Wes Moore and later they met face-to-face. Soldier Moore found out that Prisoner Moore was smart and tough. He wanted no pity but agreed with Soldier Moore that action was needed to save other neighborhood kids.

“We can’t look at them as ‘those kids,’ “ Moore said. “We need to say ‘our kids.’ “

He added: “Potential in the U.S. is universal but opportunity is not. The biggest gap we have in our country is the expectation gap.”

We applauded wildly, of course. We all agreed on the mission. How could we not. Poor kids and kids of a different color and kids with mental health issues all need to be considered “our kids.” But we diverge on the methods.

Moore asked us to consider some things.

"You are out there every day and know we can’t wait for someone else to figure it out,” he said. “Answers don’t lie in state capitol buildings, they lie in our communities.

“You are all the change agents.”

He didn’t say it but I was thinking it – you can’t count on solutions from the federal government. We are moving away from that dynamic. Community organizers need to think more creatively about the first word in this description – community. For too long, we’ve looked at money and answers to come raining down from D.C. Most of the time, the answers were coming from us, although there was that fed cash, too.

But the rains have turned to showers and, once the weird new Congress is in place, a drought will surely follow.

We’ve already seen that with our Wyoming federation affiliate. Some of the government funding sources are drying up. Corporate and private sources don’t have the cash to spare. How will our youth get services during the coming drought?

Moore isn’t waiting around for someone else to take the lead. He wrote a book. He’s speaking to all kinds of groups, motivating grass-roots work on mental health and fatherhood in the black community and prison recidivism. He works with the kids in his old neighborhood and in New Jersey where he now lives (in the photo, Wes is talking to students at Patterson Middle School). He’s tackling it head-on, just the tactic you might expect from an Army officer turned community organizer.

“We have a saying in the Army – you can’t hit a target you can’t see,” he said. That got a spirited hoo-ah from the back of the room. Moore acknowledged it and moved on. He’s a mover.

Wes, since I didn’t get a chance to say this last week when you signed my book: “Thanks for your service. Happy Veterans Day.”

Wes Moore's book info: The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, 256 pages, Spiegel & Grau, ISBN-10: 0385528191; ISBN-13: 978-0385528191