That's pretty sweet. Congratulations, and good on you for visiting the schools so much and bringing in some civic activism in actions and not just in words. I have to tell you, I feel terribly guilty around kids --- sometimes I'm just about overwhelmed when I think about what a raw deal that kids today are going to experience, thanks to boomers like us (and Xers).

One thing I do like to make sure kids know: they can opt out of the Pentagon's recruitment databases. It's important.

Happy belated Birthday Amanda!

So cool that you spend so much time at Madison! My father, whom was going to school full time during the morning, and working nights, volunteered several time weekly at my school. Not only did he impact my life with his dedication, he became the defacto parent to so many other students too. At the time, I saw jealousy; as an adult, I admire his ability to spread so much love to sooo many. I'm glad you shared the story from your special day!

Many happy returns Amanda! Glad you are finally catching up.

Dave Lister

Clarification: I visit schools a lot, but I'm at Wilson most days, Madison and other schools occasionally. So it was especially nice of the Senators to put my name on the reader board (hint, hint, Trojans!) Sorry, I see how my choice of words was unclear in the post.

George, one of my favorite volunteer tasks was at Wilson High School registration, where we had a station (along with photographs, locker cards, etc) to hand students/parents a booklet on district policies and explain their rights with regard to military recruitment. Then last year, I was told parents weren't allowed to do that any more. All we did was point to the opt-out box on the registration form. So last year, I gave the information while handing out the student schedules, instead :)

At Monday's PPS school board meeting, the Military & Draft Counseling Project came out in force to protest the district's decision to deny access to counter-recruiters when military recruiters are present in our schools. They gave reasonable (and impassioned) testimony, and need our support.

They encourage all who are interested in this issue to write to the school board and superintendent about this issue. They don't have a Web site, but I posted their call to action on my blog.