Donald B. Hawthorne

UPDATED: Excuse me, but this is NOT how to win friends & influence people in East Greenwich

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 24, 2007 |

Are East Greenwich teachers being asked to take “pay cuts” by the School Committee? The NEA says yes but cannot and will not prove it. What follows below is an analysis which shows the “pay cut” claim is a lie and that can only mean the NEA is intentionally misleading East Greenwich residents. Background In…

NEA “Pay Cut” Analysis Hostage Day Count: Day 3

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 24, 2007 |

Still nothing from the NEA so the “pay cut” analysis hostage day count continues. Day 3 is now history. We eagerly await a response! The offer to post it here on Anchor Rising remains open. Prove us wrong and we will admit to it. Or ‘fess up that your claim about East Greenwich teachers taking…

“Pay Cut” Analysis Hostage Day Count: Day 2

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 23, 2007 |

The NEA’s very public claim that the East Greenwich School Committee’s contract proposals would result in “pay cuts” for teachers has been discredited in this post and several earlier posts mentioned at the beginning of that referenced post. Along the way, many commentators on this blog and I have all challenged the NEA to put…

East Greenwich Pendulum Viewpoint: Clarifying the Teachers’ Union Contract Debate With Facts

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 20, 2007 |

Today’s East Greenwich Pendulum town newspaper contains a Viewpoint editorial in which I wrote these words: The NEA teachers’ union strike and their contract demands are not about doing right by our children or about education. They are about maximizing adult entitlements where the NEA is willing to use our children as pawns to get…

UPDATED: The Entitlement Mentality of Certain Union Teachers & Their Leaders

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 19, 2007 |

I got a phone call today which passed along the following story: When the Judge recently heard the case involving the illegal East Greenwich teachers’ union strike, a teacher went up to a parent at the courthouse and said “Thank you for your support.” To which the parent replied: “I am supporting my child’s education…

An Informed Patriotism Grounded in Thoughtfulness, Knowledge & Discussions Around the Dinner Table

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 19, 2007 |

An excerpt from Ronald Reagan’s Farewell Address: …Finally, there is a great tradition of warnings in presidential farewells, and I’ve got one that’s been on my mind for some time. But oddly enough it starts with one of the things I’m proudest of in the past eight years: the resurgence of national pride that I…

Quantifying the Trend Which Led to the 3050 Tax Cap Law

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 17, 2007 |

Why did the Rhode Island Senate Bill 3050 tax cap bill become the law of the land? Because of this unsustainable economic trend: …These [union] demands, as in past negotiations, have resulted in school spending – and therefore taxes – rising faster than the increases in the incomes of the working families and retirees who…

Lost & Then Found

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 16, 2007 |

From this morning’s Mass, just because… The hymn, Amazing Grace: Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That sav’d a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears reliev’d; How precious did that grace appear,…

East Greenwich Teachers’ Union Contract Negotiations Update

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 15, 2007 |

The East Greenwich School Committee met with the mediator and NEA union negotiators last night for over 7 hours. No progress occurred. Here is the Word document-based press release they issued today. This was the first time I have been disappointed in the public statements of the School Committee. If I was on the School…

The Teachers’ Unions’ Lack of Moral Character

By Donald B. Hawthorne | September 15, 2007 |

In my most recent post, I wrote these words: “We will learn a lot in the coming weeks and months about the priorities and values of the various stakeholders, won’t we?” Yes, indeed. Reinforcing the point of that question, John McCain is quoted in an earlier post about war: “Character,” writes the younger [John] McCain,…