THE AUTHOR

What drives this blog is my family. My father, grandfather and aunt came to this country to escape death sentences. My uncle fled the Holocaust and was the only member of his family who survived. My grandfather was one of the most prominent German politicians of the last century. His unequivocal hate for Adolf Hitler earned him a death sentence. After the war, he returned to become mayor of Hamburg, rebuilding one of the WW II�s most devastated cities. My family taught me that we must constantly defend democracy and the idea of the level playing field that sustains it.

As for me, my writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Nation, In These Times, and others. Now disabled, I have worked as a college teacher and administrator, consultant to federal, state and local government agencies and head of a national school reform group. I have run for political office and served my community on various local commissions as well as youth coaching where I won one state AAU title. A former wilderness canoe guide, I still enjoy whatever outdoor activities my health permits. My wife is a Professor of Nursing and my son is serving his country working for Americorps in the Washington, D.C. inner city.