“Corruption and Good Governance” in the County.

…Vote “No” to Question J and H

Mr. Rushern Baker –The current County Executive for Prince George’s County is known not to be a man of his word according to Prince George’s County NAACP Chapter and is deeply involved in the scandal comprising Dr. kevin Maxwell .

It never hurts when a company’s founder wins the Nobel prize for the product it makes or a leader who has shown extra-ordinary qualities in times of difficulties. However, news reports that, CEO Maxwell of Prince George’s County received an award for environmental conservation when no one has ever seen him advocate for such in Prince George’s County is a questionable exercise. Could it be this is a decoy for after we published an expose for hiring Mr. Christian Rhodes recently? We will let you be the judge.

Prince George’s County needs sustained reporting on malfeasance in public life. The continuous reporting has resulted in the ouster of corrupt officials and raised public awareness on the need for reform. If there has to be an award to the county’s CEO Maxwell, it needs to be an award for his promotion of hostile work environment. >> Read more Dr. Kevin Maxwell takes a bizarre turn! 

Elements of a Hostile Work Environment Claim

Determining harassment or discrimination is fact-specific and the elements that must be established depend on the type alleged. In general, to establish that a person has been harassed or discriminated against under Maryland Law Against Discrimination, that person must show the following five elements to establish a hostile work environment claim:

(1) They are a qualified individual under protected class for example they could have disability;
(2) They were subjected to unwelcome harassment;
(3) The harassment was based on the person’s class or status;
(4) The harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter a term, condition, or privilege of employment; and
(5) Some factual basis exists to impute liability for the harassment to the employer.

“Reasonable Person Standard”

In addition, to recover on a hostile environment claim, a plaintiff must demonstrate not only that he subjectively perceived his workplace environment as hostile, but also that a reasonable person would so perceive it — that it was objectively hostile. Factors to consider

• frequency of the discriminatory conduct;
• its severity;
• whether it is physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; and
• whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance.

In Prince George’s county, Dr. Maxwell has failed to address the issues of hostile work environment and his actions speaks volumes in recent months. Claims against Prince George’s County and other employers within are rising, with a majority alleging employees or former employees were subjected to a “hostile work environment” or “hostility in the workplace.”  To any keen observer, this is failed leadership out to squander public cash through the back door.

In an influential essay titled “Leading From Within,” educational writer and consultant Parker Palmer introduces a powerful metaphor to dramatize the distinction between ethical and unethical leadership. According to Palmer, the difference between moral and immoral leaders is as sharp as the contrast between light and darkness, between heaven and hell.

Leadership

A leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to create the conditions under which other people must live and move and have their being, conditions that can be either as illuminating as heaven or as shadowy as hell. A leader must take special responsibility for what’s going on inside his or her own self, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.

Leaders have the power to illuminate the lives of followers or to cover them in darkness. They cast light when they master ethical challenges of leadership. They cast shadows when they (1) abuse power, (2) hoard privileges, (3) mismanage information, (4) act inconsistently, (5) misplace or betray loyalties, and (6) fail to assume responsibilities.

 According to professor Kellerman, bad leaders can be ineffective, unethical, or ineffective and unethical. She identifies seven types of bad leaders:

1. Incompetent:  These leaders don’t have the motivation or ability to sustain effective action. They may lack emotional or academic intelligence, for example, or be careless, distracted, or sloppy. Some can’t function under stress, and their communication and decisions suffer as a result. Former International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch (1961–2000) is one example of an incompetent leader. Toward the end of his tenure he turned a blind eye to commercialism, drug scandals, and corruption in the Olympic movement.
2.  Rigid:  Rigid leaders may be competent, but they are unyielding, unable to accept new ideas, new information, or changing conditions. Thabo Mbeki is one such leader. After becoming president of South Africa in 1999, he insisted that HIV did not cause AIDS and withheld antiretroviral drugs from HIV-positive women. These medications would have dramatically cut the transmission of the disease to their babies.
3. Intemperate:  Intemperate leaders lack self-control and are enabled by followers who don’t want to intervene or can’t. Marion Barry, Jr.’s political career demonstrates intemperate leadership in action. Barry served as mayor of Washington, DC, from 1979 to 1991. He ignored widespread corruption in his administration, perhaps in part because he was busy cheating on his wife and doing drugs. Barry was convicted of possessing crack cocaine and served 6 months in jail. After being released from prison, he was elected to the city council in 1992 and was reelected as mayor in 1994. During his administrations, the district’s schools and public services deteriorated while the murder rate soared.
4.  Callous: The callous leader is uncaring or unkind, ignoring or downplaying the needs, wants, and wishes of followers. Former hotel magnate Leona Helmsley personifies the callous leader. She earned the title “The Queen of Mean” by screaming at employees and firing them for minor infractions such as having dirty fingernails. Helmsley later served time for tax evasion. (She once quipped, “Only the little people pay taxes.”)
5.  Corrupt: These leaders and at least some of their followers lie, cheat, and steal. They put self-interest ahead of public interest. Former United Way of America chief William Aramony is an example of this type of leader. Aramony used United Way funds to buy and furnish an apartment for his girlfriend and to pay for vacations. His top financial officers helped him hide his illegal actions. Aramony and his colleagues were convicted on fraud-related charges.
6. Insular:  The insular leader draws a clear boundary between the welfare of his or her immediate group or organization and outsiders. Former President Bill Clinton behaved in an insular manner when he didn’t intervene in the Rwandan genocide that took the lives of 800,000–1 million people in 1994. He later traveled to Africa to apologize for failing to act even though he had reliable information describing how thousands of Tutsis were being hacked to death by their Hutu neighbors.
7. Evil: Evil leaders commit atrocities, using their power to inflict severe physical or psychological harm. Foday Sankoh is one example of an evil leader. He started a civil war in Sierra Leone in 1991. His army, which included many boy soldiers, carried out a campaign of rape and murder. The rebels were also known for chopping off the legs, hands, and arms of innocent civilians.

 We know where light is coming from by looking at the shadows.

—Humanities scholar Paul Woodruff

Dr. Kevin Maxwell seemed like a good fit in the very beginning but has proved himself to be something else. He is clearly being used by Mr. Rushern Baker regime and others for selfish motives including for high salaries at the expense of poor children and for improper influence within PGCPS District. Every time he gets criticized for making mistakes, the county leadership or some other external forces promotes him for some kind of an award to confuse the public everything is ok.  

 The Behaviors and Personal Characteristics of Toxic Leaders

Destructive Behaviors	Toxic Qualities
Leaving followers worse off	Lack of integrity
Violating human rights	Insatiable ambition
Feeding followers’ illusions; creating dependence	Enormous egos
Playing to the basest fears and needs of followers	Arrogance
Stifling criticism; enforcing compliance	Amorality (unable to discern right from wrong)
Misleading followers	Avarice (greed)
Subverting ethical organizational structures and processes	Reckless disregard for the costs of their actions
Engaging in unethical, illegal, and criminal acts	Cowardice (won’t make tough choices)
Building totalitarian regimes	Failure to understand problems
Failing to nurture followers, including successors	Incompetent in key leadership situations
Setting constituents against one another
Encouraging followers to hate or destroy others
Identifying scapegoats
Making themselves indispensable
Ignoring or promoting incompetence, cronyism, and corruption

SOURCE: Adapted from Lipman-Blumen, J. (2005). The allure of toxic leaders: Why we follow destructive bosses and corrupt politicians—and how we can survive them. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, pp. 19–23.

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Read more >>> Rebranding of Prince George’s through Vote 2014.

>>>Maxwell hires former Baker aide and creates yet another Blunder.

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Maxwell hires former Baker aide and creates yet another Blunder.

Prince George’s County Schools Chief Kevin M. Maxwell has hired Christian Rhodes, the education adviser to County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, to join his executive team.

Rhodes will become the executive board liaison and strategic partners officer.

Rhodes was a union official before he joined Baker’s staff almost two years ago. He previously served as a political organizer for the Maryland State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.

As Baker’s education adviser, Rhodes was tasked with improving coordination among various branches of county government, including the formulation of the school budget, pursuit of educational innovation and reform and advocacy on both a state and national level, all roles traditionally held by the school board.

He described his new duties as an extension of his old ones.

He will help to build a collaborative relationship between the school system and it’s partners, including the county executive, the County Council, county agencies, nonprofits, businesses, foundations and “essentially anyone who is engaged in the work of improving the school system.”

Rhodes, who went to school to become a teacher, said the decision to move from the county administration building to school headquarters was both personal and professional.

“I’ve been involved in the politics of education, but one of my goals was to understand the work better,” he said. “I really wanted to be closer to the work and to be able to influence the work from that perspective.”

Rhodes said it is too soon to discuss projects that he hopes to enhance, but noted that whether it is literacy, ninth-grade promotion or graduation rates, he hopes to be able to lead the school system in partnering with organizations to help it meet its goals.

He is one of several new hires Maxwell has made since he took the helm of the school system 15 months ago. Many of the positions, like Rhodes’s, are newly-created. Rhode’s salary is $138,278. >>Read more >> Source Washington Post.

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OPINION

A fearless and effective watchdog is critical in fledgling democracies like in Prince George’s where institutions are weak and pummelled by political pressure. When legislatures, judiciaries and other oversight bodies are powerless against the mighty or are themselves corruptible, the media are often left as the only check against the abuse of power. This requires that they play a heroic role, exposing the excesses of presidents, prime ministers, legislators, county Executives, CEO’s and magistrates despite the risks.

The media also serve as a conduit between governors and the governed and as an arena for public debate that leads to more intelligent policy and decision-making.

In the above scenario involving Mr. Rhodes, the appointment clearly creates a conflict of interest on multiple fronts and will lead to many problems in the future.

1. Mr. Rhodes served as Election Manager for Verjeana Jacobs (disgraced former Board chair).
2. Mr. Rhodes Previously worked for Maryland State Education Association and Prince George’s County Educator Association which is involved in breach of contracts and advancement of misconduct within the Maryland school system.
3. Both Mr. Rhodes and Dr. Eugene Banks (current BOE chair) are tied to National Educator Association (NEA). Any teacher expecting help from both or the teacher union in case of trouble, Good luck with that!
4. Mr. Rhodes is an extension of Mr. Rushern Baker within the school system which in turn polarizes the county school system.
5. Mr. Rhodes and Mr.George H. Margolies are duplicating duties at high salaries. Mr. Margolies makes over $200,000 and Mr. Rhodes will be making $138,278
6. High salaries in the midst of crisis when we demanded many reforms at Sasscer administrative Building for such is unacceptable!
7. High number of homeless students who have nothing to eat when the well connected friends and family in the Baker led administration is “eating big” is unwelcome recipe in the middle of a recession. The students are not doing so well academically.

It’s time to demand answers and stop the eating at Sasscer!

Contact your legislator today and the media say “NO”.  It’s time to Stop the blame and Fix the Real Problems in the county.

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Read more >>> Rebranding of Prince George’s through Vote 2014.

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Maryland’s new test requirement for graduation is Finally delayed…

… for two years after pressure from the citizenry.

Dr. Lillian Lowery Embattled State Superintendent is currently presiding over deep-seated corruption in Maryland school system. She has demonstrated a culture of discrimination and racism while on the job.

The Maryland State Board of Education voted on Tuesday for a two-year delay in requiring that high school students pass new standardized tests in order to graduate.

This year, students in grades 3 to 8 and in English 10 and Algebra I will take the new tests, developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and based on the national Common Core State Standards.

Prior to Tuesday’s action, the new tests for English 10 and Algebra I were required for graduation. Under the new plan, students still will have to pass the courses to graduate, but will not have to pass the tests, state officials said.

The graduation requirement will go into effect during the 2016-2017 school year.

The action reverses a decision the state board made in July to implement the new test requirement.

“Our two-year plan will allow our students and teachers to become more knowledgeable in the more rigorous standards during the transition,” said Mary Kay Finan, the board’s vice president.

Maryland joins other states, including Massachusetts, that have either decided to delay the transition to the new tests or opted not to make them a graduation requirement this school year.

Since the board’s action earlier this year, some local district officials have raised concerns about holding students accountable during the transition to the new tests.

Montgomery County school leaders sent a letter earlier this month to state officials expressing their concern, and they asked for a two-year delay. They questioned why the state would delay the use of the results from the new tests in evaluating school personnel, but would require students to pass them to graduate.

Bill Reinhard, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Education, said the decision to delay the requirement has “been in the works for some time.”

He said State Superintendent of Schools Lillian M. Lowery has been in discussions with local superintendents and school board officials about the transition to the new tests.

“This was just a sensible approach,” Reinhard said. “We have to prepare everybody for moving forward.”

 Reinhard said a similar action was taken when the state High School Assessments, or HSAs, were rolled out years ago. >>> source  Washington Post

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The Four Workplace Bully Types as Exhibited in PGCPS.

Dr. Gary Namie explains the four main types of workplace bullying tactics as practiced in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS).

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The little man v. the Big labor and the mismanagement of union dues for political agglomeration is a major violation of worker’s rights. Union lack of representation in the face of Bullying supervisors in the PGCPS District.  Employers don’t care about the bullying at work. Some like in Prince George’s County love it as you can see with the likes Simpson Marcus at Largo High school.

Union busting has always been part of American history. Organizers were routinely fired (or killed), despite the illegality. The NLRB was under control of administrations that hated labor. Unions are not to blame for the decline in unionization rates in the U.S. since Reagan broke the PATCO union. However, Union dirty politics and discrimination of workers in Maryland and elsewhere is killing the unions in many ways. “Employment at will” is the principle most loved by employers — the right to terminate people anytime, anywhere for no cause is a threat faced by 93% of private sector workers. As of Feb. 2013, the national unionization rate is down to 11.2% after 400,000 government workers — teachers, police, fire — lost their jobs to American “austerity – deficit reduction” decisions.

A 2013 D.C. Circuit Court decision decimated the NLRB and voided all 2012 decisions. The Chamber of Commerce and Republicans want to void all decisions made after George W. Bush left office. The NLRB is paralyzed and not able to render any decisions with only one “confirmed” member. Unions are being denied leverage against employers and the Chamber is telling members to simply ignore Union demands for fair labor practices or good faith bargaining.

The driving force behind all the anti-union laws is a group called ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council). Investigative reporting discovered the ALEC-Tea Party-Legislation link. Overnight, existing collective bargaining rights were stripped away in Wisconsin and Ohio. Hard-won labor victories that took years to accomplish through organizing, protesting and bargaining are being erased.

While under assault, it’s easy to pull back and focus solely on survival of the union which in  some areas is guided by corrupt leadership out to gain personally. However, this is risky because members expect support and benefits from membership, regardless of external pressure on unions. When the conflict exist and the unions fails to act to fix the issues, this conduct does not only hurt the unions themselves but also the membership as well.

Here in Maryland and in Prince George’s County in particular,  it is time to fix these issues heads on and find a way to address the union lack of leadership and representation in many areas. This is the only way to help fix Americas future.

>Read more >>

>>Big Money Education Politics – Enjoy It While It Lasts? 

>> Rebranding of Prince George’s through Vote 2014.

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Prince George’s County

Rebranding of Prince George’s through Vote 2014.

… Vote “No” to Question J and H

Mr. Baker (pictured above) is wrong on multiple fronts and for advocating for wrong choices for the people.

Since 2011, Reform Sasscer Movement has set out with an ambitious goal in mind — to democratize publishing and put state-of-the-art tools in front of media houses both large and small across the planet to transform Prince George’s County government. We believe strongly in this vision because when more people have access to powerful tools on the web, that in-turn empowers them to do great things and in turn, helps change our county and the world through an amazing content.

We feel the same way when it comes to democratizing every county in the world using our model. Well, in every true democracy, a time comes for an election — and in just a few days , citizens across the United States will have a unique opportunity to flex their political muscle and vote in the 2014 Midterm Elections.

Voting is our most fundamental responsibility as citizens — without it, our American democracy wouldn’t exist. Reform Sasscer Movement is a platform that gives everyday people the ability to share their voice and inform the public. We are asking you to take advantage of this voice and information — by exercising your right to vote. When you vote, vote against Question J and H in Prince George’s County. These Questions are disservice to Prince Georgians. >>> >>> Read more > Vote against longer term limits, fewer papers of record in Prince George’s.

We’re asking you for your help to spread the word, encourage participation and get out the vote on November 4th, 2014.

If you have any questions, please channel them through the comment section and we’ll be sure to help wherever we can. Thanks!

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Will This Election Be a Referendum on Privatization?

Diane Ravitch's blog

This comes from “In the Public Interest,” an organization that reports on outsourcing and privatization, which is usually NOT in the public interest.

Donald Cohen writes:

As we approach Election Day, a number of governors in tight races are finding that privatizing public services isn’t good politics. But it may be good for campaign fundraisers seeking donations from corporations that want government contracts.

A new report released by the Center for Media and Democracy highlights the intensive efforts of governors seeking re-election to privatize important public services to private firms. Time after time, outsourcing has gone awry, generating worse outcomes for the public, scandals, lawsuits, and scorching headlines that are impacting the campaigns. The report includes examples from Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Wisconsin.

Here are examples from the report:

• In Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder outsourced prison food service to Aramark after the company spent half a…

View original post 145 more words

Sign of a Victory.

“Sign of a Victory” is a song by American singer R. Kelly, featuring the South African gospel choir Soweto Spiritual Singers. It was the official anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Released on June 6 for digital download, the song received generally positive critical reception, and became a minor hit.

It was later included on Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album, released on May 31 and in Kelly’s compilation album Epic. “Sign of A Victory” was performed by R. Kelly and the Soweto Spiritual Singers at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Kick-Off concert in Soweto on June 10, 2010.

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It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. ~ Nelson Mandela

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Am I Wrong.

“Am I Wrong” is a song by Norwegian musical duo Nico & Vinz. Produced by William “Will IDAP” Wiik Larsen, the song was initially released as a digital download single in Norway on 12 April 2013, credited to the duo’s previous name Envy, and became a hit in various Scandinavian countries, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Upon being released internationally, and following the duo’s name change to Nico & Vinz, the song attained commercial success in various other countries, reaching the top ten in the Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States among others.

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Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort always to cooperate with the good, that it may prevail. ~ Helen Keller

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Federal Court Schedules a second Trial for Jon Everhart.

Green Belt Federal Court House in Maryland.

A second civil trial in the case of Mr. Jon Everhart against the Prince George’s county public schools (PGCPS) will go to trial starting on March 9th, 2015 until March 13th, 2015 in Green Belt Federal court. Jon Everhart, who was an English teacher at Largo High School from 2003 to 2010, initially sued the school district for $5 million, claiming Simpson-Marcus repeatedly humiliated him in front of students and called him “poor white trash,” according to the court documents. He says that he was forced out of his job for being white.

Everhart won his court case in August, and will receive about half a million dollars from the school district, said his lawyer, who has filed almost a million dollars in attorney’s fees. Everhart was fired from the school after receiving two unsatisfactory job evaluations. He claims that his poor performance was because of daily harassment, according to the court documents.

His lawyer said his client suffered from severe health problems because of the alleged daily harassment.

“The stress caused him to develop high blood pressure, and the high blood pressure ruined his health to the point where he developed heart problems,” he said.

Recently,  the school district has filed an appeal against the court’s decision.

According to the latest order issued by Honorable Judge Peter J. Messitte, He indicated  that, on October 21, 2014, the Court held a teleconference with counsel regarding several outstanding issues, including Plaintiffs Motion for Attorney’s Fees (Paper No. 171) as well as the parties’ response to the Court’s Order to Show Cause (Paper No. 159) dealing with Plaintiffs back pay, pension, health and retirement benefits, and the restoration of his teaching certificate.

The Court indicated that it would hold a trial during the week of March 9-13, 2015, to determine the appropriate relief with regard to the referenced items. To allow the parties to tentatively prepare for this trial the Court ORDERS a new phase of discovery limited to the referenced Issues.

Discovery will be limited to issues pertaining to Plaintiffs back pay, pension (past, present, and future), health and retirement benefits (past, present, and future), and the restoration of his teaching certificate. Discovery may include interrogatories, requests for documents, and depositions (including depositions of the Superintendent of Prince George’s County Schools, and/or any other persons who may have information regarding Plaintiff’s personnel records).

At the same time, Defendant may depose Plaintiff, limited however to issues surrounding Plaintiff’s back pay, pension, health and retirement benefits, and the status of Plaintiffs teaching certificate.

The following schedule shall apply to this new phase of the proceedings:

Immediately ………………………….Discovery may begin

January 9, 2015………………………Plaintiffs and Defendant’s Rule 26(a) (2) disclosures and exchange of’ expert reports (e.g., on the value of Plaintiff s pension or retirement benefits)

January 30, 2015 ……………………Discovery to End

February 6, 2015…………………….Pretrial Conference

February 27, 2015…………………..Pretrial Briefs with Proposed Findings of Fact and Law Due

March 9-13, 2015……………………Bench Trial

>>> See the entire Order here ~> Bench Trial – March 2015

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MEDIA and Journalistic objectivity in Rebranding Prince George’s County.

Journalistic objectivity is a significant principle of journalistic professionalism. Journalistic objectivity can refer to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship, but most often encompasses all of these qualities.

Democracy requires the active participation of citizens. Ideally, the media should keep citizens engaged in the business of governance by informing, educating and mobilizing the public. In many  democracies, Newspapers, radio have become the medium of choice, as they are less expensive and more accessible. FM and community radio have been effective instruments for promoting grassroots democracy by airing local issues, providing an alternative source of information to official channels, and reflecting ethnic and linguistic diversity. The Internet, too, can play such a role, because of its interactivity, relatively low costs of entry and freedom from state control.

To various journalist around the world, Objectivity in Journalism means different things to different people (The media house owner, the sponsors, advertisers and the journalist) To an English-speaking person it usually means something like impartial; to a political ideology it means whatever serves the party but at least dispassionate. Devoid of or unaffected by passion, emotion, or bias but the notion of political correctness has already stifled the sense of fair play as being demonstrated on our media outlets, in the cases of Washington Post, Washington Times and Washington DC media outlets, the notion that the journalist was put on earth to advance progressive causes.

Most newspapers and TV stations depend upon news agencies for their material, and the major global agencies (Agence France-Presse (formerly the Havas agency), Associated Press, Reuters and Agencia EFE) each four began with and continue to operate on a basic philosophy of providing a single objective news feed to all subscribers. That is, they do not provide separate feeds for conservative or liberal newspapers.

Yet we are still being taught in school that people are entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. If you’re not in the clique (the Insider) you’re a reactionary. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem, is one of the innumerable slogans of the journalism world and reporting today.

The reality, however, is that the media in new and restored democracy do not always live up to the ideal of what is right. They are hobbled by stringent laws, monopolistic ownership, and sometimes, the threat of brute force. State controls are not the only constraints. Serious reporting is difficult to sustain in competitive media markets that put a premium on the shallow and sensational.

BUT-That you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Many of us in the Reform Sasscer Movement have always been thrilled by that Gospel line ever since we knew it. That the truth can be very large, or even very small, we take as itself true. To get a few modest facts right, where they are hard to discern, because the plausible is in conflict with the actual, is the kind of aspiration that can be heroic in a journalist. And to admit the fact that contradicts all one’s assumptions is the mark of an honest man. Must a writer always be serving something? We think so. He or she is obliged, however, to think through what he or she serves.

BUT if we think that journalists are all objective, fair with no political axes to grind we are just fooling ourselves. Sometimes of course the journalist is simply a dupe, a gullible or innocent pawn of the scheming and deceit swirling behind the closed doors and frequently journalists handle information in way or in an attempt to bolster a certain position within the structure or simply for his self-importance….VANITY plays a role of significant importance on both sides, the journalist publishes information and dines out on his revelations for essentially the same reason that officials violate their oaths of confidentiality in order to be perceived as members of a know-all insiders’ elite.

As we move into the future, we would like to see the journalists operating in Prince George’s county in particular and many other parts of the world investigating more. The journalist needs to ask tough questions to Rushern Baker led administration and especially within the schools.  In many fledgling democracies, the media have been able to assert their role in buttressing and deepening democracy. Investigative reporting, which in some cases has led to the ouster of presidents and the fall of corrupt governments, has made the media an effective and credible watchdog and boosted its credibility among the public.

Investigative reporting has also helped accustom officials to an inquisitive press and helped build a culture of openness and disclosure that has made democratically elected governments more accountable. Training for journalists, manuals that arm reporters with research tools, and awards for investigative reporting have helped create a corps of independent investigative journalists in several new and restored democracies.

Otherwise,  without an engaged media as Watchdog, as guardian of the public interest, and as a conduit between governors and the governed,  future of Rebranding Prince George’s County and Maryland as a whole is doomed.

>>> Read more > Vote against longer term limits, fewer papers of record in Prince George’s.

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