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Where can I get some of those pants?

Securing blessings
for me and my people

Rich Haglund, TN SBE


Constitution Day 2008
… nor shall any State deprive
any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process
of law;
nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
In order to …
form a more perfect Union
establish Justice
insure domestic Tranquility
provide for the common
defence
promote the general Welfare
secure the Blessings of
Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity
Thucydides the Buff
Historian
(quoting Pericles)
[In] a democracy . . .
power is in the hands .
. . of the whole
people. . . .

No one, [who is able to


contribute] is kept [out
of politics] because of
poverty. 5
Justice Stephen “Yes I’m really smart” Breyer
The people, and their
representatives, must have the
capacity to exercise their
democratic responsibilities.
They should possess the tools,
such as information and
education, necessary to
participate and to govern
effectively. . . .

The Constitution is not a document


designed to solve the problems of a
community at any level—local, state,
or national. Rather it is a document
that trusts people to solve those
problems themselves. 6
The Student Pipeline
100%
Percentage of 9th grade students

United States
Tennessee
75% 70%
63%

50% 39% 39%


27% 27%
25% 18% 17%

0%
Graduate high Start college Persist 2nd year Earn degree
school
Source: Student Pipeline 2004, unpublished data from the National Center for Higher Education Management 
Systems, October 2006. Data are estimates of pipeline progress rather than actual cohort.
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A stable and democratic
society is impossible
without widespread
acceptance of some
common set of values and
without a minimum degree
of literacy and knowledge
on the part of citizens.
- Milton Friedman
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So you can tackle the running back.
Can you tackle the law?

Alan Page (#88):


Purple People Eater
and Justice Meter 9
1. Democracy
won’t work
without
education.
2. Your life won’t
work without
education.

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