I haven’t had much of a “bucket list” but I have wanted to get to all 50 states. I finally accomplished that this week with my visit to Alaska. Here in Anchorage on this longest daylight of the year sunrise was at 4:20 am and sunset tonight will be at 11:42 pm.

LEADERSHIP MATTERS. VP candidate JD Vance not long ago lamented the influence of “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made.” When challenged about the comment this week, he apologized to the cats.

What happened to debate “any time, any place”? Now Donald Trump seems to be waffling at the prospect of debating Kamala Harris, and looking for excuses to not debate her face-to-face.

Will Donald Trump ever stop whining about how he lost the 2020 election?

Donald Trump is obsessed and delusional about crowd sizes. What does it say that he feels the need to continually dwell on such an issue?

The more Trump still keeps trying to win the 2020 election, the less likely he will win in 2024.

Listening now to the Trump “news conference”. The longer he talks, the more unhinged he sounds. Must be a huge disappointment for advisors who want him to focus on policy

Robert Kennedy Jr. is no RFK, or JFK, or Teddy. Sad to watch what looks like a desperate quest for relevancy.

Candidate Trump and his message increasing look and sound both old and boring.

How does another 14-year old get a gun to take into school to kill classmates and teachers? How do all these teenagers in communities across the country get guns to fight each other and pose a lethal threat to their families, friends and neighbors?

So a wannabe president mocks the woman who he has been found to have sexually assaulted - “She would not have been the chosen one.” More indecent comment from an indecent man.

Congratulations to Michael Churchill recognized with the 2024 Edward Donley-Ronald Cowell Education Policy Leadership Award from EPLC. Michael is recognized for an extraordinary legal career that has benefitted PA’s children, persons with disabilities, and students of all ages.

The haters and liars are now endangering the lives of FEMA employees & others trying to aid the victims of recent hurricanes. Just like the talk about Haitians in Springfield, OH. The hate speech & lies have consequences. Will decent people stop making excuses for this stuff?

The hateful, profane, vulgar and lewd language of a presidential candidate says volumes about what he thinks of his supporters. Those voters will tell us whether he is right.

Adding insult on top of insult. Speaker at Trump MSG rally calls Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Trump and others spew more vile vulgar hate-speech. Rather than disagree, VP candidate Vance says “we have to stop being offended by every little thing.”

I mailed my ballot this past weekend voting in my 114th consecutive election since I turned 21. Voting is one of the easiest yet most important responsibilities of citizenship - a right and responsibility we should cherish and protect.

More than any other presidential campaign that I have witnessed, this year Donald Trump ran a campaign appealing to the fears and prejudices of voters and without any regard for truth and decency.

We are the richest country in the world, yet politicians debate whether we should feed children. In the name of “making America great”, this administration is cutting support for food banks and school nutrition programs. Is nobody embarrassed?

Today I presented statewide workshop on “Effective Public Policy Advocacy” for Afterschool & STEM leaders organized by Center for Schools and Communities. I appreciate the chance to help with efforts to build capacity for effective advocacy for important education policy issues.

Congratulations to our 8 PA Senior Fellows who have successfully completed the multi-state 2024-2025 Advanced Education Policy Leadership Program —- LYSANDRA ALEXANDER, STORM CAMARA, JASON CONWAY, JULIET CURCI, TIM MULLIGAN, HEIDI ONDEK, MEGAN VAN FOSSAN and MICHAEL VUCKOVICH.