One of the most curious things in the whole Allen Dyer/school board controversy is how quickly people, usually Democrats, are so willing to allow others, in this case, the school board, curiously also Democrats, to circumvent the will and/or voice of the people and attempt to remove their — the people's — duly elected representative.

In this case, perhaps Dyer has made himself a thorn in the side of the rest of the board members. Perhaps even Dyer is a disagreeable character. But let us remember that the ethics inquiry against Dyer resulted in nothing. This inquiry came as the result of Dyer's release of information about this "closed door" proceeding only after someone else anonymously leaked information. This habitual tendency of the board to have these closed-door sessions is the very thing that Dyer has so strenuously objected to. And as for his many lawsuits, I think, none have been decided on their merits, only on the issue of Dyer's standing to file such lawsuits.

Another scary example of this propensity to circumvent the will of the people can be found in our governor and his legislature's recent creation of the Public School Labor Relations Board. This five-member board, with one member appointed by the governor and two by the unions, would intercede in the labor relations between teacher unions and the people's duly elected representatives, the respective local school boards. Let me guess which way this Democrat board's decisions will lean!

Equally chilling to me as well as curious, is the people's willingness to allow our president, also a Democrat, to appoint czar after czar, he now has some 30 to 32 of them. These czars, clearly circumvent the "advise and consent" clause of our Constitution, and by foregoing the confirmation proceedings, provide a disconnect from the will of the people exercised through their representatives.

On both a micro scale, as with Dyer, all the way up to the macro, as in the case of the czars, this disconnect from the will of the people is a dangerous thing for us to allow, where one person, or one group of people, is making decisions for the rest of us without our consent or comment.

Tom Goodman

Mount Airy