Richard McKee

La Verne's Professor Richard McKee passed away this weekend. He was one of the very few citizens who actually got off their asses and did something. The Claremont Insider has a great article for those who have no idea who he was:

"McKee fought every day to ensure California lived up to a simple and obvious idea. He believed the public has a right to know what the government it elected was doing....

It was a simple idea, and yet McKee spent more than a decade fighting nearly identical battles in city after city, county after county, as craven government officials decided it was easier to conceal than to reveal. The salary scandal in the City of Bell - the one that won the Los Angeles Times a Pulitzer - shows what happens when people like McKee are not around. He not only fought his battles, but he fought countless battles on behalf of people who did not know they had rights."

My favorite part of the article is this one:

"It's become fashionable to complain about too much or too little government on all levels, but 99% of the complaints come from people sitting on sofas in the comforts of their living rooms while the 1% represented by the likes of McKee actually do the heavy lifting. Let's get off our collective, lazy duffs and lend a hand."

There is also another article written by Gary Scott.