Saving Tunes: Bluegrass-station owner, archivists preserving collection

My dad listens to Ralph Epperson's old-time radio program every Saturday afternoon. Some of that stuff he plays is from the 1930's.

From Lisa O'Donnell of the Winston-Salem Journal:

MOUNT AIRY - Ralph Epperson's mountain music is getting a spit shine.

Epperson owns WPAQ (740 AM), a radio station that has been broadcasting the old-time string music of the Blue Ridge Mountains for more than 50 years.

In the early days of the station, national acts touring the country, as well as regional and local musicians, would stop by the station and perform a few songs for the listening audience. Epperson would record their performances on lacquered discs or reel-to-reel tapes for later broadcast.

Many of those discs and tapes were eventually boxed up and stored in Epperson's basement or at the station, where they sat untouched for many years.

In the last few months, Trish Fore from the Surry Arts Council, with the help of Epperson, has been sifting through some of that music.

"It's been over 50 years since I've heard some of it," said Epperson, 84. "It sounded amazingly good."

Earlier this year, the Surry Arts Council received a $7,500 grant from the N.C. Arts Council to take an inventory of the station's vast music holdings.

For NASA, Misjudgments Led to Latest Shuttle Woes

From The New York Times:

"We are ready to fly."

It was June 24, and William W. Parsons, NASA's shuttle program manager, was speaking to reporters on a telephone conference call from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Two and a half years of study and struggle, he told them, were over at long last. The shuttle Discovery could blast off in July.

At a closed-door meeting that afternoon, senior shuttle managers had ruled that the chances that debris from the giant external fuel tank would strike the Discovery at liftoff - in the kind of accident that doomed the Columbia and its seven astronauts in February 2003 - had been reduced to "acceptable levels."

The possibility that a large chunk of insulating foam might break away from a section of the tank called the protuberance air load ramp - PAL for short - never came up. It had been ruled out months earlier, checked off on a long list of items no longer worthy of urgent action.

Last Tuesday morning, NASA's contention that it had produced the safest fuel tank in shuttle history was shattered two minutes into the Discovery's mission to the International Space Station...

Carter: Guantanamo Detentions Disgraceful

From Cassandra Vinograd of The Associated Press:

BIRMINGHAM, England -- Former President Carter said Saturday the detention of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base was an embarrassment and had given extremists an excuse to attack the United States.

RE: Inman, Walker want to rethink budget

Leon and Jimmy wasted a lot of words in that article. They both could have just said, "I'm stupid" and left it at that. The meaning would have been identical.

The Last Stop? Owners of Tweetsie Railroad face tough choices about park's future

Stokes County needs to go after Tweetsie RR. We can put Tweetsie up at Hanging Rock State Park. Maybe we should start lobbying the NC General Assembly to give up Hanging Rock...

From Monte Mitchell in today's Winston-Salem Journal:

Chris Robbins has heard the rumors swirling around Tweetsie Railroad for years.

As the attraction's general manager, he can put some of them to rest: Dolly Parton isn't buying Tweetsie; it's not moving to Ashe County; and the rains last fall from the remnants hurricanes didn't wash out the tracks and force Tweetsie to close.

But Robbins, who owns controlling shares in Tweetsie Railroad Inc. with his parents, is uncertain about Tweetsie's future. He doesn't know whether it will move after next season or even if it will still be open.

Burt: Willie and I Would Make Nice Couple

From Fox News:

BURBANK, Calif. — Burt Reynolds said on the "Tonight" show that if he'd have been gay, it would have saved him "millions," and he joked that Willie Nelson might have been his choice.

Getting the Drift & Short Shrift

From John Hood's Daily Journal:

RALEIGH – As the month of July drew to a close without an agreement on a FY 2005-07 state budget, one could get the drift of the political debate in Raleigh by glancing down a list of news headlines from the state capital.

“Decimal error leaves lawmakers scrambling over N.C. Health Choice,” stated one item. It seems that state officials erroneously computed how long federal funds will last given the currently projected enrollment in Health Choice, a program created in a fit of ineptitude by a Republican Congress and now enrolling 135,000 children in North Carolina. Supporters typically suggest that these children are “poor” and live in households that can’t afford health insurance, neither of which is correct. Poor children are, by definition, eligible for Medicaid, and most families in the income levels covered by Health Choice are enrolled in private or employer-provided health plans, not in welfare programs.

Improving our odds against terror

From Charles Krauthammer:

WASHINGTON -- Six percent of British Muslims -- more than 100,000 citizens -- thought the July 7 London terror attacks were justified. A quarter of British Muslims merely sympathize with the bombers. Even more shocking, nearly one-fifth of British Muslims say they feel little or no loyalty to Britain. Yet the most disturbing news from the July 23 London Telegraph poll is that these trends are worse among younger British Muslims.

Inman, Walker want to rethink budget

I guess Leon Inman & Jimmy Walker have been feeling the heat from raising our taxes. ... According to The Stokes News, Leon & Jimmy both said they "had no idea what they were voting for." Leon said, "I'm not sure what we adopted is what we voted for." This is classic Jimmy Walker right here: "I'm in a most awkward position... I don't know what I approved. There appears to have been changes from Thursday to Friday. I think there should be some investigation into this... I'm a little embarrassed about this." Of course, both Leon & Jimmy blamed Sandy McHugh for this embarrassing situation. Leon now says he would have voted for a revenue-neutral budget, which was the proposal that John & Joe Turpin supported. ... Jimmy now wants to have another budget workshop to "do whatever it takes to get a working budget for the people of Stokes County." Come on, Jimmy, enough with the rhetoric. After Jimmy made his workshop suggestion, Joe shot back saying that he wasn't going to another workshop if it was "going to be the same anemic sessions we had where nothing gets done." Ha! Great stuff from Joe. ... According to the paper, Joe asks Jimmy, "It is four weeks later and we are still working on this budget... Were the last four weeks productive for you?" Jimmy responds, "They were very educational." Ha!

This is what the "Gang of 3" gets for wanting to raise our taxes... If they would have listened to the Turpins, they could have been spared this embarrassment. Heck, John & Joe suggested passing an interim budget until they could resolve their differences, but noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

The paper says they are going to have a budget workshop on Monday, Aug. 1st at 6:00PM... That should be a hoot.

RE: RE: RE: Frist Backs Funding for Stem Cell Research

"That leaves folks like you(steve brenneis) and me (tuck miller) having to choose between two candidates or parties that don't really represent us. The only other option is to vote for a third party that has no actual chance of winning..."

Spot on, Tucker. Sadly, you would be surprised at the number of people who believe that the two-party system is somehow a codified part of our system of government. In Jefferson's letter to Governor Langdon in 1810, he spoke of the evils of political parties:

"The nest of office being too small for all of them to cuddle into at once, the contest is eternal, which shall crowd the other out. For this purpose, they are divided into two parties, the Ins and the Outs, so equal in weight that a small matter turns the balance. To keep themselves in, when they are in, every stratagem must be practiced, every artifice used which may flatter the pride, the passions or power of the nation. Justice, honor, faith, must yield to the necessity of keeping themselves in place. The question whether a measure is moral, is never asked; but whether it will nourish the avarice of their merchants, or the piratical spirit of their navy, or produce any other effect which may strengthen them in their places. As to engagements, however positive, entered into by the predecessors of the Ins, why, they were their enemies; they did every thing which was wrong; and to reverse every thing they did, must, therefore, be right."

All things considered, the Libertarian Party probably matches most closely my own views on government, but it has become a haven for anarchists and pot-heads. And of course, the party leadership is mostly pro-abortion. Even at that, it still has all the problems of any political party: it will abandon principle to pursue an expediency. The last Presidential election is a good example. The Libertarians joined forces with the Green Party to challenge votes in Ohio and Pennsylvania. There could not be two more diametrically opposed parties according to their ideologies.

All five Brenneises are registered unaffiliated, by the way.

The CEOs, et al. vs. Us

Precisely said!

RE: RE: Frist Backs Funding for Stem Cell Research

Tucker says:

This sums up exactly what my problem is with the two party system. Bush is "right" (in your opinion) for the wrong reasons. There are 3,000 or more reasons for why different people vote how they vote, but only 2 (real) choices. That leaves folks like you(steve brenneis) and me (tuck miller) having to choose between two candidates or parties that don't really represent us. The only other option is to vote for a third party that has no actual chance of winning(which i have chosen to do in every presidential election i've been old enough to take part in).
Steve, we might agree as much politically as we disagree-- the real difference comes down to what issues we use to decide who to vote for. For example, the issue of abortion is just about the last thing I would use to determine MY candidate. It ranks just slightly higher than "boxers or briefs" in my book. (i'm not an originalist. I feel that constitutional originalism promotes extreme democracy, and to me, the actual constitution should not be held in higher regard than the principles it was written to uphold. anyway...) But there are many people who use abortion as their main reference in deciding on a candidate or party. Why? What percentage of the federal govt's budget is appropriated for that issue? Their needs to be a line drawn between "social" conservatives and "fiscal" conservatives, b/c many are one but not the other.
I've talked with "republicans" from stokes, and sometimes we agree on EVERY issue (including the death penalty) except abortion.
I'm just tired of seeing the dems and (especially) reps using hot button, divisive social issues to pay lip service and, in turn, take advantage of well meaning people.
I wish that Fallwell & Co. would start their own party and Kucinich and other far-lefties would start their own party, then we'd have four main groups that would more accurately represent the majority of americans.
Or better yet, how about one party for CEO's and their greedy groupies, and one party for the rest of us. But that bombast is for another rant.

RE: Frist Backs Funding for Stem Cell Research, Veers From Bush

Frist is wrong, but not for any reasons having to do with abortion, just as Bush is right, but not for anything to do with abortion. The federal government has no business funding any kind of research.

RE: Final Word

"Final Word"

Yeah. Right.

"It continues to amaze me that the same group of people who insist that all these unwanted children be born in the first place would then turn around and deny them assistance once they come into the world."

Specious argument. First, you are projecting that because I assert that it is not the state's function to meddle in their parent's business that it is somehow denying them assistance. Assistance to do what? Become socialists? In the case of government-run schools, it could probably be argued that keeping the state's nose out of their business actually does constitute assisting them. Besides, who died and elected you God? How is it that you suddenly know better than their parents what is good for them? Maybe they don't want to be assisted. How is it that you have some cosmic authority to force this assistance down their throats?

Furthermore, what you suggest is precisely the cause of the failure of government-run schools. Because you bleeding-hearts have decided that you know better than any of the rest of us what is good for us, those kids who are dedicated to learning something lose out because you are forcing the ambivalent parents of budding psychopaths to herd said recalcitrants into a government-owned classroom. You create the problem and then refuse to solve it or let anyone else solve it. Nice.

"I happen to believe that all parents don't know what is best for their child, or even care."

So what? Does the phrase, "mind your own business" mean anything to you? And don't even bother with some hyperbolic tantrum about child abuse. That's not what we're talking about and you know it.

By the way, that is elitist.

"If a parent doesn't value education, then how will their child ever learn to value it without outside influence?"

Wait, let me get my universal law book out. Nope, nothing there that says everyone must value education. That's more of that confused, elitist liberal foolishness I was telling you about. Just because Behethland and all her leftist buddies think it is a must for all of us to value education doesn't make it a universal truth and doesn't give you the right to force it down our gullets. In any case, history is rife with people who came to value education without the help of your socialist indoctrination centers, thank you very much.

"But the opportunity for an education should always be there, for everyone."

So what does that have to do with government-run schools? This is another specious argument. You are trying to argue that without forcing kids into the government school grist mill, there is no opportunity for education. Not only is that illogical, it is just plain false.

"Flip-Flopper" & Computer Malfunction Sway CAFTA Vote

Following a last minute decision "change of heart" and a "computer malfunction," CAFTA passes thanks to two NC Republicans. Hats off to two other NC 'Pub Reps — Foxx and McHenry — for actually representing the will of their constituents.

From today's Winston-Salem Journal:

N.C. votes, and a nonvote, crucial to CAFTA

Two N.C. Republicans took heat yesterday after the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Rep. Robin Hayes, R-8th, spent the day defending his decision to switch his "no" vote to a "yes" on the House floor late Wednesday night. And Rep. Charles Taylor, R-11th, said he voted no, but it was not recorded because of a computer malfunction.

Hayes said he changed his vote after Republican leaders reassured him on specific textile provisions and trade-related issues with China. It proved to be decisive. CAFTA passed 217-215.

"Leadership said to me, 'We need this vote and we'll do whatever it takes,'" Hayes said in a phone interview yesterday afternoon.

Democrats were quick to attack him for "flip-flopping" on CAFTA.

It is not the first time Hayes has had a last-minute change of heart on a trade bill. He cast a similarly decisive vote in 2001, when he went onto the floor opposed to President Bush's request for Trade Promotion Authority but was persuaded to switch.

Rep. Charles Taylor, R-11th, said yesterday that he voted "no" to CAFTA alongside Rep. Howard Coble, R-6th. But Taylor's vote never registered, and the final roll-call vote has him as not having voted at all.

Democrats accused Taylor of ducking the important vote. He blamed a computer malfunction.

"Due to an error, my 'no' vote did not record on the voting machine. The clerk's computer logs verified that I had attempted to vote, but it did not show my 'nay' vote," Taylor said in a statement posted on his Web site yesterday afternoon.

Had Taylor's vote been recorded, and had Hayes had not switched, the bill would have failed on a 216-216 tie.

...Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, bucked pressure from the White House to vote against the bill. "I was asked by a variety of people to change my vote, but I couldn't do that. I told them I was sorry," Foxx said.

Both Foxx and Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-10th, said they were sticking with promises to vote against CAFTA. Both thought it was a raw deal.

"Pressure is all a part of politics," McHenry said. "I want people to know when I pledge something, I do it."

Frist Backs Funding for Stem Cell Research, Veers From Bush

In my opinion, Frist is just gettting ready for ‘08. Good move. He clearly recognizes the feelings of sensible Americans regarding stem cell research. And by continuing to tout his ‘pro-life’ stance, he shouldn’t lose that much support from Christian conservatives. You never know, though; the ever-strengthening Religious Right may teach this doctor a thing or two...

From the New York Times:

In a break with President Bush, the Senate Republican leader, Bill Frist, has decided to support a bill to expand federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, a move that could push it closer to passage and force a confrontation with the White House, which is threatening to veto the measure.

...The move could also have implications for Mr. Frist's political future. The senator is widely considered a potential candidate for the presidency in 2008, and supporting an expansion of the policy will put him at odds not only with the White House but also with Christian conservatives, whose support he will need in the race for the Republican nomination. But the decision could also help him win support among centrists.

..."I am pro-life," Mr. Frist said in the speech, arguing that he could reconcile his support for the science with his own Christian faith. "I believe human life begins at conception." But at the same time, he said, "I also believe that embryonic stem cell research should be encouraged and supported."

From the Los Angeles Times:

...The Christian Defense Coalition lambasted Frist's change of position.
"Sen. Frist should not expect support and endorsement from the pro-life community if he votes for embryonic research funding," it said.

"Senator Frist cannot have it both ways. He cannot be pro-life and pro-embryonic stem cell funding," said Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the group. "Nor can he turn around and expect widespread endorsement from the pro-life community if he should decide to run for president in 2008."

A heart-lung transplant surgeon who opposes abortion, Frist said loosening Bush's strict limitations on stem cell research would lead to scientific advances and "bridge the moral and ethical differences" that have made the issue politically charged.

"While human embryonic stem cell research is still at a very early stage, the limitation put into place in 2001 will, over time, slow our ability to bring potential new treatments for certain diseases," the Tennessee lawmaker said in his speech.

"Therefore, I believe the president's policy should be modified. We should expand federal funding ... and current guidelines governing stem cell research, carefully and thoughtfully, staying within ethical bounds," he said.

Final Word

" If parents are too apathetic to make their children go to school, it is not the responsibility of the state to take on this function."

It continues to amaze me that the same group of people who insist that all these unwanted children be born in the first place would then turn around and deny them assistance once they come into the world. Why do you care so much for their lives when they are embryos, yet act so callous towards them once they become people?

I happen to believe that all parents don't know what is best for their child, or even care. When my grandparents were growing up, lots of their peers didn't attend school because their parents believed the child's time was better served in the fields than in the classroom. If a parent doesn't value education, then how will their child ever learn to value it without outside influence?

Once a child reaches a certain age, it is expected that they have the maturity to decide for themselves if education is a priority. I certainly don't believe a higher education is for everyone. Everyone shouldn't go to college. But the opportunity for an education should always be there, for everyone.

By the way, I have nothing against private schools if they meet your needs. As a matter of fact, I will be attending a private university in the fall to earn my my master's degree in education. Yep! Another liberal teacher is born!

More Elitist

"But before 16, I'm not so sure a kid can make an informed decision."

Who said anything about the kids making that decision? Certainly their parents must make the decision whether they should be in school. However, if we're not forcing everyone to be in school (read the Gatto article), schools are free to expel those who disrupt the learning process of other students. If parents are too apathetic to make their children go to school, it is not the responsibility of the state to take on this function. In that light, there is no need to even consider an age under which it should be compulsory to attend. Compulsory attendance is a protection mechanism meant to preserve the institution, not to benefit the participants.

"(And you've called me an elitist liberal before. It's been a while ago.)"

Yes I did. It was because you were making elitist liberal comments. However, you referred to one of my statements as elitist, which it clearly was not, hence my suggestion that you look up the word.

Against School

A highly intellectual, well referenced, informative article by a former government school teacher.

Stupid Government Education Tricks - Part 1

Offered without comment.

Say No to the "Self-Esteem" Pushers

And this one is specially for Behethland.

Tax Credits for Education

Of course, the incomparable Miss Rand can say it so much better than I can. Please note the date of this article (1973, not 2001, read the footnote). I expect if Miss Rand were alive today, she would impose an even greater urgency on her arguments. Also, take the arguments for tax credits as one part of the story and then consider her general comments on government education as another.

I have a better idea, how about if we don't force anyone not interested in learning to go to school? Or is that too much a "radical ultra-conservative idea?"

It certainly isn't a liberal idea, and I agree with you. I think I've said so before. Where we probably differ is the "age of accountability", if you will. Once a child turns 16, I'm all for them dropping out if that's what they want. They don't deserve a high school diploma and they certainly need to get out of the way and let others learn. But before 16, I'm not so sure a kid can make an informed decision. I would have stayed home every day in 1st grade if my mom had left it up to me! Sure glad she didn't.

(And you've called me an elitist liberal before. It's been a while ago.)

North Stokes High School

I guess Behethland and Tucker have solved the government education problem. Every student in America needs to attend North Stokes High School and have David Parker teach them Math and Physics. Wake up Toto, you're not in Stokes County any more.

an•ec•do•tal

Pronunciation: (an'ik-dōt"l, an"ik-dōt'l),
—adj.
1. pertaining to, resembling, or containing anecdotes: an anecdotal history of jazz.
2. (of the treatment of subject matter in representational art) pertaining to the relationship of figures or to the arrangement of elements in a scene so as to emphasize the story content of a subject. Cf. narrative (def. 6).
3. based on personal observation, case study reports, or random investigations rather than systematic scientific evaluation: anecdotal evidence.

Please tell me you realize how silly this "I did all right in government schools so they must be fine" argument is.

Elitists

"Geez! And you call us elitists!"

I think you need to look up the definition of the word. If you already know what it means, then you made an invalid assumption again. I wonder if my new mission in life is to make a rationalist out of Behethland.

"And I would say that a child interested in such advanced mathematics and sciences as you mentioned should go to the School of Math and Science."

What a hoot! Everything I mentioned was taught in American High Schools during the 1940's through the 1970's. The regular government schools can't manage to teach something that was commonplace thirty years ago, so we'll build a different school for all those smart kids and ship them off there. So what's the difference between that and a private school? Remember, NC Math and Science charges tuition. We looked into it.

Re: Re: The Educational Experience

"Here's the sad reality: in a world of excellence, everyone doesn't deserve or get a chance. In order to give everyone a chance, we must settle for a world of mediocrity. Entropy reigns."

Geez! And you call us elitists!

And I would say that a child interested in such advanced mathematics and sciences as you mentioned should go to the School of Math and Science. Those are about your second year college courses, though Phil Ring did an excellent job explaining the Theory of Relativity to me!

RE: RE: RE: Correction: Public School Bashing

"Neither 'government-run' or private schools can be expected to teach children adequately..."

That's simply not true. If I am paying someone to educate my children, they better succeed or I will get someone else to do it. The government hides its funding of schools in the overall tax burden. The people think they are getting a free education, so they don't expect as much. And, the government schools have gladly allowed themselves to become daycare centers, so the great unwashed masses are happy as clams.

"It is the sole responsibility of the student to take advantage of that priviledge."

Oh well then! That explains it. It's all the kids' fault. Makes perfect sense to me. The schools are there, those kids need to march in a demand to get their knowledge. Or maybe it would be more Dickensian: "Please sir, I want some more."

Government schools must operate in the collectivist model. Therefore, all children of all citizens must attend. We end up with the absolutely loopy concept that we'll make criminals out of parents for not forcing their children to get an education. Of course that fills the government classrooms with people who don't want, need, or deserve an education. Hence the teacher must pander to the lowest common denominator. In your world it is the fault of the students that they are uninterested in an education and must alter their behavior to suit everyone else. I have a better idea, how about if we don't force anyone not interested in learning to go to school? Or is that too much a "radical ultra-conservative idea?"

"...King and Tobaccoville need to be annexed by Winston-Salem!"

Your predicate is slightly faulty, but your conclusion has merit.

Re: Re: Public School Bashing

Wow, Tucker! My sentiments exactly. Of course, that should come as no surprise, huh?

It is a students responsibility to take what is given to them in school and apply it. Ask for more when you feel you aren't getting it!! Parents should be asking for more! No school can meet every individual need. It is impossible.

My junior year in high school, some students who wanted to apply to NC State were disappointed that physics was not a part of the currriculum at North. They went to David Parker who in turned, went to the school board and requested to teach the class the next year. Would you believe he taught physics to two students our senior year and it was all because the students insisted on what they needed, and the teacher listened and took initiative.

RE: Re: CAFTA & NAFTA

"Without a job, a laid off textile worker has no choice but purchase the cheaper '$0.05 an hour' product. It's a vicious cycle, but who cares? Certainly not the company heads who get to reduce salary budgets while they give themselves bonuses for getting the company back on track. It's really sad."

Who said the laid-off textile worker remained unemployed??? The ones I know went back to school to learn a new trade. ... They are now nurses, medical technicians, secretaries, mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, etc. Throughout the history of the USA, we've had these transitions in the job market. Nobody likes change because of the unknown, but it happens. If it didn't, we would still be using horses & buggies to get us around. As Behethland said, "The textile industry has been in trouble for quite a while, due in part to innovation. When a machine can do the job that once took 30 people to do, you're going to have layoffs." ... With regard to the company heads: Their job is to make money for the company, and if they don't, they go out of business.

"But now please direct me to where I can buy 'all-American' for everything I need. We can't truly buy American now, because there's not much left to buy! Go shopping and try to find an American-made television or a pair of sneakers. It may take a while."

I agree, it will take some effort, but it has to start somewhere. Think about it, if everybody who believes in "protectionism" would right this minute make the effort to buy American, you would see more American stuff on the shelves because there will be money to be made in making things "American." I hope that makes sense...

"If CAFTA is such a good idea, Andy, then why did so many of opposite political philosophies vote against it, from Virginia Foxx to Mel Watt? Hope of re-election for some, conviction for others?"

Who knows why they vote the way they do. With that said, there are some issues where political opposites agree. For example, look at us on this board: You, Steve, & Behethland are in agreement on CAFTA/NAFTA and the Iraq war.

RE: The Educational Experience...

"Part of my learning experience was learning how to get along with people who are different from me, and I believe it made me a well-rounded, better person."

Wonderful, but did it help you to understand nuclear physics? How about mathematical abstractions? Were you able to conceive of complex systems such that you would be able to excel in a computer science program? What about fundamental economics? Did learning to get along with people different than you help you with any of these?

Here's a fact: the United States, once a leader in technology and industry, is losing that position rapidly. I work in the field of leading edge technologies. Can you comprehend that seven out of ten people I work with are not US citizens? In the Kum-bah-yah world of liberals, all you see is diversity. All I see is that we are losing our edge and the brilliance and innovation our society provided to humanity is disappearing. It's disappearing into some hippie-dippie soup of political correctness, multiculturalism, and pop psychobabble. Suddenly, getting in touch with our feminine side is more important than traveling to the stars or finding a cure for cancer. Worrying about someone else's self-esteem is more important than achieving excellence. And do you know why that is happening? It is happening because the government-run schools are a failure. They can't teach excellence because they can't acknowledge individuality. They can't acknowledge individuality because they must pander to the lowest common denominator in order to give everyone a chance. Here's the sad reality: in a world of excellence, everyone doesn't deserve or get a chance. In order to give everyone a chance, we must settle for a world of mediocrity. Entropy reigns.

And since government schools can't teach excellence, and because they absorb monumental quantities of our wealth and resources, they fear retribution. First, we see convoluted exercises by the bureaucrats in government schools geared toward escaping accountability: testing doesn't work, objective ranking doesn't work, all the mechanisms used by the private sector for measuring success or failure magically seem not to work for government schools. So the bureaucrats say, "if only we had better teachers." Then the teachers' unions swing into high gear, producing the same convoluted excuses for why their members cannot be held accountable. All the while, the educrats in high places are slowly but subtly removing critical thought from the government school curriculum. The writings of the American Founders are provided in abridged forms. Individualists and moralists like Kant, Locke, and Rand are downplayed while collectivists like Marx and Engels and relativists like Sartre and Nietzche get wide circulation. In some places, the Bolshevik revolution is portrayed as a heroic struggle while the American revolution is portrayed as a disagreement over land titles. Che Guevarra is revered as great visionary while Thomas Jefferson is reviled as a slave-owner. Without critical thought and with unflagging loyalty to the government schools pounded into the skulls of everyone pushed through the mill, educrats hope to see an end of demands for accountability.

But I'm an optimist: We are putting a generation of children who have been failed by government schools into society as adults. The good news is that a lot of them are aware that the government schools failed them. The better news is that we are also releasing a generation of home-schooled kids into society. They know that not only are government schools a failure, they are also a useless appendage. There have been numerous studies and research done that shows this generation is more conservative, politically speaking, than their parents. Even Tucker, as immersed in the liberal soup as he was growing up, shows definite libertarian tendencies. The government schools as we know them are less than a hundred years old. A hundred years from now, they will be a dim, but unpleasant memory. Hopefully we'll start that process sooner than later.

No Relation

I believe the whole story about John Roberts being Julia Roberts older brother is an urban legend. The only sibling mentioned is her brother Eric, who is also an actor; unless John is a half or step brother.

That would have been cool, though...

RE: RE: Correction: Public School Bashing

Tucker Miller responds to Steve:

Neither "government-run" or private schools can be expected to teach children adequately (particularly a "Brenneis Genius" (I think that rhymes). In fact, that is not what they are supposed to do. These institutions sole responsibility is to facilitate an education, not provide one.
It is the sole responsibility of the student to take advantage of that priviledge. Do you think that I relied on my teachers and professors to teach me how to think, or even read? NO! I felt it was my responsibility to learn for myself. And if other students don't take advantage of resources like government-run schools or government-run libraries, its not the fault of the schools or the libraries. Its the student's fault!
But if the buck must be passed from the student, it surely can go no further than the parents. Instead of being personally accountable for their children's lack of motivation, intelligence, or discipline-- it's easier to blame public schools.

And as far as commissioner Turpin's assertion that private schools must be better because Stokes County elected Sonja Cox and she is a product of private schools -- the only thing her election (or any other Stokes election in the last 10 years) proves is that King and Tobaccoville need to be annexed by Winston-Salem!

The Educational Experience...

FINALLY! Thank you, Steve. Now I can relate.

I never said that I had a wonderful time in school. As a matter of fact, I had a down-right miserable time in kindergarten. And although NSH had some very bright moments, it also had some very dark moments. I know exactly where you are coming from on the whole "academically gifted" program. It's pretty much a joke. As a matter of fact, I dropped out of it in the 10th grade because I learned that the regular college prep English and Lit. classes were delving into material that I wanted to learn, whereas AG was not. Plus, the teachers were better. I too suffered ridicule and was made fun of because I was different. But the fact is that I have a hard time believing things would have been different anywhere. As I got older I learned how to tune out those who made fun. That's all part of growing up, and unfortunately, no school-public or private- can weed out bullies. Part of my learning experience was learning how to
get along with people who are different from me, and I believe it made me a well-rounded, better person.

There are good schools and bad schools, good teachers and bad teachers, and being public or private makes no difference. I suggest you look into Whitaker Elementary here in Winston Salem. There is not only a waiting list for students who want into this public school, but also a waiting list of teachers wanting to teach there. That is amazing! Parents are actually pulling their children out of Forsyth Country Day in order to send them to Whitaker. They must be doing something right.

NAFTA, CAFTA, We All Fall Down

It's hard to get excited one way or the other about CAFTA. It is nothing but political gamesmanship. It won't improve free trade one way or the other and American jobs will be lost when it takes effect, one way or another.

Free trade can only happen on a more or less level playing field. Anyone who thinks that the economies of Central America and the United States occur on a level playing field has been partaking freely of Central America's number one cash crop.

I don't object to CAFTA on grounds of its principle, I object to yet another Bush lying to us about its purpose.

RE: Fool me 8 times, shame on me

In defense of Bush 41, he did pick Thomas, which was a very good pick. ... Look at Reagan: he had 3 picks, and he chose O'Connor, Scalia, & Kennedy, and Scalia was the only good one to come out of that group.

RE: Correction: Public School Bashing

You're getting closer, but I think I said government school. You sure are spending a lot of time and effort to avoid that one.

"OK. I want to know why you say this. I want to know what experiences you've had to make you believe that public schools make children drones."

I'll play along for a moment. Let's begin with my own experiences in public school, all of it. My parents had my IQ tested when I was very young. It was on the advice of a child psychologist. I don't recommend this, by the way. It creates a very unrealistic situation for children. The test resulted in a very high score. I'm not going to go into a horn-tooting session here. The child psychologist very strongly recommended that my parents put me in a private school. My parents were not rich. We weren't poor, but we weren't what you could call solidly middle class either. Be that as it may, they could have afforded to put me in one of several private schools that dealt with what are euphemistically called "gifted" children. However, my Dad is something of a miser and my Mom was a budding liberal and future government school teacher at the time. The choice was couched in terms something like: "You don't really want to go to a private school, do you?" My parents had a friend who was a High School principal at a government school. He puffed and fumed, "That's ridiculous, public schools can do anything for Steve that a private school can!" (Sound familiar?) So back I went into the government school meat grinder. They put me in some "special" "accelerated" classes, but those were a joke. Their idea of special was to present exactly the same material we got in the regular classroom, but instead of being in with all the other kids, we were in with the other "special" kids. Not only that, but we were in the same classroom with the mentally retarded and autistic kids. So, as an added bonus, we were all now considered "retards" by our former classmates, who regularly reminded us of that status.

And there is the heart of the problem: the government-run schools can't do a decent job of meeting the needs of individuals. They march to a different drum, one shaded by bureaucracy. And please don't hand me any anecdotes about it being better these days. First, because we can trade anecdotes all day and it doesn't establish anything, and second because my children had similar experiences when I let friends and family convince me that the government schools had improved in 25 years. They were all put in academically gifted programs, but when I pursued details in the curriculum, I was told they weren't really allowed to diverge from the curriculum, they could just add additional material and spend more time on the standard material.

Ask your mother, ask your aunt, they must teach the state curriculum. They can't meet the needs of the outlying ends of the Bell curve, they have to teach to the middle. Individualism must be quashed to avoid damaging the self-esteem of those less individual. Self-esteem has become more important than knowledge. And so that all the good little lemmings rolling out of the government schools don't question that model, they get their heads filled with the liberal cotton-candy that the education drones all spew. As the article that originated this points out, we are chipping the corners off our best and brightest in order to bang that square peg into the round hole.

As for your personal experiences, not to be blunt, but you don't count. You are an insider. Your family is not only inside the education nebula, some members of it are (and were) Democrat political operatives. Like it or not, you were pre-defined as one of the "good guys." There is nothing wrong with that, but it makes it difficult for you to defend the wonders of government schooling based on your personal experiences because you didn't experience it at the same level as everyone else. There is also the fact that if five kids have a wonderful time in government schools and five thousand of them get crushed, those five kids are not in a strong position to extol the virtues of government schools.

Fool me 8 times, shame on me

Ann Coulter expands on her article from last week. Brilliant stuff, Ann. Here's a classic Ann-ism:

"He is David Hackett Souter, only the most recent reason Republican presidents – especially Republican presidents named 'Bush' – have lost the right to say 'Trust me' when it comes to Supreme Court nominations.

The other reasons are: Earl Warren, William Brennan, Harry Blackmun, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy."

No Secret Handshakes

From R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., the founder and editor-in-chief of The American Spectator:

WASHINGTON -- With the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush, Democrats and liberals -- usually one and the same -- are again fastening their attention on a national organization composed mainly of libertarian conservative lawyers and judges called the Federalist Society. The Society is not open solely to adepts of the law. Others too can join. I myself have been a member in good standing for some years and can report that the Society exerts no secret demands on its members. I have not had to learn any secret handshake or attend late night meetings in any sacred groves. We learn no mumbo jumbo save for the usual legal terms known by many Americans, for instance, malum prohibitum, quid pro quo, dormio ergo sum.

Re: CAFTA & NAFTA

I think that most Americans would say that they are for free and fair trade, too. But they're probably more for retaining as many U.S. jobs as possible. Yes, many jobs — regardless of NAFTA or CAFTA — would've exited and will exit the country, but now we're just encouraging this practice, aren't we? I can't envision a nation of nothing but consumers sustaining itself for long. We all can't sell each other Chinese DVD players or Big Macs for a living.


And who exactly is benefiting from these company decisions to exit the U.S.? The ones at the top who obviously don't care that they're actually destroying their own customer base. Without a job, a laid off textile worker has no choice but purchase the cheaper '$0.05 an hour' product. It's a vicious cycle, but who cares? Certainly not the company heads who get to reduce salary budgets while they give themselves bonuses for getting the company back on track. It's really sad.

Andy said: "Let's fact it, us Americans are to be blamed for the loss of those jobs because we want quality goods for a cheap price... If we would start buying American, then those jobs would come back over here to the good ol' USA."

You're right, except that I'm not sure if we're always concerned with quality. We're always concerned with cheap, though. But now please direct me to where I can buy 'all-American' for everything I need. We can't truly buy American now, because there's not much left to buy! Go shopping and try to find an American-made television or a pair of sneakers. It may take a while.

RE: The Next 'Giant Sucking Sound'?

Tucker Miller responds to Strother:

CAFTA, or no CAFTA, there is no law, policy, or regulation regarding inernational trade that is going to stop China from taking over the whole world. Maybe not militarily or politically, but most definitely economically.

The Chinese are just waiting for us short-sighted, greedy and impatient Europeans (or European descendents) to slip, then its their time.

While most of us indoctrinated, capitalist, couch potatoes drive along in our mid-sized, small-sized, family-sized, euro-sized, and or American-sized suv's -- ignorant to the FACT that petroleum will be GONE (probably WELL) before the 22nd century -- China is just waiting out what they call "The great disaster" (aka European colonialism).

To them, America is but a child of a nation (a stupid, self-centered people really). Are they correct in assuming that our greed, hubris, and lust for power will be our inevitable undoing? I dunno... but I know that 75% of everything I own, use, or need comes from (or through in same way) China. And it is certain that, just like they did with NAFTA, China will find and use loopholes in CAFTA to make a bunch more money off their capitalist neighbors across the pacific.

Mr. Smith, Call on Me

From Greg Forster in today's National Review Online:

The biggest difficulty for defenders of the government’s school monopoly is the overwhelming consensus in the empirical research finding that school choice works. They deal with this little problem primarily by ignoring the evidence and changing the subject, but it also helps that they have a stable of professors ready to distort, confuse, and obfuscate the research.

RE: CAFTA & NAFTA

"Yes, North Carolina lost many factory jobs, but I believe those jobs would have left anyway regardless of NAFTA."

Andy, you've got a point. The textile industry has been in trouble for quite a while, due in part to innovation. When a machine can do the job that once took 30 people to do, you're going to have layoffs. And yes, the fact that American consumers are more interested in price than quality has made the problem even worse. You'll see that reflected in the furniture industry. There's no doubt that NC makes some of the highest-quality furniture in the country, yet China is beating the pants off us with their cheap goods. (I believe Americans have a "temporary" mind-set that has created this problem, but that's a discussion for another day.)

But we've got to admit that NAFTA was the final straw. Where factories might have experienced gradual layoffs and downsizing, NAFTA caused them to close down all together. And they all closed in mass! We have displaced an entire segment of our state's population in a matter of 2 years. There was no time to prepare ourselves.

If we use NAFTA's effects as an example, shouldn't CAFTA cause similar problems?

Magazine: Bad Habits May Help Health

Now you know why the ladies say, "Andy, you're one hell of a man with one hell of a body." Woooooo!!!

From WXII12.com:

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- New research showed that some people's lazy habits could have some healthy benefits, reported WCMH-TV in Columbus.

CAFTA & NAFTA

No, Steve, I support CAFTA because I believe in free & fair trade. It has nothing to do with being a conservative Republican or that Dubya is president. ... I don't drink GOP kool-aid, my friend. ... With that said, I do accept your compliment of calling me "young."

I still support NAFTA. Yes, North Carolina lost many factory jobs, but I believe those jobs would have left anyway regardless of NAFTA. ... Let's fact it, us Americans are to be blamed for the loss of those jobs because we want quality goods for a cheap price. ... If we would start buying American, then those jobs would come back over here to the good ol' USA. ... These companies are making a market decision to stay in business. ... If some person can make the same quality product for 5 cents an hour compared to a worker over here making the same product for $7 bucks an hour, which product is the average American going to buy???

The problem with the North Carolina economy is the boobs in Raleigh raising taxes and adding more layers of regulation.

Now, I agree that we should add tariffs to goods coming in here from other countries if they're adding tariffs on our stuff going there. ... Call it "an eye for an eye" trade policy.

In the end, free trade is good for us, the consumer. ... Just my opinion.

The Next 'Giant Sucking Sound'?

Remember Ross Perot's "giant sucking sound" analogy for NAFTA? My dad reminded me of that during a recent conversation regarding CAFTA. While Perot seemed a bit eccentric for the political world, he's far from being a crazy man. Wonder what things would be like now if we had elected him president?

It's times like these when you get a glimpse of the true motivations of some politicians. If CAFTA is such a good idea, Andy, then why did so many of opposite political philosophies vote against it, from Virginia Foxx to Mel Watt? Hope of re-election for some, conviction for others?

Correction: Public School Bashing

I said: "Talk about squashing individuality and creativity!! Wow!!"

You said: "No, that's the job of the government-run schools."

OK. I want to know why you say this. I want to know what experiences you've had to make you believe that public schools make children drones. What about the learning experience in public school is detrimental to a child's creative self? Please.

If you say that you believe children start school too early and need more time to play and just "be kids", I will agree with you. If you say that strict dress codes suppress a child's creativity, I will agree with you. If you say that the arts aren't well represented in public school, I will agree. Somehow, I don't believe these will be the reasons you give.

This land is your land -- No. Your land is their land

From Debra Saunders:

A letter on the front of what used to be Revelli Tires in Oakland warns: "Eminent domain unfair. To learn all about the abuses of eminent domain, please go to www.castlecoaliton.org. Educate yourself. Pay attention. You could be next."

RE: RE: RE: House Joins Senate in Passing CAFTA

"I support CAFTA."

That's because you're still young, still Republican, and still supporting George Bush.

We heard all the same arguments with NAFTA. Our North American trade partners were getting a free ride, this would be good for jobs in North Carolina, blah, blah blah. Right after that was when the textile and furniture jobs left NC like rats deserting a sinking ship.

Ok, maybe 80% of CA goods are tariff-free, I've read arguments to the contrary, but we'll assume it's true for the sake of argument. It's that 20% that is the problem. Most of what I've read indicates that the tariff-free goods are of a class that doesn't interest American business. The 20% that are tariffed are the higher quality goods. That is why Bush's globalist buddies are pushing this. They can then ship their factories to Guatemala and Costa Rica where the labor costs are pennies on the dollar compared to inside the US. They can then re-import the goods without the tariffs.

I have to say I'm ambivalent about CAFTA itself. It's pretty inevitable. It's also nothing but spin. If we really want to do something to improve free trade, let's get the government out of the labor union business.

On Markets, Pick & Stick

From John Hood's Daily Journal:

RALEIGH – Correct me if I’m wrong – as if Carolina Journal readers need prompting on that score – but I think that officials at the University of North Carolina system are advancing contradictory premises in two different policy disputes currently hot in the state’s political circles.

RE: RE: House Joins Senate in Passing CAFTA

I support CAFTA. ... Already, 80% of imports coming from Latin America already come tariff-free, whereas 80% of our stuff going to Latin America is getting socked with tariffs. ... With CAFTA, we get those tariffs removed. ... Also, the Chinese were ready to strike a deal with Latin America if we didn't. ... I believe this deal is good for the US.

The breaking heat wave

RE: School Bashing

The title of your post is disingenuous. Shouldn't it read, "Government School Bashing?" Keep on trying though. The more you play this game, the more I get to expose it and the more people who become enlightened.

"Question for you Steve: If public schools are so bad, why did you send your children there?"

Stupidity. Yes, not even I am immune. Laziness and ignorance can be added. If I can help it, my grandchildren will never see the inside of a government-run school.

"Your statement about grief counseling and building self-esteem being 'stupidities' is amazing!"

It's only amazing to the hardcore, deep-diving, left-wing government education junkies. To everyone else it is just common sense.

"Do you not believe that building a child's self-esteem is an important part of education?"

Actually, no. However, if you educate a child, their self-esteem will take care of itself. What is amazing is the never-ending tendency of liberals to apply the wrong solution to a non-existent problem.

"Since when?!!"

Since the beginning of human history and up until about twenty-five or thirty years ago. I know, I know. History didn't exist for liberals before 1968, but the rest of us are just funny that way.

"You obviously have a very different idea of what education should involve."

Different than whom? Liberals. Yep. Teachers' Unions? Sure. Social Engineers? Absolutely. Education involves the impression of the sum of human knowledge and the underlying foundations of that knowledge on another mind. How the human that contains that other mind feels this morning or whether they think they're cool enough or not has little or nothing to do with whether they can master the concepts they seek to grasp. Your concept of education is skewed because it is framed completely within the context of liberalism. And yet you and Strother condemn private-sector schooling for being one-dimensional. It may not be hypocrisy, but it's awfully close.

"And you don't seem to understand that private entities could not POSSIBLY fund schools adequately, or for very long."

Horsefeathers. Private entities fund huge efforts every day. Besides, private sector schools wouldn't be nearly as expensive as government-run ones. But of course you work from that steady drone of "more money, more money." The current government school hegemony will not be satisfied until every single resource on the planet is swallowed up by them. Even then they'll press for more. And guess what? Education will continue to decay. The government education blob is a virus.

"I personally don't want to depend on "donations" to get my child through school."

Then don't. Who said, or even implied you would have to? Like anything else that is important to you, you will send your child to the school that suits your needs the best.

"And why in the world do you think church schools or some corporate-sponsored school would not have an agenda?"

Of course they will. But unlike government-run schools, you will have the choice to send your child to the school whose agenda matches your own. That's the wonderful thing about not living in a totalitarian socialist state. We get to pick what's best for ourselves and our own.

"Talk about squashing individuality and creativity!! Wow!!"

No, that's the job of the government-run schools.

RE: House Joins Senate in Passing CAFTA

More North Carolina jobs headed for Latin America. And that's what's really important, isn't it? Soon, all the illegals from Mexico will leave here and head for Costa Rica, where all the jobs have moved.

NASA Suspending Shuttle Program Over Foam Debris

From John Schwartz of The New York Times:

HOUSTON, July 27 - NASA suspended further flights of the space shuttle fleet on Wednesday after determining that a large piece of insulating foam had broken off the external fuel tank of the Discovery shortly after liftoff Tuesday morning, the same problem that doomed the Columbia and its seven astronauts in the last mission, two and a half years ago.

House Joins Senate in Passing CAFTA

From Susan Jones of CNS News:

Most Democrats opposed it, and so did some Republicans -- but in the end, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

The vote, which came early Thursday morning, was 217-215. Twenty-seven Republicans voted against CAFTA, while 15 Democrats supported it.

Passage is a victory for President Bush, who traveled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to press for Republican support.

School Bashing

Question for you Steve: If public schools are so bad, why did you send your children there?

Your statement about grief counseling and building self-esteem being "stupidities" is amazing! Do you not believe that building a child's self-esteem is an important part of education? Since when?!! You obviously have a very different idea of what education should involve.

And you don't seem to understand that private entities could not POSSIBLY fund schools adequately, or for very long. I personally don't want to depend on "donations" to get my child through school. And why in the world do you think church schools or some corporate-sponsored school would not have an agenda? Talk about squashing individuality and creativity!! Wow!!

Weekly Funnies

Funny stuff from David Letterman & Jay Leno...

RE: Re: More school stuff

"So what's the problem with American car manufacturers? Wait, I know the answer! It's those pesky labor rights organizations, right?"

Labor rights organizations? You have it bad, Strother. Does all that PC hurt? It certainly looks painful. But no need to digress...

"Private schools currently exist, which are competition for both public schools and each other."

Each other, yes, competition for government-run schools, hardly. Capitalism 101: An oligopoly is not competition.

"However, the vast majority of those that can afford to send their children to private schools do not."

I'm not sure that's true, but let's leave it for now.

"Are they missing something, or are their children's public school experiences like most of those that I've had during my all-public school education?"

Or are they uninformed, lazy, or ambivalent? You can't go anywhere with this because you can't assume motive.

"While you're at it, maybe you can do something about our grossly inefficient postal service, too. "

I'll assume you're headed for a simile here, otherwise it means you're obfuscating.

"But wait, the postal service does have constitutional authority to be there in the first place. I guess some needs and things change after 218 years, huh?"

So what's your point? This shotgun logic liberals use is so hard to follow. Let's see if I can extract your argument. The postal service is inefficient but constitutional so you think that means federal involvement in education should be in the constitution because things have changed in 218 years. Is that about it?

"Steve's above statement is a great example of why drastic ultra-conservative -- or, for that matter, drastic ultra-liberal-- ideas never materialize. They almost always require some massive and totally unrealistic change in the status quo."

Well first, I'm not even going to touch what went before this since I'm assuming you already know how ridiculous it sounded. You really need to go into politics, Strother. Really. I'm always in awe of how you guys can take something that was the status quo, even in our lifetimes, and make it sound so radical with those hyperbolic adjectives. Following the constitution is "ultra-conservative." I love that. It's completely hysterical and devoid of intellectual content, but you have to love the application of rhetoric. Returning to constitutional federalism requires "massive and totally unrealistic change." Shivers!

"It's a looooong stretch between our current public educational system and a corporate educational system. Any ideas on what would happen during such a transition?"

Umm, improved education? Literate high schoolers? Young minds no longer eradicated in the government school meat grinder? The horror!

"How would we even make such a transition without negative effects on current students?"

See, there's where you liberals always disintegrate. That unrepentant pessimism. I look at it like this: How could we help but make such a transition without positively affecting current students?

"Ending the public school system could easily be the final nail in the coffin of the American dream and an end to this place where 'rags to riches' stories really and regularly happen."

Wow, that's pretty dramatic. I submit to you that the government run schools are the reason the American dream is dying. I submit that their concentration on stupidities like self esteem and grief counseling and political correctness have eliminated any sort of educational process and turned our schools into social laboratories and expensive daycare centers. I submit that the teachers' unions' relentless quest to avoid any sort of accountability in their membership has turned public education into a money pit, fraught with fraud, corruption, and inefficiency. I submit to you that if we don't end the government-run schools and soon, the American Dream will die out forever.

"...what happens when a school is nothing but children whose parents can't afford the tuition?"

In a market system, it would never happen. No need to even go there.

"...after all, once a school is a business it's all about profit; there's no profit in a school of poor children."

Which is why a school full of forgiven tuitions would never happen. One possible exception could be religious school, backed by the donations of church members, but no need to go there either.

"And do you think that the 'haves' will willingly send their kids to a school to subsidize the 'have-nots?'"

It happens all the time. But you're exposing one of the weaknesses of your beloved government-run schools. The government is forcing the 'haves,' as well as everyone else, at the point of a gun to subsidize the 'have nots.' In any case, this is just more class warfare and I'm finished with it.

"After all, now the ones that can will send their children to the best school money can buy, if they don't already."

And what would be the problem with that? Do you go out and buy a crappy car to satisfy some altruistic paean to poverty? More class warfare. You are attempting to float the argument that anyone who uses the fruits of their labor for the betterment of themselves or their loved ones is somehow evil, corrupt, and selfish. That's the same flawed argument the collectivists and unions try to use. It doesn't get any better with repeated use.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I live in a society, not in a bubble. The quality of life of others directly affects my quality of life."

That's great, but your rebuttal was nominally to my statement that a right to an education is a myth. You haven't offered anything in the way of evidence to contradict me. It is a common failing of liberals that they don't understand the difference between what might be desired or pleasing and what is a right. Let me help you out. A right is something you're born with, it's something God gave you. It's something the constitution protects but can't grant. What is meant by a right to an education is actually that one has some supposed right to be provided an education and that is never a right.

"Giving everyone a fair shot -- one that doesn't depend on whether a child's family can afford to send them to school or not -- matters to me."

That's great too, but it doesn't have anything to do with eliminating government schools. You keep missing it. I said market-driven, over and over again. Eliminate the government-run schools and the accompanying egregious tax burden, and there won't be a situation in which a parent cannot afford to send their kids to school. And in the end, there is always home schooling, isn't there?

Life and how to live it

Mike is one of my favorite writers on Townhall. And he is in North Carolina to boot. This is a must read for both liberals and those who would do battle with them. He speaks from experience in the trenches, battling the leftist nutjobs day in and day out down at UNCW.

Re: More school stuff

"Any entity that has competition always produces a better product."

So what's the problem with American car manufacturers? Wait, I know the answer! It’s those pesky labor rights organizations, right?

But really, I do agree with this statement. Private schools currently exist, which are competition for both public schools and each other. However, the vast majority of those that can afford to send their children to private schools do not. Are they missing something, or are their children's public school experiences like most of those that I've had during my all-public school education?

Steve sez: "First, we get the federal government out of education, mostly because it has no constitutional authority to be there in the first place, but also because it is grossly inefficient. Then we get local government to turn the schools over the private enterprise. The we go back to actually educating our children."

Yeah, that should be a piece of cake. While you're at it, maybe you can do something about our grossly inefficient postal service, too. I usually wait for 30 minutes for one grumpy clerk to hand me a book of stamps while three others wander around in the background, and I always send important and timely things via private enterprise (Fed Ex), certainly not Express Mail. But wait, the postal service does have constitutional authority to be there in the first place. I guess some needs and things change after 218 years, huh?

Hey — I have a great idea for the first truly 'corporate' school: Wal-Mart Academy. They could teach exclusively from the books they sell (from nothing offensive to their customers, of course). If your grades are under a C, then they just eject you from the classroom and straight to a cashier's position. The longer you keep your grades up, the greater chance you have to leave the world of retail and eventually, you'll graduate to Wal-Mart management. But if you fail, there's always a place for you as an 'Associate!'

Operator, get me Mr. Lee Scott in Bentonville, Arkansas ASAP!

Okay, enough sarcasm. Steve's above statement is a great example of why drastic ultra-conservative — or, for that matter, drastic ultra-liberal— ideas never materialize. They almost always require some massive and totally unrealistic change in the status quo.

It's a looooong stretch between our current public educational system and a corporate educational system. Any ideas on what would happen during such a transition? How would we even make such a transition without negative effects on current students?

Ending the public school system could easily be the final nail in the coffin of the American dream and an end to this place where 'rags to riches' stories really and regularly happen. Why? Well, I certainly respect any private school that would forgive tuition altogether for those that can't afford it, but what happens when a school is nothing but children whose parents can't afford the tuition? How long will it be around? And you can't say that wouldn't happen; after all, once a school is a business it's all about profit; there's no profit in a school of poor children. And do you think that the 'haves' will willingly send their kids to a school to subsidize the 'have-nots?' Yeah, right. Maybe they'll send love offerings here and there, but that can't be counted on. After all, now the ones that can will send their children to the best school money can buy, if they don't already.

"As for your assertion that any school must exist, the right to an education is a myth. That's like saying someone has a right to their welfare check."

Well, I don't know about you, but I live in a society, not in a bubble. The quality of life of others directly affects my quality of life. Giving everyone a fair shot — one that doesn't depend on whether a child's family can afford to send them to school or not — matters to me. But, oh yeah, I forgot: I must be a bleeding heart liberal for thinking such. My fault.

Economics 101

Tax cuts work every time it's tried...

From Ed Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation:

General Motors wanted to boost sales this year, so it cut prices.

When the automaker offered its cars to the public at the same prices it charges employees, cars started flying out of showrooms. In fact, the deals were so good that other American automakers also had to slash prices in order to keep pace.

It’s simple, really. People respond to financial incentives. Cut prices and they’ll buy more.

The same rule applies to tax rates. Cut them, lowering the price of work, saving and investment, and people will earn more. That will improve the economy and end up boosting tax revenues.

Nice people and the Howling Dog Left

From James Lewis in today's The American Thinker:

I know a college professor who keeps a picture of Che Guevara in his briefcase, so that he can look at it adoringly whenever he pops open the lid. This bright and friendly fellow has a lifelong admiration for Fidel's Cuban prison state, no matter how much its people are deprived, while being forced to listen to yet another six-hour rant from El Jefe. Where is his common sense? I just don't know.

Holding the Left to Account

From Rachel Neuwirth in today's The American Thinker:

In the ideological civil war in America, the Left can only play the role of cynical spoiler, while conservatives continue to bungle and cannot even pose key questions to expose the hypocrisy and weaknesses of leftist positions.

It seems that the political Left in America senses an enhanced opportunity and is mobilizing to drive President Bush from office and, in effect, overturn the last presidential election. Their battle cry has long been ‘there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and Bush misled the country into an unnecessary war.’ They cite the ‘Downing Street memo’ and now feel that the affair involving presidential advisor Karl Rove, and the leaking of confidential information, presents another exploitable opportunity to pile on the pressure.

Choosing Life

From W. James Antle III in today's The American Spectator:

BOSTON -- Mitt Romney picked an unlikely backdrop for launching a 2008 presidential bid: his veto of an emergency contraception bill passed by the state legislature. The legislation requires hospitals to offer the "morning after" pill to patients -- a provision exempting Catholic institutions was stripped -- and makes it available without a prescription.

RE: School Choice

That needs to be in big, bold letters:

"Any entity that has competition always produces a better product."

School Choice

Chairman of the Stokes County Board of Commissioners, John Turpin, opines:

Andy, the irony in Stokes County is that the people elected Sonya Cox, who was educated at a private school. Any entity that has competition always produces a better product.

The Democratic Party: Left Behind

Here's the dilemma: The Democrats CAN'T win without union support, but the Republicans have shown they CAN win without union support.

From Thomas Lifson, the editor and publisher of The American Thinker:

The Democratic Party just took a body blow this week, deepening the crisis of the American Left. The historic split of organized labor which took place Monday will slash the Democrats' cash flow and remove thousands of “volunteer” union workers for the nuts and bolts work of organizing political campaigns and getting out the vote. Even worse is the danger of infighting.

Democratic Self-Strangulation

From the Washington Prowler:

Just how hijacked is the Democratic Party? Former CIA analyst and Joe Wilson advocate Larry Johnson was allowed to give the party's weekly national radio address. Some Democrats in both the House and Senate are wondering why the party continues to beat on the supposed Karl Rove scandal, despite the fact that there is no clear evidence the story is helping the party politically.

More School stuff

"I believe I'm missing something, here. What's the difference between public school and 'government school'? The government is the only entity that does support public schools. If we take them out of the equation, who do you propose take over? Honestly, I want to hear your ideas."

It's not that you're missing anything, it's that indoctrination thing. You've been programmed to believe that only the government can do anything in or for the public interest. Not only that, but despite massive evidence to the contrary, you've been indoctrinated to believe the government is the best entity to accomplish this. Certainly a market-driven system, yes that's good old capitalism, can do a better job of running the schools (or just about anything else, for that matter). First, we get the federal government out of education, mostly because it has no constitutional authority to be there in the first place, but also because it is grossly inefficient. Then we get local government to turn the schools over the private enterprise. The we go back to actually educating our children.

"Have you ever taken the time to drive around Stokes County and look out at who actually lives there?"

I don't need a driving tour of Stokes County. I've lived in Stokes County since you were 9 years old, my Stokes County ancestors go back to 1792. I also spent 10 years involved in politics and public service in the county. I have been places in Stokes County you didn't even know exist. I also don't need an anthropology lesson. I have personally interacted with a sizeable percentage of the citizens of Stokes County, probably not far from half of them.

"Where do you think they would have found the resources to send all those children to private schools? Where is the nearest private school? King, maybe? It isn't an option for everyone, therefore pubic schools must exist on some level."

Why do you insist, other than the indoctrination thing, that it is an either-or proposition? I can guarantee you that people would be much happier if you told them their tax burden would decrease by the amount they put into the government-run schools and and that they could use that money toward their childrens' education. Of course that's assuming that the teachers' union and their cronies in the Democrat Party and the press would refrain from spreading lies about the whole process. And why do you insist that non-government schools are expensive and out of reach? That's pure teachers' union propaganda. Take a ride down to Calvary Baptist School. I daresay the average per capita income there is well under that of Brown Mountain Church Rd. In fact I believe Mr. Baker regularly forgives tuition altogether. As for your assertion that any school must exist, the right to an education is a myth. That's like saying someone has a right to their welfare check.

"It's to bolster the self-esteem of children who don't get that type of attention at home."

I see. And what does that have to do with education? Since when was it the job of any school, public or otherwise, to look after the self esteem of anyone. That kind of social engineering crap is one of the main reasons government-run schools have lost their wheels and run into the ditch.

"I think you missed my statement about all the creative outlets that were provided to me at North Stokes. Not only did we have one of the best bands in the state, but we had an active chorus, an award-winning student newspaper, creative writing, physics, advanced biology, and a program strictly for academically-gifted students. I was encouraged to express my individuality."

How wonderful for you. No, I didn't miss it, I was wondering, once again, what that has to do with schools not run by the government.

"The learning experience should start way before kindergarten and doesn't just end after high-school graduation. I think you'll find that children whose parents take an interest in their studies, help with homework and get to know teachers will fare far better. BUT, a parent also has limitations."

This and everything before it to the last quote I extracted has nothing to do with whether or not the government should run schools. No part of what you have written precludes a private sector or market-driven school approach.

"They can't possibly teach every subject..."

Home schoolers seem to manage quite well. Their students regularly excel in college and in the silly end of grade tests given by the state.

"...and often can't see their child objectively."

And why, exactly is that a requirement?

"And that is where the teacher comes in."

You mean that's where the government-employed indoctrinator comes in. Given that I have dispensed with your predicate, the only task left for the state employee is indoctrination.

"And are you inferring that guidance and grief counselors aren't needed in schools?"

I'm not inferring (or implying!) anything. I said it straight out. And I didn't say anything about guidance counselors.

"Just because your children didn't need them doesn't mean that others don't. And in many cases, school may be the only place a child will be able to receive emotional counsel and support."

Nope. Need doesn't cut it. The government-run schools have no business replacing friends, family, or clergy in these endeavors. Furthermore, you have no right to take money from me to provide these services that I see as frivolous and out-of-scope. That's why a market-driven approach will work better. If parents are more interested in how their little darlings "feel" than what they learn, let them pay for that nonsense.

"That's one of the main problems in public schools right now. Lack of funding is causing these types of positions to be eliminated which in turn puts the responsibility on the teacher. How can a teacher instruct a classroom when at the same time, they are trying to console a troubled child?"

Grade A, pure, unadulterated, liberal horse manure. First, schools are spending money on this kind of stupidity to the detriment of classroom teachers. This kind of BS is indoctrination. It is teaching them victimology 101, the liberals' favorite field of study. Civilization survived for thousands of years without getting in touch with its feelings. This is exactly why we must get the government out of the business of running our schools.

AIR AMERICA: STEALING FROM POOR KIDS?!

From Michelle Malkin:

Air America is being investigated in New York for diverting federal/local funds--possibly "hundreds of thousands of dollars"--meant for inner-city kids and seniors into the station's coffers.

Gonzales: Court Not Bound by Roe v. Wade

From Fox News:

WASHINGTON — The legal right to abortion is settled for lower courts, but the Supreme Court "is not obliged to follow" the Roe v. Wade precedent, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday as the Senate prepared to consider John Roberts' appointment that would put a new vote on the high court.

RE: School Jihad

I believe I'm missing something, here. What's the difference between public school and "government school"? The government is the only entity that does support public schools. If we take them out of the equation, who do you propose take over? Honestly, I want to hear your ideas.

Have you ever taken the time to drive around Stokes County and look out at who actually lives there? I suggest a trip down Hwy. 66 to Pinch Gut Creek. When I was in high school, those folks didn't even have running water! Most of those children were raised by their grandparents who had been tenant farmers all their lives. Where do you think they would have found the resources to send all those children to private schools? Where is the nearest private school? King, maybe? It isn't an option for everyone, therefore pubic schools must exist on some level.

And have you taken the time to really study why public school makes such an effort to make all students feel equal? Hint: it isn't to kill their individuality. It's to bolster the self-esteem of children who don't get that type of attention at home. I think you missed my statement about all the creative outlets that were provided to me at North Stokes. Not only did we have one of the best bands in the state, but we had an active chorus, an award-winning student newspaper, creative writing, physics, advanced biology, and a program strictly for academically-gifted students. I was encouraged to express my individuality.

(But a lack of funding is eliminating many of these very courses!)

Yes. I'll admit it. Alice Tucker's grandkids are VERY pro-public education. But not because we were fed a line about how great they were. We watched the effort that our moms and grandma put into their jobs and the impact they had on every child they taught, and it's very hard not to be influenced by that. I'll also admit that we had more than just your average educational experiences. We too, were home-schooled. But we were sent to public schools in order to form relationships outside of the family. I think Strother put it well by saying that although we had a great teacher at home, I wouldn't have wanted to be limited to just one person's interpretation of every subject! And even she had her limitations when it came to advanced math. (Don't tell her I said that!)

My point is that all children should have a similar educational experiences. It is negligent of parents to assume that school will take care of all their child's needs. A teacher can only give you so much information, and let's face it, not all teachers are worthy of their title and that goes for public and private schools. I don't know why you think bad instruction and administration is soley a public school problem!

The learning experience should start way before kindergarten and doesn't just end after high-school graduation. I think you'll find that children whose parents take an interest in their studies, help with homework and get to know teachers will fare far better. BUT, a parent also has limitations. They can't possibly teach every subject and often can't see their child objectively. And that is where the teacher comes in.

And are you inferring that guidance and grief counselors aren't needed in schools? Just because your children didn't need them doesn't mean that others don't. And in many cases, school may be the only place a child will be able to receive emotional counsel and support. That's one of the main problems in public schools right now. Lack of funding is causing these types of positions to be eliminated which in turn puts the responsibility on the teacher. How can a teacher instruct a classroom when at the same time, they are trying to console a troubled child?

Intense Hunt for Signs of Damage Could Raise Problems of Its Own

From John Schwartz of The New York Times:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 26 - Now that the Discovery is in orbit, the examination begins. Its 12½-day mission will be the most photographed in the history of the shuttle program, with all eyes on the craft to see if it suffered the kind of damage from blastoff debris that brought down the Columbia in February 2003.

RE: RE: RE: High Property Taxes

Stokes County Commissioner Joe Turpin opines:

I have personally asked current and past Superintendents as well as School Board Members why we should do the "No Child left Behind". We DO NOT have to do that program. That also means we do not get federal dollars. The thought of turning down any money is bamboozling to most of our local officials. There are several reasons, they want as much as they can possibly milk out anyone (as long as it not them), they think in the back of their mind that it is a bottomless well.

Exploiting the Right

From Mark Tooley, United Methodist director at the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, D.C.:

WASHINGTON -- As funding from its member denominations continues to decline, the National Council of Churches (NCC) is increasingly relying on support from liberal foundations and polemical direct mail campaigns.

AHP: Big Government in Three Easy Letters

From Michael F. Cannon of the Cato Institute:

House Republicans plan to vote this week on a health care proposal called association health plans, or AHPs (H.R. 525). Considering that Republicans claim to be the party of small government, it's a wonder they keep pushing this big-government idea year after year. It's also a wonder that the Senate Democrats who defeat it year after year don't realize the enormous power AHPs would give federal politicians and bureaucrats.

School Jihad

Wow! Even more righteous indignation than I could have possibly imagined. I can't help but notice that at least 75% of Alice's grandkids may be ambivalent on the subject of organized Christianity, but they most definitely worship at the altar of government education.

Before I proceed, and so my comment above might seem less flippant, I'll present my bona fides on the subject. My mother had a doctorate in education. English education to be precise. I helped her get that doctorate by tutoring her through statistics when I was in high school. My stepfather was the chairman of the education department at the University of Colorado. He was in the business of making teachers. I have been immersed in the public school cauldron for nearly my entire life. My experience in public service has simply reinforced most of my basic beliefs on the subject.

I don't have the time to hit each response point-by-point, so here are some of the high spots:

"Good old, government-operated North Stokes served an entire generation of Brenneises well..."

I think not. But go ahead and poll said Brenneises. You'll find education ended for them when they left good old Nancy Reynolds. I know this because I've asked them. In any case, Nancy Reynolds is an anecdote. A single school does not a system make.

"I feel that as far as mathematics and physics go, David Parker was a real asset for those of us lucky enough to be in his classes."

Indeed he was and is. But corollary to my point above, a single teacher does not a school make.

"...my experiences, private/parochial school products that I have had dealings with haven't always been the most intelligent/personable/sociable/ capable/etc./etc./etc."

Straight from the anti-school-choice playbook. What was that you were asking about indoctrination? You might as well go ahead and include the assertion that home schoolers are all weird. I'm not sure how the personality of students has anything to do with the efficacy of government-run schools.

"This is such BS! I'd like to know this writer's background. Is she a teacher or an administrator? I doubt it."

More party line. Why is it that you public school fans always assume that teachers and school administrators have been conferred with some god-like ability to solely discern criticism of education? That's like saying that anything critical you utter about Toyota is BS because you aren't a mechanical engineer.

"What is so silly here, is the argument that public schools kill a child's individuality."

If it is so silly, why didn't you offer a single piece of evidence that it isn't true? All you did was evoke some depressing socialist world view where individuality doesn't exist. I don't know how things are around your desk, but the area around mine isn't anything like that. Although we work as a team, individual accomplishment is extremely important. In a capitalist system, that's how the world works.

"And unless things have really changed, every project in grade school isn't team-focused. That's a ridiculous notion."

Apparently you aren't familiar with the middle school concept. That's where they turn the entire school into a team. Apparently though, the idea of the team is to make sure no one gets pregnant or commits a felony because there's certainly no education going on there.

"The fact that teachers are forced to teach tests is due to 'no child left behind'."

And there it is: the classic education blob propaganda line. I've been hearing variations on that one for thirty years. "The fact that teachers are forced to [insert favorite abhorrent but forgivable teacher behavior here] is due to [insert favorite abhorrent government, preferably Republican, behavior here]" What I can never understand is why, if the government forces teachers to do all these things that seem to ruin education, do teachers always mount such passionate defenses for why schools should be run by the government?

"So, what's the difference between public education indoctrination and home education indoctrination?"

Well, for one thing, home and private schoolers get to choose with what they are indoctrinating their children. You will find that rarely includes indoctrination into socialism, but if that is the wish of the parent, then so be it. I'm not sure who invented this right and responsibility of government-run schools to indoctrinate anyone into anything, but parents have always had the right to indoctrinate their children as they see fit. Socialists and other totalitarians hate this because their system fails in the presence of independent thought.

"I just don't think that one source is as good as multiple sources of information, influence, and perspective."

And what makes you think, other than the indoctrination you received from the government-run schools, that private and home schooled children are only exposed to single sources of information, influence, and perspective? Why do you assume that the government-run schools do provide this exposure? You're revealing a bias that was ingrained into you by the education blob. That bias, like all other prejudice, has no basis in fact. My experience is that private and home schooled children have far more diverse outlooks since they are not mind-locked into the bureaucratic socialist regime of the government-run schools.

"And I guess I've been completely snowed, but I also wasn't aware that I have been molded into a passive, obedient, dependent, and intellectually reliant citizen."

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. You're not alone in that blizzard.

"Matter of fact, I've been questioning the 'truth' that our government has been proclaiming for quite a while now..."

Really? So what are your views on how the government handled the Branch Davidians? How about Ruby Ridge? What about Somalia? Kosovo and Bosnia? How about the Elian Gonzalez affair? If the 'truth' is really known, you question our government when control of it is held by the GOP, but I'd bet real money you didn't have a lot to say in the way of doubt from 1992 to 2000.

"Wonder what the next generation of Americans would be like if suddenly all kids were home schooled?"

That's easy. It would be a lot like America was about three generations ago, except with quite a bit of technology added in. Government-run schools are a recent aberration in western civilization. I know that's not the view you got in school, since they teach that first the Earth cooled and then the Democrats showed up and created public education, but reality is somewhat different. On a purely subjective level, I think we would be in a lot better shape. Of course given that home schoolers as a class always excel in any reasonable measure you care to offer, there might even be some objective evidence to support that as well.

"Maybe opponents to public education just want to educate those that can afford to send their kids to private school..."

More teachers' union talking points. We've heard it before, rich people who claim that the government-run schools are dangerous, ideologically sterile, and poor-performing are actually lying because they just want to keep the poor downtrodden masses ignorant and barefoot. That kind of class warfare bombast is rarely helpful in a rational discussion of education.

I know the title of the article addressed public education, but the body clarifies: the problem isn't necessarily public education, the problem is government-run schools. Once again, considering the litany of woes caused in education by the government, not the least of which are miserable salaries, I fail to understand why a rational person would defend the idea of a government-run school. Who says that private-sector schools are not public? Why do we think the government is the only entity capable of running the public schools? Money is no more to the government than the hairs on our heads. The private sector can pay teachers their true worth and they wouldn't waste money on stupidity (grief counselors, school psychologists, social engineers to perform studies).

The defense of government-run schools and the aggressive manner in which their proponents pursue it is actually evidence of the indoctrination mentioned in the article. Against all reason, the public school fans will stridently defend a system which is completely broken. Barring insanity, the only explanation is a thorough job of indoctrination supported by a dandy collection of propaganda.

Re: Home Skoold!

Steve sez: " One day, Americans will wake up to the farce that is the government-run schools. They will realize that so-called public education has nothing to do with education and everything to do with indoctrination. This article has many talking points to that effect.

You’re right about the talking points part.

So, what’s the difference between public education indoctrination and home education indoctrination? Well, I certainly don't claim to be an expert on home schooling, but at least with public education, the doctrine in question comes from more than one lone source. A good parent isn’t necessarily a good teacher of everything a child needs to learn. I don't know what’s so hard to figure out about that.

Personally, I feel that I've benefited by public education; while I respect the intelligence of my parents — and feel that my mom is a skilled, effective teacher — I just don’t think that one source is as good as multiple sources of information, influence, and perspective. Because of the public school system, I haven’t simply been influenced by like-minded people, I have been exposed to a wide variety of folks — many that I would've probably never chosen to hang out with in the first place, but I’m sure glad I did.

It's depressing to think about what my life would be like if all the great teachers I've had were never a part of it. I’m sure that many here on the BP feel the same way.

The paranoid propaganda piece that Steve linked to sez:

"Their [the evil public school system's] main goal is not really to educate people—they want to create a future society of passive, dependent, obedient citizens. They take a malleable young mind and shape it to be intellectually reliant, not on itself, but on an authority. The teacher, the majority, or the government proclaims the truth; individuals merely "accept" it."

Hmm. That’s an exciting conspiracy theory, like The Wall or something. Scary! However, I seem to remember a wide variety of teachers — conservatives, liberals, and moderates — all sharing information that most everyone can agree is based on fact using their own unique perspective.

And I guess I've been completely snowed, but I also wasn't aware that I have been molded into a passive, obedient, dependent, and intellectually reliant citizen. Matter of fact, I've been questioning the 'truth' that our government has been proclaiming for quite a while now — not a lot of acceptance there. But I guess I wouldn't know if I am an intellectually reliant citizen, would I? Ooh, really, really scary!

Wonder what the next generation of Americans would be like if suddenly all kids were home schooled? Further, I wonder how many parents wouldn’t be parents today if they knew they also had to be full-time teachers?

Maybe opponents to public education just want to educate those that can afford to send their kids to private school, keeping a fine line between the haves and the have-nots, the educated and the uneducated? Is that a 'conservative' ideal? I didn't think so, but it's certainly an ideal that would maintain the status quo, that's for sure.