Fresh Conservative

Jamie Hope (aka Conservative Chloe) just e-mailed me about an exciting new website that Brett Tatman, Jamie and a number of colleagues have set up and that I've linked to my blog roll. It is called "Fresh Conservative".

Jamie has already written several excellent blogs. In "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" Jamie discusses rather frightening proposals of State Senator Irma Clark-Coleman (D-MI) for Michigan to follow the totalitarian pattern of Spartan education (also advocated by Plato in the Republic) of brainwashing, er, educating children in state-run schools starting from early childhood. Coleman has recently proposed to reduce the starting age for kindergarten by one year. With a totalitarian, would-be "philosopher-king" like Barack Obama in the White House*, we can rest assured that the the crackpot idea of universal 0-5 education stands a good chance of passage at the national level as well. Little children must be taught to goose step and give Democrat Party, palm up salutes as young as possible. Moreover, the program would end day care and related small businesses. Jamie notes that:

"Birth-to-grave education is contrived by the global elite as an underhanded attempt to grab our children at birth, and indoctrinate them into their “global citizenship” idealism. It is an affront to America to allow not only the destruction of our small businesses, who care for children in a loving environment, but to force our children into government controlled indoctrination camps, where they will be taught international philosophies, instead of American values. The elitists know that if they can teach our children their ideologies from birth, undermining their parent’s morals and religious beliefs, they will backdoor their way into the minds of our youngest, indoctrinating them with their global idealism."

The fact is, the public schools have failed as institutions. They have failed for the following reasons:

(1) The education theories used in public schools have too often depended on distortions of John Dewey's ideas on progressive education. They do not work. When the "creativity first" approach is used in math and writing, and the "look say" method is used in reading, students fail to learn. The worst victims of the failed "creativity first" theory are inner city children, large numbers of whom have been crippled for life by the education system.

(2) America's school teachers are greedy, selfish and incompetent. They have failed in what should be their mission, educating the young, and replaced that mission with "ME FIRST"; "PAY ME MORE"; and "I SHOULDN'T BE EVALUATED". Their teachers' unions have used every specious argument in the book to deflect the harm that they have done to education.

(3) The schools have too often engaged in ideological brainwashing, left wing propaganda and politically correct double talk and have failed to provide a common culture or a competent education to children.

(4) The schools are run by teachers and administrators who are themselves poorly educated and, even if (2) were not the case, lack the education needed to educate others, including children.

0-5 education would be a disaster for several reasons. First, it would give the ideologically motivated bigots who dominate our school system five additional, formative years to convert American children's minds to their left wing ideology. Second, it would deny children the additional time with their parents crucial to withstand the prejudices and incompetent education to which they are currently subjected in grades k-12. Third, as bad as the current crop of schoolteachers are, and as unqualified, there is no doubt that expanding the base of selfish, bureaucratic slime that works in education would reduce the quality of the teaching staff well below its current dismal level.

Rather than add five destructive years to the time children spend in public schools, a voucher system should be established and all schools should be privatized.

But Jamies doesn't stop with education! In a post on gay marriage entitled "We Are Not Homophobic" Jamie points out that:

"In response to Maine rejecting gay marriage, once again, many in the homosexual community have deliberately, or ignorantly, labeled those who oppose this measure as homophobic. Being a Christian, allow me to clarify this psychological diagnosis for the gay community. We are not afraid of you."

Jamie points out that she disagrees with gay marriage on religious grounds, not because of homophobia. In my view, there is a greater degree of Christophobia on the part of New York Times-style left wing extremists as there is homophobia among mainstream and moderate Americans who believe in God.

Fresh Conservative is an impressive website and I am looking forward to reading more of their stuff.

*Hope writes that Obama has already backed 0-5 education: "In a White House press release dated March 10, 2009, 'President Obama is committed to helping states develop seamless, comprehensive, and coordinated ‘Zero to Five’ systems to improve developmental outcomes and early learning for all children.'"

On Andrew Jackson

David's "Death of Socrates"



Jackson was great but had serious flaws, such as his treatment of the Cherokees. His appointee was Chief Justice Taney, writer of the Dred Scott decision, which furthered slavery and led to the Civil War. The spoils system was a kind of democratization but was an error, leading to the special interest politics of today.

His great act was abolition of the national bank. But his advocacy of democracy led to Progressivism within a century, even though he was a libertarian. He could not conceive that more democracy would lead to less liberty,a strategic blunder.

Many still think with Jackson that more democracy is consistent with greater liberty, but the facts do not bear out his theory. The founding fathers knew so, which is why they constituted a republic, not a direct democracy. Socrates had learned this in 399 BC as well. To maximize individual liberty, a conservative state is necessary. Jackson had not studied history as had Jefferson and Hamilton. Although Hamilton was a socialist, his emphasis on republicanism would have led to greater freedom in the long run than the trend toward greater democracy that Jackson initiated. Jackson focused on structure, the central bank and the powers of the central government, and was right in his ideas on those issues, but he ignored historical processes that ultimately subverted his libertarian democratic ideal.

Jim Crum on the Health Bill Law

Jim Crum
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX, IL XXXXX
December 21, 2009

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin
United States Senate
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 1304


Re: Congratulations

Senator Durbin:

You've just blown a hole in the bottom of the budget and ignored a large majority of Americans both Liberal and Conservative.

This mess takes the worst of both worlds and combines them into a toxic and totally unaffordable cocktail that nearly everyone except yourself will have to pay for.
A more honest rendering of the cost of the bill, knowing what expenses will actually be covered, what budget cuts will actually happen, and tossing in the front loading of revenue, creates a final tab close to 3 Trillion dollars.
And here is the clincher it still leaves 15 Million people, or more, uncovered. WOW!

Dick, I have got to admire you, really. If I gathered 100 strangers together to try and make a worse bill, I couldn't come close.
Yet, somehow you and your colleagues found a way!
You must be so proud.

Sincerely,



Jim Crum

Solon on Happiness

Radical Academy blog posted this excerpt from Mortimer J. Adler's discussion of an excerpt from Herodotus about Solon, the founder of Greek democracy, and his visit to Croesus, the richest king in Greece. Keep in mind that discussions about "happiness" in ancient Greece are complicated that the word for it, eudaimonia, was different from our word happiness. It meant well being or flourishing as well as happiness. It wasn't limited to the purely emotional state. The differences in language create differences in thought. But the insights are very powerful. The ancient Greek language was rich and wrenching. The Greeks probably would have found English dull.

> Solon set out upon his travels, in the course of which he came on a visit to Croesus at Sardis. Croesus received him as his guest, and lodged him in the royal palace, and had his servants conduct him over his treasures, and show him all their greatness and magnificence. And when Solon had seen them all. Croesus said, 'Stranger of Athens, I have heard much of your wisdom and of your travels through many lands. I am curious therefore to ask you, whom of all the men that you have seen, you consider the most happy?' This he asked because he thought himself the happiest of mortals: but Solon answered him without flattery: 'Tellus of Athens, sire.' Astonished at what he heard, Croesus demanded sharply, 'And why do you consider Tellus the happiest of men?' To which the other replied, 'First because his country was flourishing in his days, and he himself had sons both beautiful and good, and he lived to see children born to each of them, and these children all grew up; and further because, after a life spent in what our people look upon as comfort his end was glorious. In a battle between tie Athenians and their neighbors near Eleusis, he died gallantly upon the field. And the Athenians gave him a public funeral and paid him the highest honors.'

Thus, Solon admonished Croesus by the example of Tellus. When he had ended, Croesus asked angrily, 'Is my happiness, then, so little to you that you do not even put me on a level with private men?'

'Croesus', replied the other, 'I see that You are wonderfully rich and are the lord of many nations, but as for your question, I have no answer to give until I hear that you have closed your life happily. For assuredly he who possesses great store of riches is no nearer happiness than he who has enough for his daily needs. For many of the wealthiest men have been unfavoured of fortune, and many whose means were moderate have had excellent luck. The wealthy man, it is true, is better able to content his desires, and bear up against sudden calamity. The man of moderate means has less ability to withstand these evils, from which, however, his good luck may keep him clear. If so, he enjoys all these following blessings: he is whole of limb, a stranger to disease, free from misfortune, happy in his children, and comely to look upon. If in addition to all this, he ends his life well, he is truly the man who may rightly be termed happy. Call him, however, until he die, not happy but fortunate.'