There is a lot that has been going on out there this week. We had the "Health Care Summit" in which the democrats were allotted twice as much time to speak as dissenting Republicans. Of course, the President recognized this and said since he is President, his talking time doesn't count towards the total. The Republicans did get to get some good conservative ideas across and hopefully some people were still watching the telecast at that point to catch it. The media shouldn't be calling them the party of no even now. Particularly since they said, here are the ideas we have been suggesting since the beginning.
We also saw some democrats try to pull a fast one in the House this week while everyone was watching the "Health Care Summit". They attempted to ammend the intelligence services bill with all sorts of penalties and punishments for our intelligence officers who are trying to do their jobs. Oh, and all the scientists claimed this morning that January 2010 was the hottest January in the history of the world.
With all of this going on and being rammed down our throats, one has to think, what can I do? How do we move forward from all this while not falling into the abyss? I believe that comes from a solid understanding of history and who we are as a nation. I've ordered a great book that I am waiting to ship from Amazon. Apparently after Glenn Beck mentioned it on his show it went through the roof. I'm looking forward to receiving it because it gives more knowledge on who we are.
I believe that a great disservice is being done to our children today by the schools. They are not teaching history, and what they are teaching as history has been glossed over with a progressive veneer.
So how do we move forward? Understanding who we are is the first part along with understanding the greatness of our nation and not apologizing for it just because somebody doesn't agree with us. We do all we can to share knowledge with those around us. We need to shine the light on what is really going on. We then need to use the knowledge we have, along with good old American ingenuity, and use those things that will work. The things that take us back to our roots as a nation and closer to the Founders intents.
I know this weeks post is a little rambling, but I am tired of people saying they don't like what is going on and don't know what to do about it. Don't stick your head in the sand. Learn what is going on, learn why those that are doing it are attempting to and what their ultimate goal would be. If you don't agree with them, then speak out. By sitting silent you just allow your freedoms and your agency to be stripped away.
Remember to keep yourself informed and don't be afraid to speak out.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Core Education Programs
I've been thinking about this recently. One of my coworkers has sacrificed for years to ensure her daughter could attend private schools. It has really paid off well. In our discussion we chatted about core programs in education. She noticed the one thing that the private schools had that public schools don't is a good core curriculum. It was mentioned a bit in my last post regarding progressive education.
I think their are a couple reasons why the private schools are so much more successful than the public schools. I would say free schools, but public schools don't come cheap to the taxpayer.
1. Private schools can get rid of teachers that don't teach or don't measure up. They can reward those that do well based on merit. This is something that the education unions have killed in the public schools.
2. Parents are paying and have a choice. The schools know that the parents will vote with their feet if the programs don't measure up. When The Washington Post asked George Parker, head of the Washington, D.C., teachers union, about the voucher program there, he said: "Parents are voting with their feet. ... As kids continue leaving the system, we will lose teachers. Our very survival depends on having kids in D.C. schools so we'll have teachers to represent."
John Stossel wrote a good piece on the above two things recently.
3. I believe that the charter and private schools are successful because they not only have the ability to form their own programs and curriculum, but they have a core curriculum. They teach things like US History, The Constitution, Government, and concentrate on the three R's as well as science.
By having a core curriculum that EVERY student has to pass, it ensures that students have the base knowledge necessary to make decisions. In instructing the kids, they aren't being taught what to think, they are being taught how to think. They then use those skills to evaluate what is out there in the world and form their own opinions.
My homework assignment for my readers in blogo land today is, what types of courses would you include in your core curriculum? If you were to set up your own charter school, what kinds of courses would you want EVERY student to take and be competent in?
The public school system is dumbing down a lot of our kids, teaching them "what" to think instead of "how" to think. It is failing the very communities it is supposedly supposed to be lifting up. Join the discussion and lets get involved to help future generations get an education that will serve them well through life and will serve to protect the future of our great nation.
Remember to keep yourself informed, and don't be afraid to speak out.
I think their are a couple reasons why the private schools are so much more successful than the public schools. I would say free schools, but public schools don't come cheap to the taxpayer.
1. Private schools can get rid of teachers that don't teach or don't measure up. They can reward those that do well based on merit. This is something that the education unions have killed in the public schools.
2. Parents are paying and have a choice. The schools know that the parents will vote with their feet if the programs don't measure up. When The Washington Post asked George Parker, head of the Washington, D.C., teachers union, about the voucher program there, he said: "Parents are voting with their feet. ... As kids continue leaving the system, we will lose teachers. Our very survival depends on having kids in D.C. schools so we'll have teachers to represent."
John Stossel wrote a good piece on the above two things recently.
3. I believe that the charter and private schools are successful because they not only have the ability to form their own programs and curriculum, but they have a core curriculum. They teach things like US History, The Constitution, Government, and concentrate on the three R's as well as science.
By having a core curriculum that EVERY student has to pass, it ensures that students have the base knowledge necessary to make decisions. In instructing the kids, they aren't being taught what to think, they are being taught how to think. They then use those skills to evaluate what is out there in the world and form their own opinions.
My homework assignment for my readers in blogo land today is, what types of courses would you include in your core curriculum? If you were to set up your own charter school, what kinds of courses would you want EVERY student to take and be competent in?
The public school system is dumbing down a lot of our kids, teaching them "what" to think instead of "how" to think. It is failing the very communities it is supposedly supposed to be lifting up. Join the discussion and lets get involved to help future generations get an education that will serve them well through life and will serve to protect the future of our great nation.
Remember to keep yourself informed, and don't be afraid to speak out.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Progressive Education
My carpool buddy mentioned something to me at the beginning of this week that just made my skin crawl. She was at a meeting of the textbook committee for our local schools. The committee is made up of 15 people. Of the 15, 7 of them wanted to eliminate any books in the curriculum that mentioned the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, the Fourth of July, Christmas and any other religious holiday. What a travesty! She said she thought of me at the meeting because somebody behind her said something to the effect of "Freakin Progressives."
In the coming months as I read more history and do more research, I believe that I will focus a lot more on the progressives and the agenda they have secretly been pushing for over the last 100 years. It seems to be the direction my blog is starting to head. Of course I will share why their agenda is so damaging and try to enlighten as many people as possible as to how we can work towards keeping strong conservative independant values and freedom at the forefront.
It has been plain from the outset of my research on Progressivism, which started with my school paper previously posted, that Progressives do not like the Constitution. They think the Founding Fathers got it wrong. The issue progressives have with the Constitution is that it limits the powers of the federal government. That was one of the biggest reasons the founders included not only a separation of powers but eventually the 10th ammendment as well. The Founding Fathers spent a LOT of time reviewing the governments of the past. They looked for what worked and what didn't. Their conclusion? No previous system of government had worked. That is why our Constitution and other founding documents are so unique. They are originals.
Our nation's founders were well read and educated. They understood that if you do not learn and understand history you are doomed to repeat it. The history of our nation's founding is something that progressives have been trying to obscure for a long time. It started with changes to the education systems as far back as 1880. The university system in our country does not cover much curriculum on our nations founding and civics. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute released its fourth annual national Civic Literacy Report entitled "The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the College Degree & Civic Learning on American Beliefs." One of the scary things mentioned is that 60% of respondents could not identify on a multiple choice test several bits of basic knowledge that are REQUIRED knowledge for passing the citizenship test.
All of this fits in with the progressive model. If people don't know their history and the miracle that the founding of our nation was, then the progressives that push for more and more government can tweak that history to whatever they want it to be. Progressives have obviously on a Universtiy level been distorting our nations history and eventually working to not teaching it at all. This of course has trickled down over the years to our K-12 system. I remember as a kid learning about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independance, The Constitution, and the great sacrifices our forefathers made to establish a truly free society. That's what our history classes pretty much were. These days its hard to find a school that teaches actual American History, not the slanted progressive view of it, and apparently based upon the efforts of some in my community, to have a school teach it at all.
Remember to keep yourself informed, and don't be afraid to speak out.
In the coming months as I read more history and do more research, I believe that I will focus a lot more on the progressives and the agenda they have secretly been pushing for over the last 100 years. It seems to be the direction my blog is starting to head. Of course I will share why their agenda is so damaging and try to enlighten as many people as possible as to how we can work towards keeping strong conservative independant values and freedom at the forefront.
It has been plain from the outset of my research on Progressivism, which started with my school paper previously posted, that Progressives do not like the Constitution. They think the Founding Fathers got it wrong. The issue progressives have with the Constitution is that it limits the powers of the federal government. That was one of the biggest reasons the founders included not only a separation of powers but eventually the 10th ammendment as well. The Founding Fathers spent a LOT of time reviewing the governments of the past. They looked for what worked and what didn't. Their conclusion? No previous system of government had worked. That is why our Constitution and other founding documents are so unique. They are originals.
Our nation's founders were well read and educated. They understood that if you do not learn and understand history you are doomed to repeat it. The history of our nation's founding is something that progressives have been trying to obscure for a long time. It started with changes to the education systems as far back as 1880. The university system in our country does not cover much curriculum on our nations founding and civics. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute released its fourth annual national Civic Literacy Report entitled "The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the College Degree & Civic Learning on American Beliefs." One of the scary things mentioned is that 60% of respondents could not identify on a multiple choice test several bits of basic knowledge that are REQUIRED knowledge for passing the citizenship test.
All of this fits in with the progressive model. If people don't know their history and the miracle that the founding of our nation was, then the progressives that push for more and more government can tweak that history to whatever they want it to be. Progressives have obviously on a Universtiy level been distorting our nations history and eventually working to not teaching it at all. This of course has trickled down over the years to our K-12 system. I remember as a kid learning about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independance, The Constitution, and the great sacrifices our forefathers made to establish a truly free society. That's what our history classes pretty much were. These days its hard to find a school that teaches actual American History, not the slanted progressive view of it, and apparently based upon the efforts of some in my community, to have a school teach it at all.
Remember to keep yourself informed, and don't be afraid to speak out.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Energy Independance
It was interesting to hear somebody who has no plan to use great sources of clean energy, like nuclear, tout it in a speech which essentially was a bold faced lie. Yep, that is what you are getting out of the President and his progressive friends in Washington. More on that in a minute.
One of the biggest ongoing issues that creeps up now and then is energy independance. It seems the only time we pay attention to it is when oil prices go up. Then they have hearings on capitol hill, they grill the oil companies, and put on a big dog and pony show. To what end? All so they can look like they are doing something and keep the status quo. As soon as the energy prices naturally start to fall a bit, the public stops the complaining and moves on because they no longer see it as an issue.
The thing with energy is that it has to be addressed. Real solutions have to be implemented by people with the cajones to do it right. That is your standard issue with politicians, they don't want to stand up for anything unless it gets them immediate election returns.
So, how do we go about creating energy independence? Why do we need to do it?
How about we start with the why's first. We import a vast amount of our energy supplies. At least in the forms of oil and natural gas. This obviously adds to the cost of the end product. If we developed it ourselves it would be cheaper. Just a simple rule of economics. Many of the countries we get our oil from don't like us very much. Even if they feign affection. This presents national security implications. Besides, wouldn't it be better to keep all that cash in our own country? Our energy demands as a nation will continue to go up. That is just a natural consequence of an expanding people and a growing nation.
How do we create energy independence? It really is a two pronged approach. All you hear about in the media and the noisemakers is green energy. While I agree that we need to be responsible in our energy development and that fossil fuels won't last forever, I don't buy into the "climate change" hysteria. We have talked about it here before. All the brouhaha continues to be further and further discredited. That being said, we need to fast track and develop the natural resources we have right now and continue to explore and discover more. This will allow us an energy source that is homegrown while we work to develop economically viable energy alternatives. You cannot just cut off one and use government funds and mandates to develop the other. For a good example, look at Spain. For every green job their government funded, the economy lost 2.2 other jobs. That comes out to a net loss of 1.2 jobs.
There are several energy sources we can tap. We have great reserves of oil and natural gas in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. Don't be fooled by all the pictures of polar bears and elk prancing across grasslands. ANWR is like the deserts of Nevada with no plants or animals, just a bunch of ice and snow. It might make the snow fairies mad, but we need to develop it. Governor Palin showed a great use of tapping the resources in Alaska responsibly through the private sector. Not only have they expanded exploration and production for both oil and natural gas, they are in the midst of building a natural gas pipeline to bring all that energy to the rest of us. The environmentalists can complain all they want about pipeline projects decimating the ecology along their paths, but the facts show that life expanded along the current Alaska Oil Pipeline after it was built.
There are responsible ways to drill offshore. We are the best at environmentally safe ways of exploiting our natural resources. We need to free up the offshore areas so we can drill. If the state of California would learn from Alaska and allow more development off the coast, they would have a lot more money coming in instead of getting ready to file bankruptcy in April. You are not talking about rigs right on the beachline a mile off shore. You are talking about platforms several miles offshore. Hardly an eyesore. Plus, we are more responsible than any other country in the world when it comes to energy development. It would be safer for the trees and animals here than exploiting those resources in some third world country with no controls.
There are also great shale reserves in the mountain west. The technology has improved by leaps and bounds and continues to do so allowing us to extract this oil. It is reported that these shale reserves hold more oil than the fields in the middle east. They have also found vast reserves of oil in the upper midwest.
The great thing about tapping all of these sources is that it creates JOBS. It creates long term jobs for people in all sorts of fields. It also decreases the economic cost of energy. Of course, along with the increase in domestic production we also need to increase our refinery capacity so we can eliminate the costly bottle neck between the fields and the consumer.
As I mentioned, we all know that fossil fuels won't last forever. They may last us a couple hundred years or whatever, but we need to have a plan. One of the great sources of renewable and clean energy is nuclear. By ramping up our nuclear production it would once again create jobs, lower the cost of energy, and we would have a continuous supply. There was a great post about nuclear energy and the President's SOTU remarks posted today. It pretty much sums up that little topic mentioned at the beginning of this post. There was also this week some good discussion on Yucca Mountain.
While we wait for the cost of solar power to come down and finding the illusive spot on the earth where it is sunny 24/7 365, we need to use the resources we have been blessed with. They will tell you that it doesn't matter because those sources of energy won't be able to hit the market for like 10 years. That is one of the problems. Somebody needs to step up and say lets get going so we aren't having this same conversation 10 years from now. Also, the reason it takes so long is that the government creates too much red tape and beuacracy to get through, besides all the litigation from the environmentalists to do it. That is why it takes 10 years. For the companies that are just sitting on their leases. Tell them to start producing or you will revoke their lease and sell it to the highest bidder. They did that in Alaska and it worked wonders.
Car companies are working on viable alternatives to gasoline for vehicles. Some of the most promising work has been done with fuel cells. It would be a clean source of fuel. The biggest hurdle to overcome once they design a good cost efficient model, is the need for new types of stations to refuel your vehicle at.
Overall, the energy issue is something that can easily be solved by the free market. Companies are not going to push out a vehicle or product the people are going to hate. They will develop energy resources closer to their biggest consumers if given the opportunity. Other countries such as China seem to recognize this which is why their energy development is going full bore. They are even working with companies to drill oil in the Gulf of Mexico, our backyard.
Remember to keep yourself informed, and don't be afraid to speak out.
One of the biggest ongoing issues that creeps up now and then is energy independance. It seems the only time we pay attention to it is when oil prices go up. Then they have hearings on capitol hill, they grill the oil companies, and put on a big dog and pony show. To what end? All so they can look like they are doing something and keep the status quo. As soon as the energy prices naturally start to fall a bit, the public stops the complaining and moves on because they no longer see it as an issue.
The thing with energy is that it has to be addressed. Real solutions have to be implemented by people with the cajones to do it right. That is your standard issue with politicians, they don't want to stand up for anything unless it gets them immediate election returns.
So, how do we go about creating energy independence? Why do we need to do it?
How about we start with the why's first. We import a vast amount of our energy supplies. At least in the forms of oil and natural gas. This obviously adds to the cost of the end product. If we developed it ourselves it would be cheaper. Just a simple rule of economics. Many of the countries we get our oil from don't like us very much. Even if they feign affection. This presents national security implications. Besides, wouldn't it be better to keep all that cash in our own country? Our energy demands as a nation will continue to go up. That is just a natural consequence of an expanding people and a growing nation.
How do we create energy independence? It really is a two pronged approach. All you hear about in the media and the noisemakers is green energy. While I agree that we need to be responsible in our energy development and that fossil fuels won't last forever, I don't buy into the "climate change" hysteria. We have talked about it here before. All the brouhaha continues to be further and further discredited. That being said, we need to fast track and develop the natural resources we have right now and continue to explore and discover more. This will allow us an energy source that is homegrown while we work to develop economically viable energy alternatives. You cannot just cut off one and use government funds and mandates to develop the other. For a good example, look at Spain. For every green job their government funded, the economy lost 2.2 other jobs. That comes out to a net loss of 1.2 jobs.
There are several energy sources we can tap. We have great reserves of oil and natural gas in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. Don't be fooled by all the pictures of polar bears and elk prancing across grasslands. ANWR is like the deserts of Nevada with no plants or animals, just a bunch of ice and snow. It might make the snow fairies mad, but we need to develop it. Governor Palin showed a great use of tapping the resources in Alaska responsibly through the private sector. Not only have they expanded exploration and production for both oil and natural gas, they are in the midst of building a natural gas pipeline to bring all that energy to the rest of us. The environmentalists can complain all they want about pipeline projects decimating the ecology along their paths, but the facts show that life expanded along the current Alaska Oil Pipeline after it was built.
There are responsible ways to drill offshore. We are the best at environmentally safe ways of exploiting our natural resources. We need to free up the offshore areas so we can drill. If the state of California would learn from Alaska and allow more development off the coast, they would have a lot more money coming in instead of getting ready to file bankruptcy in April. You are not talking about rigs right on the beachline a mile off shore. You are talking about platforms several miles offshore. Hardly an eyesore. Plus, we are more responsible than any other country in the world when it comes to energy development. It would be safer for the trees and animals here than exploiting those resources in some third world country with no controls.
There are also great shale reserves in the mountain west. The technology has improved by leaps and bounds and continues to do so allowing us to extract this oil. It is reported that these shale reserves hold more oil than the fields in the middle east. They have also found vast reserves of oil in the upper midwest.
The great thing about tapping all of these sources is that it creates JOBS. It creates long term jobs for people in all sorts of fields. It also decreases the economic cost of energy. Of course, along with the increase in domestic production we also need to increase our refinery capacity so we can eliminate the costly bottle neck between the fields and the consumer.
As I mentioned, we all know that fossil fuels won't last forever. They may last us a couple hundred years or whatever, but we need to have a plan. One of the great sources of renewable and clean energy is nuclear. By ramping up our nuclear production it would once again create jobs, lower the cost of energy, and we would have a continuous supply. There was a great post about nuclear energy and the President's SOTU remarks posted today. It pretty much sums up that little topic mentioned at the beginning of this post. There was also this week some good discussion on Yucca Mountain.
While we wait for the cost of solar power to come down and finding the illusive spot on the earth where it is sunny 24/7 365, we need to use the resources we have been blessed with. They will tell you that it doesn't matter because those sources of energy won't be able to hit the market for like 10 years. That is one of the problems. Somebody needs to step up and say lets get going so we aren't having this same conversation 10 years from now. Also, the reason it takes so long is that the government creates too much red tape and beuacracy to get through, besides all the litigation from the environmentalists to do it. That is why it takes 10 years. For the companies that are just sitting on their leases. Tell them to start producing or you will revoke their lease and sell it to the highest bidder. They did that in Alaska and it worked wonders.
Car companies are working on viable alternatives to gasoline for vehicles. Some of the most promising work has been done with fuel cells. It would be a clean source of fuel. The biggest hurdle to overcome once they design a good cost efficient model, is the need for new types of stations to refuel your vehicle at.
Overall, the energy issue is something that can easily be solved by the free market. Companies are not going to push out a vehicle or product the people are going to hate. They will develop energy resources closer to their biggest consumers if given the opportunity. Other countries such as China seem to recognize this which is why their energy development is going full bore. They are even working with companies to drill oil in the Gulf of Mexico, our backyard.
Remember to keep yourself informed, and don't be afraid to speak out.
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