Archive for 2020
August 16, 2020
NEXT, WHY SHOULD ONLY U.S. CITIZENS GET TO VOTE? UGANDANS AND CAMBODIANS ARE AFFECTED BY WHO IS U.S. PRESIDENT, TOO! Why We Should Abolish the Requirement that the President Must be a “Natural Born Citizen.”
I’ll just suggest that the Framers had insights about loyalty that we may have forgotten.
I’M SO OLD, I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I STILL FELT SAFE IN NEW YORK CITY: How NYC championed broken windows policing and threw it away.
K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Rather Than Reopen, It’s Time to Rethink Government Education.
The vast majority of American families send their children to public schools. Only 11 percent of children attend private schools, and fewer than 5 percent are homeschooled. And as one school board after another gives the no go signal for the coming school year, families are being thrown into crisis. And yet, the great American entrepreneurial spirit is awakening as parents are forced to rethink education for their children. And that is to the benefit of children and the nation. . . .
There is no better time to make a change than right now, when public education is in chaos. Parent resource groups are forming to help families make an exit strategy and find the best education option for their children. Today, there are more options than ever.
Homeschooling continues to be a growing trend in America, where families have the freedom to hand-select every class for their child, advancing or slowing progress to meet the child’s individual needs (the antidote to boredom and frustration).
“Hybrid homeschooling” is a new option, where children are homeschooled part of the week and learn in a more traditional school setting with other students for the rest.
The most exciting new parent solution is the “pandemic pod,” a return to where families in one neighborhood or social circle hire a teacher to instruct their small group of children. It has been called a “2020 version of the one-room schoolhouse, privately funded.”
Finally, every church should start a school. . . .
The last piece of the puzzle to set families truly free to make the best education decisions for their children is for states to set free public-education funds. Most counties fund public schools through collection of property taxes. The Fairfax County School Board receives $14,000 per student, per year. Imagine the possibilities if the primary educators of children — their parents — were given the freedom to spend that money to acquire the best education for their child. Or to provide it themselves, by a parent who can now afford to stay home.
Let’s rethink, not rotely reopen. If there ever was a time when parent power could defeat the power and monopoly of the education elites, that time is now.
Public schools have been awful for pretty much my entire lifetime, despite drastically increased funding and staffs. Time for a change. And giving money to parents instead of teachers unions should be popular with parents, if not with teachers unions.
August 15, 2020
OUR “HERO” TEACHERS: School cancelled in Arizona area after ‘sick out’ over reopening. Require a doctor’s note — and go after doctors who can’t substantiate their notes.
BAD IDEAS: “Earlier today, a handful of Antifa goofs decided to take their anti-American shtick to the annual biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. If this sounds like a bad idea to you, you are right.” “Of course, the Antifas were counting on law enforcement to protect them. Some might find this ironic.”
VOTE-BY-MAIL IS A DISASTER IN THE MAKING, AND IS MEANT TO BE: Nevada Sent More Than 200K Mail-In Primary Ballots to Wrong Addresses.
OPEN THREAD: That’s the terror of knowing what this world is about.
THE LONELY LIVES OF SCIENTISTS: Shockingly young galaxy surprises scientists with its impressive bulge.
STEVEN HAYWARD: Our Collapsing Cities. “The bigger question, recurring to Scruton’s theme: it took 25 years for cities to turn around after the demolition project of 1960s liberalism. Will it take as long this time—or longer?”
NOW OUT FROM ANDREW WAREHAM: The Winter War (The War to End All Wars Book 2).
BUT IT’S TOO DANGEROUS TO VOTE IN PERSON:
TRENT TELENKO: Happy VJ-Day, Plus 75 Years.
GOLDEN GOOSE RETHINKS EGG-HARVESTERS: Amazon downplays latest relocation rumors, but experts say COVID makes Seattle even less attractive. “Even less attractive” than the riots and the commie city council make it.
I’M SURE WHATEVER COPS ARE LEFT IN SEATTLE WILL RESPOND QUICKLY IF HIS BREWERY IS LOOTED: Seattle Beer Maker Puts Anti-Cop Hate-Slur on Can – and Let’s Just Say It’s Falling Flat.
REMEMBER, “WOKE” IS JUST A SYNONYM FOR “STUPID AND CRAZY.” Austin Guts Police Budget to Fund Abortion, and Other Twists From America’s Dying Cities.
SEEN ON FACEBOOK:
SPOILER: IT WAS.
YES, THAT’S THE LEFT’S GOAL: Employee Reclassification Laws Will Destroy Freelancing In America.
THIS IS HUGE, IF IT STANDS: Amazon Liable For Defective Third-Party Products Rules CA Appellate Court. It’s sort of the physical-world equivalent of repealing Section 230.