"What is meant by daily bread?"

"Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like." - Luther's Small Catechism, The Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer

So, if God tells us to pray for "devout and faithful rulers," why is it so misguided to suggest that we might also want to vote for some?

Out of the Mouths of Eight-Year-Olds

Today as we were driving home from church Evan asked, "Mom, why do we have toll roads?" I explained that often city and/or state governments will build a new road to make automobile travel easier but will then install toll booths so as to collect fees to pay for the new road. I further explained that while those tolls are often represented as temporary measures, lasting for a set period of time until the road is paid for, they typically become permanent fixtures that ultimately extend in perpetuity, collecting money indefinitely. "Governments like to take as much money from the people as they can, and once they start taking it, they don't like to stop," I said.

My eight-year-old briefly pondered this statement, and then disdainfully responded:

"Government brutality."

Homeschooling Under Attack

My husband and I are members of the Christian homeschooling organization HSLDA--the Home School Legal Defense Association. You might think that any Christian homeschooler would want to join such a group. You would be wrong. There are many homeschoolers who choose not to be members of HSLDA. They have thoughtful reasons for their decision, reasons that I can respect. My husband and I have considered the pros and cons of membership and have made a different decision.

That, though, is not the point of this post. The point of the post is an article I just read in the Nov./Dec. issue of the HSLDA publication, The Home School Court Report. The article, written by HSLDA chairman Michael Farris, is entitled "The Third Wave of Homeschool Persecution" and outlines what Farris sees as the third in a series of attacks on homeschooling by those who are threatened by it. He says the first two attacks failed because they were based on faulty premises which were in time shown to be faulty, namely that 1) homeschooling doesn't work and that 2) homeschoolers suffer from not being "socialized." Farris says no one seriously argues either point anymore because homeschooling has proven itself to be quite successful in producing students and ultimately adults who are able to function in the world as effectively as students coming out of institutional settings.

What's left, then, for those who want to go after homeschooling? Farris says that the anti-homeschoolers have found a third war cry, and this one (unlike the previous two) happens to be based in fact. According to him, the "third wave" is the argument that "Christian homeschooling parents are effectively transmitting values to their children that the elitists believe are dangerous to the well-being of both these very children and society as a whole." He quotes at length from an article by Catherine Ross, a professor at George Washington Law School. The article, published in May 2010 in the William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal, is entitled "Fundamentalist Challenges to Core Democratic Values: Exit and Homeschooling." Here is an excerpt:

"This essay explores the choice many traditionalist Christian parents (both fundamental and evangelical) make to leave public schools in order to teach their children at home, thus in most instances escaping meaningful oversight. I am not primarily concerned here with the quality of academic achievement in the core curricular areas among homeschoolers, which has been the subject of much heated debate. Instead my comments focus on civic education in the broadest sense, which I define primarily as exposure to the constitutional norm of tolerance. I shall argue that the growing reliance on homeschooling comes into direct conflict with assuring that children are exposed to such constitutional values."

Are you tracking with this? Homeschooling is dangerous to our children, the country and the Constitution. Farris also quotes from another author, Professor Martha Albertson Fineman from the Emory University School of Law, who in 2009 in the book What is Right for Children? The Competing Paradigms of Religion and Human Rights wrote,

"Indeed, the long-term consequences for the child being homeschooled or sent to a private school cannot be overstated. The total absence of regulation over what and how children are taught leaves the child vulnerable to gaining a sub-par or non-existent education from which they may never recover. Moreover, the risk that parents or private schools unfairly impose hierarchical or oppressive beliefs on their children is magnified by the absence of state oversight or the application of any particular educational standards." Fineman's solution to the problem? Read on:

". . . [T]he more appropriate suggestion for our current educational dilemma is that public education should be mandatory and universal. Parental expressive interest could supplement but never supplant the public institutions where the basic and fundamental lesson would be taught and experienced by all American children: we must struggle together to define ourselves both as a collective and as individuals."

Are you catching those buzzwords? "Struggle"? "Collective"? Would you like a cup of Marxism with your afternoon dialectic?

The battle line is being pretty clearly drawn. Having failed to attack homeschooling on the merits there is nothing left for the anti-homeschoolers but to attack a parent's right to do it. And that is achieved by going after the child, claiming that the state, not the parent, has ultimate responsibility for that child.

On the one hand, I have a certain sense of security that homeschooling has become so common and accepted that any attempt to eradicate it would fail. I am in the second generation of homeschooling and have personally never encountered what I would describe as homeschooling "persecution." Most of the time the people I come in contact with, even if they don't understand homeschooling, respect it as one of the educational options out there and respect my and my husband's decision to do it. They have overall positive images of homeschooling and often say they would do it themselves if they "could."

On the other hand, I think it pays to be vigilant. We live in a country that has for a very long time now been slowly expanding the power and reach of the State. There are some signs that may be starting to change, but those signs are not definitive and I am not convinced the tide has turned. I for one plan to tighten my grip on my kids, plant myself firmly between them and the ever-grasping State, and proclaim loudly, "Over my dead body." I suggest you do the same. How you do it is up to you.

Your Vote Matters

I hear it a lot these days: "It doesn't matter who you vote for. All politicians are the same. There's no real difference between Democrats and Republicans. They're too entrenched. Nothing is ever going to change."

Excuses, all. Excuses for sticking one's head in the sand and not investing, not caring, not studying, and not contributing to the process.

It does matter. They aren't all the same. Things can change. This election proves it. Anti-establishment candidates all over the country are riding a wave that may take them all the way to Washington (or their state capitols). We may be celebrating conservative victories tonight that a year ago no one could have ever dreamed of.

Ultimately, if it's true that it doesn't matter, that they're all the same, that reclaiming our country's Constitutional foundation is impossible, we have no one to blame but ourselves. United States citizens today have more freedom than any people in history ever have. We have come close to squandering it. But thank God many are starting to wake up. It's time to make a big noise, folks. We can do it. And if we make a loud enough noise, tomorrow "Yes, we can" (to borrow a phrase) will be come "Yes, we did."

Go and vote and catch the wave that is only now beginning, that will take us to 2012 and beyond as we fight to get our country back.

I'm all in favor of breastfeeding . . .

. . . but I think this is inappropriate government intervention in the workplace. For those who don't feel like clicking on the link for the full story, it outlines one of the many aspects of Obamacare that are only now coming to light: a requirement that any business with 50 or more employees provide a designated space for working mothers to breastfeed or pump. If the language is similar to that in the Family Medical Leave Act, that means any company with 50 or more employees will have to provide such a room, even if individual locations within the company don't themselves have 50 or more employees.

I'm going to make a rather scandalous proposal here. What if breastfeeding moms simply stayed home with their babies? Hmmm? Then we wouldn't have an issue, would we?

It's almost as if the government is trying to make it as easy as possible for parents to leave their children in the care of others. Now why would they want to do that?

"You Don't Know What They Mean, Either?"

A few days ago I went to the neighborhood pharmacy to fill some prescriptions for my mom, who has recently been sent home from rehab after a fall. This store is a pharmacy and nothing else. The only thing they sell is medicine and medical supplies. I appreciate that when I go there they recognize me and know who my mom is and ask about her. If needed, they deliver her medication to her.

On this day there was a problem. When the pharmacist tried to get insurance approval online for my mom's prescriptions, he was met with several rejection codes. Unable to figure out what they meant, he got on the phone to seek assistance from the insurance company. Keep in mind that my mom is a senior citizen whose coverage is provided by the federal government. As I stood eavesdropping (what else was there for me to do?) I overheard something like this:

" . . . got these rejection codes . . . there's no key to tell me what they mean . . . 14 . . . 8 . . . 12 . . . if you provided some sort of key I wouldn't have to call you about this . . . you're telling me you don't know what they mean either? . . . . [to his assistant] See, this is why we don't want the government taking over the whole thing . . . . [to me] This will probably take a while. Why don't I call you or you can check back with us later?"

The initial cost quoted for the presciptions was over $300. It took until the next day for things to get sorted out and my mom to get properly charged for her prescriptions (her portion ended up being only around $25). Since my mom fell early in January, this was the first time she had tried to get prescriptions filled this calendar year. I am thinking that is probably why she had so much trouble and am anticipating that this won't happen again, at least not until next year. But that may be wishful thinking.

Just think. If the government takes over the entire health care system, all of us will be able to enjoy the same streamlined, efficient medical care that my mom now receives. I can't wait . . . .

Your Tax Dollars at Work

I spent much of the day accompanying young musicians in Solo & Ensemble competition. The event took place at a local high school. Many of the students I accompanied were assigned to classrooms that are normally home to social science instruction (history, government, and economics). In one room the chalkboard had some writing that had not been erased. It was a comparison/contrast chart of the major political parties' stands on certain issues, one of which was censorship. According to the chart, on the question of free speech the Democrat party is "pro-freedom" and the Republican party is "pro-censorship."

This is the sort of thing with which students in our public schools are regularly indoctrinated. And we are told that this is education, and that the government needs more money to do more of it.

I could be wrong, but I think if more parents took the time to go into classrooms and see and hear what their children are being taught rather than blindly accepting that the schools are doing their jobs, they might decide it's time to not only starve the public education beast but to send him back to school himself.

"A Decade and Its Crises"

From Sammy Benoit of American Thinker:

When we look back at the decade 2000-2009, we may well define it by three crises: the crisis that didn't happen, the crisis that wasn't supposed to happen, and the crisis that we don't realize is happening. We haven't learned the lessons of the first two, and our ignorance of the third may doom us to be slaves to our government, rather than the other way around.

Click here to read the rest.

Head Scratcher

So, on the radio this morning I heard a report on the exit polling yesterday. It went something like this:

"The majority of voters reported that President Obama was not a significant factor in their vote. Instead, the issue about which they were most concerned was the rapid expansion of the federal government and increased federal spending."

Huh?

Let me rephrase that.

HUH?

Republican Big Spenders

So far this year the U.S. Senate has voted on five of President Obama's appropriations bills. You might be surprised to find out the names of the lonely four Republicans who have voted against each and every one of them (thirteen Republican senators have voted for all five). One of those senators, often chided by conservatives as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) who would have been as bad or worse for the country than President Obama, was the GOP nominee for president last year. He wasn't my first pick, but I think he often gets a bum rap and I still don't understand those who stayed home rather than vote for him over the current occupant. Had John McCain won the election, I would not be nearly as worried about this country's future as I am right now.

To see whether or not your senator is functioning as a rubber stamp on the Obama spending spree, click here.

Obama and ACORN

The President says he's not paying much attention to the ACORN scandal because it's just not that important. Pamela Geller at American Thinker begs to differ. An excerpt:

"This is madness. What this constitutes is a coup on the American electoral system, a usurpation of the will of the people: government by the people and for the people made into a sham. It's a government by the moochers and the looters, for the moochers and the looters, stolen from the good, hardworking Americans. And worse, the American people have sat by and let it happen. Obama's presidency is not an accident of history. It was a very deliberate assault by the hard left on the foundation of the greatest country in human history."

And These Are The People Who Want to Run Health Care?

Back in April, oh around the 15th of the month, my 16yo son wrote a check to the Internal Revenue Service. It's not that he made enough money in wages to owe taxes, but rather that he won enough chess tournaments to do so. You see, prize winnings are not subject to to the same exemption as wages. Taxes must be paid on every single cent. So my son, being the good citizen that he is, sent Uncle Sam his cut.

Imagine our puzzlement, then, when a month or so later he got a bill from dear old "Unc" for unpaid taxes plus interest and penalties. But, but . . . he paid! We checked with the bank and sure enough, the money had come out of the account. So we printed off copies of the cancelled check, front and back, and sent them in, trusting that this would settle things.

Hahahahahahahah. Apparently, Uncle Sam is not only greedy, but his eyesight is going, too. Yesterday another letter came. Apparently the tracking numbers on the check do not meet Uncle's legibility requirements. Another copy of the check has been requested, along with a form on which we have been directed to write down all the numbers that have been stamped on the check in the endorsement area. Let it be noted that these are the numbers Uncle Sam himself stamped on the check. Apparently he can stamp but he can't do so legibly enough that he can go back and read the numbers later. So he needs us to help him with that, poor dear.

So let's get this straight. My 16yo son made a couple of thousand dollars last year at most. A portion of that was prizewinnings. He paid his tax as required by law. The IRS cashed the check. And now for almost six months they have been spending unnecessary time and money harassing a minor about $150 that he already paid them. This is the same government that can't seem to send out the checks it promised to dealers in the Cash for Clunkers program or make timely Medicare payments (don't get me started on that one). And they think they can establish and enforce a huge new bureaucracy, one equivalent to one-sixth of this country's economy, and get it right?

Oh, I forgot. We're the only ones that have to get it right. They're the government. They don't have to actually get it right--they just have to pronounce it right, and it's so. That's what bullies do. Even old, fat, blind, drunk with power Uncles who say they care about you but are really just looking for a few more easy bucks to feed their gluttonous ways.

Memo to Uncle Sam: My son, like so many other young people, is working hard right now so that he won't have to depend on his Rich Uncle in the years to come. Leave him alone, will you?

Protecting and Regaining State Sovereignty

I just discovered this site and wanted to pass it along to anyone who is interested.

The Tenth Amendment Center

"The Tenth Amendment Center works to preserve and protect Tenth Amendment freedoms through information and education. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of state and individual sovereignty issues, focusing primarily on the decentralization of federal government power."

HT: Father Hollywood

Mr. Obama's Joy Ride

Having trouble wrapping your mind around the president's spending spree? From The Volokh Conspiracy, a brief video that puts it all into perspective:

Doublespeak

Our president is on television right now talking about how he plans to launch a new era of spending discipline in which if the government wants to institute a new program or a tax cut it must first tell the American people where the money is coming from. His statement was met with wild claps and cheers from the adoring crowd.

Does anyone find this is as chilling as I do?

And Then There's This

Speaking of fascism, consider this:

"A lawyer involved with legal action against Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) told a House Judiciary subcommittee on March 19 The New York Times had killed a story in October that would have shown a close link between ACORN, Project Vote and the Obama campaign because it would have been a 'a game changer.'” (Source)

And then go read some more about Mussolini at Wikipedia, where you will find observations such as these:

"As dictator of Italy, Mussolini's foremost priority was the subjugation of the minds of the Italian people and the use of propaganda to do so; whether at home or abroad, and here his training as a journalist was invaluable. Press, radio, education, films—all were carefully supervised to create the illusion that fascism was the doctrine of the twentieth century, replacing liberalism and democracy."

"All teachers in schools and universities had to swear an oath to defend the fascist regime. Newspaper editors were all personally chosen by Mussolini and no one who did not possess a certificate of approval from the fascist party could practice journalism. These certificates were issued in secret; Mussolini thus skillfully created the illusion of a 'free press'. The trade unions were also deprived of any independence and were integrated into what was called the "corporative" system. The aim (never completely achieved), inspired by medieval guilds, was to place all Italians in various professional organizations or 'corporations', all of which were under clandestine governmental control."

"Mussolini launched several public construction programs and government initiatives throughout Italy to combat economic setbacks or unemployment levels. . . . He also combated an economic recession by introducing the 'Gold for the Fatherland' initiative, by encouraging the public to voluntarily donate gold jewelery such as necklaces and wedding rings to government officials in exchange for steel wristbands bearing the words 'Gold for the Fatherland.' . . ."

"Mussolini pushed for government control of business: by 1935, Mussolini claimed that three quarters of Italian businesses were under state control. That same year, he issued several edicts to further control the economy, including forcing all banks, businesses, and private citizens to give up all their foreign-issued stocks and bonds to the Bank of Italy. In 1938, he also instituted wage and price controls.[31] He also attempted to turn Italy into a self-sufficient autarky, instituting high barriers on trade with most countries except Germany."

"After the March on Rome that brought Benito Mussolini to power, the Fascists started considering ways to ideologize the Italian society, with an accent on schools. Mussolini assigned former ardito and deputy-secretary for Education Renato Ricci the task of 'reorganizing the youth from a moral and physical point of view'. Ricci sought inspiration with Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, meeting with him in England, as well as with Bauhaus artists in Germany.The Opera Nazionale Balilla was created through Mussolini's decree of April 3 1926, and was led by Ricci for the following eleven years. It included children between the ages of 8 and 18, grouped as the Balilla and the Avanguardisti."

Okay, I'm done. Time to go back in to denial mode and pretend all of this isn't happening. Heard any good jokes or seen any good movies lately?

Wild Thought

You know, if we're gonna have fascism (and make no mistake, that's what we have now--if you doubt it, read this), why can't we have a little legislated morality and nationalistic pride to go along with the economic oppresssion? Might as well go all the way with it and clean up the culture and strengthen our military while we're at it.

Here's even more about fascism from the "horse's mouth" (Benito Mussolini). It's chilling how much of it applies to the United States today.

1984 . . . Again

As long as I'm sharing links, here's another from Victor David Hanson:

"The 'Depression' for Us Idiots"

An excerpt in case you don't have time for more:

"I feel like Winston Smith in Oceania, confused about all the doublethink coming out of Washington. Great Depression—no Great Depression. Recession for years; its end at the end of this year. Signing statements bad; signing statements good. Fundamentals hardly strong; fundamentals really sound. Earmarks terrible; 8,000 wonderful. Bush’s $500 billion deficit reckless; Obama’s $1.7 sober and judicious; Iraq horrific and the worst whatever; Iraq suddenly quiet, democratic, and hopeful; highest ethical bar in an administration ever—Richardson, Daschle, Killefer, Solis, etc. cannot meet the lowest; Guantanamo a Stalag; Guantanamo open for a year, pending the recommendations of a “task force”; Guantanamo a torture place for unlawful combatants; Guantanamo a nice place without unlawful combatants; Obama not to be blamed for massive collapse of stock prices since November; Obama to be praised for modest gains last week. At some point, someone in the media must be getting embarrassed that they are all working at the Ministry of Truth."

It seems the 1984 references are abounding these days. It's a seminal 20th-century work, and considering its publication on the heels of World War II it's no wonder it has continued to hold a vaulted position in our modern literary canon. But here we are in 2009 and it seems the number of writers and thinkers alluding to it is only on the rise. Hmmm . . . wonder why?

Taking a Close Look at the Gift Horse

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindahl and Texas governor Rick Perry (Republicans both) have expressed reservations about accepting federal stimulus payments to their states. They wisely see that federal handouts do not come free of strings (unless, of course, you're a bank). Follow the links here to find out more.

What They Said

Two links that say what I am feeling and thinking these days:

Ten Random, Politically Incorrect Thoughts - Victor Davis Hanson

Excerpt:

10. The K-12 public education system is essentially wrecked. No longer can any professor expect an incoming college freshman to know what Okinawa, John Quincy Adams, Shiloh, the Parthenon, the Reformation, John Locke, the Second Amendment, or the Pythagorean Theorem is. An entire American culture, the West itself, its ideas and experiences, have simply vanished on the altar of therapy. This upcoming generation knows instead not to judge anyone by absolute standards (but not why so); to remember to say that its own Western culture is no different from, or indeed far worse than, the alternatives; that race, class, and gender are, well, important in some vague sense; that global warming is manmade and very soon will kill us all; that we must have hope and change of some undefined sort; that AIDs is no more a homosexual- than a heterosexual-prone disease; and that the following things and people for some reason must be bad, or at least must in public company be said to be bad (in no particular order): Wal-Mart, cowboys, the Vietnam War, oil companies, coal plants, nuclear power, George Bush, chemicals, leather, guns, states like Utah and Kansas, Sarah Palin, vans and SUVs.

Clinging to My Guns, Salt, and Light Bulbs - Pam Meister

Excerpt:

It’s apparent that many people lack basic nutrition skills. Yet again, is it government’s duty to remedy the problem by placing restrictions on what we eat? I don’t claim to have the answer to the growing problem of morbidly obese people, but the idea of limiting personal freedom in exchange for the government taking care of yet another problem is not one I care to contemplate. After all, Congress decided it knew what it was doing when it came to handling the mortgage industry — and look where that got us.