On Homeschooling

I will be straight and honest with you all, because that is how I do it around here. I was homeschooled for a short period in my life. I also attended Christian Schools for a good deal of my life. I also happen to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I take medication for it. I will be very honest with you; homeschooling is not for everyone. I used the ACE curriculum and I will say emphatically that ACE Schools are not suited for Children with learning disabilities. Furthermore, I have very mixed feelings on Christian Schools; if they are staffed with qualified teachers, they can be a good experience. If not, they can be a nightmare. Believe me; I have seen both sides of that coin.

For those who wonder, the A.D.H.D. affects my ability to excel in math. I can plus and minus with the best of them. However, when it gets any tougher than that, I do the run for the calculator. I am getting better with it, as I get older; my checkbook is always balanced. However, I will not be volunteering anytime soon to be solving any sort of complex scientific problem. In other words, if NASA were relying on me to get to the moon, we would be lucky to leave the drawing room!

However, I happen to notice this article over at Salon.com about how homeschooling your children would be a horrible thing and a slap in the face to the big Government public school system. There are a few things, that stand out in this article and I will touch on a few of them. When a parent takes his child out of the public school system and decides to homeschool them, that parent is saying that the school system that he is enrolling in is a failure and that child is unable to learn in it. Which is ironic, because when my Mother withdrew me out of the Christian School that I attended to homeschool me, which was done at my request; I was saying the same very thing about the school that I was attending at the time.

Another thing that stands out in this article is the nuanced dog whistle assertion that if your child is homeschool that he will grow up to be some “right wing extremist militia” type. My friends let me be clear; that assertion is absolute hogwash. It just so happens that I only spent like 2 years in public schools. The rest of educational years were spent in various Christian Schools, and I when I turned 18 years of age and registered to vote; I voted Democratic Party up until the year 2008. Yes, I did eventually did change my political views. However, the changing of my political stance had absolutely nothing to do with my Christian Schooling or my Home Schooling; my change in political philosophy was warranted by the idiocy of what was happening in the Democratic Party in the 2007 primary. Furthermore, my departure from the status as a Democratic Party voter was the utter hapless treatment of our United States Military and its service members that served in it. There are many more reasons, but for the sake of brevity, I will just list these.

Therefore, to my fellow Conservatives, libertarians and tea party friends: do not be bothered by this article. It is simply a progressive buffoon attempting to keep the Government union-backed public sector employees employed. Perhaps it is a sign, that the progressive left is feeling the heat and fears losing the overall battle of the political discourse in this Country. This in this writer’s humble opinion would be a good thing. As the far progressive left, as far as this writer is concerned has driven this Country into a state of ruin, and on top of that, lied their way into controlling that car. It is time for change and for a new discussion — an erasing and washing of the blackboard, if you will. The progressive way of thinking and operating this Country has failed and it is time for a massive redo. The progressive left knows this and this is why articles like this one are being written.

Do not be dismayed by this, we on the right in this Country; on the righteous side of the political discussion are armed with the truth, the left only has lies and propaganda. We shall prevail and we shall be victorious. Homeschooled youth usually have higher IQ’s; excel in most subjects and go on to do many great and important things. I was not the rule; I was the exception to that rule. Just because I suffer from a learning disability, which was diagnosed long before I ever started schooling; does not mean the entire idea of a homeschooled child should be thrown out. To do this would be to take away a parents right of individual choice and that, in a Constitutional Republic is very unacceptable.

Others: American Power, Vox Popoli and The PJ Tatler

Video: Dad of the Year!

Naturally Ace and AllahPundit both hate this; but I think this is just pretty darn awesome.

To be fair, I should point out; that the guy does have his own facebook page; one personal and one for his book. The dude is in IT. Go figure.

Not the way I would promote a book or raise money for MDA; but….hey, fame is fame, right? Milk it Tommy…Milk it for all it is worth. 😉 😀

Needless to say, I highly doubt said daughter will be mouthing off on facebook anytime soon. Shooting a laptop.. Ouch. That’s just harsh. 😯

To add some unrelated hilarity to this — the dude is a CB’er. heh…. 10-4 on the shot up laptop come ‘on…. 😆

For what it is worth; contary to what one might think, Timothy is not from Texas, he’s from North Carolina. Close enough. 😉

My feelings on the Josh Powell tragedy

Things like this are never, ever, easy to write about, because if you take a position that is outside of the normal realm of opinion; people tend to think you are someone who justifies murder or crime. Let me say emphatically that I do not condone, justify or even remotely support what justify that which Josh Powell did to his Children or even possibly to his wife.

However, yesterday I wrote a posting on this blog, which shows that something is seriously wrong with our Government. It just so happens that if the Government decides that you have committed a crime, the burden of clearing your name falls on the person accused of the crime; and if you happen to not be a person of great means of wealth, you basically become a slave to the judicial system. Sometimes that judicial system becomes poisoned —- whether by bias, religious discrimination or some other poison. Furthermore, if you marry a woman and that woman’s family and parents decide that they have a vendetta against you, and they have the Government on their side, you are twisting in the wind, my friend. As for Powell’s wife, the authorities have no idea what happened to his wife. All they have are theories. The truth is she could have left the Country or State with another man for all we know. But, it will not be properly investigated; because they have to pin the murder on someone; so, why not Josh? He killed himself and his two kids, did he not? It is an conviction of convenience; something big, intrusive Governments are known for.

Such is the case of Josh Powell — From the Salt Lake City Tribune:

Graham, Wash. • Relatives of Josh Powell blamed government officials, media and Internet media pundits for setting in motion the terrible tragedy that has now rocked two families.

The statement signed by Maurice and Patti Leach said they were “grievously saddened” by the loss experienced by both the Cox and Powell families and that there was no justification for the deaths of Powell’s two innocent sons, Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5.

Patti Leach is Steve Powell’s sister. They attended a September custody hearing to support Josh Powell. In a statement they said that he had asked for their support in helping him as “the next patriarchs of the family” following his father’s arrest on pornography and voyeurism charges.

“We were also asked by Josh if we would offer a safe haven for his sons should the need arise,” the Leaches said. “Our answer was absolutely yes.”

[…]

The Leaches said they had become disillusioned with the legal system during the court proceedings. They said government agencies, religious bias, “Internet kangaroo courts and sensationalized media had circumvented and “completely compromised” due process rights in the case.

“America, this is not only a tragedy, Sunday was a dark day for all of our families,” the Leaches said.

On May 18, 1927 a School in Bath, Michigan was bombed. A man named Andrew Kehoe was the culprit. The media then made him into a monster. The truth is, the man was pushed into foreclosure on his farm, because of excess taxes brought on a levy to pay for a school. The point here is that Andrew and Josh both have one thing in common; they were pushed to the brink of violence and committed these acts of violence because they were pushed; by an intrusive Government that would stop at nothing, to get what it wanted. Sadly, because of this, in 1927 — 45 people; 38 children who never got a chance to grow up and be adults, 2 teachers, 4 other adults and the bomber himself were killed and 58 people were injured. All because the Government just had to have its taxes.

I think we can do better than this — much better.

I leave you all with a picture that was made by Andrew Kehoe before his death:

Such is the case with Josh Powell and Andrew Kehoe

Breaking News: Rick Santorum’s daughter Bella admitted to hospital

My Jesus be with this sweet little one.

Video:

Story:

The three-year-old daughter of Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has been admitted to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the candidate has cancelled his Sunday morning campaign events to be at her side.

Santorum campaign spokesman Hogan Gidley said Saturday night that the former Pennsylvania senator and his wife, Karen, were with Bella at CHOP. Gidley said Santorum planned to return to campaigning as soon as possible in Florida, where the Republican primary is Tuesday.

Bella Santorum has Trisomy 18, a genetic condition in which a child has a third copy of material from chromosome 18, instead of the usual two, causing a wide array of physical and mental problems.

Bella was not expected to survive until her first birthday – half of infants with Trisomy 18 do not survive their first week, according the National Institutes of Health. Some children have lived to their teenage years, but with significant medical and developmental issues.

The Santorums have been frequent visitors to CHOP with their daughter, and concerns over Isabella’s health have canceled previous Santorum campaign events.

During his campaign, Santorum and his wife have spoken openly about the challenges and rewards of raising a child with such a condition.

The Santorums have six other children; they lost a baby boy, Gabriel, shortly after his birth in 1996. Bella was born in 2008; two years later, Santorum wrote about her in an Inquirer column.

“All children are a gift that comes with no guarantees,” he wrote. “While Bella’s life may not be long, and though she requires our constant care, she is worth every tear.”

via Santorum daughter admitted to hospital | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/28/2012.

Of all my criticisms of the GOP field, this is not one of them. Rick Santorum is a good father to all of his children; especially Bella.

The only thing I will say, because I am fair and balanced type of a blogger; is that Rick Santorum should be grateful that he actually has healthcare to help take care of his daughter. Because there are many, like myself, who have no healthcare insurance at all. Not that I believe that it should come from the Government. However, I believe that Mr. Santorum should be a bit more mindful that there are some, that are not of his financial status, and their children would most certainly not be as lucky as Bella.

Having said all of that; My prayers go out to the Santorum family during this difficult time. May the Lord Jesus hold Bella in the palm of his hand.

Others: Michelle Malkin and Atlas Shrugs

Video: Miracle baby goes home

This video comes via “The Morning Spew” (H/T to Hotair.com)

…and to think, liberal Democrats believe that this little precious bundle of joy is annoyance and should have been terminated. Bastards they are, all of them. 😡

Bet this would be an interesting book to read.

Man, and I thought the Clinton’s were dysfunctional:

Then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel offered his resignation to President Barack Obama in the winter of 2010 after a series of columns appeared depicting him as the lone element keeping the Obama presidency intact. According to then senior adviser David Axelrod, Emanuel understood that the stories “were an embarrassment” to the president. The president, already suffering from a setback to his health care reform effort, declined Emanuel’s offer to resign, despite being convinced that his chief of staff was the main source for the columns.

“I’m not accepting it,” Obama replied. “Your punishment is that you have to stay here and get this bill done. I’m not letting you off the hook.”

That revelation is one of the more explosive included in “The Obamas,” a new book by Jodi Kantor of The New York Times about the first few years of the Obama administration and the strains that it produced on the president’s marriage — strains that were ultimately overcome.

The dramatics that surrounded the passage of health care reform — culminating in Emanuel’s near-resignation — reflect the type of struggles that routinely pitted Emanuel against the first lady during the first two years of the Obama administration. The two jockeyed for influence over the president even before he formally took office. — Via ‘The Obamas’: Book Reveals Friction Between Rahm Emanuel, Michelle Obama (UPDATE)

Bet that would make a very interesting read.

Get the Book:

Update: As much as I hate to admit it; this guy does have a point. This is why I watch the comment section around here, like a hawk.

Liberal Tool of the Day: Eugene Robinson

(H/T HotAir)

There’s phrase that comes to mind to describe this man.

….and it is not “Smart Liberal Black Man” either.

Click the picture to watch the video:

That is about all I can truly say about this little incident. I made a promise that I would keep it out of the gutter on this new blog. I’m gonna try to stick to it.

Only other thing I will truly say is this; if the Democrats actually think this sort of tripe is going to help thier cause; they are very highly mistaken. Insulting the parents of a dead child, yeah you boys keep on plucking that little chicken and see what it gets you.

I’ll keep the rest of my thoughts to myself. 😡 …..least I get accused of being a racist, a Klansman or whatever else those mentally depraved buffoons call people like me. (blanco)

Others: Stop The ACLU, NewsBusters.org blogs, Whiskey Fire, Pundit & Pundette, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, National Review, nation.foxnews.com, Big Journalism, Mercatornet, Big Journalism, Patterico’s Pontifications, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Ed Driscoll

Where are the morals in America?

This below is a perfect example of the fact that morality in America has long since left the building:

At 17 years of age, Dakota Fanning has become the latest cover star of the sex-driven, how-to-please-your-man-in-bed women’s magazine Cosmopolitan.

Fanning, who turns 18 at the end of next month, appears gorgeous and grown up with dark eyes, white blonde hair, and a form-fitting dress on the cover of the magazine’s February issue. But Fanning is still a minor, and some media watchers have pointed out that she looks out of place surrounding captions such as “His Best Sex Ever,” “Too Naughty To Stay Here: But You Have to Try This Sex Trick,” and “Um, Vagina Are You Okay Down There?”

“Cosmopolitan is going overboard by putting an underage girl on its cover surrounded by such article titles,” media expert Rachelle Friberg told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “It is one thing to educate young women about sex and their bodies, but putting a young, underage girl on the cover of a magazine that had long been known to push the limits is sending the wrong message.

However, the magazine isn’t backing away from its decision.

“We’re thrilled to feature Dakota Fanning on the February cover of Cosmopolitan magazine and she looks stunning. Dakota, who turns 18 this month, is a mature, fearless young woman and we are proud to honor her as our Fun Fearless Female of the year,” a Cosmopolitan rep told us. “We applaud her unprecedented accomplishments which will continue in 2012 with her four upcoming movie roles.” — ” — Via Is Dakota Fanning Too Young To Be On Cover Of Cosmopolitan? | Fox News

I really do not like to get on this new blog and get all preachy, because this really is not what I would call a “Christian” blog. It is a political commentary blog. I do want to start a “Christian” Blog eventually. However, I will say the following:

A Nation that turns it’s back on the Christian morality of it’s founding, in favor of the liberal/progressive mentality of “If it feels good, do it!” —- begats stuff like the above. 60 years ago in this Country, the above would not be tolerated and that magazine would have been run out of business by outraged Americans. I believe that Christians, of all stripes and divisions can agree, that putting a 17 year old girl on the cover of an qusi-adult magazine, is just downright immoral.

Since when do we have to ask to defend ourselves?

This strikes me as rather odd.

Video 1:

Video 2: (Via HuffPo )

The Story:

(CNN) — Home alone with her 3-month-old son, Sarah Dawn McKinley of Blanchard, Oklahoma, said she decided to make a stand when two men tried to break into her home on New Year’s Eve.

McKinley, who had been widowed less than a week before, placed a couch in front of one door and went to the bedroom and put a bottle in her baby’s mouth before calling 911, she said on HLN’s “Dr. Drew” on Wednesday.

A 911 operator calmly spoke with McKinley, who asked if it was permissible to shoot an intruder, officials said.

“I’ve got two guns in my hand. Is it OK to shoot him if he comes in this door?” asked McKinley, 18.

“Well, you have to do whatever you can do to protect yourself,” dispatcher Diane Graham responded. “I can’t tell you that you can do that, but you do what you have to do to protect your baby.” — Via Oklahoma mom calling 911 asks if shooting an intruder is allowed – CNN.com

My friends, my question to you is simple this; since when, do we as Americans, who are guaranteed the right to own a gun to defend ourselves against such things, as presented in this story — ask for permission to defend ourselves from the Government? This is not a criticism of this woman at all, but of the mentality of the Government must make all decisions for us. Whatever happened to telling a 9/11 operator, “I am going to kill this idiot and I hope you got plenty of body bags, because when I get done, y’all going to need a few.” Whatever happened to mentality of doing for yourself, and not waiting the Government to do your work for you?

It is a sad state of affairs in this Country, when its own citizens are too scared to defend themselves and feel the need to have to ask the Government for permission to do so. This is what happens, when progressives are allowed to govern, control our media and our schools.

No American citizen, at any point, should ever have to ask permission to defend his or her personal property. This is not a mentality of a free American citizen, this is a mentality of a slave to Government, and it is what the progressives promote — in their media, in the schools — everywhere.

My hat goes off to this young woman, for having the courage to defend herself, when it counted most.

Others: The Gateway Pundit, Rod Dreher, The Raw Story and Jammie Wearing Fools

Update: Vote this story up over on Reddit for me please. Thanks!

Update #2: AllahPundit seems to like this story too. But, of course, misses the bigger point.