September 29, 2005

David Ortiz is my God

Bottom of the 8th - Solo HR to tie game.
Bottom of the 9th - Game winning RBI.

3 games to play and all three versus the Yankees in Fenway. The Red Sox must sweep to win the division, or 2 out of 3 forces a tie and a one game playoff in Yankee Stadium.

The wild card is still up for grabs too. There is no guarantee that the consolation prize in the East will be the wild card. The Indians are playing tough.

Does baseball get any better than this?

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Senator Inhofe on HoNDA

I received this from a reader.


From: Jim_Inhofe@inhofe.senate.gov

September 29, 2005

Dear (private):

Thank you for contacting me about S.1691, the Homeschool Non-Discrimination Act (HoNDA). As your voice in Washington, I appreciate being made aware of your ideas and opinions.

My views on education in America come from a somewhat unique perspective in that my wife, Kay, was a teacher at Edison High School for many years, and now both of my daughters are teachers. I can assure you that I am one of the strongest supporters of education and homeschooling. Like you, I feel that the family has the primary responsibility for and interest in the child.

There are currently more than two million students that are homeschooled in the United States. While these students have proven to excel in both academics and extracurricular activities, existing legislation has tended to overlook this growing population.

The Homeschool Non-Discrimination Act (A.K.A.,HoNDA and S. 1691), which I have co-sponsored, serves to remedy this oversight and encourage the government at all levels to recognize the homeschooling movement as a viable force in education. S. 1691 acknowledges the right of parents to direct the education of their children under the Constitution, which also prohibits federal control of homeschooling. I believe that the role of the federal government should be limited in order to create an environment in which all Americans have the opportunity to better themselves and achieve success. HoNDA encourages these opportunities through greater eligibility for financial aid for higher education and policy to ensure the treatment of homeschool graduates as Tier I recruits into the U.S. Military.

The National Center for Home Education supports HoNDA because it would end discrimination by allowing home educators to take advantage of Education Savings Accounts and granting protection under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act for all homeschool students' records. Additionally, HoNDA would permit homeschool students to work during traditional school hours to maintain flexibility and protect students from forced Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act evaluations.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Your input helps me to serve Oklahomans better. Please do not hesitate to contact in the future with any comments or concerns.

He doesn't get it. The Federal Government overlooking home education is A VERY GOOD THING. I've got a long list of stuff I wish they'd overlook.

I haven't heard back from my representative yet. She is a co-sponsor in the House.

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Mr. Clean Gets Hands On

My love of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is well known. However, it has come to my attention that my admiration can benefit a good cause. Mr. Clean is sponsoring a charity drive where they will donate $1 to the Hands On Network for each new use of the Magic Eraser that is submitted to the website.

I've already submitted my experience with the Magic Eraser removing fence stain from my house siding.

What are you waiting for?

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Open Office For Homeschoolers

Inspired by the comments of the MS Office post just below...

Is there any good reason for homeschoolers to not be using Open Office? It's free, as in free speech and free beer.

That will probably be enough for most of us.

However, it works at least as well as MS Office. If you are comfortable with the proprietary expensive Office software, the open source alternative will be no big deal for you. Most of the buttons are even in the same general location on the screen.

It runs on Linux and Windows. So another advantage is that you can share documents with your more geeky associates who may live in Linux.

Massachusetts has just mandated that all Office type software purchased by the state must support the Open Document format.

One Office suite does, and one doesn't. I shouldn't need to tell you which is which.

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links for 2005-09-29

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September 28, 2005

Microsoft Office - now its counts toward graduation

Two 15ish year old girls were talking at Breck's fencing scrimmage last night.

Girl 1 - blah, blah, blah, MS-Office class.
Girl 2 - what's MS -Office class?
Girl 1 - You know, Microsoft Office?
Girl 2 - You have a class in Microsoft Office?
Girl 1 - It's a requirement for graduation.

MS-Office is required for graduation? I guess that's one way for BillG to keep sales up.

I wonder if getting that class is some kind of punishment for the teacher? Personally, I would consider sitting through 25 Powerpoint presentations to be a cruel form of torture.

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links for 2005-09-28

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September 27, 2005

Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 10: Military Recruiting

SEC. 10. RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT OF HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS IN THE ARMED FORCES.

(a) Home-Schooled Students- Chapter 31 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 503 the following new section:

`Sec. 503a. Recruitment and enlistment of home-schooled students
`(a) Policy on Recruitment and Enlistment- The Secretary concerned shall prescribe a policy for the recruitment and enlistment of home-schooled students. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the polices prescribed under this section apply, to the extent practicable, uniformly across the armed forces

Chris asks, “Why do we need special recruitment policies just for homeschoolers? is this all part of Farris' Christian Army fantasy? If homeschoolers are just like everybody else, shouldn't the normal recruitment policies of the Armed Forces be sufficient?”

Under current law, homeschool graduates fall into “Tier II,” which mostly consists of people who couldn’t complete high school and got a GED instead. The Pentagon has learned that people who can’t handle high school aren’t all that likely to do well in the military. Not only are there far fewer slots for Tier II recruits, they also have significantly less options available to them. To the best of my knowledge, the only sure way a homeschooler can avoid Tier II status is to get 15 hours of college credits.

HSLDA negotiated with the Pentagon to get a pilot project enacted in 2000 to measure the actual attrition rates of homeschool graduates. To the best of my knowledge, the initial class in the project included 65 homeschoolers in the Marines, 300 in the Air Force, 400 in the Army, and 1,300 in the Navy. Unfortunately, approximately 300 of these “homeschool” recruits from the Chicago area had all the characteristics of real dropouts who claimed to be homeschooled. (I call these “homefoolers” to distinguish them from “homeschoolers.”) The Pentagon then followed this initial class all the way through the five year pilot project, and (again, to the best of my knowledge) all the reported data on attrition rates comes solely from this group of recruits.

As a number of HSLDA’s critics have been quick to point out, the attrition rates from this group were not better than those of public high school graduates. If almost 15% of the initial group really were dropouts, however, this should hardly come as a surprise.

Homeschoolers are remarkably diverse, and our diversity makes it hard for the Pentagon to know how to treat us. Some parents spend years raising children to question authority and march to the beat of a different drummer. Such homeschoolers are unlikely to be all that interested in a military career. Other parents spend years raising children to pray for their country and obey their parents. These homeschoolers tend to be quite eager to enlist.

HSLDA has a non-negotiable commitment to enabling homeschool graduates to serve in the military. We are unwilling to accept a permanent Tier II status, nor are we willing to tell our members that they have to get 15 hours of college credits to achieve Tier I. We recognize, however, that explicit homeschool legislation is not the only way to achieve our goal.

We are open to any constructive alternatives that others could suggest for enabling homeschoolers to serve alongside of traditional high school graduates.

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links for 2005-09-27

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September 26, 2005

Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 9: Labor Hours

SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT AS APPLIED TO STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

Section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following: `The Secretary shall extend the hours and periods of permissible employment applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are privately educated at a home school (whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under State law) beyond such hours and periods applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are educated in traditional public schools.’

Chris says, “Another case of attacking the symptom and not the cause. And of course, now we'll need Federal interpretation of whether or not you are actually a bone fide homeschooler, or just a truant, so they can decide who is and isn't violating federal labor laws. And again, it's another special law for homeschoolers. If it's a good idea for 14 year old HEK's to be allowed to work at 2 PM, it's a good idea for all 14 year olds to be allowed to work at 2 PM.”

Frankly, I agree with Chris on this one. I don’t mean that HoNDA Section 9 is a bad idea; just that it’s a good idea for all 14 year olds to be allowed to work at 2 pm.

We’re a long way from the bad old days when child labor was a degrading horror. The youth of today may need more labor in their lives, not less. Even the dropouts and habitual truants would arguably be better off if they were able to work instead of just hanging out around the street corner.

Having said that, I'd be happy to have somebody expand HoNDA Section 9 to make it work for all children. Until then, I'm going to work for homeschoolers.

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 8: Byrd Scholarships

SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW FOR THE ROBERT C. BYRD HONORS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

Section 419F(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070d-36(a)) is amended by inserting `(or a home school, whether treated as a home school or a private school under State law)’ after `public or private secondary school’.

Chris says, “Can you imagine the bureaucratic nightmare that will result from the states trying to come up with some equitable formula to dole out these scholarships to kids they know nothing about?”

Let me see… about 98% of the high school graduates today attend public or traditional private schools. Congress has come up with some arguably equitable formula for doling out scholarships to that 98%. If we open the doors to the remaining 2% of America’s graduates, however, we will have bureaucratic nightmares.

Nope. I have tried to imaginge the bureaucratic nightmares, but I can't even work up a bad dream. Help me out, here, Chris.

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 7: Educational Privacy

SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION OF SECTION 444 OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS ACT AS TO PUBLICLY HELD RECORDS OF STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

Chris says, “HoNDA is attempting to establish higher privacy standards for homeschooler information that may be in the public school system. I'm all for privacy, but really, should we have special privacy privileges not afforded to the public school kids?”

Under current law, the educational records of public school students are carefully protected by federal law. Homeschool records, by contrast, are legally treated as “public records” in 46 states.

HoNDA Section 7 is a serious effort to correct a serious problem.

Back in the early 1970s, state and local governments had all sorts of educational records for children in public schools. Congress decided to protect the privacy of students who attend federally funded educational institutions, and enacted the Federal Educational Records and Privacy Act (FERPA), in 1974. This federal law effectively overrides any “public records laws” to the contrary in all 50 states. As a result, public school records are extraordinarily well protected.

FERPA does not address the educational records of students in schools that do not receive federal funding, but this did not homeschoolers back when FERPA was first enacted. In the 1970s, no state or local school districts systematically collected educational records for homeschoolers.

When states began to enact homeschool statutes, however (starting with Arizona and Mississippi in 1982), homeschool paperwork began to accumulate. Although most school officials assumed FERPA protected those records, FERPA did not apply because homeschoolers do not “attend” any federally-funded educational institution. In the absence of any federal law to the contrary, each state’s “public records” law applied.

Not every state has a homeschool privacy problem. There is no need for homeschool privacy laws in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, or Texas, because homeschoolers in those states are under no significant pressure to register with school authorities. Families in states like Connecticut can educate an unregistered child at home without breaking any laws, but must resist pressure from the government if they wish to preserve their privacy. In the rest of the states, homeschool information in the government’s hands is technically “public data,” no matter how sensitive or private that information may be.

Other states have significant privacy problems, however. Maine was the first to recognize the need, and, with the help of homeschooling legend Kathi Kearney, passed state legislation to protect homeschool privacy in the 1980s. Massachusetts has protected homeschool privacy by regulation. Minnesota enacted a homeschool privacy statute in 2003, and Nebraska legislated homeschool privacy in 2004.

There is considerable risk in drafting homeschool privacy laws at the state level. While legislators are almost unanimously in favor of privacy, they are not so unanimous in their support of homeschooling. Any attempt to amend the homeschool law raises the prospect of inviting hostile amendments. Homeschoolers in a few states have enough legislative clout to get a good change through without risk, but homeschoolers in other states have to choose between risking their homeschool liberty and risking their homeschool privacy.

HSLDA argues that a change to the federal privacy laws would enable us to protect privacy without risking liberty. HoNDA Section 8 attempts to achieve that goal. We are open to any constructive alternatives that other homeschoolers can suggest.

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 6: Coverdell Accounts

SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF THE COVERDELL EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT AS TO ITS APPLICABILITY FOR EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

(a) In General- Paragraph (4) of section 530(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

`(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR HOME SCHOOLS- For purposes of clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), the terms `public, private, or religious school’ and `school’ shall include any home school which provides elementary or secondary education if such school is treated as a home school or private school under State law.’.

(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Chris says, “Anytime the federal law includes the phrase ‘Special Rule for Home Schools’ your spidey senses should start to tingle.”

Chris argues that this tax benefit will cause the IRS to write up a list of acceptable homeschool expenses, which will lead to abuses by scuba-diving homeschoolers, which will lead to congressional hearings, etc., etc.

His argument trails off at that point. I can’t tell whether the outcome is that people can no longer claim a scuba-diving trip as a legitimate Coverdell Account expense, or that Congress comes swooping in to shut down your homeschool.

I think the former is more likely: in Chris’s worst-case scenario, after all the shouting and fury is over, you won’t be able to go scuba-diving on a Coverdell Account. I, personally, can live with that prospect, since I can’t go scuba-diving on my Coverdell Account right now.

Homeschoolers can’t use Coverdell Accounts for anything, right now.
Chris can’t be arguing that we shouldn’t try to get Coverdell Accounts because there might be abuses that mean we won’t be able to use them for scuba diving. Could somebody help me understand what he is saying?

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 5: Special Ed Evaluations

SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF ABSENCE OF CONSENT FOR INITIAL EVALUATION UNDER THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.
Section 614(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I)) is amended to read as follows:


`(I) FOR INITIAL EVALUATION- A local educational agency may pursue the initial evaluation of a child by utilizing the procedures described in section 615, except to the extent inconsistent with State law relating to parental consent for an initial evaluation under clause (i)(I), only if the child is enrolled in public school or is seeking to be enrolled in public school.’.

Chris says, “This change is due to a couple of highly publicized cases (in home school circles) of local power mad bureaucrats believing that the law required them to evaluate all disabled children, even those not receiving services from the public school system. As a general rule, amending federal law to address the outliers like this is a bad idea. It usually leads to even more federal laws.”

Who needs “power mad bureaucrats” when you have “bureaucrats [who] believe that the law requires them to evaluate all disabled children, even those not receiving services from the local public school system”?

If the problem here were “power mad bureaucrats,” I wouldn’t be proposing some little technical change to a federal law. The only thing that seems to affect power mad people is countervailing force. (I’m partial to civil rights suits, myself—they seem to bring a refreshing dose of reality to officials whose power has driven them mad.)

But if the problem consists of bureaucrats who sincerely believe they have to compel these evaluations, the solution is to limit evaluations to children who are either in public school or want to get in. That’s what we propose in this section, and we do it without any reference to “homeschooling.”

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September 25, 2005

I'm back

We are back. We went camping with 10 Scouts and returned with the same 10. That's enough to qualify as a successful outing for me.

In other news, Michelle was perusing the provider list for our new health insurance provider...and found two doctors that have been deceased for over 5 years. The insurance company probably thinks they are just doing a great job of minimizing claims...

Red Sox - Yankees looks like it will come down to the final series over the last three days of the year, at Fenway. I'll be having nightmares involving Mike Torres and Bucky Dent all week.

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September 23, 2005

links for 2005-09-23

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September 22, 2005

Going fishing

I'm going to be camping with the Boy Scouts this weekend - no electronic devices allowed. Not that I'd find a wifi signal out in the woods anyway...

I'm greatly enjoying the ongoing conversation - especially that part where I don't have to do all the work to keep it going :) Judy, Tad, Carmen, Daryl, etc are all doing a great job making the case for why HoNDA is harmful to homeschool freedoms. No need for me to post a bunch of "me too" comments.

Thank you to everybody for keeping it civil.

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 4: College Eligibility

SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS ON INSTITUTIONAL AND STUDENT ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.

(a) Clarification of Institutional Eligibility- Section 101(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)(1)) is amended by inserting `meeting the requirements of section 484(d)(3) or’ after `only persons’.

(b) Clarification of Student Eligibility- Section 484(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(d)) is amended by striking the heading and inserting `Satisfaction of Secondary Education Standards’.

Chris says, “This appears to be a purely semantic change related to eligibility for government tuition assistance. The title ‘Non High School Graduates’ will be replaced by ‘Satisfaction of Secondary Education Requirements.’ Don't you feel better about yourself now? The real problem here is that the federal government is involved at all in education at any level.”

I’m going to break out the two pieces of legalese separately, and will just respond to Chris’s overall take on federal involvement in education in this thread.

I agree completely with Chris’s definition of “the real problem here.” The real problem really is that the federal government is involved at all in education at any level. I’d love to provide the real solution to that real problem, starting with abolishing the Department of Education, moving on to repealing all so-called “Spending Clause” bills, and ending up by recognizing education as a First Amendment activity over which Congress has no jurisdiction of any kind. I hope my grandchildren live to see that day!

Today, though, I have three children in college and two already graduated. If I’m ever going to see any grandchildren, my kids are going to need jobs. One daughter is a Senior at Patrick Henry College, which accepts no federal funds. My oldest son graduated from Hillsdale, which also prizes its liberty more than federal loot. But the other three chose federally funded institutions.

I routinely get calls from member families who want to send a child to a certain college, but that college says, “If you want to come here, you have to get a GED.” None of my children ever got a GED, so I know that it is possible to get into a federally funded college without one. That means I’m stuck with trying to talk a reluctant bureaucrat into changing college policy in order to let one member family get one child into one more obscure little college on the backside of nowhere.

So the real problem may be the federal involvement in education, but the real problem my member family is facing is one child who can’t get into one school today.

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 3(2)

(2) parents who choose this alternative education should be encouraged within the framework provided by the United States Constitution.

Chris says, “Is this the same Constitution that does not allow federal control of homeschooling? I'm totally confused because you keep referring to this document that forbids you from exerting any control of home education in the very bill that exerts federal control over home education.” Yes, Chris, it’s the same Constitution…

Congress has no power to regulate poetry, either, but that doesn’t keep us from having a Poet Laureate. I don’t see any constitutional problem with “encouraging” people who exercise an inalienable right.

The problem is political, not constitutional. The National Education Association annually votes in favor of regulating homeschooling out of existence. Some members of Congress love the idea of regulating homeschooling but hate the idea of encouraging it. Those folks have not signed on as cosponsors of this legislation.

Every cosponsor of HoNDA, by contrast, is on record as standing for the proposition that homeschooling cannot be regulated by Congress but should be encouraged.

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 3(1)

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that–
(1) private home education, pursuant to State law, is a positive contribution to the United States;

Chris says, “And we can't allow positive contributions by individual citizens. If the sheep get the idea that they can educate their children without government help, who knows what other things they may try without government help.”

In light of Chris’s gracious invitation to allow me to make the argument for HoNDA on this site, and in light of his many intelligent and witty observations and comments since then, I am going to pass up the opportunity to respond to this point.

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 2(7)

(7) The United States Constitution does not allow Federal control of homeschooling.

Chris says, “So we are going to create new laws that use the police power of the federal government to dictate to the states exactly how the federal government is not going to control home education. Yeah, that'll help.” About that “police power,” Chris…

You have been using the term to generally refer to the coercive nature of government action. I agree with your basic point, and may elaborate on it somewhere else. Government has a monopoly on the use of force in our society, which it uses to take, confine, or destroy. Any other acts of government (such as “spending for the general welfare”) would not be possible if it weren’t for the stuff taken, the people confined, or the aforementioned destruction.

I would not use the term “police power” to describe this fact about government. “Police power” has a specific legal meaning. Here is FindLaw’s summary. Other sites (with more of a political agenda) provide more details: this site has a lot of links to the specifics.

If we use the term “police power” in this more specific sense, it’s factually incorrect to claim that HoNDA would “use the police power of the federal government” to do anything. Would you be willing to substitute “coercive power of the federal government” for “police power”?

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Cast your vote for/against HoNDA 2005

UPDATE: This poll doesn't seem to be working any more. It's a pity, since it seemed to be running about 50/50 yesterday.

Atypical Homeschooling has an online poll on HoNDA. You have to scroll down the righthand sidebar to find it. It's unscientific, of course, but it's there.

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The Mold That Ate New Orleans

This is not funny at all, even if I camp up the title of this post. I've know people that had mold problems in a home. Cleaning it up is a slow, labor intensive process that isn't cheap. Quite frankly, I think it's literally going to be impossible to do it for an entire city. There just isn't enough time or manpower to get it done before the damage is irreversible.

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links for 2005-09-22

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September 21, 2005

Lost Season Premiere

Anybody want to hazard a guess as to what is going on in the hatch?

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 2(6)

(6) Several laws, written before and during the rise of private home education, are in need of clarification as to their treatment of students who are privately educated at home pursuant to State law.

Chris says, “So, if the Constitution already affirms our right to home educate (see #1 above), exactly why do we need more laws to clarify what is apparently already crystal clear?” Let me offer an analogy...

The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion. Suppose we came across a statute that said, “Federally-funded fire departments must provide fire protection to churches and synagogues and may not discriminate against them.” Can a fire chief in 2005 stand by and let a mosque burn to the ground?

Chris says, by this analogy, “All those laws protecting churches and synagogues are just fine. We don’t need to amend them to protect our rights!” I’d recommend he talk to some Muslim homeschoolers before he gets too far out on that limb. They can fill him in on some of the active, overt, and ongoing discrimination they have experienced.

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Happy Birthday to You...

Today is the [censored] anniversary of my wife's birth. Much to Delaney's dismay, Michelle is not getting a pony for her birthday.

She said she wanted to be 5 years old again. It's not a bad idea. Life was much simpler back when not soiling your drawers counted as a major achievement for the day.

Happy birthday sweetie.

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links for 2005-09-21

  • SaveMyAss.com
    Another brilliant idea that I should have thought of first...
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September 20, 2005

Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 2(5)

(5) The rise of private home education has contributed positively to the education of young people in the United States.

Chris says, “The irony that we do so well without their help seem to be lost on them though.” Isn’t this taking fisking a bit far?

I’ve joked, in the past, that if HSLDA drafted the First Amendment, our critics would object to it. Now I wonder: is it really a joke?

Chris, are you really objecting to this statement? Tell me it isn't so!

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Who Does HSLDA Represent?

A number of HoNDA opponents say: "HSLDA doesn't represent me!"

I've spent many of my years here at HSLDA trying to make sure we clearly communicate who we DO represent and who we DON'T represent...

It's been a while since we've had a major flare-up over this issue, which could mean that HSLDA has done an adequate job of consistently saying, "We represent HSLDA members."

In our effort to represent HSLDA members, we are now trying to enact federal legislation that will meet specific needs of HSLDA members. We are convinced that HoNDA really will make things work better for the 80,000 families we are trying to serve.

We don't claim to represent non-members, but we are genuinely trying to serve their interests, nonetheless. I honestly believe HoNDA will improve matters for the homeschoolers I know. Here, however, I recognize the limits of my own experience: I am most familiar with Evangelical homeschoolers plus the non-Evangelicals who have no objection to joining HSLDA.

Conversations like this one here help me learn the perspectives of people who AREN'T like me and who DON'T like HSLDA. If you can show me specifics as to how HoNDA will really harm homeschoolers, I'll do my best to bring that information to the attention of the decision-makers at HSLDA. I can't guarantee that I can fix the problem, but I guarantee I'll try. I make that promise because I want to SERVE the interests of all homeschoolers, even if I only represent dues-paying HSLDA members.

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Scott Defisks HoNDA Sect. 2(4)

(4) Young people who have been educated at home are proving themselves to be competent citizens in postsecondary education and the workplace.

Chris calls this “amazing since we are apparently so discriminated against that we need a federal law written just to protect us.” I wonder how many financial aid officers Chris has talked to…

HSLDA members keep bumping into bureaucrats who just don’t care how “competent” homeschoolers are.

Have you ever had to deal with a financial aid officer who thinks her university will lose its federal funding if the homeschooler DOESN’T get a GED? Have you every had to talk to a military recruiter who will put a homeschooler into the infamous “Tier II” if they DO get a GED? Have you ever tried to make a school official sign a work permit for a homeschool kid? I have. That’s why I support HoNDA.

It would help me, at this point, to hear from some HoNDA opponents who have bumped into the kind of mindless bureaucrats that I am discussing. What was your experience? Were you able to persuade them to change their mind, or did you have to accept some mindless requirement that has nothing to do with homeschooling?

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links for 2005-09-20

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September 19, 2005

Scott Defisks: HoNDA Sec. 2(3)

(3) Education by parents at home has proven to be an effective means for young people to achieve success on standardized tests and to learn valuable socialization skills.

Chris says, “Those Congress Critters sure do have their paws on the pulse of homeschooling. I know I stay awake at night worrying about standardized test scores and valuable socialization skills. Could they have picked any two less important issues issues to highlight in their ‘defense’ of homeschooling?” Yes and no…

We live in a strange world where it even makes sense to speak of “achieving success on standardized tests.” How about achieving a little success in origami or crossword puzzles, while we’re at it? I’m happy to say that my five graduated children are achieving success in life in a way that standardized tests can’t measure.

I recognize the deep divide between homeschoolers on the issue of standardized testing. Some parents cheerfully push their children through traditional textbooks and sharpen their little pencils for them for their annual testing. (On average, such families get above-average test results.) Other parents view such acts as the barbaric rituals of an oppressive power structure, and resent the very notion that anybody would “judge” them on the basis of such nonsense.

HSLDA’s official stance on this controversial issue is to always oppose mandatory testing but to put available test data to use in expanding freedom for homeschoolers. I’m unaware of any times when this approach has produced bad results in the last 22 years of HSLDA’s existence. I’d be happy to address any actual cases where HSLDA’s reliance on standardized test data has led to a loss of freedom.

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Scott Defisks: HoNDA Sec. 2(2)

(2) Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court, in exercising their legislative, executive, and judicial functions, respectively, have repeatedly affirmed the rights of parents.

Chris says, “ROFLMAO.” I say, Chris, your cynicism is showing. More…

Politicians spend a lot of time kissing babies and praising Mom and apple pie. Do you doubt that the President and Congress have “repeatedly affirmed the rights of parents,” or do you doubt that these words mean anything?

The courts, including the Supreme Court, have repeatedly “affirmed” the rights of parents. Would it help if I listed some quotes and cases?

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Scott Defisks: HoNDA Sec. 2(1)

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds as follows:

(1) The right of parents to direct the education of their children is an established principle and precedent under the United States Constitution.

Chris says, “The words parent, education, and school do not appear anywhere in the US Constitution. I would take that to mean Congress has no business discussing the issue at all.” I have six follow-up questions for Judge O'Donnell...

Chris, if you’re serious about this, please answer the following questions:

(a) Do states have the authority to prohibit homeschooling?

(b) Was homeschooling ever “illegal” in any states? If not, why not?

(c) Are Pierce v. Society of Sisters and Yoder v. Wisconsin established precedents of the United States Supreme Court?

(d) Is the “right of parents to direct the education of their children” a valid principle of constitutional law?

(e) Is this right a “liberty” that is protected by Section 1 of the 14th Amendment?

(f) Does Section 5 of the 14th Amendment give Congress authority to enact “appropriate legislation” to protect liberty and ensure equal protection?

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Scott Somerville Defisks: HoNDA Sect. 1

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005′.

Chris has been gracious enough to allow me (Scott Somerville) an opportunity to make the case for HoNDA 2005. I'm taking it on in bite-sized chunks. If you want to know more, keep clicking...

Chris calls this “The HSLDA Full Employment Act of 2005,” arguing that if it passes, HSLDA will have “plenty of work helping non-enlightened homeschoolers get their share of the federal kitty.”

Chris makes this claim without offering any evidence to support it. This charge may sound reasonable to people who are already certain that HSLDA is “just in it for the money,” but I would like to hear a HoNDA critic explain how this legislation would increase the number of dues-paying HSLDA members.

If Chris wants a cutesy name for HoNDA, he could call it “The HSLDA Stress Relief Act of 2005,” arguing that if it passes, HSLDA attorneys will get to work on more important issues instead of spending so much time helping HSLDA members deal with military recruitment, special ed evaluations, college admissions, and work permit issues.

A more appropriate name might be “PANDA,” the “Privacy and Non-Discrimination Act,” since two of the most provisions are “leave-us-alone laws,” such as Section 5 (Special Education Evaluations) and Section 7 (Privacy of Educational Records). I would take Chris’s critique more seriously if he were to admit the value of these two items.

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links for 2005-09-19

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September 18, 2005

links for 2005-09-18

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September 17, 2005

From the Dept of Worthless Press Releases

The Morningstar Academy has issued a press release to notify both interested parties that they have guidance counselors available at no extra charge.

Can anybody point me to any school in America, (public, private, trade, home, or reform) where the guidance counselors require an extra charge?

Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? Anybody?

That is what I thought.

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HoNDA (HR3753 and S1691), a fisking

Somebody had to do it....

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005′.

aka The HSLDA Full Employment Act of 2005. If it passes, they will have plenty of work helping non-enlightened homeschoolers get their share of the federal kitty.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds as follows:

(1) The right of parents to direct the education of their children is an established principle and precedent under the United States Constitution.

The words parent, education, and school do not appear anywhere in the US Constitution. I would take that to mean Congress has no business discussing the issue at all.

(2) Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court, in exercising their legislative, executive, and judicial functions, respectively, have repeatedly affirmed the rights of parents.

ROFLMAO.

(3) Education by parents at home has proven to be an effective means for young people to achieve success on standardized tests and to learn valuable socialization skills.

Those Congress Critters sure do have their paws on the pulse of homeschooling. I know I stay awake at night worrying about standardized test scores and valuable socialization skills. Could they have picked any two less important issues issues to highlight in their "defense" of homeschooling?

(4) Young people who have been educated at home are proving themselves to be competent citizens in postsecondary education and the workplace.

Which is pretty damn amazing since we are apparently so discriminated against that we need a federal law written just to protect us.

(5) The rise of private home education has contributed positively to the education of young people in the United States.

The irony that we do so well without their help seem to be lost on them though.

(6) Several laws, written before and during the rise of private home education, are in need of clarification as to their treatment of students who are privately educated at home pursuant to State law.

So, if the Constitution already affirms our right to home educate (see #1 above), exactly why do we need more laws to clarify what is apparently already crystal clear?

(7) The United States Constitution does not allow Federal control of homeschooling.

So we are going to create new laws that use the police power of the federal government to dictate to the states exactly how the federal government is not going to control home education. Yeah, that'll help.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that–

(1) private home education, pursuant to State law, is a positive contribution to the United States; and

And we can't allow positive contributions by individual citizens. If the sheep get the idea that they can educate their children without government help, who knows what other things they may try without government help.

(2) parents who choose this alternative education should be encouraged within the framework provided by the United States Constitution.

Is this the same Constitution that does not allow federal control of homeschooling? I'm totally confused because you keep referring to this document that forbids you from exerting any control of home education in the very bill that exerts federal control over home education.

SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS ON INSTITUTIONAL AND STUDENT ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.

(a) Clarification of Institutional Eligibility- Section 101(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)(1)) is amended by inserting `meeting the requirements of section 484(d)(3) or’ after `only persons’.

(b) Clarification of Student Eligibility- Section 484(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(d)) is amended by striking the heading and inserting `Satisfaction of Secondary Education Standards’.

This appears to be a purely semantic change related to eligibility for government tuition assistance. The title "Non High School Graduates" will be replaced by "Satisfaction of Secondary Education Requirements." Don't you feel better about yourself now? The real problem here is that the federal government is involved at all in education at any level.

SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF ABSENCE OF CONSENT FOR INITIAL EVALUATION UNDER THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

Section 614(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)(D)(ii)(I)) is amended to read as follows:

`(I) FOR INITIAL EVALUATION- A local educational agency may pursue the initial evaluation of a child by utilizing the procedures described in section 615, except to the extent inconsistent with State law relating to parental consent for an initial evaluation under clause (i)(I), only if the child is enrolled in public school or is seeking to be enrolled in public school.’.

This change is due to a couple of highly publicized cased (in home school circles) of local power mad bureaucrats believing that the law required them to evaluate all disabled children, even those not receiving services from the public school system. As a general rule, amending federal law to address the outliers like this is a bad idea. It usually leads to even more federal laws.

SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF THE COVERDELL EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT AS TO ITS APPLICABILITY FOR EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

(a) In General- Paragraph (4) of section 530(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

`(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR HOME SCHOOLS- For purposes of clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (A), the terms `public, private, or religious school’ and `school’ shall include any home school which provides elementary or secondary education if such school is treated as a home school or private school under State law.’.

(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Anytime the federal law includes the phrase "Special Rule for Home Schools" your spidey senses should start to tingle. It allows homeschoolers to use the Coverdell account for non college expenses as defined by...


Primary, secondary, and postsecondary education expenses, including tuition, fees, tutoring, books, supplies, related equipment, room and board, uniforms, transportation and computers.

I'm not sure how valuable that really is, and I'm not sure it's worth the open invitation to the IRS to pay you a visit to discuss whether or not that scuba diving trip to the Keys was really an education expense as defined by the above paragraph. It does seem to provide an avenue for the IRS to see a need to define a list of acceptable homeschool related expenses. Then, Congress will be outraged that homeschool parents are taking the kids scuba diving in Oct when they were supposed to be chained in the basement doing math, and all hell will break loose and Congressional hearings will be convened.

Although, that can never happen as Congress has assured us in the opening paragraphs of this bill that the federal government can not exert any control of homeschooling.

Are you starting to see the folly in getting the Feds involved in assuring a few minor benefits that 99% of homeschoolers never have any issue with in the first place?

SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION OF SECTION 444 OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS ACT AS TO PUBLICLY HELD RECORDS OF STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

To save space, I'm not copying the whereifs and therefores associated with this section. It all relates to this though.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):
Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

HoNDA is attempting to establish higher privacy standards for homeschooler information that may be in the public school system. I'm all for privacy, but really, should we have special privacy privileges not afforded to the public school kids? If state law requires us to provide certain information to the schools, that information should be held accountable to the exact same privacy laws as the information related to kids actually in the public school system. If we are going to work to strengthen student privacy, let's do it for all kids, not just homeschool kids.

SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW FOR THE ROBERT C. BYRD HONORS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

Section 419F(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070d-36(a)) is amended by inserting `(or a home school, whether treated as a home school or a private school under State law)’ after `public or private secondary school’.

Eligibility requirements are detailed here. Ignoring for a moment the issue of just where in the Constitution the Feds find the authority to dole out taxpayer funded scholarships, can you imagine the bureaucratic nightmare that will result from the states trying to come up with some equitable formula to dole out these scholarships to kids they know nothing about? The law already provides an out for homeschoolers, the GED. Is it really worth the effort over a measly $750 scholarship? That'll barely buy books at most schools. Again, the better solution is to get the Feds totally out of the scholarship business, not to write laws and procedures that get HS'ers on the gravy train.

SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT AS APPLIED TO STUDENTS PRIVATELY EDUCATED AT HOME UNDER STATE LAW.

Section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following: `The Secretary shall extend the hours and periods of permissible employment applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are privately educated at a home school (whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under State law) beyond such hours and periods applicable to employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years of age who are educated in traditional public schools.’

Another case of attacking the symptom and not the cause. And of course, now we'll need Federal interpretation of whether or not you are actually a bone fide homeschooler, or just a truant, so they can decide who is and isn't violating federal labor laws. And again, it's another special law for homeschoolers. If it's a good idea for 14 year old HEK's to be allowed to work at 2 PM, it's a good idea for all 14 year olds to be allowed to work at 2 PM.


SEC. 10. RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT OF HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS IN THE ARMED FORCES.

(a) Home-Schooled Students- Chapter 31 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 503 the following new section:

`Sec. 503a. Recruitment and enlistment of home-schooled students

`(a) Policy on Recruitment and Enlistment- The Secretary concerned shall prescribe a policy for the recruitment and enlistment of home-schooled students. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the polices prescribed under this section apply, to the extent practicable, uniformly across the armed forces

Why do we need special recruitment policies just for homeschoolers? is this all part of Faris' Christian Army fantasy? If homeschoolers are just like everybody else, shouldn't the normal recruitment policies of the Armed Forces be sufficient?

`(b) Elements- The policy prescribed by the Secretary concerned under subsection (a) shall include the following:

`(1) Identification of qualified graduates of home schooling for purposes of recruitment and enlistment in the armed forces that is in accordance with the requirements described in subsection (c).

`(2) Provision for the treatment, within the Department of Defense classification system of educational credentials for recruitment purposes, of graduates of home schooling within the same tier status as regular high school graduates, with no practical limit with regard to enlistment.

`(3) Exemption of graduates of home schooling from any requirement for a secondary school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate of high school equivalency as a precondition for enlistment in the armed forces.

The military, being a top heavy bureaucratic organization, needs a quick way to eliminate the wheat from the chaff. That shortcut has traditionally been a high school diploma. HEK's present a problem in that we like to consider ourselves the wheat, but we don't have the magic piece of paper. It's a problem, but the cure presented below seems to be much worse than the problem.

`(c) Qualified Home-School Graduates- In identifying a graduate of home schooling for purposes of subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall ensure that the graduate meets each of the following requirements:

`(1) The graduate has taken the Armed Forces Qualification Test and scored at the 50th percentile or above.

Done. Stop here. This is the answer. Everybody has to take the test anyway, so it should be the Sorting Hat. How you got to that point is not material. Either you can cut it (on paper anyway), or not.

`(2) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with–

`(A) a signed home-school notice of intent form that conforms with the State law of the State where the graduate resided when the graduate was in home school; or

And if you live in Texas where intents are not required...?

`(B) a home-school certificate or diploma from the parent or guardian of the graduate or a national curriculum provider.

So we are replacing the worthless piece of paper from a government school with an equally worthless piece of paper from Mom? That helps how?

`(3) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a copy of the graduate’s transcript for all secondary school grades completed which–

`(A) includes the enrollment date, graduation date, and type of curriculum; and

`(B) reflects successful completion of the last full academic year of schooling from the home-school national curriculum provider, parent, or guardian issuing the home-school certificate or diploma or home-school notice of intent form.

`(4) The home-school curriculum used by the graduate involved parental instruction and supervision and closely patterned the normal credit hours per subject as used in a traditional secondary school.

Meaningless paperwork, all of it. I thought the whole point was that success can't be measured by all those silly ass requirements in the public schools? What do we gain by requiring homeschools to provide reasonable facsimiles of all those silly ass requirements?

`(5) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a third-party verification letter of the graduate’s home-school status by the Home School Legal Defense Association or a State or county home-school association or organization.’.

I'm starting a new company, Homeschool Accreditation and Documentation, Inc. Our advertising tag line will be You've been HAD. Just insert your VISA number onto my website and I'll third party verify pretty much anything you want. And I won't require a $120 a year membership and a statement of faith either.

My feelings about this bill should be fairly clear. It's bad for homeschoolers, including those homeschoolers that are members of HSLDA.

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links for 2005-09-17

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September 16, 2005

links for 2005-09-16

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September 15, 2005

This post of interest only to hardcore baseball geeks

Out Of The Park Baseball, the absolute best baseball sim available, got a nice writeup in the San Fran Chronicle. Once of the interviewees plays in the same online league as I do. (My team is Arizona)

Also, my league has a few openings. The league is free, and the game costs $30, PC only. If you are interested in joining let me know. It's like fantasy baseball, only way, way more detailed, and way more fun.

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Free Abortions

Disaster victims from the Gulf Coast hit the jackpot. They can get free or deeply discounted abortions.

I'm speechless.

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Homeschoolers Against Halloween

Full text of an email my wife received today.

From: "Resurrection Resources Staff"
To: Resurrection Resources Staff
Subject: Help others say "No" to Halloween

Dear Home School Family,

Every year we are all confronted with the dilemma of Halloween. What
does it mean? How do we handle it? How do we share with others our
beliefs about its non-scriptural basis?

Here at Resurrection Resources we are always trying to help our families communicate effectively with others by preparing educational materials and books that teach, aid, or enhance communication skills. That is why we prepared a fictional novel about saying "No" to Halloween. 'Joy' is easy-to-read and a delightful story that always blesses anyone who has tried to communicate their beliefs to another.

Each year we offer this book Free of Charge (a $6.95 retail value), when you order a minimum of twelve (12) copies. All you have to do is pay the shipping and handling charges. Over the years, many families have given these books out to children who appear at their doors on Halloween or to others in their neighborhood, church, or other places of influence.

You can find out more about our 'Joy' book at
http://www.thefathersbooks.com/fiction.htm

Don't forget if you are looking for a last minute add-on curriculum, but your budget has dwindled, to check out our discount products page. We have several writing curriculum as well as science itmes that might be helpful for your student's science fair project. These curriculum are all new and never used and the discounts are 20-60%!
http://www.thefathersbooks.com/discount.htm
Quantities are limited.

Both of these savings will be available through October 2005. These
offers may not be combined with any other offer, discount, or award.

Sincerely,
Resurrection Resources
http://www.thefathersbooks.com

You are receiving this email because you either requested to be on our email list, contacted us via email, or we contacted you from public domain information and you did not request being removed. To have your name removed from our list, click here mailto:editor@thefathersbooks.com and type the word “remove” in the subject box.

They want homeschoolers to buy this book by the case and hand it out at Halloween. The ultimate trick I guess, and in my day, a good way to guarantee that your house would be egged later that night.

Note to the folks at Resurrection Resources...

1. Not all homeschoolers are Christian. It's debatable if they even comprise a majority.

2. Even among those that are Christian, 90% can have a little pretend fun once a year and celebrate a make believe holiday based on Pagan and Celtic rituals, while gorging on unhealthy snacks.

3. The other 10% are your customer base.

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HoNDA is back

The Home Education Non Discrimination Act is back. This time is has more co-sponsors, and exists in the federal legislative system as HR3753 and S1691.

You can plug either of those bills into Thomas to get the full text.

My anti-HoNDA page from 2003 is still online.

I'll give it some thought before I advance a position, but on the surface I can't think of anything that has changed. At it's core, the bill is designed to get homeschoolers government benefits that are currently denied, or difficult to get. As a libertarian, I don't see any good coming from an effort to dip our hands into the federal pie. It may suck that we get screwed out of benefits because we choose a road less traveled, but an IRS auditor asking you to prove that your new computer is really a homeschooling expense would suck a lot more.

I hope Scott will be writing on this with a little more depth that the press release provides.

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links for 2005-09-15

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September 14, 2005

We're back

Well, so much for this years vacation. September is the high season for hurricanes on the east coast, so I guess we were due. We bailed out late this afternoon and made the 4.5 hour drive home. Ophelia is a particularly pokey hurricane, and it looks like it will be late Thursday before the weather settles down. Driving 4.5 hours on Friday just to get get in some beach time on Saturday doesn't sound too appealing, so I don't think we are going back this year.

Delaney's favorite part was the sidetrip to look at a horse. Not sure what is going to come of it. First her trainer has to examine the pictures and video I took and bless the idea of owning the horse, then we have to figure out how to pay for it.

More pictures, including even more horse pictures, these of the wild herds that roam the neighborhoods of Corova, NC.

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Vacation Interruptus, or not

We packed up last night, planning on bugging out this morning. They put us under a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch at 5 PM last night. Given the events of recent weeks, I thought for sure the local officials would be trigger happy on the evacuation call. They did evacuate the 4 wheel drive area just a couple of miles to the north of us.

Alas, when the dogs woke us at 630 AM this morning, it was sunny and calm. It's downright beautiful outside.

So we are going to the beach, not home. The northern edge of the storm is still over 100 miles to the south of us, traveling 6 mph, and the storm jogged east at 8 AM. We may bug out later today if the situation warrants.

It is damn hard to relax when you have to watch the weather so closely though.

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September 12, 2005

Dancing with Ophelia

We are at the beach, keeping an eye on Ophelia. We may have to head home early, although at the moment I think we are far enough north that we won't experiece anything worse than a couple of rained out days. If we get evacuated I can invoke the trip insurance and get some money back.

Today is beautiful though. The cable company wants $45 for a week of broadband, and you people aren't worth it :) I'm checking email via a borrowed dial up account, but otherwise don't expect to see much here this week.

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September 10, 2005

Amazing New Orleans Pictures

This slide show of photos from a resident provides a far better picture of what happened than anything else I've seen anywhere. It'll take you about 30 minutes to go through all the pictures. He wrote a caption for every one.

It's worth it.

via A Whole Lotta Nothing

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links for 2005-09-10

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September 09, 2005

links for 2005-09-09

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September 08, 2005

Even the comics are making fun of the schools now

frazz1.gif

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links for 2005-09-08

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September 07, 2005

links for 2005-09-07

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September 06, 2005

links for 2005-09-06

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September 05, 2005

What I did on Labor Day

rfk - Nationals

I spent Labor Day celebrating with the best paid union laborers on the planet, major league baseball players.

Breck was not happy with the results, as his Marlins lost 5-2. It was 82 degrees with a breeze, perfect baseball weather. As you can see, we had good seats.

More pictures in the sidebar.

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links for 2005-09-05

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September 04, 2005

Gatto on what really matters

After 12,000 hours of compulsory training at the hands of nearly 100 government-certified men and women, many high school graduates have no skills to trade for an income or even any skills with which to talk to each other. They can't change a flat, read a book, repair a faucet, install a light, follow directions for the use of a word processor, build a wall, make change reliably, be alone with themselves or keep their marriages together.

Indeed. The essay gets a little anti-technology for my taste, but he makes his point quite well.

via Paul

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links for 2005-09-04

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September 03, 2005

News Flash - Homeschoolers are rich

Apparently, we all have six figure incomes and blame our shortcomings on others by pulling our kids from the system.

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September 02, 2005

Katrina Fatigue

I'm worn out just watching TV at night. I feel like I should post something important and insightful, but the well is dry.

That said, if there is any lesson I've getting from this, it's this.

When the shit hits the fan, you can't count on government to protect you.

But you already knew that, didn't you?

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September 01, 2005

links for 2005-09-01

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