Quiz Time

And this one counts - more than you know.

"America’s Founders were convinced American freedom could survive only if each generation understood its founding principles and the sacrifices made to maintain it.

Failing Our Students, Failing America: Holding Colleges Accountable for Teaching America’s History and Institutions asks: Is American higher education doing its duty to prepare the next generation to maintain our legacy of liberty?

In fall 2005, researchers at the University of Connecticut’s Department of Public Policy (UConnDPP), commissioned by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s (ISI) National Civic Literacy Board, conducted a survey of some 14,000 freshmen and seniors at 50 colleges and universities. Students were asked 60 multiple-choice questions to measure their knowledge in four subject areas: America’s history, government, international relations, and market economy. The disappointing results were published by ISI in fall 2006 in The Coming Crisis in Citizenship: Higher Education’s Failure to Teach America’s History and Institutions. Seniors, on average, failed all four subjects, and their overall average score was 53.2%."

Take the quiz here.

I went to university to become a high school history teacher and was so disturbed at the level of cynicism exhibited by the teachers I did field work with that I quickly changed my career plans. While I have never really regretted going into teaching, I have to admit that when I see articles such as this I do tend to dispare. Many people do not enjoy history and as a result tend to be uninformed about the spectacular experiment in self government this country truly is. Sometimes I think that if I had become a teacher I might have been able to make a difference.

I have also contended that many on the Left fail to grasp essential political issues because they do not know their own history or they have been exposed to flawed versions which this article makes abundantly clear. The Left often desires a certain outcome because they want it - not because they understand all of the history behind why things are the way they are. We can always change our government and or country but take the time to understand them first. You might just find out more than a few things you didn't know.

So, how did you do on the quiz?

Star Trek Weekend

I think they have lost their minds over at NRO! And I offer this as proof.

Tristan

This morning we delivered a member of our family into God's hands after thirteen years of love and friendship. Though we are diminished by her absence, we are infinitely richer for having had her in our lives.

Rest in peace.

Concert Vault

This is amazing!

Remember when I wrote about Bryan Ferry's latest solo album and mentioned seeing Chris Spedding play guitar on Ferry's solo tour? Go to Concert Vault and you can actually hear Ferry recorded live at the Bottom Line in New York City during his 1977 solo tour with the aforementioned Mr. Spedding on guitar. I prefer the late show version of The "In" Crowd.

Concert Vault is a collection of digitally remastered concerts recorded from the Sixties to the Eighties by the legendary promoter Bill Graham as well as the archives of The King Biscuit Flower Hour. All of the shows can be listened to for free and many can be downloaded for a price. You can hear Led Zeppelin in 1969, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Faces, Jeff Beck, Bob Marley, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers - the list is truly impressive.

You will undoubtedly find something that will make you say "Damn!".

There May Be Hope For Congress After All

I have to admit that I am a bit behind on listening to my podcasts. However, I was awestruck by one I heard earlier today which was recorded at The Heritage Foundation on August 1 entitled "When Do You Know You're Winning? Combating Insurgencies - Past, Present and Future". Congressional Representative Thadeus McCotter (R-Michigan) was the guest speaker and I particularly liked this exchange (emphasis added):

Question - "How do you gauge your caucus’s temperature on Iraq? Do you think it is going to stay together in September?"

Answer - "I earlier advocated and I continue to advocate that this is not a political matter for our party. That if we descend to the level where national security and elemental questions of right and wrong become an issue where we can be coursed or cajoled then we have not done our jobs as the representatives of the sovereign American people and we will descend to the level of those that view everything as a political matter in relation to your national security.

When your nation is engaged in warfare overseas you retain your right to descent. But you also have the responsibility to put forward constructive solutions to further the cause of victory. If you do not like what the President is doing then you should tell the President how we can best achieve our goal, be victorious and allow our troops to come home to their loved ones. I think that when you treat this as political matter you stray from that fundamental principle and you get into all sorts of trouble.

So we have not whipped our caucus on this and we will not. It is a matter of conscience and we believe that, in the end, this is the best way to approach this because it is the right way to approach this. I know how I will be voting; my constituents will know how I will be voting; and I think that is right and proper and anyone that asks me will be told. But if they do not ask, I will not force it upon them."

Just when I began to think Congress was nothing more than a collection of blithering idiots this man comes out and very concisely articulates my very feelings about how the liberals have come perilously close to treasonous behavior regarding the war. All I want to know is if/when he will consider running for higher office. I think he just might have a future.

Quote Of The Day

"The nice thing about working with your own tomatoes is that you don't have to remove a sticker."

- The Young Squire

September Gardening

We are watching a light frost melt off this morning and are very glad we covered the new crops of lettuce, spinach, green beans and radishes we recently planted. Our young miss just called to say her thermometer read 32 degrees F this morning and discussed what she should do about her garden with M'Lady. Apparently, it was a good thing the young squire and I picked all of the tomatoes yesterday!

Today will be devoted to all things tomato - tomato juice, tomato sauce and dried tomatoes. We have well over a hundred pounds to deal with and that doesn't include the four gallons of tomato sauce we have already canned. To date we have canned or frozen pickles (both dill and bread and butter types), beets, hot pickled mix, green beans, stuffed green peppers, hot peppers, apple sauce, grape jam, honey and the above mentioned tomato sauce. And an entire harvest of squash awaits our attention as well. Needless to say, our weekends have been busy.

The Definitive Word

In their editorial on September 11th The Wall Street Journal provided the definitive word on the MoveOn.Org/New York Times tactics (emphasis added):

"Important as was yesterday's appearance before Congress by General David Petraeus, the events leading up to his testimony may have been more significant. Members of the Democratic leadership and their supporters have now normalized the practice of accusing their opponents of lying. If other members of the Democratic Party don't move quickly to repudiate this turn, the ability of the U.S. political system to function will be impaired in a way no one would wish for. "

"MoveOn.org calls itself a "progressive" political group, but it is in fact drawn from the hard left of American politics and a pedigree that sees politics as not so much an ongoing struggle but a final competition. Their Web-based group is new to the political scene, but its politics are not so new. More surprising and troubling are the formerly liberal institutions and politicians who now share this political ethos."

"In an editorial on Sunday, the New York Times, after saying that President Bush "isn't looking for the truth, only for ways to confound the public," asserted that "General Petraeus has his own credibility problems." We read this as an elision from George Bush, the oft-accused liar on WMD and all the rest, to David Petraeus, also a liar merely for serving in the chain of command. With this editorial, the Times establishes that the party line is no longer just "Bush lied," but anyone who says anything good about Iraq or our effort there is also lying. As such, the Times enables and ratifies MoveOn.org's rhetoric as common usage for Democrats."

Be sure to read the entire editorial.

What If MoveOn.Org Existed 65 Years Ago?

The answer:


CWCID: Red State

Quote Of The Day

To put The New York Times editorial mentioned below in perspective:

"It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers! In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late. Accordingly, I'm readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I'll, in turn, do my best for the cause by writing editorials - after the fact."

Robert E. Lee, 1863

I Guess We Will Have To Agree To Disagree

The New York Times editorial today apparently provides the bookend to the full page MoveOn.org ad in yesterdays issue which attacked General Petraeus.

I can no longer find the words to express my disgust with "the newspaper of record" - so I am not even going to try.

College Daze

Since I have spent a great deal of money in Columbus over the past five years, I am always on the watch for these types of articles:

FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for September 2007: The Ohio State University.

The Office of University Housing at Ohio State, a public university, maintains a Diversity Statement that severely restricts what students in Ohio State’s residence halls can and cannot say. Students are instructed: “Do not joke about differences related to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, ability, socioeconomic background, etc.” It also contains the following cryptic prohibition: “Words, actions, and behaviors that inflict or threaten infliction of bodily or emotional harm, whether done intentionally or with reckless disregard, are not permitted.” This policy both squelches the type of frank expression that often characterizes college student communication and violates students’ constitutional right to free speech.

So much for freedom of speech. Who knew that publicly funded universities would become the last bastions of totalitarianism?

CWCID: Glenn Reynolds

New Blog

If you might be interested in what could be called a "travel blog" give Winemaking In Tuscany a try. I am related to these folks so I am biased, but the blog looks great and it promises to be quite the adventure; two L.A. professionals go to Tuscany where they pick olives and grapes for a month on a working farm.

Or as I put it to them "So - you're going to Tuscany to do the work Italians will no longer do?"