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Name: C. L. Palmer
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
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What to Do After Obamacare

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 9:51:54 PM
I'm glad that conservatives are finally finding a spine. It's been a while, and it's interesting that this is a bottom-up revolution rather than a Republican Party movement. I daresay that there are at least as many independents in this fight as GOP members, and it's sad. It's sad that the party that ushered in the conservative movement in this country has to be shown the way by others.
 
Still, stopping Obama is not enough. Halting his march to communism will not suffice. Even lowering taxes after he leaves office will only delay the onward tide of totalitarian government. America will have to search deep within her soul and find a leader with the balls (or ovaries, I'm not sexist) to march us back away from the precipice.
 
This is a difficult prospect. It is widely assumed that the reduction or elimination of any entitlement program is political suicide. We need a leader, indeed a whole set of leaders, who value the well-being of the country to their own political survival. Do we have anyone fitting this mold? Mitt Romney seems a likely candidate. He did, after all, leave the race when he might still have gained victory, preferring to sacrifice his own ambitions for the sake of the GOP and the country. It must have ticked him off to have been the butt of McCain's dirty campaigning: the false ads in Florida, asking his people to vote for Huckabee to steal a win from Romney. I know it made me ballistic. Mitt, however, handled the situation as only a true statesman could have. I don't see anyone else on the horizon who could have or would have done that.
 
We need a Congress that is united behind an agenda and is willing to see it through, the press be damned. We will have to pursue an agenda that will be seen as backward and reactionary. Hell, it will be, because being forward-thinking was sending the country right down the crapper. Plus, we are reacting, reacting to decades and decades of an ill-conceived welfare system that rewards sloth, reacting to social policies that have left us with myriad sexual diseases and one-third of our children being born out of wedlock, reacting to government infringement in the free market that causes it to break down, which is then used as an excuse to abandon it. We have been too slow to react; that's our problem.
 
Ah, but what is to be the agenda? Let me list it out concisely and clearly:
 
1. Convert the welfare system into a job agency.
2. Eliminate the federal income tax, and repeal the Constitutional amendment making it legal.
3. Replace it with a fifteen percent national sales tax, which places our companies on an even tax base with foreign competitors.
4. Match tariffs with our trading partners, using our power as consumers to break down overseas trade barriers.
5. Add three conservative, strict-constructionist justices to the Supreme Court, bringing the total to twelve, the same number as a jury. If no majority can be reached, the case is thrown out and the prior decision stands.
6. Undo every stupid executive order signed by liberal presidents. If they could enact it by executive order, we can undo it the same way.
7. Build a wall (not a fence) on each border, starting with the southern one because that's where the problem is greatest.
8. When the illegals inevitably protest, back buses into the area, load them up, and deport the whole lot of them. Any citizens we accidentally deport may return, assuming they have proper documentation.
9. Declare a moratorium on any and all immigration except for when the unemployment rate is less than two percent.
10. Amend the Constitution so that only children of at least one citizen are granted automatic citizenship when born on American soil.
 
Now, I realize that some readers may think I'm being facetious here or using hyperbole, but I'm dead serious. These things must be done if we are to regain the ground that common sense has lost since the drug-addled hippies took over the reigns of power. It is not sufficient to slow the trip to Armageddon; we must begin to travel back. I pray that we find a leader with the selfless will to accomplish the task. He'll be ridiculed, reviled, and politically destroyed, but if he's in it for the right reasons, that won't matter. Saving America will.
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McCain to Dems: Check! But is the match won?

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Monday, September 01, 2008 2:41:10 PM
The surprise appointment of the female governor of Alaska as the Republican vice-presidential nominee sent shock waves through the media and the Republican base last week. As strategy, it's a no-brainer. Hillary supporters are angry with Obama and the DNC for rejecting their girl; McCain appoints a female, hoping to sop up some of those voters.Will it work?

I don't think so. Republicans aren't particular about the gender of their candidates. We tend to vote issues over personality. Leaving aside the fact that John McCain was even elected the nominee (a feat largely made possible by the existence of open ballots in many key states), we will admire the savvy behind the choice, but it won't be enough to get us to the polls for McCain. He knows this. He didn't nominate her for us. He did so for Democrats. They, not us, are his target audience.

If he was after the Republican base, he would have nominated Romney. Sarah Palin is a good choice. Don't get me wrong. As far as I can tell, she would make a fine president if such became necessary. Her Conservative credentials are solid. However, a Romney nomination would have locked in the votes of all of us who felt that McCain was nominated largely because of a couple of dirty tricks.

McCain has a similar problem to Obama's. A significant number of Republicans were backing the other horse, passionately so. His nomination doused our hopes, quenching the flame that had ignited so much excitement during the early stages of the primary. We were hoping for another Reagan, but we got a Dole. That fact alone may well affect Republican turnout this November. McCain can get all of the Hillary voters he wants, but without the support of the base, he's toast.

I have said before and I'll say again that I think the nation needs an Obama victory. We need someone to wake us up to the realities of Left-Wing extremism. We have forgotten where that road leads. It will be painful, but it will lead us to a brighter future. We're a bit like addicts, we Americans. We're addicted to pork and deficit spending, addicted to our entitlements. We'll never get around to weaning ourselves without hitting bottom. Thus, I support Obama. He is the rock bottom we need so we can bounce back into sanity and common sense.





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Obama bounces... straight down!

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 8:24:59 AM
Despite all of the media adulation (or perhaps because of it), Barack Obama's poll numbers are down behind John McCain in both of the major opinion polls. Why? Is it Bill Ayers or Jeremiah Wright? Nope! Go to my blogspot post to find out:
 
 
If you like it, bookmark the page. My goal is to post here once a week (at least) and there once a week. It's the same blog, but different sites and different posts. Weird, but I hope you enjoy it.
 
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The Culture Gap

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 2:36:57 PM
As a teacher, I'm always hearing about the supposed "educational achievement gap." This is supposed to make me feel guilty that certain ethnic groups are doing worse (on average) than others. However, from my vantage point, those numbers are extremely deceptive. In short, they tell a story far removed from what actually goes on in a classroom.
 
The gaps that actually exist are cultural, not racial. They stem from a family and neighborhood culture which undervalues achievement, or at least the effort required to produce it. The cultures to which I refer are the "trash" cultures, those whose practitioners frequently appear on programs such as Maury Povich or Jerry Springer. Sure, they'd all love to acquire wealth. However, they do not promote those social and moral values which, in real life, lead to it. Students who come from a trash culture often behave in a belligerent manner regardless of the stimuli in their surroundings. They are taught to be bellicose by nature, oppositional to structure and authority. Whatever an authority figure tells them is suspect by nature, and their gut instinct is to resist. They are loud and quarrelsome. This holds true across lines of color and nationality; it's just as true in a ghetto, a barrio, or a trailer park.
 
We don't suffer from endemic racism. We suffer from a surplus of negative cultural baggage. This baggage is, of course, passed from parent to child in a line of wasted potential that creates what appear to be racial differences, but are, in fact, simply based on patterns of behavior. As I've told many a student, there is no such thing as a baggy pants gene. Those neighborhood and community affectations which impede achievement are learned, and can be unlearned. This, however, will not happen until we rid ourselves of two very foolish ideas.

The first idea is the equation of race and culture. Anyone who has studied sociology knows very well that for each race, there are nigh infinite cultures and subcultures. There is no such thing as the black culture, or the white culture, etc. Europe alone has a wide variety of individual cultures in a relatively small geographic area, and thus serves as a simple refutation of the nonsense the American media perpetuate, asserting that blacks are inherently culturally different from whites, as are Asians and Hispanics as well. This is nonsense. What cultural differences do exists are trends, not absolutes, and result from a mixture of national origin and family dynamics. Thus it is that third generation immigrants have generally been absorbed into the cultural mainstream, regardless of where their grandparents came from.

The second ridiculous notion is the idea that all cultures are equal, or at least that they are all equally valid. This is obviously false as well. To argue from the extreme, the Nazis had a unique culture, with its own cosmology and belief system. Was that a valid culture? Should it, and the implications which flow from it, have been tolerated? Did we make a huge sociological mistake in defeating Nazi culture, and subsequently stigmatizing its expression? Of course not. The same, obviously, is true of the trash cultures. They produce negative results when put into practice. They have led to mass poverty, vice, and ignorance. Trash cultures must be eradicated for the benefit of those future generations who would otherwise be destroyed by them.

The inferences made in The Bell Curve ignored the effects of culture on intelligence. This becomes obvious when one realizes that no measurement was made of white trash culture. I believe that had such a breakdown been made in the data, the results would have been deracialized, while still angering many. No one wants to believe that any group he belongs to is somehow inferior, even if that group is simply one of culture and habit, and is therefore maleable. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would still have howled, but the authors of the study could have credibly maintained that no racism was involved.

My best and brightest students have always been a racially diverse group. I've never taught a gifted class without at least one student from every race. However, the thing that all of them have had in common is culture. Their parents have all belonged to cultures that value achievement. Thus, their children achieve. If we can somehow get the lawmakers to comprehend this simple fact, and to work toward a solution, we'll never have to compare our students by race again. Considering the fact that many students are racially mixed these days anyway, race seems something of a moot point in the modern era. We may finally be on the verge of overcoming discrimination, for the simple fact that we'll all be in the same boat.
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The Dark Knight: Batman as Bush

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 5:18:19 PM
Watching Glenn Beck one night, I realized that the latest Batman movie does indeed have conservative overtones. That got me thinking. I started to analyze certain parallels that stuck out to me.
 
First of all, the actor who plays Batman bears more than a passing resemblance to a young George W. Bush. He has the same smirk and mannerisms. You won't be able to watch the movie again without noticing this, once somebody suggests it.
 
Second, Batman decides that he must do what many would consider out-of-bounds to protect his city. He decides that he must be the hero Goham needs, not just the one it wants. He realizes that to protect those he has sworn to protect, he must be despised by many of them. Who does that sound like but President Bush? He uses "rough interrogation." He keeps things close to the vest, even from law enforcement, whom he does not trust. George W. Bush has been plagued by leftover Clinonistas in the FBI and CIA; Batman's efforts were hampered by cops beholden to the mob. Eerily similar...
 
Third, Batman decides that the only way to protect the citizenry is to listen in on conversations all over the city. Essentially, he is wire-tapping. He programs the system to lock on only to the voice of the terrorist he seeks, just as Bush listens in only on conversations with suspected terrorists. He, and his staff, have reservations over this, but in the end decide that it is a better alternative than doing nothing. He never goes outside of his mission objectives with it, however. It is an "emergency power," and the program is dismantled when its objective has been met.
 
The moral of the story is that sometimes you must sacrifice your personal pride and desires to protect your people. They may not be grateful, and may, indeed, roundly criticize you for your actions. However, in order to serve them properly, you must be ready to absorb that criticism and not let it distract you from your mission. With regard to the war on terror, this has been the exact philosophy of the Bush administration.
 
I have many areas of disagreement with President Bush, but this movie made me see him in a new light. When protecting this country from terrorists, men who "just want to watch the world burn," Bush is Batman. He will be vindicated by history, at least in this area, the seminal issue of our time. In this respect, he is truly a hero. 
 
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Why I Won't Vote for Obama

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Thursday, August 07, 2008 11:22:41 PM
I know this sounds very contrarian of me, but I can't bring myself to vote for Barry Obama. I want him to win; I haven't changed on that issue. I just can't envision myself contributing to it personally.
 
Since I don't feel like repeating myself overmuch, I'll refer you to my other "Use of Reason" blog to explain why:
 
Read around this one too, if you like. It has a lot of good posts from the past few months.
 
Or, read another little enterprise of mine:
 
 
This one's just for fun.
 
Thanks for reading! I was beginning to feel like I was shouting at the wind.
 
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We Are Divided, Thus We Are Conquered

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Thursday, August 07, 2008 10:17:11 PM
Have you ever noticed the "strange bedfellows" that constitute the Democrat Party these days? Sodomites (who so despise women as to eschew even sex with them), man-hating feminists, the guilt-ridden wealthy, the hate-ridden poor, illegal aliens whose citizenship is never even checked, the ignorant elderly (the smart ones vote Republican), blacks, Hispanics, Asians (who should know better, as the Democrats' policies hurt them as much as anyone), and the "progressively religious," or those who practice a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof.
 
Somehow, these divergent groups ignore the vast differences between them, and uniformly focus their energies on attacking the Religious Right, those of us who accept God at His word and make His will ours, not ours His.
 
Would that we could be so united! Instead, judging by the "hate section" of many a Christian bookstore, I notice that we spend quite a bit of time, energy, and money subdividing ourselves into smaller and smaller splinters, each seeking to exclude the other from the fold of Christ. We see Catholics denouncing Protestants, Protestants denouncing Catholics and Mormons, etcetera, etcetera. Yet we all agree so much more than we disagree. Despite differences in interpretation, we all accept the Bible as God's word. We accept it as a guide to living, as a means of judging whether or not we are seeking after good or evil. We accept the very concept of good and evil, and are willing to admit that some things going on in the world today are, indeed, evil.
 
We need to stop fighting so much amongst ourselves, and unite in the battle for Good.
 
Our enemies, exploiting this weakness, encourage our petty animosities. They print or broadcast knowingly misleading stories in the media to make us see each other as strange. Let's face facts: To them, we're all weirdos. We believe in a Being who created not only our bodies but the spirits within them. We accept as a given that we belong to Another, that someone else's will supercedes our own. We believe that mankind is inherently flawed, that a Savior had to come rescue us from our own selves. Such a belief, universal in all Christian denominations, even those whose claim to Christianity is sometimes called into question, is anathema to the Left.
 
Remember that the next time you seek to exclude a brother from the fold. As Jesus Himself said, "He who is not against us, is for us."
 
We ought to be allies, fighting the true enemy, those who seek to rob us of our right to worship God as He commands. We ought to accept and love as brothers those who proclaim Christ as the Messiah, despite whatever other beliefs they may have. We need not agree in all things to fight beside one another, instead of against one another. We need agree only that the further we drift from Christian values and morality in the public sphere, the more we lose the sanction of God in our national life. This sanction was accepted as a given by our forebears. They knew their cause was right, that God was on their side. They actively sought His favor. So should we.
 
Let us not waste time fighting those we ought to support. Let us not let denomination stand in the way of unity. Let's focus on what unites all Christians, and while we can and should feel free to discuss our differing points of view, let's not forget the big picture: We accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We accept that He knows what is just and good better than we do. We accept that the further society drifts from that standard, the worse it will become.
 
United, we are God's army. With Him behind us, we can't lose.
 
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The Dangers of a McCain Victory

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 4:33:28 PM
There are four possible scenarios this November. I will list them in order from best to worst.
 
1. The Republicans sweep Congress, and John McCain wins. This is the only circumstance where I believe John McCain will feel safe to act like a Conservative. He will feel that's the way the political winds are blowing, and, let's face it, that's the kind of politician he is. If he feels a push to the right, he'll go there. That's straight talk, from me at least. A Republican legislature is the most important aspect of this scenario. As much emphasis as the presidential race may get from the news media, those of us who actually pay attention to this stuff realize that the composition of the Congress is infinitely more important. That is why the next best scenario is...
 
2. The Republicans take control of Congress, and Barack Obama wins. This will be the classic Bill Clinton scenario. Obama will pontificate, complain, use (and hopefully wear out) the race card, and generally make an arse of himself, but will be unable to do any real damage. In the meantime, the freshman Republicans will still have cajones enough to advance a Conservative agenda, balancing budgets, scaling back Liberal spending programs, maybe even banning earmarks. (I can dream, can't I?) Sure, Obama will take credit for everything the Republicans forced him to do, but at least it will get done.
 
3. The Democrats keep the Congress, and Obama wins. Okay, on the home front, everything will go to Hell in a handbasket, just like it did the first two years of the Clinton administration. After that, however, we'll get the chance to say "I told you so!" and elect a new Congress. Trust me, even two years of unchecked Liberalism will be enough to convince America that there needs to be a change. If we're lucky, Obama will be a one-termer, and we can get on with real Conservatism that much faster. Remember, Bill Clinton would have lost, even to Bob Dole, if it weren't for Ross Perot. How the Libs have the gall to complain about Ralph Nader's measly couple of percentage points is beyond me.
 
4. The worst case scenario is if the Democrats keep the Congress, and John McCain wins. As much as I admire his military service, being a Republican maverick means going along with the Liberal agenda even more than the rest of your spineless peers. What we'll get is another Liberal administration, but with an "R" next to it. Just as Obama would take credit for any success Congress has, John McCain will be given the blame for any failures caused by another term of the Pelosi Congress. She will then blame Republicans in general, and use that strategy to gain seats in the next election, and foul things up even more. Conservatism, and America in general, will be set back for decades. If such must occur, I'd rather be able to blame a Democrat, wouldn't you?
 
The Congress and Senate are the real seats of power in this country; read your Constitution. They are the first branch of government to be addressed, and for good reason. Military command aside, the president is largely a figurehead. Sure, he can veto, but Congress can override it. Besides, ask yourself: Do you see John McCain using the veto pen?
 
I don't.  
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America Needs Obama in the White House

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Monday, August 04, 2008 10:49:07 AM
I have changed my mind. I want Barack Obama in the White House. America needs him. We need an Obama victory so badly, I don't even care if the Democrats register thousands of illegals to ensure him a victory in California, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. (Oh, wait. They already have.)
 
You see, it takes a Carter to get a Reagan. America needs to experience what unbridled Liberalism will do to this country before it will elect a true Conservative. The mere fact that John McCain is the Republican nominee tells me that the time is ripe, yet again, for a Liberal from Hell to come in and lay waste to America. From those ashes will rise a rejuvenated America.
 
So, yes, I want Barry Obama to win in November, despite the fact that he will cause us temporary misery. It has to hurt if it's to heal.
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The Enthusiam Gap

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 10:46:10 AM
If I were a betting man, I'd have to place my money on Obama winning this November. I don't want him to win. Actually, I think he'd be a disaster the likes of which even Jimmy Carter would envy. Still, I don't see a realistic scenario in which McCain carries off a victory.
 
Here's why: Nobody feels the enthusiasm for John McCain that liberals do for Barack Obama. Sure, the negatives for Obama are much higher than they are for McCain, but McCain's positives are also much lower. In my life, I've never seen a weak candidate win because people disliked his opponent.
 
Let's learn a lesson from the Kerry campaign. John Kerry is the Democrat equivalent of McCain, after all. He was a long-time senator who felt it was his turn being president. He was a liberal who still vowed to finish out the war in Iraq, though he didn't agree with all of the reasons for being there. He was vilified by the opposing party, as always occurs, but for trivial reasons (like flip-flopping). The only thing he had going for him, from a liberal standpoint, was that he wasn't the eeeeeeeeeevil George W. Bush. Liberals hate Bush. Even many Republicans resent him as a mumble-mouthed hick who is soft on immigration (hence his extremely low approval rating). If an opponent's negatives mean anything, Kerry should have stomped Bush in 2004. That didn't happen.
 
You see, there was no real reason to vote for John Kerry, just as there is no reason to vote for John McCain. His only asset is what he isn't: Barack Obama. We fear Obama, and rightfully so, as the symbol of the triumph of socialism. This is the same reason he is practically worshiped by the Far Left. He is God to them. He can do no wrong. An Obama rally is practically a rock concert, right down to the hippies and the marijuana smoke wafting through the air. The atheist Left has substituted Barack Obama in that place in the human psyche that Deity belongs. He fulfills the natural human instinct for worship. He will affect turnout in November for the mere reason that Democrats will finally have a candidate, like Clinton, with whom they can identify. Clinton, after all, was an amoral sexaholic. Democrats know where he's coming from. Obama is as liberal as they come. He's so pro-abortion that he would kill the "fetus" even after delivery, as long as the intention of the delivery was a partial-birth abortion. (Oops! The head came out too quickly. Oh well, let's suck the brains out anyway!) He wants the federal government to take over huge segments of the economy, including health care and, quite possibly, even the oil industry. He has a clear disdain for what most Americans consider Christianity. He hates America, and thinks it can only be redeemed from its racist, imperialistic past by electing him. Oh, yes, and did I mention that he's black? (I'm quoting Obama himself here.)
 
Obama is the graven image the pagans have chosen to worship. Now they have two gods: Gaea and Barack. They will show up to vote, in droves. Will the fear of an Obama presidency be enough to get us to come vote for McCain? History suggests it won't be.
 
The Mayan calendar predicts that the world will end in 2012. This would be at the end of Obama's first term. Coincidence? Hmm....
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When the Supreme Court Hands You a Lemon...

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Thursday, June 19, 2008 10:22:34 PM
The Supreme Court, in its infinite, godlike wisdom, has decreed that we ought to reward terrorists with the rights of citizens. So be it. I say, let's release them tomorrow. But tonight...

Tonight, let us put sleeping meds in their falafels and implant into the muscle tissue of the back of their thighs a tracking device. Subsequently, beat them to the point that they have bruises all over the place (so they suspect nothing), and beat them some more when they awaken. Then, we fly them out to the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and release them. 

Inside Pakistan, government operatives use the tracking devices to covertly follow and observe these men. With listening gear, they determine who they are meeting with and where. We do nothing except wait for the big meeting, the honorary visit with the chief terrorist, Osama bin Ladin. Surely he will want to congratulate the architect of the 9/11 bombing! Once we have a location on bin Ladin, we send out a covert, non-uniformed team in traditional Pakistani costume to capture or kill Osama bin Ladin and anyone who attempts to defend him.

If we capture him, we interrogate him in any way necessary to get maximum intel, then we execute him. A press conference is later held announcing that we found Osama, but he was killed in the struggle. That way, no traitor in a black robe can decree that we must release him for not reading him the Miranda rights or some other stupid reason.

Every cloud has a silver lining. This could be a golden opportunity, if we use it correctly. I hope someone in the White House uses his brain on this one.
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How to Fix Education in America

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:42:39 PM
First, let us be rid of the notion of school vouchers as a panacea. Allowing the government to fund private schools will also allow government to put strings on the money. Here's how it will go...
 
First, the government will give a generous voucher to any student who wishes to attend a private school. Public school students will flood the private schools.
 
As many of the rowdier and more unproductive begin to be expelled or disciplined, complaints will mount. Jesse Jackson will ride in like the cavalry. Lawsuits will be filed. Legislation will be drawn up.
 
Within three years, most private schools will have expanded to meet the new demand. They will be in hawk up to their eyeballs. They will be dependent on government funded students to meet their financial obligations.
 
Cognizant of this fact, Congress and the various state legislatures will enact "educational equality" laws, severely hampering the private schools. Corporal punishment will be virtually banned. Students with problem behavior will have to be kept on. Students who fail to meet educational goals will be considered a reflection of the private schools, not their own laziness. Funding cuts will be threatened if a private school fails to "turn these students around".
 
In short, the private schools will be turned into duplicates of today's public schools. This is inevitable. The only thing privatization will do is ruin the private schools.
 
Now, let us see what can and should be done to improve education.
 
1. Schools must be restructured, eschewing the traditional K-12 model. Students will instead be measured by ability zones. An end-of-year test will determine if a student has passed into the next ability zone. Schools will continue to be organized by age (for some fairly obvious reasons), but classes will be grouped by achievement. When an ability level (as indicated by a set of skills to be mastered) has been measurably and objectively passed, the student moves on. If a student fails to pass, he remains at the present level until he does.
 
2. Diplomas must not be given unless all required criteria have been met. Period. Those students who are simply unable or unwilling to meet the criteria should be given the opportunity for vocational training.
 
3. Vouchers should be given to students who fail to meet behavior requirements. Those students should be sent to military academies, in which corporal punishment is allowed and used often. Toilets will be cleaned, and many vocationally useful experiences will be gained.
 
4. Non-citizens should not be eligible to receive Pell grants or any other form of government aid for college expenses. It is quite foolish of us to pay a foreigner's way through college so he may then go home and steal American jobs using the training we provided for him.
 
5. All schools should be required to find out and report the citizenship and/or immigration status of all enrolled students and their parents. Any violations of U.S. immigration policy must be reported and acted upon for that school to remain funded.
 
6. A law should be passed limiting the expenditure of public school funds outside of the actual school site. Ninety-five percent of funds should be spent at the individual school level. This may be used to pay for teacher salaries, classrooms, textbooks and materials, upkeep and maintenance of the grounds, etcetera. The other five percent of the funds may be spent on administration outside of the individual school site. (You would be appalled at the paltry amount of money that makes its way toward educating the actual students in our country.)
 
7. Corporal punishment, in the form of forced labor, should be allowable at all U.S. schools.
 
8. A universal curriculum should be made available to any school that wishes to use it. This curriculum, designed by actual teachers, would enable those who use it to pass the proficiency tests at the end of the year.
 
If these eight steps were followed, education in this country would flower and bloom as never before. Will this occur? Not so long as lily-livered politicians place more value on their continued presence in the halls of power than in solving the nation's problems. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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A Wealth of Opinion

Posted by C. L. Palmer on Tuesday, June 03, 2008 6:56:05 PM
America suffers from or is blessed by a wealth of opinion, depending on your point of view. I, myself, suffer from the same malady, and if you'd like to read more of my rantings, you may access them at theuseofreason.blogspot.com. There are about twenty posts there. I blog on that site most of the time, although I plan on blogging here at least once weekly. Blogging is a habit, the thinking man's heroin. I don't know if anyone really reads any of this, but I have to spill my guts anyway. The country is being destroyed by the twits in Washington, and I find much more solace in (digitally) screaming in rage than in suffering silently.
 
You may wonder, then, at the title of my blog. Reason, to me, is the search for the root cause of things. If you want to solve a problem, you have to find the true cause of that problem, as uncomfortable as that process may be. That is what I attempt to do in both blogs. You may not always agree with me. You may, at times, scream in rage at the computer monitor just as I often do at my television. But it's a healthy exercise nonetheless.
 
I hope you enjoy both of these blogs. For my most recent material, visit theuseofreason.blogspot.com. I'll try to post here at least weekly, if not more, as well. I don't repeat postings, so there is no duplicate material between the two blogs.
 
Thanks for being a reader! Together, we can save this country!
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