Opus 2015-120: On the Street: Numbers Can Lie

I was driving so I may have the numbers wrong but they are close enough to ask some questions.

The two numbers on the giant billboard were 62,300 and 9,100 and underneath the numbers were the words “prison” and “school” respectively.  I think the statement had to do with the cost of one inmate in each institution for a year.  It did not explain what they were proposing.  It just had the numbers.

Did they want to spend less keeping criminals locked up or more keeping children locked up?  Maybe the opposite?  I have been around enough of these people to guess where they are going.  They believe that if we will spend more money on education we will not need to spend so much on prisons.  This is one of many Marie Antoinette moments that Progressives have.  She is reported to have responded to the poor people complaining about a lack of bread, “Then let them eat cake.”  The point is that she was totally out of contact with the world most people lived in.

More money will not solve the problems in education.  Let me make a comparison.  I am a messy.  I do not see mess unless I trip or it is pointed out to me.  Then I quickly forget.  After all, there are always more things to pile higher, right?  You can buy me all the brooms and storage containers you want.  It will just add to the clutter.  You need to change me.

There is no indication that more money improves the product of education.  You can pay for parents to go to parenting classes.  It won’t do any good unless they spend less time at the spa or shopping.  You can buy more technology but technology is part of the problem.  We don’t need more people who can use technology.  We need more people who can design it. 

There are many sources of the problems in crime and education.  There will be no solutions without holding people accountable for their behavior.  The problem for the Progressives is that if people take responsibility for their actions and learn to think, there is no more need for Progressives.  Informed, responsible people are not easy to lead and manipulate.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-119: On the Street: Danger in the Hood

Hoodies are dangerous. 

As I was on my way to work recently I car rushed up behind me and rode my tail.  Glancing in the mirror I could tell the driver was wearing a hoodie.  It was just a passing observation.  When he got bored reading my license plate he changed lanes and zoomed past me.  At that point I realized a good reason not to wear a hoodie while driving.  The driver could not see.  In order to look cool in a hoodie you need to pull it forward.  When you do that you block your peripheral vision.  It does not do any good to turn your head, the hood doesn’t turn with you.  This guy could not see anything except straight ahead.  That is fine when you are speeding but doesn’t help when you change lanes.

I wonder if they will find time to ban hoodies while driving.  It seems a bigger hazzard than cell phones.  Of course some fool will yell, “Racist” if you bring it up but they will probably yell it no matter what you do.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-118: Monday Pulpit: Both And

One of the points the pastor made on Sunday was that Jesus demands to be both Savior and Lord.  She (yes, she) pointed out how many people are quite happy to accept the forgiveness of God which is possible because Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  They are on board for that one.  The problem is that when it comes to the daily matter of obedience they yell, “Foul!”  They did not sign up for a life change, just fire insurance.

It doesn’t work that way.

The clear teaching of scripture is that you can’t have one without the other.  Unfortunately there are many people claiming to be Christians who refuse to act like one.  I see this on a regular basis at school.  I run into a fair number of children who will loudly proclaim that they went to church on Sunday and say blasphemous things about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  I could live with that and not call their statements blasphemy if the next sentence didn’t contain vulgarity and profanity.  I could accept they were Christians if their life was not an open demonstration of defiance and lack of self control. 

Just because a toadstool calls itself a mushroom doesn’t mean it is edible. 

In most areas of behavior I don’t know how to evaluate the actions of followers of other religions.  I don’t know their beliefs well enough to know what is acceptable and what isn’t.  I think I do, but I concede I could be wrong.  But I do know what a Christian is.

They ain’t it.  A Christian doesn’t act that way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-117: Discernment Watch: All Progress Isn’t

What is the difference between the Progressive picture of the future and that of the traditional conservative?  Both speak of rights and liberty.  Both talk about the people.  They mean entirely different things because they have different principles and understanding of human nature.

Progressives view of future of prosperity and freedom....for themselves.  In their utopia the elites will be in charge and make decisions about what choices others have.  Thus the common masses will be free to chose but only from the list that is provided by those who are wiser than they are.  Progressives view human nature as good but most of us are warped by society and evil things like religion and patriarchal families.  Only a small group of anointed are free of those restraints and until such silly notions are out of our heads, the elites must guide us.  Remember it is for your own good.  Remember that Progressive is the newest name for an old idea under many titles from Communist to Democrat (modern variety).

Traditional conservatives believe that it is man that is flawed and because he is flawed society has problems.  Unlike the Progressives, conservatives view themselves as flawed like everyone else.  Because of this they established a political system with checks and balances that made it very hard for a small group of elitists to control everyone else.  The Progressives are working hard to dismantle that system.  They now control the courts, education, the media and most government agencies.  These agencies are appointed by the elites and are beyond the control of the voters.  Conservatives believe in individuals being responsible for their own lives and expect people to live with the consequences of their decisions.

The differences are not always drawn by party lines.  There are many calling themselves Republicans that are in bed with the Progressives.  In my heart I believe there are probably a few Democrats that believe in individual liberty but I have to take that on faith because I don’t see it.

We are all for progress but only some of us are for genuine liberty.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-116: Headlines: Who, What, Why, Where, When, How?

Was it skinheads?  Was it the Neo-Nazi party?  Was it misdirected youths from Baltimore?  Was it Israel hating followers of President Obama?  The article doesn’t say but my money would be on Muslims.  The headline on The Drudge Report pretty much contained the entire story.

Two Jews were attacked by 40 thugs in Paris.  The article in something called Algemeiner tells about how the two were attacked.  It gives no mention of who did the attacking.  In America we never describe the perpetrators of violence if they are black.  It would be considered racist.  Evidently the same rule applies to Muslims in Europe.

It would seem that 40 thugs is enough to beat up two victims in a town that does not even let the police carry guns. 

Apart from the assumption that both sides were human there is no indication of what happened.  Was it 40 old men attacking two young women because their Viagra prescriptions were denied?  Maybe it was Orthodox Jews attacking two Reform Jews.  We know how violent they can be.  Maybe in reality the two attacked the forty and the news got it wrong.

I would say, “Stay tuned” but there will probably be nothing else we hear.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-115: On the Street: Talk About Suicide

What kind of norms cut across our differences?  Might I suggest suicide?

I don’t mean the act of killing yourself, although that is probably universally condemned.  Well, except for modern Progressives who want euthanasia but since they want to destroy the American way of life as a whole that is no surprise.  What I mean is stepping up to the soft drink dispenser and mixing orange, root beer, cola and any other wild flavor available.

It is called a “suicide”.

I had that beverage bar discussion today at breakfast.  A man who would match me in none of the categories that we love to use to divide us (color, religion, culture, etc.) was mixing light roast, dark roast and hazelnut in his cup.  I commented on him making a suicide.  He immediately knew what I was talking about.  We had a moment of bonding by the decaf dispenser. 

Our president and his liberal friends spend so much time trying to divide this country with the politics of race, the war on women and Robin Hood economics that we sometimes overlook all the things that we have in common.  Pizza.  Spring mornings.  Love of our children.  A desire to protect our families.  Finding a wanted item on sale.  And, yes, suicide.

The list goes on.  We need to understand that being an American is not an ethnic identification.  That is the view of Europe, Asia and Africa.  Being an American is being in love with an idea, an idea that begins with all men being created equal, continues through the Bill of Rights and expresses itself in a desire for liberty.

Embrace the dream.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-114: On the Street: Setting an Example

I saw a tree and realized where the nuts were coming from.

I was waiting at a signal.  Next to me was the left turn lane.  The green arrow came on and the car beside me did not move.  There was a toot from the car behind and I looked over to see a lady looking up from her cell phone.  As she pulled out I caught a bumper sticker that informed me that her child was an honor student at one of the nearby schools.

I wonder if that child ever hides his phone under the desk and sends text messages.  I wonder where that behavior was learned.  We assume it is from other students. 

Maybe not.

homo unius libri