I grew up on orange juice reconstituted from frozen concentrate, but I have since forgiven my parents. It was convenient and inexpensive, and oranges did not grow on our New York State trees. It tasted fine to me, because I didn't know any better. Why I was so ignorant I'm not certain, since every two years we visited relatives in Florida—and this was in the days before a cooling cycle in the weather teamed with developers to destroy most of Central Florida's citrus groves. Perhaps orange juice from concentrate simply tasted better to me because that's what I was accustomed to, much as many children who grow up with Aunt Jemima often prefer the imitation to real maple syrup. Or maybe I simply didn't care enough, but ate what was set before me without giving it much thought.
With maturity came discrimination. When "not-from-concentrate" orange juice appeared in the grocery stores I winced at the price, but never looked back, as it made the frozen concentrate taste like so much flavored sugar water. (Later, when I read John McPhee's marvelous Oranges, I learned that flavored sugar water is a fairly accurate description of the product.) It would be another 20 years before I discovered orange juice that was orders of magnitude better than the best not-from-concentrate available in the grocery stores. (More)
I've written often enough about threats to the fundamental right of parents to educate their own children: the dreadful situation for homeschoolers in Germany, my concerns for Switzerland, and the unwarranted judicial intrusion in family life and education touched closer to home, in California. California ultimately upheld the legitimacy of home education, but it appears North Carolina is the next battleground.
As with the Terri Schiavo case, it is family problems that allowed the court's nose into this tent. It illustrates a serious problem with our "no fault" attitude towards divorce: despite the husband's admitted, ongoing, adulterous affair, his desire to send his children to public school has been allowed to trump his wife's desire to continue homeschooling. What is truly worrisome, as it touches homeschooling is the judge's power and attitude, as well as whatever precedent his decision may set. (More)I'm going to use my proverb until it catches on: The wise man recognizes truth in the words of his enemies. And the prudent man defends even his enemies from unjust accusations. It's time to annoy some of my readers yet again.
Many years ago I listened, against my will, to part of a Rush Limbaugh radio show. I was disgusted by the self-aggrandizing bombast, and even more by the sarcastic, mocking humor. Since then I've read bits and pieces of many of his newsletters, however, and have to admit that amongst the bombast, mockery, and occasional misinformation, there is some important truth. Oh, how hard it is not to let our selves get in the way of our message! And how many people are blinded to the truth because of the way we present it! However, that is another issue. (More)I am reproducing John C. Wright's latest post in its entirety because I desperately want my liberal readers to tell me why he is wrong, and many of you don't bother to click through when I merely provide links. Three things keep me from utter despair over the course we are following: (1) denial; (2) knowing that God—not the President, not the media, and not the corporate CEOs—is ultimately in charge, and will bring good out of even our most boneheaded mistakes; and (3) our children, and young people in general, are still enthusiastic and optimistic. Maybe they're in denial, too, but as long as they don't give up we will make it through. (More)
The Gridlock Economy, by Michael Heller (Basic Books, New York, 2008)
Peter V.—who now keeps most of his insightful commentary behind the Facebook wall, so I can't provide a link—alerted me to The Gridlock Economy, which I touched on in the first Casting the Net. Since then I obtained the book through Interlibrary Loan, and thanks to my Lenten disciplines, finished reading it last night. Now I can get the library monkey off my back and return this long-overdue book. (To be fair to them, the library has not been nagging me about it. But I was brought up to view an overdue library book as an unpaid debt, and my own conscience does quite enough nagging. In maturity—I think once I passed the half-century mark—I came to realize that keeping a book a little longer and paying a fine was an acceptable strategy and more reasonable than returning it unfinished. But I still imagine that I'm keeping hoards of folks in durance vile by limiting their access to the book.) (More)
George Friedman's The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century is not yet available, but there's a long and fascinating excerpt at InvestorsInsight. If some of Friedman's predictions seem nonsensical, the same cannot be said about his conclusion that the least reliable predictor of the future is our expectations. In the immortal words of investment prospectuses, "past performance is no guarantee of future return."
Friedman dramatically illustrates his point by imagining what observers standing at each even decade from 1900 to 2000 might reasonably have expected the future to be like. In most cases they would have been proven wrong within a decade. (More)It doesn't really matter that Barack Obama was not my candidate of choice (see my election series, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 for some of the reasons why); as a friend said, "I didn't vote for him, but I hope he's the best president ever." What boggles my mind is the adulation, ethusiasm, and outright joy that Inauguration Day 2009 brings—it's not all media hype. I can't imagine any presidential inauguration inspiring that kind of joy in me. At best I usually manage feelings of relief that the worst candidate did not win. But perhaps that's just a character flaw: I find it hard to get that enthusiastic about anything. We recently returned from our daughter's fabulous wedding to a wonderful man, and though I am pleased and enthusiastic and joyful, even for that event I can't imagine participating in the kind of jubliant demonstration associated with Obama's inauguration. Be that as it may, I truly wish our new president the best, and pray for him, because he will need it.
And yet my primary commentary on this Inauguration Day is a thank you to outgoing President Bush. History alone will tell, but as far as I can see the evidence so far pronounces George W. Bush a good man but an unfortunate and often unwise president, the same judgment I gave to Jimmy Carter. Nonetheless, he had his successes, and a very important one was highlighted by yesterday's Mallard Fillmore.
This morning Google News reported the following two stories sequentially [emphasis added]:
An 11th-hour ruling from the Bush administration gives health care workers, hospitals, and insurers more leeway to refuse health services for moral or religious reasons.
The rule, issued today, becomes effective in 30 days. Its main provisions widen the number of health workers and institutions that may refuse, based on "sincere religious belief or moral conviction," to provide care or referrals to patients.
"This rule protects the right of medical providers to care for their patients in accord with their conscience," says Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt....
A wide number of medical groups strongly oppose the new ruling. These groups include the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and 27 state medical associations.
"Today's regulation issued by HHS under the guise of 'protecting' the conscience of health care providers, is yet another reminder of the outgoing administration's implicit contempt for women's right to accurate and complete reproductive health information and legal medical procedures," says a statement from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Shocking revelation: Santa Clara University professor mirrors famous torture study
Replicating one of the most controversial behavioral experiments in history, a Santa Clara University psychologist has found that people will follow orders from an authority figure to administer what they believe are painful electric shocks.
More than two-thirds of volunteers in the research study had to be stopped from administering 150 volt shocks of electricity, despite hearing a person's cries of pain, professor Jerry M. Burger concluded in a study published in the January issue of the journal American Psychologist.
"In a dramatic way, it illustrates that under certain circumstances people will act in very surprising and disturbing ways,'' said Burger.
The study, using paid volunteers from the South Bay, is similar to the famous 1974 "obedience study'' by the late Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. In the wake of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann's trial, Milgram was troubled by the willingness of people to obey authorities — even if it conflicted with their own conscience.
Because I have often written about Germany's persecution of parents who believe the education of their children is best accomplished outside of the state public schools (this post will lead you to some of the other stories), it's a pleasure to be able to bring some good news as well: Prosecutors are dropping charges against the Brause family, which had faced up to two years in prison and the loss of their children. If this seems a "Well, duh!" kind of accomplisment, it is important to remember that it was not so long ago that we were celebrating such events as great victories in the U. S.
[T]he announcement came after the court received a detailed psychiatric report that there is no psychological harm to the children from homeschooling. The report also stated that the children have not been harmed [academically], which is evidenced by [the] exit exams [of the two oldest children] from high school
Lest we complacently conclude that the plight of homeschoolers in Germany is Germany's problem, not ours, American citizenship is not a sufficient defense if you live in Germany and want to teach your own children. An American family living in Berlin was recently ordered to court because of their homeschooling, and under legal advice the mother and children have fled to the United States until the situation can be resolved.
I'm delighted to see evidence of progress anywhere in the world, and also for the reminder that "watch, work, and pray" never ceases to be necessary.I've known for a long time that the plight of homeschoolers in Germany is dire, as I've written before (for example, here, here, and here); I've also known that the situation in Switzerland is worrisome, legal in some cantons, illegal in others, and sometimes in between. The Swiss are careful to point out that they are not German so I have hope that they will distinguish themselves by moving in the direction of more liberty. It wasn't that long ago, after all, that homeschooling in the United States was similarly at risk. However, Principled Discovery has discovered some alarming news. (Thanks, DSTB.)
According to the Tages Anzeiger, one of the most widely read newspapers in Switzerland, homeschooling is about to become severely restricted in the Canton of Zurich.
Private Education: Parents threaten with disobedience
December 4, 2008
Beginning next summer at the latest, parents will only be allowed to educated their children at home when they have a teacher’s certificate. Eight families are resisting—with all means. Tages Anzeiger
The article goes on to say that this new regulation will affect fifty families, but apparently only these eight families have chosen to fight. The Education Director has thus far rejected all offers of compromise. If they continue and do not win their cases, the families face fines of up to 5000 Francs (about $4,100) and a possible citation for disobedience of official orders.
Read the whole story. Those with a working knowledge of German may want to read the Tages Anzeige article directly; I can only hope it is the translation that makes the language sound strident and authoritarian.
The most chilling words are in the law that was not passed, so perhaps the Swiss will be more resistent to educational tyrrany than the Germans.
That, alas, is what many people, even in the United States, mean when they talk about the "socialization issue" with homeschoolers. It's not that they worry that homeschooled children won't learn how to get along with other people, but that they will learn to think independently and not conform.Private schools should teach the same world view as taught in public schools.
We bought some luggage today. Amongst the choices, we found an American Tourister set that would do the job, but decided to look a bit further. Then we found some Swiss luggage that made my heart sing. It was billed as being made by the same people who make the Swiss Army knife, was an arresting red color easy to spot on an airport carousel, and was marked with a Swiss cross emblem. Besides, it was Swiss! Must be good, right? It was also more than twice the price of the other set, another supposed indicator of quailty.
After further investigation, we went for the lower cost, because there was no convincing evidence that the construction was any less durable, even if it did lack the je ne sais quoi factor. We would have happily paid the additional money, however, had the luggage really been made in Switzerland. But no, both the Swiss Army bags and the American Tourister were...made in China.What older person hasn't looked into the mirror, whether physical or metaphorical, and noticed, "I'm becoming my mother/father!"? I've observed both tendencies in myself, but the latest revelation is that I'm becoming my husband.
For much of my young life it was illegal in the United States to buy or import products made in China. Aware of this, I looked with awe upon a cheap Chinese toy in a Canadian gift shop, wondering perhaps if it might blow up in my hands or impart some poison into my body. Still, when the ban was lifted, I saw no reason not to buy the Chinese products that began to trickle onto our shelves. I grew frustrated with Porter's insistence on buying products made in the U.S.A. whenever possible, and embarrassed at his constant checking for the origin of items in the stores. I'll admit it: I laughed at his parochialism. After all, don't Chinese families have as much right to live and eat and make money as American families? (More)
A recent news story highlights the perils of giving birth in Afghanistan. It's a great thing that midwives are being trained to help improve the country's appalling maternal mortality rate, which is as bad as it gets unless you give birth in Sierra Leone. However, the article indicates to me that we are training them in the medical model of care when it comes to childbirth. Given that childbirth is a natural and normal process for all but a small percentage of births, lack of access to (or willingness to use) doctors and hospitals is hardly the main problem. Promoting the Midwives' Model of Care along with good nutrition and prenatal care would probably do more than anything else to reduce the grip fear, pain, and death on Afghani mothers.
Afghanistan needs Ina May Gaskin—albeit with a bit of censorship required, especially the part about orgasmic childbirth. That wouldn't go over with the imams, no, not at all....I've said before that most so-called conspiracies can be more readily explained by simple human stupidity. Take, for example, the recent brouhaha over NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, whose climate data for October reported temperatures to be an astonishing three-quarters of a degree above normal. It turns out the data was badly skewed because in several cases September's data had been used rather than October's.
Some of the commentary I've read accuses the GISS of deliberately putting out a false report, but I see no need to propose a more complicated explanation when a simple one will do: The GISS was expecting to see warming, so they didn't question the data. This is why scientific experiments are double-blind whenever possible. In lieu of that, it might be wise to have your enemies proofread your work: those on the other side of the global warming debate found the error quickly.
