Author Archives: Jeffrey

School Choice and the Value of Religious Diversity

Institutions that shape public policy should beware of discrimination against traditional Christians.

Today’s culture wars have disturbing historical precedents, both in the U.S. and abroad, reflecting fundamentally contrasting approaches to managing the tradeoffs between unity and diversity and to the very role of the nation-state in a free society. This explains the recent uproar over Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Bartholet’s already influential 2020 Arizona Law Review article “Homeschooling: Parent rights absolutism vs. child rights to education and protection.” There she essentially advocates outlawing homeschooling, characterizing it as threatening both individual children and national unity, since homeschooling parents dare to impose their faiths on their children. Continue reading →

The Real Story of Ben-Hur’s ‘Tale of the Christ‘

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. – For many, watching the movie “Ben-Hur” has become an Easter tradition. The 1959 blockbuster, starring Charlton Heston, made history with a record 11 Academy Awards.

Now, the 1925 silent version is making a comeback. But what many may not know is that Hollywood didn’t create this classic story.

The idea came from the best-selling novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, published in 1880. The book tells the story of a life-altering encounter between a first-century Jewish prince and Jesus of Nazareth.

The author is Lew Wallace – a true renaissance man. Continue reading →

Oct. 31, 1936 ~ Franklin Roosevelt Speech On the Eve of the Presidential Election

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‘Government By Organized Money’

“On the eve of a national election, it is well for us to stop for a moment and analyze calmly and without prejudice the effect on our Nation of a victory by either of the major political parties.

The problem of the electorate is far deeper, far more vital than the continuance in the Presidency of any individual. For the greater issue goes beyond units of humanity–it goes to humanity itself.

In 1932 the issue was the restoration of American democracy; and the American people were in a mood to win. They did win. In 1936 the issue is the preservation of their victory. Again they are in a mood to win. Again they will win. Continue reading →

The Way We Were: The Great Depression

The National Archives Southeast Region presents stories from survivors of the Great Depression overlaid with powerful pictures from era.

No, the American Republic Was NOT Founded on Slavery

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel Pulling Down the Statue of King George III, N.Y.C. ca. 1859

Journalistic propaganda is a powerful instrument of indoctrination. Without evidence, foul ideas can easily penetrate mainstream discourse. For instance, recently it has become fashionable to posit that slavery is America’s original sin. To sensible people, this is a risible claim, because there is nothing particularly American about slavery. But revisiting the history of slavery in non-Western societies in Asia and Africa would do little to change the minds of America’s critics. A more appropriate strategy would be to contrast the opinions of the Founding Fathers on slavery with those of leaders in other countries. Only after undertaking this task will we be able to judge America. Continue reading →

Was John Brown Sane?

The exploits of John Brown have long fascinated historians. His actions, for better or worse, certainly had a significant effect on the country prior to Southern secession, but the fascination with Brown is largely driven by the enigma the man himself has proven to be. In trying to explain his actions and motives, historians have wrestled with questionable and biased testimonies by the people who knew him, and many of the mysteries surrounding John Brown have been explained – then and now – by mental disorders. Continue reading →

Davy Crockett’s Death at the Alamo Is Now a Case Closed – Or Not?

The details of legendary pioneer Davy Crockett’s death have been told by many sources — Some Questionable!

Each year around March 6, the anniversary of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, the question arises as to how Davy Crockett died. It is not enough to know that he died. We need to know exactly how this legendary American lost his life in one of our nation’s most famous battles. Thankfully, there were eyewitnesses. Continue reading →

Something NEW ~ the Bald Beagle

What you are about to read about – is the FIRST outbound link that we have added to any of our sites in some years, as we feel that it will allow the expansion of a REAL education, specifically aimed at younger students. The image that you see directly below, is also posted in the right side column of our website, which will always provide a direct link to the home page of Bald Beagle. ~ Editor

Bald Beagle is more than a place to find engaging, educational entertainment content for kids. Bald Beagle is a mission.

Bald Beagle’s mission is to present kids with high-quality educational content that illustrates the great – and sometimes complicated – history and principles of these United States we are blessed to call home. From the founding fathers, to how Government actually works, and what kids can do right now to protect and preserve our constitutional republic. Continue reading →

Control of the People

Centralized sovereignty is a necessary first step in controlling the people. It is the fundamental platform for tyranny. Thomas Jefferson in all his wisdom pushed America toward a decentralized States Rights doctrine. He knew that government most directly accountable to the people was at State level. That doctrine prevailed in America until 1865 when by force of bayonets it was destroyed, which is why Karl Marx wrote Lincoln a letter of applause for his denial of States Rights. Marx believed that centralized power was an essential first step in herding the people toward his communist utopia. Continue reading →

Who paid for the Civil War?

NOTE: Due to the age of the following post, some of the embedded links may no longer be active. We do apologize. ~ Ed.

When war broke out in 1861, the federal government was without its own money machine, though that would soon change. As expenses from the war mounted, the U.S. government once again issued Treasury Notes to help finance it. The Act of July 17, 1861 authorized Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase to issue notes at 7.30%, a rate chosen to make interest calculation so easy they would circulate as money — a $50 note accrued interest at a penny a day, for example. Though the seven-thirties, as they were called, didn’t circulate, the same Act provided for the issuance of Demand Notes that did circulate. As their name implies, Demand Notes were redeemable in specie, but that promise was broken by December, 1861 when the government suspended specie payment. Continue reading →

The Techniques of Communism: INVADING Education

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CHAPTER X: 208-248 (1954)

Senator Joseph McCarthy he WARNED us!

In undermining a nation such as the United States, the infiltration of the educational process is of prime importance. The Communists have accordingly made the invasion of schools and colleges one of the major considerations in their psychological warfare designed to control the American mind. By such “cultural” work, the Soviet fifth column obtains an influence, directly or indirectly, over at least a portion of American youth. Some of the young men entering our armed forces, and some of the young women who must support them, are brought within the orbit of pro-Communist thinking, to the detriment of our national security. Future community leaders are also affected. Many by-products beneficial to the conspiracy arise from this infiltration, since concealed Communists in education or their friends become sponsors of Communist fronts, aid in financing Communist causes, and sometimes play a part in influencing the attitudes of certain scientists, specific church circles, and government agencies. Continue reading →

Training Teachers to FAIL

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the reading crisis in U.S. schools. Careful reporting has pinpointed a common problem: Many newly-trained and veteran teachers are not aware of the latest research on early reading instruction or comprehension. In 2016, NCTQ reviewed the syllabi of 820 teacher preparation programs across the country and found that only 39 percent of programs were teaching the basics of effective reading instruction. Four years later that number of programs has risen to 51 percent. While this signals a positive trend in adopting evidence-informed reading instruction, the fact remains that 49 percent of incoming teachers do not have the tools to effectively teach reading. Continue reading →

Benjamin Franklin ~ “The Way to Wealth” (1758)

Courteous Reader,

I have heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure, as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors. This pleasure I have seldom enjoyed; for tho’ I have been, if I may say it without vanity, an eminent author of almanacs annually now a full quarter of a century, my brother authors in the same way, for what reason I know not, have ever been very sparing in their applauses; and no other author has taken the least notice of me, so that did not my writings produce me some solid pudding, the great deficiency of praise would have quite discouraged me.

I concluded at length, that the people were the best judges of my merit; for they buy my works; and besides, in my rambles, where I am not personally known, I have frequently heard one or other of my adages repeated, with, as Poor Richard says, at the end won’t; this gave me some satisfaction, as it showed not only that my instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some respect for my authority; and I own, that to encourage the practice of remembering and repeating those wise sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great gravity. Continue reading →

Public Education, Ben Shapiro, and the Trojan Horse in Our Culture

Perhaps the most successful myth that has been foisted off on a gullible American citizenry is that the education of our children, from kindergarten through high school, is the responsibility of the government. And implicit in that assumption is that the natural rights and duties of the family over the education of its offspring must in nearly all situations take a back seat, must be diminished and not interfere with the prior and dominant role of the state.

By and large, since the mid–20th century this assumption has been considered undebatable truth. No one, not even the most resolute conservatives, will question its basic veracity and the resulting need to continue funding, to shower with taxpayer dollars what has become the most expansive and most successful conquest of the revolutionary managerial state in its advance to complete control over our society. Continue reading →

Caruba: A Very Different Generation

December 17, 2008 ~ They are called “Millennials” and, with the election of Barack Obama, have been dubbed “Generation O.” Born from 1980 to 2000, they are as different from their parents as previous generations were different from theirs.

It is common that older generations frequently look at the new one as creatures from another planet. Every new generation develops its own slang, has its own cultural heroes, and most importantly has been imprinted by the events of their early years as well as the kind of care they received from their parents. Continue reading →

The Left’s attack on the Fourth of July

Another step in erasing our collective memory

~ Foreward ~
Scot Faulkner offers this insightful analysis of Radical Left efforts to erase our July Fourth holiday – and replace it with “Juneteenth,” to commemorate June 19, 1865, the day a little-known Union general proclaimed that the Civil War was over and slavery was officially abolished in Texas. Continue reading →

Benson: Training Your Children To Be Compliant Little Marxists

The ‘ism’ of Marx

Recently, I did an article about Herbert A. Philbrick’s book “I Led Three Lives.” In that article I mentioned Louis Budenz, the director of the Communist newspaper “Daily Worker” and how he had broken with the Communist Party and returned to his Catholic faith.

According to one account I read, Karl Marx said “The education of all children, from the moment they can get along without their mother’s care, shall be in state institutions.” This would be consistent with the 10th plank in his “Communist Manifesto” which said, in part, “Free education for all children in public schools.”

This was something Louis Budenz sought to warn people about after he broke away from Communism. He wrote an autobiography, “This Is My Story” as well as other books and articles which exposed what the Communists were trying to do to this country. Continue reading →

1055 ~ Dumbing Down Standardized Tests: The Art Of Dodging Objective Reality

Published in ‘Village of the Damned’ on the first generation Federal Observer, December 4, 2001

“We will never devise the perfect test, a test that accurately assesses students irrespective of parental education and income, the quality of the local schools, and the kind of community a student lives in, but we can do better,” opined Richards C. Atkinson, president of the University of California system. Atkinson insisted, calling again on Nov. 16 for the elimination of the “SAT I” as an admissions requirement at the University of California’s eight undergraduate campuses.

In fact, while “perfection” is indeed an impossible standard, a test which does this extremely well does exist, and it’s called … the SAT. Continue reading →

Zappa on Civics and more!

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I remember well, that, in Illinois, to graduate from High School, you had to pass a US Constitution Exam. You were first were given the test in your Sophomore year, and a small group of knuckleheads were still taking the test two years later, in their Senior year. However, we all passed the exam before graduation. Apparently many of those people washed all of that information from their brain shortly afterwords. ~ Phillip Meier

Mr. Meier was a classmate of mine back in the day. ~ Ed.

Whitey Ford, Beloved Yankees Pitcher Who Confounded Batters, Dies at 91

‘Take me out to the Ballgame…’ ~ when it was still a ‘sport.’

An irrepressible son of New York City, Ford joined the pantheon of baseball legends who dominated the 1950s and ’60s.

Whitey Ford pitching batting practice at the Yankees’ spring training camp in 1971, four years after retiring. A Yankee for his entire career, he won 236 games, the most of any Yankee, and had a career winning percentage of .690. Ernie Sisto/The New York Times

Whitey Ford, the Yankees’ Hall of Fame left-hander who was celebrated as the Chairman of the Board for his stylish pitching and big-game brilliance on the ball clubs that dominated baseball in the 1950s and early ’60s, died on Thursday night at his home in Lake Success, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 91. The Yankees announced his death. Continue reading →