Monday, January 05, 2004

Class, May I Have Your Attention Please

Mike S. Adams, an associate professor at UNC-Wilmington, shares his class policies for clueless students and for professors and teachers who are clueless as how to manage said students.

An essay topic, suggested by Adams, for students who are unable to comply with Adams’ class policy.

"The Death of Civility at the Postmodern University."

Read his list of helpful suggestions for students who may, in all probability, be unable to formulate an essay based on the suggested topic.

Via Townhall.com.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/05 at 11:48 AM
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Good for the Burn Barrel

Both Virginia Postrel and Skip Oliva take a match to Gregg Easterbrook’s new book "The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse," which chastises us for buying the best rather than giving it away.  I wonder if Easterbrook is banking his fee for this book or giving it away since he earns his regular pay as a columnist?

Posted by John Venlet on 01/05 at 08:53 AM
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Grow Up

Arthur Silber correctly points out the childish reasoning of a BrothersJudd.com post entitled “Why God Made Closets" which comments on an article regarding homosexuality entitled “Before the Deluge," published in Christianity Today and penned by Andy Crouch.  Arthur’s comments, regarding the Judd brothers’ post rightly mocks their musings and I as read the Judd post, I wondered, in regards to this comment of the Judd brothers, ”...so long as you have the sense of shame to keep it hidden from God and the rest of us." whether they still accept as fact that you’ll go blind if you masturbate.

Crouch’s musings, which, fortunately, don’t look at sex as a closet or shameful activity, also bear scrutiny.  Especially, this,

"Some of us have been delivered by him out of the worst that sin can do. I have had the privilege of being friends with those who lived for years as gays and lesbians, who were adulterers, who were cross-dressers, who were consumed by pornography or obsessed with their own attractiveness—and who now joyfully live a different life thanks to Christ."

which, as it is written, can be interpreted as meaning sexual sins are the worst, specifically, homosexuality sins.  Which is so much claptrap I hesitate even to mention it.

Sex, sex, sex.  Homo, hetero, lesbo what have you, all sides in this debate, while trying to shoot down prejudices associated with sexual orientation, invariably end up shooting themselves in the foot.  The Christians by condemning sexuality of almost all kinds, the homosexuals by their indecision.  Meaning, in some instances they bear the term homo as if it is a Star of David, forced to be worn, in other instances, they flaunt their sexual orientation with the same proclivity of Vegas showgirls.  Does either side really understand that sex and sexual orientation are private, individual decisions?  If they did understand this, this wouldn’t even be an issue.  Each side would be better off if they would just shut up and keep their noses out of each others bedrooms and closets.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/05 at 07:59 AM
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Swedish Meatballs

The only good thing to come out of Sweden, into the U.S., is Swedish meatballs, and even those are of dubious quality.  In a very interesting read, Allan Carlson details the failure of Sweden’s socialist welfare state, a state of affairs that U.S. politicos are bent on pursuing even though the evidence from Sweden already shows the futility of this path which leads to the cliffs from which lemmings proverbially throw themselves.  Carlson offers a solution in his piece, which I heartily approve of.

"The agenda here is simple, radical and pragmatically anti-bureaucratic:

1. end state-mandated and state-controlled education, leaving the training and rearing of children up to their own parents or legal guardians;
2. abolish child-labor laws, again reasoning that parents or guardians are the best judges of their children’s interests and welfare, vastly better than any combination of state bureaucrats;
3. and dismantle the Social Security system, leaving protection or security in old age to be provided, once again, by individuals and their families."

Carlson then points to the Amish as an example of individuals succeeding without the state, with the caveat "that relatively few contemporary Americans would choose to live like the Amish, given a true freedom of choice." But embracing individual success and self reliance would not entail people living like the Amish.  And, more importantly, pointing to the Amish as an example for success actually does more harm than good when attempting to enlighten people to be self reliant, since many individuals look at the Amish simply as sturdy, backwards folk who thump Bibles, rule patriarchily and are in bed at sundown.  So using the Amish as an example is more of a disservice than an incentive when encouraging individuals to live free or die.

Socialism, the welfare state, unfortunately, is alive and well here in the U.S.  Like a python it is entwining itself around us, sucking us in to be digested one by one.

Via Astropolis.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/05 at 07:14 AM
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Shoveling

Well, the lake effect snow machine has finally kicked in here in West Michigan so my shovel I must wield.  And I don’t mind one bit.  For your enjoyment, until I can see the curbs of my driveway, take a look at these Wilson A. Bentley snowflake photos. They are quite enjoyable, especically if you enjoy snow, like I do.

Via Brian Micklethwait’s Brian’s Culture Blog.

Posted by John Venlet on 01/05 at 04:52 AM
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