By Nathan Barton

Good morning. Teachers unions oppose teacher accountability standards in Common Core. They are offended by it, as an insult. Lately, opposition to the CCSS has come from teachers’ unions, who are trying to remove its teacher accountability provisions. This is, of course, one of the few things that the conservatives opposed to this find good about Common Core. (Libertarians are rightly opposed to ANYthing that does not allow a free market to function in education, and approve anything which separates state and school.)  But like everything else, you have to swallow the poison with the food if you get something from the government.

Common Core, like ANYTHING else in education, should be one of many possible standards or guidelines that parents can use for their minor children, or have another person use to teach them.  Free market: free choice: responsibility and accountability to parents AND their children.

One problem separation of school and state, and a free market in education, would eliminate is this one. Maryland schools strip Christian, Jewish holidays from calendar, because they upset Muslims.  Never mind that they could have ADDED the Muslim holidays and left the Christian and Jewish ones.  That TOO would have “offended” the Muslims.  The so-called “patriotic” holidays will be next to be stripped from the calendar, because those TOO offend Muslims.  Well, they offend Jehovah’s Witnesses also (as I pointed out earlier this week) and they also offend several other “christian” sects who reject allegiance to human government.  Frankly, why bother with a calendar at all?  Someone will be offended.

Mama’s Note: I use a calendar to remind me of things that are important to me. I don’t observe most “holidays” and buy the kind with plain squares with the date printed in them. That’s all I need. But if I get one from the grocery store with all that junk printed on it… I just ignore it, writing over it if I have to. Everyone can have the calendar, the school, and anything else  the way they want it… they just can’t control how anyone else wants it, or force their wants on others. That seems so simple and obvious… sigh

The FedGov claims that applications for US jobless aid climbed to 290,000 in October, which seems to contradict the “wonderful” news from last month about declining joblessness (which was hyped last week).  Don’t believe anyone who says the economy is getting better: look out and see for yourself.

Now, maybe THIS offends me.  It seems that the Chuck Swindoll ministry has won an ObummerCare exemption.  What liberties did they surrender to get this?  Who did they sell out?  WHAT did they sell out?  NO one should have to submit to ObummerCare or have to get an exemption from an immoral, illegal, unconstutitutional “law” like this.

Anyone offended by this? In Mesopotamia, Iraq Christians guard a village taken from ISIS group.  What?  “Christians” are not being pacifists, not submitting to their enemies, to death?  No “if he demands your cloak, give your shirt also?” No turn the other cheek?  I don’t know anything about these people’s religious practices and whether they follow the New Testament in all their actions, but if they are defending the innocent and young and aged and poor from being killed, raped, otherwise tortured, enslaved or abused by the Caliphate, they are doing what the Lord commands us to do.

Keystone pipeline approval bills advance in Congress, but we can be reasonably certain that it will NOT make it out of the current Senate, and of course, if it did, it would not be approved by the White House.  Yet, at the same time:

The FedGov predicts continued lower gas prices.  Which some experts believe to be the case, but at the same time there is a strong minority informed opinion that believes that we are at or near the bottom.  Actually, the fact that the clueless bureaucrats think that prices will continue to come down makes me lean AWAY from believing experts that agree with them.  I know, that is very contrarian of me.

Lava burns asphalt at edge of Hawaii town.  Sometimes, you can see disaster looming, for weeks or months, and have to watch helplessly because there is NOTHING that can be done.  This is such a case, and there are obviously lessons to be learned, not just about preparation, but about accepting that you must do SOMETHING to mitigate or reduce the worst effects.  Hiding in the sand and refusing to accept the truth is a very BAD choice.

US and China unveil new goals to cut greenhouse gases, angering many Americans.  The deal would allow Red China to continue to increase emissions until 2030, or sixteen more years, while US limits would be reduced yet again almost immediately.  Ignoring the total lack of real science behind the need for these targets, this is about as one-sided as you can imagine.  And completely is at odds with what the global-warming-alarmists claim is the threat.  It seems to be a blank check for Peking.

Netanyahu, speaking in Washington, warns of Iran’s nuclear threat, while Iran claims that the Fuehrer is being hypocritical by being nice in private and harsh in public towards them, and the White House tries to spin the whole thing by having the State Department tell Congress to wait until the treaty (if any) is inked before complaining. Well, we know how that works: Pelosi and ObummerCare / the Abominable Act, telling us they have to pass the law before anyone can see what is in it.  “Trust me!”  Gagh.

Stupidity is catching: Tranzi politicians in Germany want to make traffic signals for pedestrians be “more equitable” by replacing some of the traditional “little men” with some “little women.” Ah well, the next time they tell us how essential government and the Bundestag is to Germany we can point out that is why they have time to mess with stupid debates about totally foolish actions.  Same thing applies to other countries as well, of course.  By the way, isn’t RED the color for stopping racists?  It gives a negative connotation to people with red hair AND red skin, doesn’t it?

In Virginia, another example of the hypocrisy of government-run/tax-supported schools, denying a student the “privilege” of forming a pro-life student club despite their protestations of free speech and in violation of their own regulations and procedures.

With just two years to go (theoretically), the Fuehrer continues to come up with new ways to play the tyrant, as the White House moves closer to issuing new executive decrees on amnesty for border jumpers and arbitrarily declaring the internet a “utility” so that “net neutrality” can be rammed down our throats with the bogus idea that it lets consumers decide.  Do you really expect the new GOP Congress to stop any of this?  Don’t hold your breath.

Sixty-three percent of Americans questioned in a Gallup survey conducted in October and released this month said they believe having a gun in their house makes it a safer place to be. Of course, polls don’t make it true, but this DOES show that the hoplophobic propaganda we’ve endured for decades is not being believed by as many people.  Something is working, and hopefully it will keep on working.  As long as we are forced to live in a democracy and NOT able to at least live in a republic, we must pay attention to public opinion.