Knowledge is Power

Every time the Obama Regime does something that does not make sense to Americans who believe in the Constitution and our free-market economy I always hear the question raised with a sense of disbelief, “How can he do that, I thought he was smarter than that”.

Using traditional objective standards, it would be easy to reach the conclusion that Obama is very smart:

• Harvard Law School graduate

• Editor of the Harvard Law Review

• Constitutional Law Professor at Harvard

It would be difficult to argue that his resume does not scream “smart”, maybe even brilliant. But, if we look at some real world events, a counter image begins to emerge.

• He apologizes for America on every trip abroad, and believes this will help to ‘repair’ our country’s image

o Now the Europeans and the Chinese are giving us economic advice because we look like fiscal fools

• He believes Iran is open and rational, with support now of an administration that has changed it posture on how it approaches dealing with Iran. He appears confident that “hope and change” will change Iran’s leadership

o Well, this is not working out too well

• He gives Russia all it wants in terms of missile defense, believing he will get Russia to give the US support in the United Nations against Iran

o Another failure to understand global scene

•His statements about the health care bill: “The bill forbids any federal funds to be used for abortion procedures”

•Some exchanges being set up will allow funds to go for abortions

o Children with pre-existing conditions will be covered immediately

• Not for several years

o It is not just a health care bill; it is also a jobs bill and will create many thousands of jobs.

• Already major companies are taking billions in write downs. Does that sound like a jobs growth strategy?

How can this be? So smart yet …

Occam’s Razor says the simplest answer is most often the right one.

Well, Obama is brilliant, he knows exactly what he is doing, but his real agenda is kept hidden from us.

The most recent battle over health care legislation is the third volley in a clandestine effort to transform America away from the principles of the Founding Fathers and towards the establishment of over-reaching government bureaucracies that by their very nature will move the country inextricably toward socialism.

We must all learn to see beyond the surface tension in legislative battles that are in progress, and those that will come in the near future (Cap and Tax/Immigration).

The country had been pushed to pass bailout legislation that has put our federal government in the banking, insurance and car businesses. This has resulted in the unlawful negation of legal contracts, the firing of corporate executives and the use of public funds to launch marketing programs for selected car manufactures.

We were also pushed to pass a job stimulus bill that had to pass quickly or unemployment would exceed 8.5%. Well almost a trillion dollars later unemployment is near 10%, and if you include people who have dropped out of the job market, but want to work, the effective unemployment rate is close to 17%.

The reality, the allocation of stimulus dollars helped state and local governments meet their growing debt, which resulted in virtually no job creation. So, what does an administration, whose real intent is to grow government, do in the face of this outrageous failure and deceit; they change the metrics of success from job creation (a measurable statistic) to jobs saved (a non-measurable statistic). Clearly, the real objective of these efforts and the stated objective have little in common.

When you peel back the outer layer of carefully crafted obfuscation, it is clear that the Obama administration’s real agenda is usurping the individual constitutional rights of Americans in favor of a collective view of equality and fairness. Mr. Obama (and the people he has chosen to surround himself with) has laid a consistent, publicly stated, foundation for this attack on the constitution. But the majority of voters were not ‘really’ listening during the campaign. To protect our way of life, based on the founding fathers principles, the constitution and the Bill of Rights we must review, with a clear eye, what was said in the past and actively listen to what is being said now:

“The constitution is a list of negative freedoms…” (Obama)

“The Constitution is an abstract legal document…” (Obama)

“Everybody is better off if we spread the wealth around…” (Obama)

“The benefits of the first amendment are overrated…” (Rohm Emanuel)

“The courts have not gone far enough in redistributing wealth…” (Obama)

“We are just a few days aware from fundamentally changing America…” (Obama)

We must all be aware that the rhetoric that surrounds each battle that surfaces is not about the battle. All fights for changes in our laws and statutes are about the War against the U.S. Constitution. Do not be distracted by the socialists-leaning politicians who use the tool of “outrage” – how can the evil right be so cold hearted not to want to help people – to break our resolve to be true to our principles. We must never think, it (European Socialism) can’t happen here.

How smart is Obama? He is scary-smart.

A marketing/branding consultant was moved from a political couch potato to a patriotic activists by the actions of the Obama Regime and started a company to help American patriots go face-to-face with their politicians. check out http://www.commonsensewear.com and http://www.commonsensewear.wordpress.com

The mid-term elections have caused quite a shake-up for nonprofit art organizations as Republicans now have control of the House of Representatives and the Democrats still have the majority in the Senate. The good news: there are some returning and new champions of the arts- Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Representative Todd Platts (R-PA), and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Representative Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL). On the state government level, Governors-elect Jerry Brown (D-CA), Dan Malloy (D-CT), Tom Corbett (R-PA), Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Lincoln Chaffee (I-RI), Mark Dalton (D-MN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Rick Snyder (R-MI) and locally in Providence, RI Mayor-Elect Angel Taveras and Louisville, KY Mayor-elect Greg Fischer. The bad news: as of the time of the election, the recession has caused a 16% drop in state and local government arts funding as well as a $1.2 billion decline in private charitable gifts. The shaky news: with Congress now divided and Republicans promising to cut government spending and focus on creating jobs, it begs a few questions: Will our newly elected leaders do anything to address the increasing number of individual artists that have experienced unemployment at twice the rate of other professional workers? What will they do to ensure the creative workforce is sustained so our next generation can compete effectively in the global workforce? Will they need a reminder that art works? In the words National Endowment for the Arts Chairman, Rocco Landesmen, the phrase has three meanings:

a.”Art works” is a noun. They are the plays, paintings, dances, films, and the other works of art that are the creation of artists;

b.”Art works” is a verb. It describes the effect of art on audiences and viewers, art works to transport, transform, inspire, and challenge us; and

c. “Art works” is a declarative sentence. It is a reminder that arts workers are real workers with real jobs who are part of this country’s real economy. Art workers pay taxes, and art contributes to economic growth, neighborhood revitalization, and the livability of American towns and cities.

The first priority of our newly elected leaders is to create jobs and grow the economy. If federal and state governments can understand that the nation’s 100,000 arts and culture nonprofits are actually part of the small business sector, then perhaps they will afford us the attention we deserve. A mutually beneficial relationship can then be established in which the government creates policies promoting nonprofits and nonprofits in turn, create jobs for their communities.

What is promising is that in several hearings over the past four years, the House of Representatives have focused on the role of the arts in the economy and workforce development. These hearings have led to over $100 million in new public investments in the arts. The bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus and the Senate Cultural Caucus work to educate freshman members on how the arts profit the economy. You can send your Congress members a letter asking them to consider joining one of these bipartisan caucuses.

Only time will tell if the 2010 mid-term elections will result in a boon for the nonprofit sector. With a little optimism and some tips to beat the recession (link back to Recession article), we may all find that the new political situation is not as dire as we feared and weathering this new storm will be easier than we thought.

Is your Congress member for or against public funding of the arts? How do you plan to work with your local and state government to ensure continued funding of arts and culture nonprofits? Are you concerned that Congress’ shift in power will negatively effect your organization?

Yancey Arts Consulting’s goal is to help organizations first achieve sustainable practices and the establish a plan to Move Beyond Sustainability with growth revenue strategies. Their website is at http://www.yanceyconsulting.com

(Summary: the big question is why the public schools waste so much time on weird non-academic topics, most of them hostile to traditional beliefs? The real witch in this story may be the Education Establishment.)

This is a story about a missed opportunity.

But first we have to ask what is the big deal? Still a teenager, O’Donnell dabbled in witchcraft; and then moved on. It shows she’s open to new ideas but doesn’t lose her perspective and become rigid. No wonder ideologues are upset with her. Personally, I believe I’m more afraid of Marxists than of witches.

Second, has anyone noticed that this entire country dabbles in witchcraft every October? It’s called Halloween; and it’s become a major national event. The symbols and iconography of witchcraft permeate American life for a few weeks every year; witches on broomsticks appear in millions of lives. Are all the people who participate in this witchfest unfit for public office?

But let’s move to the heart of the story. O’Donnell, a teenager, dabbled in witchcraft because her boyfriend, a teenager, was intrigued by witchcraft. And where, we should ask, did he (or they) get such ideas? Are there people walking around who suddenly have witchcraft moments?

No, I think we have to look at one of the more bizarre features of our public schools, which is that they routinely import exotic subjects such as witchcraft, Wicca, Deep Ecology, Earth Education, Earthkeepers, body modification, paganism, Gaia theory, nature worship, death education, suicide education, values clarification, sex education, New Age spirituality, to name a few. It’s a long list; and probably a few of these things have turned up in every school.

What business is it of public schools to mention witchcraft and the rest, never mind teach them? I believe the answer has two parts:

These exotic subjects serve the function of taking time away from academic content. Children studying witchcraft, etc. are NOT studying biology, math or French.

Next, exotic subjects like witchcraft, etc. undermine traditional religions, customs, and values. Kids learn to disrespect the beliefs of their parents, and to feel alienated from the society’s long-cherished attitudes.

For the Education Establishment, witchcraft is a twofer. Sabotage content. Sabotage ordinary American life. Wow, it doesn’t get any better than that.

So I was upset with Christine O’Donnell for a reason no one mentioned. She should have attacked the subversive atmosphere at her public school. She might at least have wondered, in passing, why in the world was witchcraft discussed? Why was time wasted on it? Why was it dangled in front of the kids as something weirdly fascinating from a faraway part of the universe?

Teenagers will usually find ways to rebel. They don’t need much help. But some public schools, to the degree they can get away with it, are often engaged in a sort of scorched earth attack on anything conventional or traditional.

The main tactic that John Dewey and his progressives (my favorite witches) introduced into American life was a steady attack on academic content. Dewey specifically said don’t worry about geography, math, history, reading, and all that stuff. What matters is the social life of the child. Now, does Dewey have to write his intent on a billboard at the end of your street? His goal was a socialist America. This was no secret to the people at Teachers College in 1920 and thereafter. Elite educators fell into the pattern of whittling away at anything intellectual or academic, while simultaneously praising or admitting nonacademic content any way they could reasonably do so. They’re still doing this. Witchcraft was merely one of many convenient ways.

If people want to study witchcraft, it’s their business. But public schools have a special mission they like to neglect, which is teaching children the foundational knowledge they will need throughout their lives. I’ve been urging Republicans and Conservatives to make education an issue in all elections. I hope Christine O’Donnell, looking back at her own experiences, will suggest how public schools could be improved.

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Bruce Price writes about intellectual matters on his site Improve-Education.org.

Bruce Deitrick Price is the founder of Improve-Education.org, a high-level education and intellectual site. One focus is reading; see “42: Reading Resources.” Another focus is education reform; see