Declare Your Independence

Our freedom is a very precious thing. Here's an inspiring story for the 4th of July:

A Family's Valor, a Nation's Freedom

Why would a 61-year-old civilian surgeon volunteer for Iraq?

At a dinner last week in California, I was reminded of the debt we owe to those who have, for 233 years, sustained our freedom and independence. One remarkable family in particular exemplifies the best in the American spirit of courage and sacrifice.

Sitting at my table was a friend, Christine Krissoff, wife of Dr. Bill Krissoff and mother of Nathan and Austin Krissoff. One of her sons, Marine First Lt. Nathan Krissoff, was killed in Al Anbar Province in December 2006. A Williams College grad, athlete and musician, he'd left for Iraq on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was 25.

I met his parents and brother in Nevada in August 2007...

Read the rest of the story here.

Iraq Is Not Ready for Democracy

From the New York Post and various news sources:

An Iraqi journalist who threw his shoe at President Bush has been hailed as a hero.

"This is a farewell kiss, you dog," Al-Baghdadia TV correspondent Muntadar al-Zeidi shouted as he hurled one of his shoes at Bush in the middle of a news conference.  Bush ducked as the shoe zoomed over his head and crashed into the wall behind the podium.  Just as the stunned president regained his composure, al-Zeidi threw his second shoe, shouting, "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

The secret service was apparently AWOL.

Al-Zeidi was arrested, of course, and he now faces up to seven years in prison.  But thousands of people have taken to the streets in Iraq to demand the release of al-Zeidi, who is still being held at the headquarters of the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki.

After the incident the Iraqi government criticised al-Zaidi's action and "demanded" an on-air apology from Al-Baghdadia TV.  Al-Baghdadia TV issued a statement demanding al-Zaidi's release: "Al-Baghdadia television demands that the Iraqi authorities immediately release al-Zaidi, in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people on the ousting of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Any measures against Muntadhar will be considered the acts of a dictatorial regime".

Hundreds of students at Diyala University in Baquba carried banners demanding the release of Muntadhar al-Zaidi -- described by demonstrators as an "honorable Iraqi."

Predictably, al-Zaidi has fans not only in Iraq, but throughout the Middle East and all over the world.  A charity run by the daughter of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi bestowed a medal of courage on al-Zeidi, calling on the Iraqi government to free him.  In Syria, Mr. Zaidi’s picture was shown all day on state television, with Syrians calling in to share their admiration for his gesture and his bravery.

Despite the pleas of his worldwide fans, the AP reports that the journalist was handed over to the Iraqi judiciary Tuesday.

Alexis de Tocqueville said that "In a Democracy, the people get the government they deserve."  The Iraqi people had better hope this isn't true.  The "shoe bomber" episode proves one thing very poignantly: Iraq is not ready for democracy and doesn't deserve it. 

Consider the following: earlier this decade Saddam Hussein was routinely administering torture of all kinds: branding, electric shocks, beating, pulling out fingernails, burning with hot irons and blowtorches, suspension from rotating ceiling fans, dripping acid on the skin, rape, breaking limbs, extended solitary confinement in dark and extremely small compartments, and threats to rape or otherwise harm family members and relatives. 

Bush brought all that to an end.  Now, after having been liberated from the Hussein regime, Iraqis are sympathizing with the shoe thrower.  Warning to Iraqis: this kind of thinking will buy you front row tickets to another dictatorial regime faster than you can say "Allāhu Akbar".

I'm guessing that the Iraqi media are at least as irresponsible and anti-Bush as the American media are, so to some extent, I can forgive the Iraqis for behaving in such an ignorant fashion.  But it is shocking to me how quickly they have forgotten how evil Saddam Hussein's regime was.    

They want the U.S. out?  I say "be careful what you wish for."  Democracy in Iraq will be very short-lived.

More

Conservatives are Happier Because They Hate Everyone

Dissenters might be thrown from three story buildings; had their ankle bones drilled; had their arms broken into compound fractures in public squares; witnessed the raping of their wife; or had a decapitated head mounted in the community of relatives.  

Dogs Grasp Inequity

Limbaugh Fires Back at Powell

Obama's Illustrious Neighbors

Reid: $700 billion bailout not working.  So...the bailout of the financial industry is failing, but the bailout of the auto industry is a great idea?  Can you predict what Reid will say next?  How about this: “I actually did vote for the $700 billion before I voted against it.” 

Global Warming is clearly a looming threat: Snow brings Las Vegas a touch of winter.

A nation too ignorant to be free?

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."  Thomas Jefferson

Do we live in a nation that is too ignorant for the responsibilities of freedom? Consider these staggering facts:

• Seventy-one percent of Americans failed a 33-question multiple choice civic-literacy survey conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Among 2,508 respondents ISI randomly selected, 1,791 failed this test of U.S. historical, political, and economic basics. The average score was 49%, a solid "F". 
  
• Fewer than half of all Americans could name all three branches of government.
  
• Forty percent of college graduates did no not know that corporate profits equal revenues minus expenses. 
  
• Only 24% of college grads knew that the First Amendment forbids the establishment of an official U.S. religion.
  
• Officeholders have less civic knowledge than the general public. On average, they scored 44%, five percentage points lower than non-officeholders.  
• Thirty percent of elected officials did not know that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence.
  
• Only 21% of respondents correctly identified Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address as the source of the words “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” But 56% properly named Paula Abdul as a judge on American Idol.
  
• Republicans scored 52%; Democrats scored 45%.
  

A post-election Zogby Poll showed that Obama voters were especially ill-informed. Just 2% of voters who supported Barack Obama on Election Day obtained perfect or near-perfect scores on a post election test which gauged their knowledge of statements and scandals associated with the presidential tickets during the campaign.

• 57% of Obama voters were unable to correctly answer that Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate.
  
• Nearly half (47%) did not know that Joe Biden was the one who predicted Obama would be tested by a generated international crisis during his first six months as President.
  
• Most (56%) were also not able to correctly answer that Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground.
  
• 86% correctly identified Palin as the candidate associated with a $150,000 wardrobe purchased by her political party
  
• 81% correctly chose McCain as the candidate who was unable to identify the number of houses he owned.
  

Why is America so poorly educated and so poorly informed?  The public education system bears most of the blame.  Public schools "educate" most of the children in this country and set the bar for private schools.  "The reality of private school education in America is that, with some outstanding exceptions, most seek to stay just one notch or two ahead of public schools. Too many private schools follow the lead of the public schools in low achievement expectations, unproven teaching methodologies and curricula, and social engineering, such as sex ed, counseling, and mandatory community service."  

What can we do to improve education in America almost immediately?  Implement a voucher system to give parents school choice.  When parents have the the power to choose, schools are forced to compete and improve.  Unfortunately, this simple solution is one that will be very difficult to implement.  Neal Boortz describes the problem very well:

"[Public school] teachers go to sleep at night worrying about vouchers...  You do understand why these teachers fear vouchers as they do, don't you?  These teachers are unionized.  Their jobs are all but guaranteed.  It's terribly difficult to fire them.  Generally speaking, there is no requirement that they do their job!  They have a monopoly!  The government provides them with a place to work, pays their salaries, and works hard to prevent competition!"  

Destroy the education monopoly with school choice, and job security for poorly performing teachers and administrators will evaporate.  Therefore, unless Americans force the issue, the extremely powerful teachers unions aren't going to allow school choice to become reality.

To better appreciate the absurdity of our public education system and why our education resources are misused, consider Boortz's grocery store analogy:

"...Let's say that about 100 years ago someone came up with the brilliant idea of establishing a system of government-run grocery stores.  To make sure that every American got enough to eat, local governments created a nutrition tax.  All property owners had to pay a nutrition tax every year amounting to thousands of dollars.  Under this great government plan you are assigned to a grocery store when you move into a neighborhood.  Every year the local government creates a credit for you at this grocery store; an account in your name.  When you want to buy groceries you have to go to this store and no other.  

"Would your assigned grocery store feel any pressure to make sure that you get the best quality foods?  Would this grocery store work hard to determine what its customers want?  Would you be assured of the latest technology and products?  The answer to all of these questions is, of course, no!  Competition? There IS no competition! The citizen's money is taken away from him by force and put into an account at one particular grocery store, and no other store.  If you want to go to a private, non-government-operated grocery store you are going to have to dig into your own pockets and spend even more money!  You're trapped, and the grocery store managers and employees know it."  

This is the joke that is the public education system in the U.S.

Voters need basic knowledge in order to choose their leaders wisely.  Leaders need basic knowledge in order to perform their jobs.  Because of widespread ignorance, the United States is a nation at risk.  To introduce competition that will save money, provide better education, and prepare our children for the responsibilities freedom, support school choice.

"Promote then as an object of primary importance, Institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened."  George Washington

America's Report Card

Government Education and Government Grocery Stores

A Nation Held Back By (Lack of) Education

Universal Publicly-Funded School Choice  (An excellent video)

The cost of a voucher system

Zogby Poll: Almost No Obama Voters Ace Election Test

Low IQ alert!  Interviews with Obama Voters

Mein Kampus

The voters are not symetrically ignorant.

Civics Quiz

Are you more knowledgeable than the average citizen? The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test was 49%; college educators scored 55%. Can you do better?