Series of Unfortunate Posts

14Feb/121

Happy Birthday, Abraham. Yours, Ba’al (D)

"Obaal" - Stolen from SERR8d's Cutting Edge

Essay by Dr. Dan Collins, Sr, Naples FL

Reflecting on our current problems of governance on the birthday of our most spiritual president, Abraham Lincoln, leads me to parallels through the wisdom of history.

Locke's reflections on the Natural Law, accepted dogma since the ancient Greek philosophers, that God endowed man with unalienable rights; Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness in the Constitution.

The Confederate States considered slaves as property and were morally justified in holding their "property" as an unalienable right.

Lincoln recognized slavery as a grave moral evil that had to be removed and accepted the sacrifice of 636,036 dead soldiers as the price and reasoned that, for his part in the conflict, the proper price was his life.

The following is a paraphrase (I am blind);

We are now in a conflict to see whether this nation so destined will endure

The sacrament of the Democrat Party is abortion. To pretend to believe that the products of conception are not Human life is absurd. Cats beget cats. Dogs beget dogs, Humans beget what? When the ovum is impregnated by the sperm all other sperm are not allowed to enter, ergo the zygote knows it is complete.

Throughout the Judeo-Christian experience, history and tradition, women were enfranchised by God with the responsibility of nurturing and giving forth new life. He endowed them with an instinct that rivals and may exceed self-preservation; the Law of Moses recognized women were so involved in God's area of Creation they required bathing at the Temple.

While a king could have so many wives and concubines (eg. Solomon had 30 wives) they only had one mother who who was therefore honored as queen.

In Christian Tradition, Mary is the Mother of the God-man Jesus and visits her cousin Elizabeth as the Ark of the Covenant. Compare Elizabeth's greeting to David's celebration before the Ark.

Rejecting or ignoring all modern science - the lessons of Scripture and the Wisdom of History and of other holocausts, the infant sacrifices of Ba'al to the Twentieth Century slaughters of Nazi and Stalin and Pol Pot - this carnage of abortion will exceed any of its predecessors.

The Democrat Party has a moral position that is antithetical to America.

We are drawn into a war, truly one of survival.

Premonitory - Serr8d's Cutting Edge - 2009

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

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Filed under: God Bothering, Politicas Desnudas! 1 Comment

10Feb/120

Wrong. Again. Educating the Educator (or, God is not fooled by Plausible Deniability).

Idiot of idiots.

Obama's new "revised mandate"

The revised Obama mandate will make religious groups contract with insurers to offer birth control and the potentially abortion-causing drugs to women at no cost. The revised mandate will have religious employers refer women to their insurance company for coverage that still violates their moral and religious beliefs. Under this plan, every insurance company will be obligated to provide coverage at no cost.

Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which I may have to buy our pathetic Gnostic in Chief a copy of):

II. Respect for the Dignity of Persons

Respect for the souls of others: scandal

2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. the person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.

2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."85 Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing.86

2286 Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by fashion or opinion.

God is not fooled by Plausible Deniability. Nor separations of Kevin Bacon, FWIW.

What a dummy. Enlightened? Indeed.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

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10Feb/120

Principles Not Subject to Compromise

Papa Collins (Dan, Sr.) has instructed that while "compromise in matters of prudence are permissible. Compromise in matters of Principle are not."

This has been of no small amount of value in my own formation. And nowhere perhaps is this rule to be exemplified more clearly than in the Catholic Church and Her commitment to living out Her Teachings.

A quick history of the Church established by the Christ (and one with the Christ) reveals that from its very origins the Divine Nature of the Church, as God, is one of Timelessness.

To quell the objections some may have over the reality that the Church is Christ as Christ is the Church, one must comprehend a central tenet of Catholic Theology. And the definitive source for "What we Believe" as non-Schismatic Christians is the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

II. THE CHURCH - BODY OF CHRIST

The Church is communion with Jesus

787 From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings.²¹⁵ Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him: "Abide in me, and I in you. . . . I am the vine, you are the branches."²¹⁶ And he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him."²¹⁷

788 When his visible presence was taken from them, Jesus did not leave his disciples orphans. He promised to remain with them until the end of time; he sent them his Spirit.²¹⁸ As a result communion with Jesus has become, in a way, more intense: "By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body those brothers of his who are called together from every nation."²¹⁹

789 The comparison of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between Christ and his Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she is united in him, in his body. Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more specifically noted: the unity of all her members with each other as a result of their union with Christ; Christ as head of the Body; and the Church as bride of Christ.

"One Body"

790 Believers who respond to God's word and become members of Christ's Body, become intimately united with him: "In that body the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification."²²⁰ This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ's death and Resurrection, and the Eucharist, by which "really sharing in the body of the Lord, . . . we are taken up into communion with him and with one another."²²¹

791 The body's unity does not do away with the diversity of its members: "In the building up of Christ's Body there is engaged a diversity of members and functions. There is only one Spirit who, according to his own richness and the needs of the ministries, gives his different gifts for the welfare of the Church."²²² The unity of the Mystical Body produces and stimulates charity among the faithful: "From this it follows that if one member suffers anything, all the members suffer with him, and if one member is honored, all the members together rejoice."²²³ Finally, the unity of the Mystical Body triumphs over all human divisions: "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."²²⁴

Before I get hate-comments, please note that the Body macro includes baptized schismatics, but the Body particular is the Roman Church Herself.

Borrowing from a piece entitled, Jesus and His Church are One, written by His Grace, Cardinal-Elect Timothy M Dolan, we are instructed:

It’s one of my favorite works of art: The Conversion of Saul by Caravaggio. There it is, meekly on display in the corner of the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. Saul, the raging persecutor of the followers of Jesus, literally “knocked off his high horse” by the radiance of Jesus, the “light of the world,” transformed into a passionate apostle of Christ and His new Church, whom we now venerate as St. Paul.

And what question does Jesus bellow out to the shocked Saul?

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

Parse that very carefully. Saul, of course, has been harassing the Church, killing the followers of Jesus.

Yet, note well: Jesus does not inquire, “Why are you persecuting my Church” or “my people” or “my followers.”

No! The Lord asks, “Why are you persecuting me?”

Get it? The Lord is saying, “You hurt my Church, you hurt me. The Church and I are one.”

A fact that we can all agree and that lends credence to these claims is the very scientific fact that the Church is the oldest LIVING organ-ization the planet has ever hosted. If one wants for a more negative proof of the same, one need only ask how long the Jews have been waiting for another Jewish Prophet to appear.

But I really digress...

The Church survives precisely because it is timeless. It is Timeless because Truth is timeless. It is at once popular and unpopular, and here embraced, and there crucified. This has everything to do with what is popular in a given place and/or a given time.

We know from art history that tastes change. Preferences change. From place to place. From era to era.

Societal sensibilities are as steam. Cultural trends as gulf currents, popular tastes like the weather.

Truth is Static. So these complaints and rebellions against Her are neither unique in time (history) nor unexpected. These are as Judas, with us from the very beginning of Church History.

The relative offense finite secularists and bigots claim Her Teachings represent to them is inconsequential. Truly.

So, when the President suggests that he will seek compromise with the Church and Her position on the new, unconstitutional overstep of the HHS, he reveals himself arrogant (old news), ignorant of Church Teaching... and, perhaps most problematic, possessing no real appreciation about the very nature of the Immortal Church - Her Stubborn Proclivities.

You can crucify the Christ, Rome... but the Christ's Body will not die. Martyrs' Blood courses through the Body, Nero.

Let the Dead bury the dead. Prudent advice. And if that confuses you... you're about to get a free lesson in nuance. This is a real, honest-to-goodness Teachable Moment. Embrace it.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

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Filed under: God Bothering, Rants No Comments

28Jan/121

Digging in the Dirt

CLEANING OUT EMAIL - FOUND THE FOLLOWING.

On Sun, Oct 11, 2009 at 1:37 PM, wrote:

All -

I am probably missing some people on this email. If you notice someone missing from it that should be included, please feel free to forward it at your discretion.

I want to first mention that of course James's passing is a big shock. A man such as James taken at such a young age (I think 40 is now the "new 30") is a real tragedy. And the fact that he leaves behind 3 kids and a young wife behind only compounds the heavy heart.

As you all know, I met James in 7th grade while attending a most awful private school. James had been expelled the year before I arrived, but eventually the Powers That Be showed some clemency. For my part, it was my first and only year there. And, as you can imagine, James and I, though if memory serves did not get along at our first meeting, eventually came to see one another as remarkably similar for being so very different from one another. Specifically in the following sense: we both hated authority.

Now, one can downplay the significance of what that means/meant. One can chalk it up to rebellion of youth. But that would be to simplify it and miss the point entirely.

If you notice the people on this list - you may see a pattern emerge. James respected most those that would not be cowed. He saw it as more than a simple personality trait. He saw it as a sign of spiritual maturity. Because the Spirit cannot be squashed unless the individual permits it to be. And because he knew very well that what we all really desire most in this life is something that is in very short supply: namely, as a friend of mine reminded me this morning, Peace.

In James's view of the mechanics of the cosmos, and more specifically, the actuality of the Human Person, we souls chose to be manifest on this plane of existence. And, in his view, we souls chose to enter into this awful physical realm in order to have an opportunity to break free of this physical and metaphysical plane. In his view, what we can observe with our limited senses (the 5 senses we learn about in school), we are given to certain perceptions about the cosmos that are absolutely illusory.

For him, existing as both physical and spiritual being was a bummer. In his view the physical was nothing but a cell within which the soul was imprisoned. This does NOT mean he didn't enjoy his existence here. He took pleasure in all of the little and big miracles of this life experience - just like the rest of us. But he DID believe that his mission here on earth was to evolve in such a way as to be permitted to escape the confines of the physical. Yes - he believed in reincarnation. And, no, he was not real eager to spend more lifetimes in what he saw as the great wheel than he had to. So, for him, it made sense that he needed to spend as much time working on the Spiritual aspect of self as was possible.

James did not believe that the Spirit could/would end up in hell - as we typically envision it. But he DID believe in a Creator God. He was NOT a polytheist. But he also did NOT believe that he had found one religious tradition that adequately represented God Creator. In this sense he was very much Buddhist: once we try to describe the Cosmic Oneness (God), we are further from understanding the actuality of God that before we set out to explain God. This does NOT mean he thought we could not sharpen our insights about what/who/why/how of the Creator God and Creator God's Creation - the Cosmos. Far from it: he spent his life trying to peek behind the curtain, so sure was he that there were glimpses of the Divine to be discerned.

It is important for me to communicate this to you. For a couple of reasons.

1) James has either broken free of this plane or not - if you tend to agree with his view of the Cosmos.
2) If you see the Cosmos through the prism of Christianity, on the other hand, I am encouraged that James has met his reward. He really did believe that the Christ was a Bridge. He really did believe that if you walked the path of Christ, you would find God. What he disagreed with was what he saw as the bastardization of the Christ Story - the manipulation of it throughout history for political gain. If you know me at all, you would see this as a major divergence in belief between James and myself. And there were plenty of these.
3) If you do not believe in existence after death - then James is gone. Both physically and Spiritually. And none of this matters. For you, I would suggest that you reconsider.
4) James LOVED to talk about the Cosmos - all of it - and the economy of souls! He loved it because for him nothing raised to the same level of worthiness - he was always ready to share his ideas with others and to hear theirs. To exchange insights.

So, this is his gift to you and very much to me.

Always ask questions
Ask follow-up questions
Read, study
Contemplate
Pray
Meditate
Introspect
Visualize
Realize

REBEL - DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE THEM TELL YOU - DO NOT BELIEVE THE SLOGANS - DO NOT BELIEVE THE CHOICES YOU ARE PRESENTED WITH - ALWAYS ASSUME THERE IS MORE THAN YOU ARE SENSING - NEVER, EVER CAPITULATE OR ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE INTIMIDATED. FIGHT LIKE A MOTHER FUCKER.

MANIFEST the person - SPIRIT - you are called to be.

The rest, James would tell you - the physical, material - is, was, and ever will be "complete fucking bullshit." - A distraction.

And most of all - he would implore you, in a war-like manner, to LOVE and PEACE of your fellow... to the best of your ability.

Please join me in a song of prayer for his rapid passage and celebration of the wonderful soul we, his beloved friends, had the gift of knowing.

Ill let you know when plans are ironed out.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

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Filed under: God Bothering 1 Comment

11Jan/120

The Mansion of Your Life (an open letter to Grandchildren)

Essay by Daniel P Collins, Sr, Naples Florida

The famous author, James A. Mitchner, in “The Fires of Spring” announced authoritatively:

“For this is the journey that men make: to find themselves. If they fail in this, it doesn’t matter what else they find.

Money, position, fame, many loves, revenge, are all of little consequence. And when the tickets are collected at the end of the ride they are tossed in a bin marked FAILURE.

But if a man happens to find himself – if he knows what he can do; the limits of his courage, the position from which he will no longer retreat… the secret reservoirs of his determination, the extent of his dedication, the depth of his feeling for beauty, his modest and unpostured goals – then he has found a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.”

Inspirational, striking words; but allow me a few criticisms.

One does not just “happen” to find the code of conduct chronicled. Mitchner does not tell the reader how to achieve these virtuous characteristics.

Fortunately for you, beloved grandchildren, Grandpa will explain what tools and resources are at hand to build your Mansion.

Of course the most essential is the Foundation: hence the name, and in life the Foundation is Moral Truth. The Truth is essential to all Human endeavors. First, you must find it. Then, you must defend it and be faithful to it.

Let’s start our search with “Natural Law”, a concept that spans from the ancient Greek philisophies, honored by the Church, acknowledged by the founder of the Republic. Philosophers recognized that things of nature had characteristics that were inherent, essential to their function and could not be removed (ie. water freezes and boils at fixed temperatures). Humans also have rights and moral knowledge. These were listed in the Declaration of Independence as unalienable; “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”.

According to Catholic teachings, you are created “in the image and likeness” of God and since God is Pure Love and All Good, He has engraved this knowledge on your heart and conscience.

The other unalienable rights, “Freedom and Pursuit of Happiness” (ie. private possession are to be “ordered” (ie. dependent on Tuth)). Blessed John Paul II states “Authentic, ordered freedom is ordered to truth”. (Veritas Splendor Enciclical) Truth is ONE, what is philosophical and theologically true will not conflict with schientific truth. Truth is now a matter of consensus; Truth is Truth even if no one believes it; and false is false even if everyone believes it to be true. It’s not enough to have a hunch or possible, probable, or even beyond a reasonable doubt. You must have certitude: Truth is unchanging.

So, starting with Natural Law, add Reason and Scripture, the inspired word of God indirectly given through Prophets and directly through Jesus who is Truth. Reason validates the Ten Commandments but accepting the Truth of the Beatitudes because of their paradoxical confrontation of worldly values requires the final Finishing Fool: Wisdom. The Sapiential Books (Books of Wisdom) of the Bible proclaim “Fear of the Lord is the first step to Wisdom”; God’s plan of conduct that allows us to “live life more abundantly”. Fear does not mean “subservient slave-like fear” but a healthy awareness of God’s awesome power as manifested all around us and how inconsequential we would be except for His magnificent, majestic, unending, unconditional Love.

This will not only lead you to the Mansion portrayed by Mitchner, but to one that will reduce it to a birdhouse or a toy in a box of Cracker Jack.

We hope you will understand we write of these things not only out of our love for you, but also as a responsibility as stated in Psalm 78.

3 What we have heard and know;

things our ancestors have recounted to us.

4 We do not keep them from our children;

we recount them to the next generation,

The praiseworthy deeds of the LORD and his strength,

the wonders that he performed

5 God made a decree in Jacob,

established a law in Israel:

Which he commanded our ancestors,

they were to teach their children;

6 That the next generation might come to know,

children yet to be born.

In turn they were to recount them to their children,

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

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Filed under: God Bothering, Too Lazy to Categorize No Comments

7Jan/122

Sole Saves Soul

Essay by Daniel P Collins, Sr. - Naples, Florida

My dad was a fireman in downtown Chicago for forty-three years. His rise from fireman to Division Marshall over the politicians determined obstructions was aided by the prayers of his favorite charity; The Little Sisters of the Poor. Sister Bertha and Sister Brigid would show up on pay day and dad would "encourage" all to contribute.

On a freezing Winter day, the nuns came in and Dad told them to warm their feet at the glowing pot belly iron furnace. When they put their feet out to warm their toes, Dad noticed each had large holes in the soles of their shoes. He called his Jewish friend Harry Gold... "Harry, I've got two nuns over here with holes in their shoes. If I buy one pair, will you pick up the other?"

"Bring them over, Chief", said Harry the shoemaker.

This inaugurated a bi-weekly tradition. The nuns would visit the firehouse, Dad would ask what happened to their new shoes. The nuns would reveal they had given the new shoes to "someone who needed them more". Dad and Harry would split the cost. And Harry never hesitated.

Do I think this son of Jacob "has a place in Heaven? You bet. I think he's a "shoe-in"!

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

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Filed under: God Bothering, Too Lazy to Categorize 2 Comments

2Jan/122

“High stakes” testing and high school diplomas

I'm very pro-standardized testing...if the tests are good. [and this reminds me, I need to order the end-of-year tests for Bonnie & Mo]

So it was with interest that I read the account recently of a school board member in Florida sitting down to take some of the "high stakes" tests that the students in his district have to take:

A longtime friend on the school board of one of the largest school systems in America did something that few public servants are willing to do. He took versions of his state’s high-stakes standardized math and reading tests for 10th graders, and said he’d make his scores public.

By any reasonable measure, my friend is a success. His now-grown kids are well-educated. He has a big house in a good part of town. Paid-for condo in the Caribbean. Influential friends. Lots of frequent flyer miles. Enough time of his own to give serious attention to his school board responsibilities. The margins of his electoral wins and his good relationships with administrators and teachers testify to his openness to dialogue and willingness to listen.

.....
“I won’t beat around the bush,” he wrote in an email. “The math section had 60 questions. I knew the answers to none of them, but managed to guess ten out of the 60 correctly. On the reading test, I got 62% . In our system, that’s a “D”, and would get me a mandatory assignment to a double block of reading instruction.

He continued, “It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a bachelor of science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate.

The thing is, this sort of stunt happens every so often. And I wonder about the credibility of the person taking the exams, especially if he said he guessed on all the math problems. Is it really written that poorly, and nobody noticed til now... or is it that this guy sucks at math and does not think "Hey, perhaps people getting a HS diploma should actually know more than I do"?

In comments, MRW pointed to a public release of the test in question, and having looked at the tenth grade math items, I think what I said was unfair. While we have our share of students who struggle with basic algebra, I'm pretty confident that they would pass this test.

Just for fun, here's a selection of a few of the problems from the 2006 math test given to tenth graders, the one where Mr. Roach didn't know how to answer any of them, and "Not a single one of [his friends] said that the math I described was necessary in their profession." See if you're smarter than a Florida school board member:

[go to link to look at the questions... most of these I could do by 5th grade, btw]
....
Now, of course, I've cherry-picked these questions, to enable maximum snark, but you can look at the test for yourself at the link above, and see for yourself that the math involved is not terribly difficult. And, in fact, the test writers have done a pretty good job of putting the math into a useful (if occasionally a bit contrived) context, to demonstrate what it's all for. Maybe whoever selected the questions for him to take pulled out only the most abstract and difficult questions from several years' worth of tests, but that doesn't seem terribly likely.

This is yet another demonstration of a problem I've been banging on about for years: the innumeracy of intellectuals. Mr. Roach holds three college degrees, and clearly considers himself an educated person, but even a lack of practice at taking tests can't really explain this level of failure.
....
Mr. Roach's failure to score at a reasonable level on this test is something that ought to embarrass him, not the educational establishment. As much as I have problems with the notion of high-stakes testing, I have an even bigger problem with people who believe-- and teach our kids-- that basic mathematical competence is not a necessary component of education.

Now when I had seen the info about his multiple degrees, and his inability to do well on very basic math, I guessed that those degrees were in subjects with the word "education" somewhere, which are some of the most degraded degrees out there. This would be ironic, unless you understood how the current education industry "works": you get raises, promotions, etc. as a public school teacher for these degrees. The college and universities granting them get lots of money. And there's no external check on whether those holding those pieces of paper actually learned anything other than how to work the system.

So let's see if I was correct about Mr. Roach:

The man in question is Rick Roach, who is in his fourth four-year term representing District 3 on the Board of Education in Orange County, Fl., a public school system with 180,000 students. Roach took a version of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, commonly known as the FCAT, earlier this year.

....
Roach, the father of five children and grandfather of two, was a teacher, counselor and coach in Orange County for 14 years. He was first elected to the board in 1998 and has been reelected three times. A resident of Orange County for three decades, he has a bachelor of science degree in education and two masters degrees: in education and educational psychology. He has trained over 18,000 educators in classroom management and course delivery skills in six eastern states over the last 25 years.

To be sure, I had these links before I wrote this post, but I'm sure the idea popped in many minds when hearing about those degrees (and I definitely thought it when I heard the credit hours towards a doctorate). Mind you, I'm not calling all education programs to be phony, but ever heard of Gresham's Law?

Bad money drives out good.

This goes for credentials as well. The economic forces as well as the lack of any controls means that there has been a slide downward not only in the meaning of a high school diploma, but also education degrees.

I have written about this dichotomy of what is considered educated, in how much humanities, and at what level, one must take in college compared to math and science. Well, that was college, and here are two posts (post 1 on Cathy Seipp, post 2 on Richard Cohen) of me bitching about people who considered themselves educated, who would also needed to have guessed on that math exam....and trying to make up excuses that it's okay to be that ignorant in math and call one's self educated.

Look - would you consider someone educated who could not write coherently? Who could not read great literature (the accessible stuff, not when it was a virtue to be only for the elite) and comment on it?

I really have nothing to this statement from my Seipp post:

Exit exams need to mean something, or high school diplomas will continue to mean nothing. The only reason so many people feel the need to go to college is because a high school diploma means only that you showed up often enough that they gave you a diploma. If you're getting good grades in math from grades 9-12, but can't pass a 9th grade-level exam -- that should indicate to you that your grades are meaningless. I ran into this problem once before: when I taught calculus at N.C. State. There was a reason they had a pretty strict requirement on placing out of Calculus I. Because over half of the freshman class had had Calc I before and claimed to have gotten decent grades in Calculus the year before... and yet, they didn't even know how to give the equation of a line. Or what the area of a circle was.

So the question is: are people happy that high school grades and diplomas are credentials with no credibility? If they're not happy, you've got to have some kind of do-or-die certification. Having "alternatives" where people can opt out of basic math knowledge or literacy is not a good way to shore up the credential.

These "high stakes" exams do tend to be relatively low level, especially in math. I think it's reasonable to set a high school diploma at Algebra I.

Of course, there will be students, diligent and following the rules, who can't clear that hurdle. It is not kind to anybody to lower the standard such that the HS diploma is merely an attendance certificate. For those who accomplish that, give them the attendance certificate. Don't lie to them that by merely showing up they accomplished something academically.

One of the perspectives I'm coming from is that of special education -- if those students can't demonstrate that basic level of knowledge and application, then don't give them a diploma, pretending it means something. What you're doing is giving everybody a meaningless piece of paper just so that some people supposedly won't feel bad. Some of those special ed students may very well be able to clear the same minimal hurdle everybody else does, and they should have something that indicates that. I'm also fine with an "honors certificate" above and beyond the minimal HS requirements. Or vocational credentials, if that's the route they go.

The point is to change high school from a holding pen for teenagers on the way to the "real" credential of college, which will cost many people in money and time lost on wasteful activities....and find they've got yet another meaningless piece of paper, and many times, not even that.

Meep

Meep is a member of the Irish Catholic mafia, having a suspiciously high number of green-eyed, red-haired friends. While she doesn’t have red hair herself [except when she goes into the sun (rare for any vampire)], she does have green eyes. She’s a raving Papist and is a life actuary on the side [i.e., she counts dead people]. An amateur pain-in-the-ass [willing to go pro!], she likes covering retirement, mortality, math, and education issues.

Filed under: Invincible Ignorance, Number Crunching w Meep 2 Comments

28Dec/110

Prayers Are Good Tidings

Each Christmas I am faced with the conflict. On the one hand, with children in the house we feel obliged to do silly things like purchase gifts and prop up Santa Claus. But another part of me realizes that this is silly and a horrible distraction. Nevertheless...

In terms of end of year tidings, one is relieved to have Christmas in the rear-view mirror. One looks forward, mostly, to a new chapter. It is a very pagan way to go. Out with the old and in with the new. XTC has a great song to this effect.

Fire they cried
So evil must die
And yields are good
So men pull back hoods and smile
The scapegoat blood spilled
Spittled and grilled
it crackled and spat
And children grew fat
on the meat
Change must be earnt
Sacrificial bonfire
must burn
Burn up the old Ring in the new
Assembled on high
Silhouette against the sky
The smoke prayed and pranced
And sparks did their dance
in the wind
Shadows wore thin
with less and less skin
And the clothes that were draped
Was all that told man from ape
Change must be earnt
Sacrificial bonfire must reign
Reign over good
Banish the bad

It is interesting to note that Christmas itself, to the Christian, marks the very point in history when Mankind's bondage was in jeopardy of being remanded. If you will, it is the point in history where the Scapegoat is introduce to the storyline.

We wait for Good Friday to spill the Blood of the Lamb, of course, but the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies is nigh. Predestined history unfurls from this point at a relatively rapid pace. All Systems of Men are put to shame in the ensuing times.

This Singular Cosmic Shift - the Birth of the Christchild - the Advent of Emmanuel - God Among Us... culminates in the Greatest Event the world has ever witnessed; whereby God reconciles His Creation to Himself through the Paschal Sacrifice of Himself on our behalf to Himself for expiation of all Sin past, present, and future.

This is a really, really big deal.

What the Great Pagan Philosophers discerned without the Light of the Holy Spirit - and what was known to the Jews through revelation and guarded so jealously - was confirmed. From there, Pagans and Jews alike were presented with another amazing Gift - the first being Redemption - for the taking.

That second gift is the Gift of Hope.

It seems to me that the idea that we exist and then do not exist is so much crap. That we exist and then seize to exist is goofy. How were the Pagan Scholars of Note able to divine an afterlife without the Holy Light of Grace? They did so using Reason as their guide. It is no different today. But that we had only Reason as our guide - without the Advent of the Lamb of God - and possessed the same towering intellect as the Greats - would we not come to the same conclusion? Yet, we have the extra benefit of an Singular Occurrence that they did not. So, perhaps our rather smallish abilities are brought on par with those who fumbled in the dark and arrived at the conclusion that Man is so distinct, so Unique, so Superior in species, that the natural ends of squirrels and birds is not equivalent to what awaits the Human Being.

Right now, many of our cyber-family, our modern-day neighbors, are suffering terribly. On the threshold of Death itself.

There is no need to name them, as most of you know in your hearts who these Souls are.

In the New Year, we are likely to lose some of them from this physical world.

We have Hope. Let us pray that all of these - those who will find physical health again and those that will be liberated from this physical reality - are buoyed in the knowledge that there is so much more behind the veil that awaits them.

Paradise awaits those who desire it with a contrite heart - and burn with Hope in anticipation of the Eternal Vision of God's Face for Eternity.

The body will fail. But we are free. Free to pray for the Souls at Death's Doorstep. Free to pray that our neighbors suffer with purpose and realize the benefits to be had as they pick up their cross and follow the Christ to Calvary - and ultimately Golgotha. Free to pray that they demonstrate Fortitude in their sufferings and grow ever closer to the Christ by mimicking his trials.

Let us pray for these, our brothers and sisters. Let us pray for those Dearly Departed in Purgatory and those Militant who are set to join them this year.

May God bless them and keep them and have Mercy on them today, tomorrow, and for all Eternity.

May they in turn pray for each of us from On High in our hour of need.

Happy New Year. God Speed, Faithful Pilgrims.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

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Filed under: God Bothering No Comments

24Nov/111

“fairness” and “charity” and “Charity” – Cookies Part I

Charity:

Kid 1 sitting at the lunchroom table.

Kid 2 sits next to him.

Kid 2: No way! You got cookies?

Kid 1: Yeah. My mom made these last night.

Kid 2: Ugggh. My mom never bakes cookies.

Kid 1: Would you like one?

Kid 2: For real?

Kid 1: Here.

Fairness:

Kid 1 sitting at the lunchroom table.

Kid 2 sits next to him.

Kid 2: No way! You got cookies?

Kid 1: Yeah. My mom made these last night.

Kid 2: Ugggh. Not fair! My mom never bakes cookies.

Kid 1: Would you like one?

Kid 2: One? You have three.

Kid 1: Here. Have one.

Kid 2: It's good. We should split the 3rd one.

Kid 1: Ummm...

Kid 2: How is it fair that you get two and I only have one?

Kid 1: I just gave you one.

Kid 2: I am just sayin'. It hardly seems fair! If you don't share I'll tell Mrs. Engels!

Kid 1: I did share! And I didn't have to. Jeez...

Kid 2: It's not fair.

Kid 1: Life isn't fair.

charity

Kid 1 sitting at the lunchroom table.

Kid 2 sits next to him.

Mrs Engels walking past table.

Mrs. Engels: whatcha got there, Kid 1?

Kid 1: Huh?

Mrs. Engels: Let's see what you got. Ahhhh, cookies. Those look good.

Kid 1: My mom made a bunch of them for her Church group. She put some of them in my bag.

Mrs. Engels: Well, isn't that nice for you!

Kid 1: Yeah.

Mrs. Engels: What about you, Kid 2?

Kid 2: I don't have any cookies.

Mrs. Engels: Hmmmm.

Kid 2: It's not fair.

Mrs. Engels: Well, I'd have to agree. Kid 1, give Kid 2 some cookies. It's only fair.

Kid 1: Huh?

Mrs. Engels: Your a Christian, after all. Give Kid 2 some cookies.

Kid 1: I gave him a cookie yeasterday. But then he argued with me about how it was unfair that I had two left and had only given him one. He wanted me to give him another.

Kid 2: No! I wanted you to give me half of the other, so it would be fair. We'd each have had one and a half cookies then. Instead of you having two and me only getting one.

Kid 1: I didn't have to give you the first one.

Mrs. Engels: I though Christians were supposed to be Charitable. Now give him one and you keep one.

Kid 1: What?

Mrs. Engels? C'mon. What would Jesus do?

Kid 1: Ummm...

Mrs. Engels: Now do it.

Kid 1: Okay, I guess.

Kid 2: Hey! That leaves him with two and me with one!

Kid 1: But my mom packed those for me!

Mrs. Engels: You mean to say their yours, right?

Kid 1: Well I guess.

Kid 2: You're greedy!

Kid 1: I just gave you one.

Kid 2: Only because she made you. And it's still not entirely fair.

Mrs. Engels: He's got a point. Here, let me take that third cookie.

Kid 1: But... hey!

Kid 2: Hey!

Mrs. Engels: Now it's fair. These are good.Kid 2, you happy now?

Kid 2: I guess.

Mrs. Engels: This way everyone is happy!

Kid 1: What?

Kid 2: Hey, whatcha bringin' tomorrow for me?

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

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Filed under: Series of Unfortunate Posts 1 Comment

27Oct/111

Announcing the Cookies Series – a Conservative Tutorial for Liberals

I am forming in my mind a series of posts relating to conveying the rightness of Conservative logic to Liberals in a manner in which Liberals can digest.

I am reminded that we must appeal to our audience in a manner which is pithy, simple, and direct.

In this series of posts I intend to explore the following:

1) the concepts of "fairness" and "charity" and "Charity"
2) the concepts of "equality" and "equity"
4) the difference between "liberty" and "license"
5) the difference between a "right" and a "privilege"
6) "prudence" vs "principle"
7) objective discernment of "right" vs "wrong"
8) crimes of "commission" vs crimes of "omission"
9) inherent dignity
10) probability
11) history
12) language
13) "truth" vs "Truth"
14) "skepticism" vs "cynicism"

this could take a while. suggested topics welcome.