Elections Should Not Have Communist Consequences

 

Check out my latest post on the HIVE blockchain.  Why Do Elections Matter?

Also, consider alternatives to Big Tech and fiat money with Start Earning Today.

Freedom-Loving People: YOU are Not Alone.

While streaming a movie, I found myself gagging at a public service ad done by TV celebrities touting the virtues of the Soviet lockdown and saying with a smile, "You are not alone." No, sheep, you are not alone. Millions just rolling over and believing their governments only want what is best for them, and what is best for them is to stay in a bunker until the executive order givers decide to maybe let them out some day in the indefinite future.  Get me a barf bag.

Perhaps you feel you are the only person who is wondering if there is a better way to help medically vulnerable people while still enabling the remarkable productivity of Americans to continue.  Well, you are not alone. I am with you, at least.  So that makes two of us.

As you and I chafe under the new Soviet-style norm in this once-great nation, lets try to find kindred spirits who still long for the old days of due process and unalienable rights:

Alex Epstein  speaks about separating truth from hysteria using a six-point test.

Rush Limbaugh cuts to the chase as well.

Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is also a tremendous voice for free people. 

Government is taking the easy way out by just blanket quarantining everybody instead of letting free people innovate and survive and choose their risks.  Staying home can be a valid choice. Finding a way to work with some precautions should also be a choice--but it is not. This is our new Soviet life. Billions in wealth, vaporized by one-size-fits-all government. Stay free, somehow. We are not alone, even though it seems the sheep outnumber us greatly. We, the sheepdogs, must keep the country free so our children and grandchildren will not be ruled by the wolves.

Ready for a New Alternative Political Party?

I have recently been introduced to some upstarts who want to oppose socialism in America.  Being utterly and completely opposed to socialism/communism,  I am happy to introduce my readers to them as well so you can examine their beliefs and draw your own conclusions.

So without further ado, meet the Democratic Republican Party of America.  They are adding to their website regularly, so check them out.  I know I want to encourage anyone who wants to engage in the fight against socialism and for individual freedom and responsibility.

Independence Day Knitting

After the big knitting site (which shall not be named) banned support for the current president, I naturally did the subversive thing and sought out the most Trumpy knitting pattern I could find--along with some red, white, and blue yarn purchased from friendly local capitalists.

After Nike withdrew from the market a shoe with the image of a flag sewn by a widowed revolutionary businesswoman, I made that flag my profile picture.  Small things show the would-be communist overlords that there are a lot of people they will need to subdue before this country succumbs to their intolerance of important ideas like religious conscience, individual liberty, diversity of thought, free discussion and dissent (dissent! gasp!)

If two nights of socialist "debates" did not make you concerned that America is seriously threatened, you are either asleep or you agree with the angry, delusional field of Democrat candidates.  Trump is imperfect, but he is not a career politician--and that is a big plus.

Need a Good Book to Read?

Deception for Power and Profit sure looks like an interesting read.  Check it out, then let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Liberty-Based Blog for Your Reading Pleasure

Check out the articles on this interesting blog by Peter de Pradines: https://deceptionforpowerandprofit.com.  It makes for some good reading if you are searching for fellow freedom lovers.

Supporting Women through Business

I am always excited when I see women who are truly empowered--women who seek to build people up, rather than tear down half the human population.  Women can excel on their own efforts and enthusiasm, as shown by https://www.girlsknocklife.com/

Great products, many with inspirational messages, are offered at !prices on the free market--and with free shipping!

You go, girls!  Show the world how it is done.

Master the Tools of Persuasion

Thank You for Arguing is now in its 3rd edition with updated examples to go with the bestselling text.  Get the effect of reading Aristotle and Cicero without struggling with translations of the ancient texts.  Heinrichs presents a "Cliff Notes" or "Schaum's Outline" version of the classic rhetoricians!
This enjoyably educational guide to the art of winsome persuasion is one I highly recommend to homeschoolers, teachers, politicians, marriage counselors--pretty much anyone who interacts with other human beings.  Read it. Enjoy it. Savor it. Use it!

More information about the book

About Jay Heinrichs

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Understand the Math that Rules Your Universe

As a person with an engineering degree from Purdue, I am well-versed in the use of math.  Of course, anything that can be used can also be misused.  In Weapons of Math Destruction Cathy O'Neil exposes the pain and suffering caused, sometimes unintentionally, by the mathematical models that pervade our society. 

Any time a person interacts with a system--financial, educational, medical, etc.---a model is determining or limiting possible outcomes.  From your loan interest rate to college acceptance to landing that job interview, know that nobody is looking at you as a unique individual.  Instead, they are letting a computer fit you into an algorithm and either accept you for further processing or deny you access before you even speak to a human being.

This frightening and enlightening book must be read even by the math-averse.  You don't have to be an engineer to be affected by math--or even destroyed by it.

I received a free review copy of the e-book for my honest opinion.

Consider this: Secular Pro-Life Perspective from a Pro-Life Feminist

Check this out--a detailed and thoughtful analysis:



Secular Pro-Life Perspectives: A Pro-Life Feminist Balance Sheet:  Pro-life feminism claims that the institution of legal abortion...

What Needs Fundamental Change?

Eight years ago a man promised to "fundamentally change" America. To change means to make something different from what it was, so let's look at what America was before Obama got hold of it:

• a constitutional republic (holding on by the skin of its teeth)
• a population consisting of hard-working people supporting an ever-growing population of dependents 
• a struggling economy burdened by oppressive regulation
• a country with almost no border security
• a country where most everyone knew who was male and who was female
• a country with improving race relations, although pockets of trouble persisted
• a country where women could kill their babies up to the moment before birth with no legal penalties
• a country with declining academic achievement proportional to federal interference in the process.

I could go on, but this is enough for starters.  Now, what did he change? Now we have:

• a constitutional republic in need of CPR while all three branches of government kick it in the face or stand by and do nothing 
• a population of hard-working people supporting an ever-growing population of dependents while working multiple part-time jobs because Obamacare destroyed so many full-time jobs
• a struggling economy burdened by even more regulation
• a country with almost no border security and a government admitting hostile "refugees" who want to wage jihad and rape infidels in the communities where the feds resettle them.
• a country where most everyone knows who is male and who is female, but nobody is allowed to say so
• a country with rapidly deteriorating race relations, with riots and chaos as well as assassinations of police officers
• a country where women can kill their babies up to the moment before birth and celebrate the event on Twitter while their abortionist sells the spare parts for a handy profit.
• a country with declining academic achievement proportional to federal interference in the process.

You know what really needed to change? We didn't need to fundamentally change America; We needed to fundamentally change Washington, D.C.

• Each branch of government needs to hold the other two accountable for adhering to the constitution
• Hard-working people are not the problem. Washington needs to set them free to take care of their own families by drastically reducing regulations affecting workers
• Americans are innovative and productive, even in the face of crushing regulation. Lift the burden and set genius and creativity free!
• Without borders, a nation does not exist. Consistent enforcement of existing laws and a rebuke of so-called "sanctuary cities" is needed. Refugees must truly be seeking an American life, not the destruction of the American life.
• People who believe in biology should not face fines, penalties, or even complete ruin of their businesses. Neither should those who embrace thousands of years of biology be forced to sacrifice privacy, safety, or dignity to accommodate those who insist upon defining their own "reality." 
• Free people will naturally look on others with good will as others reciprocate. Free people are often generous people. Free people will not/should not tolerate lawless destruction of life and property.
• Washington should respect the millions of Americans who want no part in the killing of innocent, defenseless human life, especially after viability and especially through vicious torture.  Forcing kind and decent people to pay for sacrifices to Molech is wrong, period.
• Washington has no constitutional role to play in education. Just get out and stay out! Parents and states can handle it.

We didn't need to change America fundamentally. The fundamentals were strong. Washington had simply interfered so much that the foundations were crumbling under burdens they should never have had to bear.  Remove the unnecessary weight and shore up the foundations.  The American people will take it from there. 

Writing: An Important Tool for Those Who Value Freedom

From my Education Blog: Set Yourself Apart: Avoid Common Writing Mistakes...: In the age of blogs and social media, bad writing is all too common. Thus, the person who writes well stands out from the crowd.  You can be such a person....

STEM Education as a Path Out of Poverty

Check out this organization which seeks to free people from poverty by educating more girls in developing countries in math and science:



Hog on Ice: Books and Independent Learning: Promoting STEM Education in Developing Nations: I recently became acquainted with the Benignant STEM Innovation Foundation , which promotes education in math and science...

Will Wonders Never Cease? Democrats for Economic Growth?

In line with my previous book review post, looks like some Democrats are trying to save their party from the French Revolution-like "equality" crowd.  Check out James Petohoukis' article.  Apparently there are still Democrats in favor of innovation/wealth creation rather than just wealth redistribution. Is it too much to hope they might prevail over the Marxists in their party? Let us hope not.  I'd like all voters in all parties to have some good choices within their parties.

A More Prosperous Planet

About time somebody wrote about helping people prosper instead of just demonizing success!  It's been a while.  Felipe Tudela offers facts, not politics; math, not mantras.

As a trained engineer, I was hooked as soon as I found this phrase in the introduction: "Reality is always bound to win."  Yes!! I have always said people need to experience the physical sciences and physical work.  Then they know there are some inviolable rules--that reality does not adapt to our feelings or whims.  This is why engineering professors are not the Marxist kooks that liberal arts professors tend to be.  In the real world, those who break the rules cause explosions, fires, bridge collapses.  Marxist theoreticians (like many politicians) need not face the results of their experiments.  They insulate themselves while others suffer.  The entrepreneur, bridge builder, or surgeon, however, must pay the piper if/when he/she screws up.

Tudela seeks to explain the difference between the permanently limited wealth paradigm and the wealth creation paradigm.  The former sets us against each other in a winner-takes-all cage match, while the latter makes a better world for anyone of good will and work ethic.

Libertarians and conservatives should get copies of this book into the hands of as many as possible--particularly young people who have been poorly educated indoctrinated) by "progressive" schools.  Since reality always wins, let's be sure we understand it!

I will gift a copy of this book (Kindle) to the first two readers to comment on this blog post, so hurry!  You can also get a copy right away on Amazon.

Don't be Prey--Protect Yourself from Ravenous Government

I have recommended this organization before, but it seems time to remind my readers as election season is upon us again.  If you are tired of government swallowing your entire life with its laws, rules, whims, and taxes, join the Enlightened Zebra Society.  The website has plenty of informative articles on topics near and dear to lovers of individual liberty: flat tax, government spending, legal reform and much more.

There is work to do if we are to escape the hungry lion of progressive tyranny.  Let's get going!

Preserve Free Speech--Don't Be Silenced!

Is it indeed the End of Discussion?

Mary Katherine Ham and Guy Bensen teamed up to warn us of the dangers of letting the left shut down free speech.--not by passing laws, but through intimidation and personal destruction. Who needs to repeal the first amendment when they can simply sic a Twitter mob on you or make sure you lose your job because your wimpy employer doesn't want to make the evening news? 

Even if we wanted to keep all the left's rules (and believe me, I certainly don't) we couldn't. They change the rules daily and sometimes retroactively. Instead of a lively debate like our founders had in the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers, we, despite our abundance of communication resources, get a society that wants to stifle and filter communication instead of encourage it!

Please just stop!!! Let people speak, using words that have had meaning for generations. Stop thinking everybody has to tiptoe around and look at you right and have the right "tone." Heck, those of us who are engineers/geeks (like me and most of my friends) are lucky we can communicate at all under normal circumstances, let alone follow all the silly rules people with nothing useful to do with their lives keep making up and changing daily. 

Get this book.  And use your God-given right to free speech as often as possible.  Do not be silenced.

The trend of scaring private citizens into silence by making their every word as scrutinized as a public figure's does not bode well for a free society. When we are afraid to speak, argue, debate, and agree to disagree at times, we no longer have a free society.

I received a free review copy of End of Discussion from Blogging for Books.

Problems with Common Core: A Rant

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Common Core is an issue of great importance to parents, even if they do not send their children to state schools. It is so enormous in its reach that it will crowd out much of the innovation now happening in the private education sector.  Common Core is so extensive and complex that, as with the “Affordable Care Act,” it will be years before most citizens understand the many constitutional and pedagogical problems this Washington, D.C. initiative has caused and will cause.  Let’s look at the most important issues.

Why Do Many Citizens Oppose Common Core?

First, Common Core originated not in the states, but in Washington, D.C., where two organizations, the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief School Officers, collaborated with the Gates Foundation and other private groups.  This major overhaul of K-12 education was created without input from the elected legislatures of the fifty states.  Governors were bribed by the federal government with threats to deny funds to states not cooperating with Common Core.  This is not a process in which local teachers and parents had any input, nor was their input desired.  This is a top-down initiative from businessmen and education bureaucrats, not teachers.

Given the Constitution of the United States leaves education to the states (see tenth amendment) Common Core is yet another federal encroachment into local issues.  Parents also have concerns about the massive amount of data to be collected under Common Core.  Not only will student information be available to schools, but to private researchers and companies.  The amount and scope of data on America’s children is unprecedented and alarming to parents concerned with privacy and civil liberties.

Parents also have reason to doubt that Common Core standards are indeed preparing students for college.  The fact that Common Core homework is often confusing to parents (one might think deliberately confusing) makes parents justifiably suspicious.  These parents are also concerned about the toll so much high-stakes testing takes on young children—and the instructional time children miss as test preparation and administration become the focus of schools.

Why Do Many Real Teachers and Professors Oppose Common Core?

Despite assurances that Common Core is not a national curriculum, states are required by the federal bureaucracy to assure that 85% of reading and math standards are Common Core compliant.. Thus, only 15% flexibility is allowed.  According to Eagle Forum, retaining cursive writing instruction would of itself take up that entire flexibility for a school.   Excellent teachers will be restricted in their ability to use creative and innovative lesson plans, as they will be chained to the curriculum provided by Pearson (a major textbook publisher and great beneficiary of Common Core.)

Professor R. James Milgram was the only professional mathematician on the Common Core Validation Committee.  He refused to sign off on the math standards.  He has testified that the standards are not rigorous—in fact they are two or more years behind international standards by grade eight and only get worse from there.  Common Core neglects/delays teaching of standard algorithms (i.e. how to calculate the right answer) in favor of group projects and “reform math.”  Engineers and other STEM professionals typically entered college having already taken calculus.  The Common Core generation will be lucky to squeeze in a precalculus course before college.

Who Benefits from Common Core?

Politicians are able, through Common Core, to claim they “did something” about education.  It matters not whether they did the right thing, only something.  Bill Gates made his fortune off computers and, surprisingly, Common Core requires schools to invest heavily in new technology instead of human capital (students and teachers.)  Michael Barber’s Pearson PLC, a British firm, also profits; already holding a large share of the textbook and testing  market, Pearson can all but destroy rivals in with the blessing of America’s federal government.

Be Aware

Read about Common Core.  Get involved with state organizations to monitor student privacy concerns and oppose excessive testing and federal curriculum.  Most of all, do what is best for your own family and community.  One size does not fit all!

Business Resource:

Hog on Ice: Books and Independent Learning: Business Resource for Developing Successful Habits...: +1 Success by Jon Olsen.

I downloaded this free pdf and am impressed with how Jon Olsen simply states a basic idea: Just do one more thing...

Your Input Needed for New Book!

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Greetings, dear readers.  A fellow writer needs your input to be sure the book he is writing really answers the questions his potential readers have.  The subject is the difference between rich countries and poor countries.  Here is how you can help:

Can You Answer Just ONE Question? It's for my NEW BOOK

I'm working on a new book and I need YOUR help. Could you answer
just ONE question? This has to be the shortest survey in history
- so I'm hoping you can stop what you're doing and answer this
one pressing question at http://www.felipetudelasite.com
This will be my 5th book. In this new book I explain, in a
thought provoking way, why some countries are very rich while
others are extremely poor. It's one of the world's great issues
-- and your One Answer will be part of the discussion.

Felipe would really appreciate our libertarian input, so make yourself heard.