From Alfred Kinsey to Chicago Public Schools in Five Easy Steps

It's amazing how predictable the left becomes once you recognize the patterns.  With a few key phrases, and a little bit of time on the internet, you can find some great stuff.  The latest outrage out of Chicago is a textbook example.

First things first, Chicago Public Schools (yes, those Chicago Public Schools) are now considering teaching sex ed to five year olds.  Obviously, this is a terrible idea, but it'll probably move forward anyway because we're talking about Chicago.  Buried in the story, however, was this little nugget:

The proposed policy follows the National Sexuality Education Standards composed by four health organizations.

 National Sexuality Education Standards?!?  Excuse me?!?  That can't be good:

The Future of Sex Education Project (FoSE) began in July 2007 when staff from Advocates for Youth, Answer and SIECUS first met to discuss the future of sex education in the United States.

Now who, pray tell, is SIECUS?!?

SIECUS, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, was founded in 1964 by Dr. Mary S. Calderone and a number of other brave pioneers.

During her tenure as the Medical Director for the Planned Parenthood Federation, Dr. Calderone became concerned about the lack of accurate information about sexuality for both young people and adults.
So, at the age of 60, with determination to live in a world in which sexuality was viewed as a natural and healthy part of life, she founded of SIECUS. She was joined by Wallace Fulton, Reverend William Genne, Lester Kirkendall, Dr. Harold Lief, and Clark Vincent. In the next couple of years, SIECUS’ first Board of Directors was established, our first foundation grant was received, and we  published our first book designed for teacher training.

Dr. Mary S. Calderone would be?!?

Co-founder Dr. Mary S. Calderone is the former medical director for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She boasted in a SIECUS report: "Few people realize that the great library collection of . . . the Kinsey Institute in Bloomington, Indiana was formed very specifically with one major field omitted: sex education. This was because it seemed appropriate, not only to the Institute but to its major funding source, the National Institute of Mental Health, to leave this area for SIECUS to fill." Not surprisingly, Kinsey co-author Wardell Pomeroy was a SIECUS founding board member.

The primary goal of SIECUS, according to Calderone, is to teach human sexuality "very broadly and deeply with awareness of the vital importance of infant and childhood sexuality." The May-July 1983 issue of the SIECUS Report adds that a child's sexuality should "be developed in the same way as the child's inborn human capacity to talk or to walk, and that [the parents'] role should relate only to teaching the child the appropriateness of privacy, place, and person-in a word, socialization."

 Alfred Kinsey, founder of the Kinsey Institute, was this guy.

Cahnman's Musings is going to investigate further, because nothing good can come from "National Sexuality Education Standards" developed by a Kinsey-linked organization, but the linear progression is striking.

Background information here.

Read More

Governor Rick Perry on Limiting Spending, School Choice, and Medicaid

Governor Rick Perry spoke to Texas Bloggers tonight thanks to Americans for Prosperity -- Texas.  The Governor had about ten minutes of opening remarks then took questions for 25 minutes.  The following are from my notes:

• Conservative fiscal policies have "consistently paid dividends" through good times and bad.

• While the Legislature is in town: "everyone wants a piece of the money."

• The basics: Keep spending and taxes low, predictable regulatory climate, fair court system.

• Not only should Texas hold the line on taxes, we should lower the tax burden.

• Texas has the third highest High School graduation rates in the U.S. today.

• Different children learn with different goals in mind.

• Allow education dollars to follow the Child.

• I "really support" Dan Patrick on School Choice.

• Medicaid:
• We could have a healthier population for less money but Washington refuses to allow us to spend our own money how we see fit.
• Washington is going to run out of money in 3-4 years, at which point the states will be on the hook for the full cost; that's when they're going to start pushing single-payer.

• Texas Budget Compact:
• We began the process early so the idea could be distilled properly.
• The Legislature "will vote on this."
• Straus will "allow the will of the House to prevail."

• Other than that, the Governor also discussed various ideas for tax relief; while the Governor hasn't committed to any particular idea, he did promote this website for any Texans who want to make suggestions as to what form tax relief should take.

Update: Pondering Penguin has more here.

Read More

TheBlazeTV: Five Rape Survivors Discuss Gun Control

The left loves to hide behind the victims of tragedy to advance their agenda during moments of crisis. But what do women who've actually lived this trauma think?!? The Blaze TV spent an hour talking to five women who've survived horrific assaults to find out what they think:



Highlights:

• The Sandy Hook Elementary School was the target because it was the only gun-free zone in the area
• Ditto Aurora, CO

• Amanda Collins was a concealed carry holder was was raped because she couldn't take her firearm onto the 'gun-free zone' on her college campus.

• Kim Weeks told her rapist that she had herpes.
• Rapist was caught three weeks later planning his next attack.

• Wanda Mills was attacked by a knife-wielding psycho for six hours.

• Felicia Smith was raped by her trainer.

• Julie White was picking up her kids from Church at noon on Wednesday.
• "We were trapped in the Everglades with a knife-wielding maniac."

• Three of them were not legally allowed to posses a firearm in the location where they were raped.

• One gun can stop a serial rapist.

• "My body was a walking crime-scene."

• "As I was on the ground in that parking garage being straddled by my rapist, that call box could have been above my head and it wouldn't have done anything."

• "I've never been more calm, cool, and collected than I was when I was negotiating with my rapist."

• The notion that a woman cannot handle a gun under pressure is sexist.

• How is it a 'War on Women' to force people to pay for birth control, but not a War on Women to refuse to allow a woman to defend herself from a rapist?!?

Get TheBlazeTV here.

Read More

The Austin School Construction Boondoggle

This coming May, the Austin Independent School District (AISD) is going to manufacture a crisis to blackmail voters into approving a billion dollar(*) bond issue that they don't need.  Cahnman's Musings is going to have a lot to say on this topic as the May 11th election approaches.  For now, however, the following two articles are a good start.

Travis County Taxpayers Union -- Another Example of Irresponsible Stewardship:

On the heels of a huge private and public propaganda campaign last fall to mislead Travis County voters into approving a 68% “Central Health District” property tax rate increase, the government round-robin robbery of property taxpayers now moves to AISD in May — just in time for the historically low turnout which maximizes the special interest vote of the government school monopoly.

The political strategy of the school district is very well established, and it’s as simple as ABC....

This strategy has worked for many decades, so why wouldn’t the government school political machine continue to exploit such unethical strategy?  Indeed it will.

Blue-Dot Blues, meanwhile, has the details:

• $140.6 million for health, environment, equipment and technology
• $233.9 million for safety, security and relief from overcrowded schools
• $349.2 million for academic and building infrastructure renovations and repairs
• $168.6 million for academic initiatives, fine arts and athletics

None of this is necessary.  AISD is already $800 million in the hole.  We need to fix education in Texas, but a Billion Dollar debt-financed expansion of the current boondoggle would hurt everyone.

(*) Once interest is factored in.

Read More

The Faith of Ted Cruz

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice"
Proverbs 29:2

Two way, way cool articles on Ted Cruz' personal faith; first up, CBN's David Brody:

In college, Cruz began to connect the Constitution with his Christian faith. His mentor, Princeton professor and conservative Christian Robby George helped him embrace the concept of natural law.

"Life, liberty, and property, the fundamental natural rights of man are given to every one of us by God, and the role of government fundamentally is to protect those rights," Cruz said.

That philosophy became central to Cruz's political core. But while it dominates his political life, his strong faith is central to his entire life. Cruz is a Southern Baptist and doesn't shy away from talking about his faith.

 Next, RealClearReligion:

"Our Constitution was truly a revolutionary document because they inverted the entire concept of sovereignty." Throughout history, rights were given to people by the grace of a King. Our Founders said rights come from God. The role of the constitution, therefore, is to serve as "chains to bind the mischief of government."

Not the sort of stuff you'd typically read on a candidate's website "issues" section. Cruz's doesn't have one. Instead there's "Proven Record." Recalling Matthew 7:16, Cruz bluntly asks "When have you fought for your principles, when have you bled for them, and what have you accomplished?"

Returning to his faith, Cruz sees "a particular susceptibility for candidates to be like Pharisees who wear their faith on their sleeve as convenient political garb.

"It is far better to let actions speak louder than words."

 Amen.

Read More

Danny Forshee Classics: Families Matter

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the Earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth.  So God created Man in His own image in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.  And God blessed them and God said unto them. be fruitful and multiply and replenish the Earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that liveth on the Earth."

Genesis 1:26-28

"And the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone.  I will make him an helper.... And the Lord God Caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof.  And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.  Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." 

Genesis 2:18, 21-24

Highlights:

• The more we drift as a culture, the more important it will be to take a stand.

• Take a stand for the life of the unborn and the elderly even as our culture veers further towards death."

• How do we stand for the Biblical definition of family without sounding mean?!?
• Grace and Love

•  It's not going to get better, barring a great awakening.

• God likes families; He created them

• It's not complicated, but it IS controversial.

• The homogenous nuclear family that makes babies is God's idea!!!

• Man and Woman are the only creatures that have sex face to face.

• He created it; we get into trouble when we tamper with it

• Psalm 33:20 -- God and Woman is our helper

• Like and equal in personhood, unique in function.

• The first social organization God created was the nuclear family.

• Talk to your kids about sex a lot younger than you think.

• There is no place in God's order for unisexuality.

• "Human procreation is not intended merely as a mechanism for replication, or is it just the expression of human passion, but it is instrumental in understanding the covenant blessing of God."

• God created you exactly how He wants you.

• No 'Goo to the Zoo to finally You.'

• We do a lot better lovingly disagreeing than whacking people over the head with the Bible.

• When the wind of the Spirit blows, may our sails already be set!

Read More

Dallas Morning News: University Administrators raise tuition and (their own) pay

The Dallas Morning News has a not surprising examination of administrator salaries in the University of Texas system:

Some top Texas university and college administrators have received double-digit raises in the past year, even as the state has struggled with deep cuts to higher education programs and exploding tuition costs for students.

Administrators did best:

Statewide, top university administrators received a 4.2 percent increase in salary from fiscal 2011 to 2013, a time of deep budget cuts in many state programs, including student financial aid. The raises totaled about $3 million.

University system administrators received a 9 percent increase in the same period, close a $1 million total.

Teachers, meanwhile, didn't do nearly as well:

Professors largely didn’t enjoy the same types of boosts. Statewide, full-time professors received a 0.7 percent increase in salary from fiscal 2011 to 2012, the difference of about $765.

 'Coincidentally':

Over roughly the same period, statewide tuition increased about 9 percent as well.

 Read the whole thing here.

Read More

Texas Employers Need to Promote Economic Literacy

One criticism I often hear about Texas recruiting businesses in California is that we don't want a bunch of liberals moving here and voting in liberal policies.  That's true, but Texas also needs capital.  The easiest capital to recruit is in Blue States.  That means the capital Texas needs is often accompanied by an economically-illiterate work force.  To help maintain Texas' economic climate, Texas employers owe it to themselves to increase their employees' economic literacy.

In 2012, Mitt Romney won the overwhelming support of small business owners; unfortunately, Obama won small business employees.  If employees of small businesses voted the same way as small business owners, Mitt Romney would be President.  When employer taxes went up at the beginning of the year, that tax increase was voted in by their own employees.

Left-wing politics takes hold when 'the Rich' are seen as some distant entity.  It's a lot harder to demonize someone if you know them personally.  For Texas employers, that means your employees will be less likely to vote in bad tax and regulatory policies if they see you being hurt, as opposed to some Wall St. fat cat.

Many employers will object that they don't have the time or they don't need another responsibility.  That's fine, no one expects you to teach Phd. level dissertations; just the basics on government spending, taxation, and regulatory policy.  Cahnman's Musings will roll out some ideas to help Texas employers accomplish this task in a cost-effective and efficient manner in the coming weeks.

Texas' business climate isn't an accident.  It is the result of prudent decision making over the past decade.  As a result, Texas has become an attractive location for capital fleeing hostile regimes.  While that capital is a very good thing, an economically-illiterate workforce often accompanies it.  Texas employers owe it to their bottom line to help sever this link.

Read More

URGENT: Oppose Texas Medicaid Expansion

Americans for Prosperity -- Texas has an urgent action alert to stiffen the spines of Texas Legislators in opposing the fiscally suicidal Medicaid expansion in Obamacare:

Texas joined 25 other states in challenging the federal government arguing that the expansion of Medicaid in the President’s health care law was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court agreed calling the expansion a “gun to the head.” Now, supporters of the law are urging Texas to reverse its position and expand the broken, costly Medicaid system.

Read more: http://www.kintera.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=9hJILXMCKbKYE&b=6611291&aid=519352#ixzz2LvP5InWI

 Many legislators are cowards, even in Texas (especially the House); make sure to make your voice heard on this URGENT fiscal priority.

Read More

Americans for Prosperity: Texans Speak out for School Choice

This video from Americans for Prosperity - Texas is the first of five:

Read More

Willisms: Texas Getting Under California's Skin

Willisms a fun piece detailing how Governor Perry's advertising pitch got under the skin of Marxists in California; money quote:

Doesn't that just epitomize the difference between how things are done in California and Texas? Texas can take 24 thousand private bucks, tell its story, and generate this enormous amount of publicity on social media platforms, in newspapers, on local news stations across California, on Bill O'Reilly, at water coolers, and elsewhere, likely all worth many millions of dollars in advertising bang.

Isn’t this just a perfect example of how all too many California politicians think you have to spend your way to success; meanwhile, Texas does things smarter, better, at a lower cost.

Read the whole thing here.

Read More

A.E.I: Is the Good Book Good Enough?!?

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice!" Proverbs 29:2

American Enterprise Institute had a fascinating seminar on Evangelical perspectives on issues in the news; I don't agree with everything here, but it's a lot of food for thought:

Highlights:

• We are 25% of the population.

• An Augustinian perspective -- The Kingdom of God and Man are always in conflict.
• As Christians, there will always be tension.

• Seek Justice, Love Mercy, Care for the Least, Love Neighbors.

• Words Matter
• What we say in Public really matters.
• Convicted Civility

• Prudence
• The perfected ability to make right decisions
• What are the ends we seek?!?
• Balancing competing goods and lesser evils. 

• Recover Natural Law
• Common-cause with people who don't share our theology.
• An ethical foundation that doesn't hit the unsaved over the head with the Bible.
• A bridge between the sacred and the secular.

• Our true home is the city of God.

• Real world possibilities will always be less than our utopian dreams.

• There are no final victories, but there are also no final defeats.

• It's easy for the educated to celebrate the demise of Christian culture; folks lower down the scale don't have the same margin for error.

• Capitalism and democracy only works on a Judeo-Christian foundation.

• Evangelicals ought to be known as the most honest people in politics.

• The good book is good enough if we're smart enough to apply it.

Read More

American C.E.O: Texas Beats California

The American C.E.O is a (pretty cool looking) blog I hadn't heard of until today.  It's mostly advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and C.E.O's.  Today, he has a post on the economic contrast between Texas and California; money quote:

So why Texas and specifically why Austin? I have traveled fairly extensively across the U.S. and have spent time in all the major technology hubs. At one time or another I have considered living in many of them. I have been fortunate enough in my career that financially my family and I could “afford” to live wherever we like. For me it comes down to three major reasons: cost, attitude and time.
....

A big factor is that the regulatory environment in Texas is stable and predictable. Industry isn’t punished for succeeding, but rewarded with a fair and just tax structure.California’s insistence on raising taxes on its most successful citizens recently will only drive more intellectual capital and dollars out of the state.
....

That’s why I am in Austin and in Texas.California missed out on the successful businesses I have built. By the way, my wife – Dr. Cathy Fulton – ended up creating the products that led to the success of our Austin-based company NetQoS, which employed more than 250 people and was acquired by CA Technologies in 2009 for nine figures.

Read the whole thing here.

Read More

Big Ticket Items for the 83rd Texas Legislature

With the 83rd Texas Legislature one-third over, and conservatives off to a bad start, it's time to re-group and prioritize.  To protect and strengthen Texas' economy, we need to alter the trajectory of state spending.  The following five items will maintain Texas as place where entrepreneurs can risk their capital and achieve a decent rate of return.

1. Texas Budget Compact -- Cahnman's Musings was an early supporter of the Texas Budget Compact.  It remains our top priority, though we remain frustrated with Governor Perry's timidity.  Limiting government spending is the foundation of prosperity.
   
   
2. School Choice -- In order to limit state spending, you have to get education under control.  K-12 Education remains 40% of state spending.  For that money, K-12 education remains an array of boondoggles and bureaucracy.  The CSCOPE scandal re-enforces what we already knew about public education.  In order to keep state spending under control (and pre-empt the next CSCOPE), you need to take education dollars out of the hands of bureaucrats and put it into the hands of parents.
   
3. Medicaid -- Medicaid has been the fastest growing component of state spending for two decades.  In 2001, Medicaid was 14% of the budget; today it's 25%.  If the Obamacare Medicaid expansion goes through, that will rise to 33%.  Medicaid is a broken program that hurts the poor.  We can't keep pouring money we don't have into a program that doesn't work.
   
4. Pensions/Transparency -- Local government debt in Texas is $324 billion.  Pension obligations are a big chunk of that debt.  The interrelated issues of local debt and pension obligations are a time bomb the legislature should defuse before it becomes a crisis.
   
5. Repeal the Margins Tax -- This atrociously designed tax is unworthy of a state like Texas; end it, don't mend it.

In business, the Pareto principle states that you get 80% of your results from 20% of your activity; this list is that 20%.

Read More

Empower Texans: Will "Good" Freshmen Join the Borg?!?

Empower Texans has an important post on the efforts of the Austin Political establishment to bully Freshman legislators into accepting the status quo; money quote:

We warned incoming legislators back in October about the pressure from incumbents to give up resistance to the Austin political Borg. The first tangible example comes from State Rep. Larry Gonzales, who this week belittled freshmen conservatives over their belief that Texas has a spending problem. He wants them to believe more money is needed in government.

....

It is newsworthy to now see Rep. Gonzales step forward and reprimand conservative freshmen for not falling in line with the Austin political Borg’s stance on a potential gas tax increase like he apparently has.

....

A warning like this issued so early in session shows the establishment’s worried about having so many conservative freshmen refusing to “go-along-to-get-along.”

I hope Empower Texans is right, but I'm not so sure.

Read More

Was George W. Bush ever Governor of Texas?!?

Michael Quinn Sullivan might be a dirty Aggie, but so is the Governor of Texas; speaking of Governors of Texas:

I was at the Capitol this afternoon, standing in the Rotunda waiting for someone. A woman (wearing a big "Support Public Schools" button) was beside me, and asked (to no one in particular) why there was a picture of George W. Bush hanging there and not a picture of Barack Obama. "These are Texas governors. Bush was governor," I explained. "No he wasn't," she said definitively. Ok. — at Texas State Capitol.

GREAT moments in Public Education!!!

Read More

Phew; Congressman Lamar Smith to investigate... ASTEROIDS?!?

In this time of global chaos, with economic contraction, Radical Islam ascendant, a border on fire, and everything else going on in the world, what does establishment Republican Congressman Lamar Smith (San Antonio/Austin) think should be a top Congressional priority?!?

ASTEROIDS!!!

According to today's Dallas Morning News my former Congressman is serious about getting to the bottom of the threat posed to the United States from rogue Asteroids:

He noted that a large asteroid, Asteroid 2012 DA14, is also passing just 17,000 miles from Earth today, “less than the distance of a round trip from New York to Sydney.” And he announced that he’ll hold a hearing in coming weeks “to examine ways to better identify and address asteroids that pose a potential threat to Earth.”

Never fear, dear reader, thanks to heroes like Congressman Lamar Smith, the brokest nation in history will:

continue to invest in systems that identify threatening asteroids and develop contingencies, if needed, to change the course of an asteroid headed toward Earth.

Obviously, Congress needs to 'invest' in sharks with fickin' laser beams....

 

Read More

Marx and Satan

This is why political conservatives need to seek God:

"Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Ephesians 6:11-12

Highlights:

•  Even if Marx wasn't aware he was doing so, he certainly served Satan's purpose.

• Marx practiced Occult rituals and a bunch of his buddies were open Satanists.

• There is a spiritual battle behind the events of this world.

Read More

A Marxist's Guide to Picking Up Chicks

HILARIOUS:

Read More

S.A. Express News: The Emergence of 'Saudi Texas'

"If My people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from Heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

The San Antonio Express News has a great read on the benefits Texas is reaping from Energy Development; money quote:

Oil production in Texas is soaring, so much so that production jumped to an average 2.139 million barrels a day in November — the best showing in more than 25 years.

Analysts are chalking up Texas' booming production to shale plays, especially South Texas' Eagle Ford Shale where production was minuscule just five years ago, along with a revival of West Texas' Permian Basin.

Analysts are tossing around the words “phenomenal,” “amazing” and “unprecedented” when discussing the numbers.

 Thanks to energy development and technological innovation, Texas is one of the few states with money; imagine what we could do if Washington D.C. wasn't dragging us down.

On an 'unrelated' note...well...hmmmm?!?

Read More

Empower Texans: Supporting the Texas Budget Compact

Empower Texans has a great tool on their website to assist citizens who want to support the Texas Budget Compact:

We will print your letter on plain paper and hand-deliver it to the offices of your specific Texas House and Senate members, as well as the governor and lieutenant governor.

Read and sign your letter here.

Read More