POLITICAL UPDATE--News from Abroad

This update focuses on news from abroad.

Gary North: Paymaster Germany and the Endgame
Pat Buchanan: The Democracy Worshipers
Pat Buchanan: Why Are We Baiting the Bear In Georgia?
Steve Sailer: Protests And Population Policy: Israel’s Lessons For America
John Derbyshire: John Derbyshire On Understanding China And The Chinese
Ann Coulter: New York Times Reader Kills Dozens in Norway
Steve Sailer: Maurice Glasman, Ed Miliband And The Rapid Rise And Faster Fall Of Blue Labour’s Immigration Patriotism

POLITICAL UPDATES are archived here.

POLITICAL UPDATE--The Economy

This update focuses on the economy.

Gary North: Debt and Debt Maintenance: Why American Households Are Not in Big Trouble
Gary North: The Dollar As the World's Reserve Currency. Poor World.
Gary North: The Big (Stupid) Idea: Universal Personal Bankruptcy to Save America's Economy
Thomas Sowell: Back to the Future?
Gary North: How Dave Ramsey Made $55 Million by Being Good on Personal Debt, Naive on Business Debt, Lousy on Investing, and a Loudmouth Bully.
Phyllis Schlafly: Yes, Virginia, There Is a Gender Gap
Peter Schiff: Job Killer in Chief
Gary North: Pencils and Liberty
Phyllis Schlafly: Candidates Should Be Talking About China
Gary North: These Threats Will Not Collapse America's Economy

POLITICAL UPDATES are archived here.

Full Sixth Circuit Will Hear MCRI Case

The full sixth circuit court will conduct an 'en banc' hearing to review the decision of a three-judge panel to overturn the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative. En banc hearings are rare, so this indicates that there is a good chance that the decision will be overturned. Ed Whelan offers some reasons for caution, though.

Court to revisit affirmative action ruling
En Banc Rehearing of Ruling Against Michigan’s Colorblind Amendment, But …

Up From the Projects

Up From the Projects
Walter E. Williams

This delightful little memoir was written by Walter Williams, libertarian economist, syndicated columnist, and occasional substitute host for Rush Limbaugh. Williams recounts his life beginning in the Philadelphia housing projects (not as bad then as they would later become).

Williams outgoing, mischievous nature was evident early on. The chapter on his time in the army, and the trouble he got into is particularly amusing.

After leaving the army, Williams attended college, eventually studying economics and earning a PhD in the subject at UCLA. During this time, he learned to think systematically about the effects of government policies, and adopted the libertarian beliefs that he holds to this day.

Up From the Projects is a quick and enjoyable read.

Is College Worth It?

The Gazette has a long article asking whether college is worth the money.

College degree still considered good return on investment despite climbing costs

The short answer is maybe. If you get a degree in a real subject that is required to get a job in the field, like engineering, statistics, or economics, college is likely worth it. If you get a degree in political claptrap (sociology), a junk major (communications) or a legitimate subject with no job prospects (history), probably not.

The smart way to go to college is to go to community college in high school and get a two-year degree at 18. You'll take the same classes that are gen-ed classes at a four-year school. Then if you are still apt and interested, go to a four-year college for two years and get a degree at 20 with far less debt.

Colleges love to trumpet that college graduates make more, but they don't mention that CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION. People who graduate from college are smarter, more motivated, and come from better families on average, and so would make more even without degrees.

Ten Years Ago

I still remember that Tuesday morning when, hovering between sleep and wake, I heard on the radio that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I had a 9:30 class, but was planning to drop it, and so I was sleeping in in my dorm room. My Dad soon called asking if I had heard, and I turned on the television.

I watched television most of the day, and I saw both the towers collapse live on TV. I remember having a sick feeling in my stomach.

Classes were cancelled at noon. There was a prayer service later in the day. My roommate went, but I didn't. Someone repeated a rumor that gas would be going up to three dollars. Since my tank was near full, I didn't see a need to get any.

I was finally peeled away from the television to get dinner in the dining hall. People talked quietly.

The rocks in Goldsworth Valley were painted in red, white and blue. While they are typically painted every couple days, they stayed that way for months.

Remember.

Remembering September 11

9/11 and Immigration
College Republicans of WMU honor the victims of 9/11 in a tribute of 2,997 flags
Notes from the Chairman

POLITICAL UPDATE--Spending

This update focuses on spending.

Gary North: Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Bank Runs
Gary North: Your Portfolio of Lies
Thomas Sowell: A Pyrrhic 'Victory'
Gary North: Debt Impasse: Fake and Real
Pat Buchanan: Fiscal Hawks vs. Security Hawks
Gary North: Obama v. Obama

POLITICAL UPDATES are archived here.

The Mysterious Drake/Railroad Stoplight

This complaint is highly specific to Kalamazoo.

A year or so ago, a stoplight was installed on Drake Road where it intersect the Amtrak railroad line. Having a stoplight at a railroad is unusual unless the railroad is right next to a road intersection with traffic light, which this one is not. Usually, there is at most gates and flashing lights.

But what is really unusual is the operation of this light. Most of the time it is green, but sometimes, for no apparent reason, it turns red. There is never a train in the vicinity when this occurs. Not even one of those carts with two guys pushing up and down on a lever from the old-timey movies. After a while, it turns green again. Even stranger, sometimes only one side turns red, while the other direction continues to allow traffic to go through.

Does anyone know why this light exists and operates in this manner?

POLITICAL UPDATE--Immigration

This update focuses on immigration.

Federale: Obama’s Administrative Amnesty: Impeachment Is The Only Answer
Steve Sailer: Jorge Castañeda On Mexico's Eternal Mañana
Washington Watcher: Rick Perry—Another Texas Governor for Amnesty
Rachel Marsden: Global Poll Uncovers Psychic Shift on Immigration
Steve Sailer: "Latino Leaders" Lacking Followers, Name Recognition, And Voters—But Not MSM Influence
Allan Wall: Operation Wetback II: A Few Practical Proposals

For more on immigration, see VDARE.com.

Schuette For Silencers

Good for Schuette.

Schuette clears way for Michigan gun owners to use silencers

-------------------

Lansing— Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says gun silencers can be used in the state by gun owners who have federal authorization.

Schuette issued an opinion Friday that says Michigan citizens who comply with federal firearm regulations can use the devices on their guns to "protect their hearing and minimize noise disruptions" in the surrounding area.

Marquette County Sheriff Michael Lovelace says the "rigorous" federal licensing process will make sure only law-abiding citizens win permission to possess a silencer.

A National Rifle Association official says in the Republican attorney general's release that 38 other states allow the use of silencers.

Possessing a silencer without federal authorization remains a five-year felony under Michigan law.

Graceful Exit

Republican Jim Grace, the best member of the Oshtemo Township Board, has resigned.

Oshtemo Township Trustee James Grace resigns from board

It isn't entirely clear why.

“Due to my lack of alignment with the Oshtemo Township Board on issues, such as benefits and citizen involvement, I am resigning from the Board and all committees, effective immediately, August 29, 2011,” Grace wrote in a statement.

Leftist democrat Scott McCormick had previously resigned after moving out of the area.

Republicans need solid candidates for the Oshtemo board in 2012.

Immigrant Drunk Driving?

Doing the drunk driving Americans won't do...

Immigration status of man charged with drunken driving in motorcyclist's death under investigation

Cooney, Moore Rally For Their Jobs

If you need a job, the best place to go is... a rally!

Labor Day 'Rally for Jobs and Justice' planned in Kalamazoo's MLK Park

KALAMAZOO — A Labor Day "Rally for Jobs and Justice" is set for 11 a.m. in Kalamazoo's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, followed by a cookout for the homeless at noon Monday.

"The basic idea is that it's Labor Day and we should have some kind of event in this city talking about the issue of working people and their families, especially when there is such a crisis," Kalamazoo City Commissioner Don Cooney said.

Who is expecting to get a job there?

The rally is sponsored by Cooney's and Stephanie Bell's campaigns for City Commission but their re-election bids are not the focus of the event, Cooney said.

Ah.

Western Loves Gays

Fabulous news!

Western Michigan University No. 21 on Daily Beast list of gay friendly colleges

KALAMAZOO – Western Michigan University is among the most gay friendly universities in the country, according to a list published this week by the Daily Beast and Newsweek Magazine.

WMU is No. 21 on the list of the top 25 gay friendly schools. WMU was ranked on factors including the college's prowler diversity grade (B), a campus climate index score of 4.5 and because 75 percent of students surveyed said campus is "very accepting" of minority students. The rankings note that WMU offers a LGBT campus center.

The campus climate score is based on Campus Pride's ranking system that looks at how inclusive college campuses are of LGBT students. A high college prowler diversity grade indicates that different minority groups are well represented on campus and accepted by students.

Apparently they didn't hear about the imaginary crime wave that struck the campus gay community in 2007.

"Queer students say harassment has increased"
Axis of Queers

POLITICAL UPDATE--Liberalism

This update focuses on liberalism.

Pat Buchanan: Obama's Race-Based Spoils System
Phyllis Schlafly: Feminists Have a Tantrum
Phyllis Schlafly: VAWA Must Be Rewritten
Steve Sailer: That BAMN vs. Michigan Decree: Will GOP Defend Whites Against Judge-Imposed Discrimination?
Dan Flynn: Boston's Bin Ladin
Ann Coulter: Civil Rights and the Mob: George Wallace, Bull Connor, Orval Faubus And Other Democrats
Gary North: Population Growth as Propaganda: The Greens and the Reds

Much information on liberal individuals and organizations can be found at David Horowitz's Discover the Network site.

Suing Walgreens

Shame on Walgreens.

Benton Harbor pharmacist who shot at robbers sues Walgreens for firing

POLITICAL UPDATE--The Economy

This update focuses on the economy.

Gary North: Roubini, Marx, and Keynes
Gary North: Too Many Emergency Meetings in Europe
Phyllis Schlafly: Debt Ceiling Up, S&P Rating Down
Gary North: The Crack in the Ice
Gary North: How Karl Marx Foresaw Bernanke and Krugman
Gary North: The Yellow Fever Economy
Gary North: The Ghost of Murray Rothbard Haunts The Economist
Edwin Rubenstein: U.S PhDs Have It Tough Enough Without Importing Immigrants
Gary North: The Next Financial Crisis

POLITICAL UPDATES are archived here.

The Case for a Creator

The Case for a Creator
Lee Strobel

This is the third in a series of apologetic books by Lee Strobel, who was an atheist and a journalist before converting to Christianity and becoming a pastor. He previously wrote The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith.

This book focuses on issues of creation and evolution. Strobel approaches the issue from an intelligent design perspective. He uses the same format as in his previous books. He begins with a personal story about the issue, this time being asked to cover a creation/evolution school curriculum controversy in West Virginia while he was a reporter. He then proceeds to interview a number of experts associated with the intelligent design movement.

The interviews cover the subjects of icons of evolution, science and faith, cosmology, physics, astronomy, biochemistry, biological information, and consciousness. All are worthwhile, but I found the interview on consciousness particularly interesting.

The one problem that I have with the book regards the mathematics of infinity. William Lane Craig argues that the existence of an infinite number of objects or an infinite period of time is impossible. While he may be right about the underlying question, his arguments are unconvincing. He points out that ∞-∞ is not well-defined, and that ∞+1=∞. However, I don't see why this would rule out the existence of infinity in the the real world.

Overall, Case for a Creator is a worthwhile book.

Previous:
Summer Reading
Godless: A Review
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization
The Victory of Reason
The Privileged Planet
What's So Great About Christianity
Evidence That Demands a Verdict

Weapons of Mass Instruction

Weapons of Mass Instruction
John Taylor Gatto

The author of this book is famous for being New York state teacher of the year who quit, convinced that government schools are bad for children.

This book contains lots of interesting material, but it is so disorganized that it is hard to recommend. It feels as though it consists of material that was cut from another book.

Gatto argues that the real purpose of government ("public") schools is not to help students learn and flourish. Instead, it is to make them submit to authority, make them alike, determine proper social roles, sort them accordingly, disadvantage those deemed less fit, and select the next generation of the elite. He cites a number of quotes from the architects of the modern government school system to support this.

Gatto adds several personal stories of his battles with the school system including an attempt to fire him on false pretenses and a principle who called the police to interrupt his school assembly speech.

He cites a number of examples of people with little formal education inventing products, building large businesses, and otherwise achieving great things. While the examples are interesting, these may well be the exception, rather than a reliable model.

Gatto is an advocate of 'unschooling', in which students are basically left free to explore their interests, and there is no formal curriculum. While there merit to encouraging students to follow their interests, I am skeptical that you can do without any curriculum.

Gatto inveighs against standardized testing, and advocates that students refuse to take them.

Gatto believes that most students are capable of much, and their abilities are being suppressed by the system. He is on the political right, but his views contrast sharply with another segment of the (paleoconservative) right, which argues that intelligence and genes largely determine academic outcomes, and there is relatively little room for improvement. It would be interesting to see each discuss the others' views.

Weapons of Mass Instruction is interesting, but often frustrating due to its lack of organization.

No Means Try Again

Voters in the Mattawan school district shot down an 88 million dollar bond issue in May. Naturally, Mattawan schools aren't about to take no for an answer.

Mattawan going back to voters for $59M for new elementary schools

Voters need to say no again in November.