Cahnman's Musings had never hear of Bud Kennedy before the Ft. Worth Star Telegram published this strange rant on Saturday.
Kennedy attacks next week's Women on the Wall conference in Austin for, well, I'm not sure what exactly.
Apparently, Bud Kennedy is shocked that conference organizers would attempt to recover their out-of-pocket, upfront, costs for hosting the event:
Like wrestling promoters, Tea Party groups are taking a financial interest in stirring up a fight. They've invested [author's note: emphasis mine; invested, as in, covered the costs of the conference out of pocket and upfront.] in staging a two day Austin political rally around the Speaker's election and the opening of the legislature.
Imagine the nerve! A group of concerned citizens holding an event to express those concerns to their elected officials, and they're even covering costs!!! Troglodytes....
Cahnman's Musings has no idea what to make of Bud Kennedy's temper-tantrum, although we are curious if Mommy was late getting little Buddy his juice and cookies.
For everyone else: Women on the Wall would love to have you at their conference next Monday and Tuesday (1/7-8) in Austin. I'm sure they'd also love assistance covering the costs of the event. Obviously, the Speaker's race will be a major topic. Beyond the Speaker's Race, however, Women on the Wall will train activists in effective lobbying. Help start the 83rd Texas Legislature off right!!!
Contact:
Ft. Worth Star Telegram:
John Gravois
Deputy Managing Editor
Politics and Government
(817) 390-7734
grav@star-telegram.com
Yesterday, Texas Longhorns (backup) Quarterback Case McCoy was accused of rape.
The incident happened at 2:48 in the morning. Alcohol was involved. We shouldn't jump to conclusions.
That being said, this is a tragedy; the details don't matter.
Yesterday, I linked to this piece from Josh Charles and Chandler Schmidt about the shooting in Connecticut. I read it again after learning about Case. Josh and Chandler nail it:
Our culture can no longer preach moral chaos and apathy and then act surprised when we see it on full display.
Here's my question: if our culture didn't place such a high premium on belt notches, would Case McCoy have been in that bar in the first place?!?
Yesterday, Josh Charles, co-author of The Original Argument, sent me the following piece about the shooting in Newton, CT; the piece is must read, but one line stands out:
The rule of the day is instant gratification, and the sense of living for something good and eternal has been lost....Into this horrible vacuum, in a desperate search for meaning and contentment, flow the idols of our culture: drugs, sex, alcohol, and yes, violence, and we are seeing evidence of it everywhere.
Our country's financial problems, however, are nothing compared to the spiritual and moral cliff that is far more destructive to our nation than any economic concerns.
Idols are crashing; that's the common theme of all our problems.
"And as he [Saul] journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from Heaven: And he fell to the earth and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?!?" And he said, 'who art thou Lord?!?' And the Lord said "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, 'what wilt thou have me to do?!?' And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no man." Acts 9 3:7
The other day, in an interview with the Associated Press, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst made the following statement about the 83rd Texas Legislature:
Dewhurst said he wants Texas to be the 'most fiscally and socially conservative state in the country.'
We can speculate about Dewhurst's motives until the cows come home. Obviously, getting his butt kicked by Ted Cruz didn't hurt. The bottom line, however, is that the Lt. Governor's recent actions are a welcome development that deserve recognition.
As a Christian operation, Cahnman's Musings believes in Redemption. As a Reganite operation, however, Cahnman's Musings also believes in 'trust but verify.' Welcome aboard, Mr. Lt. Governor, we'll be watching.
"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today;" Exodus 14:13
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from service to their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of both man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." Thomas Paine, the Crisis, December 1776.
"Victory or Death." George Washington, handwritten note, discovered by Dr. Benjamin Rush immediately before the Battle of Trenton.
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Trenton. I've been thinking about the Battle of Trenton a lot this Christmas season. One conclusion stands out: in a time of despair, with no guarantee of success, George Washington decided to go out swinging.
It wasn't easy. It was cold. The river was icy. They got a late start. Two other generals failed to provide reinforcements. They had to push heavy artillery uphill on muddy roads. The men didn't have shoes; their bloody feet literally dyed the snow red.
But George Washington, lacking our knowledge of the outcome, decided to go out swinging.
And it worked. George Washington secured an unexpected victory. Victory at Trenton and Princeton bought the Patriot army time.
What does this mean today?!?
For contemporary Patriots, the situation in December 2012 bears an eerie resemblance to December 1776. In both cases, the heady enthusiasm of July was followed by an unexpected setback and a December of despair. In both cases, the so-called 'Wizards of Smart' encouraged the insurgent Patriots to give up and resign themselves to tyranny. By deciding to go out swinging, George Washington created the conditions that enabled victory several years down the road. It won't be easy, and might have our own Valley Forge moment in the near future, but contemporary Patriots should do likewise.
Talk about a message even more relevant today than it was 35 years ago:
Highlights:
For the record, the man in black (white shirt) sitting to Billy Graham's right IS Johnny Cash.
"Ominous clouds are gathering on the horizon in many parts of the world that could effect the whole world, including your world and mine"; even truer today than it was 35 years ago.
"In the middle of these problems, comes the message of Christmas."
The real Christmas message: "answers all the great question that plague the human race at this or any other hour."
Birth: "For centuries, men had looked to Heaven and asked God to come out of that [picture] frame; at Bethlehem, 2000 years ago, He did just that....He humiliated himself, He took the form of a servant."
Death: "Christmas to have meaning cannot be separated from the Cross....Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection, can transform both individuals and societies....It was on Good Friday and Easter that God did for man what man could not do for himself.
The main reason people talk about the end of the world (eg. The Mayan Calendar) is because we all know instinctively that the world will one day end; it's in our DNA.
A two sided message:
For the Saved -- Awesome and Incredible News (Yaaay)
For the Unsaved -- A word of warning.
This message is not intended to scare you, it's intended to prepare you.
Eternity is too long for you to be wrong.
We do not know the date of Jesus' return, but it could be today.
At a time when you think not, He's gonna come.
Why our generation is uniquely different:
1) The Re-Birth of the Nation of Israel in 1948
2) Rogue nations with nuclear weapons.
3) The explosion of technology the past 20 years.
4) We are living in the greatest era of spiritual deception the world has EVER known.
9 future events on the near horizion:
1) The rapture of the Church -- When God pulls the saved on Earth up to heaven to be with Him forever.
After that, events on Earth are going to be YOUR problem. I'll be with the Lord. I just warn you, it's gonna suck for those of you left behind.
This is a very intense sermon, but if you're ready the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has more information here.
As regular readers know, Cahnman's Musings has devoted considerable attention to the growing CSCOPE Scandal. However the details shake out, one pattern is obvious: large sums of money laundered through obscure quasi-governmental agencies is the core problem. The solution is to keep that money in the hands of parents.
K-12 spending is the single largest item in the state budget. That makes prudent stewardship of the education dollars we already allocate an economic issue. Texas Businessowners Consumers, and Homeowners deserve transparency.
The simplest way to foster transparency in school finance is to shift decision-making power from obscure bureaucrats to parents. The 83rd Texas Senate, led by education committee chairman Dan Patrick, proposes to do just that. Given that Lt. Governor David Dewhurst supports school choice, legislation that strengthens parents and defunds bureaucrats can realistically pass the Texas Senate.
The obstacle, unfortunately, is the Texas House of Representatives. Just like the Texas Budget Compact, current House Speaker Joe Straus doesn't support School Choice. In other words, the public statements of the current leadership of the Texas House of Representatives indicates that they'd rather protect the unaccountable bureaucrats dumbing-down Texas' kids than act as prudent stewards of the people's money.
The 83rd Texas Legislature has a unique opportunity to strengthen parents, defund bureaucrats, and lay the foundation for the next generation of prosperity. The Texas Senate is poised to act. Will the Texas House of Representatives follow?!?
The most recent issue of Texas Monthly contains a tiresome, straw-man, filled attack against Governor Perry's refusal to comply with Obama's Medicaid Expansion; sample quote:
Medicaid covers one in eight Texans at costs lower than private insurance, and without it our chart-topping percentage of the uninsured -- nearly 25 percent of Texans lack insurance -- would increase to nearly 33 percents of the population, including the millions of children who make up the majority of Texas Medicaid enrollees.
[Texas Monthly Writer Michael] Ennis thinks Perry should dump more money into this mess and hope for the best. Expanding Medicaid, he said, would provide coverage to millions of uninsured Texas workers, 'probably helping Texas more than any state.' Leaving aside for a moment that it would actually be a net loss for the state, an uncomfortable implication lurks in the background: private health insurance and the world's best health care are only good for the upper and middle class, while Medicaid is good enough for the poor.
The point about how Medicaid traps vulnerable citizens in a predatory, substandard system is one all Texans would be wise to remember, consider the following:
Highlights:
Hundreds of thousands of unnecessary crowns have been drilled into vulnerable Texas children.
"My son looked like a robot."
Medicaid pays $157 per cap.
Harming thousands of Texas children while costing taxpayers millions.
$100 million on steel crowns alone in Texas in 2011.
Why do kids in Ft. Worth need an average of 8 crowns per child when kids in Lubbock only need two?!?
This is a moral and financial outrage that curtails the freedom and self-sufficiency of both Medicaid recipients and Texas taxpayers; this cannot continue.
Socialized medicine, like all government encroachment, attracts profiteers. The 83rd Texas Legislature has no business authorizing ANY Medicaid funding until it gets to the bottom of this abuse. But, hey, why should Texas Monthly examine the details of a predatory Medicaid system when there's a Republican Governor to bash?!?
National (far-left) education standards (eg. CSCOPE) followed by 'equalization of funding between cities and suburbs.
Blood money from Washington is the enforcement mechanism.
Sustainable Communities Initiative -- Using transportation funding to encourage suburbanites to move into cities; rerouting Federal transportation dollars from Highways to Mass Transit.
"The American Dream of moving to the suburbs is based on greed and racism."
CSCOPE documents also claim connection to Linda Hammond, a proponent of the nationalized Common Core movement that Texas has rejected in favor of its own standards.
Of course I would have loved to have seen Linda Darling-Hammond become Secretary of Education in an Obama administration. She's smart, honest, compassionate, courageous, and perhaps most striking, she actually knows schools and classrooms, curriculum and teaching, kids and child development....What makes education in a democracy distinct is a commitment to a particularly precious and fragile ideal, and that it is a belief that the fullest development is all is the necessary condition for the full development of each.
Both Ayres and Hammond were leaders in the small schools movement. She has been published in a collection edited by Ayres. Both have been proponents of ending funding disparities between urban and suburban schools, ending standardized testing, and attacking 'white privilege.' She has been a board member for CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning), a group housed at the University of Illinois at Chicago, that provides studies of, and services for, Emotional Intelligence in schools -- but really emotional manipulation aimed at making students global citizens.
The 83rd Texas Legislature has no business authorizing any public education funding until it gets to the bottom of CSCOPE.
(Note: After about 20 minutes, the video goes into Q and A, but the questioners aren't miked, so you can't hear them; also, there are two long segments where people in the room are talking amongst themselves.)
"A new generation of transformed accountability" -- Is it just me or could that sentence have been written by George Orwell?!?
Instead of traditional testing, "2 incredibly deep and rigorous project based assessments."
Personal question: Who asked them to 'transform' Texas schools in the first place?!?
The CSCOPE 'Service Centers' are getting much more involved with rural school districts.
Bottom Line: At best, this is conceptually flawed. Personally, I think it's a lot worse. The 83rd Texas Legislature has no business increasing education funding by one dime until we get to the bottom of this.
Update: Obviously, Vimeo won't let me embed the video directly, you can watch the whole thing here.
This afternoon, Cahnman's Musings received access to inside information on the CSCOPE programs in Texas Public Schools we've discussed previously. While the source fears retribution and won't speak on the record, they did confirm what I'd already suspected about CSCOPE. It's a mix of low standards, Marxist indoctrination, and serious financial irregularities.
Cahnman's Musings will continue to update as we learn more but, in the meantime, here are some sources of public information:
Texas CSCOPE Review - This website is a clearinghouse for CSCOPE Related information.
This Austin-based architecture firm, which specializes in school construction, helped underwrite The Public Education Visioning Institute listed above; without jumping the gun, it's worth noting that the word 'sustainability' appears multiple times on their website.
Based on the little we already know, the 83rd Texas Legislature has no business increasing public education spending by one red cent until we get to the bottom of this CSCOPE scandal.
Update II: The Wichita Falls Times Record News has more here, money quote: "Master teachers reported a dumbed down approach with a liberal, students teach students philosophy."
"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them." Genesis 1:27 "Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto the foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:24-27 "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?!? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation upon a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:46-49 "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand the wiles of the Devil." Ephesians 6:11 "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed BY THEIR CREATOR with certain unalienable rights...." United States Declaration of Independence
I never post on Sunday; that alone illustrates the urgency of this message.
Yesterday, I issued a warning to political conservatives about the coming 'debate' over the second amendment. In God's infinite wisdom, this morning, I was reading chapter 6 of Luke's gospel. I'd forgotten that the parable of the two foundations (quoted from both Matthew and Luke above) was in Chapter 6. The parable of the two foundations re-enforces my point about how political conservatives need to seek God. The word of God must become the foundation of all future political activism.
The American people have bought into deception. We can debate its causes, but the reality of the deception is undeniable. Deception comes from Satan. We will only defeat deception from the foundation of truth found in God's word. Debating public policy without that foundation is a vacuous form of political idolatry.
Conservatism as political idolatry will never beat Marxism as political idolatry. Conservatism as political idolatry cuts off our roots. The Declaration of Independence (quoted above) is built on a view of man first articulated in Genesis 1:27 (also quoted above). In other words, the foundation of what the American right seeks to conserve is a saying of God. Conservatism as political idolatry, by contrast, couldn't beat Lena Dunham and Sandra Fluke.
If you believe that conservative public policies produce better results than Marxist ones, but you don't pray on your knees at least twice a day, then it's your fault Obama won. The number of hours you phone banked for Mitt and the U.S. Senate candidate in your state are irrelevant. We will never defeat Satan with yet another discussion of marginal tax rates and monetary policy.
The good news, as always, is that Hope remains infinite. Individual Liberty remains a gift from God, and He is Faithful. The question, moving forward, is whether the American political right will hear the sayings of God's son AND DO THEM!!! If we do, our restoration will come surprisingly fast. If we don't, we'll deserve what we get.
If you are politically conservative, there's no reason not to seek a God with whom you already agree 95% of the time. It's common sense. It's also the only way we'll win. There is no political solution to spiritual conflict. When you're in a pit, there's only one way out: Look UP!!!
"If my people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may me able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:11-12
"A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Second Amendment, United States Constitution
Consider this a warning before we get sucked into a political debate over gun control:
Stop. Seek God. And Pray.
The day after election day, I wrote about how political conservatives must turn to God. That day, I meant it as comfort; today, it's a strategic precondition. God wants to help us, but first, we need to seek him.
This agnostic, Godless, secular, political idolatry bull crap needs to stop (if you don't know what idolatry means, click here). The forces of gun control are Satanic and must be dealt with as such. You will not defeat Satan with a political discussion of violent crime rates. Politics is a trap. To win, we must put on the whole armor of God.
So what does this mean?!? If you know the Lord, keep investing in the relationship. If you don't, buy a Bible and start reading, the rest will take care of itself.
The United States' constitution was a divinely inspired document, including its second amendment. Protecting it requires His help. We will never beat the left at political idolatry. Fortunately, there's Hope. Just follow the instructions in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people, it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams
"First, I suggest that the traditional use of ostracism and censure educated society on the proper ties between people, God, and community....Second, I maintain that proper and judicious use of social sanctions prevents far more problems and misery than it creates....Finally, I argue that no community can succeed without ostracism and censure." Rabbi Daniel Lapin
One of my great frustrations in life is the notion that just because you discuss morality, you automatically want to pass laws against immoral activity. This distinction genuinely confuses some, while others deliberately blur the lines. Put simply: some activities that should be legal should also be socially stigmatized.
Promiscuity is a great example. Very few people want to turn the sin of fornication into a crime, but that doesn't make the sin of fornication socially acceptable. Individuals who repeatedly engage in this activity can pay a social price without facing jail time.
Racism is another great example; stigmatizing (real) racists solves the existing problem whereas laws mandating affirmative action and 'non-discrimination' create new problems.
This is a distinction many libertarians miss. Limited government does not require acceptance of every perverted idea man can devise. If you are serious about reducing the size, scope, power, and spending of government, then restoring social sanctions is a precondition.
No society can survive absent external restrictions on the activities of individual members. Law is a blunt instrument that invites unintended consequences, and should be used sparingly. Social stigma, on the other hand, enforces societal morality in a way that allows us to preserve daily life without becoming a police state.
"He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." Proverbs 25:28
As I survey the wreckage of this past election, one trait stands out: discipline and its role in delayed gratification. America's population has become less disciplined over the past 50 years. Lack of discipline helps explain the current crisis.
Discipline links our fiscal problems with our culture. Successful societies delay gratification, which requires discipline. Over the past 50 years, America has shifted from a culture of delayed to instant gratification.
Discipline also helps explain our economic problems. Our culture of instant gratification was a primary driver of the 2008 financial market crisis. You can observe a similar phenomenon in the explosion of consumer debt the past few decades.
Personal success requires discipline and delayed gratification. Societies that esteem these traits flourish. Unfortunately, the United States in 2012 no longer seems to value either.
While Economic policy is our primary concern at the state level, another aspect of David Simpson's record deserves commendation. In 2011, during the 82nd Texas Legislature, David Simpson led the charge to prohibit TSA groping in Texas' airports. Unfortunately, that effort failed, but any effort to push back against Washington is welcome in Texas.
For these reasons, following Bryan Hughes' lead, Cahnman's Musings unconditionally shifts our endorsement in the Texas House Speaker's race to David Simpson.
Heading into 2013 and year 5 of the Obama regime, I expect a regulatory attack on Texas that makes what we've seen so far look like child's play; this classic Beck clip explains Washington's m.o.:
Texas Public Policy Foundation has more information here.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again during the 83rd Texas Legislature, if you want big government and Obama's entitlement culture, MOVE TO CALIFORNIA:
We live in a twisted, truncated, culture in a weird world.
The Bible only supports a Husband/Wife family.
"What I'm preaching on today is counter to the President of the United States."
In every organization there must be leadership and followership; God created nuclear families so that someone would give leadership and others would follow.
When the Bible says submission, it does not mean inferiority.
The Bible uses the family as a mirror of the Godhead.
Heading into the 83rd Texas Legislature, one of my core messages is that if you want big government and Obama's entitlement culture, move to California; Chuck DeVore explains why:
Highlights:
California continues to destroy it's tax base.
One-third of all welfare recipients in America are in California.
California is Obama's vision for America writ large.
"He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab...did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the Kings of Israel before him." 1 Kings 16:32-33
Purging God is never described as such. It's usually called "setting aside 'social issues' " to "focus on the economy." But make no mistake, "setting aside social issues" is a euphemism for purging God.
The root cause of America's current crisis is that, after our founding as a God-fearing nation, we turned our back on God in the 1960's. It's why we're broke. It's why our families are falling apart. Heck, it explains why we can't go six weeks without some nut shooting a bunch of people. This blog post isn't a step-by-step history lesson (two examples: here and here), but a warning of peril ahead.
I've written recently about why conservatives need to seek God on a personal level. That's step one, but we also need to honor Him in our social institutions. America needs God in more social institutions, not fewer.
Bad things happen to nations that turn their back on God; choose carefully Republicans.
It's been said that Great Britain today is a preview of the United States in ten years. On that note, this video on the direct economic costs to Great Britian from their culture of promiscuity (a topic I've touched on in America here and here) should be an eye opener to every self-described fiscal conservative in America:
Highlights:
STD rates are up 74% in Great Britain in the past decade.
US: 19 million new cases of STD's each year at a direct cost to taxpayers of $17 billion.
96% of all abortions in the United Kingdom are state-subsidized.
Welfare costs for single parents in the United Kingdom are the same amount as the interest on their national debt.
"Sin begets sin and eventually a downward spiral of moral entropy takes hold." Amen to that.
100 BILLION pounds in the U.K. is the direct financial costs to the government from various forms of sexual immorality.
Bear in mind, this video only discusses measurable financial costs; NOT the opportunity cost of the time all these people spend treating their STD's instead of engaging in productive activity.
Social decay is very expensive. This is why you cannot separate economic and 'social' issues. It's also why America desperately needs a Sexual Counterrevolution.
Javon Belcher's actions were inexcusable and Javon Belcher alone is responsible for Javon Belcher's actions. Growing up without a father, however, couldn't have helped. It certainly makes more sense than blaming guns.
If there's one lesson we've learned the hard way this past year, it's how malinformed, narcisscistic, and flat-out stupid, the American people have allowed themselves to become; who better reflects this pathetic reality than Fluke?!?
Fluke convinced a critical mass of the electorate to vote for subsidized orgasms. That's not good, but it is an accomplishment. It obviously worked.
I diagnosed the core problem here. My proposed solution is here. For now, however, Sandra Fluke for Person of the Year strikes me as a sadly appropriate snapshot of America in 2012.
Update: At least keeping Fluke in the news is a good for a laugh at the expense of Angry Liberals. Update II: As I'm writing this, there's a spoiled child screaming in the background whose demands were just appeased by his parents.
