Recently I talked with someone who would love Ayn Rand’s prophetic dystopian classic, Atlas Shrugged, but she was daunted by its immense size. That’s unfortunate, and it made me want to do this as a teaser to invite people in. By no means is this a “condensed” summary of the novel, but it is a [...]
Archive for February, 2011
The Atlas Shrugged Quote Book
Posted in Language and Literature, Politics and Society, tagged Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, libertarian, politics, quotes on February 28, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Square Fairness Pegs and Round Reality Holes
Posted in Education, Politics and Society, tagged homework, make up work, personal responsibility, school, truancy on February 28, 2011 | 3 Comments »
I know of a student who’s been enrolled in a high school class since January, but who has never showed up to class. Perhaps he had moved, but had not officially withdrawn, leaving the school to do so after he’d been gone long enough. This happens all the time. Last week, the office asked his teachers to confirm [...]
Ungrammatical School District Email
Posted in Humor, Language and Literature, tagged CCSD, language on February 28, 2011 | 1 Comment »
My employer, the Clark County School District, recently set up an online system for accessing certain private financial information electronically. As a security measure, the system automatically sends you a notice when the account is accessed. However, I found it disconcerting when I received the following message in my inbox: This is an automated message [...]
The Problem With Throwing Money at Problems
Posted in Politics and Society, tagged economy, liberalism, money, politics, spending on February 22, 2011 | 8 Comments »
There’s a dangerous floodgate opened when liberals say that throwing money at a problem will solve it. If liberals say that spending more money on something–like health, education, or the economy–will improve it, then it follows that you should spend as much money on it as possible. After all, if graduation rates or test scores [...]
Students Cheating On Me
Posted in Education, tagged cheating, personal responsibility, school, teaching on February 22, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Once again, for about the umpteenth time this year, I find myself having to deal with students I’ve caught cheating in my class. It makes me angry, it makes me discouraged, and it makes me feel…cheap. Yes, cheap. Like I’ve been used. Like it wasn’t just my test but me, personally, who was cheated on. [...]
Executive Unions
Posted in Humor, Politics and Society, tagged Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, personal responsibility, unions on February 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s how we could make Atlas Shrugged really happen: if the workers of America get to unionize so they can push around the leaders, why don’t the leaders unionize and (pardon the pun) show the employees who’s boss? Every executive, manager, business owner, innovator, and inventor in the country could join this national union, and [...]
Why Atheists Should Respect the Idea of “One True Church”
Posted in Religion, tagged atheism, Book of Mormon, faith, LDS Church, logic, reason, testimony on February 20, 2011 | 10 Comments »
I read something recently where someone railed against the idea of any church claiming to be “true,” because it could only lead to pride and persecution. I’m sure such has been the case at times, where some person or group has let their claims to truth give them license to alienate or oppress those on the [...]
My New Mormon.org Profile!
Posted in Religion, tagged LDS Church, missionary work, mormon.org, testimony on February 20, 2011 | 3 Comments »
I finished writing my profile for Mormon.org in December, but it took forever for it to get reviewed, I guess. After a couple of weeks, I emailed the Church and asked about it, and a couple of weeks later, they replied that the review process was lengthy, and they were backlogged. At any rate, they [...]
Some Thoughts on Feminists and Mormonism
Posted in Religion, tagged feminism, LDS Church, Millennial Star on February 20, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Last month there was a fascinating exchange of ideas over at Millennial Star about the hype surrounding a resurgence of interest in feminism among some Latter-day Saints. Eventually, the comments were closed, as they were becoming acrimonious. My only contribution to that thread was a sarcastic jab, so here are some of the more substantial thoughts that [...]
Why Mormon Bibles Don’t Have the Words of Christ in Red
Posted in Humor, Religion, tagged Bible, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, LDS Church on February 20, 2011 | 2 Comments »
It’s not unusual for Bibles produced for general Christian audiences, and especially evangelical Bibles, to have the words spoken by Jesus Christ printed in red ink, to highlight them. While this is a clever and reverent way of drawing attention to the most important aspects of a very long text, there’s a good reason why [...]
The Sermon on the Mount and the Temple Endowment
Posted in Religion, tagged Bible, Book of Mormon, discipleship, FARMS, John W. Welch, Sermon on the Mount, temple on February 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This week’s gospel doctrine lesson for Sunday School is about the Sermon on the Mount. Discussing this magnificent discourse always reminds me of one of the most powerful experiences I’ve ever had in studying the scriptures. I once came across a video on the FARMS web site where John W. Welch discussed his research into [...]
Whom Should Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Send After the Truant Senate Democrats?
Posted in Humor, Politics and Society, tagged Boba Fett, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Star Wars, Tommy Lee Jones, Wisconsin on February 19, 2011 | 2 Comments »
When it came time for the vote on the controversial bill that Wisconsin’s teachers are ditching work to protest, it was stalled because the Democrats in the state senate–all of them–got on a bus and ran away, out of state. The governor has dispatched the state troopers to find them, but I don’t think that’s [...]
Teachers’ Cars
Posted in Education, Politics and Society, tagged teachers on February 19, 2011 | 2 Comments »
It’s a cliché that teachers don’t get paid enough and that everybody should commiserate with us about it, but I’ve never bought that. First of all, we chose this job, knowing full well what we were getting into. Second, how many teachers do you know who are living off of food stamps or sleeping in [...]
Educational Priorities in Wisconsin
Posted in Education, Politics and Society, tagged Wisconsin on February 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
From a Wisconsin columnist who thinks the spoiled teacher protests there could be a good moment to indoctrinate young people about social justice: For some families, when your child’s teacher takes off for a protest in Madison, it can seem like a wasted day…. Students who wondered where their teachers were last week should be [...]
The Hypocrisy of Bleeding Heart Teachers
Posted in Education, Politics and Society, tagged Governor Scott Walker, indoctrination, priorities, teachers, unions, Wisconsin on February 19, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I’m talking to you, Wisconsin. I bet the union thugs shutting down learning in Wisconsin, taking students out of school for political reasons the kids don’t even understand and sabotaging the process of education, are the same teachers who usually claim to “love” their students, being extra kind to them and making sure that class [...]
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