Evangelical Endorsement Update 12/07/07

Presidential candidate endorsements from evangelical leaders in the news, as of Friday December 7, 2007:

For Rudy Giuliani:
Pat Robertson (Founder, Christian Broadcasting Network)

For Mitt Romney:
Paul Weyrich, (Co-founder, The Moral Majority)
Dr. Bob Jones III (Former president, Bob Jones University)
Dr. John Willke (Founder, National Right To Life)
Jay Sekulow (American Center for Law and Justice)
Mark DeMoss (Political strategist)
Dr. Wayne Grudem (Professor of Biblical Research and Theology, Phoenix Seminary)
Hugh Hewitt (Political commentator)

For Fred Thompson:
National Right To Life Committee
West Virginians for Life
Rhode Island Right to Life Committee

For John McCain:
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)

For Mike Huckabee:
Dr. Daniel Akin (President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Randy Alcorn (Author, founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries)
Dr. Mark Bailey (President, Dallas Theological Seminary)
Phil Burress (President, Citizens for Community Values)
Rev. Keith Butler (Founding Pastor, Word of Faith International Christian Center Church)
Jerry Cox (President, Arkansas Family Council)
Rev. Jimmy Draper (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Jerry Falwell Jr. (Chancellor, Liberty University)
Michael Farris (Founder, Home School Legal Defense Association)
Dr. Ronnie Floyd (Former Chair, Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention)
Janet Folger (President, Faith2Action)
Dr. Joe Fuiten (Founder, Positive Christian Agenda)
Georgia Right To Life PAC
Rev. Jack Graham (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Bishop John Gimenez (International Overseer, Rock Ministerial Family)
Pastor Anne Gimenez (Co-founder and pastor of Rock Church, Virginia Beach, VA)
Thomas Glessner (Founder/President, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates)
Michael Heath (Executive Director, Christian Civic League of Maine)
Home School Legal Defense Association PAC
Dr. Jerry Jenkins (Co-author, Left Behind series)
Dr. Billy McCormack (Founding National Board Member, Christian Coalition)
William J. Murray (Chair, Religious Freedom Coalition)
Star Parker (Founder and president of CURE)
Jim Pfaff (President and CEO, Colorado Family Action)
Rick Scarborough (Founder and President, Vision America)
Kelly Shackelford (Chief Counsel, Liberty Legal Institute)
Mathew Staver (Dean, Liberty University Law School)
Dr. Jay Strack (President/ Founder, Student Leadership University)
Stephen Strang (Founder, Charisma magazine)
Karen Testerman (Founder and Executive Director, Cornerstone Policy Research)
Rev. Jerry Vines (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Rev. Donald Wildmon (President, American Family Association)

Endorsement Watch 12/04/07

Mention made in this story that Mark DeMoss has endorsed Mitt Romney.

Mark DeMoss, a strategist for evangelicals who strongly endorsed Romney in an October letter to conservative leaders, said he believes the speech will help, and said he still believes born-again Christians would overwhelmingly favor Romney over Giuliani, who remains more liberal on social issues.

“Let’s say by late January or Feb. 6, it’s clearly a race between him and Giuliani,” DeMoss said. “I think there would a tidal wave of evangelical support to Mitt Romney, including countless numbers of evangelicals who would have told you before they weren’t comfortable voting for a Mormon. Suddenly, they’d be very comfortable.”

Another endorsement I just located: Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, for Romney.

Kitchen dialog

My eldest son, getting ice: "Why are there blue jeans in the freezer?"

Me: "Because somebody gave Seth chewing gum."

A parent will immediately understand.

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

For those who don't, the explanation was that someone in the van gave Seth some chewing gum, with which he tried (unsuccessfully) to blow a bubble, which resulted instead in blowing the whole wad out of his mouth, which then was lost from view (Me: "How do you lose chewing gum?") until long after he was home and noticed this odd accretion about ankle-high on his new blue jeans. Heloise says freeze it, ipso facto giving gum to a seven-year-old results in blue jeans in the freezer compartment. Makes perfect sense.

UPDATE: They never got really stiff like I expected, but the gum did get tough enough to scrape off with a kitchen knife.

Think really big Venus flytraps

From WRAL.com today:

Detectives to Hunt, Kill Deer Eating Flowers

UPDATE: The family is making a punctuation exercise out of this headline.

Detectives to Hunt, Kill Deer-Eating Flowers

Detectives to Hunt Killdeer Eating Flowers

Detectives to Hunt, Kill Deer, Eating Flowers

No one is asking why criminal investigators are hunting deer anyway. Our azaleas (thought to be victims of said deer) weren't that valuable, really.

Fat Envelopes

It's been a while since I applied to college, and I had forgotten the popular rule of thumb - fat envelopes carry acceptance letters, thin ones are rejections. Now I have an impending high school graduate, and fat envelopes are arriving. Today he got his acceptance from my alma mater, Clemson, and a waiver of out-of-state tuition and $2000 on top of that. Very nice.

Campbell University's came yesterday; they have rolling admissions so we weren't surprised to hear from them this soon. Clemson's early reply was a pleasant and unexpected welcome to December, though.

Presidential Candidates on Homeschooling

First and foremost, this is not a federal issue. I took issue with Rudy Giuliani earlier this year because he dwelt on educational solutions which he supported as mayor but which are not proper distribution of powers if carried on at the federal level. In this, I have to agree somewhat in principle with my liberal/libertarian counterparts in the homeschooling movement who bristle at any federal mention of home education for good or for ill. It's not the federal government's business. (I use italics, somewhat, because I also agree somewhat with HSLDA's position, that if the federal government is going to involve itself in this issue, at least let's make sure they are not undermining or denegrating homeschoolers in the process.)

However, a candidate's statements relating to homeschooling can indicate their commitment to federalism, individual liberty, and parental rights issues. It also shows who they're listening to, and whose support they are actively pursuing. In this case, even if the best thing they can do for homeschoolers is leave them alone, it is worth asking what their administration's position would be.

Fred Thompson includes homeschooling in his white paper on education. He says he intends to "Give parents the ability to choose the best setting situation to meet the needs of their children--whether in a public, private, religious, home or charter school setting." He supports vouchers and tax credits as a means to give parents that ability. While he doesn't say so explicitly, it might be assumed these programs would include homeschoolers. In another place (s.v. "Education") he supports "empowering parents by promoting voucher programs, charter schools, and other innovations that enhance education excellence through competition and choice". Would this include virtual school programs? Probably, though not mentioned here.

Overall, his statements on education call for reducing the federal government's involvement in education while promoting parental choice, local control of schools, and increased accountability for any funding decisions -- both in awarding funding, and in the results obtained from it.

Mike Huckabee is the only Republican candidate who spoke to the National Education Association convention this year and told them his children attended public schools from grades 1 to 12. That said, Huckabee picked up the enthusiastic endorsement of Home School Legal Defense Association's PAC early in the campaign; HSLDA's founder and chairman Michael Farris has actively campaigned for Huckabee in Iowa and is a founding member of his Faith and Family Values Coalition.

Huckabee says on his website "I have been a strong, consistent supporter of the rights of parents to home school their children, of creating more charter schools, and of public school choice. ... As Governor, I fought hard for more charter schools, with their strong parental involvement and their unique ability to serve as laboratories for education reform, and for the rights of parents to home school their children."

Arkansas' homeschool law (HSLDA summary here) is similar to North Carolina's in some respects. Parents file a notice of intent, not an application for permission; while testing is required, there are no rules about minimum acceptable scores. Record keeping is actually less in Arkansas, since there is not a requirement to keep attendance nor a records inspection clause. On the other hand, standardized testing must utilize the state's achievement tests (provided at no cost), and the NOI requires not only children's names but also the curriculum planned and parents' qualifications to teach ("for statistical purposes only"). The NOI is submitted to local public school officials, who may choose to waive certain requirements and deadlines.

There was a sharp reaction in some circles to HSLDA's early endorsement, such as several postings on a grassroots blog promoting Duncan Hunter, suggesting that Huckabee's interest in homeschooling is purely political. Well, maybe that's no surprise, if true.

Mitt Romney specifically proposes a federal homeschooling tax credit in his position statement. "Governor Romney believes that parents who want to home school their kids should be able to do so. To help them, he will provide a tax credit to help defray the educational expenses of parents who home school their kids." He recently promoted the idea campaigning in South Carolina.

This support is in addition to his position that "when parents and kids are free to choose their school, everyone benefits. That's because competition and choice in educational opportunities – whether it comes from private schools, charter schools, or home schooling – makes traditional public schools better and improves the quality of education for all of America's kids." (Link)

Rudy Giuliani website seems sketchy on details, at least when it comes to education. He states strongly a preference to follow the wishes of parents over school bureaucrats. He supports "empowering parents"

John McCain says nearly nothing about education policy on his 2008 campaign website. In the 2000 campaign he proposed a voucher program. UPDATE 6/10/08: His website says a lot about educational choice now, and homeschooling is specifically supported. See my post elsewhere in this blog for details.


On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton established her legal reputation as a child advocate, and on the "Issues" section on her website, education is subsumed under "Supporting Parents and Caring For Children". She would support programs to train and support new parents to help them give developmental help to their children; whether this would include homeschooling is debateable but not unthinkable. There is no mention here of parental rights or educational choice.

Clinton proposes federal matching funds to provide pre-kindergarten programs. "As President, I will establish universal pre-kindergarten education through a federal-state partnership, based on state flexibility that ensures every four-year-old child in America has access to a high-quality pre-kindergarten program." Education officials and teachers' unions are praising her call for "highly trained" teachers in programs for 4-year-olds. Her proposal is built to expand to younger ages as well, meaning federal funding for classes for three-year-olds and, perhaps, even younger children.

The only references to homeschooling on the Clinton website are occasional comments from supporters in the blog and forum sections. However, the expansion of federal programs for new parents and educational programs for children four and under does not augur well for the freedom of individual choice and responsibility represented by homeschooling.


=====

I plan to update this section as time and announcements permit. One other resource with numerous historical positions and quotations from candidates on educational issues appears on the website, On The Issues.

Endorsement Watch 11/30/07

Breaking the recent string of Right-To-Life endorsements for Fred Thompson, today Mike Huckabee picked up the Georgia Right To Life PAC, which called him "the only candidate which qualified ... [based on] the positions of the candidates on the life issues, their records on the life issues and their ability to win."

Endorsement Watch 11/28/07

Well, that was quick. Jerry Falwell Jr. has endorsed Mike Huckabee.

Also this week, Huckabee announced the formation of the Faith and Family Values Coalition, which includes a number of evangelical leaders in its starting line up.

While Giuliani's endorsement from Pat Robertson has dominated the discussion for two weeks, seconded by Thompson's collection of right to life endorsements, Huckabee is gathering quite a list of supporters, and not all of them fellow Baptists, either.


New names coming with this announcement:


Randy Alcorn, author and Founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries
Dr. Mark Bailey, President of Dallas Theological Seminary
Phil Burress, President of Citizens for Community Values
Rev. Keith Butler, Founding Pastor of Word of Faith International Christian Center Church
Jerry Cox, President of Arkansas Family Council
Michael Farris, Chair of Home School Legal Defense Association
Dr. Ronnie Floyd, Former Chair, Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention
Janet Folger, President of Faith2Action
Dr. Joe Fuiten, Founder of Positive Christian Agenda
Bishop John Gimenez, International Overseer of Rock Ministerial Family
Pastor Anne Gimenez, Co-founder and pastor of Rock Church, Virginia Beach, VA
Thomas Glessner, Founder/President of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
Michael Heath, Executive Director of Christian Civic League of Maine
Dr. Jerry Jenkins, co-author of the Left Behind series
Dr. Billy McCormack, Founding National Board Member of Christian Coalition
William J. Murray, Chair of Religious Freedom Coalition
Star Parker, Founder and president of CURE
Jim Pfaff, President and CEO of the Colorado Family Action
Rick Scarborough, Founder and President of Vision America
Kelly Shackelford, Chief Counsel, Liberty Legal Institute
Mathew Staver, Dean of Liberty University Law School
Dr. Jay Strack, President/ Founder of Student Leadership University
Karen Testerman, Founder and Executive Director of the Cornerstone Policy Research

Endorsement Watch 11/27/07

West Virginians for Life endorsed Fred Thompson today, according to his press release on Christian News Wire.

The Providence (RI) reports that the Rhode Island Right to Life Committee has also given their nod to Thompson:

Rita Parquette, executive director of the Rhode Island chapter, explained the local chapter’s choice this way in a statement late last week: “Fred Thompson has had a strong, consistent pro-life record throughout his political career. Thompson opposes abortion and believes the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision was wrongly decided and must be reversed.”

Evangelical Endorsements So Far:

There is also a reference in this article to Michael Farris of HSLDA campaigning for Huckabee in Iowa. I'll count this as an endorsement.

For Rudy Giuliani:
Pat Robertson (Founder, Christian Broadcasting Network)

For Mitt Romney:
Paul Weyrich, (Co-founder, The Moral Majority)
Dr. Bob Jones III (Former president, Bob Jones University)
Dr. John Willke (Founder, National Right To Life)

For Fred Thompson:
National Right To Life Committee
West Virginians for Life
Rhode Island Right to Life Committee

For John McCain:
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)

For Mike Huckabee:
Home School Legal Defense Association PAC
Rev. Donald Wildmon (President, American Family Association)
Rev. Jerry Vines (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Rev. Jimmy Draper (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Rev. Jack Graham (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Stephen Strang (Founder, Charisma magazine)
Dr. Daniel Akin (President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)

Endorsement Watch - 11/25/07

Another quiet week in the evangelical circle, at least as far as presidential endorsements went.

World Net Daily's Bill Press says that Mike Huckabee has been endorsed by author Tim Lahaye, which may not be the best news to get:

Huckabee's only evangelical endorsement comes from Tim LaHaye, co-author of the "Left Behind" novels – which may be the appropriate title for Huckabee's campaign.

Press is wrong, since American Family Association's Don Wildmon has already endorsed Huckabee. But I won't add Lahaye to the list until I get another news reference, though.

Jerry Falwell Jr., son of the Jerry Falwell, was featured in the Lynchburg, Va., News & Advance yesterday, which reported that ...

... Although Falwell Jr. hasn’t been as politically involved as his father, he plans to continue bringing national political speakers to the school. “Convocation is meant to be a forum for business, political and religious leaders to speak - that will always be part of the convocation here,” he said.

Even in the midst of an interview two weeks ago, he got a call from Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Falwell Jr. has not decided whether to endorse a presidential candidate, he said.

In September, Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes spoke at [Liberty University]. That was about a month after Falwell Jr. began his first semester as
chancellor of Liberty ...

And in older news, Huckabee's campaign website links to a video where author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar comes out for Huckabee.

The One That Matters

Clemson 23
USC 21

Field goal on the last play of the game put them over the top.

ENTIRELY too close for comfort, if you ask me.

A Song for Thanksgiving

My favorite setting of Psalm 146 -- it's [all in here]

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah,
O my soul, Jehovah praise; [1]
I will sing the glorious praises
Of my God through all my days. [2]
Put no confidence in princes,
Nor for help on man depend; [3]
He shall die, to dust returning,
And his purposes shall end. [4]

Happy is the man that chooses
Israel's God to be his aid;
He is blessed whose hope of blessing
On the Lord his God is stayed. [5]
Heaven and earth the Lord created,
Seas and all that they contain;
He delivers from oppression,
Righteousness he will maintain. [6]

Food he daily gives the hungry,
Sets the mourning prisoner free, [7]
Raises those bowed down with anguish,
Makes the sightless eyes to see.
Well Jehovah loves the righteous, [8]
And the stranger he befriends,
Helps the fatherless and widow,
Judgment on the wicked sends. [9]

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah,
O my soul, Jehovah praise;
I will sing the glorious praises
Of my God through all my days.
Over all God reigns for ever,
Through all ages he is king;
Unto him, thy God, O Zion,
Joyful hallelujahs sing! [10]

-- Trinity Hymnbook No. 53

NOTE 11/23: I had connection issues yesterday so I backdated this post to place it on Thanksgiving Day, where it should be!

August 1914

I just finished Solzhenitsyn's World War I novel August 1914 - the earlier version, with just six hundred pages or so. I read that once he was in the U.S. he wrote a revision with some three hundred additional pages. Presumably this included the "Chapter 22 withheld at the request of the author", but I don't forsee going back to seek it out now. I stuffed it in my computer bag on the way out the door on business last week, and ended up reading it for bedtime and traveling (having finished my two library books, a biography of James K. Polk and a new study of the lives and friendship of Washington and Lafayette).

Offhand I would describe this as Dostoyevski Meets Hemingway -- a readable twentieth-century war story featuring a million characters with unpronounceable names and a sense of inevitable doom hanging over the whole. Well-written, interesting, but very long.

Sacred Harp

This is a great movie trailer from a documentary about "Sacred Harp" singing:



Great line in the trailer: "At one point he said, 'Do you want to sound like a bunch of untutored Southerners?' and everybody said, 'Yes!'"

More music at the movie's website, Awake My Soul

Endorsement Watch 11-13-07

As previewed yesterday, the National Right to Life Committee endorsed Fred Thompson for president today, reports CNN this afternoon.

The organization's executive director David O'Steen said that in spite of variation in polling results, "the overwhelming consensus has been that he is best positioned to top pro-abortion candidate Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination ... and also, looking at polls against the likely Democrats, he is well-positioned, and we believe [he is] best positioned, to win the presidency of the United States for unborn children."

My take on it: This is a critical endorsement for Thompson, who has an excellent voting record on pro-life issues but has taken flak because of a principled stand that is unpopular among some Republicans -- opposing a Constitutional amendment outlawing abortion, not because he's soft on abortion but because he believes it should be decided by the states (as it was before Roe v. Wade).

Also, Baptist Press reports that three former presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention have endorsed Mike Huckabee.

James (Jimmy) T. Draper Jr., Jack Graham and Jerry
Vines all said they were supporting Huckabee, a fellow Southern Baptist and former president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Draper and Vines served as president of the SBC during the 1980s and played key roles in returning the denomination to its orthodox roots. Graham served as president of the SBC from 2003-05.

My take on this one: Interestingly enough this didn't pick up in my news scrape yesterday. None of these men is a lightning rod like Robertson, Wildmon, or Dobson, but you don't get elected to lead the SBC without long and solid conservative and evangelical credentials; why didn't the mainstream media seem to notice this announcement?

For perspective, membership in the Southern Baptist Convention is over 16 million, which is more than the population of any state except California, Texas, New York, or Florida (and exceeds the combined population of the fourteen smaller states). Don't forget, too, that doesn't count young children in most cases. It's nothing to sneeze at.

A few more interesting endorsements highlighted in the Baptist Press article -- Stephen Strang of Charisma magazine, and Dr. Daniel Akins of our own Southeast Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest.

Evangelical Endorsements So Far:

For Rudy Giuliani:
Pat Robertson (Founder, Christian Broadcasting Network)

For Mitt Romney:
Paul Weyrich, (Co-founder, The Moral Majority)
Dr. Bob Jones III (Former president, Bob Jones University)
Dr. John Willke (Founder, National Right To Life)

For Fred Thompson:
National Right To Life Committee

For John McCain:
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)

For Mike Huckabee:
Home School Legal Defense Association PAC
Rev. Donald Wildmon (President, American Family Association)
Rev. Jerry Vines (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Rev. Jimmy Draper (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Rev. Jack Graham (Former president, Southern Baptist Convention)
Stephen Strang (Founder, Charisma magazine)
Dr. Daniel Akin (President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)

Endorsement Watch 11-12-07

CNN reports that Fred Thompson will pick up an endorsement from the National Right To Life Committee tomorrow. Three GOP sources told them so, they say.

The New York Times website mentions that NRTL's founder Dr. John Willke has already endorsed Mitt Romney, though.

Stay tuned ... I'll tally tomorrow

Class at Clemson

Clemson has a old tradition of preaching a funeral over a dead rooster before the Carolina game. In memory of the six USC students who died in a beach house fire October 28, Clemson students are not going to do the funeral nor burn the Gamecock in effigy this year. WLTX (channel 19 in Columbia, SC) reports:

In place of 'Big Thursday,' the school will hold what they're calling a "Fowl Fest" at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 15. The event will be held on the lawn of the school president's home.

School officials said they felt that something different would be more appropriate this year.

“After hearing the news of everything that happened, and especially being at the vigil that brought so many people together to mourn, the decision was obvious,” said Anastasia Thyroff, a senior marketing major from Pittsford, N.Y., and co-chair of Fowl Fest in a written release. “During this time of grieving, there needs to be a time of celebration, not a time of rivalry. We look forward to having the traditional Big Thursday come back next year, but this year was definitely not the right time.”

The event is called 'Fowl Fest' because both of Clemson's final opponents, Boston College and USC, feature bird mascots.

Good decision, Tigers. Don't sheath any claws on the football field, of course, but fires and funerals aren't funny this year.

UPDATE 11/13/07: Carolina cancels "Tiger Burn" too

I'm relieved to see the students at USC came to the same conclusion as Clemson. Frankly, WLTX's story yesterday didn't do them any favors, but today brought the right response: credit where credit is due. I'll even be nice and write it in their school color, too.

A Word in Season, from Isaac Watts

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow'r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain.
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

Another Perspective on Robertson's Nod

American Thinker has a symposium of opinions on Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Guiliani. The best comes from Greg Neumayr of Catholic World Report -- he's not surprised, because Robertson has already turned down a dead end road followed by political Catholics years ago:

Unlike Jerry Falwell who didn't bother to play such games, Robertson had a weakness for the Big Tent babble that made the rise of the Schwarzeneggers and Giulianis inevitable. ...

... This approach was the Christian Republican equivalent of the liberal U.S. Catholic bishops' ill-fated Seamless Garment theory in the 1980s which treated abortion as just one among many concerns.

And it has proven just as "successful." The Seamless Garment theory helped elect pro-abortion Catholic Democrats; now the Robertson/Reed version of it helps elect pro-abortion Republican ones.

If anything, history shows that the "narrowly defined doctrial purity" of the Moral Majority packs much more of a political punch than the muddled Christian Coalition message. Falwell helped elect Ronald Reagan; Robertson has reduced himself to a PR tool for an obvious cultural liberal who wouldn't dare appear with him on stage if he didn't serve the temporary purpose of head-faking Christian conservatives.

RTWT

More Time Isn't Always Better

Report: Longer Class Time Doesn’t Guarantee Results

By HAL YOUNG - Contributing Editor

Carolina Journal (November 2007, p. 11)

RALEIGH -- In a move to add instructional time to the school day, a high school in Bergen County, N.J., recently scheduled nearly 1,000 students to share a single lunch period in a cafeteria built for 300. News reports showing students eating lunch on the cafeteria floor — and a microbiologist’s analysis of the cleanliness of the floor — brought about a change in seating accommodations, but not the schedule.

It might be logical that extending the number of classroom hours allows teachers to present more comprehensive lessons and deepen the learning experience. Many students in other states and overseas spend more time in class than North Carolina’s, and Howard Lee, chairman of the State Board of Education, supports not only longer school days but also longer school years.

However, research suggests that might not be the right move. A report by the John Locke Foundation’s Terry Stoops outlines proof that simply adding hours to the day doesn’t increase academic performance. Some nations with higher test scores actually spend fewer days in the classroom, a concept actually supported by Department of Public Instruction’s own internal
guidebooks, Stoops wrote.

Stoops’ report, “Better Instruction, Not More Time,” says that when student results on international tests are compared, the nations with the highest average scores are not always the ones with the greatest number of classroom hours.

In mathematics, for example, students in the United States average 169 instructional hours per year. In a study of 39 countries by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the nation with the highest math scores, China, spent 177 hours per year in math class, only 4.7 percent more than in the United States, but scored nearly 14 percent higher on the exam. On the other hand, the Netherlands, No. 4 on the list, spent 110 hours on math instruction each year, but scored more than 11 percent higher.

The United States ranked 27th out of 39 countries. U.S. students spent the equivalent of four weeks more than the global average time in math class, but ranked only barely ahead of the lowest fourth.

“Overall, there was no consistent relationship between in-school instructional time in mathematics and the countries’ average score,” Stoops wrote. “In fact, there is a slight decrease in math performance as instructional time increases.”

A study published by Pennsylvania State University found similar results in science, reading, and civics instruction. The researchers recommended that as long as scores were within international norms, “Do not waste resources in marginal increases in instructional time … If there is a choice between using resources to increase time versus improving teaching and the curriculum, give priority to the latter.”

Publications from the Department of Public Instruction acknowledge the need to focus on instructional quality over simple questions of seat time. DPI’s guide for implementing the Standard Course of Study, a pair of documents titled, The Balanced Curriculum, cautions, “extending the school day won’t necessarily help teachers deliver a balanced curriculum. Research has shown that it is how time is used verses [sic] the amount of time that students are in school that makes a difference.”

“It is important not to confuse time spent in school with learning,” the guide says. “Learning is complex and affected by a variety of factors. No notable research exists suggesting that extending time in school results in a direct increase in student learning.”

Stoops acknowledged that some successful schools do have a longer instructional day, such as those based on the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP). However, he said, the difference is what they do with the time.

“KIPP’s success has much more to do with their high-quality instruction and superior school climate than with the length of their school day. KIPP schools are able to fill their longer school day with highly effective instruction, whereas most public schools do not,” he said.

Programs such as KIPP demonstrate that “an extended school day and year may be well suited for students who could benefit from high-quality supplemental instruction,” Stoops wrote, but longer time “is not the panacea that advocates make it out to be.” Instead of imposing a blanket solution across the state’s entire school system, he recommends making longer, or shorter, school days available at different schools, and giving parents the option to place their children where the time would best be spent.

“Otherwise,” he said, “the measure becomes one in a long list of one-size-fits-all reforms that invariably fail to deliver on the promise of increasing student achievement.”

Endorsement Watch 11-09-07

Dr. James Dobson says no endorsement any time soon. This comes from his radio program he taped today for airing Monday.

A Great Line

In May 1785, the Society for Universal Harmony blew up.

James R. Gaines, For Liberty and Glory, p. 210

Read the book. Really, this is connected.

Endorsement Watch 11-08-07

The Associated Press story was almost too snarky to quote anything of length, but it confirmed the rumor in this morning's Washington Times:

[The Rev. Donald] Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association and a retired United Methodist minister in Tupelo, Miss., announced his support for the former Arkansas governor in a statement released by Huckabee's campaign. ...

"I feel that Governor Huckabee understands the needs of our country and has the ability to lead us in meeting those needs," said Wildmon, who added that his endorsement was personal and did not represent an official endorsement from the family association.

Other Endorsements:

For Rudy Giuliani:
Pat Robertson (Christian Broadcasting Network)

For Mitt Romney:
Paul Weyrich, (The Moral Majority, The Heritage Foundation, Free Congress Foundation)
Dr. Bob Jones III (Bob Jones University)

For John McCain:
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)

For Mike Huckabee:
Home School Legal Defense Association PAC

Still looking for Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Richard Land, Gary DeMar, Mark DeMoss, Franklin Graham, Phyllis Schlafly ... Stay tuned ...

Ju Jitsu in Congress

The local elections Tuesday overshadowed an interesting vote in Congress. Why were the Republicans in North Carolina's delegation* voting to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney?

Because Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) went around the committee process to introduce the bill, and by gum, the Republicans wanted to be sure the Democrats gave it a good, serious airing on the floor. Even when they desparately wanted it to go away.

The vote to kill Kucinch’s privileged resolution began as a largely party-line affair, but halfway through the vote, Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) persuaded Republican leaders to get rank-and-file GOP lawmakers to change their votes to force the debate.

At one point, the vote to table the motion stood at 246-165. Once Republicans began switching their votes, momentum swung the other way. When the vote stood at 205-206, some Democrats began switching their votes.

The vote to kill Kucinich’s resolution finally failed 162-251, giving Republicans the opportunity to watch Democrats debate whether to impeach Cheney — a debate in which many liberal Democrats were more than willing to engage. House Republicans clearly enjoyed watching Democratic leaders squirm during the series of votes, which lasted more than one hour. ... Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), accused Republicans of “wasting time.” (From The Hill - emphasis added)

HT: Rick Moran, American Thinker

---

* Except for Walter Jones (R-NC3)

Endorsement Watch

Today Pat Robertson announced his support for Rudy Giuliani for president, saying that

"The overriding issue before the American people, is the defense of our population against the bloodlust of Islamic terrorists ... Our world faces deadly peril...and we need a leader with a bold vision who is not afraid to tackle the challenges ahead."

Giuliani, who is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage, welcomed the endorsement; an aide said the mayor and Robertson "have shared goals despite some minor differences", according to Fox News.

My take: Robertson points out Giuliani's obvious strengths, but I don't know how he is dodging the other questions.

Meanwhile, ABC News and others ask if this is the end of the Religious Right voting bloc.

And on their Match-O-Matic quiz, they say Fred Thompson is my best candidate (8 of 11 questions agreed). Romney and Giuliani are tied (6 of 11).

Other Endorsements:

For Mitt Romney:
Paul Weyrich, (The Moral Majority, The Heritage Foundation, Free Congress Foundation)
Dr. Bob Jones III (Bob Jones University)

For John McCain:
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)

For Mike Huckabee:
Home School Legal Defense Association PAC

Where are Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Richard Land, Gary DeMar, Mark DeMoss, Franklin Graham, Phyllis Schlafly ? Stay tuned ...

When they came for the health and prosperity preachers ...

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has opened an investigation into the financial affairs of several ministries, notably those headed by Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, and Binney Hinn, along with three others.

I don't follow these teachers, and the parts I've seen make me very skeptical of their message on several fronts. However, if they are mainly "prosperity gospel" preachers, as Fox News characterized them, I would think that charges of lavish personal spending are hollow. If they teach that great personal wealth is a sign of God's favor, and then rise to a leading position in that sort of movement, what does anyone really expect them to do with donations to their ministries? Criticism at this point seems to be the equivalent of slamming a Roman Catholic monk for moving to a monastery after taking a vow of poverty; isn't he simply living out what he claims is right?

I simply can't imagine that anyone following such teaching would expect anything else, and yet they choose to give financial support to these ministries. The teaching isn't Biblical, but it's a particular group's religious expression, and while it may be unorthodox or even unpalatable, the government should keep hands off.

It reminded me of Martin Niemöller's famous statement about not speaking up for groups singled out for attack, simply because they were not obviously of one's own group. Christians of a more traditional evangelical stripe should beware of brushing this aside, because a government with the right to investigate or dictate in matters of religion is a very, very risky thing to have around.

Bearding the lion? Well, tweaking it some

Sen. Fred Smith spoke to the N.C. School Boards Association convention this week:

Smith kept to his business background by saying children are customers of the education system, adding that money should halt for programs that aren't working.

"We need to encourage vocational education," Smith said.

Murmurs spread through the audience after Smith suggested that home-schooled children should be able to participate in extracurricular activities at local public schools.

"My message stays the same," he said later, acknowledging that many crowd members weren't thrilled about the idea. "I'm not going to pander to any group."

I'm not anxious for extracurricular access; it would require the state to cajole or compel the N.C. High School Athletic Association to change its rules, for one thing, and NCHSAA is a private non-profit membership organization. There are several things wrong with the state stepping in like that.

Other extracurriculars like music programs, academic clubs, and the like, are up to the local districts or individual principals, which is probably the best alternative; while places like Raleigh and Charlotte usually have a wide range of programs particularly aimed at homeschoolers, there are places in the state where options aren't available. Frankly, I would guess that adding some interested homeschoolers (as well as private school students) into the program would strengthen some of the public school clubs, too, since those same counties are likely to have fewer alternatives or participants in their school system as well.

However, hats off to Sen. Smith for being willing to stand and say it not just in front of the media, but in a group that was very likely to be hostile.

Oh, and the suggestion of turning off the money tap ... didn't that draw a murmur or two? WRAL didn't mention it if it did.

Providence

There are many who say,
"Who will show us any good?"
LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

-- Psalm 4:6-8

Update: To be fair

I'm into day six of my experience in serious cross-cultural collegiality, and I probably need to say everyone has been really really nice about it. Everyone is trying to be very accommodating of everyone else, so we sometimes turn into a very indecisive group. ("Oh, anything's okay with me." "No, really, wherever you want is fine.") But we're doing fine. We managed to add two drivers on the rental car so there's at least the freedom to go somewhere if you need to -- not that anyone has, you know, it's just good to have the freedom.

One very helpful discovery is The Clay Pit, a restaurant owned by a Punjabi family in Murphfreesboro. It's too far to make it for lunch, but it's just right for supper, and we've been twice this week already. Everything is a la carte so we end up with everyone ordering an entree and we all share. Everything so far has been very good, and I think my Indian colleagues enjoy being the hosts, so to speak. I'm trying to go with their recommendations, since I don't know much at all about the names of these dishes (other than "curry" and "tandoori"). Here's what we've had so far:

Paneer pakora
Samosa chaat
Tandoori chicken
Paneer makhani
Daal makhani
Vagharelli daal
Chicken saag
Chicken biryani
Vegetable biryani
Na'an (with and without garlic)
Tandoori roti
and for dessert, gulab jasmun

We also had a yoghurt and mango milkshake called Lassi this evening

A nice break from salad bars for all of us.

The Value of Humility

Lafayette had two other qualities that recommended him to Washington and his fellow officers, qualities that were not often found in combination: a conscientious devotion to his success and reputation, and the willingness to acknowledge his limits and mistakes. ...

About a week after he met Washington, Lafayette [then only 19 years old] was invited to a review of the troops. There he saw what he later described as "eleven thousand men poorly armed and even more poorly clothed." Washington must have seen his army through Lafayette's eyes that day, because as they reviewed the troops together he said, "we should be embarrassed to show ourselves to an officer who has just left the French army." Lafayette later wrote that his response to this observation cemented their relationship. "I am here to learn," he told Washington, "not to teach."

James B. Gaines, For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2007), pp 69-70.

"Fearless"

Writing after the war, Confederate General G. W. Gordon said, "If the writer ever knew a man of which he could say, 'He was fearless', he thinks that man was Gen. Rains." Rains was the first commander of the 11th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, and Captain Samuel C. Godshall's superior 1861-1862.

Accepting a Confederate flag from the ladies of Nashville, then-Colonel Rains concluded his speech:

With a look at the sun and a prayer to the sky,
One glance at our banner that floats glorious on high,
Rush on as the young lion bounds on his prey;
Let the sword flash on high, fling the scabbard away,
Roll on like the thunder-bolt over the plain --
We'll come back in glory or we'll come not again! [1]

This remark was almost prescient, but he didn't allow that both could come true. Rains was later promoted to general and was killed leading his command, several hundred feet directly ahead of his old regiment, at the Battle of Murphreesboro (Stones River), December 31, 1862. He was close enough that the horse he was riding plunged into the Federal lines.

======

[1] Gen. G. W. Gordon, s.v. "Eleventh Tennessee Infantry", in John Berrien Lindsley, The Military Annals of Tennessee (Nashville: J. M. Lindsley & Co., 1886), p.296. Accessed 11/3/07 on Heritage Quest.

In other news tonight ...

RUSSIA BANS HALLOWEEN AS "CULT OF DEATH"

"It's not an attempt to block the celebration of this holiday completely, just in schools and colleges ...

"This is destructive for the minds and the spiritual and moral health of pupils," said Alexander Gavrilov, a spokesman for the Moscow school system.

Gavrilov said the ban had been recommended by psychiatrists.

REFORMATION DAY CELEBRATIONS

I hope to have some pictures from our church's first Reformation Day party this evening, but here is Dan Philips' post at Pyromaniacs on how his family marks the day. The comments are fun for the first 75 or so.

("Team Pyro", by the way, are a bunch of perfectly decent Reformed theological types, taking their name from Jeremiah 23:29, "'Is not My word like a fire?' says the Lord". Very good blog, and despite the name, not primarily flames ... well, expect for some of the commentors ... )

Up, up, and away

You simply, positively, never in this world could make this stuff up.

From the same article on Fox News -- all of it in one article. First, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)on the President's judgment:

"I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his mental health," Kucinich said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer. "There's something wrong. He does not seem to understand his words have real impact."

Shirley Maclaine's book, on Rep. Kucinich's visit to her home in the 1980s:

"He saw a gigantic triangular craft, silent and observing him," MacLaine wrote. It hovered for about 10 minutes or so and sped away with a speed he couldn't comprehend. He felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind."

Kucinich defending himself during the debate in Philadelphia:

... saying many Americans have shared his experience.

"You have to keep in mind that more — that Jimmy Carter saw a UFO* and also that more people in this country have seen UFOs than I think approve of George Bush's presidency," Kucinich said.

Debate moderator Tim Russert then cited a poll saying that 14 percent of Americans claim to have seen a UFO, to which Kucinich asked: "What as that percentage?"

"Fourteen," Russert answered.

"Thank you," Kucinich responded with satisfaction.

President Bush's approval rating stood at 35 percent in the most recent FOX News-Opinion Dynamics poll ...

SUMMARY: Dennis Kucinich flunks math but thinks George W. Bush has a screw loose. Meanwhile his friends say that Kucinich received telepathic directions from a flying saucer during the Reagan administration. And Kucinich wants to be our president.

What's seriously wrong with this picture? Is it that anyone takes him seriously at all?

-------
* And this is supposed to give credibility to his case? Fifty percent of living Democratic ex-presidents have seen UFOs?

On your way home this evening ...

... watch out for monks with hammers.

Where the grass really is greener

There is a land of pure delight
where saints immortal reign,
Infinite day excludes the night,
and pleasure banish pain;

Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
are dressed in living green
So to the Jews old Canaan stood,
while Jordan rolled between.

There everlasting spring abides
and never with'ring flow'rs;
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
that heavenly land from ours.

Yet tim'rous mortals start and shrink
to cross that narrow sea,
And linger, shiv'ring, on the brink,
too feared to launch away.

O could we make our doubts remove,
those gloomy doubts that rise,
And see the Canaan that we love
with unbeclouded eyes!

Could we but climb where Moses stood,
and view the landscape o'er,
Not Jordan's stream nor death's cold flood
could drive us from the shore!

-- Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

[Paragraphing and stanza orders follow William Billings' setting, "Jordan"]

What Do You Say ...

... when a school bus driver closes the door on a first-grader and drives off, dragging him down the street, in full view of his mother?

"I would hope he has an explanation for me when we meet," Superintendent Jim
McCormick said. "It's something that shouldn't have happened."

No, I don't think that's the message, sir.

RTWT here. The six-year-old is fine, the bus driver is charged with careless and reckless driving.

Two Solutions

No matter how sleepy or distracted the professor, when my son John Calvin told them he had spent the summer interning in China, the economists all sat up with light in their eyes. The country is in a tremendous transition from command economy to market capitalism, on a scale never before seen in a single nation, and it is fascinating to watch.

Forbes reports on one situation, two divergent views. What do economists think will address recent product quality issues in China?

Option 1: Regulation

Jeff Rosensweig, a professor of finance and Director of the Global Perspectives Program at Emory University's Goizueta Business School ... believes that much of the quality control issues can be attributed to the difficulty of regulating the vast number of people in China, which is four times the population of the U.S., and in spite of economic growth and changes, most of the country is still decentralized.

Option 2: Markets

Professor Marshall Meyer of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School ... believes that consumer interests will self regulate for liability, causing manufacturing quality to improve. "The Chinese government can try to enforce safety regulations, but the markets will do this more effectively."

Read the whole article for other interesting comments. I only note a couple of things -- one, that there is a lower limit to what the market will bear, even in overseas economies. There is truly a point where an item is simply too cheap. Some American retailers have already broken that floor, and they are finding the crawl space is not a comfortable place to be. This is a new angle on caveat emptor -- along the lines of "you get what you pay for".

The other observation is that, while the result of similar problems in American manufacturing was the Pure Food and Drug Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and other such regulatory creations, at the time Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle, the tolerance for low quality in consumer goods was very widespread -- the standard had not been raised yet. Now, though, I think there is a wider awareness of quality, whether in terms of wholesomeness, effectiveness, or consistency of workmanship, and with the globalized economy, there are more alternatives available. If one Asian manufacturer produces defective goods, there are dozens more who are willing to aim higher and capture his customers -- if, of course, the customers are not beating them down through the floorboards as well.

For my part, I side with Professor Meyer. The market is going to take care of it in Asia; it's up to us, though, to be sure we are willing to pay for the quality we expect.

"An Engine of Cultural Decline"

Disney. And the speakers can back this up.

Son John Calvin is attending the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival and its Film Academy this week, and Reuters picked up on Doug Philips' and Geoff Botkin's criticism of what Disney After Walt has become:

"What we really see is a decline in the ethics and standards of where (Walt) Disney was coming from," Academy founder Doug Phillips said. "We are making the case that there is a departure toward politically correct filmmaking that has a negative effect on family."

Disney did not respond to requests for comment.

John has a follow-up comment from Doug posted on his blog, Young Christian Filmmaker.

Everything's All Right

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
Holy his will abideth;
I will be still whate'er he doth;
And follow where he guideth:
He is my God:
Though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall:
Wherefore to him I leave it all.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path;
I know he will not leave me:
I take, content,
What he hath sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away,
And patiently I wait his day.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
Though now this cup, in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it, all unshrinking:
My God is true;
Each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet am I not forsaken;
My Father's care
Is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to him I leave it all.

-- The Trinity Hymnal, No. 94

Colleges and Homeschoolers

Last week The Chronicle of Higher Education last week featured an article on the growing supply of homeschoolers applying to college -- and the growing demand for them.

As recently as 20 years ago, home schooling was illegal in many states. Today its students are edging toward the mainstream — and are eyed by some colleges as a promising niche market. .... Years later, just about every college takes home-schoolers seriously, and admissions offices everywhere report increasing numbers of applications from them. In 2000, 52 percent of colleges had written policies, like Stanford's, to evaluate home-schooled candidates, according to a study by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. By 2004, 85 percent did.

Dr. Karen Palasek at the John Locke Foundation posted the notice on the original article from the subscription site, and Sharon Henderson at Spice-Line found a link to the text so the rest of us could read it.

The websites of the University of North Carolina, N.C. State, and Duke all say there are no additional requirements for homeschooled applicants. I haven't seen the policy for Wake Forest yet but they have an additional certification form for homeschoolers interested in financial aid - though it seems to recognize most homeschooling arrangements. Davidson and Meredith, though, warn applicants to expect additional testing - a requirement that was dropped by the UNC system nearly ten years ago after they were confronted by North Carolinians for Home Education - and the legislature - for unequal treatment.

Is the writing exam required? Yes, but ...

My story in the October Carolina Journal is top of the fold in the online edition today.

Colleges Assess Changes in SAT
Schools mixed in assessment of new Scholastic Assessment Test

By Hal Young
October 11, 2007

RALEIGH — The Scholastic Assessment Test has been a fixture in college admissions since the 1920s. The 2005 revision of the test eliminated the familiar analogies from the verbal section and increased the difficulty of reading selections and math problems to reflect heightened college entrance expectations.

The most significant change, though, was a new section to test writing skills, including a timed essay. Two years after the change, colleges in North Carolina are still divided on how to use the new writing scores, and many still expect their own essays from applicants.

An evolving standard

The SAT was developed in 1926 as a way to make college entrance exams more equitable nationwide. The College Board, which publishes the SAT, has updated the test several times as high school curricula and college requirements changed. The addition of a writing component had been in the works since the early 1990s, but implementation was delayed until technology was available to transmit the hundreds of thousands of handwritten essays to graders around the country.

Duke University was initially concerned whether the longer test might have an effect on student scores. The writing section lengthened the duration of the test from 150 minutes to well over three hours, and the typical Saturday morning SAT administration now lasts nearly four hours.

“There was not much research in the fatigue factor,” said Anne Sjostrom, associate director of undergraduate admissions at Duke University. “We wanted to be sensitive to that possibility.”

However, since the new section replaced a separate College Board writing test that Duke also required, Sjostrom said they did adopt the new scores quickly.

“We use it in much the same way that we used the SAT II subject test for writing,” she said. “There’s not a mathematical formula we plug into to determine whether a student is admitted to Duke. I don’t know of a case where that or any other score is the determining factor.”

Other colleges aren’t convinced yet. Heidi Fletcher, director of admissions at Meredith College, said the college is still collecting data from the new SAT. “We’re presently not using it for admissions decisions but we’re doing a lot of tracking on how freshmen do on English 111,” she said. “I love having some information on the writing skills of the students — if it’s accurate.”

Roger Jones, director of admissions for Belmont Abbey College, said “We’re taking a wait and see attitude. This is the first year it is has come into consideration at all.” Belmont Abbey only uses the score for “borderline cases,” he said, for applications that are designated for an admissions review committee.

Elon University, on the other hand, fully incorporated the SAT writing score into its admissions process this year. “Three years ago, when it was first announced, we said that we’d take two years and not use it for admissions or scholarship consideration. That’s exactly what we have done,” said Elon’s dean of admissions, Greg Zaiser. “What we tried to do was establish where students score who perform on the acceptable level for Elon admission.”

State schools are sending mixed signals. N.C. State’s website says, “NC State and all other public universities in North Carolina require scores for the writing section of the SAT or ACT” but counselors are telling students they are not using the scores for admissions.

The University of North Carolina goes further, saying UNC “will review writing scores and, in some cases, may choose to review the actual essay.” However, “At this point, we are not using the writing score for admissions decisions,” said Jennifer Cox Bell, an assistant admissions counselor. Does she foresee a change in policy? “I do not,” she said.

The SAT is still not enough

While schools place different emphases on the new SAT score, many still have their own essay requirements. UNC requires a separate essay, as does Duke. Many colleges have adopted the “Common Application” form, which was pioneered by Ivy League schools. This streamlines much of the process and includes another essay section as well.

Zaiser said the SAT’s writing test provides a different perspective than the application essay alone.

“It gives students an opportunity to show what they can do on a timed essay. On the personal essay, they can proofread it and make revisions,” he said. “By and large, we find that students who perform well at Elon also did well on the writing portion.”

Sjostrom said student GPAs at Duke correlate more closely with the strength of their high school curriculum, teachers’ recommendations, and factors other than test scores.

“It verifies that a holistic admissions process makes sense,” she said.

Watch Out, She's Pinking Heat

This Taurus 9mm semiautomatic pistol is available from Gander Mountain, price $429.99. There are also Remington shotguns with pink stocks (free pink hat with each purchase).

I'm wondering if a pink-handled pistol makes firearm ownership kinder and gentler or something. One year the legendary Lionel electric train line included a pastel-colored set for little sister; it wasn't a great success. My wife qualified in pistol marksmanship with a standard police-issue Smith & Wesson .32 revolver, thank you.

Can you imagine the chagrin of the would-be assailant who gets bagged by a sorority girl packing pink? In the words of one local perp (he attempted robbery at an ATM, but the young lady sandbagged him with her purse and a handicapped onlooker plugged him with a .22 pistol), "It ain't right, man." That's what he told the police when they took him into custody at the emergency room.

Meanwhile, old song titles are running through my head -- Pistol Packin' Mama, Annie Get Your Gun, the Beatles' Happiness is a Warm Gun. Or with a little re-writing for the commercial, the Go-Go's can sing Girls Just Want To Have Guns.

A Month of Sundays

My seven year old Seth burst into the kitchen this morning with the salutation, "What day is today?"

I told him it is considered good form to make your first greeting something along the lines of "Good morning, how are you doing?" But I let him know it's Monday. "Oh, that's right," he said, "it was Sunday yesterday."

Actually his moment of confusion has an excellent explanation. We got back yesterday evening from a three-day Father & Son Retreat put on by Hope Baptist Church in Wake Forest, convened on the rolling farmland of my friend Scott Brown, pastor at Hope. There were over two hundred dads and sons there (and a couple dozen wives and daughters who volunteered to help feed this crowd), some from as far away as Jacksonville, Florida and the Bronx.

Framing the enjoyment of tent camping, canoe races, archery, and the biggest tug-of-war I've ever been in -- two hundred feet of rope and sixty men to a team -- we had six sessions of serious, challenging, convicting teaching about what it means to be a godly father or a godly son, everything from dealing with specific temptations, to working together, to the call of true manhood as a witness of the Gospel. Really, really good -- the audio files should be posted online soon.

The preaching was held under a huge tent which Scott keeps up on the property; Hope holds outdoor services there on many occasions, and we have spent many hours there in sermons, Memorial Day picnics, and the most incredible wedding reception I ever attended. The weekend culminated with Sunday services with Hope, as well as contingents from our own church, South Smithfield Baptist Church; Southwest Wake Christian Assembly; and Eddie Burrough's congregation from Rocky Mount (sorry, Eddie, I didn't catch the name).

So it's not surprising that Seth lost count of the weekdays. Seven hours of sermons in three days sort of rounds out a month of Sundays, I guess.

All seven of our hats off to Scott, his fellow elders Eddie Burroughs, Dan Horn, Jason Dohm, and Steve Breagy, and the team which did yeomen's duty putting this event together. What a great weekend. Thanks, brethren.

From the Battlefield to the Boardroom

... and thence to the bookshelf. I just finished reading this thinnish paperback book, which I first saw in a large bookstore in Baton Rouge years ago and finally tracked down again at The Reader's Corner in Raleigh about eighteen months ago. This is a volume purporting to explain business management from the biography of Robert E. Lee.

Okay, I love Robert E. Lee, so I was interested.

After a long hiatus, I picked up the book, which I put down half-finished a long time back, and read the last third of it at a gallop. The author quotes extensively from Douglas Southall Freeman's biographies of General Lee, as well as several others. The anthology he creates makes the book worthwhile, to some extent; Freeman is an excellent writer and Lee is a fascinating character.

However, the additional commentary the author adds to try and make it relevant to modern corporate management is frequently unconnected with the biographical incidents it follows, and much of it is platitudinous to the point of nausea. I seem to recall Scott Adams talking about the vacuous content of most management books on the market ... specifically mentioning attempts to wrest historical figures into the world of 21st century corporations.

Recommendation: Never mind this book. Go straight for the Freeman, and draw your own conclusions about applications from Lee's life. Personally, I find biographies of honorable men inspiring enough without the "applications".

UPDATE 10/09/07: I couldn't find the book on Amazon when I posted this, so I checked the cover last night. The author is Bil Holton. Armed with the author's name, I just found the title was changed to From The Battlefield to the Bottom Line; I don't know if the content has changed.

Racing to Irrelevance

This is another lap in the race to see when we can manage broaden a definition into irrelevance. Anthony Fortunato is accused of a hate crime in his trial for the murder of Michael Sandy, a gay man.

Surprise! Fortunato announced today, on the witness stand, that he's gay, too.

Think that makes a difference? Forget about it.

Brooklyn prosecutors argue that Fortunato's sexual orientation is irrelevant. Under New York law, they said, defendants can be convicted of a hate crime even if they bear no actual hatred for their victim. ...

Queens prosecutors recently used the hate crimes statute to charge a man accused of trying to defraud several elderly victims ...

Gosh, I hate it when a prosecutor gets the bit in his teeth. How about this, legal scholars: If someone apparently murdered someone, why don't we try them for murder and not an additional thought crime?

I think I see what the intent of the law might have been, but this is positively Orwellian. A hateless hate crime. Somebody call the Ministry of Truth.

Of course, it's a short walk from here to an expanded definition that encompasses any crime; the mugger chose a victim smaller than himself, or less well-armed, or someone that appeared to have money, or someone who seemed unlikely to notice him lurking in the shadows. Aha, a crime that singled out small, unarmed, apparently affluent, and inattentive persons because of a perceived characteristic. A hate crime, Q.E.D. And maybe we back ourselves into the original definition of the crime, after all.

It reminds me of the time I was dismissed from a jury pool when a defendent was charged with drunk driving, even though he was never seen to drive the vehicle he was sitting in. "He was in 'actual physical control' of the vehicle, though," the attorneys explained. I told them sorry, I couldn't vote to convict someone of driving under the influence unless they were actually driving. Thank you, Mr. Young, you can go now.

Wilmington is Okay

At least that's the implication of Jeremiah 5:22.

‘ Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD.
‘ Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.'

It's risky to be too dogmatic about interpreting prophecy, but this does sound like a refutation of too-anxious predictions of rising seas and global catastrophe. Note, it doesn't preclude storm surge.

Countdown to Surrender

... of the British at Yorktown. On September 30, 1781, the British evacuated their outer works and withdrew into the town's defenses. From then it was less than three weeks to the end of Cornwallis' war in the colonies.

One of my ancestors, Uriah Wright, served with the 1st Virginia Militia in the siege; at present I don't know if he was before Yorktown proper or across the river in front of Tarleton's position, but this site shows the two locations.

We Need More Helicopters After All

College Board, which publishes the SAT and AP exams, also conducted a survey of high school seniors' opinions on their parents' involvement in their college decisions. Guess what?

NEW YORK—Helicopter parents, so named because they hover like a helicopter over their children’s lives, were the focus of the first issue of studentPOLL published jointly in a new collaboration between the College Board and Art & Science Group. The findings of a national online survey of high school seniors conducted by the two organizations show that high school seniors are generally satisfied with the current level of their parents’ involvement in the college planning process. Ninety-five percent of students indicated that their parents were either “very involved” or “involved” in their college plans but, contrary to anecdotal suggestions, the students reported very little unwanted, intrusive behavior on the part of their parents. In fact, nearly 30 percent of students want more, not less, parental involvement.


In other words, at least 25% of the students indicated their parents are involved in the decision, and want them to be even more involved.


Detractors may call it "helicoptering" but in this case, it looks like responsible family life to me.

God's Pathway

Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

-- Psalm 25:8-10

Bookstores Form The Rings of Smithfield

I have an offer to do a book review for publication but it's due this week, so I needed to get a copy of the book right away -- no second hand copies from Amazon this time. A search of the big bookstore chains yielded the head-scratching discovery that there are three Barnes & Nobles stores between 29.1 and 29.33 miles from Smithfield, and a fourth at 27.9 miles.

Borders has two stores located at 32.7 and 33.2 miles.

Books A Million is at 26.6 and 32.7 miles.

And if you go another two miles out, you can catch about three more stores.

In other words, there are no big bookstores within 25 miles, but eight of them in a band about five miles wide and thirty miles away, like rocks in the rings of Saturn. And they're not all in Raleigh, by any means. Go figure.