Margaret Sanger a Feminist Heroine?!

Some feminists say that Margaret Sanger is a feminist heroine, an early feminist icon. I have to wonder if they are familiar with all of Sanger's ideas. If they are, I have to wonder about their own values.

"Mrs. Clinton Can’t Defend Patron Saint of Planned Parenthood" by Mona Charen (at National Review Online)

Ms. Charen writes:

Mrs. Sanger was certainly a birth-control pioneer. But when you examine the totality of Mrs. Sanger’s views, you’d think modern feminists would blanch — at least a little. Margaret Sanger was a most thoroughgoing racist. “Eugenics,” she wrote, “is the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political, and social problems.”

She also writes:

Representative Smith asked Secretary Clinton to respond to Mrs. Sanger’s views about the “deterioration in the human stock” and “the perpetuation of defectives, delinquents, and dependents.” As Goldberg has observed, conservatives are always asked to “own” their intellectual forebears and to disavow that which requires disavowal. Yet liberals skate by without having to distance themselves from the dreadful opinions and writings of their heroes and heroines.

We would all do well to consider the whole person before we hold anyone up as a role model--a hero or heroine.

Life Goes On

It's impossible to comment on all the political and economic actions that have been taken recently, and those that are being contemplated. It boggles the mind.

I think it would be a good thing if every American would read the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Federalist Papers. We need to remind ourselves of what America is all about. I have linked to Yale Law School's Avalon Project, but there are a number of good sources for these types of historical documents on the internet.

Now, more than ever, we need a smaller government with much less interference in our lives and businesses. It was government interference that got us into the mess we're in today. It was not capitalism or conservatism or any of the other popular scapegoats. Stop the bailouts, stop high taxes, stop forced charity, stop over-regulation, stop judicial activism, and stop a Congress and an Executive Branch that thinks they can ignore the Constitution.

I need to stop myself--I'm getting into a rant! That brings me to another problem. It is so easy to criticize and rant and otherwise be negative. What we (I) should do instead is discuss positive things that we need to do to preserve and expand the "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" that is America. We can start by becoming familiar with our founding documents, as I noted in the second paragraph above. We also need to learn American history and government. You need to select your reading material carefully in order to get accurate information. Look at older books on American history and government, and look at a variety of books and websites. Variety will at least show you discrepancies which you can research further.

Recently a study was released that showed that Americans in general do not know much about civics and how government is supposed to work. We cannot depend on schools at any level to correct this lack of knowledge, so we need to teach ourselves. That link reports on the study and also contains a link to the 33 questions that were asked so that you can test yourself.

I think that a lot of the problems we have in America are due to lack of knowledge by the American people and by those we elect to represent us. Self-education in civics, government, and history can only help. I know I also have a lot more to learn. A lot of well-meaning folk nevertheless have wrongheaded ideas about solutions, so an openess to learning truth and to thinking things through is also important.

We all need more patience, with ourselves and with others. It's easy to get fired up about something, but we aren't always making ourselves understood when we get carried away. I know I get wound up because America is so very important, not just to those who live here, but to the world. I can't promise I won't get wound up about something again, but I'll try to be calm and clear!

It's difficult to express what I want to say here. There are those who think all things are equal and it is just a matter of voting to do Plan A or Plan B. The thing is that all things are NOT equal. Truth is truth. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. I don't know how people get to the place of thinking that all is equal. I personally blame indoctrination in public schools, but there are other factors as well, such as biased media (and yes, my blog is biased, too, but at least it is biased toward truth, although I am sure there are those who will say that is just my opinion--more of that "all things are equal" stuff). I don't know if we can ever get down to a real discussion of real issues, but I hope we will continue to try.

An Assortment of Interesting Items

One of the more charming stories to hit the news this week was that the stick (That's not a fancy toy that happens to be named "The Stick". It is a stick--from a tree!) was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this past Thursday. The cardboard box was inducted in 2005. These two items, along with others such as the bicycle and the baby doll, were chosen by the following criteria: "Each toy must not only be widely recognized and foster learning, creativity or discovery through play, but also endure in popularity over generations."

When I was growing up, we always lived out in the country rather than in town, so my brother and I had many opportunities to invent our own toys and games, as well as play with the store-bought variety. When I was ten, we moved to a new home and lo and behold! There in the creek bed was an old car body! It was filled with sand so we set to work digging out seats and had a grand time "driving" our car. Ah, the good ole days!

Do you enjoy classical music? Do you have a hard time finding radio stations that play such music? I have two such stations to recommend, both of which you can listen to online. Their websites also have links to the various programs they present so you can read background information or listen to a show you missed. The first station is KCSC/KBCW in Oklahoma. The second provides the overnight (11pm to 6am) content for the first--it is WCPE in North Carolina. For news, reviews, and other information about classical music, try Music & Vision or Andante. For the arts in general, try ArtsJournal.

Next Tuesday, 11 November, is Veterans Day. Read a brief history of the day here. May we always remember and honor our veterans.

Today's Geographical Location: The Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea, chosen by me for no reason except that it looks interesting. See the website Isle of Man for all sorts of information about this island. This page has the general information that is the most interesting. Use the links on the left to learn about different aspects of the island. There is also a page at the CIA World Factbook. Background from the CIA's page:

Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Gaelic language. Isle of Man is a British crown dependency but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government remains constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation.

I was surprised to learn that it is not part of the UK.

Last Minute Thoughts

Three days to go before election day on 4 November. I hope and pray that everyone who intends to vote is studying the issues and the candidates, local and state as well as national.

While I disagree with John McCain on some issues (for example, global warming), I am certain that he will be a better president for America than Barack Obama. Senator McCain is a known man of character and courage. He is far more knowledgeable about foreign affairs and other important issues than Barack Obama. We can count on him to not make foolish diplomatic errors that could prove disasterous not only for ourselves, but for other countries around the world.

Senator Obama is secretive and evasive and a known ally of socialist/Marxist/communist people and organizations. He has lately been lowering the taxable ceiling from $250,000 to $120,000 annual income in various speeches by himself and his supporters. His planned expenditures total several trillion dollars. The only way he can pay for all that is to tax more and more people. Too often, the words "redistribute wealth" make people think of taking money from millionaires and billionaires and distributing it to the poor. There aren't enough millionaires and billionaires to pay for all of that, so much of the middle class will find their incomes taxed to the max. What people aren't thinking about, either, is the fact that it is the people with the most money who invest and start businesses and give to charity (usually--the Bidens and the Obamas haven't been all that generous with their own money). It is the wealthier citizens who do things that create jobs and other opportunities, which is far more helpful to people than just giving them some dollars.

There are also countless questions about Senator Obama's honesty. Why won't he prove that he is a naturalized citizen and therefore eligible for the office of President? Why won't he release his donor lists? Why won't he get specific about his plans for America? And what about the known instances of him and his campaign trying to intimidate to silence those who disagree with him? He's tried that in Missouri and in Pennsylvania, at least. What about ACORN's voter registration fraud being investigated in a dozen states?

Another thing about Obama that would be funny if it weren't so serious for our country is his lack of accomplishments. And yet his campaign dares to claim that Governor Sarah Palin isn't qualified! That is laughable. She has far more serious, executive experience than he has. She is far more ready for higher office than he is. Then, too, there is the race issue. It is Obama's campaign and not McCain's that has been playing the race card by labeling everything as racist.

America was founded on freedom and must remain that way. Why are we strong? Because we have had the freedom to work our way up from wherever we start to wherever we want to be. We have had the incentive to create and invent and improve life for all. We have had the freedom to create a strong military. That will all disappear if Obama's wealth redistribution, reduction in military, and other socialist policies are put into practice.

When it comes to healthcare, the more the government interferes, the more it costs. Let the free market capitalism reign. We will see competition driving prices downward. It's the same with education. Let there be competition among public and private schools. Let people have vouchers so that they can choose the best schools for their children. Competition will improve the quality of education faster than any government program.

And let's talk military. Senator Barney Frank wants to cut the military by 25%. If we do not have a strong military run by men of character who know what is at stake, we will never have world peace. Other countries will see no reason to hold back on their attacks, including here in the United States, if our military is weakened. Preparation for war is the best incentive for peace.

The last thing our wonderful country needs is to be run by liberal Democrats such as Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi. They want to cripple our economy by preventing our use of our own energy deposits, by going along with extreme environmentalists, and by taxing and spending. We all know it was liberal policies by Democrats and a refusal to heed warnings made by conservative Republicans that caused our current financial problems. That is just a sample of what we can look forward to if we elect those who ignore the Constitution or reinterpret it to suit their own agendas. Make no mistake about it--it will not be the elite liberals whose wealth is redistributed. They will exempt themselves from the policies they wish to inflict on the people of the United States.

The problems we have in America today were caused largely by the socialists policies of FDR and LBJ and others who have had the foolish notion that the government can manage our money and our lives better than we can. Government has its essential uses, but interfering in the free market and in people's lives are not among those uses. The more we get government out of our lives, the better and stronger America will be. A free people is far more generous than a forced people, who cannot afford to be charitable because all their money is going to a bloated government who uses much of that money just to pay for administering programs, never mind actually helping people.

As much as possible, government should be small and should be local, where the people can keep a closer eye on what is being done and can put a quick stop to waste and fraud. There have certainly been Republicans who have bought into the tax and spend and big government foolishness. They can be voted out of office, too, if they show no signs of mending their ways.

There is a lot at stake for America these days. Think about freedom and liberty. Reread the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Think seriously about the lessons of history. And whatever happens on Tuesday, think seriously about keeping a close eye on government and contacting your representatives at both state and national levels and letting them know how you expect them to govern on your behalf.

And may God continue to bless America.

Holiday History

I love to read the history of various holidays--it's fascinating stuff! At The History Channel you can click on Holidays under the heading of Topics and get this page. There you will find "The History of the Holidays". There are a number of them to click on, from those that are traditional in the USA, to those from other traditions that you hear of from time to time.

This morning, I clicked on Labor Day, as that's our next holiday here in America. Here are the first two paragraphs of The History Channel's write up:

As the Industrial Revolution took hold of the nation, the average American in the late 1800s worked 12-hour days, seven days a week in order to make a basic living. Children were also working, as they provided cheap labor to employers and laws against child labor were not strongly enforced.

With the long hours and terrible working conditions, American unions became more prominent and voiced their demands for a better way of life. On Tuesday September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers marched from city hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first-ever Labor Day parade. Participants took an upaid day-off to honor the workers of America, as well as vocalize issues they had with employers. As years passed, more states began to hold these parades, but Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later.

And the last paragraph:

Although Labor Day is meant as a celebration of the labor movement and its achievements, it has come to be celebrated as the last, long summer weekend before Autumn.

There are links to various people and terms used so that you can get more information. For example, the eight-hour work day.

Lots to learn in history!!

History: Looking Back to Look Forward

I am a great believer in studying history in order to learn what works and what doesn't. This applies to government, but also to one's personal life. One book on this topic that I've really enjoyed is The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant (New York: Simon and Schuster ,1968). I have the audio book on CD and have enjoyed listening to not only the book itself, but also to excerpts from interviews with Will and Ariel Durant.

There are any number of books and websites that can give you insight into history and help you learn facts about what happened. Researching widely will give you a better perspective because it is difficult for even the best-intentioned historian to be totally free of bias. The very act of writing history involves sorting through events and people and deciding what to include and what to leave out. A variety of sources will give you a number of perspectives and help you learn enough to reach your own conclusions about what happened and why and how it influenced other events.

Some internet sources:

MacroHistory: Prehistory to the 21st Century
History Research Online
The History Channel
Conservapedia
Wikipedia
USA.gov

Some books:

America: The Last Best Hope by William J. Bennett (volume 1, volume 2)

Books from Regnery Publishing, including the Politically Incorrect Guides

There are, of course, many others, but these will give you some starting points. As you read and study, think about how the events of the past correspond to today's events and see what lessons you might be able to draw.

A Fine Essay about Memorial Day

At National Review Online is a wonderful essay about Memorial Day by W. Thomas Smith, Jr. Mr. Smith is described at the foot of the article as "A former U.S. Marine infantry leader, W. Thomas Smith Jr. writes about military issues and has covered war in the Balkans, on the West Bank, and in Iraq. He is the author of six books, and his articles appear in a variety of publications." The essay is called "It's Not Political" and gives some history of the day and also some thoughtful comments.

An excerpt:

Point being: no matter what flags Americans have served under — or causes they have fought for — since initially choosing between the colonies and the Crown back in 1775, all are indeed Americans.

And most of them have fought less over the politics of a given conflict and more from the sheer fact that they were the ones responsible for defending the homeland or its interests abroad when politics and diplomacy had broken down.

Another:

One of the oft-told stories of the American Civil War is one in which a U.S. Army officer asks a young Confederate soldier, who had just been taken prisoner by Union forces, if he (the Confederate) owned slaves. When the prisoner said no, the officer asked why he was fighting on the side of the rebellion. The Confederate matter-of-factly responded, “Because you’re here.”

Sounds simple, but for the Confederate soldier, taking up arms against the enemy had nothing really to do with politics or such lofty mid-19th-century issues as slavery and its abolition. It had everything to do with the fact that his country had been attacked. And if his fellow countrymen were going to shoulder weapons and march against the enemy, how could he not?

And:

“Memorial Days began very soon after the war, and concurrently by both Northern and Southern groups,” Joe Long, curator of education at the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, tells National Review Online. “There’s a book entitled Race and Reunion that claims that the very first Memorial Day service was held by black Americans in honor of Union soldiers.”

Long adds that Northern and Southern observances were organized by ladies’ memorial associations. “Those early memorial services were very much driven by women.”

I hope you will take the time to read and ponder this essay.

Memorial Day

We are in the midst of our Memorial Day weekend. May we all remember what it is about--remembering those who have and are serving our country in the Armed Forces and remembering those who died that we might be free. May we remember what makes America great--the freedoms and the opportunities, the prosperity and the generosity.

For one Memorial Day essay, see Fred Thompson's blog post, "I Remember". (This is also available as a podcast.)

Thank you to our soldiers, past and present, who appreciate our country enough to fight for her. Thank you to those who support our troops--really support them.

An Assortment for Your Perusal

Patriot Post has a page with a modern language update of The Federalist Papers. I haven't started reading it yet, but it sounds informative and has information about the original authors of The Federalist Papers. I subscribe to the Patriot Post newsletter (it's free!), but you can also read the newsletter on their site from this page under "Edition Archives". It's a very good newsletter with lots of information and commentary. There are a number of sections listed down the left side of the main page, so you'll find a lot of material there.

There is a website called Reagan 2020 about President Ronald Reagan. It has a biography, texts of speeches, and much more. Quite comprehensive.

For a focus on women and family values, there is the Concerned Women for America website. It features links to news items and commentary about women and family issues of today. Ladies Against Feminism also has links to news items and articles in a similar vein. It's recommended that you read this page first on the latter site to get a better idea of their purpose.

Phyllis Schlafly has a website at Eagle Forum. She has also started a wiki Conservapedia here, as a part of the Eagle Forum University. Lots of interesting information there, as well.

There are, of course, many other sites out there that can give you news and information you can't get from the Mainstream Media (MSM). However, just like the MSM, you do need to use common sense and confirm facts from another source. Bear in mind that the MSM is biased to the Left/Liberal agenda--it isn't any more dependable than anything else these days. The sites I refer to above and have linked on my sidebar lean toward the Right/Conservative agenda--they aren't inaccurate just because of that. In fact, they emphasize truth. I think it is important for people to have access to other sources than the MSM so that they can think for themselves about the issues of the day.

The Federalist Papers

Being somewhat distracted this weekend, and kind of busy, I can't think of anything to write about. So I will give you a link with lots of good reading material--the Federalist Papers.

You might enjoy exploring that entire site. It's called The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy. Lots of material there from various times--plenty of reading to keep you out of mischief! Enjoy!

A Book about the History of the US's Middle East Involvement

At one of my favorite websites, Jewish World Review, Jonathan Tobin writes a book review of Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present by Michael B. Oren. Tobin says, "Until the release of this beautifully written and meticulously researched volume this month, there simply was no comprehensive history of American involvement in the region."

He goes on to say:

Oren, who is based at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, has written a book overflowing with colorful tales of American travelers, pilgrims, businessmen, missionaries, diplomats, soldiers and sailors who weren't merely observers of this pivotal area of the globe (the term for which was actually coined by the American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan). Americans have, from the very beginning of our own history as a nation, played a crucial role in shaping the Middle East. And as Oren illustrates, we, in turn, have been influenced by this interaction.

This is a book that is going on my "to read" list--it sounds fascinating, and useful as well. The more all of us know about this region, the better we'll know what would be good and what would not be good and, of course, the better we'll understand what is going on in the Middle East.

Also at Jewish World Review is a much different article by Rabbi Yitzchok Tzvi Schwarz titled "Small Deeds...Eternal Impact". The article discusses the impact that even the smallest things we do can have. Uplifting reading and very much worth contemplating.

Why is the Civil War Label Important?

At Townhall.com, Michael Medved posts an interesting article called "Why the Insane Obsession with the 'Civil War' Label for Iraq?" on his blog. I'd been noticing that battle to have the Iraq situation labeled a civil war--it buzzed in the back of my mind like a stray housefly, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. I just wondered at it.

Michael Medved writes,

Critics of the Bush administration’s Iraq policies have been obsessed for more than a year with an odd effort to designate the struggle as a “civil war.” This week, NBC News as a matter of policy agreed to call the conflict a “civil war,” while UN Secretary General Kofi Anan and even former Secretary of State Colin Powell also suggested that this might be an appropriate description for the current state of the struggle. Anti-war forces are jubilant over their apparent rhetorical victory, but offer no explanation whatever as to why it’s important. Even if the whole world embraces the “civil war” phrase, why is that significant in any way for shaping future policy?

Obviously, anti-war forces would maintain that once we acknowledge that a civil war is raging on the ground, it becomes clear and inescapable that we have no role to play and we’ll be forced to pull our troops far away from the warring combatants.

But where has it ever been established that the U.S. can’t get involved in “civil wars”?

He goes on to write an interesting, if brief, history of a number of times when the US has been involved in various civil wars around the world, including

In Bosnia and Kosovo the United States (under President Clinton) also inserted itself into the midst of horrible civil wars and, in both cases managed to reduce the nightmarish killing which, in its genocidal horror, far exceeded even the current misery of Iraq.

He then writes

This history is worth reciting only to defeat the idiotic leftist assumption that if Iraq gets classified by everyone as a civil war (a bogus classification, but one that’s gaining ground) then it means that the argument is over – we most get out.

Why? Since when? Who says?

It is an idiotic assumption that somehow labeling the war in Iraq as a civil war means we have to pick up our toys and go home. But so often, that is the way leftists and liberals play--with words, semantics, whatever.

Michael Medved ends with this:

And even if you succeed in forcing this unique and tragic war into that classic label, you’re still left with one huge, unanswerable, inescapable two word question---

SO WHAT?

The man makes a most excellent point.

The Lessons of History

I have been listening to an audio book on CD called The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant. The version I found actually has 5 CD's and is billed as an expanded unabridged edition. It contains two essays not in the book, plus excerpts from recorded interviews with Will & Ariel Durant. Very interesting.

Will Durant speaks of the past as the present unrolled for study and the present as the past rolled up for action. He has some interesting insights about what we can learn from history in various areas, such as religion, socialism, and economics.

Dr. Durant and his wife wrote a number of books on philosophy and history, such as The Story of Philosophy and The History of Civilization. If you have an interest in either or both of those subjects, I recommend giving the Durants a read.